Licht's Dispassion Punch  —  Inside CNN, the reverberations from Wednesday's town hall are still being profoundly felt, further testing the long-strained relationship between the network's anchors and journalists on one side and their newly dispassionate boss on the other.

Ron DeSantis is on the verge of announcing his presidential bid  —  The Florida governor's political staff is set to move into a campaign office on Monday, which means he will soon have to file paperwork to run for president.  —  The clock is about to begin ticking down on Ron DeSantis' presidential announcement.

GOP lawmaker: Former Trump prosecutor declined to provide details on hush-money investigation  —  An ex-prosecutor who once oversaw Manhattan's yearslong investigation of former President Donald Trump repeatedly declined to substantively answer questions at a closed-door meeting Friday …

CNN told ‘disgusted’ audience members to stay silent during Trump's town hall: report  —  The audience at CNN's town hall Wednesday appeared to be lapping up Donald Trump's every word, but there were many dissenters in the crowd - and they were told to stay quiet, a new report claims.

Cat and dog torture videos litter Twitter, adding to concerns about moderation  —  Twitter's search function suggested searches for animal abuse, leading some viewers to the video.  As of Friday afternoon, Twitter appeared to have turned off all suggestions.

Russian lawyer claims Putin is building settlements for conservatives looking to leave the US for ‘ideological reasons’  —  A Moscow-based immigration lawyer claims that a settlement for conservative American and Canadian immigrants seeking to leave the West “for ideological reasons” is being built in Russia, Vice News reported.

How Ukrainian forces denied Russia victory in Bakhmut by Victory Day  —  KYIV, Ukraine — They started shelling at sunrise.  —  In the dawn haze, under the cover of their own artillery, small groups of Ukrainian soldiers advanced toward a Russian position on the outskirts of the embattled city of Bakhmut.

Tucker Carlson Wanted to ‘Start Threatening’ Fox News Staffers After 2020 Election  —  We've got more previously unreported texts from Tucker.  This time, he and his producer scheme ways to threaten Fox staffers into submission and extract a “big, fat contract.”

A 22-Year-Old Texas Man Fatally Shot His Partner for Traveling to Get an Abortion  —  Harold Thompson choked and then murdered his partner, Gabriella Gonzalez, in a parking lot in Dallas the day she returned from having an abortion in Colorado.  —  A Texas man, 22, was arrested on Wednesday evening …

Flush With Federal Money, Strings Attached, a Deep South Factory Votes to Unionize  —  Friday's victory by the United Steelworkers at a factory building electric school buses was a test for Democratic hopes that clean-energy funding from Washington could bolster organized labor.

American Oversight Receives Indication That Durham Investigation Has Closed  —  On Friday, the Department of Justice dropped a key objection to the release of more than 4,500 pages of documents related to the Durham investigation, the Trump-era inquiry into the origins of the FBI's probe of the Trump campaign's ties to Russia.

Ex-ByteDance Executive Accuses Company of ‘Lawlessness’  —  The former executive sued ByteDance, which owns TikTok, for wrongful termination and accused the company of lifting content from rivals and “supreme access” by the Chinese Communist Party.  —  A former executive at ByteDance …

George Santos Staffer Faces Discipline for Menacing Sexual Comments to Reporter  —  UM, SIR...  MAGA provocateur and Santos ops director Vish Burra is in hot water for his behavior toward a Long Island reporter who has given tough coverage to his boss.

Fake Nevada Trump electors won't face state charges  —  A group of Nevada Republican electors who submitted paperwork that falsely claimed that Donald Trump won the Silver State's 2020 election will not face state charges, KLAS-TV Las Vegas reports.  —  Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford …

Punishing PBS  —  America's most-watched PBS station is on the verge of going dark.  —  The Republican governor of Oklahoma, Kevin Stitt, recently vetoed a bill that would have renewed the license and provided millions in funding for the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority …

Russia tried to destroy US-made Patriot system in Ukraine, officials say  —  Russia tried to destroy a US-made Patriot air defense system in Ukraine last week with a hypersonic missile, two US officials told CNN.  —  The attack failed, and the Ukrainian military instead intercepted …

Emma Stone-backed child harassment bill sparks First Amendment, youth incarceration concerns  —  Legislation backed by the Oscar winner would make recording children in public without parents' consent a misdemeanor in New York punishable by up to a year in prison.

‘Tool’ of the Proud Boys convicted of Jan. 6 police assault, rioting  —  Christopher Worrell's treatment at the D.C. jail led a judge to order his pretrial release and jail authorities to be found in contempt  —  A Florida Proud Boys member whose medical mistreatment at the D.C. jail led …

‘Mommunes’: Mothers Are Living Single Together  —  Women are joining forces under one roof, using the age-old power of sisterhood to split the household bills and raise their children.  —  First, Kristin Batykefer lost her marketing job when there was a management change.

U.S. Ally Rebuffs Requests to Block Russian Military Flights  —  Egypt is giving Moscow crucial access to its airspace, allowing a path to transport weapons to Ukraine from Syria  —  Egypt has ignored U.S. requests to close its airspace to Russian military flights, American and Egyptian officials said …

Cops Win $40M Over Racial Discrimination in Massachusetts  —  Abel Cano Jr., one of the Massachusetts officers continually passed over for promotion due to his skin color, said he can't help but wonder how much better his life may have been.  —  After nearly 15 years of litigation …

Poll: Florida Republicans Strongly Support Donald Trump for 2024 Run  —  2024 election cycle will be here very soon.  —  Amidst massive legal battles involving former U.S. President Donald Trump and jockeying for control of the GOP that puts Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the public light …

FDA approves drug to treat hot flashes and night sweats  —  The new drug, frezolinetant, could be a “game-changer” for women who don't want to take hormone replacement therapy or who have been treated for hormone-sensitive cancers.  —  The Food and Drug Administration approved on Friday …

Military promotions impasse drags on as Sen. Tuberville defends blockade  —  The Alabama senator says he won't agree to quick approval of promotions until the Defense Department changes its policy on service members and dependents seeking abortions.  —  WASHINGTON — Dozens …

Virginia joins list of GOP states leaving bipartisan effort to combat voter fraud amid conspiracies  —  The state was one of the founding members when the Electronic Registration Information Center was formed in 2012, an effort promoted by then-Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell.

McCarthy's chief of staff retiring  —  Dan Meyer, the chief of staff to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), will be retiring from his role next month after four years in the position.  —  McCarthy's office announced Meyer's retirement in a release on Friday, praising him for his work …

Ron DeSantis Bans Credit Card Companies From Helping Track Gun Criminals  —  Just weeks ago, Ron DeSantis made it legal in Florida to conceal carry a gun without a permit, training, or even a background check.  —  And on Friday, he signed a bill to prevent credit card companies from tracking the sale of firearms and ammunition.