The Stupidity.  It Burns.  —  We'll get to the rest of the week's worst actors in a moment, but can we talk about what just happened in Tennessee?  —  In a fit of partisan pique, Republicans used their super majority to expel two young African American state legislators.

The GOP's epic losing streak  — First, the 2018 House elections were a disaster for Republicans: Democrats had a net gain of 40 seats to take over the House — their largest gain since the post-Watergate election of 1974.  — Then Trump lost the presidency.

Lawmakers Call for Investigation and Ethics Reforms in Response to ProPublica Report on Clarence Thomas  —  Influential Democratic legislators are pushing for changes at the Supreme Court and a probe into Thomas' undisclosed luxury trips provided by powerful conservative donor Harlan Crow.

How Wisconsin Republicans Got So Angry  —  They've lost four major statewide elections since 2018, for starters, and this year's supreme-court election exposed their growing vulnerability.  —  Wisconsin Republicans are caught in a bind: What the base wants, the majority rejects.

Job growth totals 236,000 in March, near expectations as hiring pace slows  — Nonfarm payrolls grew by 236,000 for March, compared to the Dow Jones estimate for 238,000 and below the upwardly revised 326,000 in February.  — The unemployment rate ticked lower to 3.5% amid an increase …

Ukraine War Plans Leak Prompts Pentagon Investigation  —  Classified documents detailing secret American and NATO plans have appeared on Twitter and Telegram.  —  WASHINGTON — Classified war documents detailing secret American and NATO plans for building up the Ukrainian military ahead …

Twitter cuts off Substack embeds and starts suspending bots … Writers trying to embed tweets in their Substack stories are in for a rude surprise: after pasting a link to the site, a message pops up saying that “Twitter has unexpectedly restricted access to embedding tweets in Substack posts” …

Former GOP Speaker Took $110,000 In Bribes For Weed Licenses  —  The bribes included cash payments and free travel on a businessman's private plane.  —  Cameron Joseph  —  WASHINGTON, US  —  A Republican former speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives has admitted he took $110,000 …

The Ultimate Political Shmear Campaign  —  How D.C. — finally! — became a legitimate center of bagel excellence.  —  When Rep. Dan Goldman launched the congressional bagel caucus shortly upon entering Congress, it was with the lofty goal of using food to bring comity to an institution severely lacking it.

Charlie Kirk Says Gun Deaths ‘Unfortunately’ Worth it to Keep 2nd Amendment  —  Charlie Kirk, the conservative founder and president of Turning Point USA, said during an organizational event on Wednesday that gun deaths in exchange for the preservation of Second Amendment rights is part of America's reality.

Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 6, 2023  —  Click here to see ISW's interactive map of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  This map is updated daily alongside the static maps present in this report.  —  Click here to access ISW's archive of interactive time-lapse maps of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

‘Zero Interest in Doing Business’: TSMC Snubs Phoenix Construction Workers  —  The building trades just won a surprise victory through the city council.  But despite the hot labor market, securing manufacturing jobs is an uphill battle for organized labor.  —  President Joe Biden tours …

Nord Stream Sabotage Theories Deepen as Shreds of Evidence Emerge  —  Intelligence leaks surrounding the sabotage of the pipelines have provided more questions than answers.  It may be in no one's interest to reveal more.  —  Russian and Danish naval vessels that disappear in the Baltic Sea, days before an underwater pipeline blast.

Elon Musk says NPR's ‘state-affiliated media’ label might not have been accurate  —  Twitter CEO Elon Musk said the platform's recent labeling of NPR as “state-affiliated media” might not have been accurate during a series of email exchanges that provided a glimpse into the billionaire's thought process …