Russian Court Orders Wall Street Journal Reporter to Be Held in Custody  —  Evan Gershkovich is part of WSJ's Moscow bureau; Journal vehemently denies espionage allegations against him, seeks his immediate release Russia's main security agency said Thursday it had detained Wall Street Journal …

How Disney's lawyers brutally outmaneuvered DeSantis over control of Disney World  —  Did you really believe that Florida's arrogant, petty, childish Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) would get the better of Walt Disney Co. in their fight over Disney's supposed “wokeness”?  —  If so, you don't know your Disney.

Federal Judge Strikes Down Obamacare Requirement for Free Preventive Care  —  The decision by a judge in Texas, which applies nationwide and could have far-reaching implications for millions of Americans, is likely to be appealed by the Biden administration.

What If DeSantis Doesn't Run?  —  1. Maybe He Isn't Running?  —  Let me drop two items here for you to consider:  —  George Conway🌻 @gtconway3d  —  It makes no sense for DeSantis to run this cycle.  To beat Trump, DeSantis would have to go hammer and tong in a one-on-one race against him.

McCarthy offers to make Biden ‘soft food’ lunch if he will meet on debt limit  —  Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) offered to make President Biden a “soft food” lunch if he agrees to meet on the debt limit.  —  “He is making the decision that he wants to put the economy in jeopardy.

Trump Grand Jury Digs Into Hush Money Paid to Second Woman  —  Manhattan prosecutors investigating former president for payment to porn star Stormy Daniels have pressed witnesses on money paid to former Playboy model Karen McDougal  —  Trump-Stormy Daniels Investigation: The Path to a Possible Indictment

QAnon Shaman Jacob Chansley is released 14 months early from prison after Jan. 6 footage showed him being ‘ESCORTED’ by cops inside the Capitol  — Jacob Chansley, 35, was released on Thursday after serving 27 months in prison  — His move to a halfway house appears to be a matter of routine prison policy

Elon Musk Tried to Meet With F.T.C. Chair About Twitter but Was Rebuffed  —  Mr. Musk requested a meeting with Lina Khan, the chair of the F.T.C., which has been investigating Twitter's privacy and data practices.  —  David McCabe reports on tech policy from Washington.

Kushner's Firm Was Backed by Investments From the Emirates and Qatar  —  The infusion of money from interests in the two Persian Gulf monarchies reflects the close ties to Middle Eastern nations established by Jared Kushner, former President Donald Trump's son-in-law.

Secret trove offers rare look into Russian cyberwar ambitions  —  More than 5,000 pages of documents from a Moscow-based contractor offer unusual glimpses into planning and training for security services, including the notorious hacking group Sandworm  —  Russian intelligence agencies worked …

Mark Russell, Piano-Playing Political Satirist, Dies at 90  —  Washington was his main quarry.  Did he have any writers?  “Oh, yes — 100 in the Senate and 435 in the House of Representatives.”  —  Mark Russell, a master of political satire who stood at a star-spangled piano and kept …

Executive Director of the San Jose Police Officers' Association charged with importing fentanyl  —  SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) — The executive director of the San Jose Police Officers' Association (SJPOA) has been charged with attempting to illegally import a controlled substance, according to the United States Department of Justice.

BuzzFeed Is Quietly Publishing Whole AI-Generated Articles, Not Just Quizzes These read like a proof of concept for replacing human writers.  —  Earlier this year, when BuzzFeed announced plans to start publishing AI-assisted content, its CEO Jonah Peretti promised the tech would be held to a high standard.

Male powerlifter enters women's event, breaks record  —  A bearded pro powerlifter entered a women's competition in Canada — and smashed a record held by a trans lifter who was watching on.  —  Avi Silverberg — the head coach for Team Canada Powerlifting for more than 10 years …

Joint Base Andrews on lockdown following report of active shooter  —  Joint Base Andrews (JBA) was placed on lockdown on Thursday, following reports of an active shooter.  —  “An armed individual has been reported near base housing,” the base said in a Facebook post.  “Stay away from base housing.

