Clarence Thomas Had a Child in Private School.  Harlan Crow Paid the Tuition.  —  Crow paid for private school for a relative Thomas said he was raising “as a son.”  “This is way outside the norm,” said a former White House ethics lawyer.  —  In 2008, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas decided …

Proud Boys Enrique Tarrio, 3 others guilty of Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy  —  Prosecutors alleged defendants viewed themselves as Donald Trump's army, intent on keeping him in power through violence  —  Former Proud Boys chairman Henry “Enrique” Tarrio and three other members of the extremist group …

Donald Trump seeks to move Manhattan criminal case to federal court  —  The judge asked the parties to agree to a trial held in early 2024.  —  Former President Donald Trump will try to move the criminal case brought by the Manhattan district attorney's office into federal court, his attorneys said Thursday.

Russia says U.S. was behind Kremlin drone attack, drawing quick denial  —  Russia accused the United States on Thursday of being behind what it says was a drone attack on Moscow's Kremlin citadel intended to kill President Vladimir Putin.  —  A day after blaming Ukraine for what it called …

Emails Reveal ‘Jaw-Dropping’ Herschel Walker Money Scandal  —  Emails show Herschel Walker solicited hundreds of thousands of dollars for his own business from a billionaire donor, with the donor believing he was giving to Walker's campaign. … Pay Dirt is a weekly foray into the pigpen of political funding.

North Carolina House approves measure banning abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy  —  The North Carolina state House passed a bill on Wednesday that would ban abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy, sending it to the state Senate for approval.  —  The House vote came just a day after Republicans …

Judge Dismisses Trump's Lawsuit Against The New York Times  —  Former President Donald J. Trump, who had sued The Times, three of its reporters and his niece over an investigation into his tax returns, was ordered to pay The Times's legal expenses.  —  A New York judge dismissed former …

The GOP megadonors with buyer's remorse  —  Billionaires like Peter Thiel are reportedly uncomfortable with 2024's MAGA culture warriors.  If only someone could have seen this coming.  —  Peter Thiel is (allegedly) having second thoughts.  —  The billionaire, right-wing megadonor reportedly …

Tucker Carlson floats plan to host alternative GOP debate in post-Fox future  —  The fired Fox host, hoping for a next act bigger than podcasting, would forfeit millions owed to him in his network contract to have a voice in the 2024 election, associates say, and has talked to Trump about a candidate forum

Secret recording: Top GOP recruit says Trump endorsement isn't all that  —  Frank LaRose, Ohio's Secretary of State, offered some candid assessments about the value of the Trump backing during closed door remarks.  —  Former President Donald Trump's endorsement is widely viewed among Republican candidates …

Donald Trump's Rape Trial Goes From One Disaster to Another  —  It goes from bad to worse for Donald Trump, which on Wednesday saw the re-emergence of the infamous ‘Access Hollywood’ tape. … May 3 was the latest very bad day for Donald Trump at his trial for allegedly raping E. Jean Carroll.

Barstool Sports Fires Host for Saying Racial Slur in Rap  —  ‘UNFORGIVABLE’  —  Barstool Sports fired its host Ben Mintz after he used a racial slur while reading rap lyrics during a livestream, company founder Dave Portnoy announced Wednesday.  Mintz said the slur out loud while reading …

Liberal SCOTUS Justice Took $3M From Book Publisher, Didn't Recuse From Its Cases  —  Liberal Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor declined to recuse herself from multiple copyright infringement cases involving book publisher Penguin Random House despite having been paid millions by the firm for her books …

May 3, 2023  —  “No one should assume that the Fed can really protect the economy and the financial system and our reputation globally from the damage that [a U.S. default] might inflict,” Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said today.  “We shouldn't even be talking about a world in which the U.S. doesn't pay its bills.

Big Oil's big checks  —  Presented by THE BUZZ: DEGREASE THE TRACKS?  — The oil industry made no secret of its disdain for Gov. Gavin Newsom's windfall profits penalty bill, but the latest lobbying figures give us a glimpse into how much they were willing to spend to stall it.  —  Hint: It was a lot.

Subway Rider Choked Homeless Man to Death, Medical Examiner Rules  —  Jordan Neely died after a man held him in a chokehold.  On Wednesday, the medical examiner's office said the cause of death was compression of the neck, and ruled it a homicide.  —  The death of a New York City subway rider …

Ron DeSantis, The Leader America Needs in 2024  —  As the 2024 presidential primary begins in New Hampshire, Republicans are looking for a strong, capable challenger for Joe Biden who can win and lead our country forward.  Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida is emerging as a top contender, and for good reason.

About Half in U.S. Worry About Their Money's Safety in Banks  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Amid turbulence in the U.S. banking system, nearly half of Americans are anxious about the safety of the money they have in accounts at banks or other financial institutions.

Goodbye Twitter: Techdirt Will Soon End Our Automated Posting  —  Over the last few months we'd been wondering if it was worth pulling Techdirt posting from Twitter altogether, but had been too busy with other stuff to make a decision, and now it looks like Twitter has made the decision for us.

Behind Trump's musical tribute to some of the most violent Jan. 6 rioters  —  Most nights at 9 p.m., defendants in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol flicker the lights in their D.C. jail cells to signal to supporters outside that it's time to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” together.

Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, May 3, 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.

Total Wine magnate makes his bid for open Maryland Senate seat official  —  Rep. David Trone has been staffing up for months in anticipation of Sen. Ben Cardin's retirement.  —  Rep. David Trone officially launched his bid on Thursday for the Democratic nomination to replace retiring Sen. Ben Cardin in Maryland.