Democrat in key race defended guns after mass shooting and insulted Kaepernick Bob Brooks, a firefighter who appeals to the White working class, engaged with right-wing content. His endorsers in the Pennsylvania House race stand by him.

In a key Pennsylvania House district, Bob Brooks, a Democratic candidate embraced for his appeal to white working class voters, once called Colin Kaepernick a "douchebag" and posted in defense of police after George Floyd's killing. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Trump is talking about a new White House ballroom on about as many days as he talks about health insurance or affordability.

@ence.bsky.social again delivers clever data analysis www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Spanberger counters false GOP claims of tax hikes: ‘A desperate tactic’ Republicans keep criticizing Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger over proposed tax increases by Democratic legislators that never passed and that she never endorsed.

Republicans keeping falsely claiming that Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) signed tax hikes that she never backed and that never even passed.

She talked about what she learned from this in a interview with @schneidergs.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

How Eric Swalwell rose to the top of Democratic politics as rumors followed him Allies like Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Ruben Gallego say they knew nothing about the misconduct allegations, with Gallego saying the congressman led a “double life.”

“Ultimately it was a group of liberal online influencers — not party bigwigs — who made it their mission to ensure that someone facing multiple allegations of misconduct should not be elevated to the highest office in California.” wapo.st/4cd1t1t

The National Action Network’s convention offered a glimpse into how possible Democratic presidential contenders would woo Black voters in the primary.

Here’s what they had to say www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Crowd chants ‘Run again!’ to Kamala Harris, who said she’s ‘thinking about it’ The former vice president’s statement at a Black political convention was one of her most explicit signals yet that she could campaign again for president in 2028.

Kamala Harris explicitly says she's thinking about running for president again, electrifying a crowd of thousands at Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network.

@schneidergs.bsky.social was there www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Outside Democratic groups haven’t helped Janet Mills get on the airwaves as she struggles against Graham Platner in the Maine Senate race.

Chuck Schumer now faces a question of cutting his losses or trying to rescue the candidate he recruited www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Grassroots small donor support for the DNC is still robust. But big donors are fueling the RNC’s financial advantage, and the DNC is struggling to keep up.

This and more from @ence.bsky.social’s data analysis www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

The DNC expected big money after big Democratic wins. It never came. The Democratic National Committee has scaled back some of its plans as donors remain reluctant to give, despite candidates’ recent victories.

The DNC expected a surge of big donations after the big Democratic wins in November.

It didn’t happen, and the DNC shelved plans for investments in the South & a midterm convention, sources tell the Post www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

SCOOP: The acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has delayed publication of a CDC report showing covid-19 vaccine cut the likelihood of ED visits + hospitalizations for healthy adults last winter by about half. My latest.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...

Iranian civilians voice fear and fatigue as U.S. escalates conflict People in Iran say they could be left to pick up the pieces if President Donald Trump destroys the country’s infrastructure and economy.

As Trump claims Iranians welcome the bombing around them, here is what Iranians are telling The Post www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/0...

This GOP candidate seized a half-million ballots and says he may do it again Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, who is running for California governor as a Republican, tried to review ballots despite election officials reaffirming the results.

The Republican sheriff in California who seized hundreds of thousands of ballots in the November redistricting election said he might seize ballots again for the gubernatorial primary he is competing in www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Virginians deeply divided on Spanberger months after her landslide win A Washington Post-Schar School poll finds that Virginia voters are highly polarized over Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D), who ran as a unifying centrist.

NEW Washington Post-Schar School poll: Virginians deeply divided on Gov. Abigail Spanberger months after her landslide win, story w/ @schneidergs.bsky.social & @praveenavsoma.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

New Washington Post GMU Schar school poll of Virginia

Redistricting Referendum

Likely Voters

Yes 52%
No 47%

Registered Voters

Yes 53%
No 44%

Trump Approval

Disapprove 57%
Approve 40%

www.washingtonpost.com/documents/0e...

Poll shows mixed signs for Democratic push to gain seats in Congress A slight majority of Virginia voters supports giving Democrats a temporary edge in congressional maps, but opponents are more motivated in new Post-Schar School poll.

NEW: We polled the Virginia redistricting ballot measure that could give Democrats an extra 4 seats in the House.

It's narrowly leading, but Republicans and opponents are more enthusiastic to cast ballots. Gift link: wapo.st/3Qj8LrC

Court tosses sentence for former clerk in scheme tied to 2020 election The Colorado appeals court ordered a new sentence for Tina Peters, a former county elections official convicted for her efforts to boost Trump’s false claims.