Former Fox News producer Abby Grossberg calls the network a ‘big corporate machine that destroys people’  —  Grossberg told NBC News she believes she was set up to be a scapegoat in the defamation suit against Fox News over baseless election fraud claims.  —  Abby Grossberg got off …

Clash at House hearing: GOP claims social media censorship, Democrats want to strike testimony  —  The hearing was part of widespread House Republican investigations of the Democratic Biden administration.  —  WASHINGTON - A fiery House hearing Thursday sounded like a Monty Python skit.

Nashville shooting exploited by right to escalate anti-trans rhetoric  —  Conservative commentators and Republican politicians unleashed a new wave of anti-trans rhetoric following Monday's shooting at a Nashville Christian school that killed six people, escalating a broader backlash …

Newsom forms new group to fight ‘rising authoritarianism’ in red states  —  The California governor, who is widely viewed as a potential future Democratic White House contender, plans to travel to “states where freedom is most under attack.”  —  California Gov. Gavin Newsom is launching …

Texas GOP Proposes Bill To Allow Sec Of State To Overturn Election Results In State's Largest Blue County  —  Republican members of the Texas state legislature introduced a slate of bills Thursday designed to subvert election processes and curb voting rights in the state.

Finland's accession to NATO would be a diplomatic and strategic setback for Russia.  —  With Finland's bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization now ratified by Turkey, the last of the alliance's 30 member nations to do so, Finns can look forward to a carefully choreographed dance …

The Tired Trope of the ‘Power Hungry’ Woman  —  In an exclusive op-ed, Gisele Fetterman recounts the “vicious attacks” she received after her husband, Sen. John Fetterman, checked into Walter Reed to seek treatment for clinical depression.  —  Politics can require living the worst moments of your life in public.

Florida Legislature approves carrying a concealed loaded gun without a permit  —  The bill now goes to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has repeatedly indicated he will sign it.  —  Florida's Republican-controlled Legislature passed a bill Thursday allowing individuals to carry concealed loaded weapons anywhere without a permit.

Chicago's Jewish community could swing mayoral race  —  Crime and education emerging as top issues as Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson square off on Tuesday  —  As Chicago's mayoral campaign approaches its end with next Tuesday's election, the two candidates, Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson …

Two Army helicopters crash in Kentucky; as many as 9 feared dead  —  The Army says two of its helicopters crashed Wednesday night in Trigg County, Kentucky.  CBS News correspondent David Martin says it's feared that as many as nine people were killed.  —  Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear tweeted that …

Republicans react after learning Hunter Biden associate frequented White House: ‘Will be under strict review’  —  Chairman Comer says, 'This is more evidence showing the Biden family enterprise centered around Joe Biden's political career'  —  EXCLUSIVE: House Republicans …

Secret Pence ruling breaks new ground for vice presidency  —  For the first time in history, a federal judge ruled that vice presidents can benefit from a type of immunity typically provided to lawmakers.  —  A federal judge's secret order on Tuesday requiring Mike Pence to testify about aspects …

Twitter pushes hate speech, extremist content into ‘For You’ pages  —  A Washington Post analysis found that accounts following dozens of Twitter handles pushing hate speech were subjected to an algorithmic echo chamber, in which Twitter fed additional hateful and racist content to users

A Proclamation on Transgender Day of Visibility  —  Transgender Day of Visibility celebrates the joy, strength, and absolute courage of some of the bravest people I know — people who have too often had to put their jobs, relationships, and lives on the line just to be their true selves.

How a tiny company with few rules is making fake images go mainstream  —  Midjourney, the year-old firm behind recent fake visuals of Trump and the pope, illustrates the lack of oversight accompanying spectacular strides in AI  —  The AI image generator Midjourney has quickly become …