Meandering Performance by Defense Lawyers Enrages Trump  —  The former president was particularly angry at Bruce L. Castor Jr., one of his lawyers, for acknowledging the effectiveness of the House Democrats' presentation.  —  On the first day of his second impeachment trial …

Greene Gains Popularity With Republican Voters Following Committee Fight  —  Georgia freshman is now as prominent nationwide as House GOP leaders  — 30% of GOP voters view Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene favorably, up 11 points since last week.  — Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney …

GOP Image Slides Giving Democrats Strong Advantage  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans' opinions of the Republican Party have worsened in recent months, with 37% now saying they have a favorable view of the party, down from 43% in November.  This decline, along with a slight increase …

'I'm Not a Cat,' Says Lawyer Having Zoom Difficulties  —  The video was immediately shared widely and brought joy to many.  The lawyer, Rod Ponton, said he was happy people got a much-needed laugh.  —  It was a civil forfeiture case hearing like any other hearing, except for the lawyer cat.

Mark Cuban's Mavericks won't play national anthem anymore  —  Haven't heard about any national anthem protests at Dallas Mavericks games?  There's a good reason for that: The team isn't and won't be playing it anymore.  —  Mark Cuban told The Athletic it was his decision to eliminate …

'There's Nothing Left': Why Thousands of Republicans Are Leaving the Party  —  Voting registration data indicates a stronger-than-usual flight from the G.O.P. since the Capitol riot, with an intensely fluid period in American politics now underway.  —  In the days after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol …

Why Jamie Raskin's Speech Resonated  —  The emotional high point of Donald Trump's second impeachment trial probably came in its first hours.  —  Closing out the opening presentation from the Democratic House managers, Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland offered a powerful speech …

A majority of the people arrested for Capitol riot had a history of financial trouble  —  Trail of bankruptcies, tax problems and bad debts raises questions for researchers trying to understand motivations for attack  —  Jenna Ryan seemed like an unlikely participant in the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

Sen. Shirkey baselessly claims U.S. Capitol riot was ‘staged’ by Trump haters, recording shows  — Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey.  —  Michigan state Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey suggested the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was a “hoax” perpetuated by opponents of former President Donald Trump.

8-Year-Old Calls Out NPR For Lack Of Dinosaur Stories  —  Toggle more options  —  An 8-year-old from Minneapolis recently pointed out a big problem with NPR's oldest news show, All Things Considered.  Leo Shidla wrote to his local NPR station: … Leo has a point.  All Things Considered is about to turn 50 years old.

StopTheSteal: Timeline of Social Media and Extremist Activities Leading to 1/6 Insurrection  —  Introduction  —  The insurrectionist attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 was not spontaneous.  —  The assault that unfolded as Congress convened a joint session to certify the victory of Joe Biden …

Trump hid his calls with Putin.  Now, Biden has access to them.  —  Few Trump-era mysteries are as intriguing as what the 45th president said to Vladimir Putin in at least a dozen rambling, off-the-cuff calls and meetings over four years.  Understanding what was said between …

Exclusive: Ukraine Releases ‘Shock’ Call With Giuliani As Trump's Second Impeachment Trial Begins  —  “Let these investigations go forward,” Rudy Giuliani told the presidential headquarters in Kyiv, Ukraine, his voice turning impatient.  “Get someone to investigate this.”

At Times, Don McNeil Scandal Deepens  —  This business over The New York Times pushing out veteran science journalist Donald G. McNeil, Jr., is shaping up to be deeply symbolic of the way wokeness has corrupted a major American institution.  Seriously, the rot goes all the way to the top.

Yang holds commanding lead in mayor's race: new poll  —  Andrew Yang commands a double-digit lead in the Democrat primary for mayor, with his closest rivals, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and Comptroller Scott Stringer, trailing by more than 10 percentage points each, a new poll released early Wednesday morning revealed.

Is This Beverly Hills Cop Playing Sublime's ‘Santeria’ to Avoid Being Live-streamed?  —  Police officers in Beverly Hills have been playing music while being filmed, seemingly in an effort to trigger Instagram's copyright filters.  —  DT  —  Last Friday, a man entered the Beverly Hills police department …

Aunt Jemima Rebrands As Pearl Milling Company  —  PepsiCo, Inc., today announced the debut of Pearl Milling Company, the new name of the pancake mix and syrup varieties previously found under the Aunt Jemima brand.  —  Pearl Milling Company-branded pancake mixes, syrups, cornmeal, flour …

Former Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel announces Senate bid  —  CLEVELAND, Ohio - Former Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, a Republican, on Wednesday announced he was entering the race to succeed outgoing GOP Sen. Rob Portman.  —  Mandel's entry is the first for what is expected to be a high-profile contest …

Newsom Faces Recall Danger as Frustrated Parents Reach Breaking Point  —  Outraged parents, many of whom voted for Newsom, might push the recall effort over the top.  —  For parents like Clarissa Falen, California governor Gavin Newsom has been a letdown.  —  Falen, a Bay Area native …

2/10 Mike Luckovich: Where they came from  —  ByeDonThis was after Super Tuesday, and after Biden won South Carolina.  It seemed at that point that he was gonna be the nominee.  I woke up around 330 a.m. the next morning and started thinking, and something just hit me — “ByeDon.”

Dozens of states see new voter suppression proposals  —  There are at least 165 proposals under consideration in 33 states so far this year to restrict future voting access by limiting mail-in ballots, implementing new voter ID requirements and slashing registration options.

TikTok Sale to Oracle, Walmart Is Shelved as Biden Reviews Security  —  Trump-driven deal had languished as video-sharing app's Chinese owner mounted successful legal challenges  —  WASHINGTON—A U.S. plan to force the sale of TikTok's American operations to a group including Oracle Corp …

The Jan. 6 images were already disturbing.  The impeachment-trial video makes them terrifying.  —  The pounding on the Capitol doors, the shouts of the mob, police officers screaming in pain, barricades toppled, windows shattered, the deadly gunshot.  —  Captured in fragments on cellphone videos …

In impeachment trial, a clarifying moment for the GOP  —  WASHINGTON — The second impeachment trial of Donald Trump offers a clarifying moment for the GOP.  —  As the trial began Tuesday, Republican senators remained deeply — though not evenly — divided over whether to convict the party's …

Lie After Lie: Listen to How Trump Built His Alternate Reality  —  The 38-minute video below shows how Donald J. Trump's persistent repetition of lies and calls to action over two months created an alternate reality that he won re-election.  Mr. Trump's words, which were echoed and amplified …

How Long Can Democracy Survive QAnon and Its Allies?  —  Politicians and political scientists wonder if there are electoral reforms that might blunt the lunacy.  —  Mr. Edsall contributes a weekly column from Washington, D.C. on politics, demographics and inequality.

Biden Team Fears: No COVID Herd Immunity Until Thanksgiving  —  Dr. Fauci is still “cautiously optimistic” that life can return to normal by the beginning of the fall.  But others worry that we may not get there until the early winter.  —  Top members of Biden's COVID response team …

Large bipartisan majority of Americans favor more COVID economic relief  —  A very large and bipartisan majority of Americans would support congressional passage of a new stimulus bill to help those impacted by the pandemic, and many would prefer that it receive bipartisan support in Congress, too.