White House Dossier's

Trump sweeps to huge victory in Iowa . . . “I feel great,” former President Trump enthused Monday night on Fox News Digital as media outlets projected what turned out to be his 51.1 percent victory in the Iowa caucuses, where 40 delegates were in play. It was a record-setting GOP win, showcasing Trump’s pull in a state that trended Democratic in presidential election years until 2016, when the then-New York business celebrity won the state by more than 9 percent. The largest margin of victory for an Iowa Republican caucus had been 12.8 percentage points for Bob Dole in 1988. Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis finished second in the Hawkeye State with 21.2 percent of the vote. Nikki Haley, a former governor of South Carolina, finished behind DeSantis with 19.1 percent. The Hill

Trump is now unstoppable. Everything went right for him in Iowa. He got more than 50% of the vote, he won in all major demographics, his chief rival finished third, and the guy who finished second is out of money.

Trump won Iowa by a record margin

Trump calls for unity . . . Former President Donald Trump took a victory lap on Monday after winning the Iowa caucuses, the first nominating contest in the Republican presidential race, but also called for unity from “everybody.” “I really think this is the time now for everybody in our country to come together. We want to come together, whether it’s Republican or Democrat or liberal or conservative,” Trump told supporters. “It would be so nice if we could come together and straighten out the world, straighten up the problems and straighten out all of the death and destruction that we’re witnessing.” Washington Examiner

Why Desantis's surprise second place is actually a disaster . . . Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida may have done just enough in the Iowa caucuses on Monday night to argue that he still belongs in the race to defeat Donald J. Trump for the Republican presidential nomination.

But his distant second-place finish had all the feelings of a disaster, given how much time and money he invested in the state, and it calls into question his ability to stay in the nominating contest, with his campaign cash running low and tough tests ahead in New Hampshire and South Carolina. New York Times

Ramaswamy ends campaign, backs Trump

Candidates set their sights on New Hampshire . . . Fresh off a record-setting victory in Iowa, Donald Trump shifted attention to his next target in the GOP nomination hunt: a New Hampshire primary that Nikki Haley hopes will stall the front-runner’s momentum.The challenge for Haley—and DeSantis—is that in Iowa, Trump ran up the score with nearly every GOP demographic and in every type of community with a record margin of victory for a competitive Republican Iowa caucuses. Trump allies quickly argued the race should be over so he can focus on Biden, who has minor primary opposition and is building a massive war chest. Wall Street Journal

Hunter Biden sought to know who purchased his art . . . When Hunter Biden signed a December 2020 contract with gallery owner George Bergés to sell his artwork, the president’s son requested to know the names of the buyers — a highly unusual ask in the art world.

Mr. Bergés also contradicted claims by the White House in 2021 that he helped put safeguards in place to prevent ethics violations from selling the art. “I do remember being surprised,” he said, “because I hadn’t had any communication with the White House about an agreement.” Washington Times

I'm sure he just wanted to write thank you notes.

Trump flies to Florida to face E. Jean Carroll sex abuse and defamation suit . . . After a big victory in the Iowa caucus, former President Donald Trump is expected in court Tuesday to face another legal challenge: a trial to determine how much more he owes the writer E. Jean Carroll for denying that he sexually assaulted her in the 1990s and accusing her of lying about her claims. Jury selection begins Tuesday morning at a federal court in Manhattan. Opening arguments could take place by afternoon in what is essentially a second penalty phase of a legal fight Carroll has already won. In May, a different jury awarded Carroll $5 million. Associated Press

Sanders forces Senate vote on freezing aid to Israel . . . When Hamas unleashed a bloody attack against Israel in October, there was a swift and strong bipartisan clamor of support in Congress for the United States to spare no expense in backing a robust military response by the Jewish state. One hundred days later, that consensus on Capitol Hill shows signs of fraying, as left-wing Democrats alarmed by the rising human toll of the war in Gaza press to limit aid to Israel or impose strict conditions on it. New York Times

Another message to Iran and China of resolve by the Democrats.

