Trump not allowed to give closing arguments in NY civil trial  —  Donald Trump won't make his own closing argument after all in his New York civil business fraud trial after his lawyers objected to the judge's insistence that the former president stick to “relevant” matters and “not deliver a campaign speech.”

PA 2024 Elections: Biden On Upside Of Too-Close-To-Call Race, Quinnipiac University Pennsylvania Poll Finds; Casey Opens Up Double-Digit Lead In Senate Race  —  mail_outline  —  In the key swing state of Pennsylvania, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump remain in a too-close …

Mike Johnson urges fellow Republicans to leave him alone on social media … - Facing a Jan. 19 deadline, some hardliners have said they are not opposed to shutting down the government in an attempt to get more concessions.  — Democrats have noted that Republicans have very little leverage due …

Hunter Biden makes surprise appearance at House contempt hearing  —  President's son also made an unexpected appearance last December to blast House Republicans who have subpoenaed him  —  Hunter Biden made an unexpected appearance on Capitol Hill on Wednesday morning …

SEC approves rule changes that pave the way for bitcoin ETFs  — The approval could prove to be a landmark event in the adoption of cryptocurrency by mainstream finance.  — The decision will likely lead to the conversion of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, which holds about $29 billion of the cryptocurrency, into an ETF.

Conservatives take revenge for Johnson's spending deal by halting action on House floor  —  They're looking for ways to punish GOP leadership, even if they're not yet willing to boot the speaker.

Republican governors in 15 states reject summer food money for kids  —  Moving beyond efforts to block expansion of health care for the poor and disabled, Republican governors in 15 states are now rejecting a new, federally funded summer program to give food assistance to hungry children.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene files complaint about Georgia prosecutor who charged Trump  —  A co-defendant in Trump's case has alleged the prosecutor improperly benefited from the hiring of an outside attorney on the case.  —  WASHINGTON — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. …

Record 20M sign up for ACA coverage  —  ObamaCare breaks records  —  More than 20 million people have signed up for insurance plans on the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) health exchanges, blowing past last year's previous record of 16 million.  —  © Getty

US verges on vaccination tipping point, faces thousands of needless deaths: FDA  —  Top regulatory officials call for clinicians to speak up and drown out misinformation.  —  The US may be heading to a “dangerous vaccination tipping point,” with immunization rates falling so low …

House Democrat joins GOP calls for Biden's defense secretary to resign  —  Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.) on Wednesday became the first Democratic member of Congress to call for Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to step down over the secrecy around his recent hospitalization.

Florida school district removes dictionaries from libraries, citing law championed by DeSantis  —  The Escambia County School District, located in the Florida panhandle, has removed several dictionaries from its library shelves over concerns that making the dictionaries available to students would violate Florida law.

GOP AGs Urging Impeachment Of Secretary Mayorkas Squirm When Asked About Trump  —  “I'm just a simple attorney general from Oklahoma,” said Genter Drummond when Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) asked if Trump's conduct warranted impeachment.  —  LOADING  —  WASHINGTON ― Rep. Eric Swalwell …