While President Trump was in office, staff in the White House residence periodically discovered wads of printed paper clogging a toilet — and believed the president had flushed pieces of paper, Maggie Haberman scoops in her forthcoming book, “Confidence Man.” Why it matters: The revelation by Haberman, whose coverage as

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Authorities have arrested and charged a 16-year-old boy with terroristic threats in connection to bomb threats at multiple public and charter schools in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, Metro Police said Thursday. Driving the news: “MPD continues to investigate these incidents with our federal partners,” the D.C. police department wrote on

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With rare bipartisan support, the Senate passed landmark workplace legislation on Thursday that forbids companies from forcing sexual harassment and assault claims into arbitration. Why it matters: The secretive dispute resolution process keeps litigation out of the public eye and is widely considered to favor employers over workers. The bill

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Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) explained his decision to lift his state’s mask mandate because his state’s hospitalization rates are down, he said in a CNBC interview on Thursday. Driving the news: 552 patients in Connecticut are hospitalized with COVID as of Wednesday, down from 1,270 hospitalizations on Jan. 27th,

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Massachusetts will lift its school mask mandate at the end of the month, the state’s department of elementary and secondary education said Wednesday. Why it matters: It’s the latest state to move to drop masking requirements as year two of the pandemic wears on. Driving the news: The statewide school

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It’s likely more enslaved Black people escaped to Mexico than originally thought, scholars say. Why it matters: The story of the Underground Railroad to Mexico — loosely organized paths allowing enslaved Black people to escape bondage by fleeing south — exposes a neglected history about the Black experience in the

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Eric Lander, President Biden’s science adviser, has apologized for speaking to White House Office of Science and Technology Policy staff in “a disrespectful or demeaning way,” according to a note he sent to OSTP staff this weekend. The big picture: An investigation found that Lander violated the White House’s workplace

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Free community college will no longer be included in Democrats’ social spending package, which has so far failed to pass in the Senate, first lady Jill Biden announced Monday. Why it matters: Democrats have abandoned the provision that would give eligible students two years of free education at community colleges

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Former President Trump incited the Capitol riot on Jan. 6 “to intimidate” former Vice President Mike Pence into overturning the 2020 election, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Monday. What he’s saying: “January 6 was a riot that

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Joe Rogan, the popular podcaster whose anti-vaccination remarks have sparked protests against Spotify, apologized on Saturday via an Instagram post for repeatedly using racial slurs in the past. Why it matters: The admission follows a weeklong public relations crisis for Spotify over the way it moderates content, specifically Rogan’s podcast,

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