I Never Truly Understood Fox News Until Now  —  The basic story of Fox News and the 2020 election is well understood.  Fox's relatively small news operation covered the vote count accurately; this coverage infuriated President Donald Trump, the MAGA base, and Fox's opinion stars …

6 fatally shot in small Mississippi town, suspect in custody  —  Six people were fatally shot Friday in a small town in rural Mississippi near the Tennessee state line, and authorities said they had taken a suspect into custody.  Mississippi Department of Public Safety spokesperson Bailey Martin confirmed …

CNN's Chairman Rebukes Don Lemon Over His Nikki Haley Comments  —  Mr. Lemon's assertion that the presidential candidate Nikki Haley was not “in her prime” roiled the network and put a harsh spotlight on its struggling morning show.  —  Don Lemon, the CNN morning-show anchor …

It Is Journalism's Sacred Duty To Endanger The Lives Of As Many Trans People As Possible  —  The task of reporting is not a simple one.  Each and every day, reporters and editors at publications like The Onion make difficult decisions about which issues should receive attention …

Haley says DeSantis didn't go ‘far enough’ with 'Don't Say Gay'  —  Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) on Thursday criticized the so-called Don't Say Gay measure signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) last year, saying it doesn't go “far enough.”

Internal review found ‘falsified data’ in Stanford President's Alzheimer's research, colleagues allege  —  In 2009, Marc Tessier-Lavigne, then a top executive at the biotechnology company Genentech, was the primary author of a scientific paper published in the prestigious journal Nature …

Ann Coulter tells Nikki Haley to ‘go back to your own country’ in racist rant against new GOP presidential candidate  —  “What's with the worshipping of the cows?  They're all starving over there,” Coulter also said.  —  Conservative pundit Ann Coulter is under fire for a racist tirade …

GOP Operative Sentenced to 18 Months for Funneling Russian Money to Trump Campaign  —  Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.  —  On Friday, a federal judge in Washington, DC sentenced a veteran GOP operative to 18 months …

‘Never intended’ to sunset Social Security, Sen. Rick Scott says amid Biden criticism  —  Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., a favorite target of the White House, updated his controversial proposal to sunset all federal programs every five years with a boldened note Friday that claims it was never his intention to cut Social Security or Medicare.

Republicans to adopt loyalty pledge for debate participants  —  1 of 3  —  Republican presidential candidates will be blocked from the debate stage this summer if they do not sign a pledge to support the GOP's ultimate presidential nominee, according to draft language set to be adopted …

Key senators torn over retirement decisions as party leaders try to fortify 2024 standing  —  Sen. Joe Manchin, torn over whether to run for reelection, says he's “given everything I possibly can” over four decades of holding public office.  Sen. Jon Tester is close to making his final decision …

Christopher Rufo Claims a Degree from “Harvard.”  Umm ... Not Quite … On paper, Christopher Rufo, the conservative activist who recently was appointed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to sit on the board of a small Sarasota liberal arts college whose curriculum the governor dislikes …

Roald Dahl goes PC in a world where no one is ‘fat’ and the Oompa-Loompas are gender neutral  —  Sensitivity readers were hired to scrutinise the text with parts rewritten for a modern audience  —  Augustus Gloop is no longer fat, Mrs Twit is no longer fearfully ugly, and the Oompa-Loompas …

US cancer patient developed ‘uncontrollable’ Irish accent  —  A US man developed an “uncontrollable Irish accent” after being diagnosed with prostate cancer, despite having never visited Ireland, researchers say.  —  The North Carolina man, who was in his 50s, was presumably afflicted …

At Least 102 Kids Were Working In U.S. Meatpacking Plants, Labor Investigation Finds  —  The Labor Department says Packers Sanitation had children cleaning “back saws, brisket saws and head splitters.”  —  The Labor Department said Friday that investigators found Packers Sanitation Services Inc …

Is Bing too belligerent?  Microsoft looks to tame AI chatbot  —  Microsoft's newly revamped Bing search engine can write recipes and songs and quickly explain just about anything it can find on the internet.  —  But if you cross its artificially intelligent chatbot, it might also insult your looks …

Judge Bans Starbucks From Firing Union Supporters  —  A nationwide injunction restrains the company from dismissing labor organizers and could help reinstate ousted workers more quickly.  —  A federal judge in Michigan issued an injunction on Friday banning Starbucks from firing U.S. workers …

Marianne Williamson is entering the chat  —  Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration.  With help from Allie Bice.  —  PROGRAMMING NOTE: We'll be off this Monday, Feb. 20 for Presidents Day but will be back in your inboxes on Tuesday, Feb. 21.

Republicans take aim at risque jokes and romance novels with anti-sex bills  —  Bills are part of religious right's post-Roe strategy, with most prevalent ones relating to age verification of sex-related websites  —  A wave of proposed legislation pushed by Republicans across the US …

Trump seeks to bar evidence of 2 other alleged sexual assaults at rape defamation trial  — Former President Donald Trump's lawyers asked a judge to bar jurors at his upcoming civil trial in New York from hearing testimony that he sexually assaulted two other women besides E. Jean Carroll.

President Biden, Have I Got a Labor Secretary for You  —  Labor Secretary Marty Walsh will be the first member of President Joe Biden's Cabinet to resign; he's leaving to become executive director of the NHL Players Association, at an annual salary of $3 million.  We've known this for 10 days, but now it's official.