Playbook: Inside Biden's high-road SOTU  —  With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  DeSANTIS DOWNLOAD — Two new stories offer further evidence that Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS is moving deliberately toward a run for the Republican presidential nomination.

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

As Russia Amasses Troops in East, Questions Remain About Its Ability to Sustain an Offensive … Moscow's forces are advancing only a few hundred meters a week, U.K. intelligence says.  —  KYIV, Ukraine — As Russia makes slow, bloody gains in a renewed push to capture more of eastern Ukraine …

The High School ‘Asshole’ Who Became a Blackface-Wearing Neo-Nazi Homeschool Dad  —  “The Lawrences knew everyone, and everyone knew them,” one town resident said about the couple that started the neo-Nazi homeschool network in Ohio.  —  David Gilbert  —  When Logan Lawrence was unmasked …

Ex-Pink Floyd partner brands Roger Waters antisemitic, lip-synching Putin apologist  —  Pink Floyd star David Gilmour and his wife Polly Samson step up the long-running feud with former bandmate Roger Waters with a scathing attack on Twitter.  —  Samson, an acclaimed novelist, tweets at Rogers …

Florida School District Bans Entire Court of Thorn and Roses Series in New Book Ban  —  A Florida school district that covers 48 schools serving over 50,000 students on Tuesday released a fresh list of books to be banned from all school and classroom libraries.

Disney still going all in on woke  —  Disney has been making some noise publicly about exiting the culture wars, but their writers and producers aren't so keen on that idea, apparently.  —  The clip below is from one of their cartoons, the “Proud Family,” which first appeared earlier …

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 …

McCarthy confirms Santos is facing House probe  —  House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said New York GOP Rep. George Santos is facing a House Ethics Committee probe, confirming for the first time that the panel has opened an investigation into the embattled freshman.

How Deepfake Videos Are Used to Spread Disinformation  —  In one video, a news anchor with perfectly combed dark hair and a stubbly beard outlined what he saw as the United States' shameful lack of action against gun violence.  —  In another video, a female news anchor heralded China's role …

Marty Walsh to depart from Biden cabinet for job atop hockey players' union  —  Labor Secretary Marty Walsh is set to leave the Biden administration to run the NHL Players Association, a person familiar with the matter confirmed.  —  A separate person privy to the talks said that the two sides are currently in contract negotiations.

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 …

Alex Jones Urged Rogan To Host Pro-Rape Extremist  —  Alex Jones urged Joe Rogan to host rape apologist and alleged sex trafficker Andrew Tate on his popular podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience,” texts show.  —  Tate, whom Romanian authorities detained over charges of organized crime …

IRS introduces new service industry tip reporting program  —  News Releases for Frequently Asked Questions  —  WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service today issued Notice 2023-13, which contains a proposed revenue procedure that would establish …

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.

The good and the bad of Iowa's bill that would bring big changes to child labor laws  —  A new bill introduced in the Iowa Legislature would rewrite Iowa's child labor law to allow teens to work in previously prohibited jobs so long as they are part of an approved training program.

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 …

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.

MTA spent twice as much on Second Ave subway consultants as it did on its construction  —  The Metropolitan Transportation Authority spent nearly twice as much on consultants for the Second Avenue Subway as it did to actually dig the tunnel from 63rd to 96th streets, a damning new assessment revealed Monday.

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