Manchin proposed $1.5T top-line number to Schumer this summer  —  Joe Manchin proposed a deal to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer this summer to limit the total cost of Democrats' sweeping spending bill to $1.5 trillion, according to a copy of the agreement obtained by POLITICO.

Durham issues fresh round of subpoenas in his continuing probe of FBI investigation into Trump, Russia  —  Washington (CNN)Special Counsel John Durham has issued a new set of subpoenas, including to a law firm with close ties to Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign, an indication that Durham …

Leader of Prestigious Yale Program Resigns, Citing Donor Pressure  —  The historian Beverly Gage, who has run the Grand Strategy course since 2017, says the university failed to stand up for academic freedom amid inappropriate efforts to influence the curriculum.

Why I Am Suing UCLA  —  I refused to discriminate against my students.  Then the problems began.  —  Recently, I was suspended from my job for refusing to treat my black students as lesser than their non-black peers.  —  Let me back up: I teach at UCLA's Anderson School of Management, and I've been doing this for 40 years.

Senate to vote this week on Rohit Chopra, Biden pick to lead CFPB  —  The Senate is expected to vote this week on the nomination of Rohit Chopra, President Joe Biden's choice to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.  —  This week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer filed cloture …

Covid is killing rural Americans at twice the rate of people in urban areas  —  Unvaccinated Covid patients still overwhelming health care workers  —  Rural Americans are dying of Covid at more than twice the rate of their urban counterparts — a divide that health experts say is likely …

US Marine who says he rescued baby at Kabul airport investigated for appearing at Trump rally [Updated]  —  ​​A Marine who says he saved a baby in Kabul by lifting the infant over the walls outside Hamid Karzai International Airport is now under investigation for appearing on stage …

Harris' office does damage control over student's Israel ‘ethnic genocide’ comment  —  Vice President Kamala Harris' office is working behind the scenes to mend relationships with pro-Israel Democrats after not pushing back on a student who, in asking her a question, accused Israel of “ethnic genocide.”

A Border Town's Democratic Mayor Has Had Enough  —  The Democratic mayor of Laredo, Texas, slammed President Joe Biden's immigration policy, alleging that his party has no plan to fix the southern border and has abandoned local communities in favor of massive spending proposals for other interest groups.

Kristi Noem cuts ties with adviser Corey Lewandowski after donor alleged unwanted sexual advances  —  South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has severed ties with political strategist Corey Lewandowski, following allegations reported by POLITICO that Lewandowski made unwanted sexual advances toward a woman at a recent fundraising event.

Sharon Osbourne says Carlos Watson lied when he claimed the Osbournes invested in Ozy Media after court fight  — Ozy Media founder Carlos Watson boasted on CNBC in 2019 that Ozzy Osbourne and Sharon Osbourne had invested in his company.  It was a lie, according to Sharon Osbourne.

Rep. Dan Crenshaw bypassed Capitol security, police say.  He's the latest lawmaker to be hit with a $5,000 fine.  —  Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Tex.) must pay a $5,000 fine for skipping security procedures as he entered the Republican cloakroom inside the U.S. Capitol last week …

New Initiative Explores Deep, Persistent Divides Between Biden and Trump Voters  —  The University of Virginia Center for Politics has partnered with Project Home Fire, a new initiative dedicated to finding common ground in American politics, on an innovative new data analytics and polling project …

Biden's Approval Rating Recovers Some From Last Month's Low, An NPR Poll Finds  —  Since the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan a month ago, President Biden's approval rating has recovered some in the latest NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll.  —  Last month, just 43% of survey respondents approved …

Hack Of Oath Keepers Militia Group Includes Names Of Active NYPD Officers, De Blasio Launches Investigation  —  New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's office said it will scrutinize NYPD ranks following a WNYC/Gothamist investigation of online records that appears to tie several …

Pompeo: Sources for Yahoo News WikiLeaks report ‘should all be prosecuted’  —  Former CIA Director and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday called for the criminal prosecution of sources who spoke to Yahoo News  —  for a story detailing proposals by the intelligence agency …

Top Republicans rub shoulders with extremists in secretive rightwing group, leak reveals  —  Wealthy entrepreneurs and media moguls also named on membership list for influential Council for National Policy  —  A leaked document has revealed the membership list of the secretive Council for National Policy …

Matthew Dowd once urged ‘White male Christians’ like himself to ‘step back,’ allow women, minorities to lead  —  'Let's put the country first and our fellow humans ahead of our own egos,' Dowd told his demographic peers  —  Liberal pundit-turned-politician Matthew Dowd once called for …

Bice: Multimillionaire U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson paid a mere $2,105 in state income taxes in 2017, despite making big bucks  —  U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson has pushed back on any suggestion that wealthy individuals, such as himself, should be paying more in income taxes.

Houston, epicenter of Harvey damage, still would get $0 under Texas' latest disaster aid plan  —  Harris County and the city of Houston this week blasted the Texas General Land Office's revised plan for distributing billions in federal Hurricane Harvey aid, saying that while it is an improvement …

A Declassified State Department Report Says Microwaves Didn't Cause “Havana Syndrome”  —  Noises linked to mysterious injuries among US diplomats in Cuba were most likely caused by crickets — not microwave weapons — according to a declassified scientific review commissioned by the US State Department and obtained by BuzzFeed News.

Shakira says wild boars in Barcelona attacked her and stole her purse  —  Grammy Award-winning singer Shakira says two wild boars pounced on her bag as she visited a Barcelona park with her son, running off into the forest with it.  —  In a series of videos posted to her Instagram story Wednesday …

the facebook files  —  Facebook Inc. knows, in acute detail, that its platforms are riddled with flaws that cause harm, often in ways only the company fully understands.  That is the central finding of a Wall Street Journal series, based on a review of internal Facebook documents …

Bezos Wants to Create a Better Future in Space.  His Company Blue Origin Is Stuck in a Toxic Past.  —  We are a group of 21 former and current employees of Blue Origin.  Many of us have spent our careers dreaming of helping to launch a crewed rocket into space and seeing it safely touch back down on Earth.

Idaho Secretary of State refutes Mike Lindell's statewide election manipulation claims  —  BOISE, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — Staff from the Idaho Secretary of State's office visited two Idaho counties last week following receipt of information that alleged statewide manipulation of Idaho's election results.

IG Horowitz discovers more FBI abuses of FISA process  —  A bad day for FBI Director Wray  —  Today, DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz issued a damning new report on the FBI's “Execution of its Woods Procedures for Applications Filed with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Relating to US Persons.”

Stephanie Grisham's Book Won't Save Her From Her Sins  — Read in app  —  Mr. Bruni is a contributing Opinion writer who was on the staff of The Times for more than 25 years.  —  I did not and will not crack open the cover of Stephanie Grisham's White House memoir …