U.S. judge blocks new applicants to program that protects undocumented ‘dreamers’ who arrived as children  —  A federal judge in Texas has largely halted an Obama administration initiative that grants work permits and reprieves from deportation to undocumented immigrants brought to the United States …

‘Just a Friend’ Rapper Biz Markie Dead at 57  —  EXCLUSIVE  —  REMEMBERING BIZ MARKIE  —  Rapper Biz Markie — most famous for his iconic hit “Just a Friend” — has died after a series of complications from diabetes that he's been fighting for more than a year ... TMZ has confirmed.

Senior Biden officials finding that Covid lab leak theory as credible as natural origins explanation  —  Inside the fight to uncover Covid-19's origins  —  Washington (CNN)Senior Biden administration officials overseeing an intelligence review into the origins of the coronavirus now believe …

Convincing the Skeptics  —  Vaccine resisters can't be persuaded if they feel disrespected.  —  here's no doubt that vaccination rates have hit a wall of skepticism: 48.5 percent of the population is fully vaccinated, and 56.1 percent have had at least one dose of the vaccine.

'They're Killing People': Biden Denounces Social Media for Virus Disinformation  —  The president's blunt statement capped weeks of frustration in the White House over the spread of vaccine disinformation on Facebook and other platforms.  —  WASHINGTON — President Biden unleashed …

Vienna Is the New Havana Syndrome Hotspot  —  Roughly two dozen possible new cases have been reported by U.S. spies and diplomats in the Austrian capital, more than in any other city except Havana itself.  —  Since Joe Biden took office, about two dozen U.S. intelligence officers, diplomats …

Officials advise wearing masks in Vegas as COVID cases rise  —  LAS VEGAS (AP) — Masks are back in Las Vegas, after regional health officials on Friday cited a rising number of coronavirus cases and advised everyone — vaccinated or not — to wear facial coverings in crowds and indoor places.

Delta Is Driving a Wedge Through Missouri  —  The summer wasn't meant to be like this.  By April, Greene County, in southwestern Missouri, seemed to be past the worst of the pandemic.  Intensive-care units that once overflowed had emptied.  Vaccinations were rising.

‘Rogue’ U.S. Agency Used Racial Profiling to Investigate Commerce Dept. Employees, Report Says  —  An obscure federal office operated for more than a decade as an “unaccountable police force” inside the Commerce Department, using extreme and unauthorized tactics.

A midterm report on the 2022 midterms  —  FOLLOWING THE MONEY — There are 480 days to go before the 2022 elections.  With control of Congress on the line, House and Senate candidates are already raising staggering sums of money.  Nightly reached out to House campaign reporter Ally Mutnick …

‘A propaganda tool’ for Trump: A second federal judge castigates attorneys who filed a lawsuit challenging the 2020 results  —  Just before Christmas, two Colorado lawyers filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of 160 million American voters, alleging a vast conspiracy to steal the 2020 presidential election …

Monkeypox infection confirmed in North Texas  —  DALLAS, Texas (KWTX) - Dallas County Health and Human Services (DCHHS) on Friday reported the first case of monkeypox in a resident of Dallas County, a case believed to be the first monkeypox virus infection in a Texas resident.

Republican governor says anti-vaccine rhetoric is ‘killing people’ and denounces ‘propaganda’  —  The Republican governor of Utah on Thursday decried “propaganda” spread against coronavirus vaccines, warning that those discouraging immunization are “killing people.”

To Trump's hard-core supporters, his rallies weren't politics.  They were life.  —  What 2020 looked like from the front row on the campaign trail  —  Donald Trump soaked in the adoration as he commanded a rally stage inside a massive central Florida arena.  I stewed in my seat and stopped taking notes.

Sen. Joe Manchin, key Democratic holdout on federal voting protections, coming to Texas for fundraiser hosted by several GOP donors  —  The fundraiser comes just a day after Manchin met with Texas House Democrats on Capitol Hill who are desperate for his support of the congressional efforts …

N.J. woman must remove anti-Biden F-bomb signs or face $250-a-day fines, judge rules  —  Editor's note: This story contains a photo that features profanity.  —  A municipal judge on Thursday ruled that a Roselle Park homeowner's owner's anti- President Biden flags including the F-bomb …

Judge won't let contractor see Capitol Riot grand jury evidence  —  A federal judge has thrown a monkey wrench into the prosecution of more than 500 Capitol riot defendants by denying the Justice Department's request to share grand jury materials with a contractor hired to organize …

Gloria Richardson, fiery civil rights activist in Maryland showdown, dies at 99  —  Gloria Richardson, a firebrand civil rights activist who drew national attention in the early 1960s in a showdown on Maryland's Eastern Shore that presaged the Black Power movement and led to a year-long imposition …

How Biden avoided the F bombs  —  Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration.  With help from Allie Bice.  —  This coming week, Senate Democrats will force an end of sorts to bipartisan negotiations around …

Company That Aims to Solve the ‘Crisis of Toxicity Online’ Makes Money From the Daily Caller and Ben Shapiro  —  Covid conspiracists, climate change deniers, and Ben Shapiro are just a few of the figures you'll find using OpenWeb's tech.  —  Alerts  —  Like just about every other corner of the web …

Kevin McCarthy's odd Trump-worship on Fox News hints at GOP midterm strategy  —  So are Republicans really going to shape their 2022 strategy around the orthodoxy that the Donald Trump presidency was glorious and infallible in just about every conceivable way?

AP: Few Arizona voter fraud cases undercut Trump's claims  —  PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona county election officials have identified fewer than 200 cases of potential voter fraud out of more than 3 million ballots cast in last year's presidential election, undercutting former President Donald Trump's claims …

Trump says Milley should be court-martialed ‘if he said what was reported’  —  Former President Trump said Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley should be court-martialed if it's true that, as reported, Milley thought Trump would orchestrate a coup.