Musk told banks he will rein in Twitter pay, make money from tweets -sources  —  Elon Musk told banks that agreed to help fund his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) that he could crack down on executive and board pay at the social media company in a push to slash costs …

Ukraine war: Rockets hit Kyiv as UN chief admits failings  —  Rockets hit Kyiv during the UN Secretary General's visit to the city, in which he criticised his own organisation's Security Council.  —  Antonio Guterres said the council had failed to prevent or end the war in Ukraine.

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.

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 …

Cracks emerge in Russian elite as tycoons start to bemoan invasion  —  Oligarchs and financial officials are alarmed over the economic toll it's taking and feel powerless to influence Putin  —  In the two months since Russia invaded Ukraine, the silence — and even acquiescence — of the Russian elite has started to fray.

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. …

CNN Exclusive: New text messages reveal Fox's Hannity advising Trump White House and seeking direction  —  Washington (CNN)Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Fox's Sean Hannity exchanged more than 80 text messages between Election Day 2020 and Joe Biden's January 2021 inauguration …

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

Volodymyr Zelensky refused to be evacuated from Kyiv as Russian hitmen parachuted into capital  —  The Ukrainian President also made a secret visit to the front line, according to the account  —  Volodymyr Zelensky refused to be evacuated from his compound in Kyiv even as Russian assassination …

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.

California promised to close its last nuclear plant.  Now Newsom is reconsidering  —  With the threat of power shortages looming and the climate crisis worsening, Gov. Gavin Newsom may attempt to delay the long-planned closure of California's largest electricity source: the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant.

A frustrated Joe Biden will go on the attack against Republicans in the midterms — and into 2024  —  (CNN)President Joe Biden has been letting loose in private conversations in recent weeks, railing about the factors bogging down his approval ratings and the people he thinks aren't helping …

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 …

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.

Disney Dispute Reflects Wider Rift Between Republicans, Big Companies  —  As executives speak out on political and cultural issues, some Republicans draw a sharper line—and lean less on corporate donors  —  The fight between Walt Disney Co. and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is the latest sign …

She told her Christian college she was raped.  Then she was banned from campus.  —  When Mara Louk told an administrator at Visible Music College, where she was a senior, that a male classmate had choked and raped her last November, she expected that school officials would help her file a police report and arrange a safety plan.

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 …

Americans do not support politicians punishing firms for their views, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds  —  A bipartisan majority of U.S. voters oppose politicians punishing companies over their stances on social issues, a cold reception for campaigns like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' against Walt Disney Co (DIS.N), a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

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 …

Biden 'may have saved Trevor's life': Former Marine's family speaks out  —  Reed, a former Texas Marine, was released this week from a Russian prison.  —  Trevor Reed's family said President Joe Biden may have saved their son's life, doing everything he could to bring Reed home …

Putin Really May Break the Nuclear Taboo in Ukraine  —  It seems unthinkable, but American leaders' failure to think about it heightens the risk it will happen.  —  1x  —  Sometimes a thing keeps nagging around your brain and though you've said it before you have to say it again.

Ohio lawmaker calls pregnancies from rape an ‘opportunity’ for victims  —  An Ohio lawmaker proposing a near-total abortion ban was given a hypothetical: A 13-year-old girl is raped and becomes pregnant as a result.  Would the Republican's bill force that teenager to have her rapist's baby?

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” …

What The New Yorker Didn't Say About a Famous Writer's Anti-Semitism  —  Why are Alice Walker's vile beliefs about Jews treated so gently?  —  About the author: Caitlin Flanagan is a staff writer at The Atlantic.  She is the author of Girl Land and To Hell With All That.