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.

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 …

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.

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 …

Associated Press tells staff it made mistakes in firing of Emily Wilder  —  The news service is facing criticism and internal dissent for terminating a junior staffer based on her social media activity.  —  Senior managers at the Associated Press admitted fault on Wednesday in the firing …

Emails Tie Top Trump Exec Allen Weisselberg to Yet Another Trump Financial Scandal  —  Let our journalists help you make sense of the noise: Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter and get a recap of news that matters.  —  Allen Weisselberg is in the hot seat—and that's bad news for Donald Trump and his family.

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 …

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 …

‘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.

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.

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 …

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.

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.

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.

Despite little evidence of fraud, Wisconsin Republican leader hires retired police to probe 2020 election  —  A top Republican lawmaker in Wisconsin announced Wednesday that he is hiring retired police officers and an attorney to investigate the November election, joining GOP leaders …

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.

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.

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 …