As Budget Bill Hangs in Limbo, Kyrsten Sinema Heads to Europe  —  With the Senate out of session, Ms. Sinema, the Democratic senator from Arizona, has been in Europe on a fund-raising trip.  —  Senator Kyrsten Sinema, the moderate Arizona Democrat who has objected to the size and scope …

January 6 panel moves to hold Steve Bannon in criminal contempt  —  (CNN)The committee investigating the January 6 Capitol Hill riot announced Thursday it is moving forward to hold Trump ally Steve Bannon in criminal contempt for refusing to comply with a subpoena, as his game of chicken …

Trump calls in to rally hosted by Bannon for Virginia GOP candidates  —  RICHMOND — Virginia gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin steered clear Wednesday night as former president Donald Trump phoned into a rally for the state's GOP ticket, headlined by onetime Trump adviser Stephen K. Bannon.

A Secretive Hedge Fund Is Gutting Newsrooms  —  The Tribune Tower rises above the streets of downtown Chicago in a majestic snarl of Gothic spires and flying buttresses that were designed to exude power and prestige.  When plans for the building were announced in 1922, Colonel Robert R. McCormick …

Nicholas Kristof Leaves New York Times as He Considers a Political Run  —  Mr. Kristof, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, is weighing a run for governor of Oregon, the state where he grew up.  —  After 37 years at The New York Times as a reporter, high-level editor and opinion columnist …

Microsoft Folds LinkedIn Social-Media Service in China  —  LinkedIn cites challenging operating environment, as retreat marks the biggest departure from China by a major tech company in years  —  Microsoft Corp.'s LinkedIn said it would shut the version of its professional-networking site …

Anti-Trump Republicans endorsing vulnerable Democrats to prevent GOP takeover  —  A group of anti-Trump Republicans on Thursday endorsed a slate of Democrats and centrist Republicans in the 2022 midterms to fight against the former president's hold on the party.

The Republicans Running to Support Donald Trump  —  Don Bolduc, a retired Army general and current U.S. Senate candidate from New Hampshire, is one of many political aspirants who believe that the 2020 election was stolen.  —  Across the country, candidates who support Donald Trump's false claims …

Opinion on the use of puberty blockers in America is turning  —  Even members of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health have some concerns  —  Worries about the use of puberty blockers, which are prescribed to some children to prevent the development of secondary sex characteristics …

Justice Alito complains, but the evidence is clear: This Supreme Court was built by dark money  —  And so it is — for big Republican donors  —  Justice Samuel Alito wants desperately for us to believe that everything is just fine at the Supreme Court.  Indeed, in his view the court is a victim.

How a $2 Million Condo in Brooklyn Ends Up With a $157 Tax Bill  —  Opaque methods, hypothetical numbers and ‘bonkers’ adjustments shift the property-tax burden toward middle- and working-class New Yorkers  —  A condo in Brooklyn's fashionable Williamsburg neighborhood sells for $2.15 million.

Americans Revert to Favoring Reduced Government Role  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans have shifted back to favoring a more hands-off approach for government in addressing the nation's problems after a rare endorsement of a more active role last year.  Currently, 52% say the government …

Alex Murdaugh Charged With Swindling Sons of Dead Housekeeper  —  Mr. Murdaugh, the scion of a legal dynasty in South Carolina, is accused of pocketing a $2.8 million settlement intended for the housekeeper's family.  —  Alex Murdaugh, the South Carolina lawyer who has endured …

Winter heating bills set to jump as inflation hits home  —  With prices surging worldwide for heating oil, natural gas and other fuels, the U.S. government said Wednesday it expects households to see their heating bills jump as much as 54% compared to last winter  —  Supply chain issues threaten holiday goods

He's the Whistleblower Who Brought Down Trump's EPA Chief.  Now He's Driving an Uber  —  He exposed Scott Pruitt's corruption.  So why is Kevin Chmielewski's life ruined while the official he brought down continues to escape justice?  —  When Kevin Chmielewski emerged from the FBI's fortress …

Amazon Puts Its Own “Brands” First … Above Better-Rated Products  —  The online giant gives a leg up to hundreds of house brand and exclusive products that most people don't know are connected to Amazon  —  It took Robert Gomez about five months to get his Kaffe coffee grinder …

Trump must give videotaped deposition in protest lawsuit, judge orders  —  The protest followed Trump's calling Mexican immigrants criminals and rapists.  —  Former President Donald Trump must sit for a videotaped deposition next week as part of a lawsuit involving his anti-immigrant rhetoric, a judge in the Bronx ordered.

