Iranian Operatives Planned to Kidnap a Brooklyn Author, Prosecutors Say  —  Masih Alinejad spoke critically of her native country's autocracy.  Now an Iranian intelligence official and three others have been indicted in New York.  —  An Iranian American journalist living in Brooklyn …

Ken Starr, Brett Kavanaugh, Jeffrey Epstein and Me  —  As a former professional partisan, I never thought I'd look back decades to my political beginnings and find the map that points to our current moment, when there is serious doubt whether the democracy we took for granted at the time will continue to exist.

Biden names Arizona Republican Jeff Flake as his ambassador pick for Turkey  —  Ronald J. Hansen Yvonne Wingett SanchezArizona Republic  —  President Joe Biden intends to nominate former Sen. Jeff Flake as ambassador to Turkey, putting the Arizona Republican on the front lines diplomatically …

William Barr clashes with former Trump appointee from Pa. over handling of election-fraud claims  —  A war of words broke out Tuesday among former senior Justice Department officials over Pennsylvania politics and the aftermath of the 2020 election, fueled by former president Donald Trump's release …

There's a Word for What Trumpism Is Becoming  —  “I became worse.”  That's how double impeachment changed him, Donald Trump told a conservative audience in Dallas last weekend, without a trace of a smile.  This was not Trump the insult comic talking.  This was the deepest Trump self.

Democrats unveil $3.5T go-it-alone plan to fulfill Biden's agenda  —  Senate Democrats announced a top line budget number late Tuesday that will propel their plan to enact the full array of President Joe Biden's social welfare and family aid promises without Republican votes.

Sacha Baron Cohen, Showtime win dismissal of Roy Moore defamation lawsuit  —  British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen on Tuesday won the dismissal of a $95 million defamation lawsuit by Roy Moore, a former U.S. Senate candidate from Alabama who claimed he was tricked into being portrayed falsely …

Trump said whoever ‘leaked’ info on his White House bunker stay should be ‘executed,’ new book claims  —  Then-President Donald Trump told a number of his advisers in 2020 that whoever leaked information about his stay in the White House bunker during protests last June had committed treason …

DeSantis' anti-riot law didn't apply as Cuba protesters shut down a Miami-Dade road.  Hmmm . . .  Gov. DeSantis should have just laid it on the line when a reporter asked about the hundreds upon hundreds of Cuban-American demonstrators and their supporters who shut down a portion of the Palmetto Expressway in Miami-Dade County.

The Atlantic thrived through Trump and the pandemic.  The future is harder.  —  Nicholas Thompson, the chief executive of The Atlantic, gave a presentation to employees last month in which he disclosed some uncomfortable truths about the state of the magazine.

Texas House Republicans vote to track down absent Democrats and arrest them if necessary  —  The procedural move carries little apparent weight since the Democrats who fled the state to break quorum are beyond the jurisdiction of Texas law enforcement.  —  Copy link

Former Banker Found Guilty of Bribery Tied to Paul Manafort Loans  —  Stephen Calk sought a Trump administration post as his bank approved $16 million for Manafort properties  —  A federal jury in Manhattan convicted a former bank executive on charges that he helped arrange $16 million …

Faced with rare protests, Cuba curbs social media access, watchdog says  —  Cuba has restricted access to social media and messaging platforms including Facebook and WhatsApp, global internet monitoring firm NetBlocks said on Tuesday, in the wake of the biggest anti-government protests in decades.

Newsmax vouches for vaccines after host Rob Schmitt says shots are ‘against nature’  —  “From time to time, a guest or host may not be as supportive of these efforts,” the conservative network said.  “However, they do not reflect the position of Newsmax.”  —  Rob Schmitt, a primetime host …

New York takes conservative approach counting virus deaths  —  ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The federal government's count of the COVID-19 death toll in New York has 11,000 more victims than the tally publicized by the administration of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, which has stuck with a far more conservative approach to counting virus deaths.

Going back to school on Palestinian textbooks  —  It would be an understatement to say that the Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research in Germany has written the book on how to analyze textbooks.  The Institute has actually published many books — ones that are meticulous, detailed, and dispassionate.

What the Hell Happened to the Claremont Institute?  —  [A printable PDF of this article is available here.]  —  Just before 11 o'clock on the morning of January 6—an hour before President Donald Trump began riling up his “Save America” rally in front of the White House …

Tennessee vaccine official's story reveals an ugly truth about GOP and children's rights  —  State fires vaccine chief after she shares policy about vaccinating teens  —  Jill Filipovic is a journalist based in New York and author of the book “OK Boomer, Let's Talk: How My Generation Got Left Behind.”

For white evangelical Protestants, the degradation of democracy is not regrettable.  It's desirable  —  The point is rule by God's chosen.  —  3 hr ago  —  Members of the pundit corps seem to believe white evangelical Protestants (WEPs) have politicized their faith.

‘I Alone Can Fix It’ book excerpt: Inside Trump's Election Day and the birth of the ‘big lie’ … Finally, Election Day had arrived.  The morning of Nov. 3, 2020, President Trump was upbeat.  The mood in the West Wing was good.  Some aides talked giddily of a landslide.

Norwegian Cruise Lines sues state of Florida over vaccine passport ban  —  The CEO previously threatened to move its ships out of Florida over the ban.  —  Norwegian Cruise Lines is suing Florida after the state banned vaccine passports, saying it cannot safely resume sailings without ensuring …

The good and the bad in Biden's blistering attack on GOP voter suppression  —  President Biden just delivered a slashing indictment of the GOP's ongoing assault on democracy in a speech in Philadelphia, and it contained good news and bad news.  —  The good news is that Biden went further …

Youngkin to skip marquee debate over moderator's donation to Clinton Bush Haiti Fund  —  RICHMOND — Republican Glenn Youngkin will skip what is typically the premier debate of the Virginia governor's race, saying he objects to the moderator, PBS NewsHour host Judy Woodruff …

Inside the secret plan for the Texas Democratic exodus: A phone tree, a scramble to pack and a politically perilous trip  —  They activated the plan with a phone tree late Sunday: Pack your bags — and make sure they weigh no more than 45 pounds.  Be ready to leave Austin at noon tomorrow.

‘A Real Disquiet’: FTC Staff Attorneys Are Job Hunting … Seeing a pile of resumes already, several leaders of law firm antitrust practices are predicting many more government attorneys heading for private practice in the coming months as a new-look Federal Trade Commission forms under the leadership of chairperson Lina Khan.

Sorry NYT, Joe Biden isn't Boring  —  Treating Biden's consequential presidency as ‘boring’ reveals the worst elements of Trump-era political journalism  —  There is a certain type of political analysis piece that seems designed to spark debate amongst the political media elites …

'We're Not Teaching Sodomy In 6th Grade': GOP Nominee For N.J. Governor Wants To End LGBTQ Curriculum  —  The Republican nominee for governor in New Jersey, Jack Ciattarelli, is vowing to roll back school curricula that centers LGTBQ inclusivity, falsely claiming that “sexual orientation” …

Transcript: Vice President Harris On Voting Rights, The Filibuster And The Courts  —  Vice President Harris is leading the Biden administration's efforts on voting rights.  She spoke to NPR White House correspondent Asma Khalid on Tuesday ahead of President Biden's address on the issue …