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.

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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

DeSantis calls for special Florida legislative session to fight Biden's vaccine mandate  —  TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday called for a special legislative session to block the Biden administration's vaccine mandates, taking the most aggressive action yet in his ongoing fight with the White House over Covid restrictions.

How Many Users Does Facebook Have?  The Company Struggles to Figure It Out  —  Internal research finds that new users with multiple accounts are undercounted, ‘very prevalent’; some are unintentional  —  Facebook Inc. is struggling to detect and deal with users' creating multiple accounts …

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.

Senate candidates J.D. Vance and Blake Masters: We must stop Facebook from election meddling  —  You probably remember where you were on Nov. 8, 2016.  And you surely remember what you saw that evening: the American political establishment melting down in realtime.

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 …

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

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 …

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.

“He's Making Real Money for the First Time in His Life”: Mike Pence Is Already Cashing In on His Potential 2024 Run  —  The former veep and his wife are living their best lives: traveling widely, making bank on the speaking circuit, and residing in one of Indiana's toniest suburbs.

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 …

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 …

A Judge Said It Was “Offensive” That A Man Who Threatened Democrats And “Tech Execs” On Jan. 6 Claimed To Be A Victim Of Racism  —  WASHINGTON — A Texas man who posted on the social network Parler on Jan. 6 urging supporters of former president Donald Trump to “go hunting” for Democrats …

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 …

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.