Tennessee abandons vaccine outreach to minors — not just for COVID-19  —  The Tennessee Department of Health will halt all adolescent vaccine outreach - not just for coronavirus, but all diseases - amid pressure from Republican state lawmakers, according to an internal report and agency emails obtained by the Tennessean.

Drug overdoses soared to a record 93,000 last year  —  Deaths from drug overdoses soared to more than 93,000 last year, a staggering record that reflects the coronavirus pandemic's toll on efforts to quell the crisis and the continued spread of the synthetic opioid fentanyl in the illegal narcotic supply …

Senate Democrats reveal $3.5 trillion plan to invest in health care, climate change and more … WASHINGTON — Senate Democratic leaders announced an agreement Tuesday evening to advance a $3.5 trillion spending plan to finance a major expansion of the economic safety net.

Ken Starr's Completely Inexcusable Career Has a New Chapter Titled ‘Jeffrey Epstein’  —  If there is a less excusable human being walking upright than Ken Starr, head huntsman of the Great Penis Chase of 1998, then I'm hard pressed to think of who it is.  Since his salacious moment in the national spotlight, Starr has presided over a

How Tucker Carlson became the voice of White grievance  —  Tucker Carlson huddled in a low-ceilinged dungeon that had served as a holding pen for Africans bound for enslavement in the United States.  It was a July day in 2003 in Ghana, and Carlson stood alongside some of America's most prominent civil rights leaders.

Inside Facebook's Data Wars  —  Executives at the social network have clashed over CrowdTangle, a Facebook-owned data tool that revealed users' high engagement levels with right-wing media sources.  —  One day in April, the people behind CrowdTangle, a data analytics tool owned by Facebook, learned that transparency had limits.

George W. Bush calls withdrawal of U.S. and other NATO troops from Afghanistan “a mistake”  —  Former President George W. Bush on Wednesday criticized the withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan and said civilians were being left to be “slaughtered” by the Taliban.

‘We are seeing people passing quicker than before’: What hospitals look like in US Covid hot spots  —  (CNN)Dr. Sergio Segarra says when Covid-19 patient numbers in the Miami hospital he works in dipped below 20 last month, he began feeling optimistic.  —  “I remember seeing articles …

‘He wished he had gotten the vaccine:’ Local man battling COVID-19 from ICU for months  —  GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Blake Bargatze, 24, was the only one in his family to not get vaccinated and now he remains in a hospital ICU more than three months after contracting COVID-19, according to his family.

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.

Terry McAuliffe Fundraises for Virginia Dem Who Served Time for Underage Sex  —  McAuliffe takes ‘politically expedient’ route after calling on Dem to resign  —  Five years after calling on him to resign, Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe spoke at a fundraiser …

Norwegian Cruise Line sues Florida over prohibition on vaccine requirements.  —  The fight over requiring vaccinations for travel is heating up.  —  Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings sued Florida's surgeon general on Tuesday, accusing the state of preventing it from “safely and soundly” …

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 …

Bolsonaro in hospital as hiccups persist for more than 10 days  — President, 66, to be observed by doctors for next 48 hours  — Speculation grows over health of Brazil's far-right leader  —  The Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has been admitted to hospital complaining of abdominal pain …

Facebook Seeks Recusal of FTC Chairwoman in Antitrust Case  —  Social-media giant follows Amazon in citing Lina Khan's tech criticisms, congressional work to question her impartiality  —  WASHINGTON— Facebook Inc. sought the recusal of Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Lina Khan …

Critical Race Theory Is a Hustle  —  It may resemble a serious academic discipline, but it's really just a fancy argument for racial preferences.  —  A majority of American fourth- and eighth-graders can't read or do math at grade level, according to the Education Department.

Inside the Industry That Unmasks People At Scale  —  Unique IDs linked to phones are supposed to be anonymous.  But there's an entire industry that links them to real people and their address.  —  Joseph Cox  —  Tech companies have repeatedly reassured the public that trackers used …

Facebook staffers were told by execs to scrap any mention of Russia in a 2017 white paper on the platform's security concerns: ‘We started to feel like we were part of a cover-up’  — Facebook's 2017 white paper initially mentioned Russian election interference, a new book says.

Emails Reveal Cops Fanned Flames as FBI Debunked Antifa Hoax  —  LIE SEASON … Wildfires are back and could be worse than ever.  Just don't tell the cops manufacturing wild rumors about how they start.  —  On Sept. 11, 2020, the same day the Federal Bureau of Investigation released …

New Book Details Eric Trump ‘Flipped Out’ On Election Night  —  Donald Trump's son reportedly screamed at campaign aides as his father's lead against Joe Biden narrowed, according to Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker's new book.  —  Eric Trump “flipped out” on the night of the 2020 election …

Schumer Will Propose Federal Decriminalization of Marijuana  —  Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, will offer draft legislation to remove marijuana from the list of controlled substances and begin regulating and taxing it.  —  WASHINGTON — Senator Chuck Schumer of New York plans …

HEALTH THE “PRO-LIFE” PARTY'S LONG FIGHT AGAINST VACCINES  —  The GOP's opposition to preventative measures, like mask-wearing and vaccines, didn't begin with COVID.  Ten years ago, they weaponized another vaccine in a bid for the Republican presidential nomination, and recast themselves as the Death Cult Party.

Billionaire Phil Anschutz and his wife are suing Colorado for a tax refund.  How much they want is a secret.  —  Anschutz and his wife, Nancy, claim that changes in the federal tax code made through the CARES Act entitle them to lower taxes in previous years