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Former Vice President Mike Pence reveals in a new book that he was angry but not afraid on Jan. 6, 2021, when rioters at the U.S. Capitol were chanting for him to be hung, In the memoir “So Help Me God,” Pence details the anger he felt despite the threat to his life if the rioters found him. “I was angry at what I saw, how it desecrated the seat of our democracy and dishonored the patriotism of millions of our supporters, who would never do such a thing here or anywhere else,” Pence wrote on the back cover the...

Former Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said in an interview Thursday that there is a difference between the way lawmakers climb the ranks in Congress now and 10 years ago, adding that lawmakers in both parties today are “entertainers.” “In the old days, like 10 years ago, if you wanted to do really well in Congress, if you wanted to succeed, you climbed a meritocracy. The measurement of success was policy and persuasion,” Ryan said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “That’s not necessarily what motivates people anymore. There’s a lot of entertainers in Congress from both parties,” he said.

Democratic lawmakers on Saturday responded to shootings in Buffalo, N.Y., and Milwaukee, Wis., that together left more than 10 dead and dozens injured, decrying the violent attacks and issuing calls to action. In Buffalo on Saturday, a gunman walked into a Tops Friendly Market wearing body armor, pulled out a rifle and opened fire, The Associated Press reported. Authorities said the shooter livestreamed the attack. The suspect killed at least 10 people before he was taken into custody by the authorities. Authorities said they are investigating the incident as a hate crime.

The Biden administration’s efforts to provide intelligence to Ukrainian forces has garnered attention this week as the war between Russia and the former Soviet state drags on through its third month. A report from The New York Times stated that intelligence provided to Ukraine by the United States helped to target and kill Russian generals. The Washington Post, among other outlets, reported that the U.S. provided intelligence to help sink a Russian flagship vessel in the Black Sea.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s (R-Alaska) said in a new interview it is possible she loses her reelection bid to a “rubber-stamp Republican.” “I may be the last man standing. I may not be re-elected,” the senator told The New York Times. “It may be that Alaskans say, ‘Nope, we want to go with an absolute, down-the-line, always, always, 100-percent, never-question, rubber-stamp Republican.’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a press conference on Saturday he is hoping Asian countries will “change their attitude” towards Ukraine as European countries have done. Zelensky said that NATO not accepting Ukraine as a member was a “gross mistake” and that some of the alliance’s European member states had underestimated the country. He added, however, that Ukraine’s “unity” and “strength” in response to Russia’s invasion “managed to change the attitude of the alliance and the European member states” toward the country.

Two pictures of Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn (N.C.) shared with Politico show the embattled congressman at what appears to be a party in women’s lingerie. The political news outlet reported that it obtained the photos from a person who was previously close to Cawthorn, and his campaign. Another person who was formerly close with Cawthorn confirmed the pictures. Cawthorn is controversial figure in the Republican Party. He previously accused congressional colleagues of inviting him to orgies. Cawthorn told “Warrior Poet Society” podcast host John Lovell that lawmakers have invited him to orgies and done cocaine in front of him. He...

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is expanding its probe of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack to include the events leading up to the preceding rally, and the wider conspiracies that fueled the violence, people familiar with the issue told The Washington Post. Before supporters of former President Trump attacked the Capitol, many participated in a rally that had multiple speakers, including Trump himself.

Democrats Cori Bush (Mo.) Ilhan Omar (Minn.) Omar said in an appearance on Hill.TV’s “Rising” on Tuesday that she would vote against the bill due to the impact it would have on other countries. "That's not only going to have a devastating impact on the people of Russia, but on Europe as well," Omar said. "When we're having these conversations, they can't be about just the immediate, gratifying response that we want to come up with." Republicans Andy Biggs (Ariz.) Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) Louie Gohmert (Texas) Dan Bishop (N.C.) Glenn Grothman (Wis.) Lauren Boebert (Colo.) Tom Tiffany (Wis.) Matt...

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) announced Saturday he would be backing a bill banning Russian oil imports. The senator said he would co-sponsor the Ban Russian Energy Imports Act after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded in a virtual meeting with Congress Saturday for the U.S. to stop buying Russian oil. The bipartisan bill was previously introduced by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), a senior member of that committee. “The United States cannot continue to purchase millions of barrels of oil while Putin wages an unprovoked and...

The North Carolina elections board said in a court filing Monday it has the power to bar Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) from running for office over his actions leading up to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. “The State does not judge the qualifications of the elected members of the U.S. House of Representative. It polices candidate qualifications prior to the elections,” the board wrote in a filing to dismiss a lawsuit brought on by Cawthorn. “In doing so, as indicated above, States have long enforced age and residency requirements, without question and with very few if any legal challenges. The...

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) proposed to spend $1 billion on infrastructure and state employee raises in a budget address to state lawmakers on Tuesday. Noem wants to use the billions of dollars given to South Dakota by the federal government to give a six percent wage increase to state employees, such as teachers and government employees, The Associated Press reported. She also wants to allocate money for housing, emergency responders, daycare facilities and water infrastructure.

A teenager in Philadelphia was shot 18 times and killed at a bus stop on Monday. Police said in an emailed report that a 14-year-old Black teenager was at a bus stop Monday afternoon when he was shot 18 times. The motive for the two unknown shooters is unclear. Police have not yet made any arrests related to the incident.

The Taliban said on Saturday they will not work with the U.S. to contain extremism in Afghanistan. Taliban political spokesman Suhail Shaheen told The Associated Press the group will independently deal with extremist groups such as the Islamic State. “We are able to tackle Daesh independently,” Shaheen said, using an Arabic acronym for the group. The position comes ahead of talks between senior Taliban officials and U.S. officials in Doha, Qatar. These are the first direct talks the two groups will have since the U.S. evacuated Afghanistan in August, with the U.S. saying the talks are not a sign the...

The Department of Justice charged its first Capitol rioter suspected of attacking the media on Jan. 6. Shane Jason Woods is being accused of attacking a Capitol police officer and a member of the media, a criminal complaint released on Thursday showed. He is facing eight federal charges, including assault in special maritime and territorial jurisdiction, assault on a law enforcement officer and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds. Woods allegedly ran up to a Capitol police officer who was just sprayed with bear repellant and tripped and pushed the officer to the ground, according to...

Former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows pushed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to probe multiple unfounded theories about the 2020 presidential election in the weeks leaking up to President Biden's inauguration, according to newly obtained emails reported by The New York Times. The Times said that it obtained five emails from December and January between Meadows and Jeffrey Rosen, the acting attorney general at the time, showing Meadows pressing the DOJ head to look at multiple election fraud claims that were circling on the internet. ... According to the emails cited by The Times, Rosen said he...