Top Items:
Mychael Schnell / The Hill:
House passes $78 billion tax bill in bipartisan vote — The House passed a $78 billion tax bill on Wednesday that boosts the child tax credit and reinstates business deductions that were rescinded during the Trump administration, sending the bipartisan, bicameral legislation to the Senate for consideration.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, Fox News, Politico, New York Times, Associated Press and ABC News
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Laura Kelly / The Hill:
Johnson says Ukraine aid and border policy reform ‘likely’ to be split — House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told the three leaders of the Baltic parliaments that President Biden's national security supplemental that includes aid for Ukraine is “likely” to be split up over concerns …
Discussion:
Radio Free Asia
Nikki McCann Ramirez / Rolling Stone:
GOP Rep. on Border Security: 'Congress Doesn't Have to Do Anything' — “Why would I help Joe Biden approve his dismal 33 percent [approval rating]?” Rep. Troy Nehls said in a video obtained by Rolling Stone … The GOP has done all it can to raise hell over the issue …
Discussion:
MeidasTouch, Fox News and New Republic
Sahil Kapur / NBC News:
Republicans are weaponizing a boring House tradition. The result is more paralysis.
Republicans are weaponizing a boring House tradition. The result is more paralysis.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Quinnipiac University Poll:
2024 Matchups: Biden Opens Up Lead Over Trump In Head-To-Head, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Haley Leads Biden 1 On 1, But Trails When Third Party Candidates Are Added — mail_outline — As signs point to the 2024 presidential election being a repeat of the 2020 race between …
Discussion:
Politico, Greensburg Tribune-Review, The Hill and Fox News
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Rebecca Morin / The Messenger:
Trump Said He Had The ‘Best Border’ In US History. Here's The Truth. — An analysis of immigration data by The Messenger found Trump's border rhetoric doesn't match reality — Former President Donald Trump has touted having “the best border in history,” as the nation currently faces record levels …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal
Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling / New Republic:
Republican Senator Stunningly Slams Trump for Killing Border Deal — At least one Republican has reached a breaking point over Donald Trump's border security chicanery. — On Tuesday, North Dakota Senator Kevin Cramer had swing voters at the front of his mind, lobbing his own mud at Trump …
Discussion:
The Hill, CNN, Talking Points Memo and Raw Story
Ed Morrissey / HotAir:
The Surprising Twist That Saved Fani ... for Now — As the late, great Wilford Brimley declared in Absence of Malice: “Wonderful thing, subpoenas.” In a divorce action that had dragged out for over two years, Jocelyn Wade had sent a subpoena to Fani Willis to explain why Wade's estranged husband Nathan …
Discussion:
WXIA-TV, The Virginian-Pilot, Law & Crime, acecomments.mu.nu, HuffPost, Sun-Sentinel, CNN and Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Bill Rankin / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Fulton DA Willis, Wade subpoenaed to testify at Feb. 15 hearing — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade have been subpoenaed to testify at a Feb. 15 hearing involving motions to disqualify them from the election interference case, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday.
Discussion:
New York Post, NBC News, ABC News, HuffPost, Associated Press, CBS News, Axios, WXIA-TV, KRDO, The Gateway Pundit, Forbes, The Post Millennial, RedState, UPI and Raw Story
Dan Mangan / CNBC:
Judge dismisses Disney's lawsuit alleging retaliation by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — A judge dismissed a lawsuit Disney filed against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that alleged he retaliated against the company for publicly criticizing a controversial parental rights law the governor backed.
Discussion:
Tampa Bay Times, Reuters, Los Angeles Times, HotAir, NBC 7 San Diego, New York Times, NBC News, Florida Phoenix, Orlando Sentinel, CBS News, KXAN-TV, UPI, National Review, PJ Media, NPR, Raw Story, USA Today, The Daily Caller, The Federalist, Mediaite, Law & Crime, RedState, Semafor, The Daily Beast, Florida Politics, Axios, The Hollywood Reporter, One America News Network, The Capitolist, JONATHAN TURLEY, Fox Business, Wall Street Journal, Washington Examiner, Political Wire and WFLA-TV, more at Mediagazer »
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Gary Fineout / Politico:
Federal judge throws out Disney's lawsuit against DeSantis — “This is an important case with serious implications for the rule of law, and it will not end here,” Disney said Wednesday. — TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Disney lost a major battle in its bitter struggle with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis …
Discussion:
CNN, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Benzinga, New Republic, Reason and Deadline
NBC News:
More than $27M in Trump campaign fundraising went to legal costs in the last six months of 2023 — The former president was indicted four times last year and has also had to answer civil lawsuits targeting his business and as an individual. — WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump's …
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Angela Yang / NBC News:
Mark Zuckerberg apologizes to parents at online child safety hearing — “I'm sorry for everything you've all gone through,” the Meta CEO said at a Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing called “Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis.” — Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologized Wednesday …
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ABC News:
Social media CEOs to face grilling from senators on child safety
Social media CEOs to face grilling from senators on child safety
Discussion:
USA Today, The Hill, The Indian Express, Fox News, Newsbusters, NewsNation, New York Magazine, New York Post, WWLP-TV, CBS News, RedState, Benzinga, 6abc, One America News Network, Ars Technica, Washington Examiner, Breitbart, KRDO, al.com, Fortune, The Daily Caller, The Daily Beast, Deadline, Fox Business, Bloomberg, ABC7, Twitchy and The Messenger, more at Techmeme »
Lara Korte / Politico:
California introduces first-in-nation slavery reparations package — The set of bills notably excludes direct cash payments. — SACRAMENTO, California — California state lawmakers introduced a slate of reparations bills on Wednesday, including a proposal to restore property taken by …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Breitbart, CalMatters and Daily Caller News Foundation
Business Insider:
Trump's big NY fraud verdict won't come until next week: source — A verdict in Trump's NY fraud trial won't come until February, a source told Business Insider. — Judge Arthur Engoron had said he'd try to get it done by the end of January. That won't happen.
Discussion:
UPI
Maxine Joselow / Washington Post:
John Podesta to succeed John Kerry as top U.S. climate diplomat — The veteran Democratic political strategist will add the role to his duties at a crucial time for President Biden's climate agenda — President Biden will tap senior adviser John D. Podesta to replace outgoing U.S. special …
Politico:
House Republican reported for doing pull-ups at the top of Capitol dome — The Capitol Visitor's Center reported Rep. Rich McCormick to the sergeant at arms for “unsafe actions” while on a tour, according to an email reviewed by POLITICO.
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Hill, The Bulwark, Raw Story, The Daily Caller and The Messenger
Barak Ravid / Axios:
Scoop: State Department reviewing options for possible recognition of Palestinian state — Secretary of State Tony Blinken asked the State Department to conduct a review and present policy options on possible U.S. and international recognition of a Palestinian state after the war in Gaza …
ABC News:
Nikki Haley says Texas can secede from US if it wants but 'isn't going to' — That view contradicts centuries of history and precedent. — Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley attends a Lady Hawkeyes Tailgate campaign event in Coralville, Iowa, December 30, 2023.
Discussion:
New York Post and Patterico's Pontifications
Kevin Purdy / Ars Technica:
Study finds that once people use cargo bikes, they like their cars much less — Even some one-car households ditched vehicles in favor of cargo bike-sharing. — Cargo bikes started as something you'd see in images from Europe—bakfiets loaded up with groceries or sometimes kids.
