Republicans offer a vile new excuse for opposing a Jan. 6 commission  —  With Republicans gearing up to kill a commission to examine the Jan. 6 insurrection, they have offered a barrage of comically weak excuses.  They say the commission is “slanted,” that its work will overlap with other investigations …

Chris Cuomo took part in strategy calls advising his brother, the New York governor, on how to respond to sexual harassment allegations  —  CNN anchor Chris Cuomo advised his brother, New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, and senior members of the governor's staff on how to respond …

Israel announces ceasefire after 11 days of fierce battle with Hamas in Gaza  —  Egyptian security source - whose country has been mediating between the sides - said they had agreed in principle to a mutual halt in hostilities.  —  The Israeli security cabinet voted to accept a ceasefire late Thursday …

Changing on Israel, Democrats Turn Toward Iran  —  There was a time in American politics stretching all the way back to Harry Truman when political and financial leaders in the Jewish community were staunch supporters of the Democratic Party.  Especially the national Democratic Party in presidential elections.

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.

Fetterman poll shows him with a large lead in Democratic Pennsylvania Senate primary  —  Lt. Gov. John Fetterman holds the lead in a rare early poll of the Pennsylvania Democratic Senate primary, winning 40 percent of likely Democratic voters, with Rep. Conor Lamb, D-Pa. …

Blinken confirms the U.S. does not want to buy Greenland after Trump proposal  —  U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday confirmed that the United States does not seek to buy Greenland, after then-President Donald Trump had proposed buying the island, sparking diplomatic fallout.

First vaccine boosters could be needed as soon as September, executives say  —  The first Americans who received their COVID-19 vaccines could need a “booster” shot of as soon as September, the CEOS of Pfizer and Moderna told Axios.  —  “The data that I see coming, they are supporting …

One Claim About January 6 That Just Doesn't Add Up  —  Good afternoon!  There seem to be some technical difficulties on the good ship Substack today so this issue will be presented without pictures.  In the words of our former president: Sad!  —  This is also the end of week four of this newsletter …

Thought Leader Jack Posobiec Joins Human Events Team as Senior Editor  —  Human Events is thrilled to announce the hiring of the extremely talented and influential Jack Posobiec as Senior Editor.  Most recently, Posobiec served as a correspondent and host for One America News Network.

Barry Meier's “Spooked”  —  In a new book, former New York Times reporter Barry Meier denounces his fellow journalists with great sanctimony for considering information from private research companies like ours, Fusion GPS.  This past Sunday, The Times published an adaptation of the book …

Lauren Boebert Falsely Claims Texas Hasn't Had a Single COVID-19 Death Since Lifting All Restrictions Two Months Ago  —  Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado and other Republican lawmakers are rebelling against the requirement that members of Congress wear a mask while on the floor of the House of Representatives.

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.

Are Republicans still democrats?  —  The Right's Long War on Majority Rule  —  This week FiveThirtyEight published a piece entitled “How The Republican Push To Restrict Voting Could Affect Our Elections.”  Included in the article is a graph that purports to chart “The GOP's eroding commitment to Democracy” …

CNA Financial Paid $40 Million in Ransom After March Cyberattack  —  CNA Financial Corp., among the largest insurance companies in the U.S., paid $40 million in late March to regain control of its network after a ransomware attack, according to people with knowledge of the attack, Bloomberg News reports.

Sen. Bernie Sanders to introduce resolution of disapproval on $735 million U.S. arms sale to Israel  —  The action comes as Biden calls for a ‘significant de-escalation of hostilities’ between Israel and Hamas  —  Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is preparing to introduce a resolution …

Scoop: Biden leaning toward Thomas Nides as ambassador to Israel  —  President Biden is closing in on his pick for ambassador to Israel, with Thomas Nides, a former deputy secretary of state, most likely to be the pick, a source familiar with the process told Axios.

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.

Oversight Board overturns Facebook decision: Case 2021-005-FB-UA  —  The Oversight Board has overturned Facebook's decision to remove a comment under its Hate Speech Community Standard.  A majority of the Board found it fell into Facebook's exception for content condemning or raising awareness of hatred.

American democracy is in even worse shape than you think  —  Joe Biden so far has been an effective president, particularly in terms of managing the coronavirus vaccine rollout and making hard but necessary policy decisions such as moving to withdraw U.S. troops out of Afghanistan.

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.

U.S. Government Seizes 68 Protected Big Cats and a Jaguar from Jeffrey and Lauren Lowe  —  The United States has seized 68 protected lions, tigers, lion-tiger hybrids, and a jaguar from Jeffrey and Lauren Lowe's Tiger King Park in Thackerville, Oklahoma, pursuant to a judicially-authorized search …

Military: More than half of force unvaccinated amid hundreds of COVID-19 cases each day  —  The Defense Department admitted Thursday the force is still far from safety as many troops continue declining to get the COVID-19 vaccine.  —  For months, the military has struggled to convince service members …

Selfies, Surgeries And Self-Loathing: Inside The Facetune Epidemic  —  The massively popular photo-editing app Facetune is driving a generation of young women to extreme and obsessive lengths to look flawless online.  —  Sky Lane scrolled through the pictures from an impromptu photo shoot she'd done …

Body-cam video shows Louisiana troopers stunned, hit and dragged Black man before his death  —  At first, police told Ronald Greene's loved ones that he died in a car accident — plowing into a tree late one night in 2019 after driving past a traffic stop, according to a lawsuit filed by the man's family.

The Myth of Labor Shortages  —  Is the U.S. suffering from a labor shortage?  If so, capitalism has an answer.  —  The chief executive of Domino's Pizza has complained that the company can't hire enough drivers.  Lyft and Uber claim to have a similar problem.

Statement attributable to UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi on the need to end US COVID-19 asylum restrictions  —  A Honduran family waits in the Kiki Romero gymnasium, Mexico, after being returned at the US-Mexico border under Title 42.  © UNHCR/Jeoffrey Guillemard

Maryland launches lottery for vaccinated residents, with $400,000 top prize  —  With vaccine demand dropping, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is launching a $2 million lottery that will hand out dozens of $40,000 cash prizes to state residents who have received the coronavirus vaccine — along with one grand prize of $400,000.

Arizona's Absurd Election “Audit” Could Be Just the Beginning for Trump Dead-Enders  —  Even local Republicans are demanding that Maricopa County stop its dangerous “audit.”  But Trump and his allies are pushing for other states to use the partisan proceeding as a blueprint to undermine the 2020 results.

EXCLUSIVE: Former FBI director Louis Freeh gave $100,000 to a private trust for Joe Biden's grandchildren and spoke with the then vice president in 2016 ‘to explore lucrative future work options’ with Hunter as the middle man  — DailyMail.com can reveal former FBI director Louis Freeh gave $100,000 …

‘His death is a catastrophe’: Gaza doctors mourn specialist killed in air strike  —  Without warning, an Israeli air strike destroyed the four-storey building in the Gaza Strip where Dr Ayman Abu al-Ouf lived early on Sunday.  —  The doctor, who was head of internal medicine …

IRS chief says agency is close to clearing backlog of 2019 tax returns  —  IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig on Wednesday estimated the agency would be able to clear its backlog of 2019 tax returns within 60 days.  —  During a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing, Rettig …