Live updates Biden meets with Sen. Capito on infrastructure package, urges more Americans to get vaccinated

When someone lodges a serious claim about a societal problem that you disagree with, you can generally respond in one of two ways. The more difficult path is to dispute the argument on its merits. The easier course is to say, “Well, they’re not talking about me” — to perhaps acknowledge it exists but to downplay either your role or its pervasiveness.

Fox News’s Tucker Carlson, though, is charting a rather novel course when it comes to allegations of racism — asserting that people talking about it are targeting him and his allies, even if they themselves didn’t make that connection.

NAACP President Derrick Johnson will meet next week with Sen. Joe Manchin III, as the West Virginia Democrat comes under increasing pressure to support House-passed legislation on voting rights.

Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) recently announced that his chamber would vote this month on the elections bill, which has been co-sponsored by every Democratic senator except Manchin — a move that would force Manchin to pick a side in a fight that has taken on new urgency in recent weeks.

Former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III will teach a course at the University of Virginia School of Law this fall on the investigation into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election.

Three of the top investigators involved in the probe will join Mueller in a short course called “The Mueller Report and the Role of the Special Counsel.” Mueller, an alumnus of the law school, will discuss the decisions he and his team made along with the trade-offs and challenges of those choices.

A Tampa man who carried a Trump flag into the well of the Senate on Jan. 6 pleaded guilty Wednesday to one felony count of storming the Capitol to obstruct Congress’s certification of the 2020 presidential election.

Paul Allard Hodgkins, 38, did not enter a cooperation deal with prosecutors, and he is not accused of any other wrongdoing or involvement with extremist groups.

As alleged Capitol rioter Richard “Bigo” Barnett prepares for his next court hearing, the Arkansas man who was captured on Jan. 6 with his feet on a desk in the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is asking for some help with his legal fees. In exchange for a contribution of $100 or more, Barnett will give back “a token of his appreciation,” according to a fundraising website: A signed photo of him inside the speaker’s office during the failed insurrection.

“Richard will send you an autographed picture of him sitting in Pelosi’s office personally addressed to whomever you like,” the fundraiser says.

Biden on Wednesday implored Americans who have yet to be vaccinated to take that step, stressing that vaccines are safe and warning that those who don’t remain at risk of contracting the coronavirus, particularly when fall arrives.

“The bottom line is this: I promise you, they are safe, they are safe,” Biden said during remarks from the White House campus. “And even more importantly, they’re extremely effective. If you’re vaccinated, you are protected.”

Biden plans to discuss Russia’s role in policing “ransomware criminals” within its borders when he holds a summit June 16 with Russian President Vladimir Putin, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday.

Her comments come in the wake of an attack on JBS, the world’s largest meat supplier, that shut down some operations in the United States. Company officials disclosed the attack to the White House on Sunday and have called the breach an extortion attempt by a criminal group most likely based in Russia.

Observers of Arizona’s Republican-led recount have found security gates left open, confidential manuals left unattended and quality-control measures disregarded, according to the Arizona secretary of state’s office.

In one instance, a software update caused so many errors that the company handling the recount abandoned the update and went back to the old software. In other instances, prohibited items including cellphones and pens with black or blue ink were allowed onto the counting floor.