Judge fines Donald Trump $5,000 after post maligning court staffer is found on campaign website  —  Former President Donald Trump was fined $5,000 on Friday after a disparaging social media post about a key court staffer in his New York civil fraud case was allowed to linger on his campaign website after the judge ordered it deleted.

Live updates Jim Jordan fails to become House speaker on third ballot  —  Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) failed Friday on a third ballot to be elected House speaker after backing off a plan to empower a temporary speaker.  Jordan, a conservative firebrand and ally of former president Donald Trump …

Supreme Court blocks restrictions on Biden administration efforts to remove contentious social media posts  —  The Biden administration had called a lower court injunction “unprecedented” for restricting officials' ability to raise concerns about problematic social media content on issues like Covid-19.

Comer Releases Evidence of Direct Payment to Joe Biden  —  WASHINGTON—House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) today announced the committee obtained bank records revealing a $200,000 direct payment from James and Sara Biden to Joe Biden in the form of a personal check.

Mastodon Is the Good One  —  Join the newsletter to get the latest updates.  —  Success  —  Great!  Check your inbox and click the link.  —  Error  —  Please enter a valid email address.  —  Earlier this week, friend of 404 Media Katie Notopoulos, who is a great journalist and internet knower …

The Real Reason Hamas Just Released Two American Hostages  —  According to Israeli officials, Iranian-backed terrorist organization Hamas released two American hostages Friday afternoon for “humanitarian” purposes after kidnapping and holding them in the Gaza Strip for nearly two weeks.

'It's astonishing': GOP ditches Jordan as speaker pick  —  It was an unexpectedly fast end to the Ohio conservative's candidacy to lead the chaos-ridden House GOP.

Elon Musk's X removes the New York Times' verification badge  —  The unexplained decision removes the only symbol distinguishing the news organization from impostors and comes amid a flood of false information related to the Israel-Gaza war, some of which Musk has personally endorsed.

Jack Smith uses Brett Kavanaugh law review article and Trump's own impeachment arguments to slap down Jan. 6 ‘presidential immunity’ claims  —  In a double serving of what could arguably be described as doses of one's own medicine, special counsel Jack Smith plucked apart Donald Trump's latest efforts …

Chief prosecutor of Jan. 6 rioters describes ‘pervasive’ threats to his office  —  Matthew Graves, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, described the threats in a closed-door interview with the House Judiciary Committee.  —  The federal prosecutors who have brought charges …

On Israel, Progressive Jews Feel Abandoned by Their Left-Wing Allies  —  Jewish leaders and voters said they were taken aback to discover that many of their ideological allies saw them as oppressors who deserved blame following the Israel attacks.  —  Progressive Jews who have spent years …

Alex Jones must pay $1.1 billion of Sandy Hook damages despite bankruptcy - court  —  Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones cannot use his personal bankruptcy to escape paying at least $1.1 billion in defamation damages stemming from his repeated lies about the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school massacre, a U.S. bankruptcy judge ruled Thursday.