Maggie Haberman Is Right  —  Donald Trump really does believe that he, along with two former GOP senators, will be ‘reinstated’ to office this summer.  —  WORLD  —  Were Wuhan Lab-Inquiry Opponents Worried about Provoking China?  —  By JIMMY QUINN June 3, 2021

The Lab-Leak Theory: Inside the Fight to Uncover COVID-19's Origins  —  Throughout 2020, the notion that the novel coronavirus leaked from a lab was off-limits.  Those who dared to push for transparency say toxic politics and hidden agendas kept us in the dark.  —  I. A Group Called DRASTIC

Biden offers major change to tax proposal in effort to secure infrastructure deal with Republicans  —  Instead of raising corporate tax rates to 28 percent, Biden has offered to create a new tax floor of 15 percent for businesses that pay very little.  —  President Biden signaled …

FBI investigating Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in connection with past political fundraising  —  The FBI is investigating Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in connection with campaign fundraising activity involving his former business, according to people familiar with the matter and a spokesman for DeJoy.

As a vet spoke about Memorial Day's roots in Black history, his mic was cut.  It was no accident.  —  Retired Army Lt. Col. Barnard Kemter was midway through his speech at a Memorial Day ceremony in an Ohio cemetery when he started discussing the role that freed Black enslaved people played in an early event honoring Civil War dead.

Donald Trump is getting worse  —  (CNN)The evidence is everywhere.  —  CNN's Dana Bash reported Thursday morning that former President Donald Trump is “more obsessed than ever with the 2020 election,” with one former Trump aide telling her that the former President is only listening to …

A Former Treasury Official Was Sentenced To 6 Months In Prison For Giving Documents To BuzzFeed News  —  A former Treasury Department official was sentenced to six months in prison on Thursday after she admitted to providing highly confidential banking documents to a BuzzFeed News reporter.

COVID-19 cases hit lowest point in U.S. since pandemic began  —  The U.S. has brought new coronavirus infections down to the lowest level since March 2020, when the pandemic began.  —  The big picture: Nearly every week for the past 56 weeks, Axios has tracked the change — more often than not …

Memorandum on Establishing the Fight Against Corruption as a Core United States National Security Interest … Section 1.  Policy.  Corruption corrodes public trust; hobbles effective governance; distorts markets and equitable access to services; undercuts development efforts …

Facebook to end special treatment for politicians after Trump ban  —  Going forward politicians will be treated more like everyone else  —  Facebook plans to end its controversial policy that shields politicians from the content moderation rules that apply to other users …

What Happens When Doctors Can't Tell the Truth?  —  I always thought that if you lived through a revolution it would be obvious to everyone.  As it turns out, that's not true.  Revolutions can be bloodless, incremental and subtle.  And they don't require a strongman.

Watch What's Happening in Red States  —  It's not just voting rights.  —  Though this year's proliferation of bills restricting ballot access in red states has commanded national attention, it represents just one stream in a torrent of conservative legislation poised to remake the country.

Column: He helped make Ronald Reagan president.  Now he's had it with the Republican Party  —  Recently, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library launched a lecture series entitled “Time for Choosing,” a name consciously echoing the famous 1964 speech that launched Reagan's political career and put him on a path to the White House.

F. Lee Bailey, Lawyer for Patty Hearst and O.J. Simpson, Dies at 87  —  With theatrical courtroom flair, he was involved in a host of notorious criminal cases, including those of the Boston Strangler and a Vietnam War massacre.  —  F. Lee Bailey, the theatrical criminal lawyer who invited juries …

Biden privately called Lawrence Summers, a critic of White House agenda, to discuss economy  —  President Biden recently called former Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers, a Democrat who has been openly critical of his economic agenda, to acknowledge Summers's concerns and ask him to explain …

Federal prosecutors looking into whether Gaetz obstructed justice  —  MIAMI — Federal prosecutors are examining whether Rep. Matt Gaetz obstructed justice during a phone call he had with a witness in the sex-crimes investigation of the Florida congressman, according to two sources familiar with the case.

Sources: Dem lobbying firm under federal investigation for Burisma work  —  The Justice Department is investigating the work of a consulting firm linked to the president's son for potential illegal lobbying, four people familiar with the probe told POLITICO.

POLITICO Playbook: SCOOP: What Biden told Capito in their Oval Office meeting  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  A seemingly sleepy post-Memorial Day week turned surprisingly newsy late Wednesday into this morning.  Here's what you need to know to understand the three big storylines overnight:  —  INFRASTRUCTURE

Germany faced its horrible past. … Shortly after the National Museum of African American History and Culture opened in 2016 on the National Mall, I was speaking to some patrons of a successful nonprofit about the importance of candid racial dialogue in politics and in the places we live, work and worship.

Supreme Court narrows scope of sweeping cybercrime law  —  The Supreme Court has sharply curtailed the scope of the nation's main cybercrime law, limiting a tool that civil liberties advocates say federal prosecutors have abused by seeking prison time for minor computer misdeeds.

Boehner: GOP push to enact voting restrictions will undermine people's confidence in the electoral process  —  Boehner of GOP election laws: Partisan efforts undermine voter confidence  —  Washington (CNN)Former Republican House Speaker John Boehner on Thursday criticized his party …

Exclusive: U.S. to give ransomware hacks similar priority as terrorism  —  The U.S. Department of Justice is elevating investigations of ransomware attacks to a similar priority as terrorism in the wake of the Colonial Pipeline hack and mounting damage caused by cyber criminals, a senior department official told Reuters.

“Tell Me Something to Do Better and I'll Shut Up”: Ben Crump Is Making His Presence Felt in Biden's Washington  —  The lawyer for George Floyd's family has the president's ear and cable networks on speed dial.  With his star rising, some activists question if Crump's grabbing the spotlight to combat police violence—or for himself.

The Miseducation of White Children  —  The attacks on critical race theory are just another attempt to prevent this country from reckoning with its racist past and present—by keeping white kids ignorant.  —  President Joe Biden went to Tulsa, Oklahoma this week to honor the victims of the 1921 massacre on …

Candidate interrupted by sex toy on drone, punched at event  —  ALBUQUERQUE, N.M (AP) — A New Mexico sheriff who is running for mayor of Albuquerque was interrupted while on stage at a campaign event by a flying drone with a sex toy attached to it and a man who punched him.

Federal Investigators Eye Rudy Giuliani's Security Firm as Probe Ramps Up  —  their probe into Rudy Giuliani, investigators have homed in on Giuliani Security & Safety, a consulting firm that has done business with various governments and organizations around the world, according to two people briefed …