‘The brand is so toxic’: Dems fear extinction in rural US  —  SMETHPORT, Pa. (AP) — Some Democrats here in rural Pennsylvania are afraid to tell you they're Democrats.  —  The party's brand is so toxic in the small towns 100 miles northeast of Pittsburgh that some liberals have removed bumper stickers …

Oregon Supreme Court will rule on whether Nick Kristof can run for Oregon governor  —  The Oregon Supreme Court says Nick Kristof, the former New York Times columnist who quit his newspaper job to run for Oregon governor, cannot appear on the state's May primary ballot.The justices' decision …

Ukraine, Russian-backed rebels accuse each other of shelling in Donbas region, where war has already simmered for years  —  Kyiv — Ukraine's military and the Russian-backed separatists it has battled for eight years in the country's eastern Donbas region both accused the other side of opening fire …

San Francisco is usually seen as a lefty outlier.  The school board recalls may make it a bellwether  —  San Francisco is so famous for its liberalism that the city has become shorthand for eccentric political sensibilities far to the left of most Americans.

Michelle Childs Sentenced a Man to 12 Years for Selling Eight Ounces of Weed  —  ‘I had more time than people in there who killed somebody,’ says Willie Roy Goodwin, who received the harsh sentence from the Supreme Court hopeful.  —  Since Willie Roy Goodwin's 2009 sentencing …

Trump Makes New Claims About His Wealth After Accountants Drop Him  —  The former president has spent decades inventing facts and figures to suit his needs.  Now, dropped by his accountants, he is making new claims.  —  On Tuesday evening, former President Donald J. Trump …

Clinton campaign lawyer Sussmann files motion to dismiss Durham prosecution  —  Michael Sussmann claims ‘extraordinary prosecutorial overreach’  —  Durham report alleges claims against Clinton campaign lawyer Sussmann  —  Attorneys for Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann filed …

The MyPillow Guy Is Seriously Planning to Drop Pillows From the Sky Over Canada  —  PREPARE THE TEENY TINY PARACHUTES!  —  After his initial Tuesday shipment of MyPillow products was denied entry into Canada, Mike Lindell now has a backup plan to get free pillows to Canadian truckers: drop them from the sky via a helicopter.

Trudeau reprimanded in Parliament for remarks made to Jewish Conservative Party MP  —  Any time a politician resorts to making Nazi references during an argument, you know he or she is losing that argument.  It's always an out-of-bounds reference.  Yet, politicians continue to make the mistake of doing it.

P. J. O'Rourke, 1947-2022  —  Brilliant writer, beautiful soul  —  This past Tuesday morning, the news broke hard and cruel that another of the good guys had left us.  Though “good” guy is a sinful understatement in the case of P.J. O'Rourke.  He was the best guy.

Biden Keeps Blaming the Supply Chain for Inflation.  That's Dishonest.  —  Mr. Rattner served as counselor to the Treasury secretary in the Obama administration.  —  In an interview with Lester Holt of NBC last week, President Biden hewed closely to his talking points on inflation …

US Capitol attack panel discusses subpoena for Ivanka Trump  —  House select committee is considering best way to get evidence from ex-president's daughter about his efforts to cling to power  —  The House select committee investigating the Capitol attack is considering issuing a subpoena …

Washington Post poll: D.C. Mayor Bowser's approval rating drops amid rising concerns about crime  —  A majority of D.C. residents approve of Mayor Muriel E. Bowser's job performance — although her popularity has dropped from previous years, with residents growing sharply more concerned …

Masks, vaccines and other measures blocked coronavirus spread at anime convention, CDC reports  —  When 53,000 people gathered at a New York City anime convention in late November, the stage was set for widespread transmission of the omicron variant of the coronavirus, which was just beginning its march across the United States.

GOP plunges into season of ‘self-hate’ that will rewire the party  —  Republicans are embarking on a primary season that is poised to reshape the GOP for a generation, and that journey begins in Texas.  —  In less than two weeks, the first primary election of 2022 will take place …

Ibram X. Kendi Does Not Run the Democratic Party  —  Republicans would like to make the Democratic Party indistinguishable from the left's most divisive figures and policy demands.  —  During his first year in office, Joe Biden exploited emergency public-health rules to effectively suspend migrants' right …

The regrettable death of the Slatepitch  —  We've lost a lot as every publication has become the same  —  Katie Robertson of the New York Times recently wrote about my former employer Slate and its “struggles to find identity and profit” in the modern world.

Exclusive: Iran nuclear deal draft puts prisoners, enrichment, cash first, oil comes later - diplomats … A U.S.-Iranian deal taking shape to revive Iran's 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers lays out phases of mutual steps to bring both sides back into full compliance …

In Leaked Audio, CDC's Rochelle Walensky Privately Confirms She Won't Relax School Mask Guidance  —  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have no plans to change their recommendation that all U.S. schools require students to wear masks, according to an audio recording …

Trump endorses Texas congressional candidate accused of abusive behavior toward her estranged husband's daughter  —  Former president Donald Trump on Thursday offered his “Complete and Total Endorsement” of Monica De La Cruz, a Republican congressional candidate in Texas whose campaign …

Democrat facing tough re-election battle rolls out welcome mat for Biden in Ohio  —  CLEVELAND — As some Democrats in tough races appear to keep their distance from him, President Joe Biden can count on at least one big political embrace when he visits Ohio on Thursday.

White House economists push back against pressure to blame corporate power for inflation … When the prepared congressional testimony of a senior administration official was circulated inside the White House in recent weeks, it included a passage tying inflation to corporate consolidation and monopoly power.

Border crisis: Number of Turkish migrants at southern border already outpaces FY 2021  —  There have been 1,523 encounters of Turkish nationals so far in FY 2022  —  Biden admin has ‘no intentions of securing border’: Former Border Patrol chief  —  The number of Turkish migrants encountered …

The “Big Sort” Continues, with Trump as a Driving Force  —  Dear Readers: UVA Center for Politics Director Larry J. Sabato recently interviewed Jonathan Karl of ABC News and Rep. Ro Khanna (D, CA-17) about, respectively, their new books Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show and Dignity in a Digital Age …