Georgia Officials Review Trump Phone Call as Scrutiny Intensifies  —  The office of Georgia's secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, has initiated a fact-finding inquiry into Donald Trump's January phone call to Mr. Raffensperger pressuring him to “find” votes.

Democratic lawmakers splinter over criteria for $1,400 stimulus payments as Biden relief bill advances  —  Democratic lawmakers are increasingly divided over the criteria for the next round of stimulus payments, splintering the caucus even as they aim to quickly pass President Biden's $1.9 trillion relief package.

Biden's strategy for Trump's impeachment: Sit back and STFU  —  Washington may be consumed by Donald Trump's impeachment trial this week, but the White House has a decidedly different view of it: Impeachment?  What impeachment?  —  The Biden team has shut down question after question …

“I Think People Will Get Tired of Him”: For Donald Trump, Sarah Palin's Fall Shows the Limits of Media Obsession  —  The former Alaska governor dominated coverage while she was seen as a GOP kingmaker and potential presidential candidate—until reality (or at least reality TV) set in.

Hackers breach, attempt to poison Florida city's water supply  —  Officials said Monday that a hacker had breached and attempted to poison the water supply for the city of Oldsmar, Fla., last week, but had been unsuccessful.  —  Pinellas County, Fla., Sheriff Bob Gualtieri announced …

Manafort Can't Be Prosecuted in New York After Trump Pardon, Court Rules  —  The Court of Appeals let stand a lower-court ruling that the Manhattan district attorney's prosecution of Paul Manafort was barred by the double jeopardy rule.  —  The Manhattan district attorney's attempt …

New York Times Meltdown Plays Out in Private Facebook Group  —  The “resignation” of star New York Times science writer Donald McNeil Jr. has sparked a furious back-and-forth among Times staffers, many of whom are outraged over the Gray Lady's handling of his departure.

Rep. Ron Wright dies after battle with COVID-19  —  Reelected in November, the Republican lawmaker had been fighting cancer. … U.S. Rep Ron Wright of Arlington died Sunday night after a battle with COVID-19.  He was 67.  —  His family and spokesperson confirmed Wright's death Monday morning.

Call.  Witnesses.  —  There was a crime.  There is a trial.  There should be witness testimony.  —  Democrats are no longer under the thumb of Mitch McConnell.  If they want to call witnesses to testify in the second impeachment trial of Donald J. Trump, they can.  —  But what's more: They should.

GOP on defense as Democrats weaponize party's ties to extremism  —  Democrats are launching their 2022 efforts with ad buys focused on QAnon.  —  Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene: 'I've been freed'  —  Stripped of her committee assignments, the GOP congresswoman says she looks forward to returning to Georgia to see her constituents.

Lou Dobbs is lashing out at Fox on Twitter for dropping his show  —  Lou Dobbs is not taking his cancellation by Fox lying down.  —  On Friday night, Fox News Media management canceled “Lou Dobbs Tonight,” the most-watched show on Fox Business Network.  No reason was given …

Judge Voids South Dakota's Marijuana Legalization Initiative, Finding Voter-Approved Measure Was Unconstitutional  —  A South Dakota state judge has ruled that last year's voter-approved initiative to legalize marijuana for adults 21 and over is unconstitutional and cannot go forward, though advocates plan to appeal.

China Blocks Clubhouse App After Brief Flowering of Debate  —  For a little while, the social media platform Clubhouse provided the rare opportunity for cross-border dialogue on contentious topics free from the country's usual tight controls.  —  One by one, the chatroom participants took …

Why QAnon Followers Think Donald Trump Will Be Sworn Back In as President on March 4  —  After more than three years of Donald Trump not taking down satanic pedophiles and the “deep state” working against him, losing the election, then failing to order mass executions at Joe Biden's inauguration …

Using Connections to Trump, Dershowitz Became Force in Clemency Grants  —  The lawyer Alan M. Dershowitz, who represented the former president in his first impeachment trial, used his access for a wide array of clients as they sought pardons or commutations.

Chairman Neal Announces Markup of COVID-19 Relief Measures  —  The Ways and Means' proposals comprise half of the $1.9 trillion Democratic COVID-19 relief package  —  SPRINGFIELD, MA - Today, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-MA) announced the Committee …

‘Its Own Domestic Army’: How the G.O.P. Allied Itself With Militants  —  Actions taken by paramilitary groups in Michigan last year, emboldened by President Donald J. Trump, signaled a profound shift in Republican politics and a national crisis in the making.