SCOTUS changed oral arguments in part because female justices were interrupted, Sotomayor says  —  (CNN)Justice Sonia Sotomayor told an audience Wednesday that recent changes in the format of oral arguments were instituted in part after studies emerged showing that female justices on the court …

Seminal ‘Diversity = Profits’ Research Doesn't Fare Well Under the Microscope  —  Above, from McKinsey's ‘Diversity Wins’ research, which is drawing skeptical scholarly scrutiny.  —  At last year's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the head of Goldman Sachs announced a new policy …

Radical Green Groups Put Profits Before Planet  —  , AUTHOR AND DISTINGUISHED VISITING FELLOW, HERITAGE FOUNDATION  —  I've been warning for years about the dangers of the “climate change industrial complex.”  By this I mean the perversion of science and government policy decisions resulting …

Calls intensify to end Wisconsin's election review amid blunders by ex-judge in charge  —  The glaring errors became clear soon after a former Wisconsin judge issued subpoenas earlier this month in a Republican review of the state's 2020 presidential election.  Some of the requests referred to the wrong city.

This scrupulous biography of Robert E. Lee is exactly what the country needs  —  In 1935, the year before Margaret Mitchell's magnolia-scented novel “Gone with the Wind” began 21 months on bestseller lists, Douglas Southall Freeman, the son of a veteran of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's legions …

Loudoun County student accused in sexual assaults at two county schools, sparking outrage from parents  —  A teen accused of sexually assaulting a fellow student at a Loudoun County high school in May is also accused in a second sexual assault less than five months later at another county high school …

White House zeroes in on Califf to head FDA as deadline nears  —  The emergence of the former commissioner as the finalist was confirmed by several people with knowledge of the discussions.  —  The White House is closing in on former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Robert M. Califf …

5 killed, 2 injured in bow and arrow attack in Norway, considered terrorism  —  KONGSBERG, Norway — A man armed with a bow and arrows killed five people and injured two others Wednesday in the Norwegian town of Kongsberg, authorities said.  —  “The man has been apprehended …

Even Broadway's ‘Hamilton’ Not Safe: Performer Accuses Play of Anti-Trans Bias  —  A former Hamilton cast member on Wednesday accused the Broadway musical of anti-transgender bias, according to a claim filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  —  The performer, Suni Reid …

Joe Rogan forces Dr. Sanjay Gupta to admit CNN shouldn't have called his COVID treatment ‘horse dewormer’  —  'Do you think that that's a problem that your news network lies?'  Rogan asked the CNN correspondent  —  Media jumps on Joe Rogan coronavirus news

The right-wing operatives orchestrating the attack on America's school boards  —  Judd Legum, Tesnim Zekeria, and Rebecca Crosby  —  The nation's school boards are under attack.  Frequently things are getting out of hand: … The people showing up at these meetings are enraged about COVID policies and Critical Race Theory.

Verizon Asks Employees to Help Kill Corporate Tax Increase … Despite earning record profits and paying one of the lowest effective tax rates — and for several years even a negative tax rate — Verizon is asking its employees to tell Congress to oppose a corporate tax increase favored by the Biden administration.

Ted Sarandos Doubles Down on Dave Chappelle Defense: 'Content Doesn't Directly Translate to Real-World Harm' (EXCLUSIVE) … Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos sent a lengthy missive to the entire company following the mounting controversy around a new original special from comic Dave Chappelle.