Marine veteran dies fighting alongside Ukrainians; Widow calls him ‘hero’  —  Willy Joseph Cancel leaves behind a wife and a 7-month-old son  —  Fallen Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski remembered  —  An American citizen and Marine veteran, Willy Joseph Cancel, died fighting alongside Ukrainian forces …

Elon Musk's uneasy relationship with the left explodes over Twitter takeover  —  Musk has helped expand America's use of electric vehicles.  The left has found a lot of other things to dislike about him.  —  WASHINGTON — A climate hawk who immigrated to the U.S. in his 20s just struck …

Rating agency warns Disney debt conflict could ‘weaken’ other Florida government bonds  —  One of the nation's leading bond rating agencies warned Thursday that if the state of Florida doesn't resolve a conflict over its decision to repeal Walt Disney World's Reedy Creek Improvement District …

Republican who refuses to bend the knee to Trump surges in Ohio Senate race  —  The field of candidates chasing Ohio's GOP Senate nomination has pledged allegiance to former President Donald Trump and beaten a path to Mar-a-Lago.  —  But not Matt Dolan.  The state senator has declined to kiss the ring …

Inside the House Freedom Caucus' identity crisis  —  Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert look from the outside like MAGA twins, both loathed by Democrats for their incendiary right-wing rhetoric.  But inside the House GOP, they're not quite buddy-buddy.

The Rise and Fall of the Star White House Reporter  —  Washington reporters have long considered the role of White House correspondent to be the crown jewel of American political journalism.  It has launched high-profile television careers, scored countless reporters book deals and been bestowed …

Seven Lessons Democrats Need to Learn — Fast  —  We all make mistakes; the question is, do we learn from them?  Over the past couple of years people on the left side of the political and cultural spectrum have made their share.  These have contributed to the Democrats' extremely bleak political prospects going into the midterms.

Covid deaths no longer overwhelmingly among unvaccinated as toll on elderly grows … Unvaccinated people accounted for the overwhelming majority of deaths in the United States throughout much of the coronavirus pandemic.  But that has changed in recent months, according to a Washington Post analysis of state and federal data.

Google Introduces Prompts to Make Sure You Write Like a Leftist  —  Can Elon Musk buy Google?  —  Elon Musk has bought Twitter amid promises to make the platform more hospitable to the freedom of speech, but perhaps not coincidentally, both former president Barack Obama and never-president Hillary Clinton …

The Redpill Grifter Who Became an Anti-Ukraine Propagandist  —  And the wacko tale of his supposed murder.  —  Last week, on April 21, Scott Ritter—whom older readers might remember as a former U.N. weapons inspector turned ferocious foe of American and Western foreign policy …

Trump officials muzzled CDC on church covid guidance, emails confirm  —  The documents offer new details about how the White House delivered on the priorities of religious communities that were key to the president's base  —  Trump White House officials in May 2020 overrode public health …

A farewell from Jackie and an interview with Rep. Raskin  —  Good morning, Early Birds.  It's Friday.  Willie Nelson turns 89 today.  Tips: earlytips@washpost.com.  —  In today's edition ... Rep. Jamie Raskin discusses whether the Jan. 6 committee will seek Donald Trump's testimony …

Mandel to GOPers: Absurdity wins  —  A passage from “This Will Not Pass” shows the Ohio Senate candidate knows he's playing a game with Republican primary voters.  —  It makes it easy to read everything Jonathan Martin writes since he was such a generous colleague while we crossed paths at Politico …

Likelihood of Trump Indictment in Manhattan Fades as Grand Jury Wraps Up  —  The Manhattan district attorney is continuing to investigate Mr. Trump, but knowledgeable people say charges are unlikely to occur in the foreseeable future, if ever.  — Give this article- - - Read in app

EXCLUSIVE: ‘I would like to see a naked body beneath my hands.’ GOP Rep Madison Cawthorn is caught on video with male scheduler's hand on his crotch as new ethics complaint claims the congressman gave him thousands of dollars in loans and gifts,  — Footage obtained exclusively …

Fla. law made school book bans easier.  So one man challenged the Bible.  —  The man petitioning to ban the Bible says it is just as sexually explicit and violent as other books facing challenges  —  It was Florida's move to reject 54 math textbooks for “prohibited subjects” …

Biden blasted for policing free speech with ‘dystopian’ disinformation bureau  —  Oh, (Big) Brother!  —  President Biden came under fire Thursday for the creation of a “dystopian” disinformation bureau created under his Homeland Security department, which critics are blasting …

Georgia governor poll |  Brian Kemp vs. David Perdue & Brian Kemp vs. Stacey Abrams results  —  The poll was commissioned through SurveyUSA and conducted with likely Georgia voters from April 22-27.  —  ATLANTA — Gov. Brian Kemp is on track for reelection as Georgia's governor …

Blueprint for a coup comes into focus  —  The Jan. 6 House committee needs to connect the dots and show how democracy was imperiled.  —  The steady drip, drip, drip of e-mails and tapes before, during, and after the Jan. 6 insurrection may look like the usual Washington, D.C. …

White House continues mixed COVID-19 messages ahead of correspondents' dinner  —  As Washington prepares for its first White House Correspondents' Association dinner in three years, President Joe Biden's plans for the event may constitute yet another bout of mixed messaging when it comes to COVID-19.

Oil Middlemen Fueled Putin's War Machine.  Now They're Getting Out.  —  Russia relies on exporters like discreet Swiss firm Trafigura to sell its crude supply, but Ukraine invasion tested even their legendary tolerance for risk  —  Russia built a self-proclaimed fortress around its economy in the run-up to war—but there was a crack.

Meet the Sneakiest Defenders of Putin's Invasion of Ukraine  —  COUNTING THE COST … Propaganda peddlers rake in cash and followers at the expense of the truth and oppressed people in Ukraine, Xinjiang, and Syria.  —  Misinformation is a profitable racket.  Just ask Lee Camp.

The education culture war is raging.  But for most parents, it's background noise  —  Math textbooks axed for their treatment of race; a viral Twitter account directing ire at LGBTQ teachers; a state law forbidding classroom discussion of sexual identity in younger grades; a board book for babies targeted as “pornographic.”