POLITICO Playbook: Is Kevin McCarthy toast?  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  For years now, through controversy after controversy, House Minority Leader KEVIN MCCARTHY has bent over backward to stay in former President DONALD TRUMP's good graces, all to serve one major purpose: He wants to be speaker someday.

Exclusive: Madison Cawthorn photos reveal him wearing women's lingerie in public setting  —  Photographs obtained by POLITICO appear to show Madison Cawthorn, the embattled Republican congressman from North Carolina who recently accused his GOP colleagues of inviting him to orgies, wearing lingerie in what appears to be a party setting.

Marjorie Taylor Greene testifies as part of a legal challenge to her candidacy  —  Controversial Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia on Friday defended her comments ahead of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol while testifying under oath as part of a challenge …

Ron DeSantis Aims at Disney, Hits the First Amendment  —  One of the bewildering things about being a conservative in a populist age is the sheer speed at which populists will shift their opinions, including on allegedly bedrock constitutional values, to satisfy the popular bloodlust of the moment.

End of Reedy Creek: Disney won't pay more taxes, but you will  —  ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — One of the biggest myths circulating on the internet is that the end of Reedy Creek will finally force Disney to pay its fair share of taxes, boosting the economies of Florida and the counties its resorts are located in.

A Look Inside the Textbooks That Florida Rejected  —  The state rejected dozens of math textbooks.  The New York Times reviewed 21 of them to figure out why.  — Give this article- - - Read in app  —  After the Florida Department of Education rejected dozens of math textbooks last week, the big question was, Why?

Mark Meadows was simultaneously registered to vote in three states  —  “I don't want my vote or anyone else's to be disenfranchised. ...  Do you realize how inaccurate the voter rolls are, with people just moving around? ...  Anytime you move, you'll change your driver's license …

Trump says he threatened not to defend NATO against Russia  —  Former president Donald Trump on Thursday offered his most explicit statement to date that he threatened not to defend NATO allies from attacks by Russia.  —  Appearing at an event held by the Heritage Foundation in Florida …

Prosecutor drops all charges against Pamela Moses, jailed over voting error  —  Moses, convicted last year, was granted new trial in February after Guardian revealed files that had not been given to her defense  —  A Memphis prosecutor has dropped all criminal charges against Pamela Moses …

Jan. 6 revelations will ‘blow the roof off the House,’ Rep. Jamie Raskin says  —  WASHINGTON — Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., suggested that the House Jan. 6 committee's upcoming hearings will be dramatic and include explosive revelations that the panel has been piecing together behind the scenes for months.

‘Everywhere Babies,’ a picture book celebrating infants, just got banned  —  The inspiration for the popular children's picture book “Everywhere Babies” came to author Susan Meyers more than 25 years ago, after the birth of her first grandchild.  It was around Christmas, she recalls …

White House readies for tough probes that would follow a GOP takeover  —  Facing a possible Republican capture of Congress, the White House is repositioning to beef up its legal and press operations  —  The White House is preparing for a potential barrage of Republican-led congressional …

Son of Far-Right Group Leader Charged with Child Sex Abuse  —  Richard Mack faces charges of alleged sexual abuse of a child—but his father, who heads up an anti-government sheriff's association, says the accusations are bogus.  —  The son of an anti-government group's leader is facing …

Vance surge remakes Ohio Senate race  —  INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — He was lagging in the polls.  His cash was running low.  With the state's primary fast approaching, J.D. Vance's chances of winning the Ohio GOP Senate nomination didn't look promising.  —  But his fortunes have changed dramatically …

Why is Biden polling so poorly on Ukraine?  —  Most Americans, particularly most Republicans, disapprove of President Joe Biden's handling of Ukraine, according to recent polls.  In a poll in late March, only 36% said Biden was doing a good job specifically on Ukraine.

Community Input Is Bad, Actually  —  Development projects in the United States are subject to a process I like to call “whoever yells the loudest and longest wins.”  Some refer to this as participatory democracy.  —  Across the country, angry residents and neighborhood associations have the power to delay …

Marine Le Pen's Far-Right French Party to Pay Nearly $13 Million to Russian Military Contractor  —  The party is paying the money to a contractor that is currently under U.S. sanctions, part of a settlement involving a previous loan from a Russian bank  —  PARIS—The far-right party …

Gun deaths were the leading killer of US children in 2020  —  Guns overtook car crashes to become the leading cause of death for US children and teenagers in 2020, new research shows.  —  Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that over 4,300 young Americans died of firearm-related injuries in 2020.

Tucker Carlson Has a Cure for Declining Virility  —  A promo for an upcoming Fox show describes a testosterone “calamity” among American men, along with an unlikely treatment.  — Give this article- - - Read in app  —  Are you a man worried about your testosterone levels?  Hoping to give them a boost?

Exxon Ban on LGBTQ Pride Flag Triggers Employee Backlash  —  Exxon Mobil Corp. plans to prohibit the LGBTQ-rights flag from being flown outside its offices during Pride month in June, prompting a furious backlash from Houston-based employees.  —  Exxon updated company guidance on what flags …

Dear Taylor Lorenz, Brian Stelter, and the Rest of the Press— why not show the videos?  —  Taylor Lorenz is a reporter for the Washington Post who wrote a scathing piece about the lady who runs the LibsofTikTok account.  She claims the account has wrongly and falsely shaped narratives that have guided the right to act in homophobia.

‘We Build the Wall’ leaders who worked with Bannon plead guilty to fraud  —  “We Build the Wall” campaign crowd-funders Brian Kolfage and Andrew Badolato pleaded guilty Thursday for their roles in pocketing donations solicited to help build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.

Special Report: How crypto giant Binance built ties to a Russian FSB-linked agency  —  In April 2021, Russia's financial intelligence unit met in Moscow with the regional head of Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange.  The Russians wanted Binance to agree to hand over client data …