Senate GOP readies to let Trump off the hook — again  —  WASHINGTON — “A disgraceful dereliction of duty.”  “Practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day.”  —  That's how Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell back in February described Donald Trump's actions leading …

NY attorney general has been looking into the taxes of Trump Organization CFO for months, sources say  —  (CNN)The New York attorney general's office has opened a criminal tax investigation into top Trump Organization officer Allen Weisselberg, increasing the legal pressure on the long-time aide …

A Cease-Fire Is Not Enough When It Comes to Hamas  —  Since war broke out in Israel last week, President Joe Biden has walked a fine line.  His administration has touted its high-level diplomacy in hopes of reaching a cease-fire, while also defending Israel's right to defend itself.

Initial Jobless Claims in U.S. Decline to Fresh Pandemic Low  — First-time applications drop to 444,000 in week ended May 15  — Georgia, Kentucky and Texas among states with biggest declines  —  Applications for U.S. state unemployment insurance fell last week to a fresh pandemic low …

Arizona's ‘audit’ of the 2020 election is a con artist's dream  —  Karen Fann probably has some regrets.  Fann, the Republican president of the Arizona Senate, advocated for an outside team of contractors to conduct an audit of the 2020 election in March.  Since then, an army of auditors …

Structural Antisemitism  —  When AOC says it's simplistic to say that Israel has a right to defend itself, she's right.  It is simple: Israel has a right to defend itself.  —  14 hr ago  —  Hi all,  —  Structural racism means different things to different people.

Pinpointing where Democrats are on Israel … Pro-Israel Democrats are grappling with how to reconcile widespread support for the Jewish state with vocal and occasionally misleading attacks from an outspoken faction of the party amid escalating violence between Israel and Hamas.

Inspired by Arizona recount, Trump loyalists push to revisit election results in communities around the country  —  At a public meeting last week in Cheboygan County, Mich., a lawyer from Detroit told county commissioners that the voting machines they used in 2020 could “flip” votes and throw an election.

Grand jury subpoena lists previously unknown person in Gaetz probe  —  MIAMI — A new name has surfaced tied to the scandal engulfing Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz: Joe Ellicott, a close friend and former employee of the elected tax collector who pleaded guilty to a host of crimes Monday.

J.D. Vance Is Making Everyone Mad on Twitter.  Can It Win Him a Senate Seat?  —  J.D. Vance, the writer and venture capitalist who might run for U.S. Senate in Ohio, became a media darling by building a bridge between two worlds.  Now, he's using Twitter to set that bridge on fire.

The House: Democrats Would Have a Tough Slog Even Without Redistricting  —  Our hypothetical ratings of House 2022 if no district lines changed  —  KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE  — The reapportionment of House seats and pending redistricting has prevented us from releasing U.S. House ratings so far this cycle.

Nord Stream 2: Biden waives US sanctions on Russian pipeline  —  The Biden administration has waived sanctions on a company building a controversial gas pipeline between Russia and Germany.  —  The US also lifted sanctions on the executive - an ally of Russia's Vladimir Putin - who leads the firm behind the Nord Stream 2 project.

Inside Trump's push to oust his own FBI chief  —  Then-President Donald Trump sought to oust FBI Director Christopher Wray last spring and replace him with counterintelligence head William Evanina, according to three former Trump officials familiar with the episode.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signs law banning mask mandates in schools, cities and counties  —  Leaders of Iowa school districts cannot require students or staff to wear masks and Iowa cities and counties cannot impose mask mandates under a law Gov. Kim Reynolds signed early Thursday.

What Happens When Americans Can Finally Exhale  —  This time last year, the United States seemed stuck on a COVID-19 plateau.  Although 1,300 Americans were dying from the disease every day, states had begun to reopen in a patchwork fashion, and an anxious nation was looking ahead to an uncertain summer.

Ice cream parlor raises minimum wage to $15/hr, flooded with job applications  —  As small businesses struggle with hiring shortages, calls for minimum wage increases grow louder.  Jacob Hanchar, the co-owner of Klavon's Ice Cream Parlor in Pittsburgh, joined Stephanie Ruhle to discuss …

Senators call on Biden administration to demand Saudi end blockade tactics on a starving Yemen  —  (CNN)A group of Democratic senators are calling on President Joe Biden to take “immediate and decisive action” to end Saudi Arabia's “blockade tactics” in Yemen that have prevented food …

Are cranky Democrats an electoral risk?  —  No one has ever mistaken me for a Bill Maher fan.  His standup never really appealed, and I was one of those snowflakes who was deeply offended by his use of the N-word in 2017 and sided with Ben Affleck that Maher's comments about Islam were more Islamophobic than “classical liberal.”

UNC won't offer tenure to Nikole Hannah-Jones after wave of conservative criticism  —  Despite approval from faculty and the tenure committee, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist will be the first Knight Chair professor at the university to be denied tenure by the board of trustees.

Florida GOP eases path for Trump to pursue casino license  —  Deal negotiated by Gov. Ron DeSantis bars Seminole Tribe from opposing a casino at former president's ailing Doral resort  —  Florida legislators approved a legislative package Wednesday that will dramatically expand gambling …