Trump Investigations Test Justice Dept. and Divided Nation  —  Attorney General Merrick Garland and other prosecutors have sought to demonstrate that politics should not infect the justice system.  Those efforts face a steep challenge as the Trump investigations move ahead.

An Interview With the School Board Chair Who Forced Out a Principal After Michelangelo's David Was Shown in Class  —  On Thursday, the Tallahassee Democrat reported that the principal of a local charter school, the Tallahassee Classical School, was forced to resign after three parents complained …

U.S. airstrikes target Iran-backed groups in Syria after drone kills U.S. contractor, wounds 5 troops  —  A U.S. contractor was killed and five U.S. service members and one other U.S. contractor were wounded when a suspected Iranian drone struck a facility on a coalition base in northeast Syria on Thursday, the Pentagon said.

TikTok Paid for Influencers to Attend the Pro-TikTok Rally in DC  —  The embattled social media company brought out the checkbook to ensure at least 30 of its biggest assets—creators—were in DC to help fend off critics.  —  Ahead of TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew's much-anticipated testimony …

Attempts to Ban Books Doubled in 2022  —  A new report from the American Library Association showed a spike in censorship efforts, with 1,269 attempts.  —  Efforts to ban books nearly doubled in 2022 over the previous year, according to a report published Thursday by the American Library Association.

Tethered together, Biden and Harris move toward 2024 re-election run  —  U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris may not have won over America in her first two years in office, but she is staying put at President Joe Biden's side.  —  The first woman vice president is gearing …

NPR cancels 4 podcasts amid major layoffs  —  NPR moved this week to cut 10 percent of its staff and stop production of a trio of acclaimed seasonal podcasts — Invisibilia, Louder Than a Riot and Rough Translation — as it seeks to close a yawning budget gap that stands in excess of $30 million.

Ron DeSantis has one very big problem: Donald Trump  —  “You're not going to win in an insult slugfest with Donald Trump.  That's his strength.”  —  He hasn't declared his candidacy yet — but some Republicans fear that their non-Trump savior is showing signs of faltering.

Utah Law Could Curb Use of TikTok and Instagram by Children and Teens  —  The law, which prohibits social networks from allowing minors to have accounts without parental consent, may come as welcome news to many families even as it raises privacy concerns.  —  Natasha Singer, a technology reporter …

Top Trump attorney appeared before grand jury last December in classified docs probe: Sources  —  Timothy Parlatore testified about documents found at Mar-a-Lago sources said.  —  A top attorney for former President Donald Trump gave previously undisclosed testimony before a grand jury late …

Russian accused of evading sanctions escapes house arrest in Italy  —  Artem Uss goes missing a day after an Italian court approved his extradition request to the US  —  A Russian businessman wanted in the US for alleged money-laundering and sanctions evasion has escaped from house arrest in Italy …

Trump to GOP firms: Stop using my image or your clients will suffer  —  A memo sent on Thursday makes clear, the Trump campaign wants the digital dollars going to them.  —  The Trump campaign has sent a warning shot to the Republican Party's House campaign arm and some of its most prominent …

House fails to override Biden's first veto  —  A new administration rule for retirement plans will be implemented as planned after the House failed to override President Joe Biden's first veto on Thursday.  —  In a 219-200 vote, the House fell short of the two-thirds majority needed in each chamber to undo a presidential veto.

In Trump Rape Case, Jurors Will Be Kept Anonymous to Protect Them  —  A judge said that they could become victims of “harassment or worse” from supporters of the former president as he faces a lawsuit by the writer E. Jean Carroll.  —  A Manhattan judge ruled on Thursday that jurors hearing …

The Wrong Indictment Against Trump  —  Stormy Daniels wasn't an offense against America.  Focus on Georgia and the Jan. 6 riots instead.  —  WSJ Opinion: The Political Ramifications of a Donald Trump Indictment  —  Two topics, both having to do with presidencies.

Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate OK with Jan. 6 participant  —  The Republican-backed candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court said Thursday that he had no problem with someone who was on the U.S. Capitol grounds during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection campaigning for him across the state …

The Death of Peter Thiel's “Kept” Romantic Partner Is Being Investigated as a Suicide  —  Jeff Thomas, a model and social media influencer who was recently in a long-term relationship with billionaire Peter Thiel, said he spent much of his time with the tech mogul working to persuade him away …

Netanyahu Digs In on Court Overhaul, in the Face of Mass Protests  —  Amid a national crisis over a planned judicial overhaul, Israel's Parliament approved a bill making it much harder to remove a prime minister from office.  —  Reporting from Jerusalem  —  Hours after his coalition passed …

Stanford DEI Dean Escalates Battle against Law-School Dean  —  In a remarkable op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, Stanford law school DEI dean Tirien Steinbach escalates her battle with law school dean Jenny Martinez.  Steinbach had already given Martinez ample cause to fire her.

Senate Ethics admonishes Graham for campaign solicitations  —  The Senate Ethics Committee is admonishing South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham for soliciting campaign contributions inside a federal building after a Nov. 2022 Fox News interview in which he asked viewers to donate to a GOP candidate.

Biden moves to undo Trump's political play on the Space Command  —  The aftershocks from Donald Trump's presidency reach even to outer space, but the Biden administration is quietly moving to repair one piece of the damage that could affect national security.

China threatens consequences over US warship's actions  —  China threatened “serious consequences” Friday after the U.S. Navy sailed a destroyer around the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea for the second day in a row, in a move Beijing claimed was a violation of its sovereignty and security.