Biden's Judicial Nominees Have Diverse Backgrounds  —  The president's first choices for district and appeals court openings reflected his campaign promise to choose judges from outside of traditional backgrounds.  —  WASHINGTON — President Biden began a drive to reshape the federal courts …

The facts about Georgia's ban on food, water giveaways to voters  —  Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a sweeping elections bill into law.  It includes some controversial provisions about absentee and in-person voting.  —  One provision of the new law includes a ban on giving away water or food …

Former Parler CEO says Dan Bongino owns no shares, got hustled by Rebekah Mercer  —  Fox News contributor Dan Bongino claims to be a Parler investor — but former CEO John Matze says he was duped  —  Pro-Trump pundit, conservative media tycoon and self-proclaimed Parler investor Dan Bongino …

The GOP is facing a sickness deeper than the coronavirus  —  It is the sign of a sickness deeper than covid-19 that the defiance of public health guidance has become a political selling point in the Republican Party.  —  Consider the case of South Dakota Gov. Kristi L. Noem.

All Trump's Codependents  —  Some of the former president's biggest critics are finding it hard to quit him.  —  “My predecessor.  Oh God, I miss him.”  —  So spoke Joe Biden Thursday in his first press conference as president.  In February Mr. Biden had said he was …

Ghislaine Maxwell Charged With Sex Trafficking of 14-Year-Old Girl  —  A new indictment accuses Ms. Maxwell of paying a victim of her longtime associate Jeffrey Epstein.  —  Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein, was charged on Monday for the first time with sex-trafficking …

Most Capitol rioters unlikely to serve jail time  —  Americans outraged by the storming of Capitol Hill are in for a jarring reality check: Many of those who invaded the halls of Congress on Jan. 6 are likely to get little or no jail time.  —  While public and media attention in recent weeks …

Biden wants $4T infrastructure package approved over summer  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is aiming for summer passage of his sweeping $4 trillion infrastructure plan, and the White House hopes to take a more deliberate and collaborative approach with the contentious Congress …

Why the Republican War on Democracy Is Moving to the States  —  After Georgia Republicans experienced the shocking setback of losing the state's presidential election, the party descended into bitter internal recriminations.  President Trump blamed Republican officials for allowing massive voter fraud …

New accounts detail how New York health officials were told to prioritize coronavirus testing of people connected to Andrew Cuomo  —  New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's relatives and other well-connected New Yorkers were among those given preferential treatment at state coronavirus testing centers.

The Antiscience Movement Is Escalating, Going Global and Killing Thousands  —  Rejection of mainstream science and medicine has become a key feature of the political right in the U.S. and increasingly around the world  —  Antiscience has emerged as a dominant and highly lethal force …

Biden falsely claims the new Georgia law ‘ends voting hours early’  —  “What I'm worried about is how un-American this whole initiative is.  It's sick.  It's sick ... deciding that you're going to end voting at five o'clock when working people are just getting off work.”

With an Eye on 2024, a Rarely Bashful Pompeo Grows More Combative  —  Criticized for partisan activity even when he was the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo is taking aim at the Biden administration and talking like a candidate.  —  WASHINGTON — As secretary of state during the Trump administration …

Kentucky lawmakers override veto of McConnell-backed Senate vacancy plan  —  The Republican-run Kentucky legislature on Monday easily overrode Gov. Andy Beshear's veto of a notable bill that restricts his ability to fill any vacancies that arise if one of the state's U.S. senators dies or leaves office early.

Scoop: Substack is raising $65 million amid newsletter boom  —  Substack is raising $65 million in new venture capital funding that would value the company at around $650 million, Axios has learned.  Existing investor Andreessen Horowitz is leading the round.

Washington Post reverses prohibition on reporter from writing about sexual assault  —  The Washington Post on Monday reversed a policy preventing a reporter from covering sexual misconduct issues that she said was imposed because of her outspokenness over being a victim of sexual assault.

KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor: March 2021  —  The KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor is an ongoing research project tracking the public's attitudes and experiences with COVID-19 vaccinations.  Using a combination of surveys and qualitative research, this project tracks the dynamic nature of public opinion …

Two weeks after shooting spree, Georgia Senate backs bill to loosen gun restrictions  —  Two weeks after eight people where gunned down in three Atlanta-area spas, the Georgia Senate on Monday approved legislation to loosen the state's gun laws.  —  “This is a Second Amendment protection bill …

Dominion Builds Legal Behemoth to Drain Trumpland of Billions  —  Dominion Voting Systems is adding a new team of lawyers as they prepare for their current lawsuits—and another potential round.  —  With billions of dollars in lawsuits now in the balance, Dominion Voting Systems …

The Right Says Sorry In Advance for Going Fascist  —  And, absurdly, some conservatives who've replaced optimism with despair are trying to blame Hunter Biden for “making” them to do it … I became a conservative because I believed the conservative values I grew up with were the best …

Mafia fugitive caught after posting YouTube cooking video  —  Marc Feren Claude Biart was betrayed by failing to hide his distinctive tattoos in the clip  —  A mafia fugitive has been caught in the Caribbean after appearing on YouTube cooking videos in which he hid his face but inadvertently showed his distinctive tattoos.

Capitol riot suspect wore ‘I Was There’ shirt when arrested  —  Garret Miller didn't speak to the law enforcement officers who arrested him on charges he stormed the U.S. Capitol in January, but the T-shirt he was wearing at his Dallas home that day sent a clear and possibly incriminating message.

Trump's heir?  Pence reemerges, lays groundwork for 2024 run  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — When former President Donald Trump was asked to list those he considers the future leaders of the Republican Party, he quickly rattled off a list of names, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sens. Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz.

Biden's Call for Reinstating Mask Mandates Undercut by Evidence from Texas and Michigan  —  President Biden, speaking on a day in which his CDC director voiced her sense of “impending doom” over the uptick in COVID-19 cases in the United States, said, “I'm reiterating my call for every governor …

How a Supermoon Helped Free the Giant Container Ship From the Suez Canal  —  Stronger tidal effect made it easier to partially float the Ever Given but also gave engineers a hard deadline  —  SUEZ, Egypt—To get the giant container ship blocking the Suez Canal unstuck, engineers needed the stars to align.

The WHO covid report is fatally flawed, and a real investigation has yet to take place  —  Determining the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus should have nothing to do with politics.  It is a forensic question, one that requires thorough investigation of all possible theories …

Nearly half of Americans changed sports viewing habits because of social justice  —  In the wake of last summer's social justice protests, which consumed sports for much of the second half of 2020, nearly half of all Americans changed their sports viewing habits, according to a new YouGov / Yahoo News poll.

Freedom Caucus frets over how far to push its rebellion  —  A group of House ultra-conservatives who rose to power by making life hell for GOP leaders is now facing cracks in its once-united front — which some worry could foreshadow an even wider rift if Republicans win back the majority next year.

As Covid-19 Vaccinations Ramp Up, Hesitancy Wanes  —  Survey shows decline in reluctance, driven by increasing willingness in Southern states and more broadly among Black Americans  —  17%  —  17%  —  17%  —  17%  —  A shrinking percentage of Americans are expressing reluctance …