The GOP Is Starting to Plot Against Donald Trump  —  “It is,” he said, “A five-alarm fire.  And there is nobody coming to put it out.”  —  “It,” in this case, is the possibility that once again Donald Trump will prevail over a splintered Republican field, getting the same 30-40 percent …

Sarah Huckabee Sanders's State of the Union Response Proves the GOP Has Nothing New to Offer  —  From raging against the “woke mob” to belly-aching about left-wing “indoctrination,” the Arkansas governor revealed that the party is still hanging its hat on the culture war.

Chinese Balloon Had Tools to Collect Communications Signals, U.S. Says  —  China's surveillance balloons have flown over more than 40 countries and are directed by the Chinese military, the State Department said.  —  WASHINGTON — The Chinese spy balloon shot down by the U.S. military …

NJ councilman Russell Heller shot dead just a week after slaying of Eunice Dwumfour  —  A New Jersey municipal council member was shot dead in his car Wednesday, exactly a week after the unsolved slaying of Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour.  —  Russell Heller, 51, was found dead just after 7 …

Audible reckoning: How top political podcasters spread unsubstantiated and false claims  —  IIn February 2021, Texas Senator Ted Cruz and his co-host Michael Knowles, a Daily Wire commentator, recorded a live episode of the Verdict With Ted Cruz podcast.1 In conversation about his former …

I Thought I Was Saving Trans Kids.  Now I'm Blowing the Whistle.  —  There are more than 100 pediatric gender clinics across the U.S. I worked at one.  What's happening to children is morally and medically appalling.  —  I am a 42-year-old St. Louis native, a queer woman, and politically to the left of Bernie Sanders.

19,300 dead in Turkey, Syria earthquake: Death toll among worst in recent history, surpassing 2011 Japan disaster … The powerful earthquakes that shook Turkey and Syria this week are among the most devastating and deadliest quakes in recent history.  —  The death toll continued to climb …

SpaceX curbed Ukraine's use of Starlink internet for drones -company president  —  SpaceX has taken steps to prevent Ukraine's military from using the company's Starlink satellite internet service for controlling drones in the region during the country's war with Russia, SpaceX's president said Wednesday.

FOX News' Hillary Vaughn and Peter Doocy Welcome Baby Girl: 'Best Assignment I've Ever Had'  —  Hillary Vaughn and Peter Doocy are first-time parents after welcoming daughter Bridget, they share with PEOPLE  —  Hillary Vaughn and Peter Doocy are officially parents!

Fetterman hospitalized after feeling lightheaded  —  Sen. John Fetterman was hospitalized Wednesday after feeling lightheaded, his staff said.  —  “Initial tests did not show evidence of a new stroke,” said Joe Calvello, the communications director for the Pennsylvania Democrat.

Manchin ‘raising hell’ over White House handling of marquee Dem bill  —  President Joe Biden and Joe Manchin met at the White House about a month ago on a topic that's critically important to the West Virginia senator: implementing the sweeping tax, climate and health care law that both men shaped.

James Carville Attacks GOP, Marjorie Taylor Greene As ‘White Trash’  —  The longtime Democratic operative told MSNBC's Ari Melber “the level of white trashdom in the Republican Party is staggering.”  —  Democratic political consultant James Carville on Wednesday described Republican lawmakers …

Scoop: Mitt Romney reveals hundreds of emails to book author … The emails and journal pages span Romney's 2012 campaign as the Republican presidential nominee. … - The book “will also show Romney himself reckoning with what he considers his party's slide toward authoritarianism and what role …

Hawley's departure from Armed Services draws speculation  —  Corrected 9:08 a.m. Feb. 9 |  Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley was booted from his perch on the powerful Armed Services Committee last month as retribution for delaying the confirmation of numerous Defense Department nominees last year …

US and UK sanction Russian cybercriminal gang accused of infecting millions of computers worldwide  —  The US and UK governments on Thursday sanctioned six Russians and one Ukrainian for their alleged involvement in an infamous Russia-based cybercrime network that infected millions of computers worldwide …

Florida High School Athletic Association removes all questions about menstruation from required medical evaluation form  —  [Breaking news update at 1:09 p.m.]  —  At an emergency meeting Thursday, the Florida High School Athletic Association approved a proposal to remove all questions …

Why Is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Under Investigation?  Probably For Her Dress, Makeup And Hairstyling At The Met Gala  —  News broke two months ago that one of America's most-polarizing lawmakers was facing an ethics probe.  No one is willing to officially explain the rationale behind the investigation …

Congresswoman Assaulted In Her D.C. Apartment Building  —  Rep. Angie Craig, a Democrat representing Minnesota, was not severely injured in the attack.  —  Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) was assaulted in her Washington, D.C., apartment building Thursday, her office said in a statement.

House Votes 419-0 to Pass Resolution Condemning China for Spy Balloon  —  Lawmakers also seek more information about balloon's entry into U.S. airspace, how decision was made to shoot it down  —  Video: U.S. Shoots Down Suspected Chinese Spy Balloon  —  Created with sketchtool.

How the Case of Arrested FBI Agent Charles McGonigal Is Tied to a Russia-Linked Influence Effort  —  Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.  —  It was shocking news: Charles McGonigal, a former counterintelligence chief for the FBI …