Gaetz Paid Accused Sex Trafficker, Who Then Venmo'd Teen … In two late-night Venmo transactions in May 2018, Rep. Matt Gaetz sent his friend, the accused sex trafficker Joel Greenberg, $900.  The next morning, over the course of eight minutes, Greenberg used the same app to send three young women varying sums of money.

Manhattan district attorney seizes evidence from Trump executive's former daughter-in-law  —  NEW YORK — Investigators from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, acting on a grand jury subpoena, took possession of financial records Thursday morning from the apartment of Jennifer Weisselberg …

AP source: NFL player Phillip Adams killed 5, then himself  —  COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The gunman who killed five people including a prominent doctor in South Carolina was former NFL player Phillip Adams, who killed himself early Thursday, according to a source who was briefed on the investigation.

Biden Gun Speech Filled With Falsehoods  —  President Joe Biden made numerous false and misleading statements while unveiling a package of gun-control actions on Thursday.  —  Biden falsely described how federal firearm laws work as he called for Congress to amend those laws.

Anti-union votes lead as counting continues in Amazon union drive.  —  The first ballots counted in a closely watched bid to unionize an Amazon warehouse in Alabama were heavily against the effort, according to an unofficial tally of the results by The New York Times.

“60 Minutes” on its story about vaccine distribution in Palm Beach County  —  CBS News issued a statement Wednesday that defended a “60 Minutes” segment that aired Sunday, April 4, on the early vaccine rollout in Palm Beach County and pushed back against claims made in recent days by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Has the Era of Overzealous Cleaning Finally Come to an End?  —  This week, the C.D.C. acknowledged what scientists have been saying for months: The risk of catching the coronavirus from surfaces is low.  —  When the coronavirus began to spread in the United States last spring, many experts warned of the danger posed by surfaces.

Florida Elections Commission general counsel arrested on child porn charges  —  Eric Lipman also served as an officer with a nonprofit soccer league for boys and girls aged 4-17.  —  View Comments  —  The general counsel for the Florida Elections Commission was arrested Wednesday on charges …

1 dead, 5 others shot in Texas industrial park shooting; suspect in custody … At least one person is dead and five others were shot — four in critical condition — in a shooting at an industrial park in Bryan, Texas, and the suspect is in custody.  —  Officers responded to a call reporting …

Politicians dread the sting of #KHive, the fervent online fans of Kamala Harris  —  When Rep. Ro Khanna started pressing Vice President Kamala Harris to use her procedural power to push a national minimum wage hike a few weeks ago, he found himself targeted by a swarm of online Harris supporters.

Capitol riot defendant ‘viciously’ beaten in D.C. jail, lawyer says … A Capitol riot defendant was “viciously and savagely” beaten by a guard in a Washington, D.C. jail and may lose sight in one eye because of his injuries, one of his lawyers told the CBS affiliate in the city, WUSA-TV.

Former Fox host Eric Bolling walks off BBC interview  —  Former Fox News host Eric Bolling walked off an BBC news show Wednesday after another guest on the show, Aisha Mills said his concern for black communities was a lie, Mediate reported.  —  “I think it's really rich for any Republican …

Hagerty talks elections with Trump after affirming Biden win  —  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — In his first week, Tennessee's freshman U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty watched in horror as the Capitol riots unfolded around him and decided to back down from his plans to oppose the electoral college results …

Kansas Senate Majority Leader had 0.17 blood alcohol level in wrong-way pursuit  —  TOPEKA — Senate Majority Leader Gene Suellentrop reeked of alcohol, struggled to speak or walk, and threatened the Kansas Highway Patrol officer who stopped him in the early hours of March 16 for driving the wrong way on Interstate 70 in Topeka.

Facebook and Twitter must ban all anti-vaccine accounts  —  Letitia James is the attorney general of New York.  William Tong is the attorney general of Connecticut.  —  President Biden has announced that every adult in the nation will be eligible for the covid-19 vaccine as of April 19.

