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.

The Democratic Civil War Has a Winner: Donald Trump  —  Biden's agenda is up against more than just the moderates-versus-progressives split.  —  First, the good news.  The government did not shut down at midnight.  New covid infections in the United States have fallen twenty-five per cent over the past couple weeks.

Ozy Media Says It Is Shutting Down  —  The digital media start-up had come under scrutiny for its business practices in recent days following articles in The Times.  — Read in app  —  Ozy Media, the digital media company that came under scrutiny for its business practices in recent days …

Merck pill seen as ‘a huge advance’, raises hope of preventing COVID-19 deaths  —  An antiviral pill developed by U.S. drugmaker Merck & Co (MRK.N) could half the chances of dying or being hospitalized for those most at risk of contracting severe COVID-19, with experts hailing it as a potential breakthrough in how the virus is treated.

Newsom orders COVID vaccines for eligible students, the first K-12 school mandate in nation  —  In the first such action in the nation, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a mandate Friday requiring all eligible public and private schoolchildren in California to be vaccinated against COVID-19 …

Wonking Out: Biden Should Ignore the Debt Limit and Mint a $1 Trillion Coin  — Read in app  —  It's hard to believe now, but before Donald Trump became the G.O.P.'s presidential nominee in 2016, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida was widely seen as a champion of the “reformicons” …

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.

National Divorce Is Expensive, But It's Worth Every Penny  —  The National Divorce discussion prepares the ground for crucial thinking about what comes next in America, as the country grows even more divided, bitter, and angry.  —  For the last several years, I've been among a handful of commentators …

SHOCK POLL: Majority of Trump Voters Now in Favor of Seceding from the Union  —  A shocking new poll from the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia reveals that over half of Trump voters surveyed, and 41% of Biden voters, are in favor of blue and/or red states seceding from the union.

Joe Manchin Just Cooked the Planet  —  The senator won't quit fossil fuels and is going to neuter the reconciliation bill — and we're all going to pay the price  —  West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin just cooked the planet.  I don't mean that in a metaphorical sense.  I mean that literally.

USPS is about to charge you more for slower mail.  Here's why. … Delivery slowdowns at the U.S. Postal Service take effect Friday, and higher prices are soon to follow.  The nation's mail service is preparing to implement core components of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's 10-year plan for the agency …

Trump Extremists Brought Numerous Guns on January 6, Evidence Shows  —  For more than eight months, Republican lawmakers have sought to rewrite the harrowing events of January 6.  They have continually whitewashed the assault on the US Capitol despite copious footage showing mobs …

Alex Jones must pay damages to Sandy Hook families after calling shooting a ‘giant hoax,’ judge rules  —  Alex Jones, the right-wing conspiracy theorist and founder of Infowars, is responsible for all damages in two lawsuits stemming from his false claims that the Sandy Hook school shooting was a “giant hoax,” a judge ruled this week.

Far-Right Boogaloo Admits Posing as BLM Supporter While Shooting Up Minneapolis Cop Station  —  MOLE  —  A member of the far-right Boogaloo Boys had admitted he traveled from Texas to Minneapolis in the wake of George Floyd's death and posed as a Black Lives Matter supporter while wreaking havoc on the city.

The Target of an Alleged Proud Boys Plot Has Been Found Murdered in El Mirage  —  Members of the Proud Boys, a far-right group of “western chauvinists.”  —  A man who allegedly was the previous target of a surveillance and assassination plot by a former attorney for the Proud Boys …

Alito's political broadside against Supreme Court critics — and how it misfires  —  Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. issued a remarkably forceful rebuke to critics of the Supreme Court on Thursday.  He defended the court's use of the “shadow docket” to make significant decisions …

Dershowitz, ‘Stop the Steal’ Lawyer Team Up for New Dominion Lawsuit  —  In a complaint reviewed on Friday, eight poll challengers in Michigan allege that the cease and desist letters they received from Dominion harmed and damaged them.  —  A key “Stop the Steal” attorney who tried …

The Jolt: State Capitol statue for Clarence Thomas gaining steam  —  A proposal to display a statue of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on the statehouse grounds is gaining traction among Georgia Republicans.State Sen. Jason Anavitarte, who said it's “only fitting and proper” …

Fact check: Did the Marine who Trump brought on stage at rally actually hoist a baby over a wall at Kabul airport?  —  Washington (CNN)During a rally in Georgia over the weekend, former President Donald Trump invited Lance Cpl. Hunter Clark to the stage, implying he was the Marine in a viral video …

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.