'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.

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 …

Fact Sheet: Helping Families Find Formula During the Infant Formula Shortage  —  To address infant formula shortages in the wake of Abbott Nutrition's voluntary recall of certain powdered infant formulas, the Biden-Harris Administration is working to ensure that infant formula is safe and available for families across the country.

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.

N.M. Congressional Democrats Call On President Biden To Expedite Solar Tariff Investigation Impacting Jobs, Investments In New Mexico  —  WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representatives Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

Roe reversal draft fallout: Alito gives update on Supreme Court status amid abortion protests  —  Leaked Roe reversal draft opinion on abortion has not stopped the Supreme Court's work, Alito says  —  Protesters march to Justice Alito's home, hold ‘vigil for abortion rights’

‘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.

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.

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.

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”.

Austin speaks with Russian counterpart for first time since start of war in Ukraine  —  Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday spoke with his Russian counterpart, the first such conversation between the two officials since the Kremlin's attack on Ukraine began in February, according to the Pentagon.

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.

The Pro-Democracy Argument Against Roe Falters When It Meets Reality  —  A significant part of the case against Roe v. Wade is that the Supreme Court was wrong to intervene in 1973 to recognize a constitutional right to abortion while the democratic process was still playing out.

Detention of WNBA's Griner in Moscow extended for 1 month  —  MOSCOW (AP) — The lawyer for WNBA star Brittney Griner said Friday her pre-trial detention in Russia has been extended by one month.  —  Alexander Boykov told The Associated Press he believed the relatively short extension …

Robert C. McFarlane, Top Reagan Aide in Iran-Contra Affair, Dies at 84  —  As national security adviser, he pleaded guilty in an illegal scheme to aid Nicaraguan rebels in the 1980s.  Guilt-ridden, he attempted suicide.  —  Robert C. McFarlane, a former decorated Marine officer who rose …

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.