POLITICO Playbook: Scarred DeSantis staffers form a support group  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  There may be turbulence ahead for Rep. ELISE STEFANIK as she wrestles the GOP leadership post from Rep. LIZ CHENEY (R-Wyo.) next week.  DONALD TRUMP is sold on the New York Republican after her unbending show …

BREAKING: Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms won't run for reelection  —  By J.D. Capelouto - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Wilborn P. Nobles III - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Greg Bluestein - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution  —  In a stunning announcement Thursday night …

Institutionalizing Trumpism  —  Republican officials are rendering an unequivocal verdict: They want to cement former President Trump's politics and policies into the foundation of the GOP for many years to come.  —  Why it matters: The debate over Trump's post-election hold on the GOP is over …

April's expected hiring boom goes bust as nonfarm payroll gain falls well short of estimates  — Hiring was a huge letdown in April, with nonfarm payrolls increasing by a much less than expected 266,000.  — The unemployment rate rose to 6.1%, the Labor Department said.

‘They Own The Media’: New Van Morrison song amplifies antisemitic trope  —  Legendary singer-songwriter Van Morrison released a new song on streaming platforms Thursday whose title espouses a classic antisemitic trope.  —  The lyrics of the song, “They Own The Media,” never indicate who the pronoun in its title refers to.

Is Fox's Peter Doocy Just Asking Questions — Or Trolling the White House?  —  It was late March, days before Joe Biden would hold his first formal news conference, and the on-air personalities at Fox News were setting the stage for a titanic collision between the president and the network's new, 33-year-old White House correspondent.

4 ex-cops indicted on US civil rights charges in Floyd death  —  MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal grand jury has indicted the four former Minneapolis police officers involved in George Floyd's arrest and death, accusing them of willfully violating the Black man's constitutional rights …

Marjorie Taylor Greene Insists Capitol Rioters Weren't Trump Supporters  —  Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has sought to distance supporters of former President Donald Trump from the January 6 Capitol riot.  —  During a town hall in Rockmart, Georgia held on Wednesday, Greene …

The Wuhan-Lab Theory Is Not Far-Fetched.  Just Look at China's Reckless Rocket Program  —  On the menu today: The Chinese space program is about as careful and safety-conscious as the Chinese viral-research program; a deep look at the mounting evidence pointing to a lab leak …

4 Years After an Execution, a Different Man's DNA Is Found on the Murder Weapon  —  Lawyers' request to conduct additional DNA testing before Ledell Lee was executed had been denied.  —  For 22 years, Ledell Lee maintained that he had been wrongly convicted of murder.

‘Belonging Is Stronger Than Facts’: The Age of Misinformation  —  Social and psychological forces are combining to make the sharing and believing of misinformation an endemic problem with no easy solution.  —  There's a decent chance you've had at least one of these rumors, all false …

Texas GOP's voting restrictions bill could be rewritten behind closed doors after key House vote  —  The House voted 81-64 to advance a pared down version of priority GOP legislation.  Lawmakers huddled off the chamber's floor throughout the night to cut a deal and again rework Senate Bill 7 through a flurry of amendments.

Melinda Gates Warned Bill About Jeffrey Epstein  —  After a secret meeting between the couple and the wealthy sex offender, Melinda was furious and told friends she wanted nothing to do with Epstein, The Daily Beast has learned. … Melinda Gates met with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein alongside …

Senior CDC official who met Trump's wrath for raising alarm about coronavirus to resign  —  Nancy Messonnier has been director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases since 2016.  —  Nancy Messonnier, a senior health expert at the Centers for Disease Control …

As a CEO, I worry about the erosion of office culture with more remote work … Cathy Merrill is chief executive of Washingtonian Media.  —  Like many of my fellow small-business owners, I am excited about the prospect of returning to in-person work but am struggling with when and how to safely reopen …

Polling's Prognosis: Wary Conservatives and Eager Liberals  —  A new report points to another problem with surveys: liberals with strong political views who are almost too willing to be polled.  —  Political pollsters know they're having trouble reaching entire swaths of the Trump-supporting electorate …

DeSantis ban on vaccine proof may send one company's cruise ships out of Florida  —  If Florida won't allow Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings to require proof of COVID-19 vaccination for passengers and crew, the company's CEO says it will take its ships elsewhere.

New Study Estimates More Than 900,000 People Have Died Of COVID-19 In U.S.  —  A new study estimates that the number of people who have died of COVID-19 in the U.S. is more than 900,000, a number 57% higher than official figures.  —  Worldwide, the study's authors say …

Tucker Carlson Doubles Down on Batsh** Vaccine Fearmongering, Blames Biden For His Inability to Understand Facts  —  Fox News' Tucker Carlson gets great ratings, frequently beating the competition in his timeslot.  You'd think that he would have a vested interest in keeping his audience members alive …

Jenner has hangar pains after Hannity interview  —  OAKLAND — Move over French Laundry, there's a new social media obsession: Hangar Guy.  —  GOP recall candidate Caitlyn Jenner may have played right into Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom's hands when she lamented on Fox News …

Packed trains, drinking: Japanese impatient over virus steps  —  TOKYO (AP) — Trains packed with commuters returning to work after a weeklong national holiday.  Frustrated young people drinking in the streets because bars are closed.  Protests planned over a possible visit by the Olympics chief.

Elizabeth Warren Doesn't Believe The GOP Is Really Breaking Up With Big Business  —  “Actions speak louder than words,” the senator from Massachusetts said in an interview with HuffPost.  —  Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), long one of Congress's fiercest critics of corporate power and economic inequality …