After drastic changes made behind closed doors, Texas Senate approves voting bill after overnight debate  —  Senate Bill 7 includes provisions to limit early voting hours, curtail local voting options and further tighten voting-by-mail.  The upper chamber suspended its own rules to approve it after debating it for hours overnight.

Shadow primary: GOP 2024 hopefuls dive into House races to get around Trump  —  Republican Sen. Tom Cotton is heading to Iowa this summer, but he won't be campaigning for himself — at least not officially.  —  The potential 2024 contender is plotting a swing through the state …

‘Very much in love’: How Boris Johnson's relationship with Tory aide Carrie Symonds survived ‘everything thrown at them’ but they have ‘come out the other side still smiling’  —  Only their closest friends, one imagines, were privy to the birth of the Boris-Carrie love affair.

An Arms Race in America: Gun Buying Spiked During the Pandemic.  It's Still Up.  —  Preliminary research data show that about a fifth of all Americans who bought guns last year were first-time gun owners.  Sales usually spike around elections, but the sheer volume is notable.

Bannon has his MAGA megaphone back.  GOP candidates know it.  —  Steve Bannon has a new MAGA megaphone, and Republicans eager to shine in a party still tethered to former President Donald Trump know it.  —  Bannon, the former Breitbart News executive and one of the architects of Trump's …

Hat makers distance from Nashville store amid uproar over ‘not vaccinated’ badges  —  Several prominent hat makers have distanced themselves from a Nashville hat store amid online backlash over the store's decision to sell yellow “not vaccinated” patches shaped like the Star of David.

117 staffers sue over Houston hospital's vaccine mandate, say they don't want to be ‘guinea pigs’  —  The lawsuit could test whether employers can require vaccinations as the country navigates out of a pandemic that has killed nearly 600,000 people in the U.S.

MPD attorney: Department used tear gas on Lafayette Park protesters in June 2020  —  Attorney Richard Sobiecki explained for the first time why MPD used tear gas against protesters fleeing federal police, though he did not say what exactly was used.  —  WASHINGTON — An attorney for DC Police …

Why the Lab Leak Theory Matters  —  On Long Bets, a website where prognosticators test their mettle by playing for real (or at least proceeds-donated-to-charity) stakes, there is an open bet between the British astrophysicist Martin Rees, a noted worrier over apocalyptic possibilities …

Faye Schulman Dies; Fought Nazis With a Rifle and a Camera  —  She joined the Resistance brigade after her family was executed and used her photographs as proof of German barbarity and Jews' determination to fight back.  —  On Aug. 14, 1942, a year after German troops invaded Soviet-occupied Poland …

Oklahoma's lawmakers want to whitewash its history  —  Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma has fired the latest salvo in the culture war.  On May 7, Stitt signed a law effectively banning the teaching of critical race theory in K-12 schools.  Idaho has passed a similar law, and several other states have introduced such legislation.

For Democrats, GOP filibuster of Jan. 6 commission tests ‘limits of bipartisanship’ … WASHINGTON — A Republican filibuster Friday of an independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol sparked outrage among Senate Democrats ranging from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer …

Critical Race Theory Update: Et Tu, Williamson County?  —  Williamson County?  Never heard of it.  What's the big deal?  —  Well, a lot.  —  Williamson County, Tennessee is what you might call “Republican Heaven.”  Just south of Democrat-stronghold Nashville, much of it is a gorgeous suburb …

Flagship Tulsa Race Massacre commemoration is scrapped after survivors demanded $1 million each to appear and $50 million for reparations fund  — The commission sponsoring Monday's event initially agreed to $100,000 to each of the three survivors, along with $2 million in seed money for a reparations fund

Former health department employee Rebekah Jones granted official whistleblower status  —  Rebekah Jones is officially a whistleblower under Florida law, the Office of the Inspector General told her attorneys Friday.  —  Jones, who was responsible for building the COVID-19 data dashboard …