At least five former Trump White House staffers are talking to the House January 6 committee  —  Pelosi: Those who defy Jan 6 subpoenas should go to jail  —  (CNN)At least five former Trump administration staffers have voluntarily spoken with the House committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, CNN has learned.

Dave Chappelle Says Hannah Gadsby Is ‘Not Funny.’ The Laughter At Her Show Taping Suggests Otherwise  —  “Not only did I laugh, but I laughed so hard I might have peed a little,” one audience member told Jezebel.  —  Alerts  —  As Dave Chappelle moves into his third week of defending his Netflix special …

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.”

Virginia on the Brink  —  I grew up in Northern Virginia; right along border between McLean and Falls Church.  My springs were spent at McLean Little League.  I spent the fall rooting for a football team whose name no longer exists.  —  My Saturday mornings were spent at Temple Rodef Shalom, struggling through Hebrew school.

Top Democrats aim to strike a deal on Biden's social spending plan within hours  — Democratic leaders said they were closer than ever to reaching a deal on President Joe Biden's plan to invest in the social safety net and climate programs.  — Agreement on the bigger Democratic bill …

Longtime Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin describes sexual assault by US senator  —  Revelation of incident ‘buried’ by Abedin contained in new memoir Both/And, to be published next week  —  Huma Abedin, a longtime close aide to Hillary Clinton, has written in a new book that she was sexually assaulted …

Men shot by Rittenhouse can be described as ‘rioters’ and ‘looters’ but not ‘victims,’ judge rules ahead of trial  —  Kyle Rittenhouse's lawyers can refer to the men he shot as “rioters” and “looters,” but prosecutors still may not call them “victims” at any time during the teen's upcoming murder trial, a judge ruled Monday.

Exclusive: Billionaires back new media firm to combat disinformation  —  A new public benefit corporation backed by billionaires Reid Hoffman, George Soros, and others is launching Tuesday to fund new media companies and efforts that tackle disinformation.  —  Why it matters …

Mort Sahl, Whose Biting Commentary Redefined Stand-Up, Dies at 94  —  A self-appointed warrior against hypocrisy, he revolutionized comedy in the 1950s by addressing political and social issues.  —  Mort Sahl, who confronted Eisenhower-era cultural complacency with acid stage monologues …

Dozens denied absentee ballots in Linn County due to shorter request period  —  CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Changes to Iowa voting laws have caught some off guard, with the deadline to request an absentee ballot for the November 2 election already passing a week ago.

The Poison Frog Strategy  —  Preventing a Chinese Fait Accompli Against Taiwanese Islands … Introduction  —  How could Taiwan and the United States respond if China seized one of Taiwan's outlying islands, such as Pratas/Dongsha (hereafter Dongsha) in the South China Sea?

The Department of Justice Is Letting the Coup Plotters Get Away  —  While Congress is investigating the events of January 6, why isn't the DOJ doing the same—and more?  —  Early yesterday, Rolling Stone published an explosive report which claims two of the people who helped plan the January 6 …

'It's absolutely getting worse': Secretaries of state targeted by Trump election lies live in fear for their safety and are desperate for protection  —  (CNN)"I am a hunter — and I think you should be hunted," a woman can be heard saying in a voicemail left for Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs in September.

Scoop: Biden plan expected to include at least $500B for climate  —  The White House is privately telling lawmakers the climate portion of President Biden's roughly $2 trillion social spending plan is “mostly settled” and will likely cost more than $500 billion, two sources familiar with the talks tell Axios.

‘Reasonable questions’ over financing of Donald Trump's Scottish resorts, court hears  —  There are “reasonable questions” surrounding the money used by Donald Trump to purchase his Scottish properties and the continuing source of the wealth used for their financing, a court has heard.

Why I'll Keep Saying ‘Pregnant Women’  —  Who can get pregnant?  It sounds like a trick question.  For centuries, English speakers have talked about “pregnant women” without a second thought, but a vocal and growing movement wants to replace that phrase with the more inclusive pregnant people.

