REVEALED: GOP leader, who voted to expel TN Three, resigns; found guilty of sexually harassing interns  —  A member of GOP leadership in the Tennessee House of Representatives was recently found guilty of sexually harassing at least one legislative intern, likely two, by an ethics subcommittee acting in secret,

Mike Lindell's firm told to pay $5 million in ‘Prove Mike Wrong’ election-fraud challenge  —  MyPillow founder and prominent election denier Mike Lindell made a bold offer ahead of a “cyber symposium” he held in August 2021 in South Dakota: He claimed he had data showing Chinese interference …

BuzzFeed Shuts Down Its Namesake News Division  —  BuzzFeed News, which won a Pulitzer Prize but never made money, is “beginning the process of closing,” the company's founder, Jonah Peretti, said in a memo to employees.  —  BuzzFeed is shutting down its namesake news division …

I.R.S. Official Is Said to Assert Political Meddling in Hunter Biden Inquiry  —  An agent overseeing the agency's portion of the investigation into the president's son is asking Congress for whistle-blower protection to discuss what he says is misconduct in the case.

Charges dropped against Alec Baldwin in fatal on-set ‘Rust’ shooting: Sources  —  Baldwin was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter.  —  Charges against Alec Baldwin have been dropped in the  —  fatal on-set “Rust” shooting  —  , according to sources familiar with the matter.

Biden preparing to announce reelection campaign next week  —  Aides are looking to release a video on Tuesday declaring the president's bid to return to the White House.  —  President Biden and his team are preparing to announce his re election campaign next week, with aides finalizing plans …

Top GOP lawyer decries ease of campus voting in private pitch to RNC  —  A presentation by Cleta Mitchell at a donor retreat urged tougher rules that could make it harder for college students to cast ballots  —  NASHVILLE — A top Republican legal strategist told a roomful of GOP donors …

Capitol rioter shot at local deputies after FBI informed him of Jan. 6 charges  —  Nathan Donald Pelham, of Texas, now faces an additional felony count, on top of the four misdemeanor charges stemming from the attack on the Capitol.  —  A Texas man facing charges in the Jan. 6 riot opened fire …

The (Republican) Party's Over  —  With each passing month, week, and day, the Republican Party contrives to go a little crazier, one step more radical—to smash one more norm or tradition.  If you still think that surely they'll come to their senses one of these days, you're just not paying attention.

SpaceX's Starship Rocket Will Try to Launch on 4/20: What to Expect  —  The most powerful rocket ever built got off the launchpad in South Texas, but did not achieve its most ambitious goals on Thursday.  —  A setback for Elon Musk and SpaceX, but not a fatal one.

SBA: Donald Trump's States-Only Position Is Unacceptable to Pro-Life Movement  —  Dannenfelser: “We will oppose any presidential candidate who refuses to embrace at a minimum a 15-week national standard to stop painful late-term abortions...”  —  Washington, D.C. - SBA Pro-Life America issued …

JUST IN: Dan Bongino Parts Ways With Fox News  —  Dan Bongino, the pro-Trump firebrand who turned frequent appearances on Fox News into a job hosting a weekend show on the network, announced his departure on Thursday.  —  Bongino, the host of Unfiltered and Fox Nation's Canceled in the USA …

Critic Predicts Maria Bartiromo & Jeanine Pirro Will Be Fired As Rupert Murdoch Moves To Be Less ‘Vulnerable’ After $787.5 Million Defamation Settlement  —  At least one critic predicts Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro will be fired from Fox News as Rupert Murdoch moves to be less “vulnerable” …

‘Deeply frustrated’: Florida legislators worn out by DeSantis  —  The governor didn't wow D.C. It's not great in Tallahassee either.  —  TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' iron-clad grip on the Republican-controlled Legislature may be slipping amid growing frustration among GOP legislators.

‘Double Standard’: Legal Experts Slam Dems For Ignoring Liberal Justice's Failure To Disclose Spouse's Consulting Work  — Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's nominee financial disclosure from March 2022 reveals she “inadvertently omitted” consulting income her spouse “periodically receives …

LeBron James didn't pay for his Twitter checkmark, but Elon gave it to him anyway  —  / After saying he wouldn't pay, James was offered a complimentary subscription ‘on behalf of Elon Musk.’  —  Twitter has started getting rid of legacy blue checks for those who don't pay up.  Well, unless you're LeBron James.

Public schools would have to display Ten Commandments under bill passed by Texas Senate  —  The Senate also passed a bill that would set prayer and Bible reading times during the school day.  —  Public schools in Texas would have to prominently display the Ten Commandments …

New secret recording reveals Oklahoma county leaders discussing sexual favors for pay raises  —  Last week the McCurtain Gazette News, suspecting that county meetings continued after the public left in a violation of Oklahoma's open-meetings laws, secretly placed a voice-activated recorder in the room.

How Hard Lines in Fox-Dominion Deal Talks Suddenly Softened  —  The $787.5 million settlement, believed to be the largest in a defamation case, came together quickly.  —  Reporting from Wilmington, Del.  —  On Tuesday morning, as the legal team for Dominion Voting Systems walked …

Heritage Foundation Makes Plans to Staff Next G.O.P. Administration  —  No matter the Republican, the effort has set a goal of up to 20,000 potential officials in a database akin to a right-wing LinkedIn.  —  If a Republican enters the Oval Office in 2025, whether it's Donald J. Trump or someone else …

House Republicans pass ban on transgender athletes competing with women, girls  —  The GOP had made passing the ban for school sports teams a key campaign promise.  —  House Republicans passed first-of-its-kind federal legislation on Thursday to ban  —  transgender athletes

Judge who suspended abortion pill failed to disclose interviews that discussed social issues  —  The federal district judge who first suspended the US Food and Drug Administration's approval of the so-called abortion pill mifepristone failed to disclose during his Senate confirmation process …

Ron DeSantis Has a Lizard Problem  —  Florida man has a horrible, terrible week  —  Happy Thursday!  —  Tim and Charlie.  Live in NYC.  —  Folks, before we get started: We're going on the road again next month, Thursday, May 18 in NYC.  —  We open with an in-person episode …

Fox Paid a Parking Ticket; Mike Lindell Is Going To Get Wrecked  —  In the Game of Trump, the cynical elites prosper while the rubes get taken to the cleaners.  —  ∙ Paid  —  Tonight: I'll be joined by A.B. Stoddard and Bill Kristol to talk about about [gestures broadly] all of this.

For Saner Politics, Try Stronger Parties  —  Well-intended reforms have made the national parties weak and ineffective—and unable to resist their most extreme elements  —  In the summer of 1968, while anti-Vietnam War protesters roared through the streets of Chicago, Hubert Humphrey …

1 in 3 US households utilized Biden administration's free at-home COVID tests: CDC  —  Nearly 1 in 3 U.S. households used free at-home COVID-19 tests provided by the Biden administration, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday.