Spotsylvania School Board orders libraries to remove ‘sexually explicit’ books  —  The Spotsylvania County School Board has directed staff to begin removing books that contain “sexually explicit” material from library shelves and report on the number of books that have been removed at a special called meeting next week.

US Capitol rioter who assaulted police officer gets 41 months in prison  —  (CNN)A New Jersey gym owner and former MMA fighter who punched a police officer during the January 6 riot was sentenced to 41 months in prison on Wednesday, becoming the first rioter sentenced for violence against the police during the attack.

As Kyle Rittenhouse trial nears end, judge's decisions from the bench come under scrutiny  —  Regardless of how he is viewed, Judge Bruce E. Schroeder is indisputably a man with fixed rules for how trials in his Kenosha County courtroom will be run.  Some are basic, some unorthodox …

Post-Trump GOP doctrine  —  Republicans — reshaped, controlled and defined by Donald Trump since 2015 — are slowly but surely charting a post-Trump ideology and platform.  —  Why it matters: Other than conservative courts, toughness on immigration and hostility toward modern liberalism …

Prices climbed 6.2 percent in October compared to last year, the largest increase in 30 years, as inflation strains economy  —  It's unclear when supply chains will clear, especially given how vulnerable the economy remain to the pandemic  —  Prices rose 6.2 percent in October compared with a year ago …

GOP recruitment struggles give Democrats hope in 2022 Senate fight  —  WASHINGTON — They lost the governor's race in Virginia.  They had a bad scare in New Jersey.  They're the clear underdogs in the battle for the U.S. House.  But Democrats saw glimmers of hope in the fight for the Senate …

Why Racist White Voters Often Favor Black Republicans  —  Can white voters who back a Black candidate still hold racist beliefs and views?  —  That question has come to the fore in the wake of Glenn Youngkin's gubernatorial victory in the blueish state of Virginia.

How the media missed a New Jersey senate candidate's racist social media posts — until he'd already won.  —  Edward Durr was such a long-shot candidate in his New Jersey state senate race that no one seemed to notice something rather striking about him: He had a history of posting bigoted …

Washington Post fact-check admits it was wrong for ‘knee jerked’ defense of Buttigieg's racist bridge comments  —  ‘We should be more careful to double-check on the latest views of historians,’ Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler wrote  —  The Washington Post admitted Wednesday …

Updating The Verge's background policy  —  On ‘on background’  —  The main way this happens is that big companies take advantage of a particular agreement in the media called “background.”  Being “on background” means that they tell things to reporters, but those reporters agree …

Three Individuals Charged with $3.5 Million Scheme to Collect Contributions for Fraudulent Political Action Committees  —  Two California men and one Texas man have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Austin, Texas, for their alleged involvement a scheme to operate two fraudulent political …

Biden's Plans More Popular Than President  —  Message may matter more than substance in the end  —  West Long Branch, NJ - President Joe Biden's big spending plans on infrastructure, support programs, and climate change remain broadly popular even though he personally does not.

The political war around daylight saving time takes a nasty turn  —  When the clocks turned back on Sunday morning to end daylight saving time, hungover college kids cheered and parents of young kids lamented their fates.  But for Jay Pea and Scott Yates, it was yet another volley …

Britt Campaign Internal Polling Puts Her Ahead Of Mo Brooks In Senate Race  —  After hearing more information about candidates, Brooks dropped to third, according to the polling company.  —  Katie Britt's campaign on Tuesday said an internal poll puts Britt ahead of U.S. Rep Mo Brooks …

USC gave Rep. Karen Bass a full scholarship worth $95,000 while she served in Congress  —  During Rep. Karen Bass' first year in Congress in 2011, she contacted government ethics officials with a request: Could she accept a full scholarship for a graduate degree at USC.

Manchin, already a Biden spending plan skeptic, raises inflation fears  —  Sen. Joe Manchin isn't exactly giving hope to proponents of President Joe Biden's costly social spending proposal that he'll support it any time soon.  —  Following a Labor Department report that found the highest rate …

The lie of the storm  —  Katrina, Ida, and resisting the “looting” myth  —  On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall in southeastern Louisiana.  In New Orleans, dozens of levees and floodwalls failed, and water poured into the city, plunging eighty percent of it underwater.

Transcripts and Exhibits from Independent Investigation into Sexual Harassment Allegations Against Former Governor Andrew Cuomo  —  These are transcripts and corresponding exhibits from the independent investigation and resulting report into sexual harassment allegations against former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Revisiting the Fox News Fallacy  —  It Seems To Be Alive and Well  —  Three months ago, I wrote a piece on the Fox News Fallacy.  As I explained in that piece: … In light of the Democrats' dreadful performance in last week's election, I thought it would be useful to revisit this analysis and see if it still applies.

Welcome to THE GOOD IN US  —  In which we come together to save American democracy, or at least have fun while trying.  —  “The gods are strange.  It is not our vices only they make instruments to scourge us.  They bring us to ruin through what in us is good, gentle, human, loving.”

California should revisit shutting down Diablo Canyon nuclear plant, Stanford, MIT analysis finds  —  Dive Brief:  — California could reduce its power sector emissions by more than 10% from 2017 levels, save $2.6 billion in power system costs and improve system reliability by delaying …

States challenge Biden's vaccine mandate for health workers  —  JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A coalition of 10 states sued the federal government on Wednesday to try to block a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for health care workers, marking a new front in the resistance by Republican-led states …

To highlight his success, Biden will point to... Baltimore?  —  It would appear that somebody on Team Biden has finally noticed that the President's approval numbers have continued to tank and are not showing any signs of rebounding.  With that in mind, now that Uncle Joe …