Austin released from the hospital

Houthi attacks continue despite US strikes . . . U.K. Maritime Trade Operations said on Monday it received a report of a vessel getting hit by a missile about 109 miles from Yemen. The M/V Gibraltar Eagle, a Marshall Islands-flagged U.S.-owned and operated container ship, was hit but did not report any injuries or significant damage, according to U.S. Central Command. CENTCOM also noted that they tracked an anti-ballistic missile fired from Yemen, but it failed and impacted on land in-country. Washington Examiner

International

Hamas tunnel network even more vast than thought . . . One tunnel in Gaza was wide enough for a top Hamas official to drive a car inside. Another stretched nearly three football fields long and was hidden beneath a hospital. Under the house of a senior Hamas commander, the Israeli military found a spiral staircase leading to a tunnel approximately seven stories deep. In December, the network was assessed to be an estimated 250 miles. Senior Israeli defense officials are currently estimating the network is between 350 and 450 miles. New York Times

Who is making all these shovels for them?

Money

Close to half of all jobs will be affected by AI . . . Forty percent of workers globally have jobs that will be affected by artificial intelligence, warns a study by the International Monetary Fund. Mature economies — such as the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States — have even higher exposure, with more jobs requiring cognitive tasks. Politico

Diamonds slashed 25% as lab-grown gems rock the industry . . . Diamond giant De Beers slashed the price of its precious solitaires amid plunging sales as bargain-hunting fiancées increasingly opt for cheaper lab-grown gems. Among De Beers’ larger stones, one category of mined diamonds had its price slashed by as much as 25%, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter.

Culture

United CEO blasted for diversity push . . . United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby has come under fire after a video surfaced of an interview he did touting his company’s diversity initiatives, which limited white employees while emphasizing more women and minorities in its workforce. Kirby responded to a question about his “diversity targets” at the company, saying, “We have committed that 50% of the classes will be women or people of color.” “Today, only 19% of our pilots are women or people of color,” Kirby said. Washington Examiner

Maryland county's libraries institute race-based pricing . . . An event for fans of comic books and graphic novels in Montgomery County, Maryland, is charging vendors different prices based on race and gender, with the highest prices reserved for businesses run by White men. MoComCon is the county’s take on the popular Comic-Con gatherings. The event Saturday at Germantown Library features gender- and race-based pricing for vendors that critics say is discriminatory and potentially illegal. Washington Times

Ethics complaint says Ketanji Brown Jackson failed to disclose husband's income . . . The Committee on Financial Disclosures in the Judicial Conference is reviewing a complaint against Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson citing a failure to include her husband’s income in financial disclosures. A conservative policy group, the Center for Renewing America, last month filed a complaint with the Judicial Conference – the governing body of federal courts – alleging that Jackson "willfully failed to disclose" required information about her husband’s malpractice consulting income for more than a decade. Fox News

NASA unveils quiet supersonic jet, "Son of Concorde" . . . Aeronautic officials debuted a new quiet supersonic plane capable of flying faster than the speed of sound and getting from New York to London in three and a half hours. The 100-foot long 30-foot wide X-59 supersonic aircraft, dubbed “son of Concorde,” was rolled out by NASA and Lockheed Martin on Friday, an innovation officials said they expected to revamp commercial air travel. New York Post

Succession, The Bear, Beef are big winners at Emmy awards . . . The HBO drama “Succession,” the FX/Hulu comedy “The Bear” and the Netflix limited series “Beef” were the dominant winners at the 75th Emmy Awards on Monday, leading their respective networks to the top of the TV pack. HBO led the night with nine wins, followed by FX/Hulu and Netflix with six apiece. In the drama categories, “Succession,” which centers on the brutal battle among several members of a wealthy family for control of a media empire, scored six statuettes — drama series, lead actor, lead actress, supporting actor, writer and director. Los Angeles Times

EGOT Elton John has now won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Academy Award and a Tony

Video || 101-year-old Oklahoma veteran meets his great-great grandaughter

Man who claimed to be selling Queen Elizabeth's walking stick sentenced for fraud . . . A 26-year-old man who tried to sell what he claimed was a walking stick used by the late Queen Elizabeth II has been sentenced for defrauding eBay buyers. Dru Marshall, from Hampshire in southern England, claimed he was a senior footman at Windsor Castle and that the proceeds from the sale of the “antler walking stick” would go to cancer research. The auction had reached 540 pounds ($686) before he cancelled the listing after learning police had launched an investigation, prosecutors said. Associated Press