Prosecutor in Trump criminal probe convenes grand jury to hear evidence, weigh potential charges  —  NEW YORK — Manhattan's district attorney has convened the grand jury that is expected to decide whether to indict former president Donald Trump, other executives at his company or the business itself …

Leader McCarthy Condemns Comparisons to the Holocaust  —  Washington, D.C. - House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA-23) released the following statement:

Tech company running Arizona ballot audit backs out: ‘They were done’  —  Jen Fifield Andrew OxfordArizona Republic  —  The Pennsylvania-based IT company that was in charge of running the hand recount of Maricopa County ballots is no longer involved in the audit.

Bipartisan group of senators prepares new infrastructure plan as talks stall between White House and GOP  —  Romney and several others are trying to craft a deal that they hope can win support from lawmakers in both parties  —  A small bipartisan group of senators is privately sketching …

Secretary of State Katie Hobbs stripped of roles by Appropriations Committee  —  PHOENIX — Political score-settling is not supposed to be part of the budgeting process, but you will have a hard time convincing Democratic members of the House Appropriations Committee of that.

Kathryn Garcia leads field in new poll, 4 weeks ahead of Election Day  —  Former city sanitation commissioner Kathryn Garcia is leading the Democratic field of mayoral contenders, with Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams hot on her trail, according to a new poll four weeks ahead of Election Day.

Faulty redactions in court document show federal investigators seized more info in case against Rudy Giuliani than previously disclosed  —  New details emerge about investigation into Giuliani  —  (CNN)New York federal prosecutors investigating Rudy Giuliani have seized material from a wider array …

Senate confirms DOJ nominee Kristen Clarke with just one Republican vote  —  Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, voted yes with all Democrats, and Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., did not vote  —  Fox News Flash top headlines for May 25  —  The Senate confirmed Kristen Clarke as the first Black woman …

We Are Critics of Nikole Hannah-Jones.  Her Tenure Denial Is a Travesty.  —  Political intervention in hiring will badly damage higher ed.  —  Today's rampant political polarization has led to alarming interference in academic affairs, threatening basic principles of openness and faculty authority …

What Biden Didn't Realize About His Presidency  —  Joe Biden had been president for less than two weeks when he told me something he'd heard from a friend after the election.  Biden was like the dog that caught the car, the friend told him—after a lifetime of dreaming of becoming president, he'd finally done it.

Nevada GOP thrown into turmoil after avowed Proud Boys member said he participated in censure vote of state official  —  The leaders of the Nevada Republican Party are facing an internal revolt after an avowed Proud Boys member said he was invited with friends to attend a state party meeting …

Trump responds to insurrection lawsuit by claiming immunity while he was President  —  ‘Storm the Capitol!’:  Rioters react to Trump speech  —  Washington (CNN)Donald Trump's attorney defended the ex-President's incendiary speech on January 6, saying he is protected under the First Amendment and had …

Steve Bannon's fraud case dismissed after months of haggling over Trump pardon  —  NEW YORK — A federal judge on Monday formally dismissed the fraud case against Stephen K. Bannon, the conservative provocateur and ex-adviser to President Donald Trump, ending months of litigation …

Timeline: How the Wuhan lab-leak theory suddenly became credible  —  The source of the coronavirus that has left more than 3 million people dead around the world remains a mystery.  But in recent months the idea that it emerged from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) …

Justice Dept. releases part of internal memo on not charging Trump in Russia probe  —  The Justice Department late Monday night released part of a key internal document used in 2019 to justify not charging President Donald Trump with obstruction, but also signaled it would fight a judge's effort to make the entire document public.

The End IS Near.  No, Seriously.  —  The tone of some recent writing about this pandemic has seemed — to me, anyway — strangely defeatist.  —  Friends keep asking me questions like: “Is what I'm hearing true?  We'll never reach herd immunity?”  —  The subtext is we'll never really be safe …

France Suspects Russian Role in Campaign to Discredit Pfizer Vaccine  —  Several French bloggers said they received emails offering to pay for social-media videos criticizing the Covid-19 vaccine  —  PARIS—French counterintelligence authorities are investigating whether the Russian government …

Dems fight off ‘defund the police’ attack in New Mexico special election  —  ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Melanie Stansbury, the Democratic candidate in next week's special congressional election here, spent last weekend touting Joe Biden's agenda, vowing to strengthen infrastructure and fight climate change, drought and hunger.

After Trump, EU feels a more familiar US arrogance  —  European leaders are thrilled to have Joe Biden and a return to the friendly American exceptionalism they know so well.  —  With Joe Biden preparing for his first trip abroad as president, European leaders are noticing a change in the transatlantic air.

Axios-Ipsos poll: Re-emerging without trust  —  Americans are taking off their masks and re-engaging publicly at levels not seen since the start of the pandemic, with the most dramatic shifts in people over 50 and those who've been vaccinated, according to the latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index.

Trump is starting to put together his own Contract with America.  And he's teaming up with Newt.  —  The 45th president has sat down with the former speaker, as well as Mark Meadows and Lindsey Graham in recent weeks to begin crafting a policy document.  —  Acid wash jeans, scrunchies, and... Newt Gingrich.

COVID-19 Vaccine Breakthrough Infections Reported to CDC — United States, January 1-April 30, 2021  —  CDC COVID-19 Vaccine Breakthrough Case Investigations Team (View author affiliations)  —  COVID-19 vaccines are a critical tool for controlling the ongoing global pandemic.

Red Lines  —  The Constitution invites us—and politics compels us—to consider redrawing state and local borders.  —  The following essay is the first in a new feature from The American Mind on the possibilities—and necessity—of rearranging our political map.  —  In September of 2020, I published a book entitled The Stakes.

WWE's Cena apologises to China after Taiwan country reference  —  John Cena says on Taiwanese TV that it would be ‘the first country to watch the film’ American quickly backtracked on Weibo, saying he made ‘one mistake’ after doing ‘a lot of interviews’ John Cena backtracks comments …

How the G.O.P. Primary for Mayor Turned 2 Friends Into Bitter Rivals  —  Two long-shots, Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels, and Fernando Mateo, a restaurateur, are in a heated fight to be their party's nominee.  —  The two Republicans running for mayor of New York City used to be friends.