Matt Gaetz's ex-girlfriend to cooperate with federal authorities in sex trafficking investigation  —  Washington (CNN)Federal authorities investigating alleged sex trafficking by GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz have secured the cooperation of the congressman's ex-girlfriend, according to people familiar with the matter.

US House candidate Bouchard says he impregnated 14-year-old when he was 18  —  U.S. House candidate Anthony Bouchard had a relationship with and impregnated a 14-year-old girl when he was 18, he told the Star-Tribune late Thursday, hours after he disclosed the relationship in a Facebook Live video to his supporters.

Nearly everyone missed Chuck Schumer implying this week that the filibuster's death is coming  —  The conventional wisdom is coming around to the Democrats' side.  —  1 hr ago  —  The Editorial Board, as I hope you have noticed, is not in the business of making arguments for the sake of argumentation.

The mess in Maricopa  —  Votes are still being counted in Arizona.  It won't change the winner.  But it might change America.  —  PHOENIX — Something spooky has been happening here in Maricopa County.  Weird spooky, crazy spooky, this-has-never-happened-before-in- America spooky.

Republican Rep. Gonzalez, who voted to impeach Trump, warns of a GOP ‘recipe for disaster’  —  CLEVELAND — Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, one of the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump, warned Friday that many in his party are engaged in a “losing strategy” …

Hey conservatives, this is why liberals don't believe you care about free speech  —  If conservatives wonder why liberals aren't inclined to trust their supposed concern for free speech, controversies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Associated Press would be a good place to start.

Biden digs at Trump for giving Kim Jong Un 'all that he's looking for'  —  President Joe Biden on Friday delivered a thinly veiled swipe at former President Donald Trump for giving Kim Jong Un “all that he's looking for” in the previous administration's dealings with North Korea.

America's rich people could have saved local journalism — and perhaps democracy.  They refused.  —  It didn't have to turn out this way.  —  Local investors — especially in a prosperous town like Chicago — could have stepped forward to block a hedge fund from gaining control of several of the nation's top daily newspapers.

White House budget plan set to leave out some health care proposals from campaign  —  A public option for health care will not be included in the budget that will be proposed next week.  —  White House officials have left key Biden campaign promises on health care out of their coming budget proposal …

Trump is sliding toward online irrelevance.  His new blog isn't helping.  —  The former president's aides said his new online presence would ‘redefine the game.’ But his heavily promoted blog is seeing few visitors.  —  On the Internet, former president Donald Trump is sliding toward something he's fought …

Marjorie Taylor Greene doesn't think white people can be terrorists  —  In the weeks after the 9/11 terrorist attack, former President George W. Bush famously declared in a joint address to Congress: “Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists.”  Apparently to today's Republicans …

Crime App Citizen is Driving a Security Car Around L.A. and Won't Say Why  —  The vehicle is linked to a private security company which describes itself as a “subscription law enforcement service.”  —  Joseph Cox  —  Citizen, a widely popular app that sends alerts to local residents …

Chief of staff for GOP lawmaker spoke to law enforcement after overhearing talk of storming FBI building on January 6  —  (CNN)A top aide to Republican Rep. Carlos Gimenez of Florida says he spoke with both the Capitol Police and the FBI on the morning of January 6 after overhearing a man …

The unseen covid-19 risk for unvaccinated people  —  The country's declining covid-19 case rates present an unrealistically optimistic perspective for half of the nation — the half that is still not vaccinated.  —  As more people receive vaccines, covid-19 cases are occurring mostly …

Glenn Greenwald may have quit the Intercept, but he can't quit the feud  —  It all ended badly last October when Glenn Greenwald, the pugnacious, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, quit the investigative news site he had co-founded six years earlier.  Greenwald left the Intercept with a parting shot …

Rebekah Jones Admits She Was Never Asked to Delete COVID Deaths in Florida  —  On Twitter last night, Rebekah Jones confirmed the central case within my long piece on her deception: That she was not, in fact, asked to delete COVID deaths in the state of Florida.

Bitcoin Miners Are Giving New Life to Old Fossil-Fuel Power Plants  —  The lofty prices of cryptocurrencies have investors sinking money into electricity generation, risking a backlash  —  Across America, older fossil-fuel power plants are shutting down in favor of renewable energy.

Madison Cawthorn says his ‘service as a husband’ kept him from voting on bills  —  In 2020, Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) said Democrats who didn't show up to work were ‘cowards.’  —  Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) said on Thursday that he has missed more votes than any other freshman member …

What We Believe About U.F.O.s  —  We still don't know what they are — but we may be close to finding out.  —  Mr. Reid is a former senator.  —  This personal reflection is part of a series called The Big Ideas, in which writers respond to a single question: What do we believe?

FBI Employee Indicted for Illegally Removing National Security Documents, Taking Material to Her Home  —  Note: A full copy of the indictment can be viewed here.  —  WASHINGTON - An employee of the FBI's Kansas City Division has been indicted by a federal grand jury for illegally removing …

Kindergartners' questions helped get them off hijacked school bus, driver says: ‘Enough already’  —  The hijacker forced his way onto the school bus with a rifle and commands to “Get out of town, now!”  It was “one of the scariest” scenarios possible, law enforcement said later …

Fox News Parts Ways with Fox & Friends Weekend Co-Host Jedediah Bila  —  The host, who joined Fox & Friends Weekend in 2019, says she's “really excited for what's to come”  —  Fox News and Fox & Friends Weekend co-host Jedediah Bila are parting ways, PEOPLE can exclusively announce.

Ammon Bundy takes first step toward running for Idaho governor … He's banned from the Idaho Capitol building, but that didn't stop Ammon Bundy from taking the first step toward running for Idaho governor.  —  Bundy, who lives in Emmett, filed paperwork Friday to appoint a treasurer to a campaign for governor.

Few plea bargains in U.S. Capitol riot cases as prosecutors stand firm  —  Nearly four months after the U.S. Capitol attack, just one of more than 440 people charged has pleaded guilty, a sign of tough conditions set by prosecutors for plea deals and resistance by defense lawyers to their demands.

ILLINOIS GOES IT ALONE (FOR NOW) — A LIGHTFOOT INTERVIEW — PAUL RYAN HEADLINES FOR KINZINGER  —  TGIF, Illinois.  Thanks for hanging in there this week.  It's been a doozy.  —  TOP TALKER  —  With less than 10 days before the legislative session wraps up, Gov. J.B. Pritzker …

Troops Blast Senator for Claiming US Military Has Been ‘Emasculated’  —  A Texas Republican senator is taking heat after slamming the U.S. military as being “emasculated” in light of a new recruiting ad.  —  “Holy crap,” Sen. Ted Cruz said on Twitter.  “Perhaps a woke, emasculated military is not the best idea ...”

Since leaving office, Trump has charged the Secret Service more than $40,000 to use space at Mar-a-Lago  —  Former president Donald Trump charged the Secret Service more than $40,000 this spring for rooms that Trump's own protective detail used while guarding him at his Mar-a-Lago Club, according to federal spending records.