Special counsel is locked in at least 8 secret court battles in Trump investigations  —  Special counsel Jack Smith is locked in at least eight secret court battles that aim to unearth some of the most closely held details about Donald Trump's actions after the 2020 election and handling …

Hobby Club's Missing Balloon Feared Shot Down By USAF  —  A small, globe-trotting balloon declared “missing in action” by an Illinois-based hobbyist club on Feb. 15 has emerged as a candidate to explain one of the three mystery objects shot down by four heat-seeking missiles launched by U.S. Air Force fighters since Feb. 10.

Fetterman Checks Into Hospital to Seek Treatment for Clinical Depression  —  A spokesman for the first-term senator from Pennsylvania, who suffered a near-fatal stroke last year, said his depression had grown severe in recent weeks, as he has worked to adjust to life in the Senate.

Tesla recalls 362,758 vehicles, says Full Self-Driving Beta software may cause crashes  — Tesla is recalling 362,758 vehicles and warns that its experimental driver-assistance software, marketed as Full Self-Driving Beta, may cause crashes.  — The recall notice was posted on the website …

Senior Democrats' Private Take on Biden: He's Too Old  —  High-level Democrats are rallying to President Biden's reelection, not because they think it's in the best interest of the country to have an 82-year-old start a second term but because they fear the potential alternative …

Top Putin war official plunges 160 feet to her death from high-rise building  —  A high-ranking Russian defense official in the war against Ukraine was found dead Wednesday after falling from a 16th-floor window in an apartment building.  —  Marina Yankina, 58, was discovered by a passerby …

Fight the Anti-Trans Backlash With Accountability, Not Silence  —  A new book by Hannah Barnes describes how the Gender Identity Development Service at the Tavistock clinic in London, the United Kingdom's only dedicated gender-identity clinic, routinely put children on puberty blockers with inadequate assessment.

Mitt Romney warns that Trump is ‘by far the most likely’ GOP nominee in 2024  —  WASHINGTON — Sen. Mitt Romney says former President Donald Trump is best-positioned to be the Republican presidential nominee in 2024, and that the only way to stop him is to ultimately shrink the field to a one-on-one contest against a viable alternative.

Supreme Court Cancels Arguments in Title 42 Immigration Case  —  The justices, who had been set to hear arguments on March 1, acted after the Biden administration filed a brief saying that the measure would soon be moot.  —  WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday canceled arguments …

In Defense of J.K. Rowling  —  “Trans people need and deserve protection.”  —  “I believe the majority of trans-identified people not only pose zero threat to others but are vulnerable.”  —  “I respect every trans person's right to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them.”

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki is stepping down  —  One of the most prominent women in tech — and one of Google's earliest employees — is leaving the company.  —  YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, who has led the world's largest video site for the last nine years, is stepping down from her role.

Et Tu, Kayleigh?  Trump-Die Hard McEnany Calls for DeSantis to Jump in the 2024 Race Immediately: ‘Hottest Governor in Republican Politics’  —  This doesn't figure to sit well with former President Donald Trump.  —  Speaking Wednesday on Outnumbered, Fox News host Kayleigh McEnany …

AZ Senate: Gallego Leads in All Head-To-Head Matchups  —  Sinema's Independent Status is the Real Wild Card  —  Toplines and crosstabs can be found here  —  PHOENIX (February 16th, 2023)- The 2024 Senate election is inching closer and the race for Arizona's Senate seat is wide open.

Stacey Abrams Charity Has a $500,000 Problem In Its Latest Tax Filing … Over half a million dollars is missing from the New Georgia Project, a discrepancy which experts say is grounds for state and federal investigations into the Stacey Abrams-founded group and the woman Abrams tapped to run it.

EXCLUSIVE: FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP LEAKED CLASSIFIED RUSSIA PAPERS TO CONSERVATIVE JOURNALIST  —  Trump's leak of the records raises new questions regarding his handling of classified information as the special counsel's probe of Trump's removal of classified documents to Mar-a-Lago intensifies.

