Cracking the Sinema code  —  Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's political allies have some free advice for anyone trying to bully the wine-drinking triathlete into supporting President Biden's $3.5 trillion budget bill: She doesn't play by Washington's rules — and she's prepared to walk away.

How Jared and Ivanka Hijacked the White House's Covid Response  —  The year 2020 started on a promising enough note for the president, at least considering all we'd endured the previous three years.  The economy was good, the impeachment effort on Ukraine looked like a dud and the polls were decent.

Dissension at the Supreme Court as justices take their anger public  —  (CNN)Supreme Court justices have revealed a new level of defensiveness and anger in recent weeks, showing irritation with public expectations, the news media and one another.  —  The extraordinary public display extends beyond …

The Conservatives Dreading—And Preparing for—Civil War  —  “Let me start big.  The mission of the Claremont Institute is to save Western civilization,” says Ryan Williams, the organization's president, looking at the camera, in a crisp navy suit.  “We've always aimed high.”  A trumpet blares.

Ozy Built a TV Show on a False Claim, Says Its Former Producer  —  Producers say they were led to believe they were making a talk show for A&E, which said no to the program.  “You are playing a dangerous game with the truth,” the top producer wrote in his resignation email.  — Read in app

Pill Intended to Be Covid-19's Tamiflu Succeeds in Key Study  —  Drug from Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics cut risk of hospitalization or death by 50% in early look at progress  —  Merck & Co. and its partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP said their experimental Covid-19 pill helped …

“God's will is being thwarted.”  Even in solid Republican counties, hard-liners seek more partisan control of elections.  —  The political battle in one Texas county where Trump got 81% of the vote offers a rare view into the virulent distrust and unyielding pressure facing elections administrators.

Trump Extremists Brought Numerous Guns on January 6, Evidence Shows  —  Rioters at the Capitol carried concealed pistols, allegedly stockpiled weapons nearby, and called for overthrowing the US government.  —  Fight disinformation.  Get a daily recap of the facts that matter.

Portugal has nearly run out of people to vaccinate.  What comes next?  —  LISBON — Portugal's vaccination campaign is almost over now, and it has exceeded even the wildest goals.  Nearly an entire nation trusted in the science, officials say.  At mass immunization centers, just the last trickle of teenagers is passing through.

Alex Jones Just Lost 2 Sandy Hook Cases  —  A judge issued default judgments — a rarity in the legal world — against Jones and Infowars after the conspiracy theorist failed to produce discovery records.  —  Infowars host Alex Jones has lost two of several lawsuits filed against him by relatives …

Special ops troops ‘hunkered down’ in California airport hangar after nighttime ninja attack  —  A sword-wielding man dressed as a ninja attacked several special operations soldiers who were training at a California airport, reportedly forcing them to shelter in a hangar and inflicting wounds that required stitches.

POLITICO-Harvard poll: Drug price negotiation is Americans' top priority  —  Americans support letting the government negotiate drug prices above all the other major priorities in the infrastructure and social spending packages now before Congress, according to a new POLITICO-Harvard poll …

Vaccination rates for New York health-care workers rise after mandate … A New York state mandate that took effect this week, requiring health-care workers to be vaccinated against the deadly coronavirus, has boosted the immunization rates of care providers, to the relief of officials …

The price of living near the shore is already high.  It's about to go through the roof.  —  As FEMA prepares to remove subsidies from its flood insurance, a new assessment says 8 million homeowners in landlocked states are at risk of serious flooding because of climate change

Oh Look, COVID-19 Hospitalization Rates in the Northern States Are Increasing  —  October is here, the weather is getting a little cooler, schools are reopened, and people will start spending more time indoors.  And this morning, updated figures from the U.S. Department of Health …

Biden's approval slumps after a slew of crises: AP-NORC poll  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden's popularity has slumped after a slew of challenges in recent weeks at home and abroad for the leader who pledged to bring the country together and restore competence in government …

Ransomware attack might have caused another death  —  Welcome to The Cybersecurity 202!  It's officially Cybersecurity Awareness Month.  So if you're starting October reading this, you're way ahead of the game.  —  Below: The FCC wants to get tough on SIM-swapping and some hacks …

