Georgia governor signed a voter suppression law under a painting of a slave plantation |  Will Bunch  —  Sometimes America's legacy of white supremacy is hiding in plain sight, literally.  When Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a hastily passed voter suppression law that many are calling the new …

HARPERCOLLINS MOURNS THE LOSS OF BELOVED CHILDREN'S BOOK AUTHOR BEVERLY CLEARY  —  NEW YORK, NY: Beloved Children's book author Beverly Cleary died on March 25, 2021, in Carmel, California, where she'd lived since the 1960s.  She was 104 years old.  —  Beverly Cleary's first book …

Michigan GOP chair quips on video about assassination, ‘three witches’  —  Michigan Republican Party Chairman Ron Weiser labeled the state's top Democratic officeholders “witches” and referenced “assassination” Thursday when pressed for answers about how to remove two sitting GOP congressmen.

GOP senator flashes congressional pin after car was pulled over by Capitol Police, sources say  —  (CNN)It was Thursday afternoon before a Senate recess was about to begin, and senators were in a hurry — especially Marsha Blackburn.  —  As senators bolted from the chamber after the week's final vote …

Why Georgia's New Voting Law Is Such A Big Deal  —  From November 2020 to January 2021, the story of the state of Georgia was pro-Democratic: Democratic candidates for president and the U.S. Senate all won.  But more importantly, it was pro-democratic.  Joe Biden, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock won …

Hemal Jhaveri  —  I am no longer employed at USA TODAY, a company that was my work home for almost eight years.  —  Over eight years, I rose from a social media editor to a writer to a columnist and finally the Sports Media Group's Race and Inclusion editor.

Union president says MLB players ready to discuss moving All-Star Game from Georgia in wake of voter-restriction laws  —  The 91st MLB All-Star Game is scheduled to be played in Atlanta this July.  —  But on Thursday, in the wake of voting-restriction legislation signed into law by the Georgia governor …

Suez Canal: Satellite Clues on a Stricken Cargo Ship  —  On 23 March, facing strong winds and a sandstorm, the container ship MV Ever Given lost control, ran aground and is currently blocking the Suez Canal.  The race is on to unblock the canal — whose obstruction reportedly holds up US $9.6 billion per day.

Incoming TNR Editor Lays Out Boring Vision For Magazine In “Depressing” Meeting With Staff  —  In a meeting with staffers yesterday, the newly announced editor of The New Republic, current Daily Beast columnist Michael Tomasky, laid out his vision for the magazine.  It is everything the formerly new TNR was not.

Ten Questions the Press Should Have Asked President Biden  —  A socially distant press conference shouldn't mean distance from the most important story  —  Yesterday, President Joe Biden held his first press conference.  There were questions on Biden's plans for the 2024 election …

Larry McMurtry, Novelist of the American West, Dies at 84  —  In “Lonesome Dove,” “The Last Picture Show” and dozens more novels and screenplays, he offered unromantic depictions of a long mythologized region.  —  Larry McMurtry, a prolific novelist and screenwriter who demythologized …

Devin Nunes' Mom F*cked Up His Campaign Finance Reports  —  After the Federal Elections Commission flagged errors in Rep. Devin Nunes's campaign filings, his mom's email has been removed as the point of contact.  —  Two political committees belonging to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) …

Defense Department Linguist Pleads Guilty to Transmitting Highly Sensitive Classified National Defense Information to Aid a Foreign Government  —  Note: Thompson's final plea, statement of facts and indictment are attached.  —  WASHINGTON - A Minnesota woman pleaded guilty today to one count …

Baseless stolen election claims don't justify federal takeover with H.R. 1  —  A federal takeover would make future elections dysfunctional and fuel baseless claims of stolen elections from people like Stacey Abrams.  —  Here in Georgia, we have grown accustomed to dealing with baseless stolen elections claims.

