In sentencing regretful Capitol protester, federal judge rebukes Republicans  —  U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth castigated Republican lawmakers on Wednesday for downplaying the violence of the mob that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, saying in handing down the first sentence …

Staving Off G.O.P. Attacks, Democrats Show New Urgency on Crime  —  A strong showing by Eric Adams in the New York mayoral race and President Biden's announcement of a new crime-fighting agenda signal a shift by Democrats toward themes of public safety.  —  Facing a surge in shootings …

Senators say a deal with the White House is in hand on infrastructure  —  A group of bipartisan senators said Wednesday evening that they had agreed with the White House on a framework for an infrastructure package and will brief President Joe Biden in person Thursday on the details.

Biden administration removes Rodney Scott as head of U.S. Border Patrol  —  The Biden administration has forced out the head of the U.S. Border Patrol, Rodney Scott, clearing a path for a leadership overhaul at an agency strained by a 20-year-high in illegal border crossings …

Cindy McCain is Biden's choice for ambassador to the U.N.'s food program.  —  President Biden announced Wednesday that he was nominating Cindy McCain, the widow of former Senator John McCain, as ambassador to the United Nations World Food Programme, giving the post to a longtime Republican friend …

Read Britney Spears' Full Statement Against Conservatorship: ‘I Am Traumatized’ … I just got a new phone, and I have a lot to say, so bear with me.  Basically, a lot has happened since two years ago, the last time — I wrote all this down — the last time I was in court.  —  I will be honest with you.

U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse releases statement regarding membership to Bailey's Beach club  —  NEWPORT — U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse released a statement late Wednesday afternoon regarding the controversy he is a member of an elite private beach club that has been questioned about the lack of diversity in its membership.

A Former NRA President Was Tricked Into Speaking At A Fake High School Graduation  —  In a speech to the James Madison Academy 2021 graduating class, David Keene, a former NRA president and current board member of the gun rights group, called on the teens to fight those looking to implement tighter gun restrictions.

General Milley pushes back on G.O.P. accusations of a ‘woke’ military.  —  Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, pushed back on Wednesday against suggestions from a Republican congressman that the military was becoming too “woke,” calling such accusations “offensive” …

‘A lot of people are jaded’: Dems despair amid D.C. gridlock  —  Efforts to forge a bipartisan gun control deal in the Senate have fallen apart.  A sweeping Democratic elections reform bill has failed.  A self-imposed White House deadline for a police reform bill has come and gone.

John McAfee found dead of apparent suicide in Spanish jail after court approves his extradition for tax crimes  — Eccentric antivirus software company founder John McAfee was found dead of suspected suicide in a jail in Barcelona, Spain.  — McAfee died shortly after Spain's National Court approved …

Lord of the Roths: How Tech Mogul Peter Thiel Turned a Retirement Account for the Middle Class Into a $5 Billion Tax-Free Piggy Bank  —  The Secret IRS Files  —  Billionaire Peter Thiel, a founder of PayPal, has publicly condemned “confiscatory taxes.”  He's been a major funder …

Right-Wingers Who Demanded Kamala Harris Visit the Border Are Now Mad She's Going  —  After shouting for months that Harris needed to go to the border, conservatives on Wednesday complained that her announced visit is a “complete mistake.”  —  Republican officials and right-wing media stars …

Out-group animosity drives engagement on social media  —  aDepartment of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3RQ, United Kingdom;  —  bDepartment of Psychology, Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003  — Edited by James N. Druckman …

Democrats hear calls to nix recess  —  Democratic senators are starting to say the August recess, or at least part of it, should be in peril as the party falls further behind on its legislative agenda.  —  Bipartisan infrastructure talks have bogged down, and Senate Democrats …

Curtis Sliwa gives an inside look of what life is like with 15 cats  —  It's the purrrfect apartment.  —  The Post got an exclusive look inside Curtis Sliwa's tiny Upper West Side studio apartment Wednesday — after the newly minted GOP mayoral nominee revealed that he and his wife share the space with 15 rescue cats.

The Shark Attack Party  —  How panic porn shapes our politics  —  In the Before Times, you could always tell that it was a slow news day when we got lots of stories about the crisis of shark attacks.  Even now, we have a taste for the panic porn.  —  Fox News News reports: “Shark attack prompts dramatic rescue at Florida beach.”

Secret Service paid Trump to stay at his N.J. golf club while protecting him as president.  Here's the total bill.  —  The U.S. Secret Service spent more than $500,000 over the last four years at Donald Trump's Bedminster golf club, taxpayer funds that went directly to the former president's business.

‘The Tea Party to the 10th power’: Trumpworld bets big on critical race theory  —  Former top aides to President Donald Trump have begun an aggressive push to combat the teaching of critical race theory and capitalize on the issue politically, confident that a backlash will vault them back into power.

Jesse Jackson, William Barber arrested protesting filibuster and Manchin  —  The Rev. Jesse Jackson, right, was arrested alongside the Rev. William Barber II during the protest on June 23, 2021, outside the Hart Senate Building.  RNS photo by Jack Jenkins  —  WASHINGTON (RNS) …

California Governor to Face Recall, Second in State History  — Enough voter signatures are certified to trigger race  — Resentment over pandemic fueled drive to remove Democrat  —  It's official: There will be a recall election of California Governor Gavin Newsom this year.

Benigno Aquino III, Who Led Philippine Growth Spurt, Dies at 61  — Son of the country's first female leader also become president  — Oversaw highest GDP growth in decades, stood up to China  —  Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, the former Philippine president who oversaw the fastest period …

A Socialist Claims a Historic Victory in Buffalo  —  “A well-meaning group of rebels and revolutionaries” just put a democratic socialist on track for the top job in a major American city.  —  Hours after election results delivered India Walton a solid lead in her Democratic primary bid …

When will Biden realize that liberals won the marijuana debate?  —  You can put the genesis of the American culture war about as far back as you want: to the Civil War, or to pretty much the first time White people set foot in this land.  But most directly, it dates to the tumult of the 1960s.

Fox News Poll: Majority believes COVID-19 leaked from lab in China  —  No direct scientific evidence has been made public that conclusively proves either perspective  —  Newly resurfaced report from U.S. scientists says Wuhan lab leak theory is ‘plausible’

REPORT: Brian Stelter's Wife Accused Of Workplace Bullying  —  CNN host Brian Stelter's wife has been accused of workplace bullying by anonymous colleagues, according to a New York Magazine report published Wednesday.  —  The piece claims there was an alleged hostile work environment at the news station, NY1.