GOP panics over ‘ultra-MAGA’ Pennsylvania Senate wild card  —  Influential Republicans in Washington and among the nationwide party elite are having a belated “oh s—t” moment over the previously unimaginable prospect that Kathy Barnette could win their party's nomination for the open Senate seat in Pennsylvania.

Republicans who support abortion rights have come up with their own bill.  —  Senate Democrats press forward on a bill to protect abortion rights, with failure all but certain.  —  Senate Democrats are pushing forward on Wednesday to force a test vote on legislation that would enshrine abortion rights …

Roberts may face roadblocks in probe of Roe leak, reporter who published it says  —  WASHINGTON — One of the two Politico reporters who obtained the Supreme Court draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade questions whether Chief Justice John Roberts has the legal authority to order his fellow justices …

Opinion Leaked emails from Trump's lawyer show blueprint for a 2024 coup  —  The House committee examining the insurrection attempt has obtained new emails from the lawyer who helped concoct Donald Trump's plot to overturn the 2020 election.  They reveal a whole new level of scheming behind that effort …

Intelligence-sharing with Ukraine designed to prevent wider war  —  The United States is sending billions of dollars in military equipment to Ukraine, including heavy artillery, drones and antitank missiles.  Administration officials have publicly enumerated those contributions, practically down to the number of bullets.

Judge Lifts Contempt Order Against Trump in Civil Inquiry  —  The former president must pay a $110,000 fine that accumulated during the two-week contempt and meet other conditions or the order will be reinstated, a judge said.  — Give this article- - - Read in app

The Far-Right Troll Known As “Baked Alaska” Just Blew Up His Own Jan. 6 Plea Hearing  —  Gionet was set to plead guilty to a misdemeanor for parading at the Capitol.  He proclaimed his innocence instead.  A trial is set for March 7.  —  WASHINGTON — Anthime “Tim” Gionet …

Elon Musk's Belated Disclosure of Twitter Stake Triggers Regulators' Probes  —  SEC is investigating Tesla CEO for tardy notification after buying 5% of Twitter's stock; FTC has separate probe under way of purchase reporting  —  WASHINGTON—Federal regulators are investigating Elon Musk's late disclosure …

Trump Completes Sale of Washington Hotel to Investor Group  —  The favored gathering place of Trump supporters — and a magnet for conflict of interest questions — will become a Waldorf Astoria.  — Give this article- - - Read in app  —  WASHINGTON — The Trump International Hotel …

North Korea says it has detected its first covid case of the pandemic  —  TOKYO — North Korea says it has detected a case of the BA.2 omicron subvariant in its capital, Pyongyang, the first time the country has acknowledged a positive coronavirus infection since the pandemic began more than two years ago.

Inflation's biting.  Roe's fraying.  Dems are still trying to connect with voters.  —  Only after Rep. Katie Porter put bacon in her cart at her local grocery store recently did she notice that its price had spiked to $9.99 a pound.  Reluctantly, she put the package back.

Biden waives executive privilege for new set of Trump records  —  The president has authorized the National Archives and Records Administration to hand over an eighth tranche of presidential records from the Trump White House to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack

The Democrats Really Are That Dense About Climate Change  —  Sign up for The Weekly Planet, Robinson Meyer's newsletter about living through climate change, here.  —  MIAMI BEACH, Fla.—On Monday night, I saw one of the most despair-inducing performances about the hope of climate action that I've witnessed in years.

Elon Musk, an erratic visionary, revels in contradiction  —  As the uproar over Elon Musk's $44 billion buyout of Twitter reaches a crescendo, another Musk drama, still chaotic four years after it began, has been back in court.  —  Ironically, that spectacle started with a Musk tweet about doing an audacious deal.

Susan Rice Criticized for Creating ‘Abusive and Dehumanizing’ Workplace  —  Current and former White House officials say that Rice routinely berates colleagues, including Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.  —  White House Domestic Policy Adviser Susan Rice speaks at an event …

DeSantis-appointed judge signals Florida's congressional map is unconstitutional for diminishing Black representation  —  (CNN)A Florida circuit court judge signaled Wednesday that a new congressional map championed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is likely unconstitutional …

Is Anti-Zionism Anti-Semitism?  —  In a recent speech, the head of the Anti-Defamation League unequivocally equated the two.  —  Since 2015, Jonathan Greenblatt has served as the director of the Anti-Defamation League, an organization devoted to chronicling and fighting anti-Semitism in American society.

'We've all made mistakes' - Greg Norman's gaffe over killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi  —  Greg Norman attempted to brush off questions about the murder of the dissident Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi by saying “we've all made mistakes”.  —  The Australian former golfer …

Sharing LGBTQ Identity A Fireable Offense, Mississippi High School Warned Teacher  —  Mere weeks into the 2021-2022 school year, Pearl River Central High School art teacher Catherine Bass was already exhausted.  Students at the rural South Mississippi school in Carriere, Miss. …

El Salvador expected to default as bitcoin plummets  —  The Central American country made the cryptocurrency legal tender last year, but since then, it has continued to fall, raising concerns about whether it will be able to meet its next debt payment  —  The Salvadoran experiment to make bitcoin legal currency has hit a wall.

Biden's Incoming Press Secretary Laughs When Asked Who Is Handling Baby Formula Crisis  —  Incoming White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked onboard Air Force One Wednesday afternoon about the ongoing baby formula shortage rattling American parents.

EXCLUSIVE: Bill Clinton's special advisor who let Jeffrey Epstein into the White House seven times and flew on the Lolita Express dies at 59 - the latest associate of the former President to suffer an early demise  — Mark Middleton was Bill Clinton's special advisor who admitted Jeffrey Epstein …

Biden administration cancels Alaska oil and gas lease sale  —  The Biden administration has canceled one of the most high-profile oil and gas lease opportunities pending before the Interior Department.  The decision, which halts the potential to drill for oil in over 1 million acres …