The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump is making plans to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence with an “extraordinary celebration” and a new national monument. Trump is expected to sign an executive order Wednesday establishing a task force to coordinate and plan the event, according to a White House document shared with The Associated Press. The United States …

The New York Times reports: In a tense exchange with Senator Bill Cassidy, Republican of Louisiana, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. displayed a surprising lack of familiarity with Medicare and Medicaid, the government programs responsible for covering more than 150 million Americans. At times, Mr. Kennedy seemed to confuse the two programs. Medicare is a federal program that provides coverage to …

Raw Story reports: A leaked memo from the Defense Intelligence Agency shows personnel were instructed to suspend observances of certain holidays that do not specifically honor white men, including Holocaust Remembrance Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Black History Month, according to a document obtained by journalist Ken Klippenstein. “The Agency is working internally and with the department to …

NewsNation reports: An advocacy group founded by former Vice President Mike Pence is escalating its fight against Robert F. Kennedy Jr., this time with an ad that uses President Trump’s past criticisms of Kennedy to argue against his nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The 60-second ad from Advancing American Freedom consists almost entirely of …

The Washington Post reports: The White House budget office on Wednesday rescinded an order freezing federal grants, according to a copy of a new memo obtained by The Washington Post, after the administration’s move to halt spending earlier this week provoked a backlash. In a memo dated Wednesday and distributed to federal agencies, Matthew J. Vaeth, acting director of the …

Media Matters has the transcript: MARIA BARTIROMO (ANCHOR): He also wants to drain the swamp. So he wants those people who have been working in government all these years and who have, you know, their own expectations, and sort of narrative of the way things go, he wants them out. He’s hoping that they take the buyout. CHERYL CASONE (FOX …

Via press release from GOP Rep. Eric Burlison: Today, Congressman Eric Burlison introduced the Life at Conception Act, to affirm the fundamental right to life for every human being, born and unborn. This landmark legislation declares that unborn children are “persons” under the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, allowing their right to life to be legally recognized and …

The Arizona Mirror reports: A Republican bill that would bar LGBTQ pride flags on government property moved forward Wednesday, despite concerns about the bill’s free speech implications. The proposal would limit governments to flying only the United States, POW and MIA flags, the Arizona flag, Arizona Indian Nations flag, first responder flags, historic American flags and “blue star service or …

CNN reports: President Donald Trump’s administration is ending the case against his former co-defendants in the classified documents investigation brought by former special counsel Jack Smith.The Justice Department has stopped pursuing an appeal brought by Smith to revive the criminal charges against Trump’s employees. The appeal had also sought to defend the attorney general’s ability to appoint special prosecutors — …

The Louisiana Illuminator reports: Sen. Valarie Hodges, R-Denham Springs, penned the letter on behalf of her colleagues and sent it Monday to Phillip Sherman, chairman of the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, and Robert Vosbein Jr., chairman of the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District, which oversees the Superdome. Hodges cited previous Super Bowl halftime performances that she found objectionable. She …

Politico reports: President Donald Trump has hired the elite white-shoe law firm Sullivan & Cromwell to appeal his criminal conviction in the Manhattan hush money case, according to two people familiar with the matter. The most prominent member of Trump’s new legal team is Robert Giuffra, the firm’s co-chair. Also working on the case will be four other Sullivan & …

The Daily Beast reports: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has again criticised billionaire Elon Musk, calling the tech mogul’s latest show of support for the German far right “disgusting.” Speaking to CNN Tuesday, Scholz slammed Musk’s involvement in Germany’s upcoming February election and weighed in on the billionaire’s plea for Germans to “move beyond” the guilt of the Holocaust during a …

The Hill reports: In his first moments after being sworn in as Transportation secretary, Sean Duffy sought to reverse Biden regulations requiring passenger cars to be more efficient. The Biden administration rule in question would require cars to be about 2 percent more fuel efficient each year. The memo does not immediately rescind the rule — instead it kicks off …

Politico reports: Donald Trump’s attorney general nominee Pam Bondi, who represented the president during his first impeachment trial, was voted out of the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday morning in a party-line, 12-10 vote. “Her record and her testimony showed the American people that she will follow through and enforce the law fairly, without fear or favor,” Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck …

Fox News reports: Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Sen. Mike Lee are advocating for the U.S. to withdraw from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). “If you could snap your fingers and get us out of NATO today, would you?” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, asked in a post on X. “Yes,” Massie replied. “I would withdraw us from NATO,” Massie …

The New York Times reports: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose antipathy toward vaccines has raised alarms among health experts and galvanized the “medical freedom” movement, will testify Wednesday at the first of two Senate committee hearings as he seeks to become the nation’s health secretary. Until now, Mr. Kennedy has had only closed-door meetings with senators. His appearance Wednesday before …

Bakersfield’s CBS affiliate reports: A 41-year-old Tehachapi youth pastor was arrested Monday following an investigation that revealed an alleged sexual assault of a teen victim. On January 27, 2025, Tehachapi police arrested Adrian Daugherty, 41, following an investigation that alleges Daugherty committed lewd and lascivious acts with a minor. Daugherty is a youth pastor at the Tehachapi Church of the …

The Washington Post reports: President Donald Trump threatened to punish Colombia with tariffs, a travel ban and other sanctions to compel it to accept deportation flights carrying “Illegal Criminals.” But Colombian officials said there were no criminals among the two planeloads of migrants the U.S. government sent over Tuesday. Among the more than 200 deportees were two pregnant women and …

Media Matters has the transcript: Let me just prepare you for what’s going to happen this week. We have Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Kash Patel, and Tulsi Gabbard, and there will be their hearings before the Democrats in the United States Senate. Let me tell you what to expect. Expect vile, vicious, Robert Bjork, Clarence Thomas, Justice Brett Kavanaugh style …

NBC News reports: A pair of Trump-endorsed Republicans easily won a pair of special House primaries Tuesday in Florida, setting them up to fill two vacant, deep-red seats and pad the party’s slim House majority. The Associated Press projected the primary in Florida’s 6th District for state Sen. Randy Fine [photo] shortly after polls closed in the district at 7 …