Report Cites New Details of Trump Pressure on Justice Dept. Over Election  —  A Senate panel fleshed out how Donald Trump pursued his plan to install a loyalist as acting attorney general to pursue unfounded reports of fraud.  —  WASHINGTON — Even by the standards of President Donald J. Trump …

POLITICO Playbook: Why McConnell backed down  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  HUNTER BIDEN showcased his art to about 200 people at Milk Studios in Hollywood, Calif., The Daily Mail's Josh Boswell reports.  Guests included “World Champion boxer SUGAR RAY LEONARD ... Los Angeles Mayor ERIC GARCETTI” …

U.S. Troops Have Been Deployed in Taiwan for at Least a Year  —  Small presence of Americans secretly training local forces marks concern over China's yearslong military buildup and recent moves  —  WASHINGTON—A U.S. special-operations unit and a contingent of Marines have been secretly operating …

Scoop: Sanders' Sinema spat  —  Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) withheld support for a joint statement condemning last weekend's protests against Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) because it also wouldn't include a rebuke of her political views, Axios has learned.  —  Why it matters …

The foul-mouthed farmer sticking his neck out for Democrats' agenda  —  When Jon Tester returned from a White House meeting last month, Amy Klobuchar congratulated him for his “nice quote” about the debt ceiling.  —  As Klobuchar read back Tester's expletive-infused words, he recalled protesting: “'Come on.

Many Jan. 6 rally organizers poised to comply with committee, top Trump aides expected to rebuff  —  The House committee probing the Jan.6 attack issued 11 subpoenas last week.  —  Many of the 11 individuals linked to the pro-Trump rally that preceded the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol …

Pfizer Asks F.D.A. to Authorize Its Covid-19 Vaccine for Children 5 to 11  —  The agency has promised to move quickly on the request and has tentatively scheduled a meeting at the end of the month to consider it.  —  WASHINGTON — Pfizer and BioNTech said on Thursday morning …

Federal Judge Pauses Strict Texas Law Banning Most Abortions  —  A sharply worded ruling sided with the Justice Department, which sued to block the measure last month after the Supreme Court declined to intervene.  —  WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Wednesday granted the Justice Department's request …

Americans' Trust in Media Dips to Second Lowest on Record  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans' trust in the media to report the news fully, accurately and fairly has edged down four percentage points since last year to 36%, making this year's reading the second lowest in Gallup's trend.

Patient, Donor Denied Kidney Transplant Surgery Over Being Unvaccinated  —  AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - A Colorado woman with stage 5 renal failure was months away from getting a new kidney.  Now, she and her donor are looking for another hospital after learning UCHealth's new policy.

Boston Cop Who Bragged About Running Down Protesters Back On Full Duty  —  He's awaiting discipline, but will not be fired  —  The Boston Police sergeant who was caught bragging on camera about running down protesters during the George Floyd demonstrations on May 31, 2020 has been reinstated to full active duty.

De Blasio misused NYPD security detail for campaign trips, children, probe finds  —  NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio misused his security detail to assist his ill-fated presidential campaign and ferry his children around, according to a probe by the city Department of Investigation.

Anyone Seen Tether's Billions?  —  A wild search for the U.S. dollars supposedly backing the stablecoin at the center of the global cryptocurrency trade—and in the crosshairs of U.S. regulators and prosecutors.  —  In July, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen summoned the chair of the Federal Reserve …

Virginia's elections will be the most telling political test yet of stringent Covid policies  —  Charlottesville, Virginia (CNN)The off-year elections in Virginia this November will serve as possibly the most revealing test of whether strict coronavirus policies, like vaccine mandates and mask requirements …

The Liberal Activist Who Targets Republicans With a MAGA Masquerade  —  Pretending to be like-minded, Lauren Windsor has generated headlines by coaxing conservatives like Tommy Tuberville and Glenn Youngkin into making revealing statements about their views.  —  Mike Pence told her, “I love your heart.”

“I Sleep Well at Night”: Suzanne Scott on Running Fox News  —  Twenty-five years after its founding, a sit-down with the CEO of America's most watched and most polarizing network, whose employees laud her for cleaning up a toxic workplace even as critics assail the channel for spreading misinformation and undermining democracy.

‘The intelligence was there’: Law enforcement warnings abounded in the runup to Jan. 6  —  On Dec. 24, a private intelligence company that works with law enforcement issued a grave warning: Users of a pro-Trump internet forum were talking about turning violent on Jan. 6.

How AT&T fuels right-wing extremists  —  One America News (OAN), a right-wing propaganda network that promotes unhinged conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, COVID, and other topics, relies almost exclusively on funding from AT&T. Court records first obtained by Reuters reveal that AT&T is responsible for 90% of OAN's revenue.

Former officials Nuñez, Boxer and Villaraigosa lead exodus from powerful lobbying firm  —  Former prominent Democratic elected officials Fabian Nuñez, Barbara Boxer and Antonio Villaraigosa led the mass resignations from one of the state's most powerful lobbying firms, Mercury Public Affairs.

Welcome to Slack Tide  —  Konnichiwa.  Or as my English-speaking readers prefer, “hello.”  I'm Matt Labash, and welcome to Slack Tide, my brand spanking-new Substack.  Just saying those words makes me feel like a honking cliché.  Not the Matt Labash part.  There aren't many of us.

America Is Running Out of Everything  —  The global supply chain is slowing down at the very moment when Americans are demanding that it go into overdrive.  —  About the author: Derek Thompson is a staff writer at The Atlantic, where he writes about economics, technology, and the media.

Durham Probes Pentagon Computer Contractors in Anti-Trump Conspiracy  —  Above, ‘Tech Executive-1’ alludes to leaving his job last month amid John Durham's Russia probe.  —  Cybersecurity experts who held lucrative Pentagon and homeland security contracts and high-level security clearances …

Joy Hofmeister to flip parties, challenge Kevin Stitt for governor in 2022 … State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister is running for governor — as a Democrat.  —  The 57-year-old lifelong Republican told the Tulsa World in an exclusive interview that she is changing her party registration …