MAGA world pans Stefanik  —  Donald Trump has called Elise Stefanik “a new Republican star,” a “smart communicator” and — perhaps his highest praise — “tough.”  —  But the MAGA faithful aren't so sure.  —  Within minutes of Trump's endorsement of the New York congresswoman …

Scientists have taught bees to smell the coronavirus.  They can identify a case within seconds.  — Dutch scientists have trained bees to smell COVID-19.  — Every time the bees were exposed to an infected sample, they stuck out their tongues.  — The animals could be a low-tech solution for identifying COVID-19 cases.

Twitter suspends account that was posting Trump statements  —  Twitter suspended an account on Thursday that appeared to be circumventing their ban on former President Donald Trump by posting messages he shared on his own website.  —  The move was more evidence that the social media behemoth …

F.E.C. Drops Case Reviewing Trump Hush-Money Payments to Women  —  The case had examined whether Donald Trump violated election law with a $130,000 payment shortly before the 2016 election to a pornographic-film actress by his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen.

1 in custody, 3 injured after active shooter incident at Rigby Middle School  —  WATCH NOW: KIFI LOCAL NEWS 8  —  RIGBY, Idaho (KIFI) - UPDATE 5:30 p.m. Idaho Falls Police and the Bonneville County Sheriff's Office are assisting the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office serving a search warrant …

Department of Justice asks Arizona Senate to respond to concerns about election audit  —  The U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division is asking Arizona Senate President Karen Fann to respond to concerns the department has about the security of ballots and potential voter intimidation …

Fact check: Elise Stefanik tried to get election overturned, promoted election lies  —  Stefanik previously called out Trump, now she mirrors his rhetoric  —  Washington (CNN)House Republicans are moving to oust Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney from a party leadership position over her vocal repudiation …

Long March 5B, a Chinese Rocket, Expected to Tumble Back to Earth  —  The chances of it hitting a populated area are small, but not zero.  That has raised questions about how the country's space program designs its missions.  —  No, you are almost certainly not going to be hit by a 10-story …

The COVID Reporters Are Not Okay.  Extremely Not Okay.  —  An underprepared industry is losing a generation of journalists to despair, trauma and moral injury as they cover the story of a lifetime.  —  When I told my editors at The Daily Beast that I needed to quit my job …

Attorney General James Takes Legal Action Against Conspiracy Theorists For Threatening Robocalls to Suppress Black Voters  —  Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman Orchestrated a Large-Scale Robocall  —  Campaign to Intimidate Black Communities Ahead of the 2020 Election

FBI still after ‘worst of the worst’ in Capitol riot as new arrests come at steady pace  —  Four months after the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, FBI agents maintain a steady pace of arresting people accused of taking part, as one of the largest criminal investigations in American history keeps growing.

The Washington Post's ‘Toy Weapons’ vs. Cops  —  Can you tell which of the pistols above is the “toy,” in the usage of the Washington Post's Pulitzer-winning “Fatal Force” database on killings by police, and which is the real deal?  Answers below.  —  On Monday, April 19 …

Dimon on Raising Taxes: 'Just Throwing Money, It Doesn't Work'  —  JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon urged lawmakers to spell out — very specifically — targets for building roads, funding college degrees and creating jobs if they embark on a massive spending spree to bolster the economy.

Whitmer Mooches Billionaires' Plane As Father Makes Miraculous Recovery  —  When Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was outed last month for a secretive trip to Florida in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, her office claimed Michigan taxpayers did not foot the bill.  —  What they did not tell us …

‘We Build The Wall’ Co-Founder Kolfage Indicted in Tax Case  — Kolfage charged in Florida after facing New York indictment  — Trump pardoned Bannon in ‘We Build the Wall’ fraud case  —  Brian Kolfage, whose work with Stephen Bannon to raise money for a U.S.-Mexico border wall resulted …

