George W. Bush Says He Wrote-In Condoleezza Rice in 2020 Election and Clarifies ‘Nativist’ Comment  —  Bush spoke with PEOPLE about his new book of paintings, Out of Many, One, which features a selection of his portraits of American immigrants along with their stories

Andrew Yang, Looking for Endorsement, Offends Gay Democratic Club  —  Participants described Mr. Yang's remarks as offensive, saying that even as members of the club raised policy issues, he returned to mentioning gay bars.  —  Andrew Yang, the former presidential candidate and leading contender …

Power Up: Biden scores record high approval rating among young voters, according to new poll  —  It's Friday.  We made it.  It's still National Park Week - hope everyone can get a little fresh air this weekend.  This is the Power Up newsletter; thanks for waking up with us.  See you on Monday.

Scoop: Caitlyn Jenner makes it official for California governor  —  Former Olympic decathlete and reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner has filed her initial paperwork to run for governor of California and will officially announce her bid later today, her campaign tells Axios.

Scott Rudin, As Told by His Assistants A portrait of a toxic workplace.  —  Like Harvey Weinstein before him, Scott Rudin has been called an “open secret” throughout the entertainment industry.  For decades, the megaproducer — one of only 16 people to have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar …

Democrat Joe Manchin says there's one GOP senator he'd endorse ‘in a heartbeat’  —  Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin bucked his own party's political operation in 2020 by endorsing a Republican.  Now, he's doing it again.  —  The West Virginia senator is backing Alaska GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski's reelection bid …

The G.O.P. Is Getting Even Worse  —  Trumpians are having a venomous panic attack.  —  Those of us who had hoped America would calm down when we no longer had Donald Trump spewing poison from the Oval Office have been sadly disabused.  There are increasing signs that the Trumpian base is radicalizing.

A political group's hiring of Mark Halperin draws protests from staffers  —  A nonpartisan political organization is facing blowback from its employees after hiring journalist Mark Halperin, whose career as a prominent TV pundit hit a wall after he faced multiple allegations of sexual harassment.

The border turned out to be a better attack on Biden than even Republicans thought  —  When Donald Trump took his final trip as president to the southwest border in January, the publicly stated purpose was to tout his record.  Privately, however, his Republican allies had hatched a plan …

Over 30 Palestinians Injured, 20 Arrested in anti-Arab Clashes in Jerusalem  —  Earlier, in Zion Square, police attempted to prevent members of the Jewish purity Lehava group and other right-wing activists from attacking Israelis who came to protest the march

The Toxicity of the Permanent Outrage Mentality  —  The conviction of disgraced former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on both manslaughter and murder charges ought to be, at least in theory, a seminal moment for a country hoping to foster a greater civic unity and recoil …

GOP Sen. Ron Jonhson Criticizes ‘Big Push’ To Get Everyone Vaccinated  —  Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) on Thursday questioned the “big push” to ensure everyone is vaccinated against coronavirus, putting him at odds with many of his Senate Republican colleagues who have attempted to close the partisan gap in vaccination rates.

It's been exactly one year since Trump suggested injecting bleach.  We've never been the same.  —  One year ago today, President Donald Trump took to the White House briefing room and encouraged his top health officials to study the injection of bleach into the human body as a means of fighting Covid.

COVID-19 hospitalizations tumble among US senior citizens  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — COVID-19 hospitalizations among older Americans have plunged more than 70% since the start of the year, and deaths among them appear to have tumbled as well, dramatic evidence the vaccination campaign is working.

Demings ‘seriously considering’ challenging DeSantis or Rubio  —  Florida Rep. Val Demings said she's “seriously considering” a statewide bid against Sen. Marco Rubio or Gov. Ron DeSantis, boosting Democratic hopes in a battleground state that's growing increasingly red.

