Reaching ‘Herd Immunity’ Is Unlikely in the U.S., Experts Now Believe  —  Widely circulating coronavirus variants and persistent hesitancy about vaccines will keep the goal out of reach.  The virus is here to stay, but vaccinating the most vulnerable may be enough to restore normalcy.

ESPN's Kevin Merida named L.A. Times executive editor  —  The Los Angeles Times has named veteran journalist Kevin Merida as its top editor and tasked him with transforming the storied 139-year-old newspaper into a digital powerhouse that thrives for decades to come.

The mask slips, revealing the truth about the GOP voter suppression game  —  Republicans are responding to their 2020 losses by doing everything they can to restrict the size of the electorate wherever possible, in ways they think will advantage them.  To disguise this ugly game …

Senate Dems agonize over voting rights strategy  —  Senate Democrats made a major commitment to muscle through Speaker Nancy Pelosi's ethics and voting reform bill.  Yet many say they have no idea how to pass it and wonder what exactly the end game is for a signature Democratic priority.

Millions Are Saying No to the Vaccines.  What Are They Thinking?  —  Several days ago, the mega-popular podcast host Joe Rogan advised his young listeners to skip the COVID-19 vaccine.  “I think you should get vaccinated if you're vulnerable,” Rogan said.  “But if you're 21 years old, and you say to me, ‘Should I get vaccinated?’

New York, New Jersey, Connecticut ending most restrictions on May 19  —  New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are lifting most Covid-19-related restrictions on May 19, signaling a denouement for some of the country's strictest lockdown orders and social distancing protocols imposed during the pandemic.

Lin Wood Is Just Asking Questions  —  On a late pandemic Friday night, the Richland County Republican Party held its convention in a drab, windowless conference room, with the AC blowing full blast.  —  Among the overwhelmingly maskless congregants was Lin Wood, candidate for state party chairman …

Rudy Giuliani raids signal accountability is coming for the Donald Trump era  —  The FBI raids of Giuliani's home and office should worry former President Trump and all who followed his lead in playing fast and loose with the law.  —  Former President Donald Trump and his cronies should beware.

‘A troubled man’: Kansas Senate leader decries Rep. Mark Samsel's ‘deranged rantings’  —  Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson on Sunday condemned the “deranged rantings” of Rep. Mark Samsel, caught on video Wednesday talking to high school students about religion, sex and suicide.

Swiss Billionaire Quietly Becomes Influential Force Among Democrats  —  Hansjörg Wyss, who recently dropped his bid to buy Tribune Publishing, has been a leading source of difficult-to-trace money to groups associated with Democrats.  —  WASHINGTON — He is not as well known …

The Biden Administration's Latest Hypocrisy on the Courts Will Have You Seeing Cross-Eyed  —  One of the wonders of our current political moment is that one political party openly supports packing the Supreme Court simply because they don't like the current makeup.

Cheney stokes GOP rift with ‘big lie’ rebuke of Trump  —  Rep. Liz Cheney on Monday escalated her feud with former President Donald Trump and his supporters in Congress, issuing a less-than-subtle swipe at the former president's latest attempt to claim the 2020 election was stolen from him.

Biden administration to reunite four migrant families separated under Trump  —  WASHINGTON — The Biden administration will reunite four migrant families separated during the Trump administration this week, while its reunification task force estimates that over 1,000 families remain separated …

American Politics Now Has Two Big Racial Divides  —  There's been a recent flurry of studies and analyses that take a deeper look at the results of the 2020 election.  These examinations don't contradict our early interpretation of the results from the days and weeks immediately following Election Day …

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In bitterly divided election in Southlake, Texas, opponents of anti-racism education win big  —  SOUTHLAKE, Texas — Nine months after officials in the affluent Carroll Independent School District introduced a proposal to combat racial and cultural intolerance in schools …

The Russia Collusion Smear Returns  —  Dubious stories about FBI briefings intended to tar Republicans.  —  By The Editorial Board  —  Three prominent media outfits on Saturday issued embarrassing retractions of a story alleging that the FBI had warned Rudy Giuliani that he was a target of a Russian disinformation campaign.

‘Good Jewish boy’ or chief ‘infiltrator’?  NJ man spent years as fake rabbi in Israel, groups say  —  A self-professed “good Jewish boy from New Jersey,” Rabbi Michael Elkohen had come a long way.  —  In the ultra-Orthodox enclave in Jerusalem where Elkohen now lives …

The slow, painful death of Trump allies' voting-machine conspiracy theories  —  Among the many wild conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, few rank as high when it comes to both baselessness and reach as those involving voting machines.  The theory that voting machines were programmed …

Facebook and the Normalization of Deviance  —  The trouble with waiting to address problems long after you know that they exist.  —  When the sociologist Diane Vaughan came up with the term “the normalization of deviance,” she was referring to nasa administrators' disregard of the flaw …

Governor Hogan Announces Financial Incentive Program for State Employees to Encourage COVID-19 Vaccinations  —  ANNAPOLIS, MD—Governor Larry Hogan today announced that the State of Maryland will offer a $100 financial incentive to state employees who elect to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

India accounts for 1 in 3 new Covid cases being recorded.  Here is its second wave in 5 charts  — Cases started rising in February, when India reported an average of about 10,000 infections a day.  — But the situation progressively worsened in April, ending the month by repeatedly setting new global records for daily cases.

In South Texas, Hispanic Republicans Try to Cement the Party's Gains  —  Conservative Hispanic leaders, especially women, are ascendant in the Rio Grande Valley, where Republicans are trying to forge lasting bonds with voters who swung sharply to the right in 2020.

Angry parents blast rural Ohio high school after a lesbian couple, 18, are voted to be prom king and queen by their classmates  — Annie Wise and girlfriend Riley Loudermilk, both 18, were crowned prom king and queen at Kings High School in a deeply conservative area of Ohio

Help, We Can't Stop Writing About Andrew Yang  —  The outsider brings provocative ideas and good vibes.  But can an “empty vessel” really make it through New York's shark-infested media waters?  —  In January of last year, as the Iowa caucuses neared and before I'd heard of Covid-19 …

San Francisco archbishop suggests Pelosi, Biden be denied Communion  —  He warned public figures who support abortion ‘should not come forward to receive Holy Communion’  —  Planned Parenthood files lawsuit over South Carolina abortion ban  —  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's hometown bishop …