Sinema doesn't support Democrats' $3.5T bill, clinches bipartisan infrastructure deal  —  Sen. Kyrsten Sinema does not support Democrats' $3.5 trillion budget plan that aims to deliver major components of President Joe Biden's economic agenda that Democrats hope to pass after moving …

Trump allies blame conservative leader for failed Texas endorsement  —  Susan Wright's defeat in a Republican runoff dealt a blow to Trump's aura of invincibility as a GOP kingmaker.

McConnell aims to boost U.S. Republican vaccination rate by countering ‘bad advice’  —  U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell blamed misinformation for the low rates of COVID-19 vaccination among Americans, which are fueling a rise in coronavirus cases, particularly in Republican-dominated states.

The CDC's Unforced Error  —  On the menu today: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Biden administration make a critical error by recommending vaccinated Americans put on the masks again; sorting through who's still not vaccinated and why; figuring out Simone Biles's early withdrawal …

DOJ fires warning shot against ‘unusual’ post-election ballot reviews  —  The Justice Department on Wednesday issued another warning aimed at states conducting or considering audits of ballots tallied in last year's election, reminding election authorities that allowing ballots to be mishandled can violate federal law.

Turns Out Mo Brooks Was Wearing Body Armor to Trump's Very Peaceful Jan. 6 Rally  —  Rep. Mo Brooks may be done with Jan. 6, but Jan. 6 isn't done with him.  —  The Alabama representative, notorious for his speaking role at the Jan. 6 rally leading up to the invasion of the Capitol …

Jared Kushner to leave politics, launch investment firm - sources  —  Jared Kushner, a top adviser to former President Donald Trump, plans to launch an investment firm in coming months, a move that will take him away from politics for the foreseeable future, sources familiar with the plan said on Wednesday.

As Trump pushed for probes of 2020 election, he called acting AG Rosen almost daily  —  President Donald Trump called his acting attorney general nearly every day at the end of last year to alert him to claims of voter fraud or alleged improper vote counts in the 2020 election, according to two people familiar with the conversations.

Our democracy is under attack.  Washington journalists must stop covering it like politics as usual.  —  Back in the dark ages of 2012, two think-tank scholars, Norman Ornstein and Thomas Mann, wrote a book called “It's Even Worse Than It Looks” about the rise of Republican Party extremism and its dire effect on American democracy.

Who's Behind Dallas Justice Now's 'Don't Send White Kids to Ivy League' Controversy?  —  As soon as Casie Tomlin found the FedEx envelope in her mailbox, she knew something looked fishy.  Inside, a flyer from a group called Dallas Justice Now urged parents in Dallas' wealthy — and largely white …

Byron York's Daily Memo: What Jim Jordan would have said  —  Welcome to Byron York's Daily Memo newsletter.  —  Was this email forwarded to you?  Sign up here to receive the newsletter.  —  WHAT JIM JORDAN WOULD HAVE SAID.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi famously banned Republican Rep. Jim Jordan …

Ben & Jerry's Founders on the Company's Israel Policy  —  Mr. Cohen and Mr. Greenfield founded Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings in 1978.  —  We are the founders of Ben & Jerry's.  We are also proud Jews.  It's part of who we are and how we've identified ourselves for our whole lives.

The New Moral Code of America's Elite  —  Every striver who ever slipped the rank of their birth to ascend to a higher order has shared the capacity to ingratiate themselves with their betters.  What the truly exceptional ones have in common is the ability to connect not only with their superiors …

Gentle Encouragement Wasn't Going to Be Enough  —  Here's something I almost never say: The NFL is right.  —  When pro football announced last week that it will impose stiff penalties on teams that experience a COVID-19 outbreak involving unvaccinated players, it exposed a serious vaccination divide among its athletes.

Study Cited By CDC To Justify New Mask Guidance Rejected By Peer Review, Based On Vaccine Not Used In US  —  At least one of the studies that was cited by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to justify changing their guidance on masks was based on a vaccine that is not authorized …

ATF Agents Corroborate Existence of Racial Complaint Against Biden Director Nominee, Fear Reprisals and Hit to Agency Effectiveness  —  Multiple ATF sources back up the existence of a complaint alleging President Biden's nominee to lead ATF, David Chipman, made racist comments during his previous stint at the agency.

Lauren Boebert throws ‘mask in the face of a floor staffer’ as she fumes over ‘totalitarian’ House rules: report  —  Colorado GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert doesn't like masks, as evidenced by her COVID-denialist rhetoric and her history of defying mask mandates in the House chamber.

What Do These People Think About Gawker Coming Back?  —  If you are reading this, it means Gawker is back.  We reached out to some of our favorite writers, artists, policymakers, and billionaires to ask them how that makes them feel.  Below are their answers.

Least persuadable unvaccinated Americans are largely white and Republican  —  Parents are heavily resistant to the vaccine.

Don Lemon blasts man who harassed Tucker Carlson in viral video  —  CNN anchor Don Lemon ripped the man who accosted Tucker Carlson in a Montana fly fishing shop, saying he had no right to invade the Fox News host's “personal space.”  —  The liberal Lemon offered his surprising take during his CNN program …

The intellectual right contemplates an ‘American Caesar’  —  Jan. 6 was a badly planned rehearsal for the real deal  —  How does ideological change happen?  Why do certain political ideas and possibilities that appear outrageous and even unthinkable at one moment in history come to be considered options worth taking seriously?

Conor Lamb preparing to launch Senate run in August  —  Rep. Conor Lamb is expected to launch a Senate campaign in August, according to three sources familiar with the Pennsylvania Democrat's decision.  —  Two sources said Lamb is planning a campaign event on Aug. 6 at an International Brotherhood …