The epic COVID-19 memorial on the National Mall, in one stunning photo  —  4,882 photos taken over 30 hours.  More than 670,000 flags representing American lives lost.  An incalculable measure of grief.  —  BYRACHEL HARTIGAN  —  For more than 30 hours, photographer and National Geographic …

Biden's Slide With Key Voters: Momentary Blip or Danger Sign?  —  Polls show women and other reliably Democratic voters have soured on the president's performance, raising questions about the causes of dissatisfaction.  — Read in app  —  President Biden's approval rating …

Why is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pushing to add even more benefits to Democrats' shrinking $3.5 trillion spending plan?  Part II … Yesterday I reviewed the recent demands by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and her liberal colleagues that unemployment insurance (UI) …

POLITICO Playbook: Another big day for Biden's presidency: What to watch  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  NO DEAL — So much for that make-or-break Thursday vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill (aka BIF).  Speaker NANCY PELOSI delayed the roll call just before 11 p.m. after a flurry …

Biden's memory hole  —  I must return to the subject of President Joe Biden's falsehoods.  Despite devoting this space last week to “White House Whoppers,” it's necessary to discuss our chief executive's dishonesty further, for it's been glaringly exposed again, this time by the military brass.

The Debt Limit Chronicles, Sept. 30  —  Believe it or not, this is a largely positive entry.  —  This is a streamlined, video-centric, and mainly positive (!) update.  For previous installments, with all the background details I am skipping this time, see those from September 24, September 26, and September 28.

Gun Maker Smith & Wesson to Move Headquarters to Tennessee  —  Decision follows other gun manufacturers' relocation to Southern states  —  Gun maker Smith & Wesson Brands Inc. is moving its corporate headquarters from Massachusetts to Tennessee, joining other firearms manufacturers …

Germany's election casts U.S. democracy in harsh light  —  You're reading an excerpt from the Today's WorldView newsletter.  Sign up to get the rest, including news from around the globe, interesting ideas and opinions to know, sent to your inbox every weekday.  —  It's a scenario that ought to feel familiar to many Americans.

More Than Half of Police Killings Are Undercounted, New Study Says  —  Researchers comparing information from death certificates with data from organizations that track police killings in the United States identified a startling discrepancy.  — Read in app

House Delays Vote on Infrastructure Bill as Democrats Feud  —  A liberal revolt left Democrats short of votes, but leaders insisted they would bring up the measure again on Friday, giving them more time to reach a deal on a separate climate and safety net bill.  — Read in app

The Biden family's secrets  —  After seven Senate terms and three runs for president, Joe Biden has mastered his folksy image.  But behind “the Delaware way” are secrets in Joe's family tree and son Hunter's foreign deals.  National political correspondent Ben Schreckinger tells Playbook's Ryan Lizza …

This Is Why We Need to Spend $4 Trillion  — Read in app  —  I've spent the last few weeks in a controlled fury — and I'm not normally a fury kind of guy.  Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi and others are trying to pass arguably the most consequential legislative package in a generation …

Number of unvaccinated United staff drops from 593 to 320 after airline said it would fire them  — United Airlines told its 67,000 U.S. employees in August that they must be vaccinated against Covid-19 by this fall.  — More than 96% complied with the mandate, and 2,000 sought exemptions.

Joe Biden's rapid retreat on climate ambitions  —  Rejecting a higher carbon price means renouncing the most effective tool for cutting emissions  —  Everyone talks about the weather, goes the quip, but nobody does anything about it.  Joe Biden billed himself as the long-awaited departure …

Fox News Poll: Tight race for Virginia governor  —  The survey, released Thursday, was conducted September 26 through September 29 among Virginia registered voters  —  McAuliffe says parents shouldn't choose their children's curriculum  —  Virginia voters give Democrat Terry McAuliffe …

USPS set to start slowing some mail delivery  —  Mail delivery for many Americans will slow starting on Friday, part of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's blueprint for overhauling the U.S. Postal Service in order to slash costs.  But critics say the slower delivery standards could cause problems …

In Search of African Arabic  —  The majority of the world's Arabic speakers inhabit Africa and its diasporas.  So why is much of continental Africa absent in Arabic language curricula?  —  Vaughn Rasberry is associate professor of English at Stanford University and academic director …