The Washington Examiner reports: A U.S. Navy veteran who is accused of tearing down a Satanic Temple statue within the Iowa state Capitol has been charged with a hate crime. Michael Cassidy, a conservative Christian veteran, is accused of tearing down the display in mid-December, leading to property damages that cost somewhere between $750 and $1,500. The action taken by …

NewsNation reports: House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-LA, is expected to deliver remarks on a proposed border deal from the House floor. It will be his first floor remarks since he was elected. The proposal is the work of a bipartisan group of Senators, in an effort to reach a compromise that would include changes to border policy and enforcement in …

The Independent reports: At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on social media safety, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told major tech CEOS they have “blood on their hands.” “Mr Zuckerberg, you and the companies before us, I know you don’t mean it to be so, but you have blood on your hands, you have a product that’s killing people,” …

Via press release from the Catholic League: Most Americans would not approve of graphic sex advice being prominently featured on the homepage of a popular search engine. They would be more outraged if it were posted midday when after-school boys and girls could easily access it. But this is exactly what Yahoo did on January 30. The first post below …

“If folks like me, the highest advisers to the president, can’t provide the president with confidential information without worry of having it leaked over to a partisan legislature, he won’t get the best information, and he has to be protected too. “So, I have said from the outset on this show that I fully expect this case to go to …

NBC News reports: FBI Director Christopher Wray is expected to warn about the growing threat of Chinese cyberattacks against U.S. electrical grids and other infrastructure during an appearance Wednesday before the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. “China’s hackers are positioning on American infrastructure in preparation to wreak havoc and cause real-world harm to American citizens and communities, …

The Indiana Statehouse File reports: Students from Burris Laboratory School in Muncie who were visiting the Statehouse Tuesday say they felt threatened after Rep. Jim Lucas, R-Seymour, opened his coat and flashed a handgun. The students, members of Students Demand Action, had traveled to Indianapolis to attend the annual Advocacy Day held at the state capitol to ask lawmakers to …

The Guardian reports: Rightwing activist Christopher Rufo has links to a self-styled “sociobiology magazine” that is focused on the supposed relationships between race, intelligence and criminality, and which experts have characterized as an outlet for scientific racism. At the time of reporting, Aporia was one of 19 Substack newsletters Rufo links to in the “recommended” section on his own newsletter, …

Philadelphia’s ABC affiliate reports: A Pennsylvania man has been charged after his father was found beheaded inside their family home Tuesday night in Middletown Township, Bucks County. The victim’s son, identified as 32-year-old Justin Mohn, has been charged with murder and abuse of a corpse, among other charges, according to police. Mohn is accused of not only beheading his father, …

The Texas Tribune reports: The Texas Supreme Court has temporarily halted depositions that were scheduled to begin Thursday in the whistleblower case against Attorney General Ken Paxton. The all-GOP court issued an order Tuesday staying the depositions and giving the parties until Feb. 29 to respond with their broader legal arguments. The decision was made public within hours of Paxton’s …

Mediaite reports: Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) reacted to news of the federal investigation into Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) by calling her “loud” and describing her husband as a “thug.” “She doesn’t even support the police,” he said, referring to Bush’s support for defunding the police. “But the idea to pay her thug money to try to help protect her this …

Posted to Trump’s Truth Social account: I am in the process, along with my team, of interviewing various law firms to represent me in an Appeal of one of the most ridiculous and unfair Witch Hunts our Country has ever seen. The defamation Sham presided over by a Clinton appointed, highly partisan, Trump Hating Judge, Lewis Kaplan, who was, together …

The Associated Press reports: The repayment demands have Oklahoma’s education agency drawing fierce criticism from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, some of whom say teachers shouldn’t be forced to give the money back. Average teacher pay in Oklahoma is about $54,800, which ranks 38th in the country, according to the National Education Association. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters, …

“Does Taylor realize the guy that they want her to endorse is a kind of stumbling, bumbling mess, doesn’t have the energy to give a 30 minute speech, let alone perform a three hour concert like she does? He also is kind of very creepy. She may want to check out those creepy videos, they’re online. “Or maybe she just …

Rolling Stone reports: Trump has reacted to the possibility of Biden and Swift teaming up against him this year not with alarm, but with an instant projection of ego. In recent weeks, the former president has told people in his orbit that no amount of A-list celebrity endorsements will save Biden. Trump has also privately claimed that he is “more …

CNN reports: House Republicans voted early Wednesday to advance their impeachment articles against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, moving closer to taking the rare step of impeaching a Cabinet official. The move sets up a vote on the articles by the full House of Representatives, though the date of that vote has not yet been set. The House …

Florida Politics reports: If Florida bans cultivated meat, it will be the first in the nation to do so. With food scarcity challenging modern agriculture, those behind the development of alternative protein sources fear this will set a dangerous precedent. That hasn’t stopped legislation from plowing forward in the House and Senate. Language completely banning the manufacturing, sale or distribution …

The New York Times reports: Donald J. Trump piled up legal expenses in 2023 as he was indicted four times, spending approximately $50 million in donor money on legal bills and investigation-related expenses last year, according to two people briefed on the figure. It is a staggering sum. His lone remaining rival in the 2024 Republican primary, Nikki Haley, raised …

Reuters reports: 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. “I gave him $1 million towards his legal fees a few weeks ago. I made a promise to give him $20 million more, …

Variety reports: More than 20 years after the song was first released and following a recent surge in popularity — thanks almost entirely to Barry Keoghan‘s naked dance scene in “Saltburn” — Sophie Ellis-Bextor‘s “Murder on the Dancefloor” is getting a major moment at the BAFTAs. The British Academy has announced that Ellis-Bextor will perform her smash hit at the …