U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon carjacked and robbed in South Philly after touring FDR Park  —  U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon was carjacked and robbed at gunpoint in broad daylight on Wednesday afternoon shortly after finishing a meeting at FDR Park, her office and police officials confirmed.

People Got Sick at a Conspiracy Conference.  They're Sure It's Anthrax.  —  The fact that the conference was likely a COVID outbreak and superspreader event has been almost entirely ignored.  —  DG  —  A group of unvaccinated people who attended a huge conspiracy conference in Dallas earlier …

Biden tells ABC's David Muir ‘yes’ he'll run again, Trump rematch would ‘increase the prospect’  —  He spoke with “World News Tonight” anchor David Muir in an exclusive interview.  —  President Joe Biden said Wednesday in an exclusive interview with ABC “World News Tonight” anchor David Muir that …

Supreme Court sets special hearing for Biden's vaccine rules for health-care workers, private businesses  —  The Supreme Court Wednesday night announced it will hold a special hearing next month to consider challenges to the Biden administration's pandemic efforts to impose a nationwide vaccine …

Michael Flynn loses his legal challenge to the House January 6 probe, one day after filing it  —  (CNN)Michael Flynn has swiftly lost his bid in court to block a possible House select committee subpoena for his phone records and to hold off demands he speak to the panel investigating January 6.

Biden aides catch the holiday blues  —  Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration.  With Allie Bice.  —  About two months ago during a fire drill, the White House emptied and aides congregated outside.

Real-world data from U.K. suggests omicron is less likely than delta to send people to the hospital  —  LONDON — Researchers looking at real-world coronavirus cases in Britain reported Wednesday that the omicron variant of the coronavirus appears to be less severe than the once-dominant delta strain.

America is now in fascism's legal phase  —  The history of racism in the US is fertile ground for fascism.  Attacks on the courts, education, the right to vote and women's rights are further steps on the path to toppling democracy  —  et us be reminded that before there is a final solution …

‘Have I Hit Bottom?’:  Michael Avenatti and the Fall of a Trump-Era Antihero  —  VENICE, Calif. — Inside a two-bedroom apartment, 11 blocks from the ocean, there is a man in free fall, though he has nowhere to go.  He wears a monitor on his right ankle, government-issued, blinking green beneath his tapered track pants.

Wayne LaPierre Testified He Fled to the Bahamas for ‘Security.’ Documents and Interviews Tell a Different Story.  —  The NRA chief's misleading statements about his yacht trip after Sandy Hook and his niece's employment could strengthen the New York attorney general's attempt to dissolve the gun group.

The Rise of Eric Adams and Black New York  —  Ms. Gay is a member of the editorial board.  —  It was winter in Black New York, and the last thing Eric Leroy Adams wanted to do was join the New York City Police Department.  —  It was the early 1980s and waves of joblessness and crime …

Trump's Handling of COVID Was Worse Than You Thought.  —  1. Early COVID  —  Last week the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis issued a report, along with a release of some emails and interviews.  —  First things first: This report is not what America needs.

Biden Won Big With a Bad Hand  —  Relative to its strength in Congress, the Biden administration has proved outstandingly successful.  —  About the author: David Frum is a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of Trumpocalypse: Restoring American Democracy (2020).

Trump Just Crossed a Red Line for His Evangelical and Jewish Fans  —  Trump's obscenities and antisemitic tropes don't bother his Jewish fans.  But a recent quote has stunned his pro-Israel base, evangelicals and Jews, to the core - and could complicate his chances for a second term  —  Zen Read

End the Covid-Zero Mentality  —  As the Omicron variant rips through areas of the United States with among the highest vaccination rates in the world, it should be abundantly clear that we will not be able to “end” Covid.  But we still have the power to end the “Covid zero” mentality.

The Biden Youth Bomb  —  Joe Biden was elected to be competent, compromising, and stoic.  But his staggering—no, seriously, staggering—unpopularity among younger voters suggests that the Democratic establishment really doesn't have an earthly idea about what matters to their kids.

Pfizer pill becomes 1st US-authorized home COVID treatment  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health regulators on Wednesday authorized the first pill against COVID-19, a Pfizer drug that Americans will be able to take at home to head off the worst effects of the virus.

Proud Boy pleads guilty to felony charge in Capitol riot  —  A New York man who was a member of the Proud Boys pleaded guilty Wednesday to obstructing Congress and conspiring to obstruct law enforcement during the pro-Trump riot on Jan. 6, a felony.  —  The plea is significant because Matthew Greene …

Statement by President Joe Biden Extending the Pause on Student Loan Repayment an Additional 90 Days  —  When I came into office, we were facing a number of unprecedented crises.  Our economy was creating only 50,000 new jobs per month, less than 1 percent of Americans were fully vaccinated …

Democrats Score a Big Win in California Redistricting Map  —  On Monday, California's citizens' redistricting commission voted 14-0 to approve a map that's a dream for Democrats.  Technically, the commission (five Democrats, five Republicans and four others) was prohibited from taking partisan or incumbent data into consideration.

Here's how Democrats can fix the Build Back Better mess — and appease Manchin  —  If Democrats take Manchin's own proposal seriously — with one small addition — they might be able to move ahead  —  Clearly, mistakes were made with the Build Back Better bill.  —  Who was at fault?  Tough to say.

Brigitte Macron to sue over false claims she was born male  —  Brigitte Macron is set to take legal action over an internet conspiracy theory that she is a transgender woman and was born male.  —  The French first lady has been targeted on social media with the false claims …

Inside the nonstop pressure campaign by Trump allies to get election officials to revisit the 2020 vote  —  More than a year after Donald Trump lost the presidency, election officials across the country are facing a growing barrage of claims that the vote was not secure and demands to investigate …