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 to Unionize in Stunning Win for Labor  —  Despite heavy lobbying by the company, workers at the facility voted by a wide margin for a union.  It was seen as a rebuke of the company's treatment of its employees.  —  Workers at Amazon's massive warehouse …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

House passes bill decriminalizing marijuana; Senate fortunes unclear  —  The House on Friday passed legislation that would remove marijuana from the federal schedule of controlled substances, a move that comes as an increasing number of states have passed decriminalization laws.

Ukrainian helicopters strike an oil depot in Russia, an official there says.  —  A bus convoy left Mariupol, but a Red Cross team could not reach city, bombarded by Russian forces, to aid a larger evacuation.  Ukrainian helicopters carried out the first airstrike on Russian territory since the war began.

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 …

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.

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,” …

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 …

USDOT Announces New Vehicle Fuel Economy Standards for Model Year 2024-2026  —  Standards to require fleet average of 49 mpg by 2026, save consumers money, and advance U.S. energy independence  —  WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration …

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 …

Russian Strategy in Ukraine Shifts After Setbacks, and a Lengthy War Looms  —  Moscow's new focus on Donbas and retreats from Kyiv set the stage for a protracted war of attrition  —  Russia's war on Ukraine shifted gears this week, as Moscow, lacking the strength to pursue rapid offensives …