Clarence Thomas and the Billionaire  —  IN LATE JUNE 2019, right after the U.S. Supreme Court released its final opinion of the term, Justice Clarence Thomas boarded a large private jet headed to Indonesia.  He and his wife were going on vacation: nine days of island-hopping in a volcanic archipelago …

Tennessee Republicans vote to expel Justin Jones, first of three House Democrats  —  The House is taking action against three Tennessee Democrats for breaking House rules and leading a gun-control protest from the chamber floor.  —  Ten days after a shooter unloaded 152 rounds at a Nashville school …

Special Report: Tesla workers shared sensitive images recorded by customer cars  —  Tesla Inc assures its millions of electric car owners that their privacy “is and will always be enormously important to us.”  The cameras it builds into vehicles to assist driving, it notes on its website …

13-year-old son of Rebekah Jones, whistleblower who clashed with DeSantis, arrested over memes  —  The 13-year-old son of a controversial whistleblower who accused the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis of suppressing state data on the severity of the COVID pandemic in Florida was arrested …

Biden administration says schools may bar trans athletes from competitive teams  —  Proposed regulation would disallow blanket bans on trans athletes on the books in 20 states  —  The Biden administration on Thursday proposed new regulations that would allow schools to bar transgender athletes …

Staring Down a Debt Crisis, McCarthy Toils to Navigate G.O.P. Divisions  —  The House speaker has little trust in his Budget Committee chairman or his No. 2 as he works to unite the fractious Republican majority around a spending plan.  —  WASHINGTON — It was midway through Representative …

Inside the 3 so-called ‘catch and kill’ payments in Trump's indictment  —  Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg detailed the alleged scheme on Tuesday.  —  In August 2015, shortly after announcing his candidacy for president, Donald Trump convened a meeting at his namesake Manhattan skyscraper to hatch a plan to …

Former D20 student accused of planning attacks on three campuses  —  Elbert Co Sheriff's Office makes arrest based on call from concerned family member  —  ELBERT COUNTY — A former District 20 student is facing attempted murder charges on allegations of planning attacks on three schools …

Biden review of chaotic Afghan withdrawal blames Trump  —  A U.S. review led by the National Security Council of the chaotic 2021 withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan largely lays the blame on former President Donald Trump, saying President Joe Biden was “severely constrained” by the decisions of his predecessor.

GOP Maryland Sheriff Who Called Immigrants ‘Single Biggest Threat’ Indicted In Machine Gun Scheme  —  A Maryland Republican sheriff who once falsely claimed that immigrants are the biggest threat facing the United States has been indicted by a federal grand jury in a scheme to illegally acquire machine guns …

FBI and Army members raided the wrong hotel room during a training exercise and detained a guest inside  —  Members of the FBI and the US Army Special Operations Command who were conducting a training exercise in downtown Boston raided the wrong hotel room and detained the person inside …

Supreme Court refuses to reinstate West Virginia ban on transgender student sports participation  —  The decision is a victory for LGBTQ advocates.  —  The U.S. Supreme Court has denied West Virginia's request to immediately reinstate a law that would ban transgender student-athletes …

Federal Board Says Georgetown Transformers Sculptures Have To Go  —  Where the Decepticons failed to defeat Optimus Prime and the Autobots, an obscure federal board may well have succeeded.  —  The Old Georgetown Board unanimously voted Thursday to deny a Georgetown University neuroscientist's request …

Before meeting with Elon Musk, top advertisers privately debate his “racist rhetoric”  —  Elon Musk's appearance at a major marketing conference next week has spooked the top advertising executives at some of America's biggest companies.  —  Musk is slated to speak on Monday in Miami …

ChatGPT is making up fake Guardian articles.  Here's how we're responding  —  The risks inherent in the technology, plus the speed of its take-up, demonstrate why it's so vital that we keep track of it  — Chris Moran is the Guardian's head of editorial innovation

EXCLUSIVE: Peter Thiel's Instagram model boyfriend plunged to his death WEEKS after witnessing messy showdown between the billionaire mogul and his husband when he crashed couple's New Year's bash  — Peter Thiel and Matt Danzeisen wed October 2017 and share two young children

How Russia's Offensive Ran Aground  —  After months of pouring soldiers into eastern Ukraine, Russia's progress essentially adds up to this: three small settlements and part of the city of Bakhmut, a high-profile battlefield with limited strategic value.  —  Settlements captured by Russia this year

Republicans back bill to change election rules — only for the upcoming Senate race  —  A Republican-backed bill to create a “jungle primary” that would box-out third party candidates in the next U.S. Senate race in Montana has advanced.  —  Senate Bill 566 would create a primary system …

Probe widens into federal watchdog over missing Jan. 6 Secret Service texts  —  A nearly two-year investigation into allegations of misconduct by the Department of Homeland Security's chief watchdog expanded this week to include his role in missing Secret Service text messages from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

Ron DeSantis' long-haul strategy against Trump comes into view  —  Although he hasn't yet announced a presidential bid, the Florida governor's team has already had internal discussions about delegate strategy.  —  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' team is already plotting out a strategy to run against Donald Trump for the long haul.

Ex-head of Michigan medical marijuana board and former state House speaker admits he took bribes  —  The former head of a Michigan medical marijuana licensing board has agreed to plead guilty to accepting $110,000 in bribes when he led the panel over a two-year period, authorities said Thursday.

The FBI Is Causing Trouble Again.  Only This Time, It's Hilarious.  —  Virginia and Maryland, once friendly rivals, have been locked in a quiet battle over the FBI.  It's getting a lot louder.  —  In December, as Congress was working on a bill to fund the government …

State Dept. should've done more to prepare for worst-case scenario of Afghanistan withdrawal, Blinken says  —  The secretary unveiled the results of an after-action report in a hastily organized event on Thursday.  —  “More could and should have been done” by the State Department to prepare …

How Fox Chased Its Audience Down the Rabbit Hole  —  Rupert Murdoch built an empire by giving viewers exactly what they wanted.  But what they wanted — election lies and insurrection — put that empire (and the country) in peril.  —  On the evening of Nov. 19, 2020, Rupert Murdoch …