Associated Press:
Chinese hackers are determined to ‘wreak havoc’ on US critical infrastructure, FBI director warns — Chinese government hackers are busily targeting water treatment plants, the electrical grid, transportation systems and other critical infrastructure inside the United States …
Discussion:
NBC News, Benzinga, The Register, New York Post, CBS News, SAN, Washington Examiner, The Hill, NPR, WTOP News, The Messenger, TechCrunch, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, KRDO, Breitbart, Radio Free Asia, ABC News, CNBC, Fox 8 Cleveland WJW, USA Today, 6abc, KSNF/KODE, Fox News, Bloomberg, Reuters and Political Wire, more at Techmeme »
Brandi Buchman / Law & Crime:
Even Jefferson Davis recognized Section III ‘automatically disqualified him’: Dozens of historians urge Supreme Court to remove Trump from 2024 ballot — Even Jefferson Davis, leader of the Confederacy — and his lawyer — knew the insurrection clause in the U.S. Constitution not only disqualified …
NBC News:
Pennsylvania man arrested after allegedly decapitating his father and displaying his head on YouTube — In the video, which has since been removed, Justin Mohn says his father was a federal employee and refers to him as a traitor while voicing right-wing conspiracy theories.
Discussion:
VICE, Washington Post, 6abc, The Columbus Dispatch, LevittownNow.com, USA Today, CNN, Associated Press, One America News Network, WLTX-TV, New Republic, WHTM-TV, The Messenger, WFLA-TV, TMZ.com, The Daily Caller, UPI, New York Times, Advocate, The Hill, Mercury News, ABC7, Global News, RedState, WTOP News, PhillyBurbs, Raw Story, NewsNation and The Daily Beast
Chauncey DeVega / Salon:
Trump's mobilizing his “prayer warriors”: Religion scholar on what MAGA means by “spiritual warfare” — Professor André Gagné explains that MAGA's “adoption of aggressive spiritual warfare language” is a warning sign — Donald Trump may control the Republican Party — but his power is not 100 percent absolute.
Discussion:
Raw Story
The White House:
FACT SHEET: One Year After Train Derailment, Biden-Harris Administration Continues to Support People in East Palestine, Ohio and Nearby Communities and Hold Norfolk Southern Accountable — President Biden to visit East Palestine, Ohio in February — One year ago, on February 3, 2023 …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Mediaite, The Hill, Roll Call, New York Times, The Post Millennial, UPI, KSNF/KODE, New York Post, USA Today, Twitchy, Breitbart, SAN, KRDO, Politico, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, WTOP News, Bangor Daily News, Washington Examiner, WKBN-TV, Fox 8 Cleveland WJW, NewsNation and Plain Dealer
Asher Notheis / Washington Examiner:
US veteran accused of tearing down Satanic Temple idol in Iowa Capitol charged with hate crime — A U.S. Navy veteran who is accused of tearing down a Satanic Temple statue within the Iowa state Capitol has been charged with a hate crime. — Michael Cassidy, a conservative Christian veteran …
Discussion:
KCCI-TV, New York Daily News, Des Moines Register, KCRG-TV, Louder With Crowder, WTOP News, Breitbart, IJR, The Daily Caller and Fox News
Representative Ilhan Omar:
Rep. Ilhan Omar and Members of Congress Call on Biden Administration to Address Human Rights Abuses in El Salvador — Washington, D.C. - Today, a group of Members of Congress led by Representative Ilhan Omar sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging the Biden Administration …
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Examiner, RedState, Fox News and Al Jazeera
Noah Berlatsky / Public Notice:
Why Trumpers are losing it over Taylor Swift — Swift goes to football games to support her boyfriend, shattering MAGA brains. … MAGA this week at last found its true, final, most hated enemy. Not Barack Obama. Not Hilary Clinton. Not Joe Biden. Not even Hunter Biden.
Slate:
A State Supreme Court Just Issued the Most Devastating Rebuke of Dobbs Yet — The Supreme Court's eradication of the constitutional right to abortion in 2022's Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization had an immediate and devastating impact on gender equality in the United States.
Discussion:
Digby's Hullabaloo and Balloon Juice
Daniel Lippman / Politico:
When QAnon fundraises for Kari Lake ... she shows up — Former Vice President Mike Pence once backed out of a fundraiser with the couple after their QAnon ties were revealed. — Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake is headlining a campaign fundraiser on Friday hosted by two wealthy QAnon supporters …
Discussion:
CNBC