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 …

Erdogan says Turkey not supportive of Finland, Sweden joining NATO  —  President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday it was not possible for NATO-member Turkey to support plans by Sweden and Finland to join the pact, saying the Nordic countries were “home to many terrorist organisations”.

'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.

Electability Argument Falling Flat in 2022  —  For the last six years, the one thing that has kept the Democratic Party unified and motivated is Donald Trump.  Fear and loathing got Democrats to turn out in the 2018 midterms, and kept those voters engaged in 2020.

Alito reluctant to discuss state of Supreme Court after Roe leak  —  In his first public address since the explosive leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion he wrote that would overturn Roe v. Wade, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. breezed through a detailed examination of statutory textualism …

Pence to headline Georgia rally for Kemp in new break with Trump  —  Former Vice President Mike Pence will headline a get-out-the-vote rally with Gov. Brian Kemp on the eve of Georgia's May 24 primary, marking a new split with Donald Trump as each maneuver for a possible 2024 White House run.

Georgia county under scrutiny after claim of post-election breach  —  Effort by county official to investigate 2020 contest underscores growing threat to election security, experts say  —  A former elections supervisor in rural Coffee County, Ga., has told The Washington Post that she opened …

Scoop: New Trump venture  —  Donald Trump has found a new way to milk his ex-presidency — and test another — hitting the lucrative motivational speaking circuit with more fervor than any other active U.S. politician in history. … - It's privately run — and, according to organizers, it's driving huge audience interest.

‘He absolutely betrayed me’: Steve Schmidt tells all about John McCain  —  This week on Playbook Deep Dive, we sat down over Zoom with Steve Schmidt, the architect of the late Sen. John McCain's 2008 presidential run, to hear what amounts to an untold chapter of that exhaustively chronicled campaign.

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.

POLITICO Playbook: SCOOP: Behind the McCarthy subpoena  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  PENCE TO HOLD RALLY FOR TRUMP FOE — Georgia Gov. BRIAN KEMP may be one of former President DONALD TRUMP's biggest GOP targets in this year's primaries.  But that's not stopping former VP MIKE PENCE from openly embracing him.

‘They were furious’: the Russian soldiers refusing to fight in Ukraine  —  Troops are saying ‘no’ to officers, knowing that punishment is light while Russia is not technically at war  —  When the soldiers of an elite Russian army brigade were told in early April to prepare for a second deployment …

House Oversight opens investigation into baby formula shortage: Exclusive  —  “Do they have the supply to meet the demand?”  Rep. Maloney told ABC News.  —  The House Oversight Committee is launching an investigation into the nationwide shortage of baby formula, and demanding records …

Cryptocurrencies Melt Down in a ‘Perfect Storm’ of Fear and Panic  —  A steep sell-off that gained momentum this week starkly illustrated the risks of the experimental and unregulated digital currencies.  — Give this article- - - Read in app  —  SAN FRANCISCO — The price of Bitcoin plunged to its lowest point since 2020.

US intelligence community launches review following Ukraine and Afghanistan intel failings  —  Washington (CNN)The US intelligence community is carrying out a sweeping internal review of how it assesses the fighting power of foreign militaries amid mounting pressure from key lawmakers …

Opinion An inflation conspiracy theory is infecting the Democratic Party  —  A conspiracy theory has been infecting the Democratic Party, its progressive base, even the White House.  It's not quite as self-sabotaging as the horse-dewormer-cures-covid false theory that swept up many Republicans last year …

Norm Macdonald Shot Secret Final Netflix Stand-Up Special Before Passing  —  In a comedy first, the late actor-comedian self-shot a final hour of new stand-up to be released in the event of his death: “The material's fantastic. ...  I hope people appreciate that he did this.”

Israeli Police Launch Stun Grenades at Palestinian Journalist's Funeral Procession  —  In an interim report from the Israeli military's probe says investigators are still unable to determine who killed Shireen Abu Akleh  —  The funeral procession of slain Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh …

Why Ron DeSantis Is the New Republican Party  —  Two weeks ago, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida appeared with the Fox News host Laura Ingraham for a town hall that lasted the full hour of her prime-time show.  That kind of airtime tends to be reserved only for Donald Trump, but Mr. DeSantis has had a meteoric rise.

Judy Woodruff Expected To Step Down As Anchor Of ‘PBS NewsHour,’ With Plans For Amna Nawaz And Geoff Bennett To Succeed Her  —  PBS NewsHour is preparing for a major transition in its broadcast, with plans for Judy Woodruff to step down from the anchor chair and for Amna Nawaz and Geoff Bennett to succeed her.

John Durham Goes to Court  —  How his case against Michael Sussmann unravels the Russia collusion hoax.  —  1x  —  Special Counsel John Durham steps into court Monday with the first trial of his probe into Democrats' Russia-collusion hoax.  That's a formality.  Mr. Durham has already won.

Biden pivots to Asia as Ukraine war rages on  —  You're reading an excerpt from the Today's WorldView newsletter.  Sign up to get the rest, including news from around the globe, interesting ideas, and opinions to know sent to your inbox every weekday. … The past couple of months marked a rallying moment for the geopolitical West.