It's official: Nikki Haley running for president.  Formal announcement Feb. 15  —  Cementing what has been in the works for months, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley will formally announce she is running for president and will seek the Republican nomination for her party's 2024 ticket, The Post and Courier has learned.

‘They come to me’: Jane Roberts' legal recruiting work involved officials whose agencies had cases before the Supreme Court  —  Jane Roberts, the wife of Chief Justice John Roberts, acknowledges having represented a wide variety of public officials — including senior Justice Department officials …

2/1/23 ☀️ Punchbowl News AM  —  Happy Wednesday morning and welcome to February.  —  President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy will meet one-on-one for the first time today.  The White House has positioned this meeting as a relatively standard session, during which the leaders will discuss a range of topics.

Top Jan. 6 investigator says FBI, other agencies could have stopped Capitol mob had they acted on intel already collected  —  The House Jan. 6 committee concluded that the FBI and other federal security agencies could have prevented a violent mob from overrunning the Capitol had they acted …

Video of Trump deposition in New York fraud probe shows former president taking the Fifth, repeating “same answer”  —  Newly released video obtained by CBS News provides the first look at former President Donald Trump's deposition last summer in the New York attorney general's civil fraud investigation.

U.S. readies $2 bln-plus Ukraine aid package with longer-range weapons -sources  —  The United States is readying more than $2 billion worth of military aid for Ukraine that is expected to include longer-range rockets for the first time as well as other munitions and weapons …

DeSantis Takes On the Education Establishment, and Builds His Brand  —  A proposal by Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida to overhaul higher education would mandate courses in Western civilization, eliminate diversity programs and reduce the protections of tenure.  —  Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida …

Promised green cards, catfishing, threats: How George Santos' ex-boyfriends say they were left feeling trapped, manipulated  —  The new congressman is facing scrutiny for fabricating swaths of his biography.  —  Rep. George Santos leaves the Capitol Hill Club as members of the press follow him on Jan. 31, 2023 in Washington, DC.

Arizona Republicans fear they may blow it again  —  Kyrsten Sinema's defection from Democrats should be a golden opportunity for the GOP.  But two high-profile 2022 election losers in Arizona are eyeing Senate runs in 2024, sparking angst among Republicans that they will blow an increasingly winnable race.

House Votes to End Covid Precautions as G.O.P. Uses Pandemic in Political Attacks  —  Republicans in Congress are seeking to capitalize on discontent about the federal coronavirus response while the party's presidential contenders are vying to be the biggest foe of restrictions.

GOP report shows plan to ramp up focus on disproven election fraud claims  —  The report prepared by the Republican National Committee proposes expanding ‘election integrity’ activities in response to perceptions of a rigged process  —  A new internal report prepared by the Republican …

U.S. and India launch high-level defense and tech initiative  —  Geopolitical concerns about China and Russia form backdrop of partnership  —  The United States and India on Tuesday formally established a high-level initiative on defense and emerging technologies — what national security …

Morning news brief  —  President Biden meets with House Speaker McCarthy to discuss the debt ceiling, thousands are expected to attend Tyre Nichols' funeral in Memphis, the Fed is expected to raise interest rates again.

George Santos's Treasurer Has Resigned, Leaving a Trail of Questions  —  Nancy Marks's resignation puts further pressure on Mr. Santos, whose campaign finances have already attracted attention from law enforcement agencies.  —  The longtime campaign treasurer and trusted aide …

U.S. Company Offers Advanced Drones to Ukraine for One Dollar, With Some Costs  —  Sale of long-range, high-speed Reaper unmanned aircraft would require Biden administration approval  —  A U.S. weapons maker is offering to sell the Ukraine government two Reaper MQ-9 drones for a dollar …

FBI searched the Penn Biden Center in mid-November  —  Washington — The FBI searched the Penn Biden Center offices in mid-November, according to two sources familiar with the investigation, after lawyers for President Biden had found about 10 documents marked classified there on Nov. 2.

$5 Million Reparations Payment for Black Residents Not Enough, San Francisco Official Says  —  A San Francisco advisory committee's recommendation that the city pay out hefty reparations to the city's longtime black residents does not go far enough toward making things right …

It'll Cost You $95 to Hear Bernie Sanders Tell You Why Capitalism is Bad  —  As we've discussed here before, potential presidential candidates often signal an upcoming run by releasing a “leadership” book before officially announcing their candidacy.  Republicans like Mike Pence …