U.S. to announce fusion energy ‘breakthrough’  —  Scientists hit a key milestone in the quest to create abundant zero-carbon power through nuclear fusion.  But they still have a long way to go.  —  The Department of Energy plans to announce Tuesday that scientists have been able …

White Nationalists, Other Republicans Brace for ‘Total War’  —  A collection of radical right figures including white nationalists and ultranationalist European leaders gathered in Manhattan for the New York Young Republicans Club's (NYYRC) annual gala Saturday night, where that group's president declared …

Special Counsel Smith speeds ahead on criminal probes surrounding Trump  —  Newly-appointed special counsel Jack Smith is moving fast on a pair of criminal probes around Donald Trump that in recent months have focused on the former president's state of mind after the 2020 election …

Elon Musk Is a Far-Right Activist  —  If there's one tweet that will tell you everything you need to know about Elon Musk, it's this one from early this morning: … In five words, Musk manages to mock transgender and nonbinary people, signal his disdain for public-health officials …

Cause of death: Washington faltered as fentanyl gripped America  —  During the past seven years, as soaring quantities of fentanyl flooded into the United States, strategic blunders and cascading mistakes by successive U.S. administrations allowed the most lethal drug crisis in American history …

Ex-Navy SEAL who transitioned from male to female says he's now transitioning BACK: Blasts VA for giving him hormones after an hour-long consultation, and calls sex change ‘the worst mistake of my life’  — Kristin Beck, 55, the first openly transgender Navy SEAL is now transitioning back to a man and their previous name, Chris Beck

Karen Bass sworn in as Los Angeles mayor, the first woman to hold the office  —  After 241 years, the nation's second-largest city has its first female mayor.  —  Karen Bass was sworn in by Vice President Kamala Harris as Los Angeles' 43rd mayor Sunday afternoon, with thousands …

Biden faces growing pressure to drop charges against Julian Assange  —  Biden faces a renewed push, domestically and internationally, to drop charges against Assange, who is languishing in a UK jail  —  The Biden administration has been saying all the right things lately about respecting …

with Ben Smith  —  Of course the “Twitter files” are a story.  Elon Musk's selective release of internal correspondence has shed some light on how Twitter clamped down on voices it deemed extreme and misleading, mostly on the right and far right.  Less interesting leaks from Facebook made front pages for years.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on recession fears, inflation and the war in Ukraine  —  As inflation hovers at a 40-year high, the pandemic lingers, and the war in Ukraine rages, a growing number of economists and CEO's are saying the U.S. is headed for a recession.

Young voters' enthusiasm for Democrats waned during midterms  —  Young voters who have been critical to Democratic successes in recent elections showed signs in November's midterms that their enthusiasm may be waning, a potential warning sign for a party that will need their strong backing heading into the 2024 presidential race.

Exclusive: U.S. Justice Dept is split over charging Binance as crypto world falters, sources say  —  Splits between U.S. Department of Justice prosecutors are delaying the conclusion of a long-running criminal investigation into the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, four people familiar with the matter have told Reuters.

How Kari Lake's campaign to be the Trump of 2022 unraveled  —  Interviews, internal documents and audio show how the former TV news anchor squandered a chance to become Arizona's governor — a defeat that carries warnings for the GOP in 2024  —  PHOENIX — After Kari Lake rode former president …

POLITICO Playbook: Bursting the ‘unity speaker’ bubble  —  Presented by With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  ABOUT LAST NIGHT — Senate Appropriations Chair PATRICK LEAHY (D-Vt.) announced Sunday night that Democrats would NOT proceed as planned with a vote today …

Japan moves to shed pacifist ways with major defense buildup  —  TOKYO — Alarmed by increasing security threats and the risk of war in the Indo-Pacific, Japan will seek to purchase hundreds of U.S.-built Tomahawk cruise missiles as part of a major defense buildup unprecedented in the postwar period, Japanese and U.S. officials said.

Trump who?  GOP senators rave over a potential Tim Scott presidential run.  —  Joni Ernst is “very excited” about a potential Tim Scott presidential run.  John Cornyn would “advise him to go for it.”  And John Barrasso said it “doesn't get any better than Tim Scott.”

How a Trump-allied group fighting ‘anti-white bigotry’ beats Biden in court  —  America First Legal was founded last year by Stephen Miller, the architect of Trump's immigrant family separation policy  —  The deal in early 2021 was hailed by advocates for Black farmers as the most significant piece …

Massachusetts recount flips state house election to Democrat by one vote  —  Kristin Kassner won against Republican opponent Lenny Mirra after a recount shrunk candidates' narrow vote deficit to one  —  A recount in a political race in Massachusetts has flipped a state house of representatives election …

Should an Election Denier Be Speaker of the House?  —  The Constitution matters more than Kevin McCarthy.  —  From the apparent chaos of the Republican party's effort to select a speaker of the House there has emerged an opportunity to achieve a victory for a politics of moderation and constitutionalism.

Sinema's mutually assured destruction  —  Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's stunning decision to become an independent has triggered the possibility of a blue-on-purple civil war that could cost Democrats a must-win Senate seat in 2024. … - Sinema would have had difficulty winning a primary.