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 …

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.

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 …

NIH Director: We Need an Investigation Into the Wuhan Lab-Leak Theory  —  As Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health, recounted the moment, his eyes welled with tears.  —  A few months before, he and his colleague Anthony Fauci had confided in each other their hopes for a COVID-19 vaccine.

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.

Republicans say they'll tweak part of Texas elections bill criticized for impact on Black churchgoers  —  The provision deals with the window for early voting on Sundays, and the current version of the bill raised concerns that it would hinder get-out-the-vote efforts by Black churches.  —  Copy link

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.

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.

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 …

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.

Observers of Arizona's GOP-led election audit document security breaches, prohibited items on counting floor  —  Observers of Arizona's Republican-led recount have found security gates left open, confidential manuals left unattended and quality-control measures disregarded, according to the Arizona secretary of state's office.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Quiz: How Well Do You Understand Today's Crime Trends?  —  Crime has emerged as a significant issue in the U.S. during the pandemic.  But context can be lost amid the headlines and partisan claims.  How well can you separate fact from fiction on this topic?  —  1 of 12

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 …

Amazon US customers have one week to opt out of mass wireless sharing  —  Critics raise transparency fears over plan to turn all smart home devices into ‘mesh network’  —  Amazon customers have one week to opt out of a plan that would turn every Echo speaker and Ring security camera in the US …

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 …

Biden to announce ‘National Month of Action’ — that could include free beer — to get more Americans vaccinated by July 4  —  (CNN)President Joe Biden on Wednesday will announce a “National Month of Action” and outline additional steps his administration is taking to get 70% of US adults …

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.

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.

Buckingham Palace banned ethnic minorities from office roles, papers reveal  —  Exclusive: Documents also shed light on Queen's ongoing exemption from race and sex discrimination laws  —  he Queen's courtiers banned “coloured immigrants or foreigners” from serving in clerical roles …

Leading money-in-politics data nonprofits merge to form OpenSecrets, a state-of-the-art democratic accountability organization  —  For Immediate Release: Contact: [email protected]  —  Center for Responsive Politics and National Institute on Money in Politics launch combined organization to integrate federal, state and local data

Senate chamber trespasser pleads guilty and faces more than a year in prison  —  (CNN)A man who wore goggles and carried a Trump flag into the Senate chamber on January 6 as the US Capitol was overrun with rioters became the second riot defendant to plead guilty on Wednesday …

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 …

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.”

Where Are They Now?  Flynn, Other Trump Alums Keep MAGA Hopes Alive  —  Michael Flynn, a onetime national security adviser to former President Donald Trump, was videotaped in Texas over the weekend pushing talking points of the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory and also seeming to endorse …