A court threw out a nine-year prison sentence for Tina Peters, the former Colorado clerk convicted on charges related to a scheme to bolster Trump's false claims about the 2020 election.

Colorado's Democratic governor praised the ruling www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

The secrets of the sex lives of octopuses, revealed New research reveals how octopuses essentially have a tongue, an arm, a penis and a sperm cell all rolled into one appendage.

Unfortunately, my return to editing meant I had to cut short my "Under the Sheets, Under the Sea" series on the sex lives of marine animals.

My last story looks at the discovery when scientists unwittingly made an octopus gloryhole wapo.st/47D71zu

Black Caucus scholarships discriminate based on race, lawsuit alleges The lawsuit, filed by an anti-affirmative action group, is part of a broader movement to dismantle programs meant to remedy the effects of past discrimination.

The legal campaign against DEI/affirmative action is now targeting the Congressional Black Caucus and its affiliated foundation's scholarships for Black students

@julez.bsky.social reports www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Plan to reinforce sewer pipe was delayed for years before Potomac disaster A Washington Post investigation found that D.C. Water put off reinforcing an aging sewer line before it collapsed as the National Park Service undertook a prolonged environmental review.

We’re still deploying investigative resources to reveal who is responsible for local crises.

From former D.C. city hall reporter turned investigative reporter Aaron Davis: www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...

The remaining reporters on the health team continue to do fine work: @lenasun.bsky.social, @rachelroubein.bsky.social, @laurenweberhp.bsky.social, @carolynyjohnson.bsky.social, Ariana Eunjung Cha & Chris Rowland

It was an honor to be a reporter on the health team during perhaps the most consequential stretch of U.S. public health history. I was able to chronicle the toll of covid long after much of media moved on and to oversee our coverage of how RFK Jr. upended vaccination and federal health agencies.

Professional update: After 5 1/2 years on the health team, I'm thrilled to become @washingtonpost.com's deputy campaigns and democracy editor.

I'm helping to run our coverage of the midterm elections and the future of political parties and voting.

All ears for feedback and tips! Contact in bio

Four truths about covid that have become clouded over time In the early days, the virus posed a graver threat to people and the health care system, Trump embraced lockdowns he now blasts, and the benefits of vaccines were oversold.

Terrific piece by @fenitn.bsky.social about the rewriting of #Covid history. I would add this: A brand new virus meant health officials were making policy based on the info they had, not what we know now. Policy changes were evidence of learnings, not failures. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...

RFK Jr.’s vaccine advisers drop proposal to revisit covid-19 shot Some members of the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel have publicly questioned the safety and manufacturing of the shots, including raising a debunked theory that DNA contaminants in the vaccines are harmf...

SCOOP: A key federal vaccine panel has abandoned an attack on covid-19 mRNA vaccines — a shift that comes as some GOP warn that any more changes to vaccine policy could damage midterm prospects. Me + @rachelroubein.bsky.com
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...

A new poll shows who Americans trust over the CDC The new findings come after the Trump administration in January took the unprecedented step of overhauling the CDC’s routine childhood immunization schedule.

NEW: A new poll shows who Americans trust over the CDC. Survey reveals substantial gap between the major professional health associations and CDC, FDA and NIH. My story.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...

Flu was again worse than covid this winter. Is that pattern here to stay? Flu has overtaken covid in infections and hospitalizations during the winter respiratory virus season, and their virulence is becoming similar.

“We have a more complicated mixture of #covid and #flu this year peaking at about the same time. That adds an increased burden on the health care setting.”

WastewaterSCAN co-principal investigator Dr. Marlene Wolfe discusses recent #wastewater trends with @fenitn.bsky.social.

@washingtonpost.com

Public health seems to be operating under the assumption that they're more likely to boost covid vaccine uptake if it's folded with flu/RSV, but not sure the numbers are backing that up!

Flu has overtaken covid in emergency rooms during the past two winters

Hospital numbers don’t capture how most people actually experience these illnesses: minor inconveniences or nasty bugs that leave you feeling lousy and homebound. Wastewater tracking, which measures viral particles in sewers to track viral trends, also shows that flu has surged and covid has seen a small uptick, smaller than the summer wave.

We barely had a winter wave of COVID this year but the flu has been absolutely brutal
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...

I've been saying for years that someone needs to find the story behind those insane Top Dog Law radio commercials. Elahe Izadi delivered.

This was my favorite ad where it goes completely off the rails
wapo.st/46y0NjV

Why older whale dads are now winning the mating game Experience matters but are older whales more desirable? Do they have better game?

Trying my hand at more unhinged science writing. This was labeled internally as "WHALEDADDIES" wapo.st/3OFLiAf