Scoop: Jen Psaki planning to leave White House this spring for MSNBC gig  —  White House press secretary Jen Psaki is in exclusive talks with MSNBC to join the network after she leaves the White House around May, according to a source close to the matter.

Amazon workers on Staten Island vote for company's first unionized warehouse in U.S.  — Amazon workers at a Staten Island warehouse voted Friday to join a union, the first time that's happened at one of the company's U.S. facilities.  — The outcome represents a landmark win for organized labor …

GOP Senate candidate Herschel Walker has been overstating his academic achievements for years  —  (CNN)For years, Herschel Walker has told the same inspiring story: that he graduated in the top 1% of his class at the University of Georgia.  He's told the story, according to a review …

Peter Baker, Susan Glasser to publish sweeping history of Trump presidency  —  Peter Baker and Susan Glasser will be out Sept. 20 with a sweeping history of the Trump presidency, “The Divider,” billed as “an ambitious first cut at this historical moment.”  —  The backdrop: Baker …

Inside Ginni Thomas' ‘Insane’ Hiring Memos for Trump  —  Ginni Thomas' suggested hires included known bigots and at least one suspected foreign spy, sources say.  —  Years before she became one of then-President Donald Trump's most prominent coup supporters, Ginni Thomas was already notorious …

A New Video Shows a Missing American Hostage Pleading for Help in Taliban Custody  —  Senator Tammy Duckworth called for the Biden Administration to free an Afghan drug trafficker in exchange for the release of the American engineer Mark Frerichs, who was kidnapped in Afghanistan.

Slap Happy: Who Needs Punched In The Mouth?  —  Generally speaking, I don't wish to burden you with my problems.  Just look at you, you poor bastards - you have enough of your own.  Life is hard.  And it only gets easier when you get six feet under it, which brings a whole new set of complications.

Gerard Depardieu: Kremlin responds to actor's Putin criticism  —  The Kremlin has hit back after French actor Gerard Depardieu accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of “crazy, unacceptable excesses” in Ukraine.  —  Depardieu said the Russian people were not responsible for their president's behaviour.

U.S. economy adds 431,000 jobs in March … The national unemployment rate fell to a pandemic low of 3.6 percent in March, as employers added 431,000 jobs, further bolstering the most rapid labor market rebound on record.  —  Average hourly wages for private-sector workers …

The Russian Federation's Ongoing Aggression Against Ukraine  —  As delivered by Ambassador Michael Carpenter  —  Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I thank Governor Kim as well for his remarks.  I join the Chair in expressing my condolences for all those who have been needlessly killed by Russia's war of choice.

Ukraine war: Gruesome evidence points to war crimes on road outside Kyiv  —  Footage of Russian troops shooting a man with his hands up on a highway outside Kyiv at the beginning of March was shared around the world.  Now the Russians have been pushed out of the area and the BBC's Jeremy Bowen …

The Last Defense of DeSantis's Anti-Vaccine Campaign Goes Poof … This week, Chris Persaud of the Palm Beach Post reported out a devastating revelation about the impact of Ron DeSantis's war on vaccines.  The story has received barely any attention in the national press …

‘A cry for help’: CDC warns of a steep decline in teen mental health … The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning of an accelerating mental health crisis among adolescents, with more than 4 in 10 teens reporting that they feel “persistently sad or hopeless,” …

At a Pivotal Moment, Democrats Failed to Modernize Elections … Throughout 2020, as then-President Donald Trump issued baseless claims of voter fraud, local election officials called on the federal government to spend more to ensure a secure election season.

Russia's War Lacks a Battlefield Commander, U.S. Officials Say  —  WASHINGTON — Russia is running its military campaign against Ukraine out of Moscow, with no central war commander on the ground to call the shots, according to American officials who have studied the five-week-old war.

Support for 15-Week Abortion Ban Outweighs Opposition, WSJ Poll Finds  —  Majority think abortion should be legal in most cases, but many back 15-week ban being considered by Supreme Court  —  WASHINGTON—More American voters favor the idea of a 15-week abortion ban than oppose it …

House votes to decriminalize marijuana at federal level  —  Bill passes 220-204, with three Republicans voting yes and two Democrats voting no  —  House voting on bill to decriminalize marijuana  —  The U.S. House of Representatives voted Friday to decriminalize possession of marijuana on the federal level.

100 year-old National Park Service Ranger Betty Reid Soskin retires after remarkable career  —  WASHINGTON - Betty Reid Soskin, the National Park Service's (NPS) oldest active ranger, retired today after a decade and a half of sharing her personal experiences and the efforts of women …

Ron DeSantis signals support for stripping Disney of special self-governing status as feud escalates  —  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday signaled support for stripping Disney of its 55-year-old special status that allows the entertainment company to operate as an independent government around its Orlando-area theme park.

How Disney fell flat in fight over LGBTQ talk in Florida's schools … Disney employs 38 lobbyists to press its interests inside Florida's state capitol complex in Tallahassee.  With its Orlando theme park empire and roughly 80,000 workers, the company already wields considerable influence in a state closely tied to tourism.