Tallahassee principal is forced to resign after parents complained that Michelangelo's statue of David is ‘pornographic’ and shouldn't be shown to sixth grade art history class  — Hope Carrasquilla was pushed out of Tallahassee Classical School in Florida

Leave Trump Alone!  —  And TikTok starts to fight back against Washington.  —  Good afternoon, Press Pass readers.  If you haven't already upgraded to Bulwark+, you have just four days left to take advantage of the free 30-day trial for access to paywalled editions of this newsletter …

Donald Trump Shares Fake AI-Created Image Of Himself On Truth Social  —  Images created with artificial intelligence have flooded social media in recent months, with some people using AI tools like Midjourney to imagine what it would look like for Donald Trump to be arrested.

NPR cancels 4 podcasts amid major layoffs  —  NPR moved this week to cut 10 percent of its staff and stop production of a trio of acclaimed seasonal podcasts — Invisibilia, Louder Than a Riot and Rough Translation — as it seeks to close a yawning budget gap that stands in excess of $30 million.

A Utah parent says the Bible contains porn and should be removed from school libraries.  Here's their full challenge.  —  The parent writes that the book should be considered indecent under Utah's new book banning law, after seeing the other titles that have been pulled.

Man at Center of Jan. 6 Conspiracy Theory Demands Retraction From Fox  —  A lawyer for Ray Epps has demanded that the Fox host Tucker Carlson publicly apologize for “false and defamatory statements” that Mr. Epps served as a federal agent during the Capitol attack.

Far-right extremist Riley Williams sentenced to 3 years in prison for storming Capitol on Jan. 6  —  WASHINGTON — A far-right extremist who was “obsessed” with white nationalist Nick Fuentes was sentenced Thursday to three years in prison for storming the U.S. Capitol and directing a mob toward …

Utah Gov. signs laws requiring parental consent for minors to use social media  —  Utah's regulations come amid ongoing debates about the impact of social media on young people's mental health.  Four other states are onsidering similar measures.  —  Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed two pieces …

House fails to override Biden's first veto  —  A new administration rule for retirement plans will be implemented as planned after the House failed to override President Joe Biden's first veto on Thursday.  —  In a 219-200 vote, the House fell short of the two-thirds majority needed in each chamber to undo a presidential veto.

Jeff Zients discovers the thanklessness of the White House chief of staff gig  —  It's early and the job is thankless.  But Biden's new chief of staff and his leadership style have drawn some detractors.  —  The grumbling has already begun over Joe Biden's new chief of staff.

South Carolina comptroller to resign after $3.5B error  —  Embattled South Carolina Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom will resign next month after a $3.5 billion accounting error in the year-end financial report he oversaw.  The state's chief accountant will leave the elected post he has held …

The Secret Joke at the Heart of the Harvard Affirmative-Action Case  —  A federal official wrote a parody of Harvard's attitude toward Asian Americans and shared it with the dean of admissions.  Why did a judge try to hide that from the public?  —  Last fall, some mysterious new activity appeared on the Supreme Court's docket.

Most trans adults say transitioning made them more satisfied with their lives  —  The Washington Post and KFF surveyed one of the largest randomized samples of U.S. transgender adults to date about their childhoods, feelings and lives  —  Transgender Americans experience stigma …

Where is DeSantis traveling on state business?  Legislature wants to make it a secret  —  Citing an increase in public records requests for the governor's travel schedule, Florida legislators are advancing a bill that would shield from the public any information about how and where Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state officials go.

The Crisis of the Intellectuals  —  Traditional notions of the intellectual were never meant to include people who looked like me or who had a background like mine.  —  In 2017, I was trying to write How to Be an Antiracist.  Words came onto the page slower than ever.  On some days, no words came at all.

In Trump Rape Case, Jurors Will Be Kept Anonymous to Protect Them  —  A judge said that they could become victims of “harassment or worse” from supporters of the former president as he faces a lawsuit by the writer E. Jean Carroll.  —  A Manhattan judge ruled on Thursday that jurors hearing …

The Books That Show Conservatism at Its Best  —  Mr. Shields is a professor of government at Claremont McKenna College.  He has written widely on the American right and the politics of higher education.  —  When conservative undergraduates look around for mentors these days, who do they find?

Arizona Supreme Court Turns Down Kari Lake's Appeal in Her Election Lawsuit  —  The justices refused to hear Ms. Lake's claims disputing her loss in the governor's race, but sent one part of her lawsuit back to a trial court for review.  —  Arizona's Supreme Court on Wednesday denied a request …

Oxford school shooter's parents can face manslaughter trial, court says in groundbreaking case  —  The parents of a teenager who killed four students at a Michigan high school can face trial for involuntary manslaughter, the state appeals court said Thursday in a groundbreaking case of criminal responsibility for the acts of a child.

Conspiracies and a Holocaust meme mark the dawn of Karamo's Michigan Republican Party  —  The longtime headquarters of the Michigan Republican Party, four blocks from Michigan's Capitol and the seat of political power in this state, sits empty and disused.  —  A trust made up of former party …

Saudi Arabia, Syria Close to Resuming Ties in Russia-Brokered Talks  —  The emerging deal could leave the U.S. again on the sidelines during a dramatic shift in the Middle East's geopolitics  —  How Syria's Assad Used Earthquake to Help Stage Diplomatic Comeback

Explaining the Ties Between Alvin Bragg and George Soros  —  Donald Trump's allies have accused the district attorney bringing a case against him as having been “bought” by Mr. Soros, the philanthropist.  That is misleading, though the men do have a financial connection.

Father of slain Parkland victim arrested in fiery moment at House gun law hearing  —  WASHINGTON — Manuel Oliver, the father of a 17-year-old Parkland shooting victim, was arrested Thursday on Capitol Hill after he appeared to shout at a Republican lawmaker who was speaking during a hearing on gun regulations.

U.S. and Canada Reach an Agreement on Diverting Asylum Seekers  —  The deal, reached just before President Biden arrived in Canada for an official visit, allows both countries to minimize illegal immigration at a time when it has surged.  —  WASHINGTON — The United States and Canada …

Rahul Gandhi: India's Congress leader sentenced to jail for Modi ‘thieves’ remark  —  Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has been sentenced to two years in prison in a criminal defamation case.  —  The Congress MP was convicted by the court in Gujarat state for 2019 comments …

In Memphis, Car Seizures Are a Lucrative and Punishing Police Tactic  —  Vehicle seizures have been used to combat street racing and other crimes, but critics say that even people not convicted of a crime have been left for months without their cars.  —  MEMPHIS — As he drove to work …

Senate Ethics admonishes Graham for campaign solicitations  —  The Senate Ethics Committee is admonishing South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham for soliciting campaign contributions inside a federal building after a Nov. 2022 Fox News interview in which he asked viewers to donate to a GOP candidate.

Erin Morrow Hawley Is Leading the Charge to Ban Abortion Medication.  She's Also Josh Hawley's Wife  —  Reproductive rights activists are raising scrutiny over attorney Erin Hawley's role in the suit against the Food and Drug Administration's approval of mifepristone.

Netanyahu Digs In on Court Overhaul, in the Face of Mass Protests  —  Amid a national crisis over a planned judicial overhaul, Israel's Parliament approved a bill making it much harder to remove a prime minister from office.  —  Reporting from Jerusalem  —  Hours after his coalition passed …

Kemp signs bill banning some gender-affirming care for transgender youth  —  Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) announced on Thursday that he signed a bill banning certain gender-affirming care for minors in the state.  —  Kemp said he signed Georgia Senate Bill 140 — which prohibits minors …