Once an albatross around Trump's neck, Jan. 6 is now taboo in the GOP primary  —  OXON HILL, Md. — Like most politicians considering a White House run, Ron DeSantis published a new book this past week, designed to frame him as an unapologetic truth teller, eager to tackle the hard issues of the day.

What is Fox News hiding in the Dominion lawsuit?  —  A Feb. 16 filing by Dominion Voting Systems in its defamation lawsuit in Delaware against Fox News has kicked up a media firestorm: Outlet after outlet described how internal email and text messages quoted in the document …

In Calif. speech that draws protests, DeSantis stokes fight over pandemic  —  The Florida governor's speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library served as an audition before conservatives for a Republican many expect to run for president in 2024  —  SIMI VALLEY, Calif. …

New emails show Dr. Anthony Fauci commissioned scientific paper in Feb. 2020 to disprove Wuhan lab leak theory  —  New emails uncovered by House Republicans probing the COVID-19 pandemic reveal the deceptive nature of Dr. Anthony Fauci.  —  They show he “prompted” or commissioned …

Asian Americans, Shifting Right  —  The new politics of class in America.  —  The Chinatown area of Sunset Park, Brooklyn, was long a Democratic stronghold.  The party's candidates would often receive more than 70 percent of the vote there.  Last year, however, the neighborhood underwent a political transformation.

The Programs You'd Have to Cut to Balance the Budget  —  Several conservative lawmakers say House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has promised a House vote on a balanced federal budget.  That's a harder task than it sounds, given the size of the federal deficit.  —  More recently, Mr. McCarthy …

Ukraine war: Russia's Wagner boss suggests ‘betrayal’ in Bakhmut battle  —  The head of Russia's Wagner private army has said it is not getting the ammunition it needs from Moscow, as it seeks to gain control of Bakhmut.  —  Russian troops - from Wagner and regular Russian forces - are trying to seize the eastern city from Ukraine.

Supreme Court declines to hear Florida prayer vigil dispute  —  WASHINGTON —The Supreme Court on Monday declined to consider making it harder for people to challenge what they allege is the unconstitutional government endorsement of religion.  —  The court turned away a dispute over a vigil held …

D.C. Council chair says he's withdrawing crime bill before it goes to U.S. Senate  —  D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) said he wrote to the U.S. Senate on Monday morning to withdraw the city's criminal code revision legislation, before the Senate votes on a Republican-led disapproval resolution that could overturn the bill.

Trump Is As Electable Now As He Was in 2016  —  There are an awful lot of reasons for Republican elites to oppose the renomination of Donald Trump next year.  He's erratic and selfish as a party leader.  He's repudiated many historic GOP issue positions that Republicans would love to bring back and implement.

Inside the Suspicion Machine  —  Obscure government algorithms are making life-changing decisions about millions of people around the world.  Here, for the first time, we reveal how one of these systems works.  —  DHRUV MEHROTRA, JUSTIN-CASIMIR BRAUN, EVA CONSTANTARAS, AND GABRIEL GEIGER

DHS has a program gathering domestic intelligence — and virtually no one knows about it  —  For years, the Department of Homeland Security has run a virtually unknown program gathering domestic intelligence, one of many revelations in a wide-ranging tranche of internal documents reviewed by POLITICO.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy to meet Taiwan's president in US to avoid China's ire  —  Two sides agree to meet in California, with Tsai Ing-wen also due to speak at Reagan Library  —  Taiwan's president Tsai Ing-wen has convinced US Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy to meet in California instead …

Trump's words at CPAC are exactly what Fascists say when laying the groundwork for violence  —  AG Garland should take a lesson from Argentina  —  “Never again,” were the final two words of Argentinian prosecutor Julio Strassera's closing argument in the 1985 criminal trial of the former leaders …

Twitter can't protect you from trolls any more, insiders say  —  Twitter insiders have told the BBC that the company is no longer able to protect users from trolling, state-co-ordinated disinformation and child sexual exploitation, following lay-offs and changes under owner Elon Musk.

The New Anarchy  —  America faces a type of extremist violence it does not know how to stop. … I. ON THE BRINK  —  in the weeks before Labor Day 2020, Ted Wheeler, the mayor of Portland, Oregon, began warning people that he believed someone would soon be killed by extremists in his city.

U.S. pressures airlines to commit to ending family seating fees  —  Three U.S. airlines agreed to commit in writing to eliminating family seating fees if adjacent seats are available during booking, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) said on Monday.

Russia's population nightmare is going to get even worse  —  War in Ukraine has aggravated a crisis that long predates the conflict  —  A demographic tragedy is unfolding in Russia.  Over the past three years the country has lost around 2m more people than it would ordinarily have done, as a result of war, disease and exodus.

Digital foot soldiers: Pro-Trump bots swarm DeSantis, Haley  —  Over the past 11 months, someone created thousands of fake, automated Twitter accounts — perhaps hundreds of thousands of them — to offer a stream of praise for Donald Trump.  Besides posting adoring words about the former president …

Kari Lake wins CPAC vice president poll, topping DeSantis, Haley  —  Former Arizona GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake won a straw poll for the Republican vice presidential pick during the Conservative Action Political Conference (CPAC) this weekend.  —  Among a field of 28 candidates …

The Judge with the King Complex  —  Should trial judges have the power to issue nationwide injunctions?  A lawsuit over abortion drugs is the latest major case to raise the question.  —  This month, less than a year after the Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade …

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort settles case with Justice Department for $3.15M  —  Paul Manafort, former chairman of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, agreed to pay $3.15 million to settle a civil case filed by the Justice Department last year for his allegedly …

Russia and Iran hesitate over co-operation as west warns of costs  —  Moscow held off buying Iranian missiles over fears Ukraine would receive long-range rockets, say officials  —  Russia has hesitated to buy ballistic missiles from Iran out of concern that Ukraine's allies would in response supply Kyiv …

How Walgreens supports the anti-abortion movement  —  Walgreens, one of the nation's largest pharmacy chains, announced that it will not dispense abortion pills in at least 10 states where abortion remains legal.  The decision came in response to a letter from 20 state attorneys general …