A $787.5 Million Settlement and Embarrassing Disclosures: The Costs of Airing a Lie  —  Fox News's late-stage agreement with Dominion Voting Systems came with a rare acknowledgment of broadcasting false claims by the conservative media powerhouse.  —  Reporting from Wilmington, Del.

'Don't Say Gay' expansion requested by DeSantis approved  —  The Florida Board of Education on Wednesday approved a ban on classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in all grades, expanding the law critics call “Don't Say Gay” at the request of Gov. Ron DeSantis as he gears up for an expected presidential run.

Playbook: How Trump ambushed DeSantis in D.C.  —  Presented by The U.S. Chamber of Commerce  —  With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  POPPING THIS MORNING — We've gotten our hands on a “confidential discussion draft” of a debt ceiling proposal being circulated …

Inside the secret list of websites that make AI chatbots sound smart  —  AI chatbots have exploded in popularity over the past four months, stunning the public with their awesome abilities, from writing sophisticated term papers to holding unnervingly lucid conversations.

Red-State Voters Give Democrats Tester, Manchin Opposite Marks Ahead of 2024  — 58% of Montana voters approve of Tester, while 55% of West Virginia voters disapprove of Manchin.  — Among the 59% of Montana voters who disapprove of Biden, 42% of them give Tester positive marks.

Democratic governors lose their grip as Republicans nab supermajorities  —  A steady number of GOP wins and party-flipping have created a particularly challenging environment for Democratic governors in Kentucky, Kansas, Louisiana and North Carolina.  —  Kansas Rep. Heather Meyer …

Oklahoma Official Who Discussed Killing Reporters Resigns  —  McCurtain County Commissioner Mark Jennings was caught on tape discussing killing reporters and lynching Black people.  —  A county commissioner in far southeast Oklahoma who was apparently caught on tape discussing killing reporters …

Top Trump lawyer may take limited role in Jan. 6 and documents cases  —  Boris Epshteyn continues in role as top adviser but has clashed with other lawyers on Trump's team over his advice and approach  —  One of Donald Trump's top advisers and most loyal allies may be taking a more limited role related …

Boyfriend of N.Y. woman who was gunned down in the wrong driveway recalls her final moments  —  Blake Walsh said he was heartbroken after Kaylin Gillis, his girlfriend of four years, was fatally shot Saturday while they looked for a party.  —  SCHENECTADY, N.Y. — The boyfriend of a New York woman …

Rioter who organized ‘fighters’ on Jan. 6 pleads guilty, agrees to cooperate with DOJ  —  Russell Taylor will likely testify at the upcoming trial of members of the Three Percenters far-right movement.  —  WASHINGTON — A California man who organized a group of “fighters” to travel to Washington …

Exclusive: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. launches unlikely presidential bid backed by 14% of Biden voters  —  Robert F. Kennedy Jr. launches his unlikely bid for the Democratic presidential nomination Wednesday with the support of 14% of voters who backed President Joe Biden in 2020, an exclusive USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll finds.

Ex-Trump Organization CFO Weisselberg released from jail  —  Former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg was released from jail on Wednesday, according to New York City Department of Correction records.  —  Weisselberg was sent to New York's Rikers Island jail …

Capitol riot: Nashville's ‘zip-tie guy’ guilty on all charges  —  A federal court Tuesday handed down guilty verdicts for the Nashville man best known as “zip-tie guy” and his mother for the pair's role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.  —  Eric Munchel, who infamously brandished zip ties …

Ex-Biden official Sam Brinton to undergo mental health evaluation in luggage theft case  —  Sam Brinton, the disgraced former Biden administration official accused of stealing luggage on at least two separate occasions, has agreed to undergo a mental health evaluation as part of a Minnesota's adult diversion program.

Oklahomans terrified of right-wing extremists 28 years after Tim McVeigh's federal building bombing  —  Charlotte Cisneros came of age in Oklahoma City in the wake of the bombing that killed 168 people on April 19, 1995.  So, when she turned on the new Netflix documentary about Waco last month, it hit her hard.

Man arrested after 2 Woodlands Elite cheerleaders were shot outside HEB near Austin, police say  —  Police say Payton Washington was one of two Woodlands Elite cheerleaders hit when someone opened fire near a grocery store outside Austin.  One man is in custody.

Marjorie Taylor Greene silenced in committee after accusing Mayorkas of lying  —  Democrats twice sought to strike remarks from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) during a Tuesday hearing, with the House Homeland Security Committee failing to reprimand her for accusing a colleague …

DHS Official Has Office Raided, Covered in Crime Scene Tape  —  The head of the office that tracks cross-border threats — including fentanyl and cartel activity — was walked out by security and questioned on Monday, sources tell Rolling Stone  —  THE DEPARTMENT OF Homeland Security intelligence official …

‘Stand your ground’: the US laws linked to rising deaths and racist violence  —  The shooting of Ralph Yarl, the Black teen who rang the wrong doorbell, revives concerns about expanding self defense laws  —  The shooting of a Black teenager who rang the wrong doorbell in Kansas City …

Maine quadruple murder suspect was recently released from prison  —  Joseph Eaton, 34, was released Friday from the Maine Correctional Center in Windham, where he had been sentenced in March 2021, a state official said.  —  BOWDOIN, Maine — A Maine man who police say killed four people …

Biden Summons Big Donors to Washington as 2024 Campaign Nears  —  The gathering is the latest in an intensifying series of planning moves ahead of Mr. Biden's expected announcement of a re-election bid.  —  Top donors to President Biden have received a last-minute invitation to travel …

Dadeville birthday party shooting: 2 teen brothers arrested for reckless murder  —  Dadeville birthday party shooting  —  Two teenage brothers have been charged with four counts of reckless murder in the Saturday night shooting at a Dadeville birthday party that killed four young people and injured 32 others.

With a heavy weight on his shoulders, Evan Gershkovich is standing tall  —  As Evan Gershkovich appeared in a Moscow courtroom, everything about the stage-managed proceedings was designed to elicit a specific response.  He was placed in a glass cage where cameras flashed around him.

Supreme Court clears way for Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed to try to use DNA to prove innocence  —  The Supreme Court cleared the way on Wednesday for Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed to seek post-conviction DNA evidence to try to prove his innocence.

Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson Discuss the Urge to Impregnate Women  —  Musk blamed “birth control, abortions” to the impending collapse of civilization on Tuesday's Fox interview  —  IN THE SECOND night of the two-part interview between Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson, the two traded notes …

Biden will meet with ‘Tennessee Three’ at the White House  —  Biden invited state Reps. Reps. Justin Jones, Gloria Johnson and Justin J. Pearson, who faced expulsion over gun control protests, to the White House “to continue that conversation.”  —  WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will meet …