Howard Dean Pushes Biden to Oppose Generic Covid-19 Vaccines for Developing Countries … Howard Dean, the former progressive champion, is calling on President Joe Biden to reject a special intellectual property waiver that would allow low-cost, generic coronavirus vaccines to be produced to meet the needs of low-income countries.

US ‘Monitoring’ as Iran Sends Fuel Tankers to Venezuela in Defiance of Sanctions  —  WASHINGTON - As Iran sent three gasoline shipments to fuel-starved Venezuela in recent months in defiance of U.S. sanctions, the Biden administration apparently did nothing to stop the tankers …

Gov. Bill Lee signs permitless carry bill into law as Tennessee joins 18 other states  —  Tennessee is officially one of 19 states where permitless gun carry will be the law.  —  Gov. Bill Lee on Thursday signed a bill allowing most adults to carry a handgun without a permit …

Intelligence forecast sees a post-coronavirus world upended by climate change and splintering societies  —  U.S. intelligence officials have little comfort to offer a pandemic-weary planet about where the world is heading in the next 20 years.  Short answer: It looks pretty bleak.

Student responsible for racist graffiti that was found in Albion College dorm, officials say  —  ALBION, MI — Albion College and the Albion Department of Public Safety say a student is responsible for racist graffiti found in a dorm last weekend.  —  Albion police brought the 21-year-old Black male …

Bar Exams May Soon Be Easier To Pass, As States Eye Changes  —  Bloomberg Law, Bar Exams May Soon Be Easier to Pass, as States Eye Changes:  —  Several states say they could make their bar exams easier to pass as a way to address racial diversity problems and access-to-justice issues entrenched in the legal profession.

‘I Never Thought China Could Ever Be This Dark’  —  This article is a collaboration between The Atlantic and the Fuller Project.  —  On a summer afternoon nearly four years ago, Maryam Muhammet thought her family's long journey to freedom was almost complete.

In New Book, Boehner Says He Regrets Clinton Impeachment  —  Former Speaker John Boehner, Republican of Ohio, writes that the drive to remove President Bill Clinton was a politically motivated move he wishes he had repudiated.  —  WASHINGTON — Former Speaker John Boehner, Republican of Ohio …

For Him, the Delight Is in the Digging  —  Patrick Radden Keefe has investigated human smuggling, government espionage and the Northern Ireland conflict.  With “Empire of Pain,” he takes on the Sackler family and the opioid crisis.  —  Patrick Radden Keefe has always been interested in secrets.

Four Ways of Looking at the Radicalism of Joe Biden  —  It's unexpected, but it's not inexplicable.  —  Joe Biden didn't wake up one day and realize he'd been wrong for 30 years.  —  I covered him in the Senate, in the Obama White House, in the Democratic Party's post-Trump reckoning.

Watchdog reveals new warning about map of Capitol's underground tunnels posted before insurrection  —  Mother of injured officer to riot accomplices: How dare you?  —  (CNN)A scathing report by the US Capitol Police watchdog obtained by CNN reveals that there were even more law enforcement failures prior …

That Time Stacey Abrams Suppressed the Vote  —  The activist started Jim Crow 2.0 in Georgia.  —  y the time the reader of the Stacey Abrams book Our Time Is Now gets to page 89, he is numb with the relentless contentions that any effort to make the Georgia elections system more secure or economical …

We tested the first state ‘vaccine passport.’ Here's what worked — and didn't.  —  New York's Excelsior Pass has some solid privacy protections.  But it's complicated to use and easy to fake.  —  Want to go to a Yankees game?  Watch a Justin Bieber concert?  Let's see your app.

Expert: Lack of oxygen killed George Floyd, not drugs  —  MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — George Floyd died of a lack of oxygen from being pinned to the pavement with a knee on his neck, a medical expert testified at former Officer Derek Chauvin's murder trial Thursday, emphatically rejecting the defense theory …