Trump walks out of explosive Piers Morgan interview after being pressed on 2020 election  —  Former President Donald Trump blasted Piers Morgan as “very dishonest” while walking out of an interview with the TV presenter and Post columnist after being pressed on his claims that he lost the 2020 presidential election due to voter fraud.

CDC Newsroom  —  CDC Statement on Masks in Public Transportation Settings  —  To protect CDC's public health authority beyond the ongoing assessment announced last week, CDC has asked DOJ to proceed with an appeal in Health Freedom Defense Fund, Inc., et al., v. Biden, et al.

Ron DeSantis's Misguided Attack on Disney's Legal Status  —  The governor already won.  There is no need for the Republican Party of Florida to salt the earth.  —  MEDIA  —  MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace Compares DeSantis, Youngkin Parental Choice Bills to ‘Russian War Tactics’  —  By CAROLINE DOWNEY

They Know How Journalism Works!  They're Just Against It!  —  On Tuesday, Washington Post reporter Taylor Lorenz published a story about a repulsive creep who uses her large online following to, essentially, subject random LGBTQ people (and especially trans people) to harassment, and worse.

Inside the New Right, Where Peter Thiel Is Placing His Biggest Bets  —  They're not MAGA.  They're not QAnon.  Curtis Yarvin and the rising right are crafting a different strain of conservative politics.  —  It was Halloween in Orlando, and we had piled into a car to make a short trip …

Kremlin Insiders Alarmed Over Growing Toll of Putin's War in Ukraine  —  Almost eight weeks after Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine, with military losses mounting and Russia facing unprecedented international isolation, a small but growing number of senior Kremlin insiders are quietly questioning his decision to go to war.

Trump Campaign Ordered to Pay $1.3 Million to Omarosa Manigault Newman in NDA case  —  An arbitrator found Mr. Trump's campaign owes the former White House aide and “Apprentice” star for legal fees, after he sued her for writing a tell-all book.  — Give this article- - - Read in app

Abbott's border policy cost the U.S. almost $9 billion in just 10 days  —  Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's short-lived policy of requiring state troopers to conduct secondary inspections of trucks crossing into Texas from Mexico cost the United States almost $9 billion in just 10 days, Axios reported Tuesday.

Sanders ‘has not ruled out another run for president’ if Biden doesn't  —  ‘In the event of an open 2024 Democratic presidential primary, Sen. Sanders has not ruled out another run for president,’ writes a top adviser  —  Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is open to running for president in 2024 …

A young Democrat's viral takedown demands a ‘wokeness’ rethink  —  “Wokeness is a problem and we all know it,” James Carville recently told Vox in his inimitably splenetic way.  The veteran strategist called on Democrats to distance themselves from “faculty lounge bulls—” and to undo their image as an …

Defeat Has Not Defanged Trump — or Trumpism  —  The fissures in the Democratic Party are on display for all to see, since it is the party in power, but the divisions in the Republican Party and the conservative movement are deeper, wider and far more threatening.

Jan. 6 panel piecing together details of final Trump-Pence call  —  Congressional investigators entering the last stage of their probe are gathering new evidence about a crucial moment on the Jan. 6 timeline: the final, fateful phone call between Donald Trump and Mike Pence before a pro-Trump mob attacked the Capitol.

This firm made Republicans go viral — now it's falling apart … In the breathless world of conservative online politics, Arsenal Media is here to help you go viral.  Co-founded by gadfly meme enthusiast Benny Johnson, the firm lists clients like Rep. Madison Cawthorn and Dana Loesch …

Former Intelligence Officials, Citing Russia, Say Big Tech Monopoly Power is Vital to National Security  —  When the U.S. security state announces that Big Tech's centralized censorship power must be preserved, we should ask what this reveals about whom this regime serves.

House Rating Changes: Eight Races Move in Republicans' Direction  —  President Biden's approval rating remains stuck at 42 percent, and if anything the political environment has deteriorated for Democrats since January as inflation concerns have soared and Build Back Better has stalled.

Hillary Clinton moves to shut down Trump lawsuit  —  Hillary Clinton is moving quickly to shut down an epic federal lawsuit that former President Donald Trump filed last month accusing her, her political allies and various government officials of a racketeering conspiracy to propagate false claims …

Youngkin vetoes bipartisan bill designed to rein in slumlords  —  The horror stories have cropped up from tenants across the state: no heat, holes in the walls, rotten floors and flooded kitchens.  In cases ranging from Glenwood Farms in Henrico to Aqua Vista in Newport News …

A$AP Rocky detained at LAX in connection to November 2021 shooting  —  Rakim Mayers, better known as A$AP Rocky, was detained on Wednesday at Los Angeles International Airport in connection to a November 2021 shooting, according to multiple law enforcement sources familiar with the matter.

Checking Out: Trump Hotel Sale Will End an Era  —  The $375 million sale of a Washington hotel that served as an influence and access bazaar for lawmakers, administration officials and other Trump allies is slated to be finalized this month.  — Give this article- - - Read in app

Obamas to Leave Spotify, Seek Multimillion-Dollar Deal Elsewhere  —  Barack and Michelle Obama's time with Spotify Technology SA is coming to an end.  —  The former first family's production company, Higher Ground, won't be signing a new deal with the audio platform, according to people familiar with the negotiations.

Court halts South Carolina plan for firing squad execution  —  COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina's highest court on Wednesday issued a temporary stay blocking the state from carrying out what was set to be its first-ever firing squad execution.  —  The order by the state Supreme Court puts …

Mark Meadows, accused of using a false address in NC, says he's now a SC resident  —  COLUMBIA — Former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who is under investigation by North Carolina election officials for registering to vote at a false address, is now officially a South Carolina resident.

Russia's Chernobyl seizure seen as nuclear risk ‘nightmare’  —  CHERNOBYL, Ukraine (AP) — Here in the dirt of one of the world's most radioactive places, Russian soldiers dug trenches.  Ukrainian officials worry they were, in effect, digging their own graves.

He Was a Penniless Donor to the Far Right.  He Was Also a Russian Spy.  —  An investigation in Slovakia has exposed how Russian clandestine operations are trying to sow discord in Europe and create sympathy for Moscow over Ukraine.  — Give this article- - - Read in app

Biden chooses Arizona prosecutor as interim director of ATF  —  President Biden has tapped Gary M. Restaino, the top U.S. prosecutor in Arizona, to serve as interim director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives until the Senate confirms the president's nominee, Steve Dettelbach.

Why a Chinese Security Deal in the Pacific Could Ripple Through the World  —  In potentially opening the door to a Chinese military base, the Solomon Islands threatens the balance of power in a vital shipping region.  —  SYDNEY, Australia — When the Solomon Islands' prime minister stood …