Trump campaign officials, led by Rudy Giuliani, oversaw fake electors plot in 7 states  —  Washington (CNN)Trump campaign officials, led by Rudy Giuliani, oversaw efforts in December 2020 to put forward illegitimate electors from seven states that Trump lost, according to three sources with direct knowledge of the scheme.

NPR reporting on Supreme Court mask controversy merits clarification  —  An inaccurate verb choice made the reporting unclear  —  On Tuesday morning, NPR Legal Affairs Correspondent Nina Totenberg reported that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch had declined to wear a mask in court …

BREAKING: Fulton DA requests special grand jury for Trump probe  —  Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is requesting a special grand jury to aid in her investigation of former President Donald Trump and his efforts to overturn Georgia's 2020 election results.

FBI raid on House Democrat's home related to Azerbaijan probe, source says  —  An FBI spokesperson said any law enforcement activity was “court-authorized.”  —  The FBI on Wednesday raided Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar's home and campaign office in Texas as part of a wide-ranging …

Rep. Lauren Boebert Asked A Group Of Jewish Capitol Visitors If They Were Doing “Reconnaissance”  —  Rep. Lauren Boebert left a group of Jewish visitors to the Capitol bewildered Thursday morning when she asked them if they were doing “reconnaissance” after seeing them at an elevator at the Capitol.

Arizona Democrat says some senators urging him to challenge Sinema with party at a ‘breaking point’  —  (CNN)Rep. Ruben Gallego says his phone has been ringing a lot recently — with many Democrats making a pitch to him: Run against Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema in 2024.

Treasury Sanctions Russian-Backed Actors Responsible for Destabilization Activities in Ukraine  —  WASHINGTON - Today, the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned four individuals engaged in Russian government-directed influence activities to destabilize Ukraine.

Trump held secret meetings in days before Capitol attack, ex-press secretary tells panel  —  Stephanie Grisham gave more significant details than expected about what Trump was doing before 6 January, sources say  —  The former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham told …

An American Airlines flight turns back over the Atlantic because of a passenger mask dispute.  —  An American Airlines flight to London from Miami turned around about an hour into its journey on Wednesday night because of a passenger who refused to follow coronavirus masking rules, the airline said.

Peloton to halt production of its Bikes, treadmills as demand wanes  — Peloton is temporarily halting production of its connected fitness products as consumer demand wanes and the company looks to control costs, according to internal documents obtained by CNBC.

Mitch McConnell Says Black People Vote Just as Much as ‘Americans’  —  COME AGAIN?  —  If only politicians thought before they talked.  Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) seemingly implied on Wednesday that Black Americans are not true Americans.  Following a failed vote on Democrats' John Lewis …

'Let's ban algebra, too!' adds Fla. legislator who is clearly not three kids in a trench coat  —  TALLAHASSEE — Florida legislators are working hard to pass a bill that, as the Associated Press observed, would “prohibit public schools and private businesses from making white people feel 'discomfort …

Rep. Madison Cawthorn Cleans Gun During Veterans Hearing  —  The North Carolina Republican lived up to his claim to fame on Wednesday of being the youngest current member of Congress.  —  The House Veterans' Affairs Committee took Wednesday as an opportunity to hold a virtual hearing on how toxic chemicals are killing U.S. soldiers.

Time is running out for Biden's Justice Department to prosecute Trump for 10 possible crimes detailed in the Mueller report  — The five-year deadline is closing in to charge Donald Trump with crimes detailed by Robert Mueller.  — Trump benefited in office from a DOJ policy against prosecuting a sitting president.

Supreme Court Permits Continued Enforcement of Texas Six-Week Abortion Ban  —  Court denies providers' request to allow challenge to S.B. 8 to proceed in federal court  —  WASHINGTON-The Supreme Court allowed Texas' six-week abortion ban to remain in effect indefinitely …

Biden Re-Nominates Trump Pick and GOP Donor Jennifer Rearden as a Federal Judge  —  President Joe Biden yesterday nominated a slate of judges, including a controversial selection in Jennifer Rearden, who was first nominated for the federal bench by former President Donald Trump.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm violated a federal conflict-of-interest law by improperly disclosing stock sales  — Granholm sold up to $240,000 in stocks from April 2021 through October 2021.  — She disclosed the trades in December 2021 — weeks or months after a federal deadline.

