Staff Members Attacked With Bat at Congressman's Virginia Office  —  Two people were hospitalized after the attack at the Fairfax office of Rep. Gerry Connolly, a Democrat, and someone was in custody, the police said.  —  A person armed with a baseball bat attacked two congressional staff members …

GOP rejected White House effort to close tax loopholes in debt ceiling talks  —  Negotiations are stuck and time is running out, but Republicans have signaled that there cannot be any new tax increases as part of a budget deal.  —  The White House recently gave congressional Republican leadership …

Special counsel John Durham concludes FBI never should have launched Trump-Russia probe  —  Special counsel John Durham concluded that the FBI should never have launched a full investigation into connections between Donald Trump's campaign and Russia during the 2016 election …

'Come ON!  Joe Scarborough Laughs at James Comer Losing Biden Informant His ‘Entire Charade Was Built On’  —  Joe Scarborough could not contain his laughter after viewing a clip of Rep. James Comer admitting that his investigation into the Biden family's alleged “influence peddling” …

Trump puts DeSantis in a bind on 2020: Can he bring himself to say Trump lost?  —  The Florida governor is making the case that he's more electable than Trump.  Just don't ask him if Trump lost.  —  Donald Trump falsely insisting that the 2020 election was “rigged” last week was nothing …

Scoop: How Trump's team egged him on during CNN town hall  —  President Trump got more aggressive — and more dismissive of moderator Kaitlan Collins — as last week's CNN town hall continued.  Now we know one reason why:  — Backstage during the first commercial break, Axios has learned …

DeSantis signs bill to defund DEI programs at Florida's public colleges  —  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a bill into law Monday barring the state's colleges and universities from spending money on diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and limiting how race can be discussed in many courses.

IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants  —  The prototype program developed by the federal government could be available for a small group of taxpayers by January  —  The Internal Revenue Service has quietly built its own prototype system to allow Americans …

Why do Americans want guns?  It comes down to one word.  —  At the Nation's Gun Show in Chantilly, spirits seemed high.  People wandered from booth to booth, and the scent of popcorn filled the air.  It could have been mistaken for a state fair or weekend flea market were it not for the rows …

Austrian train plays Hitler speech over loudspeaker  —  Travellers on an intercity train in Austria were startled on Sunday when a recording of an Adolf Hitler speech was played on board.  —  Instead of the normal announcements, a crowd could also be heard shouting “Heil Hitler” and “Sieg Heil” over the train's speaker system.

The Ratcatcher  —  The Ratcatcher  —  In an exclusive interview with The American Conservative, Florida's Ron DeSantis explains his war with Disney for the soul and sovereignty of America.  —  (Photo by Octavio Jones/Getty Images)  —  “The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master—that is all.”

Why Smartmatic's case against Fox News is even stronger than Dominion's  —  There are reasons Smartmatic is seeking a tidy $2.7 billion.  —  ∙ Paid … Last month, Fox News agreed to pay an eye-popping $787.5 million sum to settle a defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems.

Dems' great hope to hold the Senate: GOP primary implosions  —  Despite Republicans' new strategy, Democrats are looking for “extreme candidates” to come out of Senate GOP primaries and give them a leg up in an otherwise bleak electoral map.  —  Most Democrats stay quiet about GOP primaries …

Eric Adams Is Starving New York City's Universal Pre-K Program  —  One of America's most ambitious child-care experiments is playing out, in part, at a public-housing complex at the far end of Manhattan's East Village.  Tucked behind one of the 13 brick towers that make up the Jacob Riis Houses …

Massachusetts Man Indicted for Acting as an Illegal Agent of the People's Republic of China  —  Liang Allegedly Reported to PRC Officials on Pro-Democracy Protesters and Founded U.S. Advocacy Group to Covertly Advance the PRC's Agenda in Boston and Surrounding Areas

Supreme Court to weigh South Carolina plan that ‘exiled’ Black voters  —  A lower court said the redrawn district amounted to racial gerrymandering that helped a Republican beat a Democrat  —  The Supreme Court on Monday said it will consider South Carolina's attempt to reinstate …

Why Clarence Thomas's Troubles Have Just Begun  —  The scandal that forced Abe Fortas's resignation from the Supreme Court in 1969 revolved around $20,000 he had accepted from the family foundation of an indicted financier (he returned the money).  That $20,000 would be around $167,000 today.

Supreme Court wades into Trump hotel records fight  —  The justices are set to mull the power of minority lawmakers to demand records.  —  The Supreme Court has agreed to take up a case that could empower members of the House and Senate minority to compel the Executive Branch to cough up information to congressional investigators.

A Cancer Surgeon and Patient Is Biden's Pick to Lead N.I.H.  —  President Biden said on Monday that he had selected Dr. Monica M. Bertagnolli, who has led the National Cancer Institute since October, to be the next director of the National Institutes of Health.

Mexican ambassador lashes out at Kennedy for ‘racist and xenophobic insults’  —  Mexican Ambassador to the United States Esteban Moctezuma excoriated Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) over a derogatory statement he made at a Senate hearing last week.  —  While prodding Drug Enforcement Administration …

Bowser Proposes Stiffer Gun Penalties, More Pretrial Detention In New Legislation  —  Mayor Muriel Bowser wants to make it easier to detain people accused of crimes, increase penalties for gun possession, and heighten barriers for people convicted of serious crimes to gain early release from prison.

Journalism's Essential Value  —  The debate around “objectivity”—if that's even the right word, anymore—has become among the most contested in journalism.  In recent years, CJR has served as a forum for that discussion, through numerous pieces, and even a conference, last fall, exploring approaches to the question.

Coastal Cities Priced Out Low-Wage Workers.  Now College Graduates Are Leaving, Too.  —  The college graduates who fill white-collar jobs in the San Francisco area began to leave in growing numbers about a decade ago.  More and more have moved to other parts of the country …