An Ex-Blackwater Employee Tied To Erik Prince Provided Security For Rudy Giuliani In Ukraine, Sources Said  —  A former Blackwater employee connected to Erik Prince, the billionaire security magnate who served as an informal adviser to the Trump administration, provided security …

The Secret Papers of Lee Atwater, Who Invented the Scurrilous Tactics That Trump Normalized  —  An infamous Republican political operative's unpublished memoir shows how the Party came to embrace lies, racial fearmongering, and winning at any cost.  —  It's a Washington axiom …

Russian agent accused of interfering in US elections is back meddling online, Facebook says  —  A man the U.S. intelligence community has assessed is an active Russian agent who interfered in U.S. elections is back stirring the pot on Facebook, the company announced Thursday.

Chris Ruddy and Newsmax went all-in on Trump.  Now they might pay a price for it.  —  One night last month at Mar-a-Lago, Chris Ruddy positioned himself in a familiar spot: right next to Donald Trump.  —  The occasion came just days before a Republican National Committee fundraiser …

Florida Democrat Nikki Fried and Matt Gaetz are pals.  Political insiders are dishing about how that could complicate her bid to unseat Gov. Ron DeSantis.  — Florida's agriculture commissioner, Democrat Nikki Fried, is a close friend of Matt Gaetz.  — They even hung out at the Trump hotel …

Joe Biden Is Starting to Sound Hawkish About the Deficit.  Uh-Oh.  —  Suddenly, Joe Biden is beginning to sound a little bit hawkish about the deficit.  On Wednesday, reporters asked the president whether he was willing to accept a lower corporate tax hike than the one he proposed to pay for his infrastructure and jobs plan.

The Axe Files with David Axelrod  —  David Axelrod, the founder and director of the University of Chicago Institute of Politics, brings you The Axe Files, a series of revealing interviews with key figures in the political world.  Go beyond the soundbites and get to know some of the most interesting players in politics.

University of Louisville rebukes McConnell over 1619 Project comments  —  LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) - The University of Louisville has issued a rare rebuke of one of its most famous and powerful graduates, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, over McConnell's comments on Monday …

What's Happening At ‘The Believer’ Is About More Than Just A Zoom Incident  —  On Feb. 5, a media reporter for The New York Times called me.  She'd received a tip that the day before, my boss at The Believer magazine, Josh Wolf Shenk, had exposed himself on camera during an all-staff Zoom meeting.

What Trump has to fear from Rudy Giuliani  —  Opinion by  —  To borrow the infamous line of his ex-presidential ex-client, it looks like Rudolph W. Giuliani is “going to go through some things.”  Like possibly being charged with a crime.  Worse, some people who might have tried to save …

Nuclear Talks With Iran Could Reach Agreement Within Weeks, U.S. Says  —  Significant hurdles remain.  But it was an optimistic signal by the Biden administration that an American return to the accord between Iran and world powers could be within reach.  —  WASHINGTON — The United States …

The Wealthy Lobbyist Behind Andrew Yang's Campaign for Mayor  —  Andrew Yang's relationship with Bradley Tusk, a tech investor, has raised concerns about conflicts of interest if he is elected.  —  When Andrew Yang parachuted into the New York City mayor's race from a losing presidential campaign …

U.S. Army trainee uses rifle to hijack school bus full of children, S.C. sheriff says … A rifle-toting U.S. Army trainee hijacked a busload of children in South Carolina on Thursday before letting the kids off, abandoning the vehicle and surrendering, officials said.

Has Censorship Become Our Baseline Expectation?  —  For America's Journalistic Inquisitors—it's free speech that's surprising  —  Want proof that our norms are shifting?  Look no further than our headlines: “Amazon won't stop selling book questioning transgender youth” noted a surprised New York Daily News on Tuesday.

Thieves jacked the Republican National Committee for $44K and then went on a coffee shopping spree, records show  — Someone illegally used the RNC's credit card to make almost $44,000 in fraudulent purchases.  — Fraudsters spent most of it at a coffee and tea supplier that stocks high-end espresso machines.