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 his 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.

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

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

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.

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.

Why the Manhattan District Attorney Should Have Trump Worried  —  Donald Trump's case won't be Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance's first high-profile prosecution.  —  On May 25, the day after Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. announced that he had convened a criminal grand jury …

A Law Student Mocked the Federalist Society.  It Jeopardized His Graduation.  —  The Stanford student sent a satirical flier that drew a complaint from the conservative group.  The university then placed a hold on his diploma.  —  It was the final day of classes at Stanford Law School …

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.

Live chat  —  Updates about tonight's races in New Jersey  —  🌖Our chat has ended, but you can still read it back.  —  Reporter and author of New Jersey Playbook  —  The other really big race in New Jersey is freshman Rep. Tom Malinowski's reelection against Republican Tom Kean Jr. …

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 …

Armed Low-Cost Drones, Made by Turkey, Reshape Battlefields and Geopolitics  —  Missile-equipped drones built with affordable digital technology helped turn the tide against Russian-backed forces in Syria, Libya and Azerbaijan  —  A soldier idles by a Russian-made T-72 tank.

Wage Growth Is Holding Up in Aftermath of the Economic Crash  —  The pay increases are giving Democrats a bragging point.  But it comes with risks: Gains could fade, or spark quicker price inflation.  —  When millions of workers were getting layoff notices last spring, Sharon McCown got something different: a raise.