New York Times Writers Call Out the Paper's Anti-Trans Onslaught  —  “This is not quite business as usual anymore,” one of the organizers of an open letter to the NYT told Hell Gate.  —  On Wednesday morning, a group of almost 200 journalists and writers released an open letter addressed …

Exclusive: Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows subpoenaed by special counsel in Jan. 6 investigation  —  Donald Trump's former chief of staff Mark Meadows has been subpoenaed by the special counsel investigating the former president and his role in the January 6, 2021, insurrection, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.

Donald Trump Changes Tune on Mail-in Voting, Ballot Collection  —  After years of attacks on early voting, Trump follows other Republicans in suggesting party should embrace tactic  —  After years of assailing early voting, Donald Trump is having a change of heart.

El Paso police respond to shooting inside Cielo Vista Mall; 1 killed, 3 hurt  —  A person was killed and three others were injured in a shooting Wednesday evening inside Cielo Vista Mall, El Paso police confirmed.  —  “We have one person in custody,” El Paso Police Department spokesman Sgt. Robert Gomez said at a news conference.

First on CNN: DOJ officially decides not to charge Matt Gaetz in sex-trafficking probe  —  The Justice Department has informed lawyers for at least one witness that it will not bring charges against Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz after a years-long federal sex-trafficking investigation.

First on CNN: FBI searched University of Delaware for Biden documents, source says  —  The FBI has conducted two searches at the University of Delaware in connection with the investigation into President Joe Biden's handling of classified documents, a source familiar with the investigation told CNN.

Ohio Train Derailment: In East Palestine, Anxiety and Distrust Run Deep  —  Nearly two weeks after a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, confusing messages from government officials have frayed locals' trust.  —  EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — All around …

Two Democrats want McConnell's 2011 debt-ceiling fix proposal to be adopted  —  Two Democratic senators called on Congress to adopt a proposal that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) made in 2011 to address a standoff over raising the debt ceiling, which would grant the president …

Federal Debt and the Statutory Limit, February 2023  —  The debt limit—commonly called the debt ceiling—is the maximum amount of debt that the Department of the Treasury can issue to the public or to other federal agencies.  The amount is set by law and has been increased or suspended …

George Santos Married a Brazilian Woman.  House Is Asked to Find Out Why.  —  A letter to ethics watchdogs in the House of Representatives questioned if Mr. Santos's seven-year marriage was a scheme to aid a woman's immigration bid.  —  When Representative George Santos of New York was 24 …

Biden's Medicare advantage  —  Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration.  With help from Allie Bice.  —  Republicans really wish President JOE BIDEN would stop claiming they're trying to cut Medicare and Social Security.

How self-ID helped bring down Nicola Sturgeon … In the years when I wrote a lot about sex and gender and politics and law, I made the same observations many times.  One, that politicians weren't talking fully and openly about the implications of self-identified gender, and the policies and practices related to it.

AMERICAN VIEWS 2022: Part 2, TRUST MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY  —  OVERVIEW  —  Democracy in America relies on an independent press to inform citizens with accurate information.  Yet today, two forces pose significant challenges to this function: the growing struggle of news organizations …

Extraordinarily Confused Congressional Rep. Thinks Social Media Companies Are Secretly Communicating With Gov't Censors... Via Jira  —  I wrote last week about the bizarrely bad House Oversight hearing that was supposed to expose how Twitter, the deep state, and the, um “Biden Crime Family” …

Jon Stewart Shreds JD Vance And Tucker Carlson for ‘Baloney’ Reaction to Ohio Train Disaster: ‘They Play Act This Concern For Working People’  —  Jon Stewart blasted both Tucker Carlson and Ohio Senator J.D. Vance's reaction to the Ohio train derailment— arguing that although both were outraged …

Judge to Trump: Too late to offer DNA to rebut rape claim  —  Former President Donald Trump missed his chance to use his DNA to try to prove he didn't rape a longtime magazine advice columnist, a federal judge said Wednesday, clearing away a potential roadblock to an April trial.

Gavin Newsom says Kimberly Guilfoyle ‘fell prey’ to the culture at Fox News and was a ‘different person’ when they were married  — California Gov. Gavin Newsom told CNN his ex-wife Kimberly Guilfoyle “fell prey” to Fox News.  — Guilfoyle was a “different person” when they were together, Newsom said.

Top Republicans plot Santos' ouster as embattled freshman weighs reelection  —  Embattled Rep. George Santos is contemplating a nightmare scenario for House Republicans: Trying to stick it out in Congress, even if he is indicted on criminal charges.  —  After previously signaling to Republicans …

The Sleeper Charge Related to January 6  —  How do you get Capone?  —  We learned this week that following the 2020 presidential election the Trump campaign hired an outside research firm to attempt to bolster its claims of election fraud.  The firm, Berkeley Research Group …

The Kremlin's Grand Delusions … Despite a series of blunders, miscalculations, and battlefield reversals that would have surely seen him thrown out of office in most normal countries, President Vladimir Putin is still at the pinnacle of power in Russia.  He continues to define the contours of his country's war against Ukraine.

How a Fog of Questions Over a Spy Balloon and U.F.O.s Fed a Diplomatic Crisis  —  U.S. officials now suspect that the balloon was sent to spy on bases in Guam and Hawaii and that other downed objects were not surveillance machines.  Washington's evolving view reflects U.S. and Chinese difficulties in discerning each other's intentions.

Warren Calls Out Buttigieg and Schumer in Speech Urging Washington Get Tougher on Monopolies  —  Elizabeth Warren has a message for some of her fellow Democrats: Stop protecting corporate monopolies.  —  In a sweeping policy speech on Wednesday laying out a grand vision for renewing …

Alex Murdaugh Spent $50K A WEEK on Drugs, Defense Lawyer Claims  —  WHAT A TRIP  —  Alex Murdaugh was spending $50,000 a week on drugs he bought from his distant cousin—and future co-defendant—during his yearslong drug problem, his defense attorney claimed in court Wednesday.

Oakland fires police chief for alleged misconduct cover-up  —  1 of 2  —  The Oakland Police Department lost its seventh head of police in as many years Wednesday over the alleged cover-up of an officer's misconduct in a scandal that threatens to extend two decades of federal oversight …

Broward high schools remove book reported by parents' group and labeled by DeSantis administration as pornographic  —  Broward school libraries will remove a sexually explicit teen graphic novel that Gov. Ron DeSantis administration categorized as “pornography.”  —  The book, “Let's Talk About It.

Giuliani associate regrets buying into ‘deep state’ conspiracy — and thinks Trump committed crimes bribing Ukraine  —  Lev Parnas, one of the associates of Rudy Giuliani's working on the Ukraine conspiracy has been released from prison on home confinement and he's speaking out about his experience working to help Donald Trump.

Democrat seeks documents about $2 billion Saudi investment in Kushner fund  —  Rep. Jamie Raskin says he is ‘deeply troubled’ by a prior refusal from Kushner to turn over relevant information  —  A senior Democrat on Tuesday renewed a request to Jared Kushner for documents outlining …

The Wisconsin GOP's High Court Crackup  —  They've picked a helluva time for a food fight  —  The election that the media has dubbed “the most important election nobody's ever heard of,” is just weeks away, and has already drawn international attention.  —  The “Stakes are monstrous,” declared Britain's Guardian.