A man shot and killed two women, then himself, outside of Ames' Cornerstone Church, sheriff says  —  Police say an adult man shot and killed two female victims, then took his own life, in a parking lot outside Ames' Cornerstone Church Thursday night.  —  The suspected shooter appeared …

Biden urges Congress to act on guns in rare prime-time address  —  Following the third mass shooting in as many weeks, the president says the time has come to confront the carnage.  He praised Senate negotiations and said voters should punish Republicans who block action.

‘There Are a Lot of People Very Close to the President Who Privately Understand That This Is a Complete Disaster’  —  So says the Washington Post's James Hohmann, in a conversation with The Bulwark's Charlie Sykes about the Biden administration's inexplicable desire to force taxpayers to pay off rich people's student loans.

Biden to Travel to Saudi Arabia, Ending Its ‘Pariah’ Status  —  As a candidate, President Biden vowed to punish the kingdom for the brutal assassination of Jamal Khashoggi.  But now he wants to rebuild relations as he seeks to lower gas prices and isolate Russia.  — Give this article- - - Read in app

Scoop: Trumpworld plots Jan. 6 counterprogramming blitz  —  Former President Trump and his allies, in conjunction with top House GOP leadership and conservative groups, have begun pulling documents and coordinating a behind-the-scenes effort to counterprogram the Jan. 6 committee's televised hearings this month, Axios has learned.

How Trump's Team Conned Susan Collins Into Dooming Roe v. Wade  —  Trump officials privately mocked the Maine Republican in the run-up to Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing, predicting it'd be easy to get the pro-choice senator to vote for a seemingly anti-choice nominee

Beneath Biden's struggle to break through is a deeper dysfunction among White House aides  —  (CNN)Being familiar never makes the feeling less dreadful: White House aides emailing each other during one of President Joe Biden's stops on the road, tracking who's covering what he's saying …

Uvalde teacher who officials mistakenly said left door open is traumatized and heartbroken, attorney says  —  Officials have determined that she did close the door, but it failed to lock.  —  Law enforcement is seen outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022, in an image taken from a video made by a bystander.

Exclusive: Gov. Ron DeSantis to Veto $35 Million Tampa Bay Rays Facility Amid Polarization of Shootings  —  Florida Governor Ron DeSantis plans to veto a $35 million legislation for a Pasco County facility that's earmarked for the Tampa Bay Rays' spring training, OutKick has learned.

Why Sheryl Sandberg Quit Facebook's Meta  —  One of the world's most powerful executives became increasingly burned out and disconnected from the mega-business she was instrumental in building.  That dovetailed with a company investigation into her activities.

The bleak spectacle of the Amber Heard-Johnny Depp trial  —  How a washed-up celebrity, men's rights activists and true crime stans convinced millions of Americans to buy into a conspiracy theory … Content warning for vulgar language and descriptions of abuse.

Ilya Shapiro's Reinstatement Is a Win for the Political Power of Free Speech, But a Loss for the Value of Academic Freedom  —  There are two ways to look at Georgetown University Law Center's decision to reinstate Ilya Shapiro after a five-month investigation into a tweet.

READ: The Meadows text messages from January 6  —  CNN has obtained 2,319 text messages that former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows handed over to the January 6 committee that were sent and received between Election Day 2020 and President Joe Biden's inauguration, including more than 150 on January 6.

Scoop: Manchin's bipartisan energy talks crumble, paving way for Democrat-only deal  —  Bipartisan Senate energy talks led by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) are essentially over, with Republican senators convinced that Manchin is close to a reconciliation deal with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer …

EXPLAINER: Can Pa. GOP candidate make voters re-register?  —  HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Doug Mastriano, Pennsylvania's Republican candidate for governor, is perhaps the state's most prominent peddler of former President Donald Trump's lie that widespread fraud cost him the 2020 election.

Gunman who killed 4 at Tulsa hospital was patient of doctor who is among the dead  —  The gunman who killed four people at a Tulsa hospital on Wednesday blamed a doctor at the facility for ongoing pain after back surgery and vowed to kill him and anyone who got in his way, police said Thursday.

CNN cutting back on over-hyping everything as “breaking news”  —  CNN's new boss Chris Licht says that beginning today, CNN has added a “Breaking News” guideline to its stylebook, to address overuse of the breaking news banner across its network and cable news writ-large.

Bill Barr says Trump should not run for president again in 2024  —  Former Attorney General Bill Barr says Donald Trump should not attempt a Grover Cleveland and run for president again after losing his reelection campaign in 2020 .  —  “I'm all for restoring America .

DeSantis moves to ban transition care for transgender youths, Medicaid recipients  —  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration Thursday asked the state board regulating doctors to essentially ban transition-related care for transgender minors, according to a letter obtained by NBC News.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger testifies in investigation of 2020 Georgia election meddling  —  Incumbent Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger talks with journalists as he arrives for an election night party Tuesday evening, May 24, 2022, in Peachtree Corners …

A midterm alarm for Dems in California  —  EARLY WARNING SYSTEM — After this week's break in the primary calendar, seven states will hold elections on Tuesday.  In the biggest of them, California, Democrats are already looking at some troubling early turnout numbers: So far, only about 2.2 million Californians have returned ballots.