U.S. GDP rose 2.9% in the fourth quarter, more than expected even as recession fears loom  —  The U.S. economy finished 2022 in solid shape even as questions persist over whether growth will turn negative in the year ahead.  —  Fourth-quarter gross domestic product, the sum of all goods …

McCarthy might have a math problem in blocking Omar from panel  —  Speaker Kevin McCarthy's (R-Calif.) vow to block Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from sitting on the House Foreign Affairs Committee has hit an early snag: he may not have the votes to do it.  —  Omar, one of three Muslims in Congress …

Facebook and Instagram end Trump's suspension from platforms  —  Former President Donald Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts are being reinstated, the social media giant Meta announced Wednesday — a little more than two years after he was suspended from the platforms over incendiary posts on the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.

The Freedom Caucus Has a Harebrained Plan to Jack Up Taxes on the Poor  —  Under the ‘Fair Tax,’ the poorest fifth of Americans would pay roughly 70 percent of their income in taxes.  —  Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) is the lead Republican behind the reintroduction of congressional “Fair Tax” …

Poll: Andy Beshear tops 4 key Republican candidates in 2023 Kentucky governor's election  —  A new poll indicates Gov. Andy Beshear still gets a thumbs-up from most Kentuckians for his work and also leads four notable Republican opponents as he seeks a second term in office …

Veterans of the Obama-era debt ceiling standoff on the current one: We may be doomed  —  The last time the U.S. found itself on the verge of a debt ceiling disaster, David Kamin had a front row seat to all the action.  —  An economic adviser in the Obama White House, Kamin was among …

Biden's next 2 years: A brutal war and a rough campaign  —  President Joe Biden's decision to send tanks to Ukraine marked a new chapter in the United States' commitment to Kyiv, one reflecting a growing belief that the war could stretch years and require extraordinary measures to hold an alliance together to repel Russia.

Inside the George Santos Campaign Report Blame Game … Pay Dirt is a weekly foray into the pigpen of political funding.  Subscribe here to get it in your inbox every Thursday.  —  It appears no one wants to be left holding the bag on whatever possible fallout awaits the reported federal investigation …

Trump Support Is Eroding in an Republican National Committee He Remade  —  Interviews with more than a third of the Republican National Committee's members point to a desire for an alternative presidential nominee to emerge from a competitive primary.  —  As Donald J. Trump prepares …

Exclusive: Sen. Dianne Feinstein won't announce her plans for 2024 — until 2024  —  WASHINGTON— Countless Democrats just hit a California-sized snag: Sen. Dianne Feinstein may not retire after all.  —  In an exclusive interview with Raw Story, California's senior senator announced she's not not running.

Biden Faces Blowback From Democrats on Classified Documents  —  The discovery of classified documents has thrust President Biden into an uncomfortable position after he started the new year with plans to do a victory lap of sorts.  —  WASHINGTON — President Biden is facing blowback …

1/26/23 ☀️ Punchbowl News AM  —  Something unusual is happening in the Capitol: Speaker Kevin McCarthy and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries are getting along. … And these two will be at each other's throats for the foreseeable future over politics, policy, personnel and morals.

Sen. Rick Scott is running for re-election pushing his controversial tax plan  —  Sen. Rick Scott of Florida is running for re-election, he said in an announcement first shared with NBC News.  —  Scott released his campaign staff hires and made it clear he's not planning to run for president, as some have speculated.

California Rep. Adam Schiff enters marquee Senate race  —  Rep. Adam B. Schiff, a decades-long fixture in San Fernando Valley politics who rose to national prominence as a top Democratic foe to then-President Trump, is joining a contest for U.S. Senate that is quickly shaping up to be highly competitive, he announced Thursday.

Trump Has Completely Lost His Grip on Reality  —  The former president's deterioration is on full display in the Truth Social asylum he built for himself.  —  Let's check in on the shadow primary for the 2024 Republican nomination.  Nikki Haley is putting together a finance committee …

California judge orders release of footage of Pelosi attack  —  Footage of the attack on former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband will be released to the public after a judge on Wednesday denied prosecutors' request to keep it secret.  San Francisco Superior Court Judge Stephen M. Murphy ruled …

Opinion section at The Washington Post expands its roster with seven new contributors  —  The Washington Post's opinion section continues to grow under Editorial Page Editor David Shipley's direction adding seven new contributors today.  These additions highlight The Post's commitment …

New Hampshire Republicans are not yet ready to go for Trump: 'He's going to have to earn it'  —  In 2016, New Hampshire Republicans lifted Donald Trump's candidacy after he lost in Iowa, becoming the first state to embrace the future president.  —  Trump is returning Saturday …

G.O.P. State Lawmakers Push a Growing Wave of Anti-Transgender Bills  —  Four states could ban transition care into young adulthood.  Lawmakers in several others want to restrict drag shows in ways that could affect transgender performers broadly.  It's part of a long-term plan.

Backlash grows against DeSantis decision to block AP African American studies class  —  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is facing mounting backlash regarding his administration's decision to prohibit an Advanced Placement high school course on African American studies, with Black leaders rallying in the capital …

The Democratic Party's Political Gift to Ron DeSantis  —  Republicans' sustained and successful courting of Latino voters in South Florida could be a road map for the G.O.P. in 2024.  —  The story of Doral began as an immigrant's dream.  In the nineteen-fifties, a Polish real-estate developer …