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 may regret kicking Schiff off House Intelligence Committee  —  It tells you much about the priorities of Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) that he has seated serial fabulist George Santos (R-N.Y.) on multiple House committees while removing Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) from the Intelligence panel he led the past four years.

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 …

BuzzFeed to Use ChatGPT Creator OpenAI to Help Create Some of Its Content  —  CEO Jonah Peretti said publisher would use the technology to make more comprehensive quizzes, interactive content  —  Cheating With ChatGPT: Can an AI Chatbot Pass AP Lit?  —  YOU MAY ALSO LIKE  —  Created with sketchtool.

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 …

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.

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.

Potential Biden challenger Marianne Williamson heads to New Hampshire  —  The visit comes as state Democrats warn the ongoing showdown over primary dates “will create an opening for an insurgent candidate” that could embarrass the president  —  Author and activist Marianne Williamson …

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.

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 …

CNN Poll: Nearly three-quarters of Americans think House GOP leaders haven't paid enough attention to most important problems  —  Fewer than one-third of Americans believe that House GOP leaders are prioritizing the country's most important issues, according to a new CNN Poll conducted by SSRS.

Virginia Democrats Defeat 15-Week Abortion Ban And Glenn Youngkin's Anti-Choice Agenda  —  The Virginia governor introduced the idea of a 15-week ban last year, likely to bolster his anti-abortion record before a 2024 presidential run.  —  Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin's (R) …

Giving Four Months' Notice or Paying to Quit Has These Workers Feeling Trapped  —  Last spring, a doctor for Concentra Inc., the leading US occupational health-care company, told his boss he wanted to quit.  The workload of as many as 40 patients a day was too great, and the breaks were too short, he says.

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.

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.

First on CNN: National Archives asks former presidents and vice presidents to check for classified and presidential documents  —  The National Archives is formally asking former presidents and vice presidents to re-check their personal records for any classified documents or other presidential records …

Santos lists new treasurer — who says he doesn't work for the congressman  —  Embattled Rep. George Santos' campaign appears to be left without a treasurer.  —  With a disclosure filing deadline approaching as questions swirl around his  —  use of campaign funds

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.

Another California Republican makes her move  —  Presented by Southern California Edison  —  THE BUZZ: If there's something that Elon Musk did right with Twitter, Harmeet Dhillon says, it's that he cleaned house of everyone who wasn't down with the agenda of “WINNING.”

Asteroid 2023 BU: Space rock to pass closer than some satellites  —  You definitely shouldn't panic but there is a biggish asteroid about to pass by Earth in the coming hours.  —  About the size of a minibus, the space rock, known as 2023 BU, will whip over the southern tip of South America just after midnight GMT.

U.S. lawmakers seek repeal of Biden solar tariff waiver  —  A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers in the House of Representatives on Thursday will introduce a resolution to repeal President Joe Biden's suspension of import tariffs on solar panels from four Southeast Asian nations, according to a statement provided to Reuters.

Alec Baldwin Didn't Have to Talk to the Police.  Neither Do You.  —  Shortly after a prop gun Alec Baldwin was holding fired a bullet that killed a cinematographer and wounded a director on the set of the movie “Rust,” in October 2021, he told the police in New Mexico that he'd be willing …