The Republican Party is radicalizing against democracy.  This is the central political fact of our moment.  Instead of organizing its coalition around shared policy goals, the GOP has chosen to emphasize hatred and fear of its political opponents, who—they warn—will destroy their supporters and the country.

Jared and Ivanka made up to $640 million in the White House … Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump reported between $172 million and $640 million in outside income while working in the White House, according to an analysis of financial disclosures by CREW.  It is impossible to tell the exact amount …

My fellow Republicans, convicting Trump is necessary to save America  —  Adam Kinzinger, a Republican, represents Illinois's 16th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.  —  Winston Churchill famously said, “Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.”

This is the Proud Boys Supporter Who Filmed Attacks on the Media at the Capitol Riot  —  Meet Gabriel Brown, a live streamer from Long Island who's involvement in far-right activism goes back to the deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville.  —  TO

Harvard's Sunstein Joins Biden's DHS to Shape Immigration Rules  — Progressive groups had raised concern about Sunstein's record  — His wife is Biden nominee for international development agency  —  Former Obama administration official Cass Sunstein on Monday joined the Department …

Law Professor Cited 15 Times by Trump's Legal Team Says Impeachment Memo Was Filled with ‘Flat-Out Misrepresentations’ of His Work  —  Donald Trump's defense team was accused of flagrantly misrepresenting the work of a constitutional scholar when asserting that the former president's impeachment is unconstitutional.

Reaching Billions of People With COVID-19 Vaccine Information  —  We're running the largest worldwide campaign to promote authoritative information about COVID-19 vaccines by:  — Helping people find where and when they can get vaccinated — similar to how we helped people find information about how to vote during elections

North Korea upgraded nuclear missile programme in 2020, says UN diplomat  —  Confidential UN report reveals Pyongyang was acting in violation of international sanctions  —  North Korea maintained and developed its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes throughout 2020 in violation …

‘This fever will break’: Republican Jeff Flake on the slow fade of Trumpism  —  Anti-Trumpists are growing but very slowly - convicting Trump in his impeachment trial would help speed things along, says Flake  —  By now, Jeff Flake thought this would all be over.

Biden can advance racial justice, but only if Democratic senators ditch an old tradition  —  Republicans blocked Obama's judicial nominees with ‘blue slips’ but ignored the custom for Bush and Trump.  Shelve it now to diversify the courts.  —  President Joe Biden has made clear …

My Mother Got Vaccinated.  Is It Now Safe To Visit?  —  It's been more than a year since I've seen my mother.  Like many families, we live a fair distance apart and the pandemic has put a stop to our visits.  I was supposed to visit last April to celebrate her 90th birthday …

Where Does Abby Phillip Go From Here? … Abby Phillip's breakthrough moment came during those tense, hazy days after the election, when results were still rolling in, election nerds were toggling back and forth between Steve Kornacki and John King, and the networks hadn't yet called it for Joe Biden.

Review: Andy Ngo's new book still pretends antifa's the real enemy  —  Unmasked: Inside Antifa's Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy  —  There is an alternate universe out there in which we never have to ponder, let alone read, “Unmasked,” provocateur Andy Ngo's supremely dishonest new book …

Inside Bidenworld's plan to punish the GOP for opposing Covid relief  —  Democrats are plowing forward with plans to pass a massive Covid-19 relief package.  And if Republicans don't join them, they won't forget it.  —  Already, there's talk about midterm attack ads portraying Republicans …

The 3 Worst Things About That Terrible Jeep Super Bowl Ad  —  How could a major corporation not see how propagandistic it comes off to suggest that when Republicans win a national election, that's divisive, but when Democrats win one, that's unifying?  —  In a generally weak year …

New variants raise worry about COVID-19 virus reinfections  —  Evidence is mounting that having COVID-19 may not protect against getting infected again with some of the new variants.  People also can get second infections with earlier versions of the coronavirus if they mounted a weak defense the first time, new research suggests.

How Covid Overwhelmed One L.A. Hospital in California's Worst-Hit County  —  Inside an overwhelmed facility in the worst-hit part of California, where the patriarchs of two immigrant families were taken when they fell sick.  —  LOS ANGELES — Over the New Year's holiday …