'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 …

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.

More Republicans are working to undermine Trump endorsements  —  Some GOP leaders have been actively campaigning — or quietly maneuvering — against Trump's picks in a way that could threaten his sway over the party  —  Before a roomful of Republican donors Monday, House Minority Leader …

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.

Opinion J.D. Vance, migrant babies and the unhinged GOP enemy hunt  —  Just when you thought our politics couldn't get any dumber, this week brought two new GOP attacks that spectacularly defied expectations.  The Biden administration, we were told, is redirecting scarce infant formula …

Texas has declared open season on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube with censorship law  —  (CNN)Texas residents can now sue Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for allegedly censoring their content after a federal appeals court sided Wednesday with the state's law restricting how social media sites can moderate their platforms.

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

How Not To Change Your Mind  —  The curious case of Bill Kristol's ideological transformation  —  If you live long enough, and haven't been lobotomized, you'll change a lot of your views and opinions.  Life does that.  The world changes; you change; and for most people …

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”.

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.”

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.

‘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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …