Police: Minnesota officer meant to draw Taser, not handgun  —  BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. (AP) — Police in a Minneapolis suburb where a Black man was fatally shot during a traffic stop say the officer who fired intended to use a Taser, not a handgun.  —  Police Chief Tim Gannon described the shooting as “an accidental discharge.”

Will Smith's production pulls out of Georgia, citing the state's voting law.  —  Will Smith and the director Antoine Fuqua said on Monday that they were pulling their upcoming film production “Emancipation” out of Georgia because of the state's new voting law, which has been denounced …

The Biden White House media doctrine: Less can be more  —  Three months in, Joe Biden's White House has settled on a firm press strategy: First, do no self-harm.  —  The president is not doing cable news interviews.  Tweets from his account are limited and, when they come, unimaginably conventional.

President Donald J. Trump Receives First NRSC Champion for Freedom Award  —  Washington, D.C. - This weekend, NRSC Chairman Rick Scott presented President Donald J. Trump with the NRSC's inaugural Champion for Freedom Award.  This award is presented to conservative leaders who have worked tirelessly …

Ukraine's President heads to the trenches as Russia masses its troops  —  On the front lines in eastern Ukraine (CNN)Ankle-deep in thick black sludge, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky moves stealthily with his troops in single file through the warren of trenches and tunnels that form …

The rise of domestic extremism in America  —  Data shows a surge in homegrown attacks not seen in a quarter-century  —  Domestic terror incidents by year  —  Domestic terrorism incidents have soared to new highs in the United States, driven chiefly by white-supremacist …

EVIDENCE: How CNN Faked A Story About Matt Gaetz, Got Caught, But Still Won't Remove It.  —  In the early afternoon of April 11th, 2021, internal and external communications staffers for embattled Congressman Matt Gaetz (FL-1) received a request for comment from newly minted CNN reporter Gabby Orr.

Revealed: the Facebook loophole that lets world leaders deceive and harass their citizens  —  A Guardian investigation exposes the breadth of state-backed manipulation of the platform  —  Facebook has repeatedly allowed world leaders and politicians to use its platform to deceive the public …

‘Felt like a setup’: WhatsApp chat shows Gaetz ally scrambling to contain fallout  —  MIAMI — The feds were closing in.  And Rep. Matt Gaetz's friend, Joel Greenberg, was in a panic.  —  The Florida county tax collector was five days away from a federal indictment for sex trafficking involving …

How the corporate backlash to Georgia's new voting law is shaping other fights around the country over access to the polls  —  Behind closed doors, aides to Georgia's top Republicans and its leading business interests spent the final days of March hashing out new voting legislation in an effort …

D.C.'s rising libertarian star, with her ‘healthy skepticism of state power,’ secures an influential podcast  —  Jane Coaston hates the phrase “the Black community.”  The 33-year-old journalist always jokes about her next “Black community meeting,” mocking the idea that she and millions …

Michigan's Plea for More Vaccines Is Rejected by Biden Team  — CDC chief says state needs shutdowns to take on virus spike  — Psaki says administration won't shift vaccines among states  —  The Biden administration on Monday put Michigan's Democratic governor on notice that her plea …

POLITICO Playbook: Scoop: Cindy McCain set to land Biden ambassadorship  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  President JOE BIDEN is preparing to name Republican CINDY MCCAIN to a coveted ambassador post in Western Europe in what would be his administration's first Republican appointee to a Senate-confirmed position.

Striking Natanz facility planned long before Vienna talks - sources  —  At the time the operation was planned, it was still unclear exactly when and if the US and Iran would return to serious negotiations regarding a return to the 2015 nuclear deal.  —  The strike on Iran's key Natanz nuclear facility …

Biden to nominate Wormuth to be first female Army secretary  —  President Joe Biden is expected to nominate Pentagon veteran Christine Wormuth to be the first female Army secretary, according to two people familiar with the decision.  —  Wormuth, a former top policy official …

Officer Who Pepper-Sprayed a Black Army Medic Is Fired  —  Joe Gutierrez, who is accused of using excessive force during a traffic stop in Windsor, Va., has been dismissed, the town said.  —  A police officer in Virginia who confronted a uniformed Black Army medic at gunpoint and doused …

Hawley hauls in $3M after attempt to block election results  —  Sen. Josh Hawley raised more than $3 million during the first three months of the year, underscoring how the Missouri Republican converted his high-profile opposition to the certification of the 2020 election into big fundraising support.

Biden picks former New Jersey attorney general to lead DEA  —  Anne Milgram, a critic of the criminal-justice system, would shape drug enforcement amid a worsening opioid crisis, if confirmed.  —  The Biden administration plans to tap Anne Milgram, a former state attorney general, prosecutor …

Former N.C. governor expected to launch Senate bid this week  —  Pat McCrory, the former Republican governor of North Carolina, is planning to launch his campaign for the state's open Senate seat this week, according to people familiar with his plans.  —  The former governor …

Did Ted Nugent Ask Why There Were No Lockdowns for ‘COVID 1 Thru 18’?  —  Musician Ted Nugent questioned why there weren't lockdowns for “COVID one through 18” in a Facebok Live video posted on April 7, 2021.  —  Rating  —  True … In a nearly 12-minute video shared from the verified Facebook account …

Adam McKay Calls Aaron Sorkin ‘the Right-Wing Version of Me’  —  It's the Spidermen pointing the finger at each other meme, but for middle-aged, white, male, quippy, liberal Hollywood directors.  In an interview on Monday, the New York Times asked The Big Short and Vice director Adam McKay …

Weinstein Attorneys Object to Paperwork in Los Angeles Extradition … A judge in Buffalo, N.Y., set an April 30 court date to hear the objections.  —  Monday's hearing was only the second time Weinstein has appeared in court since being sentenced in March 2020 to 23 years in prison.

How Hunter Biden's Memoir Played in the White House  —  Hunter Biden was careering above Highway 10 in the Sonoran desert.  Eastbound behind the wheel of a rented Lincoln Town Car, exhausted and speeding 80 mph, he'd closed his eyes just long enough to zag off the road and into the air, twirling to land in the opposite lanes.

How Tucker Carlson's racist rhetoric gives new life to Trumpism  —  Some in the Republican Party hope that it can eventually maintain the Trump coalition without the toxic excesses of Donald Trump's disordered personality.  Already, a variety of talented and calculating figures …

ABC's Jonathan Karl takes Joe Biden's “bridge” comments wildly out of context  —  Karl's report on Biden's agenda is riddled with misinformation and Republican messaging — and the quotation of Biden's “bridge” remark is flat-out dishonest  —  ABC News' chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl …

Democrats disrespecting Georgia Democrats  —  Are President Joe Biden's over-the-top attacks on Georgia's election laws ("Jim Crow on steroids") backfiring?  That's a question I asked in my most recent Washington Examiner column, and it appears that the answer is yes.