CNN Probe Eyes Jeff Zucker's Ties to Andrew Cuomo  —  The ongoing investigation, which exposed an affair that led to Zucker's abrupt resignation yesterday, has expanded to include possible improprieties during Cuomo's tenure as governor of New York, sources tell Rolling Stone

U.S. Exposes What It Says Is Russian Effort to Fabricate Pretext for Invasion  —  Officials said Russia was planning a fake video showing an attack by Ukrainians on Russian territory or Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine.  —  WASHINGTON — The United States has acquired intelligence …

Zuckerberg Tells Staff to Focus on Video Products as Meta's Stock Plunges  —  Mark Zuckerberg quipped that if he started to cry, it wasn't because of the day's news.  —  His red, teary eyes were the result of a scratched cornea, the Facebook founder said Thursday, attempting to lighten …

White House on Ukraine and Syria: If you don't trust us, then f-k you  —  Well, okay then.  —  If it's starting to feel like March 2003, that's because President Joe Biden's administration is definitely taking an “either you are with us or with the terrorists” vibe.

Kim Reynolds ending COVID disaster declaration, shutting down vaccination and case count websites … Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Thursday that she will soon end public health disaster proclamations that Iowa has operated under since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic nearly two years ago.

NBC Opens Olympics With ‘Worst Hand Imaginable’  —  John Koblin has covered the media industry for more than a decade.  —  Last year, NBC Sports executives called the Tokyo Olympics their most challenging undertaking ever.  —  Now that experience is starting to look like a cakewalk.

Sarah Palin's lawyers admit ‘uphill’ fight in libel suit against New York Times  —  NEW YORK — Attorneys for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin opened her libel case over a New York Times editorial here Thursday by acknowledging one thing that may have doomed her lawsuit from the beginning …

QAnon Flags Fly Onscreen After Fox News Describes Anti-Vax Truckers as ‘Mainstream’  —  This isn't the first time that Fox News has—knowingly or unknowingly—boosted the bonkers far-right conspiracy theory.  —  Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner on Thursday teed up a segment on the Canadian …

Senators close in on ‘mother of all sanctions’ bill against Russia  —  Differences remain about what should be the appropriate triggers.  —  A bipartisan group of senators is within striking distance of a deal on a bill that would impose crippling sanctions on Russia for its hostilities against Ukraine.

The IRS is working with a startup called ID.me that stores the ‘inferred citizenship’ of some users.  That creates a huge new pool of personal data for police and other authorities to tap into.  — The IRS could soon require anyone logging into IRS.gov to use ID.me to verify their identity.

A Jewish Teacher Criticized Israel.  She Was Fired.  —  Jessie Sander had just started a job at a synagogue in Scarsdale.  But then a blog post she had written was found.  —  Last summer, Jessie Sander had been on the job at a Jewish school in Westchester County for less than a month …

Memo circulated among Trump allies advocated using NSA data in attempt to prove stolen election  —  The proposal to seize and analyze “NSA unprocessed raw signals data” raises legal and ethical concerns that set it apart from other attempts that have come to light.

The Black woman sentenced to six years in prison over a voting error  —  Pamela Moses was sentenced to six years in prison for trying to register despite a felony conviction but officials admitted making a series of mistakes  —  For the last few months, I've been following the case of Pamela Moses …

Biden in NYC: ‘The answer is not to defund the police’  —  President Biden on Thursday said he is against defunding the police while promoting the administration's efforts to curb gun violence in New York City.  —  “Mayor Adams, you and I agree, the answer is not to abandon our streets …

Pence aides decline to talk about direct conversations with Trump even as they answer other questions  —  (CNN)Top aides to Vice President Mike Pence did not discuss direct conversations with former President Donald Trump over several hours of questioning in recent interviews …

EXCLUSIVE iPhone flaw exploited by second Israeli spy firm-sources … A flaw in Apple's software exploited by Israeli surveillance firm NSO Group to break into iPhones in 2021 was simultaneously abused by a competing company, according to five people familiar with the matter.

Florida Gov. DeSantis won't condemn Nazi rally in Orlando  —  DeSantis claimed those asking him to condemn the Nazis tried to “use this as some type of political issue.”  —  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has refused to condemn a Nazi rally that took place in Orlando over the weekend …

Whoopi Goldberg's American Idea of Race  —  It made sense, to the New York Daily News sports editor, that these guys dominated basketball.  After all, “the game places a premium on an alert, scheming mind and flashy trickiness, artful dodging and general smartalecness,” not to mention their “God-given better balance and speed.”

When the Pope Hits Your Eye Like a Big Pizza Pie, That's Ahmari  —  From neoconservatism to integralist cosplay to active worship of China and Russia, the ‘post-liberal’ right has had a giddy five years  —  I first met Sohrab Ahmari, one of the most influential and controversial writers …

Why Voter Suppression Probably Won't Work  —  Voting procedures, turnout, and vote margins in the 2020 election  —  KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE  — In the aftermath of the high-turnout 2020 election, many Republican-controlled state governments have passed legislation that Democrats believe will harm their party's voter turnout.

Spotify CEO defends Joe Rogan deal in tense company town hall  —  He says Spotify is a platform for Rogan, but publisher for Gimlet  —  Spotify CEO Daniel Ek addressed employees about the Joe Rogan controversy in a 15-minute speech yesterday, of which The Verge obtained audio …

South Dakota governor signs 2022's first trans athlete ban into law  —  South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem signed a bill Thursday that bans transgender girls and women from playing on female sports teams, making the state the first this year — and the 10th nationwide — to enact such a bill into law.