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 …

Georgia lawmakers pass sweeping voting bill that would curtail the use of drop boxes and allow challenges to voting eligibility  —  Georgia lawmakers approved a sweeping voting measure Thursday that proponents said is necessary to shore up confidence in the state's elections but that critics countered …

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 …

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 …

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.

‘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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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

Thinker, Tanker, Scholar, Consultant  —  Every former policymaker in Washington is an academic, a researcher, and an adviser to big business.  —  Last year, Jake Sullivan earned $138,000 for providing part-time “advisory services.”  —  It's common for diplomats who leave the government to wear many hats at once.

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 …

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 ... ”

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.

Poll: Ron DeSantis, Nikki Fried in dead heat  —  Should Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried run for Florida Governor, she starts in a statistical tie with Gov. Ron DeSantis.  —  That's according to a new survey by St. Pete Polls, commissioned exclusively for Florida Politics.

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 …