Confirmation hearings for Jackson conclude after testimony from outside witnesses … The fourth and final day of confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson concluded Thursday after the Senate Judiciary Committee heard from an array of outside witnesses …

First on CNN: January 6 committee has text messages between Ginni Thomas and Mark Meadows  —  The House Select Committee investigating the January 6 riot has in its possession more than two dozen text messages between former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Virginia “Ginni” …

Donald Trump sues Hillary Clinton and allies over Russia claims  —  Former President Donald Trump is suing 2016 Democratic Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in a sprawling case that accuses her of conspiring with dozens of other actors — frequent targets of Trump's conspiracy theories and rage — to topple his presidency.

‘FIGHT BACK’: Jan. 6 panel's court battle with RNC heats up over fundraising emails  —  As the Jan. 6 select committee battles the Republican National Committee in court over documents that could prove pivotal to the panel's probe, it's zeroing in on a classic Washington bit of performative politics: spammy fundraising emails.

Biden holds news conference following meeting with European leaders, Zelenskyy's plea  —  “We would respond,” if Putin used chemical weapons, Biden said.  —  President Joe Biden took questions at a news conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels, addressing warnings of a possible chemical weapons attack …

Madison Cawthorn Committed the One Unforgivable Sin of Politics  —  The ingredients are there for an upset.  —  If the worst thing Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) did this month was call Ukraine's President “a thug,” or get caught speeding multiple times with a revoked license …

Photographer ‘surprised and disappointed’ at Today's edited Lia Thomas photos  —  EXCLUSIVE — Photographer and University of Pennsylvania graduate Erica Denhoff was shocked to see her work significantly altered on the Today show last week, adding that at first, she thought “something was honestly wrong with the video.”

How Putin badly misjudged the West, as explained by a Russia expert  —  With President Biden traveling to Europe to shore up the Western alliance against the invasion of Ukraine, it's become overwhelmingly clear that Russian President Vladimir Putin badly underestimated the potential …

North Korea fires first suspected ICBM since 2017  —  Seoul, South Korea (CNN)North Korea has fired what is believed to be its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in more than four years as Western leaders gather in Brussels for a security summit.

Why Trump Is Losing His Grip on the GOP  —  It strains memory now to recall that when Donald Trump first shoved his way into presidential politics seven years ago this spring, and soon after humiliated a long parade of establishment Republicans, his appeal to voters had a coherent dimension.

No, Asking a Nominee to Explain Her Record Isn't Worse Than Accusing a Nominee of Gang Rape  —  In an editorial today, the Washington Post argues that “Republicans boast they have not pulled a Kavanaugh.  In fact, they've treated Jackson worse.”  A “woman credibly accused Mr. Kavanaugh of sexual assault …

McCarthy calls endorsement of Cheney's primary foe a ‘special case’  —  See McCarthy's head-spinning flip on Liz Cheney  —  Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida (CNN)House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said he won't be wading into any other primaries to oust incumbents in his own party …

Exclusive: Russia Backs Europe's Far Right  —  Emails and documents show just how closely Italian, French, German and Austrian politicians coordinate with Moscow … So wrote Mikhail Yakushev, a Russian national, in a Microsoft Word document he emailed to himself on June 18, 2019.

Russian spies indicted in worldwide hacks of energy industry, including Kansas nuclear plant  —  Three Russian spies spent five years targeting energy infrastructure in 135 countries in an effort to enable the Russian government to gain remote control of power plants, the U.S. Department …

Biden Administration Drafting Order to Invoke Defense Production Act for Green Energy Storage Technology … The Biden administration is drafting an executive order invoking the Defense Production Act to alleviate shortages of key minerals needed for the technology to store clean energy.

Cities Lost Population in 2021, Leading to the Slowest Year of Growth in U.S. History  —  Although some of the fastest growing regions in the country continued to grow, the gains were nearly erased by stark losses in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.  —  Substantial population loss …

WATCH: Senate candidate Mo Brooks sits down for a one-on-one interview  —  You can watch the whole interview in the video player above.

Putin Stirs U.S. Concern That He Feels Cornered and May Lash Out  —  Biden administration officials are increasingly worried that Russian President Vladimir Putin may lash out dangerously as Russian troops find themselves bogged down in Ukraine and Western sanctions begin to bite.

A ‘fixer’ was killed in Ukraine.  She was doing one of journalism's most thankless jobs. … Miguel Angel Vega became a “fixer” for journalists visiting his native Mexico in 2010 to raise money for a film project.  Like most starting out in this specialized branch of journalism …

Ukraine says Moscow is forcibly taking civilians to Russia  —  KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine accused Moscow on Thursday of forcibly taking hundreds of thousands of civilians from shattered Ukrainian cities to Russia, where some may be used as “hostages” to pressure Kyiv to give up.