Justice Dept. in DC taking over Texas AG corruption probe  —  Justice Department officials in Washington have taken over the corruption investigation into Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, removing the case from the hands of the federal prosecutors in Texas who'd long been leading the probe, according to state prosecutors.

Idaho lawmakers introduce legislation to criminalize those who administer COVID vaccines  —  The bill would make administering an mRNA vaccine — a COVID vaccine — a misdemeanor.  —  IDAHO, USA — Two Idaho lawmakers have introduced a bill to charge those who administer mRNA vaccines with a misdemeanor.

George Santos barricaded in district office as local residents are refused meeting with embattled congressman  —  Residents were reportedly told by a staffer that the congressman would not speak to the ‘mob’ … The office of embattled Republican congressman George Santos was surrounded …

Crews on scene of train derailment in Van Buren Township  —  (WXYZ) — The Van Buren Township Fire Department confirms that a train derailed near Huron River Drive this morning.  —  Chopper video shows at least six cars off the track.  —  Officials say only one car in the train …

Alex Jones is ‘holding firearms’ for Jan. 6 rioters, bankruptcy docs show  —  As Infowars founder Alex Jones is facing bankruptcy for damages he owes to the families of victims of the mass killing at Sandy Hook Elementary School, a new filing shows the right-wing conspiracy theorist has been …

Trump's Shell Spending Scheme Comes Under DOJ Scrutiny  —  Special counsel Jack Smith appears to have set his sights on a number of Trump's vendors.  And there's plenty to look into.  —  Pay Dirt is a weekly foray into the pigpen of political funding.  Subscribe here to get it in your inbox every Thursday.

Virginia governor blocks bill banning police from seeking menstrual histories  —  Glenn Youngkin essentially kills bill passed in Democratic-led state senate to ban search warrants for menstrual data on tracking apps  —  The Republican governor of Virginia, Glenn Youngkin …

This Christian ‘Prophet’ Backed Trump in 2020.  Now He Says God Favors DeSantis  —  Are Christian visionaries turning on Trump? … And for once, it wasn't about Donald Trump.  “We need to watch Ron DeSantis,” Shamp told the televangelist's audience.  “Because the Lord is going to use him in a powerful way.”

Republicans Turn a Blind Eye to Elon Musk's Twitter Manipulation  —  “If he wants to get his word out that he owns the show, doesn't he own it?”  —  Good afternoon and welcome to Press Pass.  Before we jump into today's edition, please do me a favor and share this newsletter with someone …

Trump Has Slight Lead Over DeSantis In GOP Primary, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Americans Mixed On Reasons Behind Classified Document Discoveries  — mail_outline  —  Given a list of 14 names of Republicans who either have said they are running for president in 2024 …

D.C. overpays landlords millions to house the city's poorest  —  Paying above-market rents means fewer people are helped by the troubled housing authority  —  Arthur Simpson, 73, lives on the third floor of an apartment building in Northeast Washington.  The elevator doesn't work, so he climbs the stairs.

Despite decades of mass shootings in Texas, legislators have failed to pass meaningful gun control laws  —  State lawmakers have rejected dozens of bills that would have prevented people from legally obtaining weapons used in many mass shootings.  Instead, they've made it easier for residents …

Don Lemon Apologizes After ‘Completely Offensive’ Remarks Irk His Female Colleagues  —  In what is becoming a habit, the CNN anchor drew the ire of his female colleagues over tone-deaf remarks related to gender—this time, about Nikki Haley being in her “prime.”  —  Don Lemon just can't help himself, it seems.

Election-Denying Republican Candidates Underperformed in the 2022 Midterms  —  We combine newly collected election data with records of public denials of the results of the 2020 election to estimate the degree to which election-denying Republican candidates for senator, governor, secretary of state …

Exclusive: British intel caught FBI spy chief secretly meeting a Russian in London  — An FBI spy chief's secret meeting with a Russian contact was detected by UK officials.  — Charles McGonigal, the ex-FBI official, is charged with taking money from Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska.

FEC presses Santos to identify campaign treasurer  —  The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is demanding Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) to name a new treasurer for his campaign and several affiliated political committees, warning that a failure to do so will bar the groups from raising or spending any money.