The Shadow Crew Who Encouraged Elon Musk's Twitter Takeover  —  Behind the scenes, fellow billionaires and internet provocateurs bent Tesla CEO's ear; Jack Dorsey's role  —  Elon Musk unveils the Tesla Model Y in 2019.  —  As Elon Musk's crusade against Twitter Inc. TWTR -0.20%▼ …

CNN Exclusive: New text messages reveal Fox's Hannity advising Trump White House and seeking direction  —  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 …

Member of Georgia Chapter of Oath Keepers Pleads Guilty to Seditious Conspiracy and Obstruction of Congress for Efforts to Stop Transfer of Power Following 2020 Presidential Election  —  Defendant Participated in Plot to Use Force to Oppose Execution of U.S. Laws, Including the Attack on the Capitol During the Certification Proceeding

Trump loses bid to lift contempt charge despite swearing he can't find subpoenaed documents  — A New York judge kept a contempt of court finding in place against former President Donald Trump in place despite new affidavits from Trump and his lawyers.  — Those affidavits effectively argue …

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 …

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.

Biden Eyes Targeted Student-Loan Forgiveness Starting at $10,000  —  The White House is considering forgiving at least $10,000 in student loans per borrower through executive action, according to people familiar with the matter, with momentum increasing as President Joe Biden seeks ways …

Why Republican Insurgents Are Struggling to Topple G.O.P. Governors  —  Republicans in several states are trying to oust conservative governors by harnessing anti-establishment energy.  But in battles for a state's top job, it's hard to beat the establishment.

What The New Yorker Didn't Say About a Famous Writer's Anti-Semitism  —  Whatever your views on “cancel culture,” one thing is certain: Search-and-rescue missions on behalf of the disappeared can take strange forms.  Witness a 2020 New Yorker essay that was published online under the title “How Racist Was Flannery O'Connor?”

NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist National Poll: The 2022 Midterms & Biden's Job Performance, April 2022  —  GOP Advantage in Congressional Mids... Democrats Weak on Key Issues  —  With the 2022 Congressional Midterm Elections a little more than six months away, U.S. registered voters give Republicans …

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.

Started Out as a Fish.  How Did It End Up Like This?  —  A meme about the transitional fossil Tiktaalik argues that although we did emerge from the sea, we aren't doing just fine.  —  It may not be the worst of times, but it is certainly not the best of times.  The pandemic has no end in sight.

FBI Conducted Potentially Millions of Searches of Americans' Data Last Year, Report Says  —  Searches in national-security investigations came without warrants, could stoke privacy concerns in Congress  —  WASHINGTON—The Federal Bureau of Investigation performed potentially millions …

The uproar over Homeland Security's Disinformation Governance Board  —  The Department of Homeland Security's creation of a Disinformation Governance Board has set off a backlash on the right — even as it's not entirely clear what the perhaps unfortunately named board will do.

Anonymous Donor Drops $1 Million in Bitcoin on Alex Jones  —  An unidentified person donated over 1 million U.S. dollars in Bitcoin to an address advertised on the conspiracy website Infowars on April 23, Hatewatch found, potentially buoying the finances of embattled extremist Alex Jones.

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.

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.

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 …

Former CDC chief says Trump appointees blocked his agency from briefing public on COVID-19  —  A new report revealed accusations of political interference against HHS.  —  In closed-door testimony to House investigators released on Friday, Dr. Bob Redfield, former head of the Centers …

FEC tosses case against progressive news network  —  The Federal Election Commission has unanimously rejected allegations that a network of progressive news sites had operated as a de facto Democratic political outfit, Axios has learned. … - Inside the FEC, there's debate about going even further.

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 …

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.

Ben and Justin Prepare to Announce Their Next Announcement  —  Media's most anticipated start-up is gunning for a launch in Q4, and the money bag is in sight.  Semafor's plans, at least the initial ones, are coming into view.  And they'll start not globally, but in Washington.