'He's Not OK': The Entirely Predictable Unraveling of Madison Cawthorn  —  HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. — In August of 2015, 16 months after the accident that nearly killed him and left him unable to walk, Madison Cawthorn exchanged text messages with the friend who had fallen asleep at the wheel and careened into a concrete wall.

I Invented Gilead.  The Supreme Court Is Making It Real.  —  In the early years of the 1980s, I was fooling around with a novel that explored a future in which the United States had become disunited.  Part of it had turned into a theocratic dictatorship based on 17th-century New England Puritan religious tenets and jurisprudence.

Scoop: Trump leans toward endorsing Doug Mastriano for Pa. governor  —  Former President Trump is leaning strongly toward endorsing highly controversial Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano for governor, according to three sources familiar with his private deliberations.

Biden sees a new threat: ‘Ultra MAGA’ Republicans  —  The president has taken to using the term to warn of Republican extremism.  Some Trump followers have embraced it.  —  Last Wednesday, during a speech on the economy, President Biden coined a new phrase — “ultra MAGA.”

Formula shortage reveals GOP's compassion for American babies, anger over nourished immigrant ones  —  Cearly these Republicans are addressing the baby-formula shortage through the scriptural philosophy of: “All lives are precious, except these little immigrant whiners over here.  They can pound sand.”

Jen Psaki leaves the White House after holding 224 briefings — more than all of Trump's press secretaries combined  — Jen Psaki leaves the White House having held more press briefings than all of her Trump predecessors combined.  — An expert on White House communications said this illustrates …

ERCOT urges Texans to cut back on power usage over weekend  —  The operator of the state's electricity grid is asking Texans to conserve power this weekend, after six generation plants went offline Friday amid unseasonably hot weather.  —  Thermostats should be set to 78 degrees or higher …

DeSantis picks Cord Byrd as secretary of state, husband of QAnon, Capitol riot supporter  —  TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis replaced outgoing Secretary of State Laurel Lee on Friday with state Rep. Cord Byrd, who cursed at Black Democratic lawmakers during the session and whose wife …

‘Lost’ Picasso spotted in Imelda Marcos's home after son's election win  —  Artwork's appearance fuels fears family will use return to power to further stifle efforts to recover ill-gotten wealth  —  The glimpse of a possible Picasso in the home of Imelda Marcos seen during a visit by her son …

We wanted to endorse in Republican primaries this year.  We can't.  —  With Pennsylvania voters headed to the polls Tuesday to choose the Republican and Democratic candidates for governor and U.S. Senate, it's as if the primaries are occurring on two different planets.On the Republican side …

NASA's Curiosity Rover Spotted a ‘Doorway’ on Mars  —  Though it looks like the entrance to an alien tomb, mission scientists say it's a natural feature.  —  Alerts  —  NASA's Curiosity rover took a photo of a Lovecraftian feature on the surface of Mars last week: a seemingly rectangular …

Dallas salon shooting linked to other shootings at Asian businesses, police investigate as hate crime  —  A shooting at a Dallas hair salon that injured three women of Korean descent may be part of a string of shootings targeting Asian businesses, police said Friday.

Readout of Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III's Call With Russian Minister of Defense Sergey Shoygu  —  Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby provided the following readout:  —  On May 13, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with Russian Minister of Defense Sergey Shoygu for the first time since February 18.

The Crypto Crash Is Just the Start  —  Sign up for Derek's newsletter here.  —  The American economy isn't looking great right now.  U.S. GDP shrank last quarter, despite a hearty showing from American consumers.  Inflation is high; markets are down; both wages and personal-savings rates show some troubling statistical signals.

Elon Musk Trolls Twitter  —  Programming note: Money Stuff was supposed to be off today, but then my boss, Elon Musk, called me in to work anyway.  —  Oh Elon  —  No, absolutely not:  —  None of this!  Come on.  — “Temporarily on hold” is not a thing.

Caught on voicemail: Marjorie Taylor Greene admonishes voter to ‘check yourself’  —  EXCLUSIVE — ROME, Georgia — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is the rare House freshman to become a household name.  —  The Republican was a polarizing figure even before she took office as Georgia's 14th …

Jelani Cobb Appointed Dean of Columbia Journalism School  —  Dear fellow members of the Columbia community:  —  It is with great pleasure that I write to announce my appointment of Jelani Cobb as the next Dean of Columbia Journalism School, as of August 1, 2022.

Hulu Passes on Hillary Clinton Series ‘Rodham,’ Claire Danes and Dakota Fanning to Star as 20th TV Shops Project (EXCLUSIVE)  —  Hulu has passed on “Rodham,” writer-producer Sarah Treem's adaptation of the 2020 Curtis Sittenfeld novel that's been in development at the streamer since summer 2020.

Musk Says His Twitter Takeover Is ‘On Hold,’ Then Says He's ‘Still Committed’  —  Mr. Musk said he wanted to confirm Twitter's findings that spam and fake accounts make up less than 5 percent of its users.  —  Elon Musk escalated the drama surrounding his $44 billion bid to purchase Twitter on Friday …

Zinke's wife declaring primary residence in California as he runs in Montana  —  Ryan Zinke, the former Trump Interior secretary now running for Congress again in Montana, has long faced questions about whether he lives in the state or in California.  —  Now, new tax records uncovered …

Bodycam video shows deputies searching Black women's lacrosse team's personal items  —  Bodycam video contradicts sheriff's statement on lacrosse team search  —  Newly released body camera footage of Georgia sheriff's deputies stopping a majority-Black lacrosse team's bus shows …

White House prepares to ration vaccines as Covid funding impasse looms  —  A painful and foreboding reality is setting in for the White House as it enters a potentially dangerous stretch of the Covid fight: It may soon need to run its sprawling pandemic response on a shoestring budget.