U.S. says Russian claim of pullback around Ukraine is ‘false,’ accuses Moscow of adding troops instead  —  Western officials say Russia is showing no sign of pulling back its forces from the border with Ukraine — and that the Kremlin, contrary to President Vladimir Putin's public statements …

My Pillow's Mike Lindell barred from entering Canada to support convoy protestors  —  Lindell, as well as a truck full of 10,000 pillows destined for protesters, were denied entry into Canada Tuesday evening  —  OTTAWA - My Pillow CEO and staunch Donald Trump supporter Mike Lindell …

GOP tensions boil over Trump's fundraising tactics  —  Donald Trump's spamming of Republican donors could kneecap party efforts to build a steady funding stream for future elections and compete with Democratic fundraising, top GOP officials are privately warning.

Trump Makes New Claims About His Wealth After Accountants Drop Him  —  The former president has spent decades inventing facts and figures to suit his needs.  Now, dropped by his accountants, he is making new claims.  —  On Tuesday evening, former President Donald J. Trump …

Leading Senator Threatens Filibuster of First Black Female Supreme Court Nominee  —  Okay, this is news from 2005.  As Joseph Epstein reminds us in his Wall Street Journal column today (nicely titled “The Unbearable Lightness of Biden"): … In his typical bumbling fashion …

In Leaked Audio, CDC's Rochelle Walensky Privately Confirms She Won't Relax School Mask Guidance  —  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have no plans to change their recommendation that all U.S. schools require students to wear masks, according to an audio recording …

We asked all 143 Texas GOP congressional candidates about Biden's win.  Only 13 call it legitimate.  —  The debate had been underway for less than 10 minutes before the top Republican candidates in a MAGA-friendly Houston congressional district reached a consensus: each believed the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump.

D.C. police lieutenant suspended over alleged ties to right-wing group  —  A D.C. police lieutenant in the intelligence branch has been put on leave amid an investigation into alleged improper contacts with a prominent member of the extremist group Proud Boys, according to four law enforcement officials with knowledge of the case.

Ryan Zinke broke ethics rules while leading Trump's Interior Dept., keeping improper ties with land developers, watchdog finds … While serving as Interior Department secretary under Donald Trump, Ryan Zinke broke federal ethics rules repeatedly by improperly participating in real estate negotiations …

Lawyers and Lobbyists Fight for Their Slice of $3.5 Billion in Afghan Money Seized by the Biden Administration … Last Friday, President Joe Biden announced that the U.S. would hold billions in seized Afghan central bank money to pay out to families of victims of 9/11 who had sued the Taliban for damages.

Right-wing media said it was exposing a scandal.  What it really revealed is how bad information spreads in MAGA world  —  New York (CNN Business)On Saturday night former President Donald Trump declared that he was the victim of a scandal “far greater” than Watergate.  He called for criminal prosecutions and “reparations.”

State judges across the U.S. face growing GOP pushback against rulings in election cases  —  In mid-December, Texas' highest criminal court revoked the state attorney general's ability to use his office to prosecute election-related cases without the request of a district or county attorney.

LEAKED AUDIO: Amazon Union Buster Warns Workers ‘Things Could Become Worse’  —  An Amazon union avoidance official told unionizing workers in New York City that it is possible negotiations would begin with minimum wage pay as a starting point.  —  An Amazon union avoidance official told employees at JFK8 …

What Pundits Don't Understand About the San Francisco Recall  —  Fight disinformation.  Get a daily recap of the facts that matter.  Sign up for the free Mother Jones newsletter.  —  All politics is local.  And that's especially true of the San Francisco school board recall.

Republicans Blame Crime On An Innocence Project Lawyer Tapped For A Judgeship  —  GOP senators accused Biden's court pick Nina Morrison, who has freed dozens of innocent people from prison, of fueling violent crimes.  Huh?  —  In a hearing on Wednesday that was as performative …

The Millions of People Stuck in Pandemic Limbo  —  When the coronavirus pandemic began, Emily Landon thought about her own risk only in rare quiet moments.  An infectious-disease doctor at the University of Chicago Medicine, she was cramming months of work into days, preparing her institution …

In his first budget, Adams unveils ‘radically practical’ $98.5B spending plan  —  Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday proposed his first spending plan for New York City, a $98.5 billion preliminary budget that he said tracks with his political vision of prioritizing public safety and government efficiency …

Justice Department Files Suit to Prevent Missouri from Restricting Enforcement of Federal Firearms Laws  —  Missouri House Bill 85 Makes Enforcement of Federal Firearms Laws More Difficult, Thereby Impeding Law Enforcement Efforts to Combat Violent Crime  —  The Department of Justice …

Scoop: House GOP moves to tank Biden's Iran diplomacy  —  Nearly 200 House Republicans have written to President Biden warning any nuclear deal made with Iran without Congress' approval “will meet the same fate” as the 2015 agreement by President Obama later abandoned by President Trump.

A Vibe Shift Is Coming Will any of us survive it?  —  One morning in June, while I was puffing away on my stationary bike — fine, a Peloton — pretending I had enough time to get my body ready for the “hot vaxx summer” that never really was, my friend Ellen messaged me: “Okay, please let me know if this person is dumb.