Steele dossier source acquitted, in loss for special counsel Durham  —  A jury on Tuesday found Igor Danchenko — a private researcher who was a primary source for a 2016 dossier of allegations about former president Donald Trump's ties to Russia — not guilty of lying to the FBI about where he got his information.

FBI Raids Star ABC News Producer's Home  —  Emmy-winning producer James Gordon Meek had his home raided by the FBI.  His colleagues say they haven't seen him since.  —  AT A MINUTE before 5 a.m. on April 27, ABC News' James Gordon Meek fired off a tweet with a single word: “FACTS.”

Democrats ready for midterm blame game  —  Three weeks out from a midterm election that is beginning to look more and more like a big victory for Republicans, Democrats are starting to play the blame game.  —  Former President Obama stepped into the spotlight over the weekend …

Scoop: Freedom Caucus chair floats potential Ukraine peace talks probe  —  Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), the chair of the right-wing Freedom Caucus, floated to colleagues the idea of laying the groundwork for an investigation into the Biden administration's approach to Russia-Ukraine peace talks, Axios has learned.

Wisconsin Republican Michels walks back abortion pledge  —  The Republican running for governor in Wisconsin suggested Tuesday that he did not support enforcing the swing state's near-total ban on abortions, saying “I will never arrest a doctor” before his campaign walked back his comment.

In Documents Review, Special Master Tells Trump Team to Back Up Privilege Claims  —  “What's the expression — 'Where's the beef?'  I need some beef,” Judge Raymond Dearie, the independent arbiter, said during a conference call.  —  WASHINGTON — The special master reviewing materials seized …

Florida father and son shoot at innocent woman they thought tried to break in home, sheriff says  —  “You don't shoot at people.  You don't leave the security of your home and go out and chase people down,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a harsh rebuke.

As a TV doctor, Mehmet Oz embraced climate science.  Now as a Senate candidate, he denies it.  —  Good morning and welcome to The Climate 202!  Happy Hump Day, folks.  🐪  —  🚨 Today, President Biden will announce the release of 15 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Why a Botched Story About Facebook Is a Huge Blow to Indian Journalism  —  The state of journalism in India, the “world's largest democracy,” has never been so dire.  And recently, it just got much worse—this time not because of the government or its acolytes, but because of a once-dependable …

Md. governor candidate's pitch to fight poverty: Trust funds for babies  —  Wes Moore, the Democratic nominee, suggested the increasingly popular ‘baby bonds’ program to target the racial wealth gap.  The price tag is more than $92 million per year.  —  If Democrat Wes Moore …

NHL, its workforce 84% white, sets baseline to up diversity  —  The NHL for the first time has done an internal demographic study of its staff and all 32 teams, and the results show that hockey has a lot of work to do to increase diversity at all levels.  The report released Tuesday found …

White House taking every step possible to avoid direct Biden-Putin encounter at G-20  —  President Joe Biden and Russia's Vladimir Putin are slated to attend next month's G-20 summit in Indonesia, setting up the possibility of a high-stakes face off in the midst of an increasingly deadly Moscow invasion of Ukraine.

Texas Woman Nearly Loses Her Life After Doctors Can't Legally Perform an Abortion: ‘Their Hands Were Tied’  —  “I never in my wildest dreams thought that the laws I was so angry about would pose a threat to my life and prevent me from accessing safe healthcare in 2022 in the United States of America,” says Amanda Zurawski

Texas School District Distributes DNA And Fingerprint Kits To K-8 Schools  —  This month Texas public school systems are distributing DNA and fingerprint identification kits to K-8 level campuses for parents who wish to store their child's DNA.  The kits provide identification if law enforcement …

‘What are they hiding?’:  Group sues Biden and National Archives over JFK assassination records  —  The country's largest online source of JFK assassination records is suing President Joe Biden and the National Archives to force the federal government to release all remaining documents related …

Trump scheduled to appear Wednesday for deposition in E. Jean Carroll lawsuit  —  Former President Donald Trump is set to answer questions under oath Wednesday as part of the defamation lawsuit brought by former magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll.  —  Last week, a federal judge cleared …

Mike Bloomberg takes different approach to funding Democrats this year  —  The billionaire former presidential candidate plans to spend more than $60 million on this year's elections  —  Top Democratic donor Mike Bloomberg, a billionaire former candidate for president …

Iran has sent military trainers to Crimea to train Russian forces to use drones  —  Iran has sent military personnel to Russian-occupied territory inside Crimea to train and advise the Russian military on the use of Iranian-built drones that Moscow has used to devastating effect in its war in Ukraine …

Mastriano's Time at War College Draws Scrutiny in Governor's Race  —  Doug Mastriano, a Republican nominee for governor of Pennsylvania, earned a Ph.D in 2013 and taught at the Army War College.  Fellow academics have assailed his scholarship and questioned his fitness for office.

Record breaking early voter turnout could be wake up call for Republicans  —  Georgia is experiencing record breaking voter turnout on the first days of early voting.  NBC News' Sahil Kapur explains what this could mean for Republicans.

Ukraine live briefing: Putin declares martial law in four illegally annexed regions of Ukraine  —  Russian President Vladimir Putin said martial law will be introduced across four Ukrainian territories he illegally annexed, signaling an intensifying effort to achieve his military objectives …

Glenn Youngkin Believes in “Parents' Rights”—But Only for the “Right” Kinds of Parents  —  The Virginia governor has some interesting ideas about who gets rights and who doesn't when it comes to parents, kids, and schools.  —  Last month Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin proposed …

Jim Jordan plots ‘big moments’ for GOP influence in the majority  —  Jim Jordan made his name on Capitol Hill by nudging his own party from the right while pushing Democrats even harder.  He may well return to that dynamic next year in a GOP-controlled House.

Oath Keeper testifies he was ready to die on Jan. 6 to keep Trump in office  —  WASHINGTON — A member of the far-right Oath Keepers who stormed the U.S. Capitol testified that he was ready to fight to keep former President Donald Trump in office and was preparing himself in the weeks …

Election Forecast: Slate of races tilt toward GOP  —  The GOP is tantalizingly close to its goal of taking the House majority in three weeks, after an at-times-uneven, two-year campaign to flip the chamber.  —  POLITICO's Election Forecast still rates the race to control the House as …

Harris hires a new head scribe  —  Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration.  With help from Allie Bice.  —  Vice President KAMALA HARRIS has a new chief speechwriter.  —  DAVE CAVELL, who most recently wrote speeches …