Cancel culture comes for the cops  —  Human nature makes it tempting to put others' actions in the worst possible light.  Social media has made it commonplace.  Woke cancel culture has made it almost a virtue.  —  This is how we get what we got Tuesday and Wednesday in the aftermath …

Russian troops start pulling back from Ukrainian border  —  MOSCOW (AP) — Russian troops began pulling back to their permanent bases Friday after a massive buildup that has caused Ukrainian and Western concerns.  —  On Thursday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu declared the sweeping maneuvers …

Why Is Trump Going to War Here?  —  STRONGSVILLE, Ohio—  The crowd crammed into an indoor-outdoor bar at a sprawling mall in this teeming suburb south of Cleveland.  The head of the local Republican club took to the mic on a small stage—and pledged vengeance.

The Failing Galaxy Brain  —  There are hundreds of us...*HUNDREDS! … Welcome to Galaxy Brain, where we're off to a very slow start. … I hate to say it but Glenn is right.  After a whole ten days of entrepreneurship I can report that I am not newsletter millionaire.

On the Ground … The Courage of Our Convictions  —  Critical race theory is fast becoming America's new institutional orthodoxy.  Yet most Americans have never heard of it—and of those who have, many don't understand it.  This must change.  We need to know what it is so we can know how to fight it.

'I wish it didn't have to happen': Alternate juror reflects on Derek Chauvin trial  —  A juror who didn't know she was an alternate in Chauvin's trial details why she supports the former Minneapolis officer being convicted in George Floyd's murder.  —  MINNEAPOLIS — A woman who sat …

The Jolt: Herschel Walker rumors blocking top Republicans in Senate race  —  The former Bulldog great Herschel Walker is still making noise about a U.S. Senate bid, floating the possibility of a campaign against Democrat Raphael Warnock to a growing number of media outlets while refusing …

Tim Scott often talks about his grandfather and cotton.  There's more to that tale.  —  My grandfather “suffered the indignity of being forced out of school as a third-grader to pick cotton, and never learned to read or write. ...  Our family went from cotton to Congress in one lifetime.”

Stacey Abrams just taught Senator John Kennedy a lesson on being prepared  —  Sen. John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, went viral on Wednesday for embarrassing himself during a Tuesday hearing with Stacey Abrams about Georgia's new voter suppression law.

Chaos Erupts In Congress As Republicans Demand Democrat Withdraw ‘Racist Trash’ Accusation  —  Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.) condemned Republican arguments against statehood for Washington, D.C., as “racist trash” in a speech on the House floor Thursday, leading to vocal objections …

I've lived in Minneapolis my entire life.  I'm leaving Friday.  I no longer recognize my hometown.  —  OPINION: I no longer recognize Minneapolis.  I no longer want to live here.  —  MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Minneapolis is my home.  My happiest memories are here.

Ma'Khia Bryant's military vet neighbor says his security camera footage proves Columbus cop had NO CHOICE but to shoot her: Second neighbor says knife-wielding 16-year-old 'was in full attack mode and the other girl's life was at stake'  — Home security footage taken from a garage across …

The Anti-Majoritarian Mistake  —  Jonah Goldberg thinks liberal societies don't need much democracy.  He's wrong.  —  18 hr ago  —  This Dispatch piece by Jonah Goldberg is extremely useful in illustrating the centrality of anti-majoritarianism on the right.

The Trump Administration Is Over, but the Trump Crisis Is Not  —  Many Republicans are acting like the Capitol insurrection never happened, and much of Washington is fine with it.  —  When Walter Mondale, the former Vice-President, died on Monday, C-span circulated a video clip of him on the rostrum …

Jacinda Ardern savaged as British Parliament declares treatment of Uighurs ‘genocide’  —  Normal text sizeLarger text sizeVery large text size  —  London: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been savaged for sucking up to China and turning her back on the Five Eyes alliance during …

US drop in vaccine demand has some places turning down doses  —  JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Louisiana has stopped asking the federal government for its full allotment of COVID-19 vaccine.  About three-quarters of Kansas counties have turned down new shipments of the vaccine at least once over the past month.

Biden's climate plan faces global skepticism  —  The U.S. government finds itself in an unfamiliar position midway through President Joe Biden's global climate summit: struggling to deploy the moral authority and financial heft needed to assume global leadership.