Democrats quietly scramble to include immigration provision in social spending bill  —  Democrats are scrambling intensely behind-the-scenes to address immigration in the framework they are crafting to expand the nation's social safety net, according to people with knowledge of the situation …

McAuliffe and Youngkin are in a dead heat with one week to Virginia governor election, poll shows  —  Phillip M. Bailey David JacksonUSA TODAY  —  Virginia's bellwether race for governor remains close in the final stretch of a campaign that is testing President Joe Biden's sagging approval numbers going into the 2022 midterms.

Jan. 6 investigators privately question Bannon associate  —  Dustin Stockton, a conservative activist linked to Steve Bannon, is fielding questions Monday from congressional investigators scrutinizing the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, according to two sources familiar with the interview.

In case at center of political firestorm, judge finds teen committed sexual assault in Virginia school bathroom  —  In a case that has generated a political firestorm, a Virginia juvenile court judge found sufficient evidence during a trial Monday to sustain charges that a teen sexually assaulted …

Five points for anger, one for a ‘like’: How Facebook's formula fostered rage and misinformation … Five years ago, Facebook gave its users five new ways to react to a post in their news feed beyond the iconic “like” thumbs-up: “love,” “haha,” “wow,” “sad” and “angry.”

Dave Chappelle Willing to Discuss ‘The Closer’ With Trans Community, but Says He's 'Not Bending to Anybody's Demands' … Dave Chappelle has spoken out about the controversy over his Netflix special “The Closer” in a new stand-up video, saying that he is willing to meet with transgender Netflix employees …

In advance of climate summit, tension among Biden aides on China policy  —  In the early summer, with less than five months to go before a critical United Nations climate conference in Scotland, John F. Kerry told President Biden that he wouldn't achieve his goal of tackling climate change …

White House rejects latest Trump claim of executive privilege  —  The White House is rejecting more claims of executive privilege from former President Trump over documents requested by the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol, directing the National Archives …

Immigration arrests fell to lowest level in more than a decade during fiscal 2021, ICE data shows  —  Immigration arrests in the interior of the United States fell in fiscal 2021 to the lowest level in more than a decade — roughly half the annual totals recorded during the Trump administration …

Covid Cases Keep Falling  —  Covid cases have been falling in every region of the U.S., offering hope.  —  It is time for one of The Morning's occasional updates on the state of the pandemic.  Today's is focused on the U.S. and organized around three main points.  —  1. Covid's retreat continues

Texas governor signs bill banning transgender girls from female sports in schools  —  Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Monday signed into law a bill banning transgender girls from participating in female sports at public schools, joining a wave of similar measures emerging from Republican-controlled statehouses across the country.

Miles donations are providing flights for Afghan refugees  —  A campaign that began with ordinary people donating frequent-flyer miles has raised enough in two months to provide 40,000 flights for refugees from Afghanistan, and organizers and the White House are looking to nearly double that figure.

Want to Know More About Critical Race Theory?  Look at Virginia's Schools—For More Than 75 Years  —  Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin was raised on official, state-taught racism.  I should know.  So was I.  —  Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin has decided …

Amazon strikes deal with UK spy agencies to host top-secret material  —  Cloud contract for GCHQ, MI5 and MI6 with US tech group aims to speed analysis but likely to ignite sovereignty fears  —  The UK's three spy agencies have contracted AWS, Amazon's cloud computing arm …

Weekly Update: #COVID19 case & death rates by county, partisan lean & vaccination rate  —  Here's the weekly look at the rate of COVID-19 cases & deaths at the county level since the end of June, broken out by partisan lean (i.e, what percent of the vote Donald Trump received in 2020).

Thanksgiving Food Prices Increase as Supply Chain Costs Rise  —  Nearly every ingredient, from the turkey to the after-dinner coffee, is expected to cost more, for a host of reasons.  —  Thanksgiving 2021 could be the most expensive meal in the history of the holiday.

15 races to watch on Election Day  —  New York City's mayor.  New Jersey's governor.  Boston's mayor.  And a primary that will surely decide the future of a Democratic stronghold House seat in Florida.  —  Election Day 2021 is an “off year” across the U.S., and it has mostly drawn attention …

‘Woke Racism’—A Review  —  A review of Woke Racism: How a New Religion Has Betrayed Black America by John McWhorter.  Portfolio, 224 pages.  (October, 2021)  —  If you had told someone a decade ago—after the election of the first black president, and in anticipation …

First on CNN: Biden administration expected to name GOP official who challenged Trump's lies to key election security role  —  Washington (CNN)The Biden administration is expected to name Kim Wyman, a Republican secretary of state who challenged former President Donald Trump's false claims of election fraud …

Jury Selection In The “Unite The Right” White Supremacist Trial Involved A Lot Of Arguing Over Antifa  —  CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia — Much of the first day of a long-awaited trial to hold two dozen white supremacist figures and groups accountable for the violent “Unite the Right” …

The Facebook Papers Are a Big Fat Nothingburger  —  More than a dozen mainstream media organizations published reports today on the so-called Facebook Papers, a trove of internal company documents obtained and released by former Facebook employee Frances Haugen.  The headlines promised dramatic revelations and damning indictments.

Why is Anthony Fauci trying to kill my puppy?  —  My family recently got a new puppy, a strong-willed and mouthy but ultimately lovable little nipper.  We named him Bernie Sanders.  —  Unfortunately, though, I can't take Bernie out on walks.  Here in the capital, we have a puppy killer on the loose …

Why ‘Evangelical’ Is Becoming Another Word for ‘Republican’  —  Mr. Burge, an assistant professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University and a Baptist pastor, has written extensively about the interaction of religion and politics.  —  The conventional wisdom about religion …

A Scottish Judge Could Expose Donald Trump's Shady Golf Finances  —  Donald Trump has long seemed to offer conflicting financial pictures to the U.S. and U.K. when it comes to his Scottish golf courses.  A judge might be able to offer new insight.  —  A judge in Scotland will hold …

Joe Manchin's Surefire Strategy to Ensure That Democrats Lose in 2022  —  If Democrats appease Manchin and fail to act on the climate crisis, they will lose a vital appeal to the young voters they need to win.  —  If Joe Manchin gets what he wants in negotiations with the Biden White House …