The GOP Is Starting to Plot Against Donald Trump  —  “It is,” he said, “A five-alarm fire.  And there is nobody coming to put it out.”  —  “It,” in this case, is the possibility that once again Donald Trump will prevail over a splintered Republican field, getting the same 30-40 percent …

Chinese Balloon Had Tools to Collect Communications Signals, U.S. Says  —  China's surveillance balloons have flown over more than 40 countries and are directed by the Chinese military, the State Department said.  —  WASHINGTON — The Chinese spy balloon shot down by the U.S. military …

Sarah Huckabee Sanders's State of the Union Response Proves the GOP Has Nothing New to Offer  —  From raging against the “woke mob” to belly-aching about left-wing “indoctrination,” the Arkansas governor revealed that the party is still hanging its hat on the culture war.

What Liberals Can Learn From Ron DeSantis  —  Is there anything liberals can do about Ron DeSantis other than quietly seethe, loudly condemn him every time he makes headlines and hope that his political flaws — his distaste for glad-handing, his less-than-inspiring public-speaking style …

I Thought I Was Saving Trans Kids.  Now I'm Blowing the Whistle.  —  There are more than 100 pediatric gender clinics across the U.S. I worked at one.  What's happening to children is morally and medically appalling.  —  I am a 42-year-old St. Louis native, a queer woman, and politically to the left of Bernie Sanders.

Elon Musk fires a top Twitter engineer over his declining view count  —  Inside Twitter 2.0, turmoil leaves employees stretched to the max  —  For weeks now, Elon Musk has been preoccupied with worries about how many people are seeing his tweets.  Last week, the Twitter CEO took …

Audible reckoning: How top political podcasters spread unsubstantiated and false claims  —  IIn February 2021, Texas Senator Ted Cruz and his co-host Michael Knowles, a Daily Wire commentator, recorded a live episode of the Verdict With Ted Cruz podcast.1 In conversation about his former …

NJ councilman Russell Heller shot dead just a week after slaying of Eunice Dwumfour  —  A New Jersey municipal council member was shot dead in his car Wednesday, exactly a week after the unsolved slaying of Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour.  —  Russell Heller, 51, was found dead just after 7 …

Florida Officials Had Repeated Contact With College Board Over African American Studies  —  In a recent letter to the College Board, state officials list a series of emails and meetings over the last year, often discussing course material about race that state regulations might bar.

SpaceX curbed Ukraine's use of Starlink internet for drones -company president  —  SpaceX has taken steps to prevent Ukraine's military from using the company's Starlink satellite internet service for controlling drones in the region during the country's war with Russia, SpaceX's president said Wednesday.

Congresswoman Assaulted In Her D.C. Apartment Building  —  Rep. Angie Craig, a Democrat representing Minnesota, was not severely injured in the attack.  —  Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) was assaulted in her Washington, D.C., apartment building Thursday, her office said in a statement.

FOX News' Hillary Vaughn and Peter Doocy Welcome Baby Girl: 'Best Assignment I've Ever Had'  —  Hillary Vaughn and Peter Doocy are first-time parents after welcoming daughter Bridget, they share with PEOPLE  —  Hillary Vaughn and Peter Doocy are officially parents!

Mayor and entire council change party affiliation from Democrats to GOP in East Hanover  —  3-minute read.  —  East Hanover's elected leaders dropped a political bombshell on Tuesday, announcing that longtime Mayor Joseph Pannullo and the entire township council had switched their party affiliation from Democrat to Republican.

Who Is @Catturd2, the Sh-tposting King of MAGA Twitter?  —  How one cranky Florida man caught the ear of Donald Trump, Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson — with fart jokes  —  ON A RECENT “Weekend Update” segment for Saturday Night Live, Michael Che relayed the news that Ronna McDaniel had just won …

19,300 dead in Turkey, Syria earthquake: Death toll among worst in recent history, surpassing 2011 Japan disaster … The powerful earthquakes that shook Turkey and Syria this week are among the most devastating and deadliest quakes in recent history.  —  The death toll continued to climb …

Manchin ‘raising hell’ over White House handling of marquee Dem bill  —  President Joe Biden and Joe Manchin met at the White House about a month ago on a topic that's critically important to the West Virginia senator: implementing the sweeping tax, climate and health care law that both men shaped.

James Carville Attacks GOP, Marjorie Taylor Greene As ‘White Trash’  —  The longtime Democratic operative told MSNBC's Ari Melber “the level of white trashdom in the Republican Party is staggering.”  —  Democratic political consultant James Carville on Wednesday described Republican lawmakers …

Scoop: Mitt Romney reveals hundreds of emails to book author … The emails and journal pages span Romney's 2012 campaign as the Republican presidential nominee. … - The book “will also show Romney himself reckoning with what he considers his party's slide toward authoritarianism and what role …

A look ahead at the new Congress, the Biden administration and the impact across the country … Register for the program here.  —  As a new Congress begins its term, Washington Post Live will bring together the top political players shaping the national agenda.

Rep. Nancy Mace Jokes About Republicans at Press Club Event  —  In frequently bawdy terms at a press club dinner, Representative Nancy Mace brought down the house with her barbs at fellow House members and other Republicans.  —  Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina has worked hard …

Missouri Republicans block proposed ban on kids carrying guns in public  —  The Republican-controlled Missouri House of Representatives rejected a proposal Wednesday that would have banned children from being able to openly carry firearms on public land without adult supervision.

Trump brings back Jason Miller  —  Longtime Donald Trump adviser Jason Miller is joining his 2024 presidential campaign as the operation starts building out its team based in West Palm Beach, Fla.  —  Miller — who worked on Trump's 2016 and 2020 bids — is stepping down from his role as the CEO of GETTR …

Florida High School Athletic Association removes all questions about menstruation from required medical evaluation form  —  [Breaking news update at 1:09 p.m.]  —  At an emergency meeting Thursday, the Florida High School Athletic Association approved a proposal to remove all questions …