Jan. 6 hearings point up critical role of the 25th Amendment  —  The hearings of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection have prompted a great deal of discussion about whether Donald Trump should be criminally charged for his attempted self-coup.

SpaceX Said to Fire Employees Involved in Letter Rebuking Elon Musk  —  In an email, Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX's president, said the letter had made other employees “feel uncomfortable, intimidated and bullied.”  — Give this article- - - Read in app  —  SpaceX, the private rocket company …

Walmart ‘Cancels’ Mike Lindell's MyPillow, Leaving Him Raging  —  OH, THE HUMANITY  —  Walmart has given MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell's products the boot from its shelves nationwide.  In a phone interview with The Daily Beast on Wednesday night, the pillow tycoon alleged that a Walmart executive …

1 dead, 2 injured in shooting at Alabama church, police say  —  One person is dead and two others were injured in a shooting at a church in the Birmingham, Alabama, area on Thursday, police said.  —  The suspect in the shooting at the St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Vestavia Hills is in custody, police said.

A top GOP pollster's take on the gun debate  —  Good morning, Early Birds.  Tips: earlytips@washpost.com.  Thanks for waking up with us.  Programming note: We're taking a break from hitting send on Monday in observance of the Juneteenth federal holiday.  We'll be back in your inboxes on Tuesday.

Outrage as Montana's Gov. Greg Gianforte vacations in TUSCANY as historic floods devastate his state and Yellowstone faces ‘indefinite’ closure  — It was finally revealed Thursday that the governor and his wife were spotted at Casole d'Elsa - a hilltop village in the swish Italian province

Julian Assange's extradition to US approved by UK government  —  UK Home Secretary Priti Patel has signed an order to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States, where he faces espionage charges, in a decision Wikileaks said marked a “dark day for press freedom.”

Belief in God in U.S. Dips to 81%, a New Low  — 81% believe in God, down from 87% in 2017  — Four in 10 believe God can intervene on people's behalf  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — The vast majority of U.S. adults believe in God, but the 81% who do so is down six percentage points from 2017 and is the lowest in Gallup's trend.

Live Updates: European Commission Recommends E.U. Candidacy for Ukraine  —  The Commission, the bloc's executive arm, announced its approval for the country to be granted candidate status, the first formal step in a process that normally takes over a decade.

‘Life is short’: Ken Paxton faces backlash for suggesting Uvalde massacre was part of God's plan  —  Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton made another in a string of tone deaf media appearances in the wake of the Uvalde, Texas school shooting, this time telling conservative radio host Pastor Trey Graham …

The AP Interview: Biden says recession is ‘not inevitable’  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden told The Associated Press on Thursday that the American people are “really, really down” after a tumultuous two years with the coronavirus pandemic, volatility in the economy …

Judge orders GOP candidate Ryan Kelley to surrender his guns, over his objections  —  Republican candidate for governor Ryan Kelley will have to surrender his guns while awaiting trial on misdemeanor criminal charges related to the U.S. Capitol riot, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

Justice Dept. secures first guilty plea for threats to election workers  —  Travis Ford, 42, of Lincoln, Neb., posted multiple hostile messages on an Instagram page associated with the official, authorities said  —  A Nebraska man pleaded guilty Thursday on charges that he threatened …

The criminal case against Donald Trump  —  The January 6th committee is doing the Department of Justice's work for it  —  The house's January 6th committee has a few aims for its public hearings this month.  Some of its nine members speak of leaving a historical record of Donald Trump's attempted election heist.

Soaring gas prices lead White House aides back to brainstorming  —  Administration officials look at fuel rebates, emergency powers if diesel shortages materialize  —  Senior White House aides have in recent days explored new ideas for responding to high gas prices and looked again …

Scoop: Conservative backlash builds against Cornyn's gun talks  —  Frustration inside the Senate GOP conference is boiling among conservatives at the way Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) is handling the bipartisan gun reform negotiations — putting the man who aspires to succeed Mitch McConnell as Republican leader in a political jam.

Jan. 6 Committee Ignores Clear Evidence Of Mass Illegal Voting, Systematically Broken Election Laws  —  The Jan. 6 Committee completely sidestepped the verifiable evidence of systemic violations of election law, illegal voting, and more.  —  In its attempt to blame former President Donald Trump …

The existential threat to the Jan. 6 committee's credibility  —  “January 6th and the lies that led to insurrection have put 2 1/2 centuries of constitutional democracy at risk,” House Jan. 6 committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) said in his opening statement last Thursday.