Musk defends ‘Dilbert’ creator, says media is ‘racist against whites’  —  The Tesla and Twitter chief blasted media outlets for dropping Scott Adams's comic strip after the cartoonist's rant against Black people  —  Twitter and Tesla chief Elon Musk defended Scott Adams, the under-fire creator of …

Preaching Freedom, Ron DeSantis Leads By Cracking Down  —  In his new book, “The Courage to Be Free,” the Florida governor and potential Republican presidential candidate offers a template for governing based on an expansive vision of executive power.  —  Buy Book ▾

Lab Leak Most Likely Caused Pandemic, Energy Dept. Says  —  The conclusion, which was made with “low confidence,” came as America's intelligence agencies remained divided over the origins of the coronavirus.  —  WASHINGTON — New intelligence has prompted the Energy Department to conclude …

Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin announces Senate run in Michigan  —  The U.S. House member abd former CIA analyst is seen by many top Democrats as a formidable Democratic contender in a key battleground  —  Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin announced her candidacy for U.S. Senate in Michigan on Monday …

Tens of thousands protest Mexico electoral reforms  —  1 of 9  —  Tens of thousands of people filled Mexico City's vast main plaza Sunday to protest President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's electoral law reforms that they say threaten democracy and could mark a return to the past.

Doctors who touted ivermectin as covid fix now pushing it for flu, RSV  —  First, the group of doctors championed ivermectin as a covid panacea.  It failed to live up to the hype.  Now, they're promoting the anti-parasitic to prevent and treat the flu and RSV.

Inside the Unholy Sex Scandal Rocking Trump's Ex-Adviser  —  Frank Pavone once chaired Catholics for Trump.  Then he was defrocked by the Vatican.  Now, women are coming forward to accuse him of sexual misconduct.  —  Frank Pavone, a defrocked priest who was formerly a Catholic adviser to Donald Trump …

Maryland governor taps gas industry official to help regulate gas industry  —  Environmentalists say Wes Moore's pick for the Public Service Commission goes against his climate pledges  —  In his inaugural address, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) pledged to speed the state's shift away …

West Bank Erupts in Violence as Officials Pledge to Work for Calm  —  A Palestinian gunman killed two Israelis as American, Israeli and Arab officials met to discuss ways to lower tensions.  Then Jewish settlers went on a rampage.  —  JERUSALEM — Hours after a Palestinian gunman fatally shot …

‘Deal is done’: New NI Brexit deal reportedly struck  —  WATCH LIVE: BBC News coverage of Northern Ireland Brexit deal  —  Play video WATCH LIVE: BBC News coverage of Northern Ireland Brexit deal  —  Summary  — The UK and the EU have reached a new deal over post-Brexit trade arrangements …

GOP leaders, stung by losses, plan to wade into Senate races  —  1 of 5  —  A football legend who held a gun to his ex-wife's head.  Rivals who nearly brawled during a televised debate.  A venture capitalist who voiced sympathy for the Unabomber.  —  And that's just to name a few.

G.O.P. Donors in New York Await a Parade of Presidential Hopefuls  —  Donald Trump's support in the city's wealthy political circles is waning, as 2024 rivals and potential candidates, including Nikki Haley and Mike Pence, make the rounds.  —  New York City's heavy-hitting Republican-leaning donors …

Congresswoman Cori Bush marries campaign security guard in secret wedding  —  Marriage records filed St. Louis show U.S. Rep. Cori Bush tied the knot in a private ceremony earlier this month.  —  ST. LOUIS — Congresswoman Cori Bush, the progressive Democrat who has long described herself as a single mom, is no longer single.

Recession or not, Americans feel like they're poorer  —  The nation may not be in recession, but Americans are reckoning with a classic recessionary symptom: feeling poorer.  —  Half of American respondents say they are worse-off financially than a year ago, according to a Gallup poll released this month.

DeSantis pushes ban on gender studies at Florida colleges and universities  —  The University of Central Florida (UCF), one of the state's public universities, has a robust program in Women's and Gender Studies.  More than 170 current students have chosen to minor in Women's and Gender Studies …

Rural Hospitals Are Shuttering Their Maternity Units  —  Citing costs, many hospitals are closing labor and delivery wards, expanding so-called maternity care deserts.  —  TOPPENISH, Wash. — Three days before Christmas, the only hospital in this remote city on the Yakama Indian Reservation abruptly closed …

This Is Not How Pete Buttigieg Wanted to Visit Ohio  —  Gail Collins: Bret, Democratic strategists are worried about hanging on to support in the working class.  The good news, from my perspective, is that it looks like the big problem is economic concerns, not cultural ones.

James Bond books edited to remove racist references  —  Reissued versions of Ian Fleming's classic works will feature a disclaimer following a review by sensitivity readers  —  James Bond novels have been rewritten to remove a number of racial references from Ian Fleming's work, The Telegraph can reveal.

Damaging storms hit Oklahoma and Kansas, causing injuries  —  1 of 8  —  Powerful storms with widespread wind gusts and reported tornadoes swept across Oklahoma and Kansas, leaving more than a dozen people injured, and some Michigan residents faced a fifth-straight day Monday without power following last week's ice storm.

So far, Trump's rollback of regulations can't be blamed for Ohio train wreck  —  “I had nothing to do with it.”  — Former president Donald Trump, asked about criticism of his pulling back rail regulations, in East Palestine, Ohio, Feb. 22  —  Trump's comment during his tour of East Palestine …

Democrats launch new campaign to tie vulnerable New York Republicans to George Santos  —  The House Democrats' campaign arm is launching a new effort to link vulnerable New York Republicans to Rep. George Santos, with Democrats betting that the freshman congressman will be a major liability for the GOP in key swing districts next year.

Texas asks a Trump judge to declare most of the federal government unconstitutional  —  Ordinarily, this lawsuit would be laughed out of court.  But you never can tell with Trump's judges.  —  Earlier this month, Texas's Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit claiming …

Emboldened by its majority, House GOP turns up heat on federal workers  —  At a House hearing this month on fraud and waste in pandemic aid, some Republicans zeroed in on one group in particular for criticism: the federal employees overseeing the money.  —  “Fire people if they don't do …