U.S. Intel Walks Back Claim Russians Put Bounties on American Troops  —  It was a huge election-time story that prompted cries of treason.  But according to a newly disclosed assessment, Donald Trump might have been right to call it a “hoax.”  —  It was a blockbuster story about Russia's return …

Decision to pause Johnson & Johnson vaccine causes public confidence in vaccine to sink  —  Economist/YouGov Poll Politics & current affairs  —  Fieldwork for the latest Economist/YouGov poll on vaccine safety perceptions was in the midst of being conducted when the Centers for Disease Control …

Biden Finally Got to Say No to the Generals  —  Critics be damned, the President is ending the Forever War waged by Bush, Obama, and Trump in Afghanistan.  —  On Wednesday, Joe Biden announced the close of the two-decade-long American war in Afghanistan, giving the U.S. military a deadline …

Introducing the 2021 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index  —  The Cook Political Report is pleased to introduce the post-2020 edition of the Partisan Voter Index (PVI) for all 50 states and 435 congressional districts.  Although these district boundaries won't be in place …

Tucker Carlson villainizes journalists on his top-rated show.  Then the threats pour in.  —  As the Fox host's popularity grows, he has found fodder in lesser-known media figures whom he presents as symbols of liberalism-run-amok.  —  Brandy Zadrozny, a reporter for NBC News who covers online extremism …

Democrats to introduce bill to expand Supreme Court from 9 to 13 justices  —  WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats will introduce legislation Thursday to expand the Supreme Court from nine to 13 justices, alongside progressive activists pushing to transform the high court.

CDC Identifies Small Group of Covid-19 Infections Among Fully Vaccinated Patients  —  Incidence is rare, occurring in only 0.008% of cases and in line with expectations  —  The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified a small cohort of approximately 5,800 cases …

Biden Sparks Greater Party, Education Gaps Than Predecessors  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Joe Biden's job approval ratings during his first two full months in office show greater divisions by party and educational attainment than those of his recent predecessors.

17 requests for backup in 78 minutes  —  A reconstruction shows how failures of planning and preparation left police at the Capitol severely disadvantaged on Jan. 6  —  At 1:13 p.m. on Jan. 6, a D.C. police commander facing a swelling crowd of protesters on the west side of the U.S. Capitol …

J.D. Vance tells associates he plans to run for Senate in Ohio  —  J.D. Vance, venture capitalist and author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” has told friends and colleagues that he plans to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Axios has learned from multiple sources.

We spoke with 21 of Matt Gaetz's high-school classmates.  Some say they could have predicted the congressman's sex scandal.  — Some of Matt Gaetz's former classmates spoke exclusively with Insider about his high school days.  — Gaetz, now 38, had a reputation as a know-it-all who talked over his classmates and teachers.

Introducing Substack Local, for a new generation of local news  —  Today, we're announcing Substack Local, a US$1,000,000 initiative to foster and develop the local news ecosystem by helping independent writers build local news publications based on the subscription model.

Accused Capitol rioter planned an escape to Switzerland, prosecutors said.  Now he'll stay in jail.  —  When Jeffrey Sabol returned to his Colorado home after allegedly storming the U.S. Capitol and assaulting two police officers on Jan. 6, he fried his electronic devices in the microwave …

Christie to GOP Study Group: Call Biden Out as ‘a Liar’  —  Republicans are bloodied and beaten, and maybe just a little too bashful for their own good.  At least, so says Chris Christie.  —  Knocked back on their heels and forced to answer for every outrageous thing Donald Trump did …

'We Just Can't Do This Anymore'  —  Business owners who want to hire workers are finding it impossible to compete with the pandemic relief packages' enhanced unemployment payments.  —  4 hr ago  —  WATERVILLE, Ohio—On a typical pre-pandemic Monday morning, Dale's Diner would be buzzing.

House panel approves bill to create commission on slavery reparations  —  A House committee on Wednesday approved legislation to create a commission to make recommendations on paying reparations to the descendants of enslaved people, the furthest the bill has advanced since it was first introduced more than 30 years ago.

Inside Nancy Pelosi's War With AOC and the Squad  —  Adapted from Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi and the Lessons of Power, to be published by Twelve Books on April 20.  —  “Nancy doesn't have much patience for people who don't know what they don't know.”  —  That was what a senior congressional …

3 teachers resign after investigation into slavery lesson at Sun Prairie middle school  —  An external investigation into a lesson asking sixth-graders at a Sun Prairie middle school in February how they would punish a slave led to three teachers at the middle school resigning.

Matt Gaetz's Wingman Paid Dozens of Young Women—and a 17-Year-Old  —  VEN-UH-OH … Venmo payment records reveal a vast network of young women received money from Rep. Matt Gaetz's associate, the accused sex trafficker Joel Greenberg.  —  As new details emerge about Rep. Matt Gaetz's role …

Leaked chats reveal ‘National Guardsman’ and White Lives Matter organizer is forming new fascist group that wants a race war  —  The organizer of the aborted White Lives Matter rally in Raleigh, NC claims to be a National Guard member who wants to launch an “aboveground fascist movement,” …

Kristen Clarke, Bigot and Liar  —  Having sworn to answer all questions truthfully, in an appearance Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, President Joe Biden's nominee to lead the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division offered a series of answers that strained credulity and veered into outright falsehood.

The End of the Insider Party Network  —  The pipeline from corporate America and Democratic insider circles into government is being challenged.  —  Then-Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a photo opportunity with others including former staffer Ricki Seidman, far left, December 2013, at the White House.