More than 1,700 congressmen once enslaved Black people.  This is who they were, and how they shaped the nation.  —  The Washington Post has compiled the first database of slaveholding members of Congress by examining thousands of pages of census records and historical documents

Are Democrats Trying to Lose Elections?  —  Would you have predicted that the first big political blunder of 2022 would be committed by the freshly-inaugurated mayor of New York?  Would you have thought that Eric Adams, the African-American former cop, political moderate …

West Virginia's coal miners just made Joe Manchin's life a lot harder  —  For months, Sen. Joe Manchin III has sold his opposition to the Build Back Better proposal as driven uniformly by a brave and hardheaded assessment of the national interest.  He has warned that BBB will fuel inflation …

Jan. 6 panel ramps up investigation into Trump's state-level pressure  —  The public focus of Congress' Jan. 6 investigation, so far, is what happened in Washington, D.C. Behind the scenes, the probe's state-level work is kicking into overdrive.  —  The House committee investigating …

Trump rips GOP senator who called 2020 election ‘fair’  —  Former President Trump on Monday tore into Sen. Mike Rounds after the South Dakota Republican rejected Trump's baseless claims about the 2020 presidential election.  —  In a lengthy statement, Trump rehashed his false assertion …

Symone Sanders, a Top Strategist for Biden and Harris, Is Joining MSNBC  —  Ms. Sanders, 32, will host a weekend show on the cable network, one of the first big programming moves by MSNBC's president, Rashida Jones.  —  Symone D. Sanders, the former chief spokeswoman for Vice President Kamala Harris …

I Spent Insurrection Week Listening to Steve Bannon  —  For three hours every day, the Republican coup plotters who inspired the domestic terror attack at the U.S. Capitol last year gather to discuss their next move.  On their January 6th anniversary program, the Dead Cops Society beseeched …

Mitch McConnell's Electoral Count Act offer is a poison pill for voting rights  —  Fate of voting rights legislation rests on pressure from ‘spotlight of history’  —  The Electoral Count Act, the law governing how Congress certifies presidential elections, is filled with gaps and ambiguities.

Anti-Vax Leader Urges Followers to Drink Their Own Urine to Fight COVID  —  ‘EVERYTHING WE NEED’  —  Anti-COVID-19 “Vaccine Police” leader Christopher Key has a new quarter-baked conspiracy theory for his anti-vax followers to use to cure themselves of COVID-19: Drink their own urine.

Trump's potential liability for Capitol riot faces major test in court  —  (CNN)A federal judge in Washington, DC, is set to consider, for the first time, whether former President Donald Trump is immune from liability related to his supporters attacking the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

More evidence of Fox News' stranglehold on the Republican Party  —  Tucker Carlson's on-air cowing of Ted Cruz shows how in lockstep Fox News and Republicans are and the influence Fox News has.  —  Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz has called the events on Jan. 6, 2021, a “terrorist attack.”

Greg Gutfeld has risen to the top at Fox News — and that's no joke  —  NEW YORK — Greg Gutfeld is picking through a long, narrow closet.  He wrenches a painting from the depth of the clutter.  A painting of himself.  That familiar arched right eyebrow.  That sideways grin.

Treasury warns of ‘enormous challenges’ this tax-filing season that could delay refunds  —  Officials predict a number of services could be delayed because of issues related to the pandemic and budget constraints.  The tax filing deadline this year is April 18.

Why More Americans Are Saying They're ‘Vaxxed and Done’  —  Sign up for Derek's newsletter here.  —  To understand how ideologically scrambling the Omicron wave has been, consider this: Some 2022 Democrats are sounding like 2020 Republicans.  In spring 2020, many Republicans …

How ‘Christian’ Overtook the ‘Protestant’ Label  —  Over the past several decades, American evangelicalism has moved away from the religious labels, symbols, and buildings that used to define church.  —  Many newer churches don't contain stained glass, crosses, or traditional sanctuary setups.

North Carolina voters dispute Cawthorn candidacy over Jan. 6  —  A group of North Carolina voters want U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn disqualified as a congressional candidate  —  RALEIGH, N.C. — A group of North Carolina voters told state officials on Monday they want U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn disqualified …

Omicron Makes Biden's Vaccine Mandates Obsolete  —  There is no evidence so far that vaccines are reducing infections from the fast-spreading variant.  —  Federal courts considering the Biden administration's vaccination mandates—including the Supreme Court at Friday's oral argument—have focused on administrative-law issues.

Alabama GOP gears up for fierce Senate primary clash  —  Alabama Republicans are heading for a dogfight in the state's Senate primary, with GOP voters in the reddest of states set to forecast which of the party's disparate wings could be ascendant in the November midterms.

Stimulus for a terrorist  —  On Thursday, US District Court Judge George O'Toole Jr. approved a request by federal prosecutors in Massachusetts to seize funds belonging to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the convicted Boston Marathon bomber.  The money, which had accumulated in his prison canteen account …

Fauci's NIH Division Paid $205K for Researchers To Study Transgender Monkeys  —  Dr. Anthony Fauci's division of the National Institutes of Health paid over $200,000 during the coronavirus pandemic for researchers to study why transgender women have high rates of HIV by injecting male monkeys with female hormones.