The Pandemic's Wrongest Man  —  The pandemic has made fools of many forecasters.  Just about all of the predictions whiffed.  Anthony Fauci was wrong about masks.  California was wrong about the outdoors.  New York was wrong about the subways.  I was wrong about the necessary cost of pandemic relief.

Republicans Have Been Waiting for a Matt Gaetz Scandal to Break  —  The Florida congressman's less-than-sterling reputation among his colleagues has many Republicans questioning the wisdom of jumping to his defense.  —  After Rep. Matt Gaetz accused a Florida lawyer of a $25 million extortion scheme …

The GOP war on voting takes an ugly new turn  —  Opinion by  —  An extraordinary event took place in Georgia on Wednesday night.  Republicans sought to cancel a tax break for Delta Air Lines, the state's biggest employer, as punishment for the heresy of criticizing the new voter suppression law Republicans passed last week.

Inside the ‘Lord of the Flies’ factionalism now plaguing Trumpland  —  Just one month after Donald Trump left the White House, a top donor to his campaign received a call on his personal cellphone from a Republican candidate seeking financial support.  —  The call was unsolicited …

Biden's Election-Reform Deception  —  He has his facts wrong on Iowa and Georgia and applies standards inconsistently.  —  In last week's press conference, President Biden labeled Republican efforts to reform state election laws in Georgia and Iowa as “un-American” and “sick.”

I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Biden Administration  —  Slate is taking the rare step of publishing an anonymous Op-Ed essay.  We have done so at the request of the author, a senior official in the Biden administration whose identity is known to us and whose reputation as a good boy would be jeopardized by its disclosure.

New GOP-led voting restrictions move forward in Texas  —  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Republicans advanced a slate of proposed new voting restrictions Thursday that would reduce options to cast ballots, limit polling hours and hand more power to partisan poll watchers.

The Strange New Doctrine of the Republican Party  —  In 2002, the Weyerhaeuser paper mill in Valliant, Oklahoma, faced a drug problem.  Managers at the mill in the small town, just north of the Texas line, brought contraband-sniffing dogs into the parking lot to identify suspect cars.

Pfizer says Covid-19 vaccine protection lasts at least six months, protects against variants  —  Take an exclusive look inside a busy Covid-19 vaccine facility  —  (CNN)The ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial of Pfizer/BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine confirms its protection lasts at least six months …

Buttigieg defends Biden's $2.25T spending plan, despite just a fraction going to roads, bridges  —  Just 5.6% of the $2.25T in spending will go toward rebuilding the nation's roads, bridges  —  Buttigieg says millions of jobs will be created by infrastructure plan

Mets-Nationals postponed in Washington as coronavirus issues disrupt Opening Day  —  The Opening Day matchup between the Washington Nationals and New York Mets on Thursday has been postponed because of coronavirus concerns, according to two people with knowledge of the situation.

A woman called for a highway's removal in a Black neighborhood.  The White House singled it out in its infrastructure plan.  —  Since she moved back home to Tremé almost a decade ago, Amy Stelly has waged a campaign for the removal of a highway that cuts through her New Orleans neighborhood.

The Right Curriculum?  How PragerU Infiltrates Schools.  —  The right-wing nonprofit, known for viral videos like ‘The Left Ruins Everything,’ launched a program specifically designed for teachers last fall.  But according to students, its content has been in public schools for years.

Republicans seek DOJ briefing on claims of ‘suspicious’ pre-Jan. 6 Capitol tours  —  Republicans have grown increasingly frustrated that authorities have allowed the charges leveled by Democrats to linger without updates for nearly three months.  —  Rep. Rodney Davis and other GOP lawmakers …

4 killed, including child, in mass shooting at Orange office complex  —  Four people, including a child, were killed Wednesday evening and a fifth person was injured in a mass shooting at an Orange office complex.  —  It marks the third mass shooting in the United States in two weeks …

SCOOP: Inside Dems' plans to take down Lauren Boebert  —  Ally Mutnick, Melanie Zanona, Marianne LeVine and Nicholas Wu contributed.  —  CASH COW — We're about to find out how Donald Trump's campaign to overturn the presidential election — which culminated in an insurrection …

Alabama yoga bill stalls after conservative groups object  —  MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama's decades-old ban on yoga in public schools could stay in place a little longer following push-back from conservative groups.  —  The Alabama Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday did not advance …

Exclusive: Apple's Tim Cook says voting “ought to be easier than ever”  —  Apple CEO Tim Cook, an Alabama native with a lifelong interest in civil rights, joins condemnations of Georgia's new voting law, in a statement provided first to Axios.  —  What he's saying: “The right to vote is fundamental in a democracy.

One of QAnon's most widely quoted critics reveals his real name.  Hint: It's not Travis View.  —  QAnon Anonymous co-host, riding a wave of newfound fame, acknowledges he was using a pseudonym all along  —  On a live stream of “QAnon Anonymous” last week, co-host Travis View did something …

Texas officials circulated climate skeptic's talking points on power failures during storm  —  WASHINGTON — As millions of Texans went without power for days during February's devastating storm, Texas oil and gas regulators were circulating talking points from a noted climate skeptic blaming system failures …

The Fight for the Republic  —  IN 2021, THE UNITED STATES failed for the first time in its history to achieve a peaceful transfer of presidential power.  The events of January 6, observes conservative commentator William “Bill” Kristol '73, Ph.D. '79—and the enabling political rhetoric …

Five Thoughts About the Politics of Infrastructure  —  A few points on the politics of the Democrats' infrastructure initiative:  — President Joe Biden keeps trying to do popular things.  Government investment in infrastructure does extremely well in public opinion polls …

Trump's own statements in old lawsuit could haunt him in a future criminal case  —  New York (CNN)Donald Trump once said he calculated his net worth, to a degree, on his “feelings,” and that he put the “best spin” on some of the assets.  —  “I think everybody” exaggerates about the value of their properties.

Will U.S. learn from a $1.7 trillion goof that would have paid for Biden's infrastructure plan?  |  Will Bunch  —  A Ferrari is surely a wonderful sports car, but let's be honest: Most of us couldn't afford the day-to-day maintenance, let alone the sticker price, and these beautiful creatures …