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 …

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.

'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.

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 …

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 …

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.

'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 …

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.”

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.

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.”

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 …

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 …

Inside Republicans' plans for a House takeover  —  House Republicans surprised nearly everyone last November when they almost captured the majority.  —  Then they spent January roiled by the deadly attack on the Capitol, confronting a second impeachment of then-President Donald Trump …

The biggest ACA overhaul in a decade is underway  —  Democrats' coronavirus relief proposal includes major changes to the Affordable Care Act, aiming to make health insurance more affordable for the millions of people who have lost their employer-based coverage during the pandemic.

Why Trump's Second Impeachment Is a Visceral Reckoning  —  At issue will be many aspects that defined Donald Trump's presidency: his relentless assaults on truth, his fomenting of divisions, his shattering of norms and his undermining of an election.  —  This was no phone call transcript, no dry words on a page open to interpretation.