Key impeachment witness Gordon Sondland sues Mike Pompeo and U.S. for $1.8 million in legal fees  —  President Donald Trump's former ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, is suing former secretary of state Mike Pompeo and the U.S. government for $1.8 million to compensate …

Commerce Department security unit evolved into counterintelligence-like operation, Washington Post examination found  —  An obscure security unit tasked with protecting the Commerce Department's officials and facilities has evolved into something more akin to a counterintelligence operation …

E.U. promises swift retaliation after Belarus forces airliner to land and detains dissident  —  RIGA, Latvia — European leaders on Monday were considering a plan to sever Belarus from the rest of the continent's airspace, a day after Belarusian authorities forced a commercial airliner to land …

Whitmer apologizes after photo shows her at bar violating her own order  —  Lansing — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued an apology Sunday after a photo emerged showing her at a restaurant with 12 other people gathered around tables pushed together in violation of her health department's current epidemic order.

The campaign for D.C. statehood just got a big boost  —  One of the most nettlesome objections to extending congressional representation to the residents of Washington, D.C., is that it requires a constitutional amendment.  Many Republicans say this, which is hardly surprising.

They tried to overturn the 2020 election.  Now they want to run the next one.  —  Republicans who sought to undercut or overturn President Joe Biden's election win are launching campaigns to become their states' top election officials next year, alarming local officeholders and opponents …

Sasha Johnson: Black Lives Matter activist shot in London  —  Prominent Black Lives Matter activist Sasha Johnson is critically ill after being shot in the head, her party says.  —  The Taking the Initiative Party said she was being treated in intensive care after being “brutally attacked” in the early hours of Sunday.

It's the Media's ‘Mean-Too’ Moment.  Stop Yelling and Go to Human Resources.  —  In public radio, there is either an epidemic of bullying or an epidemic of whining, depending on whom you ask.  —  For 20 years, the WNYC radio show “On The Media” has been the sort of place where the hosts …

The Americanization of the Israeli-Palestinian Debate  —  Rereading Exodus, the schmaltzy 1958 best seller about Israel that became a Hollywood movie starring Paul Newman, I was surprised by something I hadn't noticed as a teenager.  The author, Leon Uris, describes a utopia of brave young pioneers …

What the Tulsa Race Massacre Destroyed  —  THE MARQUEE BLOCK  —  More than 70 businesses operated in mostly one-, two- and three-story red brick buildings clustered along the block.  All but a couple were owned by Black entrepreneurs.  —  In this stretch alone, there were four hotels …

Are U.S. Officials Under Silent Attack?  —  The Havana Syndrome first affected spies and diplomats in Cuba.  Now it has spread to the White House.  —  During the final weeks of the Trump Administration, a senior official on the National Security Council sat at his desk …

If Democracy Is Dying, Why Are Democrats So Complacent?  —  If you've followed recent Democratic messaging, you'll have heard that American democracy is under serious attack by the Republican Party, representing an existential threat to the country.  If you've followed Democratic lawmaking …

Are We Entering a New Political Era?  —  The neoliberal order seems to be collapsing.  A generation of young activists is trying to insure that it's replaced by progressive populism, not by the fascist right.  —  Last June, when most Americans could agree that their country was in crisis …

Biden administration moves toward making the pandemic work-from-home experiment permanent for many federal workers  —  As the Biden administration contemplates how to return the massive federal workforce to the office, government officials are moving to make a pandemic experiment permanent …

Weightlifting, Gatorade, birthday calls: Inside Biden's day  —  During a speech in Pittsburgh in March, President Biden held up the index card he keeps in his right breast pocket to track the nation's covid deaths, inadvertently revealing a glimpse of his private schedule on the back side.

45 + 2022 = 0  —  #38: Why the GOP's new Trumpless Tower will collapse  —  Republicans seem to be coalescing around a delusional midterm strategy: The idea that they can get through the 2022 election while more or less ignoring Trump.  Hey, they have all these great issues: Crime!  Immigration!

As hurricane season looms, Biden doubles funding to prepare for extreme weather  —  Administration will also launch new NASA initiative aimed at collecting better climate data  —  President Biden will announce Monday afternoon that he's doubling the amount of money the U.S. government …

CBS' ‘Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ Will Return to Live Crowds … Stephen Colbert will break free of his coronavirus-imposed restrictions and return to doing CBS' “Late Show” in front of live audiences starting June 14.  —  Colbert has led 205 episodes of the late-night program without …

The Associated Press fired a reporter over social media use — and what it means for other news outlets  —  Should journalists be expected to erase who they are for the sake of appearing to be objective?  News outlets need to refine these policies.  —  The big buzz in the media the past few days …

Top MAGA ally under fire for ‘squishiness’ on Trump  —  During Jane Timken's tenure as Ohio's GOP chair, Donald Trump won the one-time bellwether state by a whopping 8 percentage points.  She put 150,000 miles on her car driving to the state's 88 counties as a surrogate for the president.

Conservatives have a new target: Biden's IRS plan  —  Add another obstacle to the growing list President Joe Biden faces in his negotiations over his massive spending plans: mounting opposition to one of the ways to pay for his proposal — growing the IRS.  —  Conservative groups have launched …

Why Arkansas Is a Test Case for a Post-Trump Republican Party  —  Sarah Huckabee Sanders seems likely to bring the Trump brand to Arkansas politics in a big way.  But the state is a testing ground for different possible futures for the party.  —  LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — For decades …

Lame Duck: The End of the Most Gerrymandered District in Ohio  —  Ohio is losing a seat in Congress, but will it keep Jim Jordan?  —  Since the 1930s, Ohio's 4th Congressional District has been under Republican control.  At R+14, it is arguably the safest Republican district in the country.

Trump Jokes About ‘Rough’ Treatment Of Press By North Korean Guards  —  Good morning!  It's time to get up!  —  Welcome to week five of The Uprising!  This is the first week that most of the newsletter will only be available to paid subscribers.  —  While I reserve the right …

Liz Cheney defends GOP's restrictive voting laws, denies link to Trump lie  —  Cheney is trying to put Trump's Big Lie about the election in a silo.