Clarence Thomas and the Billionaire  —  IN LATE JUNE 2019, right after the U.S. Supreme Court released its final opinion of the term, Justice Clarence Thomas boarded a large private jet headed to Indonesia.  He and his wife were going on vacation: nine days of island-hopping in a volcanic archipelago …

Trump judge and his family receive threats after New York arrest  —  Judge Juan Merchan, his family and the Manhattan court where Trump was arraigned Tuesday have already received numerous threats, sources told NBC News.  —  In the 24 hours since former President Donald Trump's arraignment …

Special Report: Tesla workers shared sensitive images recorded by customer cars  —  Tesla Inc assures its millions of electric car owners that their privacy “is and will always be enormously important to us.”  The cameras it builds into vehicles to assist driving, it notes on its website …

Staring Down a Debt Crisis, McCarthy Toils to Navigate G.O.P. Divisions  —  The House speaker has little trust in his Budget Committee chairman or his No. 2 as he works to unite the fractious Republican majority around a spending plan.  —  WASHINGTON — It was midway through Representative …

Biden review of chaotic Afghan withdrawal blames Trump  —  A U.S. review led by the National Security Council of the chaotic 2021 withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan largely lays the blame on former President Donald Trump, saying President Joe Biden was “severely constrained” by the decisions of his predecessor.

FBI and Army members raided the wrong hotel room during a training exercise and detained a guest inside  —  Members of the FBI and the US Army Special Operations Command who were conducting a training exercise in downtown Boston raided the wrong hotel room and detained the person inside …

Rebekah Jones' 13-year-old son arrested in Navarre, Florida for ‘digital threats of terrorism’  —  Embattled former state of Florida employee Rebekah Jones announced on Twitter Wednesday night that her 13-year-old son had been arrested for “digital threats of terrorism.”

Expulsion vote thrusts Tennessee politics onto the national stage, could set precedent  —  The Democrats could become political martyrs if expelled from the legislature.  The move shows the power the GOP holds and could set a precedent for the future.  —  Tennessee's Republican supermajority …

Ron DeSantis' long-haul strategy against Trump comes into view  —  Although he hasn't yet announced a presidential bid, the Florida governor's team has already had internal discussions about delegate strategy.  —  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' team is already plotting out a strategy to run against Donald Trump for the long haul.

How progressive Denmark became the face of the anti-migration left  —  KAERSHOVEDGAARD, Denmark — Zero asylum.  Send them back to Syria.  Claims should be sorted somewhere else.  It may sound like the rhetoric of the far right, but in this wealthy, Scandinavian welfare state, it has become the political center.

Republicans back bill to change election rules — only for the upcoming Senate race  —  A Republican-backed bill to create a “jungle primary” that would box-out third party candidates in the next U.S. Senate race in Montana has advanced.  —  Senate Bill 566 would create a primary system …

‘A child of dreams.’ Friends mourn Cash App founder Bob Lee, stabbed to death in S.F.  —  San Francisco's tech community mourned the violent death of one of their own Wednesday, calling Cash App founder Bob Lee a standout among Silicon Valley geniuses, someone idolized as a brilliant thinker …

Wisconsin Supreme Court election sends message on abortion rights  —  MILWAUKEE — In overturning a national right to abortion last summer, the U.S. Supreme Court gave conservatives a policy they'd been seeking for nearly half a century.  In the process, the justices also angered millions …

The GOP's ‘Abusive Relationship’ With Trump  —  The former president's ability to surmount this latest tumult continues one of the defining patterns of his political career.  —  It's a measure of Donald Trump's hold on the Republican Party that his unprecedented criminal indictment is strengthening, not loosening, his grip.

How Fox Chased Its Audience Down the Rabbit Hole  —  Rupert Murdoch built an empire by giving viewers exactly what they wanted.  But what they wanted — election lies and insurrection — put that empire (and the country) in peril.  —  On the evening of Nov. 19, 2020, Rupert Murdoch …

Supreme Court refuses to reinstate West Virginia ban on transgender student sports participation  —  The decision is a victory for LGBTQ advocates.  —  The U.S. Supreme Court has denied West Virginia's request to immediately reinstate a law that would ban transgender student-athletes …

Migrants Died In Detention Fire Because They Couldn't Pay $200 Bribe to Be Released  —  The facility operated as an “extortion center,” according to three survivors and two guards who spoke to VICE World News.  —  Luis Chaparro  —  CIUDAD JUÁREZ, México …

Rockets from Lebanon hit northern Israel  —  Rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel on Thursday and answered by a burst of cross-border artillery fire, officials said, amid escalating tension following Israeli police raids on the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.

Freedom Caucus and progressives lock arms — and that could be bad news for McCarthy  —  The speaker's immediate headache is a growing right-left alliance on Iraq war powers.  But House liberals and conservatives are linking up on other issues, too.  —  The House's most conservative Republicans …

CNN Poll: One-third of Americans say Biden deserves to be reelected in 2024  —  Just a third of Americans say President Joe Biden deserves to be reelected, according to a new CNN Poll conducted by SSRS, as a majority in his party say they would like to see someone else as the Democratic nominee for president next year.

IRS Plan to Spend $80 Billion Includes Real-Time Tax Alerts, Audits of Wealthy People  —  Tax agency promises digital improvements but no audit-rate increase for most households  —  WASHINGTON—The Internal Revenue Service unveiled its strategic plan Thursday for revamping …

How Russia's Offensive Ran Aground  —  After months of pouring soldiers into eastern Ukraine, Russia's progress essentially adds up to this: three small settlements and part of the city of Bakhmut, a high-profile battlefield with limited strategic value.  —  Settlements captured by Russia this year

Civil Discourse?  —  During weeks like this one, we can all be forgive for wondering whether civil discourse is even possible in this country any more.  Maybe this is who we are, a country where people with different views need to be barricaded?  —  Trump supporters and anti-Trump protesters …