Haberman book: Flushed papers found clogging Trump WH toilet  —  While President Trump was in office, staff in the White House residence periodically discovered wads of printed paper clogging a toilet — and believed the president had flushed pieces of paper, Maggie Haberman scoops in her forthcoming book, “Confidence Man.”

Prices climbed 7.5% in January compared with last year, continuing inflation's fastest pace in 40 years  —  High inflation is undermining a robust recovery, testing policymakers at the Federal Reserve and White House  —  Prices continued their upward march in January, rising by 7.5 percent compared …

Exclusive: DHS warns that trucker protests in U.S. could begin on Super Bowl Sunday  —  The Department of Homeland Security is warning law enforcement and public safety officials in the United States that a prolonged trucker convoy protesting vaccine mandates could begin on Feb. 13, when the Super Bowl is played in Los Angeles.

Democrats are lifting mask mandates now but why?  —  Good morning — and happy anniversary (plus a day) to this video of a lawyer who logged onto Zoom as a cat.  —  Today: Biden's FDA nominee gets a critical endorsement and an appeals court declined to lift a block on Biden's vaccine mandate for federal workers.

The Cynical Spectacle of Sarah Palin's Lawsuit Against the New York Times  —  In an age when every arena of politics and media is infused with remorseless combat, James Bennet has a rare distinction: The former New York Times editorial page editor has been circled by ideological packs on left and right with equal ferocity.

Russia set to begin massive military drills with Belarus; U.S. slams ‘escalatory’ action  — Russia on Thursday is set to begin 10 days of military exercises with its neighbor Belarus as tensions remain high over a large build-up of troops along its border with Ukraine.

Montana senator criticizes fellow Democrats for not appealing to rural Americans more  —  (CNN)Montana Sen. Jon Tester criticized fellow Democrats for not appealing to Middle America more and said Democrats need to “show up” in those places if they want to win elections.

Dems face a sobering possibility: Build Back ... never  —  Build Back Never?  The thought has crossed Democrats' minds.  —  President Joe Biden's $1.7 trillion social and climate spending plan is dead as written, rejected by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).  The Senate is moving onto a host …

Tesla Sued by California Agency for Alleged Racial Discrimination, Harassment  —  California Department of Fair Employment and Housing says it acted after receiving hundreds of complaints from workers  —  A California regulatory agency said it filed a lawsuit against Tesla Inc. …

Biden to propose 4.6 percent pay raise for federal employees, the biggest hike in 20 years  —  Federal employees and military service members would receive average raises of 4.6 percent next January under the budget President Biden will propose in March, marking what would be the workforce's …

Timothy Ramthun, a Republican pushing to overturn 2020 election, appears poised to enter race for Wisconsin governor  —  MADISON - A state lawmaker who was disciplined by the Assembly leader over false election claims and who has repeatedly called on his colleagues to take the impossible action …

The Stories Fox News Doesn't Cover  —  This is a subscriber-exclusive edition of Wait, What?, a newsletter about politics, the far right, and the things you should be noticing.  Sign up for the newsletter here, and subscribe to The Atlantic for access to more exclusives like this.

When Visitors Were Banned From Rikers Island, Even More Drugs Showed Up  —  Last April, Thomas Earl Braunson III was found dead in his cell on Rikers Island.  The 35-year-old had struggled with addiction throughout his life, family said, and in the end that battle proved fatal.

DHS: American Thought Police  —  The transition from tracking terrorism to chasing thought crime has a major advantage.  It exonerates U.S. counterterrorism officials from the meddlesome job of catching actual terrorists. … Stopping the flow of MDM.  —  MDM isn't the latest flavor of fentanyl …

Inside Patriot Front: The Masked White Supremacists On A Nationwide Hate Crime Spree  —  A new HuffPost investigation exposes the inner workings of the secretive American fascist group destroying Black Lives Matter symbols across the country.  —  In the early hours of June 24, 2021 …

New report details the influence of Christian nationalism on the insurrection  —  (RNS) — A team of scholars, faith leaders and advocates unveiled an exhaustive new report Wednesday (Feb. 9) that documents in painstaking detail the role Christian nationalism played in the Jan. 6 attack …

CNN anchor admits she's ‘officially out of ideas’ for ‘what to do about Joe Rogan’  —  The liberal network has waged relentless attacks toward the popular podcast host  —  Thought police attacking Joe Rogan like they did Soviet dissidents: Koffler  —  It appears CNN is losing steam in its criticism toward podcast giant Joe Rogan.

Steep ridership losses will force changes to Metro service after pandemic, transit leaders say  —  Metro's ability to provide safe and reliable transportation was under scrutiny by a House Oversight subcommittee  —  The public transit service that riders were accustomed to before the pandemic …