Judge denies InfoWars host motion to dismiss  —  (CNN Business)A federal judge on Thursday denied InfoWars host and right-wing conspiracy theorist Owen Shroyer's attempt to dismiss the four charges against him in connection with the January 6 Capitol riot.  —  Shroyer has been charged …

Belarusian Government Officials Charged With Aircraft Piracy For Diverting Ryanair Flight 4978 To Arrest Dissident Journalist In May 2021  —  Senior Belarusian Officials Conspired to Use a False Bomb Threat to Unlawfully Divert a Passenger Flight Carrying American Citizens in Order to Arrest Belarusian Dissident

Due to COVID Concerns, ESPN Will Not Staff Winter Olympics in China  —  Robust remote coverage plans will kick off prior to start of competition  —  Due to concerns about COVID-19 and other COVID-related restrictions, ESPN will not be sending any news personnel to the Winter Olympics in China …

Reality check: President Joe Biden's year-one grade?  A+  —  Any other answer is insane.  —  As President Biden marked the anniversary of his first year in office Wednesday, the reviews have come in.  A raft of pundits and pollsters describe him as “limping,” “struggling” even “failing.”

Scoop: Trump's friends worry legal pick for N.Y. case lacks experience  —  Close associates and advisers to Donald Trump tell Axios they're concerned by his decision to use a relatively inexperienced New Jersey attorney, Alina Habba, in his high-stakes legal fight against New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Never Mind the Facts.  Trump Fans Feel Like a Majority  —  Donald Trump's obsession with inflated estimates of the crowd sizes at his various live events has been a long-running joke in American politics.  This was exhibited most famously in his bitter argument with the National Park Service …

An anti-Black backlash — with no end in sight  —  We are in the midst of an aggressive, sustained backlash against recent shows of Black political power.  The Senate's rejection of a comprehensive voting rights bill on Wednesday night both leaves in place some of the most pernicious elements …

'F***ing Jews...I'm coming home in a body bag': British synagogue terrorist's phone call to family reveals he WAS anti-Semitic and had duped Britain's MI5  — Malik Faisal Akram, 44, said he was ‘bombed up’ and ‘ready to die’ in synagogue  — Final phone call to his brother Gulbar, who urged him to give himself up to police

POLITICO Playbook PM: Pelosi plays cleanup for Biden  —  BIG MEDIA MOVE THIS MORNING: BOB COSTA, the star politics reporter for the Washington Post and BOB WOODWARD's recent co-author, is joining CBS as chief election and campaign correspondent.  More from the NYT

Why I Almost Didn't Read My Poem at the Inauguration  —  Amanda Gorman is a poet and the author of “The Hill We Climb” and “Call Us What We Carry.”  —  It's told like this: Amanda Gorman performed at the inauguration and the rest is history.  —  The truth is I almost declined to be the inaugural poet.

Hot Package: Billy Ray, Adam McKay Team For ‘J6,’ Film About January 6 Assault On Capitol  —  EXCLUSIVE: The January 6 assault on the US Capitol, considered the worst attack on democracy since the Civil War, will be the subject of a feature film scripted and to be directed by Billy Ray …

Rittenhouse seeks return of gun used during Kenosha protest  —  KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — Kyle Rittenhouse, the Illinois man acquitted of fatally shooting two men and wounding a third during street protests in Kenosha in 2020, is seeking the return of the gun and other property that police seized after his arrest.

A Dam in Syria Was on a ‘No- Strike’ List.  The U.S. Bombed It Anyway.  —  A military report warned that striking the giant structure could cause tens of thousands of deaths.  —  Near the height of the war against the Islamic State in Syria, a sudden riot of explosions rocked the country's largest dam …