Two arrested in assault on police officer Brian D. Sicknick, who died after Jan. 6 Capitol riot  —  U.S. authorities have arrested and charged two men with assaulting U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian D. Sicknick with bear spray during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot but have not determined whether the exposure caused his death.

Super PAC supporting potential Senate candidate J.D. Vance gets $10M donation from PayPal cofounder  —  COLUMBUS - PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel donated $10 million to a super PAC supporting Hillbilly Elegy author J.D. Vance, a show of support for the possible Ohio Senate contender.

US to house up to 3,000 immigrant teens at Dallas site  —  HOUSTON (AP) — The U.S. government plans to use the downtown Dallas convention center to hold up to 3,000 immigrant teenagers as sharply higher numbers of border crossings have severely strained the current capacity to hold youths, The Associated Press has learned.

Trump's jealous rants can't hide his failures  —  How green with envy is Donald Trump?  —  President Biden has him begging for attention.  —  Since Biden's inauguration, the COVID-19 infection rate has been cut by well over half.  —  And last week congressional Democrats passed Biden's popular COVID-19 relief bill.

Biden Eyes First Major Tax Hike Since 1993 in Next Economic Plan  — Tax increases would help fund long-term U.S. recovery program  — Corporate, capital-gains levies targeted for hikes, aides say  —  President Joe Biden is planning the first major federal tax hike since 1993 …

Florida's pandemic response gets a second look from the national media  —  After a solid year of living with a pandemic, the national press is beginning to ask the question that even Democrats have been quietly pondering in the Sunshine State: Was Gov. Ron DeSantis' pandemic response right for Florida?

The American Rescue Plan as Economic Theory  —  So, this happened.  —  Some people are frustrated about the surrender on the minimum wage, the scaled-back unemployment insurance, the child tax credit that should have been a universal child allowance, the fact that most of the good things phase out over the nest year or two.

Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson's Racist Comments Are Worse Than You Think  —  While it wasn't the first time Ron Johnson downplayed the U.S. Capitol attack, the Republican senator from Wisconsin drew criticism for saying during an interview that he would have been more afraid of Antifa …

The Misinformation Campaign Was Distinctly One-Sided  —  On the morning of September 21, 2020, three trays of United States mail were discovered in a ditch in Greenville, Wisconsin.  The local sheriff's office reported that the mail dump included several absentee ballots.

A Hacker Got All My Texts for $16  —  A gaping flaw in SMS lets hackers take over phone numbers in minutes by simply paying a company to reroute text messages.  —  Joseph Cox  —  I didn't expect it to be that quick.  While I was on a Google Hangouts call with a colleague …

Biden Chooses Prosperity Over Vengeance  —  Donald Trump was a punishment.  —  Conservatives saw him that way, and Trump saw himself that way, too.  After his upset victory over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, some conservatives started to respond to any perceived liberal excess with a simple phrase: “This is why Trump won.”

CNN Anchor Brianna Keilar Slams Fox News' Vaccine Skepticism Bullshit  —  “Americans, whether they are Fox viewers or not, will pay for it with their health... or their lives because no price is too high for Fox to right its rating ship.”  —  CNN anchor Brianna Keilar took aim at Fox News …

Vatican says it will not bless same-sex unions, calling them a ‘sin’  —  Rome (CNN)The Vatican said Monday that the Catholic Church would not bless same-sex unions, in a combative statement approved by Pope Francis that threatens to widen the chasm between the church and much of the LGBTQ community.

Vindman twin set for promotion after bad evaluations from Trump appointees  —  Army Lt. Col. Yevgeny Vindman is set to be promoted to full colonel, despite attempts by loyalists to former President Donald Trump to derail his career following his bit role in the president's first impeachment …

Interior secretary Haaland confirmed to implement Biden crackdown on oil and gas leasing  —  The Senate voted on Monday to confirm Deb Haaland to be secretary of the Interior Department, ending a tumultuous confirmation process and positioning her to oversee a vast reshaping of energy development on public lands.

‘We want to be educated, not indoctrinated,’ say Trump voters wary of covid shots  —  The responses of focus group participants suggest they can be persuaded — but perhaps not by politicians, including the former president.  —  Be honest that scientists don't have all the answers.

