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.

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.

Sotomayor praises Clarence Thomas: ‘He is a man who cares deeply about the court as an institution’  —  Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor spoke highly of colleague Justice Clarence Thomas during an event on Thursday, saying, “He is a man who cares deeply about the court as an institution.”

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

F.D.A. Authorizes Moderna and Pfizer Covid Vaccines for Youngest Children  —  The Food and Drug Administration authorized on Friday both the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccines for the nation's youngest children, a relief to many parents anxious to protect their children 18 months …

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.”

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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.

Back burner no more: Dems set Manchin talks on party-line bill to simmer  —  Senate Democrats are preparing for possible summer action on their still-elusive climate, tax reform and prescription drugs bill, grinding behind the scenes on a new version during high-profile gun safety talks.