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.

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.

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

Oklahoma agencies barred from vaccination, mask mandates  —  OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma state agencies will be barred from requiring a mask or coronavirus vaccination as a condition of being allowed to enter a state building or office under an executive order signed by Gov. Kevin Stitt.

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

DeSantis stands by no cruise ship exemption for ‘vaccine passports’  —  Gov. Ron DeSantis isn't wavering from his ban on “vaccine passports” as a cruise line has received federal approval to set sail from a Florida port next month if passengers and crew members are inoculated against COVID-19.