Biden meets the press and the pandemic disappears  —  During the first news conference of his presidency, Joe Biden was never asked about the issue that likely got him elected and, in all likelihood, will be the defining crisis of his time in office.  —  Over the course of 62 minutes on Thursday …

Sweeping changes to Georgia elections signed into law  —  Absentee and runoff voting targeted after 2020 elections  —  Gov. Brian Kemp quickly signed a vast rewrite of Georgia's election rules into law Thursday, imposing voter ID requirements, limiting drop boxes and allowing state takeovers …

Trump's secret sit-down with Ohio candidates turns into ‘Hunger Games’  —  It was a scene right out of “The Apprentice.”  —  Donald Trump was headlining a fundraiser on Wednesday night at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Fla. But before the dinner began, the former president had some business …

Jessica Walter Dies: Emmy-Winning ‘Arrested Development’, ‘Archer’ Actress Was 80  —  Jessica Walter, the award-winning actress whose career spanned five decades, passed away in her sleep at home in New York City on Wednesday, March 24.  She was 80.  —  Walter's career included everything …

‘They are, in effect, supporting racism’: Black leaders zero in on Dems' filibuster holdouts  —  Black civil rights leaders, voting rights advocates and elected officials are ramping up their lobbying of Senate Democrats to nix the filibuster, arguing that they can keep the rule in place or pass voting rights legislation, but not both.

Texas AG Ken Paxton refuses to release texts, emails sent during pro-Trump rally and Capitol riot  —  The Texas attorney general's office is attempting to withhold all messages Ken Paxton sent or received while in Washington for the pro-Donald Trump rally that devolved into a riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Scoop: House chamber hardened with bulletproof doors  —  The House chamber is being transformed into a massive safe room for members with the addition of bulletproof doors.  —  Why it matters: One of the most dramatic images from the Jan. 6 attack was Capitol Police officers inside …

Trump aide concealed work for PR firm and misled court to dodge child support  —  Jason Miller signed secret deal to stay with DC-based Teneo after ‘resigning’ and then appeared to misrepresent employment status  —  A top aide to Donald Trump was secretly re-engaged by a leading political strategy firm …

Sources: Secret Service inserted itself into case of Hunter Biden's gun  —  On Oct. 23, 2018, President Joe Biden's son Hunter and daughter in law Hallie were involved in a bizarre incident in which Hallie took Hunter's gun and threw it in a trash can behind a grocery store, only to return later to find it gone.

Biden's first press conference leaves Americans with many more questions than answers  —  At his first presidential press conference Biden offers confusing and completely unacceptable answers  —  'I don't know': Biden can't say when media will have access to border facilities

Wyoming Senate kills bill backed by Donald Trump Jr. in attempt to defeat Liz Cheney  —  (CNN)A Wyoming Senate bill to create election runoffs failed on Wednesday, despite Donald Trump Jr.'s campaign to pass it in an attempt to defeat Republican Rep. Liz Cheney in 2022.  The vote was 14-15 with one lawmaker excused.

Documents Show Amazon Is Aware Drivers Pee in Bottles and Even Defecate En Route, Despite Company Denial … In anticipation of Sen. Bernie Sanders's scheduled trip to Bessemer, Alabama, to support the unionization drive by Amazon workers there, Amazon executive Dave Clark cast the $1 trillion behemoth as …

The New Republic names a new top editor and will return to Washington.  —  The New Republic named a new editor on Thursday and announced that it was moving back to Washington, its home city for most of its 107-year existence.  —  Michael Tomasky, who has edited the policy journal Democracy …

Exclusive Video: Watch Roger Stone's Oath Keeper Bodyguards Practice Headshots to “#Stopantifa”  —  Federal prosecutors have charged 10 members of the far-right Oath Keepers with conspiring to storm the US Capitol on January 6 and allege that militia members prepared for the “operation” by …

U.S. COVID response could have avoided hundreds of thousand of deaths - research  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States squandered both money and lives in its response to the coronavirus pandemic, and it could have avoided nearly 400,000 deaths with a more effective health strategy …

New York Reaches a Deal to Legalize Recreational Marijuana  —  The move paves the way for a potential $4.2 billion industry, with millions of dollars in sales tax revenue reinvested in minority communities each year.  —  New York State officials finalized a deal on Thursday …

NYT's Libel Defense: No Need for Opinion/Fact Labeling  —  In 1964, the New York Times was party to a landmark Supreme Court case that bore its name.  New York Times v. Sullivan was an important victory for civil rights and it established broad protections against libel lawsuits that have protected generations of journalists.

Pilot who went on vulgar, anti-Bay Area rant works at Southwest  —  Calif. is in a historic drought, and water restrictions are here  —  Two more Bay Area restaurants offer freebies for vaccinated folks  —  California makes it easier for family members to get vaccinated

House panel votes to repeal 19-year-old Iraq war authorization  —  A similar measure has been proposed in the Senate.  —  Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), the committee's chairman, said the outdated authorizations serve no operational purpose.  Ting Shen/Pool via AP

Netanyahu has no clear path to remain prime minister, official Israeli election results show  —  JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fallen short of securing the parliamentary majority he needs to stay in office, according to the official election count announced Thursday …

The Manhattan DA's office picked up the pace of its investigation into Trump's finances after he left office, a cooperating witness says  — Manhattan's DA boosted the Trump finances inquiry after he left office, a cooperating witness said.  — Jennifer Weisselberg said she'd talked …

U.S. Man Deported From Ukraine Was Marine Dropout Linked to Neo-Nazi Terror Group  —  VICE World News has identified an ex-Marine recruit that Ukraine's intelligence service allegedly booted in October for what they said were links to neo-Nazi terrorism.  —  TORONTO, CA

Scoop: Inside Biden's private chat with historians  —  Hosting historians around a long table in the East Room earlier this month, President Biden took notes in a black book as they discussed some of his most admired predecessors.  Then he said to Doris Kearns Goodwin: “I'm no FDR, but ... ”

McConnell's No. 2 weighs future as Trump reshapes Senate GOP  —  John Thune could eventually succeed Mitch McConnell as Senate GOP leader.  But first the second-ranked Senate Republican has to decide whether to run for reelection — with Donald Trump prepared to stand in his way.

The gun implicated in Boulder uses the same ammunition as an AR-15.  It's legally a pistol.  —  In a promotional video for the Ruger AR-556, a company product manager gushed that the weapon, legally designated as a pistol but closer to an AR-15 rifle in design, offered much more than a typical handgun.