Republican candidate for governor says Chauvin verdict makes her ‘sick’  —  RICHMOND — A prominent Republican candidate for Virginia governor said that the guilty verdict against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin this week made her “sick” and that jurors didn't acquit because they feared a violent backlash.

Biden Preparing to Declare That Atrocities Against Armenia Were Genocide  —  The designation for the World War I-era killings would further fray U.S. relations with Turkey, but it is a risk the president appears willing to take to further human rights, officials said.

The Postal Service is running a running a ‘covert operations program’ that monitors Americans' social media posts  —  The law enforcement arm of the U.S. Postal Service has been quietly running a program that tracks and collects Americans' social media posts, including those about planned protests …

Clyburn facing potential $5,000 metal detector fine  —  House Majority Whip James Clyburn is facing a possible $5,000 fine for evading the metal detectors off the House floor, which are part of the security protocols House Speaker Nancy Pelosi enacted after the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

An unvaccinated worker set off an outbreak at a U.S. nursing home where most residents were immunized.  —  An unvaccinated health care worker set off a Covid-19 outbreak at a nursing home in Kentucky where the vast majority of residents had been vaccinated, leading to dozens of infections …

Welcome to Popping Tins  —  This is a newsletter about tinned seafood; in its inaugural issue, Bela-Olhão Lightly Smoked Sardines in Olive Oil are reviewed.  —  5 hr ago  —  Long written off in the United States as a food of grim necessity when not actively reviled …

Senate Democrats Bring In Joe Lieberman As Ringer On D.C. Statehood  —  Former Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, a Democrat-turned-independent well known for his close relationships with Republicans, will help Democrats make the case for a D.C. statehood bill set to pass the House on Thursday, which faces long odds in the Senate.

Fox's Newt Gingrich: “The real racists are the people who want to brainwash your child so that they feel guilty about being born white”  —  Fox News coverage casts suspicion on validity of Chauvin conviction despite offering halfhearted praise  —  Fox host on Black Americans fearing for their lives: “I'm not Black. ...

Pentagon investigated suspected Russian directed-energy attacks on U.S. troops  —  Defense officials have briefed congressional committees on the use of mysterious weapons against American service members.  —  U.S. Central Command chief Gen. Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie is slated to testify before a Senate committee Thursday.

Lofgren: Capitol Police official being investigated for directions to pursue only ‘anti-Trump’ protesters Jan. 6  —  A Capitol Police official radioed units outside of the building on the morning of Jan. 6 and told them only to scout for anti-Trump troublemakers — not pro-Trump protesters …

2021 Virginia Democratic Primary Report  —  “McAuliffe running away with Democrats' governor bid; Herring has big lead on Jones for attorney general nod; Rasoul leads crowded lt. gov. field, but most undecided”  —  Summary of Key Findings  — Six weeks before Virginia Democrats' June 8 primary …

Sexual Assault Allegations Against Biographer Halt Shipping of His Roth Book  —  W.W. Norton, citing the accusations that the author, Blake Bailey, faces, said it would stop shipping and promoting his new best-selling book.  —  Earlier this month, the biographer Blake Bailey was approaching …

Biden sets target of cutting US emissions up to 52% by 2030 but won't detail how to get there  —  President Joe Biden will commit the United States on Thursday to cutting its greenhouse emissions 50% to 52% by 2030 in remarks kicking off his climate summit event with world leaders.

About a third of service members have taken the COVID-19 vaccine  —  Roughly 740,000 troops are partially or fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to Defense Department numbers released Wednesday, which are now published online.  —  The vast majority of those doses have gone …

Liz Cheney vs. MAGA  —  The Wyoming congresswoman challenged Republicans to turn away from Trump after Jan. 6.  Instead, they turned on her.  —  The regular conference meetings of the Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives, held most weeks behind closed doors in the Capitol Visitor Center …

Senate Republicans take step to revive debt ceiling brawls with White House  —  The non-binding vote is a sharp pivot from their hands-off approach during the Trump administration  —  Senate Republicans on Wednesday signaled they might oppose any future increase to the debt ceiling unless Congress …

Carr steps down from Republican AGs group under fire for robocall  —  Chris Carr has stepped down as chairman of a national group that advocates for Republican attorneys, citing a “significant difference of opinion” in the organization's direction following a robocall that urged people to march …

House votes to limit arms sales to Saudi Arabia over Khashoggi killing  —  The House voted 350-71 Wednesday evening to pass legislation that would limit U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia as a consequence of the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi forces.

Welcome to the YOLO Economy  —  Burned out and flush with savings, some workers are quitting stable jobs in search of postpandemic adventure.  —  Something strange is happening to the exhausted, type-A millennial workers of America.  After a year spent hunched over their MacBooks …

Virginia police officer fired after donating to Kyle Rittenhouse defense fund  —  A police officer in Virginia who donated money to support homicide suspect Kyle Rittenhouse was fired, authorities said Tuesday.  —  Lt. William Kelly, who worked in internal affairs for the Norfolk Police Department …

A Rebuttal to Andrew Gutmann's Letter  —  On April 16, a snail mail letter from Andrew Gutmann, an angry parent at the Brearley School, arrived in the mailboxes of hundreds of community members.  The letter announced that Gutmann, a 45-year-old ex-investment banker, would be withdrawing …

Governor vetoes North Dakota transgender sports bill  —  Gov. Doug Burgum on Wednesday vetoed a bill restricting transgender girls in K-12 sports.  —  The bill had passed the House 69-25 and the Senate 27-20 after conference committee amendments.  —  House Bill 1298, brought by Rep. Ben Koppelman …

China behind another hack as U.S. cybersecurity issues mount  —  China is behind a newly discovered series of hacks against key targets in the U.S. government, private companies and the country's critical infrastructure, cybersecurity firm Mandiant said Wednesday.

U.S. sees unprecedented drop in vaccinations over past week  —  Vaccinations declined 11 percent, the most significant downturn in the seven-day average since February storms  —  Daily coronavirus vaccinations have slowed significantly for the first time since February …