Exclusive: Hotelier Robert Bigelow gives Trump $1 million for legal fees  —  Hotelier Robert Bigelow told Reuters on Tuesday he gave Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump $1 million for his legal fees and agreed to donate another $20 million to a pro-Trump outside group for campaign purposes.

Trump Allies Pledge ‘Holy War’ Against Taylor Swift  —  Taylor Swift hasn't even endorsed Joe Biden's 2024 campaign, but Trump is already privately grousing he's “more popular” than her  —  Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift hasn't even endorsed President Joe Biden for reelection yet.

Trump pressured prosecutor to ‘blow up’ Hunter Biden's gun plea deal: court filing  —  Hunter Biden's lawyers working to dismiss their client's gun case argued Tuesday far-right extremists and former President Donald Trump unduly pressured prosecutors once willing to cut a deal.

Syphilis Is Soaring in the U.S.  —  Cases have risen by 80 percent since 2018, the C.D.C. reported.  But chlamydia remains by far the most common sexually transmitted infection.  —  Syphilis, once nearly eliminated in the United States, continues to resurge, reaching the highest rate …

The ‘Take Our Border Back’ Convoy Is Already a Complete Mess  —  Instead of immigrants, the group of extremists mostly battled each other, paranoia, and their GPS systems.  —  On Monday morning, the organizers of the Take Our Border Back convoy kicked off their road trip to the Texas-Mexico border in Virginia Beach.

Disturbing Bill Would Let Arizona Legislators Ignore Election Results  —  The proposed bill would give the legislature absolute power to control the state's electoral college votes, disenfranchising millions of citizens.  —  An Arizona lawmaker who signed on to be a “fake elector” …

Montana's Governor Defends Stealing a Teenager From Parents Over Not Conforming to Transgender Agenda  —  As RedState previously reported, Montana's state child protective services came and took away the 14-year-old girl of a family in Glasgow.  The parents, Krista and Todd Kolstad …

Prosecutor in Trump Georgia case settles divorce ahead of testimony  —  The lead prosecutor in the Georgia election interference case against former president Donald Trump and his allies settled a contentious divorce dispute on Tuesday, canceling a hearing scheduled for Wednesday morning …

Israeli commandos, dressed as doctors, foil terror attack in Jenin hospital  —  The Israeli commando forces entered the hospital dressed as doctors and nurses, as seen in CCTV footage shared on social media.  —  Israeli counterterrorism forces foiled an October 7-inspired terror attack overnight on Tuesday …

Pluralistic: My McLuhan lecture on enshittification (30 Jan 2024)  — My McLuhan lecture on enshittification: Live from Berlin.  — Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.  — This day in history: 2014, 2019, 2023  — Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

E. Jean Carroll Lawyer Threatens to Seek Sanctions Against Trump Attorney for ‘Utterly Baseless’ Claims Judge Was Her ‘Mentor’  —  Trump's lawyer Alina Habba claimed the judge had a conflict of interest based on a tabloid rumor of an alleged 30-year-old professional tie

House Democrats close ranks against “bulls**t” Mayorkas impeachment  —  House Democrats are expecting their caucus to stay unified against a Republican vote to impeach Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas that could come as soon as next week.

Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah suspends attacks on US forces  —  Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group Kataib Hezbollah announced on Tuesday the suspension of all its military operations against U.S. troops in the region, in a decision aimed at preventing “embarrassment” of the Iraqi government, the group said.

The historically familiar subtext to fears about immigrants to the U.S.  —  There are very real pressures that exist because of the recent increase in immigrants to the United States.  The number of immigrants who have been released into the country to await legal proceedings is over 2 million since 2021 …

We Found That Landlords Could Be Using Algorithms to Fix Rent Prices.  Now Lawmakers Want to Make the Practice Illegal.  —  After a ProPublica investigation, U.S. senators introduced a bill to curb “price fixing” linked to rent-setting software.  “Setting prices with an algorithm is no different …

GOP moderates send warning shot to Johnson over tax deal  —  Moderate House Republicans sent a warning shot to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Tuesday, coming close to blocking legislative action on the House floor in protest of the bipartisan, bicameral tax deal not including an increase in the state and local tax deduction (SALT).

Florida bars transgender residents from changing gender on driver's licenses  —  Transgender Floridians will no longer be able to change their gender on state-issued driver's licenses, according to a Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles memo addressed to county tax collectors.

Explorer may have found wreckage of Amelia Earhart's plane in Pacific  —  A former U.S. Air Force intelligence officer says he believes he has found the wreckage of Amelia Earhart's plane, which disappeared nine decades ago, on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean using sonar data from a deep-sea drone.

New US-made longer-range bomb expected to arrive as soon as Wednesday in Ukraine  —  The Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb doesn't even exist in the U.S. inventory.  —  The Pentagon has successfully tested a new long-range precision bomb for Ukraine that is expected to arrive on the battlefield …

The voters are rejecting Washington's failed border deal  —  Last week's reporting from The Hill is a perfect example of how Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is preserving a Republican Party in Washington that has completely lost touch with our voters and the real world.