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.

Has Biden Lost His Nerve With Putin?  —  With another summit in the works, there's little to suggest any improvement over Trump's feeble policy.  —  I was one of the Russian opposition members who met then-Vice President Joe Biden at the U.S. ambassador's residence in Moscow on March 10, 2011.

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 …

Joe Biden is fine with Hunter's sleazy dealing, and the liberal media is giving him good reason  —  Powerful people will do what they can get away with.  When it comes to President Joe Biden and his family, that's a lot.  —  The latest demonstration: The establishment media in the United States …

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.

Leon Black Accused of Defamation and Sexual Violence in Lawsuit  —  Spokesman for the former Apollo CEO calls lawsuit a ‘wholesale fiction’  —  A woman on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against Leon Black, the former chief executive of Apollo Global Management Inc., accusing him of defamation and alleging he raped and harassed her.

Biden suspends oil leases in Alaska's Arctic refuge  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Tuesday suspended oil and gas leases in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, reversing a drilling program approved by the Trump administration and reviving a political fight …

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 …

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.”

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.

Trump's company puts D.C. hotel lease up for sale, again  —  The former president's company previously considered selling the lease to its luxury Washington hotel before covid struck  —  Former president Donald Trump's company has again hired a broker to sell the lease to its D.C. hotel …

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.

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.

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 …

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.

The Republican plot to steal the 2024 election  —  Republicans have spent nearly seven months making bogus charges of fraud in the 2020 election under the banner of “stop the steal.”  Now they have segued into a “start the steal” offensive to ensure that they will win the 2022 and 2024 elections …

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 …

‘SpongeBob’ and ‘Transformers’ Cost U.S. Taxpayers $4 Billion, Study Says  —  A new report details ViacomCBS's use of a labyrinthine tax shelter to sell rights to its shows and films overseas.  —  Dismissed by critics and devoured by fans, “Transformers: Age of Extinction” …

With Homicides Rising, Cities Brace for a Violent Summer  —  Homicide rates in large cities were up more than 30 percent on average last year, and up another 24 percent for the beginning of this year, according to criminologists.  —  The upbeat mood at an album release party at El Mula Banquet Hall …

The Conservative Media Double-Standard  —  The same people who advocated for HCQ and complain about election fraud are outraged over the lab-leak miss.  —  9 hr ago  —  1. Humanitarian Disaster  —  I want to be very clear about this: America is doing great against COVID right now.

Tucker Carlson Says Businesses Requiring People Be Vaccinated Is ‘Medical Jim Crow’  —  Fox News' Tucker Carlson opened his show Tuesday night railing against businesses requiring people be vaccinated, actually calling it “medical Jim Crow.”  —  Carlson told viewers that last year …

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 …