Trump Administration Secretly Seized Phone Records of Times Reporters  —  The admission by the Biden Justice Department followed similar recent disclosures to The Washington Post and CNN.  —  WASHINGTON — The Trump Justice Department secretly seized the phone records of four …

Law Student Who Made Fun of the Federalist Society Will Be Allowed to Graduate After All  —  Update, 9: 30 p.m.: Stanford has concluded that Nicholas Wallace engaged in protected speech, dropped its investigation, and lifted the hold on his diploma.  Wallace has confirmed that he will be allowed to graduate.

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.

Ellie Kemper and Twitter's Two Minutes Hate  —  Twitter's sidebar points to people who have been declared fair game for punching and the mob gleefully piles on  —  If you've spent any time in the land of online controversies this week, you may have heard that Ellie Kemper …

Biden calls out Sinema, Manchin for voting ‘more with Republicans’  —  President Biden zinged Democratic Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin during a speech Tuesday — insinuating that they align themselves more with Republicans than their own party — while calling for Congress to take action on legislation to protect voting rights.

Trump has grown increasingly consumed with ballot audits as he pushes falsehood that election was stolen  —  Former president Donald Trump remains relentlessly focused on the false claim that the November election was stolen from him and is increasingly consumed with the notion …

Lake Highlands High Valedictorian Pulls Switcheroo on Commencement Speech  —  You know the drill.  Every valedictorian has to get her speech approved before she delivers it at commencement.  You can't let high school kids — even really smart, hardworking, responsible kids — just get up and say whatever they want to say.

NFL pledges to halt ‘race-norming,’ review Black claims  —  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The NFL on Wednesday pledged to halt the use of “race-norming” — which assumed Black players started out with lower cognitive function — in the $1 billion settlement of brain injury claims and review past scores for any potential race bias.

Israeli opposition forms government in deal that could end Netanyahu's career  —  Israeli opposition leaders have brokered a power-sharing agreement that will allow them to form a government and drive Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from power, one of the top coalition members announced.

What Did Fauci Tell Trump About Wuhan?  —  Newly disclosed emails about the possibility of a laboratory origin for the pandemic.  —  Highly skilled in the ways of Washington, Dr. Anthony Fauci persuaded a reluctant President Donald Trump to endorse shutting down much of the U.S. economy in the spring of 2020.

Rep. Mo Brooks is avoiding an insurrection lawsuit.  Rep. Eric Swalwell hired a private investigator to find him.  —  (CNN)Republican Rep. Mo Brooks is avoiding a lawsuit from his Democratic colleague Rep. Eric Swalwell that seeks to hold him accountable for the January 6 Capitol insurrection …

Republican senators' failure to investigate Jan. 6 is worse than their impeachment performance  —  Republican senators have managed to outdo themselves in cowardice — which is quite a feat.  —  Last week's Senate vote blocking a national commission to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection …

Murderer Cop Derek Chauvin Begs for Light Sentence, Citing ‘Broken System’  —  SOME NERVE  —  Derek Chauvin, the white former Minneapolis police officer convicted of the murder of George Floyd, has requested a judge reduce his sentence to time served or probation.

MyPillow Guy Says He ‘Probably’ Inspired Trump's Idea of an August Restoration  —  “If Trump is saying August, that is probably because he heard me say it,” Lindell told The Daily Beast. … Donald Trump now has the notion in his head that he could return to the White House in August.

Tucker Carlson, data wizard  —  Fox News host Tucker Carlson has a job in which he can say absolutely anything he wants, so he does: Last month, he misused federal health data to stir up fears that coronavirus vaccines kill in possibly shocking numbers.  Then, on Tuesday night …

NASA is going back to Venus  —  NASA has chosen two new missions to unlock the mysteries of Earth's evil twin: Venus.  —  Why it matters: This marks the first time the space agency will send dedicated missions to the cloudy planet in more than 30 years.  —  What's happening …

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.

Veteran's microphone cut off when he discusses Blacks' role in establishing Memorial Day  —  Event organizer turned down sound for part of speech; Speaker says he was censored by Hudson American Legion  —  HUDSON — What at first blush appeared to be a short audio malfunction at Monday's Memorial …

The Fake History of the Filibuster Won't Die Senators keep repeating a made-up origin story.  —  Advocates of the Senate filibuster can be proud of one thing.  They have successfully carried out an extraordinarily effective propaganda campaign.  They have convinced much of the country …

RNC threatens Republicans will boycott 2024 presidential debates unless changes are made … WASHINGTON — The next presidential election is almost three and a half years away, and Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel is already warning that her party's nominee may not participate in debates.

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.

Judge rules against Noem in fireworks lawsuit; Noem vows to appeal for 2022  —  SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A federal court has ruled there will be no Fourth of July fireworks at Mount Rushmore.  —  Judge Roberto A. Lange said today in the ruling that while fireworks on July 3 “at first blush” …

‘In every single way, we are trying to make it easy,’ says CDC Director  —  CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky talks with Chris Hayes about getting more Americans vaccinated, following President Biden's goal to vaccinate 70% of Americans by the Fourth of July.

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.

Pence Heads Back To New Hampshire, Sparks Flurry of 2024 Speculation  —  Former Vice President Mike Pence is coming to the First in the Nation Primary state Thursday night for the first time since the 2020 presidential campaign.  Pence's speech to the Hillsborough County GOP's annual Lincoln …

The New Domestic War on Terror Has Already Begun — Even Without the New Laws Biden Wants  —  Homeland Security just issued its fourth danger bulletin this year.  And both the weapons and rhetorical tactics of the first War on Terror are increasingly visible.  —  6 hr ago

Google Diversity Chief Offers Private Apology for Anti-Semitic Remarks As Company Remains Silent  —  Google's global diversity leader apologized privately on Tuesday night to the company's Jewish employees for a blog post in which he argued that Jews have an “insatiable appetite for war,” …

Tampa man pleads guilty to felony in Jan. 6 Capitol riot; his recommended prison sentence could set bar for other cases  —  A Tampa man who carried a Trump flag into the well of the Senate on Jan. 6 pleaded guilty Wednesday to one felony count of storming the Capitol to obstruct Congress's certification …

Taxpayers to foot mounting legal bills over Cuomo probes  —  ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Taxpayers are set to foot the bill for a $2.5 million contract for lawyers representing Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office in an ongoing federal investigation over his administration's handling of COVID-19 data in nursing homes, the governor said Wednesday.

The Utterly Embarrassing Failure to Quickly Send Extra U.S. Vaccine Doses Overseas  —  President Biden, speaking at the White House, May 4:  —  We've already committed to work to send 60 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to other countries, starting this month and into June.