Scoop: “How about zero?”  Manchin, Sanders get heated behind closed doors  —  Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) squabbled behind closed doors Wednesday, with Manchin using a raised-fist goose egg to tell his colleague he can live without any of President Biden's social spending plan, Axios has learned.

Calling Sinema an Obstacle to Progress, 5 Veterans Quit Her Advisory Council  —  The furious members accused the Arizona Democrat of “answering to big donors rather than your own people,” in the latest sign of the political pressure she faces.  —  WASHINGTON — Five veterans tapped …

Mastodon's Founder Says Trump's New Social Network Is Just Mastodon  —  ‘Truth Social’, which will launch officially later in the year, is seemingly using Mastodon's codebase without credit.  —  Joseph Cox  —  Former President Donald Trump's new social network ‘Truth Social’ is seemingly …

Kevin McCarthy or Liz Cheney?  Consultants Forced to Choose  —  The message, delivered by a lobbyist close to the House minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, has already led one Republican firm to cut ties.  —  WASHINGTON — A prominent Washington lobbyist close to Kevin McCarthy …

Justice Dept. Adds Two Top Prosecutors to Matt Gaetz Case  —  The move by the department is a sign of the complex and high-stakes nature of the sex trafficking investigation into Representative Gaetz, a close ally of Donald Trump.  —  The Justice Department has added two top prosecutors …

I Was Wrong About Donald Trump  —  Mr. Brock led one of the largest Democratic super PACs dedicated to defeating Donald Trump in the 2020 election.  Before he became a Democrat, he worked for The Washington Times and the Heritage Foundation.  —  Like most Democrats, I initially underestimated Donald Trump.

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has paid his first voter fraud bounty.  It went to an unexpected recipient  —  Patrick, a Republican, promised to pay $25,000 to any tipster who came forward with evidence of real voter fraud.  He cut his first check this week.  —  AUSTIN — Nearly a year …

White House Knew About Letter That Compared Parents to Domestic Terrorists  —  The country's largest school board association collaborated with the Biden White House before sending a controversial letter calling on the FBI to investigate parents as potential domestic terrorists, according to previously unreported emails.

NIH Admits to Funding Gain-of-Function Research in Wuhan, Says EcoHealth Violated Reporting Requirements  —  A top NIH official admitted in a Wednesday letter that U.S. taxpayers funded gain-of-function research on bat coronaviruses in Wuhan and revealed that EcoHealth Alliance …

At informal ‘bitching’ dinners, Pete Buttigieg donors are chattering about prodding him to run against Kamala Harris in 2024 if Biden backs out  — Democrats publicly insist that Joe Biden will run again in 2024.  — But privately, some Democratic donors are preparing for a post-Biden campaign.

Capitol Rioters in Jail's ‘Patriot Wing’ Have Their Own Rituals and a Growing Fan Base  —  Experts worry that a lack of de-radicalization efforts in jail could mean inmates falling further into the narrative that led to the January 6 violence in the first place.  —  TO

The Methods of Moral Panic Journalism  —  Scare stories on “left-wing illiberalism” display a familiar pattern.  —  During the 1990s, the media convinced Americans that frivolous lawsuits were out of control.  —  The canonical example was the 1994 “McDonald's hot coffee” case.

Biden: Jan. 6 Capitol riot “was about white supremacy”  —  President Biden said Thursday that white supremacy motivated rioters who carried out the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.  —  Driving the news: “The violent, deadly insurrection on the Capitol nine months ago …

What the Loss of Freedom Feels Like  —  From my home in Beirut, I think of Hong Kong all the time.  Even though I've never been and have no real ties to it, I feel as though I have a stake in its future.  I stare at news headlines that read, “Hong Kong Families, Fearing a Reign of Terror …

Photos inside Rikers Island expose hellish, deadly conditions  —  Dozens of men crammed together for days in temporary holding cells amid a pandemic.  Filthy floors sullied with rotten food, maggots, urine, feces and blood.  Plastic sheets for blankets, cardboard boxes for beds and bags that substituted for toilets.

No Proof Anyone ‘Callously’ Took Video of Rape on SEPTA Train, DA Says  —  “That is simply not true.  It did not happen.  We have security video from SEPTA that shows that is not the true narrative,” Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said

Prosecutors: Clark County man touted in Republican election fraud allegations voted his dead wife's ballot  —  A man who once described a ballot being cast in his dead wife's name as “sickening” and was cited by the Nevada Republican Party last November as evidence that massive voter fraud swayed …

This Is What Climate Change Will Look Like In D.C.  —  The Lincoln Memorial, on an island surrounded by churning Potomac waters; Nationals Park, a bathtub surrounded by mid-rise office buildings flooded by the Anacostia River; the Pentagon, accessible by boat, with State Route 110 and the George Washington Memorial Parkway underwater.

Bannon only one of 19 not cooperating with Jan. 6 panel  —  Rise and shine, Early Birds!  T-minus 12 hours until “Dune” lands on a screen near you.  Tips, comments, dad jokes?  We're all ears (no spoilers!): earlytips@washpost.com.  —  On the Hill  —  All the committee's subpoenas …

Superman will no longer champion ‘the American way.’ It's sad, but our nation deserves it.  —  If you were a country aspiring to democracy or an effective COVID response, would you emulate America?  We are not living our best national life.  —  The Superman family is making a lot of news lately.

Biden's support is fading as concerns over the economy and Covid grow, CNBC survey finds  — Just 41% of the public approve of President Joe Biden's job performance, compared with 52% who disapprove, according to the CNBC All-America Economic Survey.  — Fifty percent now approve …

GOP Candidate for CA Sec. of State Claims She Inspired Witch's Murder  —  Rachel Hamm, a candidate for Secretary of State in California, has the backing of major figures in Trumpworld.  She also had a Satanist sacrifice a raven on her lawn.  —  In her bid to be California's Secretary of State …

Gov. Greg Abbott's pick for top Texas election post worked with Trump to fight 2020 results  —  As secretary of state, Fort Worth attorney John Scott would oversee election administration in Texas.  —  Copy link  —  Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday appointed John Scott …

as Sharks Hunt Again  —  Nina Lanctot sprinted toward a calamity she had long ago foretold.  It was mid-September 2018.  Moments earlier, Lanctot, an ocean lifeguard and former collegiate swimmer, was eating lunch in the parking lot at Newcomb Hollow, a beach in the town of Wellfleet on Outer Cape Cod.

White House, intelligence agencies, Pentagon issue reports warning climate change threatens global security  —  As the United States and nations around the world struggle to blunt the effects of rising temperatures and extreme weather, sweeping assessments released Thursday by the White House …