Comment on NBA trade deadline, winter storm, San Francisco gas explosion: 5 things to know Thursday

Former President Donald Trump railed against the gag order Judge Juan Merchan put in place that bars Trump from talking about witnesses, jurors, prosecutors' staff, court staff and the family members of court staff and prosecutors.

House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks to reporters after a bipartisan group of lawmakers voted to advance a bill that provides aid to Ukraine and Israel. Several hardline Republicans, including Marjorie Taylor Greene, were opposed to the bill. Republicans may move to oust him as House Speaker for allowing the vote.

Another prospective alternate juror in former President Donald Trump's hush money trial is excused after saying she couldn't serve and starting to cry. CNN's Kristen Holmes reports.

Republican voters should be absolutely furious with their elected leaders. As I wrote in 2013 on the fight over Obamacare: .memberful-global-teaser-content p:last-child{ -webkit-mask-image: linear-gradient(180deg, #000 0%, transparent); mask-image: linear-gradient(180deg, #000 0%, transparent); } Join now to continue reading. Members get exclusive analysis, bonus features and no advertising. Learn more. If you’re already a member, sign in to your account.

“Speaker Mike Johnson’s sudden bid to deliver aid to Ukraine came days after fresh intelligence described the U. S. ally at a true make-or-break moment in its war with Russia,” Politico reports. “It was exactly the kind of dire assessment that President Joe Biden and the White House had spent months privately warning Johnson was inevitable.”

“The Biden administration is considering more than $1 billion in new weapons deals for Israel including tank ammunition, military vehicles and mortar rounds, U. S. officials said, at a time of heightened scrutiny of the use of American-made weapons in the war in Gaza,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The proposed weapons transfers—which would be in addition to those in a military aid deal currently before the Congress—would be among the largest to Israel since it invaded Gaza in response to Hamas’s attack that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, on Oct.