Trump blog page shuts down for good  — Former President Donald Trump's blog has been permanently shut down.  — The page, “From the Desk of Donald J. Trump,” has been scrubbed from Trump's website and “will not be returning,” his senior aide Jason Miller told CNBC.

Pressure mounts on Manchin as ‘panic’ sets in among Democrats over voting rights  —  Democratic leaders and activists are urgently stepping up pressure on Sen. Joe Manchin III to support legislation to fight Republican-led voting restrictions across the country, with party officials increasingly concluding …

The Conservative Publishing Industry Has a Joe Biden Problem  —  In the conservative book world, nothing is supposed to set off a gold rush like a new Democratic president.  Ever since Bill Clinton inspired a wave of right-wing best sellers in the '90s, publishing houses that cater …

Melanie Stansbury, a Democrat, Cruises in New Mexico House Race  —  Ms. Stansbury won a landslide victory in a special election to fill the seat vacated by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.  The result is likely to hearten national Democrats worried about the 2022 midterms.

Employees Are Quitting Instead of Giving Up Working From Home  —  A six-minute meeting drove Portia Twidt to quit her job.  —  She'd taken the position as a research compliance specialist in February, enticed by promises of remote work.  Then came the prodding to go into the office.

Iran's largest warship catches fire, sinks in Gulf of Oman  —  TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The largest warship in the Iranian navy caught fire and later sank Wednesday in the Gulf of Oman under unclear circumstances, the latest calamity to strike one of the country's vessels in recent years amid tensions with the West.

Covid Hope Over Fear  —  We look at the effects of the C.D.C.'s new mask guidance on Covid cases and vaccinations.  —  When the C.D.C. reversed its Covid-19 guidelines last month and said that vaccinated Americans rarely needed to wear masks, it caused both anxiety and uncertainty.

Katie Hobbs, Arizona Secretary of State, Announces Bid for Governor  —  Ms. Hobbs, a Democrat who gained prominence for defending the state's election system, has condemned a Republican recount currently underway, calling it a threat to democracy.  —  Katie Hobbs, the Democratic secretary …

Charges after US Capitol insurrection roil far-right groups  —  Indictments.  Infighting.  Incarceration.  —  Former President Donald Trump's lies about a stolen 2020 election united right-wing supporters, conspiracy theorists and militants on Jan. 6, but the aftermath of the insurrection …

Gov. Greg Abbott orders Texas child-care regulators to yank licenses of facilities housing immigrant kids  —  ‘Unabated influx’ of unauthorized immigrant children ‘threatens to negatively impact’ child-care facilities that house foster kids, says Abbott, declaring a disaster and blaming Washington.

Oh great, Ellie Kemper is yet another rich white celebrity with a racist past  —  You may have noticed Ellie Kemper was trending on Twitter.  She's not dead.  So she must've done something really amazing, right?  Wrong!  Turns out Kimmy Schmidt isn't as inoffensive as she seems.

Words That Mean Nothing  —  Our political discourse is dominated by issues that don't exist  —  Much of the time that we think we are talking about ​"issues," we are actually talking about words.  One side will argue against one definition of a word, while the other side argues in favor of a different definition of a word.

Stimulus Checks Substantially Reduced Hardship, Study Shows  —  Researchers found that sharp declines in food shortages, financial instability and anxiety coincided with the two most recent rounds of payments.  —  WASHINGTON — Julesa Webb resumed an old habit: serving her children three meals a day.

Donald Trump's rebooted rallies have no place on your television  —  Former President Donald Trump has lost access to some of the biggest guns in his political arsenal.  He can no longer tweet directly to the masses; nor can his Facebook page gin up excitement and ardor among his fans.

To build a crowd for a pro-Trump rally, Nevada GOP consultant sought help from Proud Boys  —  Two days after the tumultuous 2020 election, as President Donald Trump railed that his victory had been stolen, a small group of men dressed in yellow-and-black Proud Boys shirts appeared with dozens …

Arizona wants to use Zyklon B to execute inmates on death row  —  Hydrogen cyanide gas, named by the Third Reich as Zyklon B, was used by the Nazis to kill over a million people in the Holocaust.  The state of Arizona now wants to use it in executions.  —  The state of Arizona is preparing …

Are Republicans Really a Threat to Democracy?  —  How worried should we be about the state of democracy in the U.S.?  A group of leading political scientists who study the issue say: a lot.  A whole lot.  In fact, they say: “our entire democracy is now at risk.”  They're correct.

Alaska: Biden to suspend Trump Arctic drilling leases  —  US President Joe Biden's administration will suspend oil and gas leases in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge pending an environmental review.  —  The move reverses former President Donald Trump's decision to sell oil leases …

2 Leading Manhattan D.A. Candidates Face the Trump Question  —  Alvin Bragg and Tali Farhadian Weinstein both have had dealings with President Donald J. Trump's administration that Mr. Trump could try to use against them.  —  Whoever wins the race to become the next Manhattan district attorney …

The Fast and the Furious: Electric Bikers and Cyclists Compete for Trail Space  —  Bicyclists says e-bikers zip by recklessly, motorized bike enthusiasts say pedal crowd is just as bad; “increasing rudeness.”  —  Scott Sterner and his wife, Donna Rupert, 60-year-old retirees in Dunedin …

Anheuser-Busch to give away free alcohol if US hits Biden's goal of 70% of adults with at least one Covid vaccine shot by July 4  —  (CNN)Anheuser-Busch, the national brewer that produces Budweiser, announced Wednesday it will give away free alcohol if the nation reaches President Joe Biden's goal …

Power Up: At least 20 Republican senators didn't meet with the Sicknick family  —  Good Wednesday morning.  We're halfway there.  Thanks for waking up with the Power Up newsletter.  —  On the Hill  —  NO SHOWS: Before Senate Republicans blocked the creation of a bipartisan commission …

What's behind the anti-Semitism surge in the US  —  Violent anti-Semitism spiked in America during the Israel-Hamas war.  And we don't know why.  —  Recently, my mom sent me a text with a link to a story about a gang assault targeting a Jewish man in New York.  “I'm worried for you,” she said.

Dems' dark-money bid aimed to paint Josh Hawley as an anti-gun lefty  —  A dark-money group aligned with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer helped pay for deceptive ads aimed at depressing Republican general election turnout in 2018, newly released records show.

The jobs report that could upend Biden's economic agenda  —  Businesses say they can't find enough workers to hire.  The pace of Americans moving off the unemployment rolls is slowing.  And a top Federal Reserve official is warning that job trends in May might look “odd.”

Isaac Herzog elected 11th President of the State of Israel by wide margin  —  Herzog defeated Miriam Peretz in 87 to 27 vote, becoming first son of a president to become president.  —  Jewish Agency chairman Isaac Herzog will be the 11th president of the State of Israel after he received 87 votes …

The Biden team is making terrible excuses for keeping Trump's secrets buried  —  As the Biden administration increasingly resists pressure to release various documents that would shed light on the depths of Donald Trump's corruption, you'll be hearing a key excuse a lot: We need to restore normalcy.

POLITICO Playbook: Infrastructure day: What to watch for in Biden's one-on-one with Capito  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  BREAKING OVERNIGHT — Via our House elections guru Ally Mutnick: “Democrat MELANIE STANSBURY claimed a resounding victory Tuesday night in a contested special election for Congress …