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.

Trump's stranglehold on the GOP is a death trap for American democracy  —  Addressing a reunion of Civil War soldiers in 1875, President Ulysses S. Grant predicted that the dividing line in the nation's next great conflict “will not be Mason's or Dixon's, but between patriotism and intelligence on one side …

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) …

Attacks on Jews Over Israel Are a Gift to the Right  —  Violence between Jews and Muslims in the Middle East is often accompanied by spikes in anti-Semitic activity in the United States, but what's happened over the last week or so has been different.  —  As Jonathan Greenblatt …

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

How the West Must Handle Lukashenko's Threat to the International Order  —  Designating the Belarusian dictator as a terrorist would be one step.  But leaders must also pressure Vladimir Putin.  —  2 hr ago  —  Alexander Lukashenko's 27 years in power in Belarus have been marked by murder, brutality, and repression.

Infrastructure talks hit a wall as Senate GOP and White House exchange blame  —  Republicans allege that Biden's aides reversed course  —  The prospects for a bipartisan infrastructure deal dimmed even further Monday, as Senate Republicans alleged that the White House had agreed to narrow …

Scoop: New York Times in talks to buy The Athletic  —  The New York Times is looking into a potential acquisition of The Athletic, three sources familiar with the matter tell Axios.  —  Driving the news: Sources say The Times approached The Athletic following a report about a potential deal between The Athletic and Axios in March.

U.S. wants to reopen Jerusalem consulate, Blinken tells Netanyahu  —  Secretary of State Tony Blinken told Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in their meeting on Tuesday that the Biden administration wants to reopen the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem as soon as possible, Israeli officials tell me.

Mysterious air base being built on volcanic island off Yemen  —  DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A mysterious air base is being built on a volcanic island off Yemen that sits in one of the world's crucial maritime chokepoints for both energy shipments and commercial cargo.

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.

How Libs Can Stop Owning Themselves Online  —  The Right has mastered trolling as a political communications strategy and Dems have to stop falling for it  —  In the last few weeks, Senator Ted Cruz, no stranger to Twitter controversy, has  — Retweeted a Russian propaganda video while calling the U.S. military “emasculated.”

Wisconsin Republicans to quickly kill Medicaid expansion  —  MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republicans who control the Wisconsin Legislature planned Tuesday to convene then immediately end a special session called by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers to expand Medicaid.  —  Rejecting expansion means Wisconsin …

Rand Paul receives death threat package with white powder and violent, profane message  —  On the outside of the envelope was a picture of a bruised and bandaged Paul with a gun to his head  —  Biden facing investigation over $87M migrant hotel housing contract

‘The final straw’: How the pandemic pushed restaurant workers over the edge  —  Jim Conway started working in restaurants in 1982, making $2.13 an hour, plus tips.  —  And though the world has changed significantly in the nearly 40 years since then, his hourly wage has not.

Florida, in a First, Will Fine Social Media Companies That Bar Candidates  —  The new law is a direct response to Facebook's and Twitter's suspensions of former President Donald J. Trump.  —  WASHINGTON — Florida on Monday became the first state to regulate how companies like Facebook …

How Matt Gaetz helped make Ron DeSantis  —  TALLAHASSEE — Just weeks after he took office as governor, Ron DeSantis held a press conference with Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) that left Florida's political class befuddled.  —  Standing with Republicans DeSantis and Gaetz was a major Democratic donor …

Jen Psaki Smashes Peter Doocy As He Tries To Blame Biden For COVID Deaths  —  Video: … Doocy asked, “On the origins of covid, there is a new Wall Street Journal story that three researchers at the Wuhan Institute of urology were hospitalized with symptoms consistent with covid-19 and common seasonal illness of November 2019.

Support for Israel among young US evangelical Christians drops sharply — survey  —  Since 2018, backing for Israel down from 75% to 33% now; nearly half of evangelicals aged 18-29 say they favor establishment of Palestinian state, voted for Biden over Trump

Actor Mark Ruffalo apologizes for suggesting Israel committed ‘genocide’  —  “It's not accurate,” he said.  “It's inflammatory, disrespectful & is being used to justify antisemitism here [in the US] & abroad.”  —  American actor Mark Ruffalo, a frequent critic of Israel …

Business groups form coalition to oppose all tax hike proposals by Democrats  — More than two dozen groups representing U.S. businesses and employers unveiled a new coalition to fight against virtually all of the Democrats' plans to raise taxes on self-described “job creators.”

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 …

Labor shortages end when wages rise, say some local businesses  —  As his six restaurants started ramping up for a post-pandemic world, Brian Will was struggling to find employees, so he went with the classic economics response for hard-to-find things.  —  He paid more.