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.”

Deputy Va. attorney general resigns after revelation of Facebook posts praising Jan. 6 rioters, claiming Trump won election  —  A top deputy overseeing election issues for Virginia's new Republican attorney general resigned Thursday after The Washington Post questioned the office about Facebook posts …

CNN Poll: Most Biden detractors say he's done nothing they like since becoming president  —  (CNN)Nearly 6 in 10 Americans disapprove of how Joe Biden is handling his presidency, with most of that group saying there's literally nothing Biden has done since taking office that they approve of.

Here's Why I'll Be Keeping My Shoes on in Your Shoeless Home  —  Why are you assuming that your guests' shoes are dirtier than your floors?  —  Shoes are one of the things that separates us from other species.  Not only are shoes fabulous, but they protect our soft and not-very-well-designed feet …

Police records complicate Herschel Walker's recovery story  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — One warm fall evening in 2001, police in Irving, Texas, received an alarming call from Herschel Walker's therapist.  The football legend and current Republican Senate candidate in Georgia was “volatile,” …

The Jan. 6 Committee Won't Be Intimidated  —  We are focused on facts, not rhetoric, and will present them no matter what our critics say.  —  I keep on my desk a copy of the oath my great-great-grandfather signed when he re-enlisted in the Union Army in 1863.

Putin kept Macron at a distance for snubbing COVID demands: sources … French President Emmanuel Macron refused a Kremlin request that he take a Russian COVID-19 test when he arrived to see President Vladimir Putin this week, and was therefore kept at a distance from the Russian leader, two sources in Macron's entourage told Reuters.

Spurned by Trump, GOP Rep. Mace stands outside Trump Tower in NYC to pledge fidelity to the former president  —  Trump on Wednesday endorsed Katie Arrington, who is challenging the first-term South Carolina congresswoman in the Republican primary and has echoed the former president's false claims about the 2020 election

‘Free Crack Pipes’ Myth Rooted in False Free Beacon Report  —  The Washington Free Beacon seemed to take a big leap to assert that free crack pipes would be part of a harm reduction package.  Conservative media lapped it up.  —  Earlier this week, a lie rocketed around conservative media …

Ranking the States Demographically, from Most Republican-Friendly to Most Democratic-Friendly  —  Dear Readers: Join us Tuesday, Feb. 15 as Center for Politics Director Larry J. Sabato interviews ABC News' Jonathan Karl about his new book, Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show.

Former Government Contractor Executives Indicted for Unlawful Campaign Contributions  —  Three Hawaii-based executives of a government contractor were indicted today in the District of Columbia for allegedly making unlawful campaign contributions to a candidate for Congress and a political action committee.

The Times may publish documents about Project Veritas, a court says.  —  A state appeals court said that a judge's order preventing publication of the documents would not be enforced until a formal appeal could be heard.  —  The New York Times is free to publish documents pertaining …

Hundreds of mail-in ballots are being returned to Texas voters because they don't comply with new voting law  —  Local elections officials say an unexpectedly large number of ballots for the March primary are being initially rejected for lacking newly required ID information.  —  Copy link

Pre-K's Broken Promise  —  A major new study suggests that, far from helping poor kids catch up, preschool holds them back.  —  LOARA OWEN, LEFT, WITH HUSBAND MIKE OWEN HIGH-FIVE THEIR TRIPLET DAUGHTERS MATTIE, DARYN AND SADIE, LEFT TOR RIGHT, THAT ARE KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS PREPARING …

BREAKING: Inflation hits new 40-year high ... again; UPDATE: Manchin says I told you so  —  Remember when Joe Biden claimed that inflation had hit a peak?  Good times, good times.  The consumer price index instead rose to an annual rate of 7.5%, the highest in exactly 40 years, driven by large spikes in food and energy prices:

Justin Trudeau's Ceauşescu Moment  —  Denouncing truckers for “unacceptable views,” Canada's Prime Minister skipped town rather than face evidence of his own unpopularity.  Is neoliberalism finally cracking?  —  On the morning of the 21st of December, 1989, Romanian General Secretary Nicolae Ceaușescu was in a foul mood.

Abortions in Texas fell 60% in 1st month under new limits  —  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Abortions in Texas fell by 60% in the first month under the most restrictive abortion law in the U.S. in decades, according to new figures that for the first time reveal a full accounting of the immediate impact.

Why It's So Hard to ‘Follow the Science’  —  A conversation with Harvard historian Steven Shapin about why people believe Joe Rogan, why our public discourse about science is splintered, and what to do about it … These days, it's hard to figure out who to believe, what to believe, and how to persuade others to believe.

Facebook Has a Superuser-Supremacy Problem  —  If you want to understand why Facebook too often is a cesspool of hate and disinformation, a good place to start is with users such as John, Michelle, and Calvin.  —  John, a caps-lock devotee from upstate New York, calls House Speaker Nancy Pelosi …

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. …

This is the World in Which We Live  —  on harassment, being nice, & trying to get me to kill myself  —  Recently the Brookings Institution took time out of their busy schedule pretending pre-K works to present irrefutable proof that Glenn Greenwald and Tucker Carlson are harassers.  —  Or, well, not really.

Though for now boxed out of the Supreme Court's majority, liberal justices can still influence legal arguments with dissent  —  The effect of the first Black female nominee.  —  If you're not a lawyer or a legal nerd like me, you probably don't pay much attention to the dissenting opinions in Supreme Court cases.

Boy, 16, charged after predominantly Black D.C. schools receive bomb threats  —  A 16-year-old boy has been arrested and charged with making terroristic threats after several predominantly Black schools in Washington, D.C., were targeted with bomb threats Wednesday, authorities have said.

Democrat says Native Americans can't drown because of ‘eons’ of experience  —  A Democrat lawmaker is pushing a law forcing people to wear a personal flotation device in certain circumstances.  It's meant to prevent drowning accidents.  But the group with the highest rates of drowning deaths are exempt from the law.