Biden Nominates Wife Of Powerful Sen. Joe Manchin To ‘Key’ Post  —  President Joe Biden on Friday nominated Gayle Conelly Manchin, wife of Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), as a “key member” of the Appalachian Regional Commission, the White House announced Friday.  —  KEY FACTS

New York Becomes First City to Eliminate Qualified Immunity Protections for Police Officers  —  The New York City Council on Thursday passed legislation that will effectively end qualified immunity for police officers there, removing one of the largest impediments to holding officers personally liable …

The Real Border Crisis  —  What is the border crisis?  Is it the recent surge of migrants, or is it the treatment of those migrants in detention facilities?  The answer to that question—or whether you consider the situation at the border to be a crisis at all—most likely determines …

Go Ahead, Democrats: Make D.C. a State  —  The citizens of Washington deserve congressional representation.  Only Republican partisanship stands in the way.  —  Jonathan Bernstein is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering politics and policy.  He taught political science at the University …

“I'm Afraid to Open Twitter”: Next-Level Harassment of Female Journalists Is Putting News Outlets to the Test  —  Newsrooms that once preached “don't feed the trolls” are being forced to grapple with a daily deluge of smears.  “Even the most open-minded media organizations are still run …

This Trans Woman Shared Her Humiliating Experience Going Through Airport TSA, And It's Starting A Bigger Conversation About The Struggles Trans People Face  —  Rosalynne Montoya — who goes by Rose — is an Arizona-based, Hispanic, bisexual, non-binary transgender woman who uses the pronouns she/her or they/them.

Leon Black to Step Down as MoMA Chairman  —  In the wake of protests from artists and activists over his ties to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the investor agreed not to stand for re-election in June.  —  In the face of mounting pressure from prominent artists and activists …

Watch: GOP candidate resurfaces with new persona to run in a different state  —  Dan Rodimer lost an election for Nevada's 3rd District in November.  Four months later, he's running in a special election for a U.S. House seat in Texas — after a complete transformation.

Stephen Miller to launch a new legal group to give Biden fits  —  Former Trump White House policy adviser Stephen Miller, known for his hard-line immigration policies and conservative culture war postures, is launching a new legal group.  And he's looking to use it to make Joe Biden's life miserable.

The Biden Revolution Rolls On  —  The president has epic plans to shift our system and our values.  —  On March 12, President Biden signed a $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief act into law.  Just 10 days later my Times colleague Jim Tankersley reported on a $3 trillion package of jobs, clean energy and infrastructure proposals.

Far-Right Extremists Move From ‘Stop the Steal’ to Stop the Vaccine  —  Extremist organizations are now bashing the safety and efficacy of coronavirus vaccines in an effort to try to undermine the government.  —  Adherents of far-right groups who cluster online have turned repeatedly …

Taiwan reports largest ever incursion by Chinese air force  —  TAIPEI (Reuters) - Twenty Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan's air defence identification zone on Friday, in the largest incursion yet reported by the island's defence ministry and marking a dramatic escalation of tension across the Taiwan Strait.

Officials Try to Sway Biden Using Intelligence on Potential for Taliban Takeover of Afghanistan  —  If U.S. troops leave before any deal between the Taliban and the Afghan government, the militant group will take over much of the country, an intelligence assessment predicted.

Trump Appointees Are Sabotaging Biden's Stimulus Checks  —  Will he let them sabotage Social Security as well?  —  The Senate Finance Committee holds a hearing on the nomination of Andrew Saul to be commissioner of the Social Security Administration, October 2, 2018, on Capitol Hill.

Elizabeth Warren's Push To Diversify Federal Judges Is Finally Catching On  —  The Democratic senator has spent years calling for more public defenders and fewer corporate attorneys getting federal judgeships.  Now Joe Biden agrees.  —  For years, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) …

The Next Virginia Governor Could Wipe Out New Voting Rights Gains  —  People with felony convictions who aren't in prison can now vote.  State elections could bring further progress or a sharp retreat.  —  When Virginia resident Jacqueline McBride accompanied a family member to the polls last fall …

Since 1994, the GOP is getting a lot more bang (House seats) for its buck (votes)  —  I think about this graph from the Economist's Elliott Morris every few days.  —  (This is a normal thing that people do, thinking about graphs, and this is one that I happen to think about.)