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.

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.

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 …

'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 …

US intelligence report alleging Russia election interference shared with 100 countries  —  The United States on Friday released a U.S. intelligence assessment sent to more than 100 countries that found Moscow is using spies, social media and Russian state-run media to erode public faith …

Trump World Vows to Tank a Speaker Bid From House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (Exclusive)  —  'An Emmer speakership is something that won't go over well in our circles,' one source close to Trump told The Messenger … House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., is angling to be the next House speaker …

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 …