Second senior Matt Gaetz aide resigns amid federal investigation  —  Devin Murphy, Rep. Matt Gaetz's legislative director, has stepped down amid a federal investigation into sex trafficking allegations against the Florida Republican congressman, the New York Times first reported and Axios has confirmed.

By 5-4 Vote, Supreme Court Lifts Restrictions on Prayer Meetings in Homes  —  The court shifted direction in cases on Covid-related limits on religious services after Justice Amy Coney Barrett replaced Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.  —  WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court late Friday night lifted …

Inside the Fight for the Future of The Wall Street Journal  —  A special team led by a high-level manager says Rupert Murdoch's paper must evolve to survive.  But a rivalry between editor and publisher stands in the way.  —  The Wall Street Journal is a rarity in 21st-century media: a newspaper that makes money.

The new lies of the GOP and Tucker Carlson  —  Ruth Ben-Ghiat (@ruthbenghiat), a frequent contributor to CNN Opinion, is professor of history at New York University and the author of “Strongmen: From Mussolini to the Present.”  Read her newsletter “Lucid.”  The views expressed here are her own.

Cops Caught on Video Holding a Black Army Lieutenant at Gunpoint, Then Pepper-Spraying Him  —  When Lt. Caron Nazario said he was afraid to get out of the vehicle, one officer responded, “Yeah, you should be.”  —  EO  —  Caron Nazario was driving his newly-purchased Chevy Tahoe home …

‘Clear the Capitol,’ Pence pleaded, timeline of riot shows  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — From a secure room in the Capitol on Jan. 6, as rioters pummeled police and vandalized the building, Vice President Mike Pence tried to assert control.  In an urgent phone call to the acting defense secretary, he issued a startling demand.

Police Say an Antifa Activist Likely Shot at Officers.  His Gun Suggests Otherwise.  —  Investigators said that Michael Reinoehl probably opened fire before officers killed him last year.  But some key evidence raises questions about that conclusion.  —  SEATTLE — When a U.S. Marshals …

Leaked Chats Show ‘White Lives Matter’ Movement in Shambles After Antifa Infiltration  —  “What an absolute garbage dumpster fire,” one Telegram user wrote.  —  TO  —  Just days before a series of White Lives Matter rallies were to take place in cities across the U.S. …

BLM founder is branded a ‘FRAUD’ after buying a $1.4 million home in an upscale mostly white enclave in LA  — Patrisse Cullors, 37, has bought an expansive property in Topanga Canyon  — The district in which the BLM founder will now live is 88% white and 1.8% black

‘An existential threat’: The Republicans calling for their party to reject QAnon conspiracy theories  —  (CNN)Republican Rep. Peter Meijer has a warning for his party: He fears baseless conspiracy theories like QAnon will destroy the GOP from within if Republicans don't decisively …

Trump's Power Won't Peak for Another 20 Years  —  The Trump presidency may be over, but the Trump era has only just begun—at least when it comes to influence over the nation's courts.  Measured solely by the number of judges he appointed, Donald Trump's impact is staggering: 234 judges …

Proud Boys and other far-right groups raise millions via Christian funding site  —  Revealed: groups banned from other sites fundraising on GiveSendGo as data breach identifies high-dollar donors  —  A data breach from Christian crowdfunding site GiveSendGo has revealed that millions …

Michigan's Virus Cases Are Out of Control, Putting Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in a Bind  —  Ms. Whitmer, a Democrat, locked down her state over the din of protests last year.  Now she is trying a different approach, appealing to personal responsibility.  —  Nowhere in America is the coronavirus pandemic …

Workers weary, patients angry, as COVID-19 fills Michigan hospitals — again  —  With an eye on his father's bloodied face, Barry Jensen began punching numbers into his cellphone from the hospital emergency room.  —  His 90-year-old dad had fallen on a gravel driveway.  His glasses were broken.

Red states are vaccinating at a lower rate than blue states  —  (CNN)One of the biggest obstacles in America's race to vaccinate against the coronavirus has been that substantial proportions of certain groups choose not to vaccinate.  —  The polling has suggested all along that Republicans …

Dan Crenshaw Announces Emergency Eye Surgery, Will Be ‘Effectively Blind’ for a Month  —  Representative Dan Crenshaw (R., Texas) announced that he received emergency surgery on his left eye on Friday, which will leave the congressman “effectively blind” for the next month.

‘A Tremendous Complication’: G.O.P. Dances Around Trump's Lingering Presence  —  A gathering of Republican leaders and top donors in Florida this weekend is less a reset of priorities and more a reminder of the tensions that Donald J. Trump instills in his party.

Kamala Harris MIA on border crisis  —  More than two weeks after President Joe Biden placed her in charge of addressing the crisis at the border, Vice President Kamala Harris has made few public moves to show she has a handle on the situation.  —  Harris has visited Connecticut, California …

On Ukraine's doorstep, Russia boosts military and sends message of regional clout to Biden  —  MOSCOW — Russia is steadily massing its largest military presence in years near the Ukrainian border — on land and sea — as the Kremlin tests Western support for Kyiv and its battles …