Trump's Drag on Republicans Quantified: A Five-Point Penalty  —  An analysis based on House districts shows a pattern in the results of his preferred primary candidates.  —  Donald J. Trump's announcement on Tuesday that he would run for president in 2024 came at an especially awkward time for Republicans.

NATO Says Missile That Hit Poland Was Likely Ukraine Air Defense  —  Alliance meeting assesses fatal explosion that occurred amid Russian barrage across Ukraine  —  BRUSSELS—Top NATO officials said a missile that crashed in Poland and killed two people was likely a Russian-made weapon fired …

Senators float audit of Rick Scott's NRSC  —  The GOP's post-election finger-pointing intensified Tuesday, with two senators calling for an audit of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.  —  During a tense, three-hour-long meeting of the Senate GOP Conference, Sens. Marsha Blackburn …

Kari Lake told Arizona's McCain Republicans to ‘get the hell out.’ They did  —  Editor's Note: Jon Gabriel is Editor-in-Chief of Ricochet.com and an opinion contributor to the Arizona Republic.  Follow him on Twitter at @ExJon.  The views expressed here are his own.  Read more opinion at CNN.

Musk issues ultimatum to staff: Commit to ‘hardcore’ Twitter or take severance  —  It comes as Musk's first major feature, Twitter Blue Verified, was halted while the company probes issues that arose from its launch  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Elon Musk issued an ultimatum to Twitter employees Wednesday morning …

Another bruising Senate race brews in Ohio as Republicans target Sherrod Brown  —  CLEVELAND — One nasty and expensive Ohio Senate election had barely finished last week before Republicans turned their focus to what could be an even bigger slugfest in 2024: the race to challenge Sen. Sherrod Brown …

Failed GOP candidate busted on felony rape charge just days after losing election to his mom  —  A South Dakota House candidate who lost his race appeared in court this Tuesday on a charge of second-degree rape, KOTA reports.  —  Bud Marty May, 37, faces 50 years in prison over the Class 1 felony charge.

Judge overturns Georgia's ban on abortion around 6 weeks  —  A judge overturned Georgia's ban on abortion starting around six weeks into a pregnancy, ruling Tuesday that it violated the U.S. Constitution and U.S. Supreme Court precedent when it was enacted three years ago and was therefore void.

‘National Conservatism’ Is A Dead End  —  A rant.  —  Since a civil war is about to break out and destroy the modern Republican Party — fingers crossed — let me tell you what grinds my gears.  —  Young NatCons, many of whom I know and like, seem to be under the impression …

Two anonymous $425 million donations give dark money conservative group a massive haul  —  One of the biggest conservative dark money organizations in the nation was boosted last year by two separate anonymous gifts, each totaling more than $425 million dollars.

Ukrainian Analysis Identifies Western Supply Chain Behind Iran's Drones  —  Russia's use of Tehran-provided unmanned aircraft built with foreign parts demonstrates limits of international sanctions  —  New intelligence collected from downed Iranian drones in Ukraine shows that a majority …

Jon Stewart Defends Dave Chappelle's ‘SNL’ Monologue: ‘Censorship’ Doesn't End Antisemitism … Jon Stewart defended his friend Dave Chappelle during his appearance on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” Tuesday evening, commenting on the comedian's recent “Saturday Night Live” monologue …

D.C. Council passes new criminal code, despite some objections  —  The bill will now go to Mayor Muriel E. Bowser, who has said she is concerned about some aspects of it  —  The D.C. Council unanimously approved a major overhaul of the city's criminal code Tuesday, despite objections …

John Fetterman made big gains in Trump country.  New data reveals how.  —  For years, John Fetterman has wagered that steadily showing up in areas hostile to Democrats would ultimately pay off.  After getting elected as Pennsylvania's lieutenant governor in 2018, Fetterman conducted a listening tour of the state's 67 counties.

UVa knew of gun conviction against student before triple murder but never started discipline process  —  CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The University of Virginia admitted Tuesday it knew triple-murder suspect Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. had been convicted of a weapons charge weeks …