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 …

Biden considering a trip to Europe in show of support for Ukraine after one year of war  —  Biden considering Europe trip to mark one-year anniversary of Ukraine invasion  —  WASHINGTON — President Biden is considering a trip to Europe next month to coincide with the one-year anniversary …

Republicans demand spending cuts to lift the debt limit.  They won't say what to cut.  —  WASHINGTON — Republicans, newly empowered with a House majority, are demanding spending cuts as a price for lifting the debt ceiling and averting a catastrophic default on U.S. debt.

FairTax, the GOP plan for a 30 percent national sales tax, explained  —  Why Kevin McCarthy agreed to put a radical plan to remake the tax code up for a vote.  —  Kevin McCarthy had a hell of a time getting elected as House speaker, and a list of all the concessions he made to the most conservative members …

Rep. Adam Schiff announces run for U.S. Senate in California  —  Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) has announced he is running for U.S. Senate in 2024, joining a growing field of Democrats who are seeking to replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who has not explicitly said she would run for reelection.

Trump and Facebook's Mutual Decay  —  This afternoon, Meta announced that it will soon reinstate Donald Trump's account after a two-year suspension from Facebook and Instagram.  The former president was deplatformed after his posts were deemed to have incited, or at the very least encouraged, the January 6 insurrection.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

Biden vowed to punish Saudis over oil cut.  That's no longer the plan.  —  Administration officials now point to intensified opposition in Congress as a chief outcome of OPEC's decision to slash output ahead of last year's midterm elections  —  Months after the White House vowed …

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 …

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.

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 …