Exclusive: U.S. Congress launches probe into multibillion-dollar ‘clean coal’ tax credit  —  BOSTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress is investigating a multibillion-dollar subsidy for chemically treated coal that is meant to reduce smokestack pollution, after evidence emerged that power plants using the fuel produced more smog not less.

Justice Breyer Should Retire Right Now  —  If he doesn't, Democrats run the very real risk that they would be unable to replace him.  —  Mr. Campos is a law professor who writes extensively about politics and the Constitution.  —  Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was widely, and deservedly …

CDC identifies public-health guidance from the Trump administration that downplayed pandemic severity  —  The analysis was done to promote public trust and ensure that the agency's coronavirus guidance ‘is evidence-based and free of politics,’ a memo says.  —  Federal health officials …

EXC: Teen Vogue's New Editor Alexi McCammond Ranted About “Blacks”, Dressed As Native American.  —  The National Pulse has uncovered additional historical tweets from Teen Vogue's new editor - Alexi McCammond, already under fire for a host of old anti-Asian, homophobic posts.

Audio shows the media got the Trump-Georgia story all wrong  —  It's one thing if a single news outlet botches an anonymously sourced “scoop.”  It's another thing entirely if multiple newsrooms claim to have independently “confirmed” the botched “scoop” with anonymous sources of their own.

Senior Democrat ‘hot mic’ says GOP foot-dragging will force fast-track process for infrastructure  —  Sen. Ben Cardin, a senior Democrat on the committee responsible for crafting a surface transportation bill, in a “hot mic” moment told Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg Monday that Democrats …

Cuomo's “Women's Equality Party” Might Just Be the Most Cynical Political Move of His Career … In 2018, Liuba Grechen Shirley was one of thousands of women across the country galvanized by the election of Donald Trump to jump into the political ring — but first, she had to grapple with child care.

How Many Times Must We Tell You to Never Apologize to These Scumbags?  —  That Mumford & Sons banjo guy is a pathetic weenie who the left hates and who we despise, and who now has to live forever as a groveling coward nobody likes.  Yeah, he was in Mumford & Sons and managed to find a way to make people like him less.

Capitol riot suspect ordered detained after a hearing featuring daughter's testimony  —  The judge seemed to accept some emotional pleas about Guy Reffitt but said he should remain in jail because of the danger he still poses.  —  The 16-year-old daughter of a Texas militia leader …

Republicans shamelessly take credit for Covid relief they voted against  —  And it's not going over well.  —  Two recent tweets from members of Congress illustrate how, in the wake of President Joe Biden signing the Covid-19 relief bill, Republicans are trying to “have their cake and vote against it, too,” as Barack Obama once put it.

U.S. warns of China's growing threat to Taiwan  —  Officials from Washington and Beijing are meeting in Alaska on Thursday.  —  Top U.S. military officials are warning with increasing urgency that China could in the next few years invade Taiwan.  Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

Warren, Sanders join Newsom to fight ‘extremist’ GOP recall  —  OAKLAND, Calif. — A crowd of national Democratic leaders on Monday put their muscle behind California Gov. Gavin Newsom to fight the recall, dubbing it an extremist “Republican power grab” and launching their first opposition ad.

Progressives escalate fight over Education Department student loan office  —  Progressive activists are frustrated that President Joe Biden is not moving more quickly to scrap Trump-era Education Department policies on student loans and for-profit colleges, and they're pressing his administration to be more aggressive.

New EPA administrator: ‘Science is back’  —  In his first interview as the nation's top environmental official, Michael Regan says he is focused on restoring morale at the agency, combatting climate change and lifting up communities burdened by pollution  —  Michael Regan has bold aspirations …

Pandemic burnout is rampant in academia … Virginia Gewin is a freelance writer in Portland, Oregon.  —  A year into the coronavirus pandemic, many in the academic scientific workforce are experiencing a state of chronic exhaustion known as burnout.  Although it is not a medical condition …

Nashville bomber acted alone, was driven by ‘paranoia,’ FBI says  —  Adam Tamburin Natalie Neysa AlundNashville Tennessean  —  The FBI said Monday the Christmas Day bombing in downtown Nashville was motivated by the bomber's intention to kill himself and was not an act of terrorism.