White House aides keep trying to torch the State of the Union address.  Presidents keep getting in the way.  —  Obama aides tried to move the speech to a gymnasium in Ohio.  That didn't work.  —  WASHINGTON — Now and then, a few intrepid White House speechwriters will wage a quiet battle …

Education Issues Vault to Top of the G.O.P.'s Presidential Race  —  Donald Trump and possible rivals, like Gov. Ron DeSantis, are making appeals to conservative voters on race and gender issues, but such messages had a mixed record in November's midterm elections.

Exclusive: US intel assessment documents Chinese spy balloon incident under Trump  —  A US military intelligence report from last year that focused on China's use of high-altitude balloons mentioned sightings in Hawaii and Florida during the Trump presidency, according to an excerpt of the report reviewed by CNN.

Trump Charges in Georgia Over 2020 Could Lead to Bigger Fed Case  —  The first major criminal charges that Donald Trump could face for interfering in the 2020 election might come from Atlanta — and what happens in Georgia isn't expected to stay in Georgia.  —  Fulton County District Attorney …

The White House Announces Guest List for the First Lady's Box for the 2023 State of the Union Address  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. - First Lady Jill Biden will welcome guests to join her in the viewing box for President Biden's State of the Union Address on Tuesday, February 7, 2023.

The Fair Tax is haunting the 2024 GOP field  —  President Biden and Democratic allies have relentlessly attacked Republicans in recent weeks for cracking the door open to a Fair Tax, a plan to scrap the American tax code and replace it with a jumbo-sized sales tax.  —  They might get many more opportunities to bring it up.

Fighting in a Burning House  —  The Media Environment vs. Democracy  —  The photograph above is a screen shot from an old Star Trek episode titled “The Day of the Dove.”  Pictured is a mysterious being of pure energy that has stolen aboard the Enterprise.

China Has More ICBM Launchers Than U.S., American Military Reports  —  While the U.S. leads in intercontinental missiles and warheads, China's gains are fueling debate in Congress  —  The U.S. military has notified Congress that China now has more land-based intercontinental-range missile launchers …

Brexit Was a ‘Colossal Mistake,’ Former PM John Major Says  —  Britain made a “colossal mistake” when it left the European Union, former prime minister Sir John Major has told a Westminster committee.  —  Sir John said while he is not a “significant Europhile”, he believes the UK was stronger in the EU.

New French law will blanket parking lots with solar panels  —  The measure could add 10 nuclear power plants' worth of solar panels atop parking lots  —  French parking lots could soon generate as much electricity as 10 nuclear power plants, after a law is expected to win final passage …

The Astonishing Transformation of Austin  —  My town, once celebrated for its laid-back weirdness, is now a turbocharged tech megalopolis being shaped by exiles from places like Silicon Valley.  —  A person can live in many places but can settle in only one.

Iran's ‘ghost fleet’ switches into Russian oil … Tankers in Iran's “ghost fleet” have switched to carrying Russian oil since western curbs on Moscow intensified in December, as the Kremlin turned to sanctions-busting techniques pioneered by Tehran.  —  At least 16 vessels that formed part of the …

Chess Grandmaster Banned From Prize Events After Racist Rant  —  ‘NO PLACE’  —  Another day, another scandal in the cutthroat world of online chess.  On Monday, Chess.com—one of the largest such platforms in the world—said that it would hit a 2578-rated Georgian grandmaster with a partial ban …

Sen. Daines responds after Twitter suspends his account for hunting photo: ‘My wife is a great shot’  —  The senator is working with Twitter to resolve the suspension, according to Daines' spokesperson  —  Sen. Steve Daines: This is a tremendous embarrassment to the US

Households Burn Through What's Left of Their Pandemic Savings  —  High prices and the end of relief programs eats into previously flush accounts  —  The cushion of savings many built up during the pandemic is thinning out.  In some households, it is already gone.

How an FBI Informant Derailed Denver's BLM Movement  —  A new podcast reveals how an undercover informant in a silver hearse sowed chaos inside Colorado's 2020 racial justice scene.  —  An outlandish guerrilla militant who drove a silver Hearse to Denver-area Black Lives Matter protests …

Rep. Katie Porter Says Governor Should Keep Promise to Choose Black Woman to Fill Feinstein's Seat  —  Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine) says Governor Gavin Newsom should uphold his promise to choose a Black woman to take Sen. Dianne Feinstein's seat, if the 89-year-old Senator doesn't finish her term in office.

How ‘Diversity’ Policing Fails Science  —  An open-records request reveals that Texas Tech faculty penalize candidates for heterodox opinions.  —  WSJ Opinion: Stanford Eliminates Its Guide to Acceptable Words  —  YOU MAY ALSO LIKE  —  Created with sketchtool.

Hogwarts Legacy game launch becomes referendum on J.K. Rowling  —  Hogwarts Legacy, the new video game stemming from author J.K. Rowling's “Harry Potter” fiction, is launching this week to big sales and big controversy. … - The Potter author has been accused of transphobia — she denies it …

Exclusive: New PAC targets Dems written off by the establishment  —  2022 Senate almost-winner Mandela Barnes is launching a PAC to help candidates who are written off by institutional supporters, Axios has learned. … - Before he was elected, Moore — like others running in places like Illinois …

How a major election theory case at the U.S. Supreme Court could get thrown out  —  An unusual move by North Carolina's highest state court has raised the question of whether the U.S. Supreme Court will end up throwing out a major election case about a once-fringe theory that could upend federal elections across the country.

Kathy Hochul Bets Half a Billion on Horse Racing.  Will the Industry Pay Her Back? … GOVERNOR KATHY HOCHUL'S proposed budget would guarantee a nearly half-billion dollar windfall of public money to New York's troubled horse racing industry.  —  She says New York taxpayers will be reimbursed in full …

McCarthy Urges Negotiations on Debt Limit With No ‘Lines in Sand’  —  Speaker Kevin McCarthy urged President Joe Biden to enter negotiations with Republicans on a “responsible” debt limit increase that avoids any US payments default while addressing the nation's longer-term fiscal challenges.

Jim Jordan is about to lead Republicans into a dangerous trap  —  House Republicans are planning a long-running extravaganza of hearings designed to dramatize the notion that the “deep state” is persecuting conservatives.  In one sense, this will find a receptive audience …