GOP frets behind the scenes over potential Trump 2024 bid  —  Republicans largely oppose forming a commission to examine the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, hoping to block out further Donald Trump-induced chaos while they try to retake Congress next year.  —  The former president is making clear he isn't going anywhere.

Are Democrats sleepwalking toward democratic collapse?  —  “I'm not sure people appreciate how much danger we're in.”  —  Donald Trump may be out of Washington, but his spirit very much lives on in the party he left behind.  This month, Republican congressional leaders Kevin McCarthy …

Understanding QAnon's Connection to American Politics, Religion, and Media Consumption  —  THREE COMPONENTS OF THE QANON CONSPIRACY MOVEMENT  —  Three Components of the QAnon Conspiracy Movement  —  The far-right conspiracy theory movement known as QAnon emerged on the internet in late 2017 …

How China Can Quash the Wuhan Lab-Leak Theory  —  What a difference a year makes.  In 2020, discussing the hypothesis that Covid-19 originated in a Chinese lab could get your video yanked from YouTube.  Many journalists dismissed such talk as a conspiracy theory, and many scientists insisted it was fake science.

Biden to Propose $6 Trillion Budget to Boost Middle Class and Infrastructure  —  The president's plans to invest in infrastructure, education, health care and more would push federal spending to its highest sustained levels since World War II.  —  WASHINGTON — President Biden will propose …

Emily Wilder's firing is a story of bad faith, not bad tweets.  Newsrooms must do better.  —  There's a lot of talk in journalism circles these days about social media rules.  —  What kind of things, exactly, are journalists allowed to tweet or post on Facebook without running afoul of their newsrooms' policies?

Emails Tie Top Trump Exec Allen Weisselberg to Yet Another Trump Financial Scandal  —  Allen Weisselberg is in the hot seat—and that's bad news for Donald Trump and his family.  Assorted news reports have identified Weisselberg, the chief financial officer of the Trump Organization …

Guilty Parties Two entrepreneurs have built a business dredging up white women's shame.  —  Were White Fragility to be adapted as reality TV, the result might look something like this: A collection of affluent white women, equipped with varying degrees of vanity and self-delusion, gather at a well-appointed dinner table.

The Senate: Sununu's Vital Choice  —  Dear Readers: Virginia lost one of its most prominent and successful political figures on Tuesday, as former Sen. John Warner (R-VA) died at the age of 94.  Warner served for three decades in the Senate (1979-2009), becoming known for his expertise …

Killer of 8 in California had talked of workplace attacks  —  SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — An employee who gunned down eight people at a California rail yard and then killed himself as law enforcement rushed in had talked about killing people at work more than a decade ago, his ex-wife said.

‘The only Bush who got it right,’ as far as Trump is concerned  —  No Republican political family has been as tormented by Donald Trump as the Bush dynasty.  —  Now Trump has one more opportunity to twist the knife, as George P. Bush — the last remaining Bush in public office …

Book reveals Bernie's hotel demands: King-size beds and 60-degree rooms  —  Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is a demanding hotel guest whose requirements would make even the most pampered celebrity blush, according to a new book detailing Democratic Party politics.

Rush Limbaugh's Radio Show to Be Taken Over by Clay Travis and Buck Sexton  —  Duo's show to begin airing in the coveted weekday time slot on June 21 in hundreds of markets  —  The Rush Limbaugh replacements are in, as Clay Travis and Buck Sexton will take over his three-hour conservative talk radio show …

Ron DeSantis Forces Cruise Ships to Take Unvaccinated Passengers It's not like they're doing something harmful, like ordering a gay wedding cake.  —  A few years ago, conservatives became obsessed with the legal travails of a bakery that refused to sell a wedding cake to a gay couple.

U.S. Jobless Claims Extend Decline to New Pandemic Low  —  Claims, a proxy for layoffs, edged lower to 406,000 in the week ended May 22  —  Worker filings for jobless benefits fell again to a fresh pandemic low, extending a steady downward trend and adding to signs of a healing labor market as the economy opens more fully.

A Wave of Afghan Surrenders to the Taliban Picks Up Speed  —  Dozens of besieged outposts or bases, and four district centers, have given up to the insurgents this month, in an accelerating rural collapse as American troops leave.  —  MEHTARLAM, Afghanistan — Ammunition was depleted inside the bedraggled outposts in Laghman Province.

Can Removing Highways Fix America's Cities? … ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Built in the 1950s to speed suburban commuters to and from downtown, Rochester's Inner Loop destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses, replacing them with a broad, concrete trench that separated downtown from the rest of the city.

US democracy is still in the danger zone  —  Threat has outgrown Trump as Republican states seek to control what happens in future elections  —  Early into Donald Trump's presidency, the Economist Intelligence Unit downgraded the US to a “flawed democracy”.  Unfortunately it still belongs there.

Juan Williams Is Suddenly Out at Fox News' ‘The Five’—And Insiders Are Blaming Co-Host Greg Gutfeld  —  Multiple sources familiar with the matter said Gutfeld said a major driver behind Williams' departure was Gutfeld's desire for “The Five” to return to the studio.

U.S. Faces Outbreak of Anti-Semitic Threats and Violence  —  In the wake of clashes in Israel and Gaza, synagogues have been vandalized and Jews have been threatened and attacked.  —  A brick shattering a window of a kosher pizzeria on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

Biden Budget Said to Assume Capital-Gains Tax Rate Increase Started in Late April  —  Congress must still approve any rate changes and retroactive effective dates  —  WASHINGTON—President Biden's budget assumes that his proposed capital-gains tax rate increase took effect in late April …

On the Ground … The Woke-Industrial Complex  —  Lockheed, the nation's largest defense contractor, sends key executives on a mission to deconstruct their “white male privilege.”  —  The Social Order  —  Last year, Lockheed Martin Corporation, the nation's largest defense contractor …