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 …

New images of the Chinese balloon recovery show the closest glimpse yet  —  U.S. service members have recovered substantial remnants of the Chinese surveillance balloon that was shot down over the Atlantic on Saturday, according to newly released photos that provided the closest glimpse yet of the craft.

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 …

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.

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.

Why the Stormy Daniels Charges Might Actually Reach Trump This Time  —  A criminal investigation of former President Donald Trump that is now being restarted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and also discussed in a new book by one of his former prosecutors, Mark Pomerantz …

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 …

Santos' unusual $199.99 campaign expenses are putting scrutiny on his longtime treasurer  —  In the fall of 2020, then-New York Rep. Lee Zeldin's campaign submitted a report to federal regulators with a series of unusual expenses: 21 payments on a single day of exactly $199.99 each.

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 …

Cringey 23-Year-Old Mayor Quotes Steve Jobs to Defend His Trumpian Coup  —  Residents unleashed their fury on baby-faced Goddard Mayor Hunter Larkin at a council meeting on Monday night.  —  A 23-year-old Kansas mayor who re-installed himself back into office last month in what some horrified observers …

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.

Associate Of Sanctioned Oligarch Indicted For Sanctions Evasion And Money Laundering  —  Fugitive Vladimir Voronchenko Aided In Concealing Luxury Real Estate Owned By Viktor Vekselberg  —  Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Andrew C. Adams …

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 …

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 …

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, two people familiar with the matter confirmed.  —  A separate person privy to the talks said that the two sides are currently in contract negotiations.

Why eggs are cheaper than you think  —  “Everyone in the U.S. seems obsessed with eggs right now,” my British editor told me.  “It's so bizarre.”  —  Indeed we are.  The soaring price of eggs has given rise to internet memes and a fair amount of conspiracizing — including from a U.S. senator …

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 …

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 …

Top law enforcement group comes out swinging against anti-police Biden nominee  —  Sohn has used social media to ‘promote alarming statements that denigrate law enforcement,’ the group wrote to Senate leaders  —  Police have to ‘pick and choose’ what to respond to amid staff shortage: Lt. Tracy McCray

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.

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 …

Rep. Boebert suggests God used her to stand up to McCarthy  —  Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) suggested that God used her to stand up to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), whom she indirectly referred to as one of her “demons,” while speaking at a women's conference at a Dallas church over the weekend.

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 …