Recording of Trump Phone Call to Georgia Lead Investigator Reveals New Details  —  Then-president says ‘Something bad happened’ and presses for investigation into Fulton County votes  —  ATLANTA—Then-President Donald Trump urged the chief investigator of the Georgia Secretary of State's office …

Female aide said Cuomo aggressively groped her at the governor's mansion  —  Cuomo issues denial but describes details of woman's account as ‘gut-wrenching’  —  ALBANY — A female aide to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo alleges he aggressively groped her in a sexually charged manner after she had been summoned …

Veteran charged in Capitol riot once served in Marine One squadron, officials say  —  A Marine Corps veteran charged in the Capitol riot once served as a crew chief for the presidential helicopter squadron, a highly restrictive unit that requires a top-secret security clearance, officials said Wednesday.

Rep. David Cicilline Says He'll Propose Rule to Stop Marjorie Taylor Greene's Delay Tactics  —  Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene's repeated efforts to delay work in the House of Representatives has drawn bipartisan ire and may result in a new rule change.

Biden not yet holding a formal news conference raises accountability questions  —  He's gone longer without one than any president in the past 100 years.  —  Catch up on the developing stories making headlines.  —  Halfway into his first 100 days, President Joe Biden has yet to hold a formal …

Collins-Schumer rift shocks Senate  —  While Washington undergoes a much-needed spring thaw, Chuck Schumer and Susan Collins' relationship is frostier than ever.  —  More than four months after Collins handily dispatched Schumer's efforts to deny her a fifth term, the moderate Maine Republican …

At border, record number of migrant youths wait in adult detention cells for longer than legally allowed  —  The magnitude of the crisis facing President Biden at the U.S.-Mexico border came into clearer focus Wednesday as the new administration was holding record numbers of unaccompanied migrant teens …

What Really Happened at ‘Reply All’?  —  A podcast was applauded for its reporting on embedded racism in the workplace.  It didn't make it to the third episode.  —  The first episode of “The Test Kitchen” was widely praised by podcast listeners who couldn't wait for the next installment.

Real-World Evidence Confirms High Effectiveness of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine and Profound Public Health Impact of Vaccination One Year After Pandemic Declared  — Dramatically lower COVID-19 disease incidence rates observed in individuals fully vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine …

Beauty Brand Ulta Pulls Teen Vogue Ads Over New Editor-in-Chief's Old Racist Tweets  —  The ad campaign, worth seven figures, is on pause following internal concerns over new top editor Alexi McCammond's past tweets. … A major advertiser for Teen Vogue has paused its campaign …

Biden is leading a quiet revolution  —  Opinion by  —  “Our economic package is a closely knit, carefully constructed plan to restore America's economic strength and put our nation back on the road to prosperity,” the president declared in a speech from the Oval Office.  “Each part of this package is vital.”

Amid Pandemic, 79% of K-12 Parents Support In-Person School  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Nearly one year into the pandemic, an estimated one in three K-12 students in the U.S. do not currently have any options for in-person schooling.  Many frustrated parents have been vocally pushing for a return …

BREAKING: Des Moines Register reporter Andrea Sahouri acquitted after trial on charges from George Floyd protest in May 2020  —  Des Moines Register reporter Andrea Sahouri was acquitted Wednesday in a trial stemming from her arrest covering the George Floyd protests in May 2020.

Trump's former fixer Michael Cohen to meet again with Manhattan DA in Trump probe  —  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Donald Trump's former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, said he would go in for a seventh interview on Wednesday with the Manhattan district attorney's office pursuing a criminal investigation into the former U.S. president.

Seattle's Virus Success Shows What Could Have Been  —  The Seattle area once had more coronavirus deaths than anywhere else in the United States.  A year later, the region's deaths per capita are lower than any other large metropolitan area.  —  SEATTLE — Facing the nation's …

Democratic centrists balk at more red ink after Covid spending spree  —  Some in the president's party are ready for an infrastructure plan that's at least partly paid for.  —  Sen. Angus King speaks during a Senate committee hearing.  Alex Wong/Getty Images

Why So Many Politicians Are Such A—holes  —  Politicians have devoted their professional lives to the art of public persuasion.  Reputation is everything.  Success hinges on getting as many people as possible to view their ideas and their life stories as sympathetically as possible.

