The Morning Dispatch: Where Is Peng Shuai?

Happy Friday! President Joe Biden may be pardoning Peanut Butter and Jelly later today, but those turkeys know what they did—and they will answer to their creator. 

Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories

  • The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its score of Democrats’ Build Back Better Act on Thursday, estimating that—before taking the effects of stricter tax enforcement into account—it would add $367 billion to the deficit between 2022 and 2031. In a separate analysis, the CBO estimated that BBB’s additional IRS funding would generate an additional $207 billion in revenue over the same time period, meaning if the CBO projections are accurate, the legislation would ultimately add about $160 billion to the deficit over 10 years.

  • The Justice Department announced Thursday that two Iranian men were charged for their role in a “cyber-enabled campaign to intimidate and influence American voters” ahead of the 2020 election. The indictment alleges the men—who worked for a company known to provide services to the Iranian government—attempted to compromise 11 state voter websites and impersonated the Proud Boys while sending messages to registered Democratic voters threatening physical harm if they did not change their party affiliation and vote for Donald Trump.

  • Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt commuted the death sentence of Julius Jones on Thursday just hours before Jones—who was convicted of first-degree murder in 2002 but maintains his innocence—was set to die by lethal injection. Jones will now serve life in prison without the possibility for parole.

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