Donald Trumpand his allies have launched a blistering offensive against Manhattan's district attorney, resurrecting old tactics — and testing new ones — in an attempt to undermine the most acute legal threat of the former president's life.
Why it matters: If Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg does seek an indictment over Trump's alleged hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, his most difficult challenge could come in the court of public opinion. Republicans are preemptively rallying to try to ensure Bragg loses that fight.
The Republican-controlled House is preparing to make its first attempt at overriding a veto from President Biden.
Reality check: A veto override requires support from two-thirds of members in both chambers. With a narrow GOP House majority and Democrats in charge of the Senate, the veto will almost certainly stand.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said Monday that a "bookkeeping error" is at the center of the investigation into former President Trump's alleged hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Driving the news: "We don't think President Trump broke the law at all," said Jordan, a staunch Trump ally who chairs the House Judiciary Committee.
The Capitol Police are boosting security in preparation for unrest over a possible indictment of former President Trump, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: It's the latest indication of how concerned security officials are about the ex-president's supporters committing violence if he is arrested as part of the Manhattan District Attorney's probe into a hush money payment he allegedly made to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
President Biden on Monday vetoed a bill that would have repealed a Department of Labor rule allowing retirement fund managers to consider environment, social and governance (ESG) principles in their investment decisions.
Why it matters: It was Biden's first use of the veto since becoming president, though several more may be on the way with Congress on track to pass other pieces of legislation the White House opposes.
The big picture: Trump over the weekend predicted that he would be indicted this week and DeSantis, a likely 2024 presidential contender, had not previously commented publicly on the potential charges.
Lawyers for former President Donald Trump in new court filing Monday asked to "quash" an Atlanta special grand jury probe investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Why it matters: This marks the strongest involvement yet of Trump's defense attorneys in the grand jury's high-profile investigation — as the former president and 2024 GOP candidate faces multiple other criminal probes and a potential indictment.
Three House GOP committee chairs are seeking testimony from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg as they launch an investigation into his office's probe of former President Trump.
Why it matters: It's an unusually heavy-handed federal intervention into a local government office after Trump claimed he was facing arrest over a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
The bombastic, rambling speeches are still there. So are the insults and grievances. But there's something different about former President Trump's 2024 campaign: It's organized and focused in ways his previous campaigns were not.
Why it matters: In what's likely his last bid for the White House,Trump's team is no longer a not-so-organized collection of family members and hangers-on. Instead, it's staffed with political veterans who are building robust get-out-the-vote campaigns in key states, starting in Iowa.
On an icy Feb. 1 in Tennessee, mourners gathered in a Memphis church and vowed to keep Tyre Nichols on America's conscience. “Let’s never let them forget Memphis," attorney Ben Crump said.
By most measurements, it already has. The most convenient way to cope with one terrible news event in 2023 is to move on to the next one. But there's a cost: America's distraction addiction is numbing us into inaction and acceptance.
The White House will take a preemptive shot at Republicans on the federal budget this week, rolling out a blistering five-point critique of a plan by the far-right House Freedom Caucus, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The Biden administration — still waiting for Republicans' official budget plan for fiscal 2024 — is trying to gain a tactical advantage in the upcoming budget talks by casting a proposal by three dozen GOP hardliners as a "five-alarm fire" for Americans.
COVID-19 has killed millions and caused widespread disruptions to people's lives and global economies — but a major new study finds people are slightly happier than before the pandemic began.
The big picture: The 11th annual World Happiness Report, published Monday to coincide with the International Day of Happiness, surveyed over 100,000 people and found that Finland was the happiest country for the sixth straight year. The U.S. was ranked the 15th happiest nation.
China's leader Xi Jinping described his upcoming meeting Monday with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as a "journey of friendship, cooperation and peace" in an op-ed carried by the two countries' state media.
The big picture: Xi's first Moscow summit with Putin since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began comes three days after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russia's leader for war crimes charges.
North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un oversaw tactical drills "simulating a nuclear counterattack" over the weekend, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) claimed Monday.
The big picture: The drills that included a fifth missile test this month came as the U.S. and South Korean militaries conducted a days-long joint exercise that Seoul described as a "defense posture in the face of North Korea’s continued regional instability," but which Pyongyang regards as hostile.
The "Ted Lasso" cast will team up with President Biden and first lady Jill Biden to "discuss the importance of mental health" and well-being during a visit to the White House on Monday, the administration announced.
The big picture: President Biden tweeted a reference to the visit in a Sunday post featuring a photo of a sign stating "BELIEVE" above a door leading into the Oval Office — a nod to a poster above the office of coach Ted Lasso, played by Jason Sudeikis, in the hit Apple TV+ show about fictional soccer team AFC Richmond.