Keep Calm & Defend Work  —  #36 — Five (5) quick points on the new Biden Dole  —  Five brief points (Axios-style!) now that Congress has passed the Covid relief bill containing a $100 billion-a-year dole-like “child allowance” plan.  —  1. Two themes of commentary are a) What a big deal this is …

Parler Blocked on Apple's App Store After Capitol Riot Review  — Apple's recent review found ‘Nazi symbols’ on the Parler site  — Parler eliminates seven workers, most of whom were contractors  —  Parler, the controversial conservative social media app, was denied re-entry …

Today's blacklisted Americans: Conservative student journalism conference shut down by city of Alexandria, Virginia  —  They're coming for you next: Based on a single anonymous complaint, the city of Alexandria, Virginia, shut down a conservative student journalism conference this coming weekend …

Mexico Passes Bill to Legalize Cannabis  —  Lawmakers in Mexico have approved a bill to legalize recreational cannabis, but in a country still marred by a deadly drug war, the proposal has proved divisive.  —  MEXICO CITY — Lawmakers in Mexico approved a bill Wednesday night …

Criticizing Public Figures, Including Influential Journalists, is Not Harassment or Abuse  —  As social media empowers uncredentialed people to be heard, society's most powerful actors seek to cast themselves as victims and delegitimize all critiques.  —  1 hr ago

Jayapal asks for investigations into three GOP members for their role in instigating the Capitol Insurrection  —  GOP lawmaker accused of giving ‘reconnaissance’ tour prior to Capitol riot  —  (CNN)Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington has sent letters to the House Committee on Ethics …

How Facebook got addicted to spreading misinformation  —  The company's AI algorithms gave it an insatiable habit for lies and hate speech.  Now the man who built them can't fix the problem.  —  Joaquin Quiñonero Candela, a director of AI at Facebook, was apologizing to his audience.

6 Questions Officials Still Haven't Answered After Weeks of Hearings on the Capitol Attack  —  More than 15 hours of testimony failed to answer fundamental questions about the Capitol attack.  Among them: Why national security officials responded differently to BLM protesters than to Trump supporters.

Senate confirms Michael Regan to lead EPA  —  The 44-year-old North Carolina regulator, the first Black man to head the agency, has vowed to fight climate change and environmental injustice.  —  The Senate confirmed Michael Regan on Wednesday as the next Environmental Protection Agency administrator …

Police groups endorse Biden's pick for civil rights chief  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Some of the largest law enforcement groups in the U.S. are throwing their support behind President Joe Biden's nominee to run the Justice Department's civil rights division.  —  The support for Kristen Clarke …

BuzzFeed Is in Talks to Go Public Via 890 5th Avenue SPAC  —  BuzzFeed Inc. is in talks to go public through a merger with 890 5th Avenue Partners Inc., a special purpose acquisition company, according to people with knowledge of the matter.  —  Once public, the company may use its currency …

Whistleblowers Allege Improper Hiring At Justice Department During Trump's Last Days  —  Two whistleblowers assert that a Justice Department official improperly injected politics into the hiring process during his waning days in the Trump administration, according to a new filing obtained by NPR.

The Daily Beast's Lawyers Eviscerate Dan Bongino Over His Refusal to Accept That He Lost a Defamation Case and Has to Pay Up  —  The Daily Beast's lawyers were merciless in a response to Dan Bongino's recent objection to a federal court's award of attorney's fees in his failed defamation case against the online publication.

The COVID-Denying ‘Party of Life’ Finds a New Way to Kill Roe  —  Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson admits that the new anti-abortion law isn't even written to be passed.  It's written so the new super-Trumpy Supreme Court can shoot Roe down with it.  —  BEAST INSIDE

4 former presidents unite for COVID vaccine ad campaign  —  All living former presidents except Donald Trump have banded together for two national ad campaigns released Thursday that are designed to drive trust in COVID-19 vaccines.  —  Driving the news: One video from the “It's Up To You” …

A G.O.P. senator tweets approvingly about part of the stimulus bill, without mentioning one detail: his ‘no’ vote.  —  Before the House gave final approval to a $1.9 trillion stimulus package on Wednesday without any Republican support, Speaker Nancy Pelosi admonished Republicans for their opposition …

Xavier Becerra's Culture War  —  His record shows he'll use health care as a polarizing weapon.  —  By The Editorial Board  —  The Senate Finance Committee split 14-14 last week on Xavier Becerra's nomination to be Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Trump endorses widow of Rep.-elect Luke Letlow in Louisiana House race  —  Former President Trump on Wednesday endorsed the widow of Rep.-elect Luke Letlow (R-La.), who died in December after being hospitalized with COVID-19, less than two weeks before a special election decides who wins the seat.

Democrats Flip Orange County Supervisor Seat Held by GOP for 120 Years  —  Katrina Foley is also the first female Democrat ever to sit on the five-member Orange County Board of Supervisors.  —  SANTA ANA, Calif. (CN) — Democrats picked up a second seat on the five-member Orange County Board …