Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell On President Biden Judicial Nominees, A New “JCPOA”  —  GOP Senator Mitch McConnell joined me this morning:  —  Audio:  —  06-14hhs-mcconnell  —  Transcript:  —  HH: Joined now by an old friend of show, Senate Leader of the GOP, Mitch McConnell.

Justice official resigning amid uproar over Dems' subpoenas  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department's top national security official is resigning from his position after revelations that the department secretly seized record s from Democrats and members of the media.

Former NSA contractor Reality Winner, jailed for leaking secrets about Russian hacking, released early from prison … Reality Winner, the former National Security Agency contractor who was jailed for leaking secrets about Russian hacking, has been released early from prison, her lawyer said Monday.

North Korean defector says ‘even North Korea was not this nuts’ after attending Ivy League school  —  Yeonmi Park escaped the oppressive regime in 2007 at the age of 13  —  'America's future is as bleak as North Korea' says defector after attending Columbia

Ex-Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, now a Mainer, marched on the Capitol Jan. 6  —  The former Californian, who's been called 'Putin's favorite congressman,' confirmed he attended the march to protest the ‘stolen election’ but says he urged fellow protesters not to storm the Capitol.

The Health Benefits of Coffee  —  Drinking coffee has been linked to a reduced risk of all kinds of ailments, including Parkinson's disease, melanoma, prostate cancer, even suicide.  —  Americans sure love their coffee.  Even last spring when the pandemic shut down New York …

Schumer apologizes after using outdated term for disabled children during housing interview  —  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer apologized on Monday for using an outmoded word to refer to developmentally disabled children during a recent podcast appearance.

Greene apologizes for comparing vaccine rules to Holocaust  —  Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Monday apologized for comparing COVID-19 vaccine and mask rules to the Holocaust, declaring that “there is no comparison” between the safety measures and the genocide of six million Jews during World War II.

There's not going to be a post-presidency revelation that submarines Trump  —  There was a theory, to which I once subscribed, that former president Donald Trump's efforts to remain salient in American politics could be hobbled by what might be learned after he left office.

First on CNN: FBI warns lawmakers that QAnon ‘digital soldiers’ may become more violent  —  Washington (CNN)The FBI has warned lawmakers that online QAnon conspiracy theorists may carry out more acts of violence as they move from serving as “digital soldiers” to taking action in the real world following the January 6 US Capitol attack.

Capitol Rioter Who Raided Pelosi's Office Makes Kremlin TV Debut Ahead of Putin Summit  —  BIG DEBUT  —  In the countdown to the summit between the two presidents, pro-Kremlin TV saw it fit to interview an infamous Capitol rioter and describe him as “an American patriot.”

Diamond and Sulk: A Weekend With Mike Lindell and the MAGA Zombies  —  The phone rings and it's Mike Lindell, the MyPillow Guy, recovered cocaine addict, believer that the 2020 presidential count was 20 million off, and, apparently, a fan of 1970s AM Radio.  After saying hello and introducing myself …

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid awaiting President Reuven Rivlin for the official governing coalition earlier today.Credit: EMMANUEL DUNAND - AFP  —  In the transition of power from Benjamin Netanyahu to Naftali Bennett, Israel went from having …

California Defies Doom With No. 1 U.S. Economy  —  When misfortunes multiplied during the coronavirus pandemic, observers seized on a four-letter word signaling end of days for the largest state with one-eighth the U.S. population and 14% of its gross domestic product.

2020 was the deadliest gun violence year in decades.  So far, 2021 is worse.  —  The shootings have come at a relentless pace.  Gun violence this year has cut through celebrations and funerals, places of work and houses of worship.  It has taken lives at a grocery store and in a fast-food drive-through lane.

Gohmert Swears $5,500 ‘Donation’ to Holocaust Denier Was a Mistake  —  GOP Rep. Louie Gohmert's campaign gave $5,500 to “ministries” linked to anti-gay, anti-Semitic preacher Steve Anderson. … Rep. Louie Gohmert celebrated New Year's Eve 2020 by dropping several thousand dollars …

Arizona AG defends Maricopa vote audit against ‘hysterical’ Justice criticism  —  Arizona's attorney general today warned the Biden Justice Department to back off its criticism of the state Senate's audit of the Maricopa County 2020 vote, charging that it was giving into “hysterical” liberal Trump haters.

Lin-Manuel Miranda Addresses Lack of Afro-Latino Representation in ‘In the Heights’: ‘We Fell Short’ … “In the Heights” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda is addressing criticism of colorism in the film's Afro-Latino representation.  —  In a statement posted to Twitter, Miranda apologized …

Senate confirms Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to powerful D.C. federal appeals court  —  Washington — The Senate on Monday approved the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the federal appeals court in the District of Columbia, confirming President Biden's first nominee to the U.S. appellate courts.

Coronavirus infections dropping where people are vaccinated, rising where they are not, Post analysis finds  —  States with higher vaccination rates now have markedly fewer coronavirus cases, as infections are dropping in places where most residents have been immunized and are rising …

Barack Obama: Women have found themselves “in an impossible situation”  —  We're the only newsroom dedicated to writing about gender, politics and policy.  Subscribe to our newsletter today.  —  The 19th was recently invited to interview President Barack Obama around a series of themes tied …

Are Democrats doomed in the midterms?  Not if they can do this first.  —  The midterm elections will take place in approximately 500 days.  Which is exactly why some Democratic strategists believe it's urgent to begin executing their midterm strategy right now — nearly a year and a half in advance.

China's ‘Bat Woman,’ at the Center of a Pandemic Storm, Speaks Out  —  Shi Zhengli, a top virologist, said in a rare interview that speculation about her lab in Wuhan was baseless.  But China's habitual secrecy makes her claims hard to validate.  —  To a growing chorus of American politicians …

Leaked Chats Show Ex-Marine Wants to Make Maine Safe Space for Neo-Nazis  —  “We are white nationalist preppers.”  —  Ben Makuch  —  A neo-Nazi and ex-Marine who coordinated a national counterprotest on the anniversary of George Floyd's murder, is making plans to turn Maine into an all-white ethnostate.

Anna Paulina Luna says potential political opponents conspired to kill her  —  Luna said in the injunction that she got word of a plan against her life.  The people mentioned say it's “nonsense.”  —  Updated Just now  —  Anna Paulina Luna, a candidate for Florida's 13th Congressional District …

America's contest of nightmares isn't even close  —  America is in a contest of contending nightmares.  —  The dreams of conservatives are currently troubled by “wokeness” and critical race theory.  As with most nightmares, there is a grain of truth within such terrors.

A Covid Update  —  We have the latest on the Delta variant.  —  It's time for one of this newsletter's occasional updates on the state of the pandemic.  The brief version: The situation continues to look reassuring for anybody who is vaccinated — but has become more worrisome for anybody who is not …

Ana Navarro Defends Jeffrey Toobin's CNN Return on ‘The View’: “He Was Not Sexually Harassing Somebody, He Was Sexually Harassing Himself”  —  On today's episode of The View, the co-hosts tore into Jeffrey Toobin's return to CNN last Thursday (June 07) after he exposed himself on a New Yorker Zoom call last Fall.

Fact-checking Sen. Ron Johnson's continued efforts to mislead on Covid-19 and January 6 insurrection  —  Washington (CNN)Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson's penchant for spreading false claims and misinformation shows no signs of stopping after a week in which he touted falsehoods related …