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YouTube Denies Sen. Paul’s Mask Science, Suspends Him

YouTube suspended Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., for seven days Tuesday and removed a video that noted cloth masks do not prevent infection, saying it violated policies on COVID-19 misinformation.

It is the second time this month one of Paul’s videos has been taken down by YouTube for breaking its rules about misleading content.

“We removed content from Sen. Paul’s channel for including claims that masks are ineffective in preventing the contraction or transmission of . . .

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Warrants Served to Texas Dems, but Holdout on Voter Reform Bill Continues

Officers of the Texas House of Representatives delivered civil arrest warrants for more than 50 absent Democrats on Wednesday as frustrated Republicans ratcheted up efforts to end a standoff over a sweeping elections bill that stretched into its 31st day.

But after sergeants-at-arms finished making the rounds inside the Texas Capitol — dropping off copies of the warrants at Democrats’ offices, and politely asking staff to tell their bosses to please return — there were few signs the stalemate that began when Democrats fled to Washington, D.C., in July in . . .

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White House Denies Attempts ‘to Kneecap’ GOP Gov. DeSantis

With New York Democrat Gov. Andrew Cuomo having gone from self-proclaimed COVID-19 hero to having to resign from office, the White House was asked whether its back-and-forth with Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis is an effort to “kneecap him.”

“Our war is not on DeSantis; it’s on the virus, which we are trying to kneecap,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at Wednesday’s White House briefing. “He does not seem to want to participate in that effort to . . .

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Democrat Sen. Manchin Objects to $3.5 Trillion Spending Bill

Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin on Wednesday said he had serious concerns about Senate Democrats’ planned $3.5 trillion spending plan, potentially gumming up efforts to move ahead with President Joe Biden’s top priorities.

The Democrat-led Senate approved a blueprint for the plan early on Wednesday morning in a 50-49 vote along party lines, after lawmakers sparred over the need for huge spending to fight climate change and poverty.

Now Biden’s Democratic Party embarks on weeks of debates about priorities including universal preschool, affordable housing and climate-friendly technologies, with progressives like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez seeking . . .

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Senate Infrastructure Vote Planned for 11 a.m. ET on Tuesday

After weeks of fits, starts and delays, the Senate is on track to give final approval to the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan, with a growing coalition of Democrats and Republicans prepared to lift the first phase of President Joe Biden’s rebuilding agenda to passage.

Final Senate votes are expected around 11 a.m. ET on Tuesday, and the bill would then go to the House.

All told, some 70 senators appear poised to carry the bipartisan package to passage, a potentially robust tally of lawmakers eager to tap the billions in new . . .

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Pentagon to Require COVID Vaccine for All Troops by Sept. 15

The Pentagon will require members of the U.S. military to get the COVID-19 vaccine by Sept. 15, according to a memo obtained by The Associated Press. That deadline could be pushed up if the vaccine receives final FDA approval or infection rates continue to rise.

“I will seek the president’s approval to make the vaccines mandatory no later than mid-September, or immediately upon” licensure by the Food and Drug Administration “whichever comes first,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says in the memo to troops, warning them to prepare for the requirement. “I will not hesitate to act sooner or . . .

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