U.S. Exposes What It Says Is Russian Effort to Fabricate Pretext for Invasion  —  Officials said Russia was planning a fake video showing an attack by Ukrainians on Russian territory or Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine.  —  WASHINGTON — The United States has acquired intelligence …

Inside the CNN Newsroom's Clash with Jason Kilar  —  Fear, anger, profound loyalty to Jeff Zucker and full-blown resentment for Jason Kilar dominated a confidential meeting in CNN's D.C. newsroom on the night of Zucker's February surprise.  —  Just after 7 p.m. ET last night …

Biden: US raid in Syria killed top Islamic State leader  —  ATMEH, Syria (AP) — A U.S. special forces raid in northwestern Syria early Thursday killed the top leader of the Islamic State group, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, President Joe Biden said.  —  “Thanks to the skill and bravery …

Sarah Palin's lawyers admit ‘uphill’ fight in libel suit against New York Times  —  NEW YORK — Attorneys for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin opened her libel case over a New York Times editorial here Thursday by acknowledging one thing that may have doomed her lawsuit from the beginning …

Zuckerberg Tells Staff to Focus on Video Products as Meta's Stock Plunges  —  Mark Zuckerberg quipped that if he started to cry, it wasn't because of the day's news.  —  His red, teary eyes were the result of a scratched cornea, the Facebook founder said Thursday, attempting to lighten …

Why are Democrats struggling with working class voters?  Don't blame ‘wokeness.’  —  With President Biden set to meet New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday, pundits will spin this as a sign of profound political failure on Democrats' part, an act of ritual penitence for failing to treat rising crime as a serious issue.

QAnon Flags Fly Onscreen After Fox News Describes Anti-Vax Truckers as ‘Mainstream’  —  This isn't the first time that Fox News has—knowingly or unknowingly—boosted the bonkers far-right conspiracy theory.  —  Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner on Thursday teed up a segment on the Canadian …

Memo circulated among Trump allies advocated using NSA data in attempt to prove stolen election  —  The proposal to seize and analyze “NSA unprocessed raw signals data” raises legal and ethical concerns that set it apart from other attempts that have come to light.

Kim Reynolds ending COVID disaster declaration, shutting down vaccination and case count websites … Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Thursday that she will soon end public health disaster proclamations that Iowa has operated under since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic nearly two years ago.

Whoopi Goldberg's American Idea of Race  —  It made sense, to the New York Daily News sports editor, that these guys dominated basketball.  After all, “the game places a premium on an alert, scheming mind and flashy trickiness, artful dodging and general smartalecness,” not to mention their “God-given better balance and speed.”

Biden greenlights $15 million infusion to Democratic campaign committees  —  White House looks to ease Democratic tensions amid ‘strained’ relationship with DNC  —  With his party facing stiff political headwinds, President Joe Biden has authorized a transfer of $15 million …

Why Voter Suppression Probably Won't Work  —  Voting procedures, turnout, and vote margins in the 2020 election  —  KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE  — In the aftermath of the high-turnout 2020 election, many Republican-controlled state governments have passed legislation that Democrats believe will harm their party's voter turnout.

When the Pope Hits Your Eye Like a Big Pizza Pie, That's Ahmari  —  From neoconservatism to integralist cosplay to active worship of China and Russia, the ‘post-liberal’ right has had a giddy five years  —  I first met Sohrab Ahmari, one of the most influential and controversial writers …

A Jewish Teacher Criticized Israel.  She Was Fired.  —  Jessie Sander had just started a job at a synagogue in Scarsdale.  But then a blog post she had written was found.  —  Last summer, Jessie Sander had been on the job at a Jewish school in Westchester County for less than a month …

Before death, Reid emptied campaign accounts  —  The day before he died, federal campaign accounts affiliated with former U.S. Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) reported doling out more than $133,000 in donations to a broad swath of federal, state and local-level Democratic candidates in Nevada.

Pence aides decline to talk about direct conversations with Trump even as they answer other questions  —  (CNN)Top aides to Vice President Mike Pence did not discuss direct conversations with former President Donald Trump over several hours of questioning in recent interviews …

EXCLUSIVE iPhone flaw exploited by second Israeli spy firm-sources … A flaw in Apple's software exploited by Israeli surveillance firm NSO Group to break into iPhones in 2021 was simultaneously abused by a competing company, according to five people familiar with the matter.

Alabama officials receive complaints about Black History Month as state debates CRT legislation  —  1,214  —  As Alabama lawmakers look to take up multiple bills in the coming weeks that would ban divisive concepts associated with critical race theory, Alabama Superintendent Eric Mackey …

Take The Hint, John Roberts — It's Time For You To Retire, Too  —  “Judges are like umpires,” John Roberts famously said at his confirmation hearing as Chief Justice.  “Umpires don't make the rules, they apply them ... They make sure everybody plays by the rules, but it is a limited role.

On Joe Rogan and Spotify, Roxane Gay Takes a Stand  —  Ms. Gay, a contributing Opinion writer, is the author of the memoir “Hunger,” among other books.  She hosts the podcast “The Roxane Gay Agenda.”  —  Sometimes, I watch a reality TV show called “Building Off the Grid,” …

Jan. 6 Defendants Keep Losing Challenges To A Felony Charged In Hundreds Of Cases  —  Obstructing an official proceeding carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.  Judges are united so far in greenlighting it in Jan. 6 cases.  —  Reporting From  —  Copy

Katrina Robinson expelled from Tennessee Senate  —  NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Katrina Robinson has been expelled from her position in the Tennessee Senate.  —  The state's full Senate voted Feb. 2 on whether to expel her from office.  —  A Senate Ethics Committee recommended the expulsion …

Inside Mississippi's only class on critical race theory  —  Brittany Murphree was born and raised in Rankin County, Mississippi, one of the most Republican counties in one of the most Republican states.  —  She went to Northwest Rankin High School where she was the president of the school's chapter …