Jan. 6 Committee Accuses Social Media Firms Of Dragging Feet On Cooperation With Committee

Four of the country’s major social media firms are slow-walking information requests from the Jan. 6 Committee, the panel said on Thursday in a series of subpoenas to the firms.

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A Telling Sign

Notwithstanding Sen. Sinema’s speechlet this afternoon I certainly hope they will still force a vote on the rules change itself. But another point occurs to me, one we’ve discussed before: there will never be another Democrat elected to the Senate who supports the current filibuster. This is obvious for a number of reasons. But I was reminded of it when I got a fundraising email from Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) who’s running for the open Ohio Senate seat. Like you, I get a million of these. Ryan’s just one. But here’s how the email starts …

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SCOTUS Shoots Down Employer Vaccine Requirement; Lets Health-Care Worker Mandate Proceed

The Supreme Court blocked a Biden administration rule requiring workers at large employers be vaccinated or receive regular COVID-19 tests on Thursday.

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Oath Keepers Chief Stewart Rhodes Arrested On Jan. 6-Related Charges

Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes was arrested by federal agents on Thursday after a federal grand jury returned an indictment against Rhodes and ten others on charges of seditious conspiracy against the United States, the Justice Department said.

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This Is Why You Call the Vote

Newsflash: perfidious silly person Kysten Sinema has now told a friendly reporter at Politico that she’s “weighing” or “considering” or some other chin-scratch-full but meaningless gerund that she may go to the floor of the Senate and give a speech denouncing any changes to Senate rules that will allow Democrats thin majority to do anything. This as President Biden goes to the Senate to press his case for a rule change that will allow democracy-protecting legislation to come to a vote.

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Ohio Supreme Court’s GOP Chief Justice Challenges Party With Appeal To Voters On Redistricting

The Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down new legislative maps from the state’s Republican-dominated redistricting commission, saying that the maps for state House and Senate favored the GOP to such an extent that they violated the state’s constitution. 

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Graham Threatens To Vote Against McConnell As Leader Unless He’s Buddies With Trump

A day after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced his plans to run for leader again, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) obediently fired a shot across the bow on Wednesday night on behalf of former President Donald Trump, who’s declared war on McConnell for insufficient loyalty.

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Radicalization Pipelines: How Targeted Ads On Social Media Drive People To Extremes

This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. It first appeared at The Conversation.

Have you had the experience of looking at some product online and then seeing ads for it all over your social media feed? Far from coincidence, these instances of eerily accurate advertising provide glimpses into the behind-the-scenes mechanisms that feed an item you search for on Google, “like” on social media or come across while browsing into custom advertising on social media.

Those mechanisms are increasingly being used for more nefarious purposes than aggressive advertising. The threat is in how this targeted advertising interacts with today’s extremely divisive political landscape. As a social media researcher, I see how people seeking to radicalize others use targeted advertising to readily move people to extreme views.

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This Supreme Court Case Could Make Or Break The Biden Presidency (And The Planet)

The Supreme Court will hear a case in February that could decide the future of the Biden presidency — and gut its ability to mitigate climate change in the face of congressional inaction. 

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