Showdown before the raid: FBI agents and prosecutors argued over Trump  —  An exclusive look at behind-the-scenes deliberations as both sides wrestled with a national security case that has potentially far-reaching political consequences  —  Months of disputes between Justice Department prosecutors …

Schumer, Jeffries pressure Murdoch, Fox News over Trump's false election fraud claims  — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries are calling foul on Rupert Murdoch.  — The top Democrats in Congress sent a letter to Murdoch, urging Fox News leadership …

Drugmaker Eli Lilly caps the cost of insulin at $35 a month, bringing relief for millions  —  Eli Lilly will cap the out-of-pocket cost of its insulin at $35 a month, the drugmaker said Wednesday.  The move, experts say, could prompt other insulin makers in the U.S. to follow suit.

In an Epic Battle of Tanks, Russia Was Routed, Repeating Earlier Mistakes  —  A three-week fight in the town of Vuhledar in southern Ukraine produced what Ukrainian officials say was the biggest tank battle of the war so far, and a stinging setback for the Russians.

Vance pitches PPP for Ohio while other Republicans say to wait  —  Sen. J.D. Vance's (R-Ohio) call for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)-style plan to help workers and businesses affected by the East Palestine train derailment is being greeted skeptically by Senate Republicans …

‘Havana syndrome’ not caused by energy weapon or foreign adversary, intelligence review finds  —  After a years-long assessment, five U.S. intelligence agencies conclude it is ‘very unlikely’ an enemy wielding a secret weapon was behind the mysterious ailment

Why I Stood Up to Disney  —  On Monday, I signed the law ending the Walt Disney Co.'s self-governing status over 43 square miles in central Florida, an area almost as big as Miami.  Disney no longer has its own government.  It has to live under the same laws as Universal Studios …

China's CCP warns Elon Musk against sharing Wuhan lab leak report  — Chinese state-run media warned Tesla CEO Elon Musk that he was risking his relationship with China after he retweeted about the U.S. government's “low-confidence” assessment that the Covid pandemic originated in a Wuhan laboratory.

Ron DeSantis is using a new breed of local right-wing media to make national news  —  These websites didn't exist five years ago.  —  The Florida Standard is a fledgling website, launching last July.  It lists only five writers and editors on its site.  But in January, it landed a blistering scoop …

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot blames election loss on racism, gender  —  Democratic Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot blamed racism and her gender for her landslide defeat in her re-election bid, as Chicagoans wary of the rising crime of her watch celebrated her fall from “political rock star to rock bottom.”

Trump ties GOP in knots over Medicare and Social Security  —  Donald Trump is driving a wedge through the GOP over one of American politics' thorniest issues: the future of Medicare and Social Security.  —  The former president's attacks on potential GOP primary opponents …

New York Will Pay Millions to Protesters Violently Corralled by Police  —  The police boxed in racial justice demonstrators in 2020, an anti-protest practice known as “kettling,” then hit them with batons and pepper spray.  Hundreds will receive $21,500 each.

Trump's enablers must face consequences, too  —  There's no doubt that Donald Trump was the instigator of the 2020 insurrection.  But the former president's schemes never would have gotten far (or even off the ground) without the participation of right-wing media executives, lawyers and pliant state officials.

Dark money and special deals: How Leonard Leo and his friends benefited from his judicial activism  —  A network of political non-profits formed by judicial activist Leonard Leo moved at least $43 million to a new firm he is leading, raising questions about how his conservative legal movement is funded.

Biden's Translator  —  Kate Bedingfield explains the press to the president (and keeps the White House from leaking).  —  Kate Bedingfield, the White House communications director, first tried to leave in July.  She had started working for Joe Biden in 2015 and was looking forward to spending …

Trump's February bump  —  Four new polls show former President Trump has received a boost in Republican support — with one survey showing him hitting 50% support in a crowded GOP field. … - His visit to the derailment site in East Palestine, Ohio — ahead of President Biden …

McCarthy, GOP pump brakes on release of Jan. 6 footage to Tucker Carlson  —  House Republicans are pumping the brakes on the release of Jan. 6 surveillance footage they've offered to Fox News host Tucker Carlson and going on offense against Democrats who have spent the past week slamming the move.

The story behind Gaetz citing Chinese propaganda at a hearing  —  In 2021, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) decried what he labeled “a fusion of the interest of the Chinese Communist Party and much of the apparatus of the United States government.”  —  At a hearing Tuesday, Gaetz cited …

Scoop: Trump's former ambassador to Israel slams Bibi's judicial overhaul plan  —  Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman used a recent conservative conference in Tel Aviv to express concern and push back against the Netanyahu government's judicial overhaul plan, according to two people with direct knowledge of the issue.

Girls high school basketball team forfeits tournament rather than play against transgender player  —  A Vermont girls high school basketball team forfeited an out of state tournament after refusing to play against a team that had a transgender player.  —  Mid Vermont Christian School (MVCS) …

Starbucks Faces New Front in Its Labor Disputes: White-Collar Workers  —  Dozens of white-collar Starbucks Corp. employees and managers have signed an open letter protesting the company's return-to-office mandate and its alleged union-busting, opening a new front in the battle …

The NFL deserves every bit of its raging Daniel Snyder headache  —  Dan Snyder is being unreasonable, is he?  Making irrational, insulting and perhaps even extortive demands?  Stifle for a moment your heavy, knowing sigh over the predictability of Snyder's conduct and the fact that he hasn't sold the Washington Commanders yet.