Pro-Trump Professors Are Plotting an Authoritarian Comeback  —  On Halloween, the second National Conservatism conference, or NatCon II, will kick off in Orlando, Florida.  It is hard to know quite what to make of the lineup for the three-day fest, which boasts a few household names …

Twitter Data Has Revealed A Coordinated Campaign Of Hate Against Meghan Markle  —  Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have long cited social media toxicity as a factor in their decision to step back from royal life.  And now, an analysis of more than 114,000 tweets about the couple …

Four Measures That Are Helping Germany Beat COVID  —  Having grown up in Germany, I am skeptical of the popular notion that life is so much more rational and efficient in the country than it is anywhere else.  Those who believe that Germans are incapable of irrationality should suggest imposing a speed limit on the country's highways.

Sinema backs corporate minimum tax proposal  —  Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) voiced support for a proposal for a minimum tax on corporate profits as her party weighs the measure as a potential revenue raiser for its sweeping social spending plan.  —  “This proposal represents …

Axios-Ipsos poll: Confidence in Biden COVID recovery tumbles  —  Confidence in President Biden's ability to rescue the economy from COVID-19 has dropped since January, even as Americans' faith rises in his ability to make the vaccine widely accessible, according to the latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index.

A Short History of Conservative Trolling  —  David Frum, the former George W. Bush speechwriter and current never-Trump conservative, recently wrote, “The post-Trump right has a style as distinctive as its authoritarian substance: trolling, ironic, evasive.”  But that ain't so.

Ron DeSantis' seeks COVID vaccine mandate special session  —  Nothing can hide Florida's descent into Crazyville.  Not the “Don't Tread on Florida” alligator signs held by Gov. Ron DeSantis' supporters at his latest COVID-19 policy proposal announcement.  Not the state's new Ivy League …

Manchin: I Convinced Biden That IRS Monitoring $600 Bank Transactions Is “Screwed Up” And Won't Be In The Final Bill  —  Sen. Joe Manchin, one of two Democratic holdouts still negotiating with the Biden administration about the “Build Back Better” budget bill, told the Economic Club of Washington …

Man arrested for allegedly threatening Matt Gaetz  —  A man was arrested last week for allegedly making a death threat to Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) earlier this year, just days after the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol.  —  Authorities arrested Eugene Huelsman last week in the Los Angeles area …

Enes Kanter says Nike is ‘scared to speak up’ against China and wears ‘Modern Day Slavery’ shoes in protest of Uyghur treatment  —  (CNN)NBA star Enes Kanter has doubled-down on his criticism of China and has called on Nike to do more in fighting against injustice in the country.

Republicans Are Manufacturing Fake Fraud  —  Republicans have an election fraud problem.  No matter how hard they look, they can't seem to find any.  To say that voter fraud is vanishingly rare in this country is to overstate its frequency.  —  The crown jewel of right-wing fraud propaganda …

U.S. Gives Harshest Public Rebuke Yet on Israeli Settlement Plans  —  In discreet talks held by senior government officials and the Prime Minister's office, U.S. State Department expresses ‘deep concern’ over plans to build 3,100 new units in the West Bank and opening bids up for over 1,300 further units

John McWhorter Argues That Antiracism Has Become a Religion of the Left … When you purchase an independently reviewed book through our site, we earn an affiliate commission.  —  WOKE RACISM  —  How a New Religion Has Betrayed Black America  —  Growing up in the 1990s, I was raised to be optimistic about American society.

Greenpeace co-founder joins climate change skeptics  —  Polar bears would not exist today without climate change, and they may even be thriving because of current climate trends.  That's what the co-founder of Greenpeace told scientists, economists, and academics who took part …

Utah Republican legislator charged with poaching and firearms violations  —  Rep. Travis Seegmiller faces three misdemeanor charges related to shooting a deer near private residences in southwest Utah.  —  (Rick Egan |  The Salt Lake Tribune) Rep. Travis Seegmiller, R-St. George …