Hamas's Fortuitous Opening … Hamas began 2021 preparing for elections to the Palestinian Legislative Council.  Today, it is engaged in a military standoff with Israel.  The movement has approached both with unexpected gusto, but which of the two approaches best represents its soul?  —  Both do.

Val Demings to run for Senate against Rubio  —  ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida Rep. Val Demings is planning to run for the U.S. Senate, rather than governor, providing Democrats with a big-name candidate to take on Republican Sen. Marco Rubio next year.  —  For months, Demings mulled …

Trump Justice Dept. Tried to Use Grand Jury to Identify Nunes Critic on Twitter  —  An unsealed court filing shows that the social media company fought the subpoena, which the Biden administration is said to have withdrawn.  —  WASHINGTON — The Justice Department under President Trump secretly obtained …

Andrew Giuliani announces 2022 bid for New York governor  —  Andrew Giuliani has dreams of turning next year's gubernatorial race into another “Fight of the Century.”  —  The son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani will announce Tuesday that he's officially running for the Republican primary …

The Supreme Court Is Taking Direct Aim at Roe v. Wade  —  On Monday morning, the Supreme Court announced that it will reconsider the constitutional prohibition against abortion bans before fetal viability.  This decision indicates that the ultra-conservative five-justice majority is prepared …

‘Our democracy is imperiled’: Maricopa County officials decry 2020 recount as a sham and call on Arizona Republicans to end the process  —  The Republican-dominated Maricopa County board of supervisors Monday denounced an ongoing audit of the 2020 vote as a “sham” and a “con,” …

EXCLUSIVE: Documents reveal how Trump is spending taxpayer money on his post-presidential offices — from printer toner to Stephen Miller's salary  — New documents show the inner workings of ex-president Donald Trump's team.  — Former White House aides Stephen Miller and Dan Scavino are still getting government salaries.

Republicans not sold on bipartisan Jan. 6 commission  —  After months of negotiations in the House culminated in a bipartisan deal on a Jan. 6 commission, Republicans might not go along with the agreement after all.  —  Several Senate Republicans on Monday evening expressed worries …

David Larimer, versatile Washington Post editor, dies at 47  —  David Larimer, a Washington Post editor who helped shape the paper's coverage of college athletics, conflict overseas and the coronavirus pandemic, died May 15 at a hospital in Washington.  He was 47.

The misguided identity politics of the anti-Trump Republicans  —  Opinion by  —  It's good that Republicans such as former president George W. Bush, Sen. Liz Cheney (Wyo.) and Sen. Mitt Romney (Utah) have made clear that they oppose former president Donald Trump because of his anti-democratic and racist behavior.

AT&T's Hollywood Ending Erased Billions in Value  —  Telecom giant is giving up its dreams of marrying content and distribution—one of the biggest about-faces in corporate deal history  —  Three years ago, AT&T Inc. executives were in a federal courthouse fighting the Justice Department …

Censorship, Surveillance and Profits: A Hard Bargain for Apple in China  —  Apple built the world's most valuable business on top of China.  Now it has to answer to the Chinese government.  —  GUIYANG, China — On the outskirts of this city in a poor, mountainous province in southwestern China …

Point of Order: George P. Bush supports Donald Trump in 2024, teases primary challenge to Ken Paxton  —  In the latest episode of our podcast about the Texas Legislature, Evan Smith talks to Land Commissioner George P. Bush about the state of the state and the issues in play as the 2021 session winds down …

More places in the US lift mask mandates.  One local leader says the honor system is already not working  —  (CNN)Several days since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said fully vaccinated Americans can — for the most part — ditch their masks, more places are announcing changes …

Republicans are sprinting away from democracy  —  Opinion by  —  Almost half of Republicans are now saying the quiet part out loud: They'd prefer to ditch this whole democracy thing.  —  So finds CBS News-YouGov polling conducted in mid-May. The survey asked Republicans a series of questions …

How I Learned to Stop Worrying And Love the Lab-Leak Theory*  —  In early spring 2020, I reported an article for The New York Times on which I put the tentative headline: “New Coronavirus Is ‘Clearly Not a Lab Leak,’ Scientists Say.”  —  It never ran.  —  For two reasons.

The Inside Story of How Joe Biden Decided to Run for President  —  Joe Biden was in his living room at the Naval Observatory on Election Night 2016.  He hadn't been watching the presidential results.  Hillary Clinton was going to win, obviously, so the vice president was more focused …

Violence in Israel Is the Price of Biden's Weakness  —  In the Middle East, he has replaced strength with weakness, moral clarity with confusion, and loyalty with betrayal.  —  The Trump-Pence administration opened the door to a future of peace in the Middle East founded on our strong and unwavering commitment to the state of Israel.

State board requests information from group that claimed involvement in Iowa elections bill  —  DES MOINES — The state board that monitors lobbying of Iowa's executive branch is asking for more information from a national organization that claimed involvement in the writing …

Black Lives Matter activists said a man tried to hit them with his car.  The suspect turned out to be a judge.  —  A North Carolina court of appeals judge was summoned by a criminal court Friday after being accused of nearly hitting Black Lives Matter protesters at a demonstration in downtown Fayetteville on May 7.

The freshmen in Congress who have missed the most votes  —  The top five are all House Republicans.

Kansas Chamber cuts ties with U.S. Chamber of Commerce over Sharice Davids endorsement  —  The Kansas Chamber of Commerce has cut ties with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce after the national business group endorsed Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids last year.  —  The U.S. Chamber's decision …

Republicans eye new House majority through redistricting  —  Republican state legislators see this year's decennial redistricting process as a prime opportunity to gain House seats in next year's midterms — with some believing those gains alone can help the GOP take back the majority.