Above the Fold

**PRIMARY BEGINS:** New Hampshire primary voting kicks off, with Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg locked in fierce battle ([Fox News](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/new-hampshire-primary-voting-kicks-off-with-sanders-and-buttigieg-locked-in-fierce-battle))

“SYSTEMATICALLY VIOLATING THE RULE OF LAW”: Attorney General William Barr announces sweeping new sanctions, “significant escalation” against left-wing sanctuary cities (Fox News)

National Security

**”GREAT NEWS TO REPORT”:** Funding secured for 1,000 miles of border barrier, White House officials say ([The Daily Caller](https://dailycaller.com/2020/02/09/trump-white-house-secures-funds-thousand-miles-border-wall/))

CYBERWARFARE: DOJ charges four Chinese military officials in connection with infamous Equifax data breach (The Daily Wire)

CLEANING HOUSE: Bigger than Vindman: President Trump scrubs 70 Obama holdovers from National Security Council (Washington Examiner)

Culture & Heartland

**TUNING OUT:** Viewership forOscars[unconscious-bias training seminar](https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/why-oscar-ratings-just-hit-an-all-time-low/) sinks to new low with 23.6 million ([Variety](https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/oscars-ratings-2020-1203499199/))

INEXCUSABLE: Six-year-old girl with Down’s syndrome points finger gun. School district notifies police. (The Daily Wire)

BACKFIRE: Virginia Democrats are very good for Virginia gun sales (Hot Air)

Other Notables

**OUT OF TOUCH:** While Nancy Pelosi [asserts](https://www.cnsnews.com/blog/craig-bannister/pelosi-january-jobs-report-shows-rot-heart-trump-economy) “January jobs report shows the rot at the heart of the Trump economy,” Americans say they feel the current economy is the best since the late 1990s ([The Washington Post](https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Americans-say-they-feel-the-current-economy-is-15045620.php))

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: China still mostly closed down as virus deaths pass 1,000 (AP) (See Mark Alexander’s analysis COVID-19 Perspective and Preparedness.)

Closing Arguments

**POLICY:** Trump budget cuts size of federal government, but bolder reforms needed ([The Heritage Foundation](https://www.heritage.org/budget-and-spending/commentary/trump-budget-cuts-size-federal-government-bolder-reforms-needed))

POLICY: Obama promised a “middle class” economy; Trump delivered it (Issues & Insights)

HUMOR: Bernie Sanders confused by New Hampshire state motto “Live Free or Die” — “Both of those options sound horrible” (The Babylon Bee)

For more of today’s editors’ choice headlines, visit In Our Sights.

The Patriot Post is a certified ad-free news service, unlike third-party commercial news sites linked on this page, which may also require a paid subscription.