Democrat Donna Deegan becomes first female mayor of Jacksonville  —  Democrat Donna Deegan will serve as the first female mayor of Jacksonville..  —  After months of hard campaigning and millions of dollars spent between both sides, Degan won the highly contested election against Republican Daniel Davis.

Biden, McCarthy say U.S. won't default as debt talks inch forward  — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told CNBC in an interview he does not think the U.S. will default on its debt as tense negotiations over the debt ceiling continue.  — President Joe Biden echoed that sentiment later in remarks from the White House.

After Years of Political Hype, the Durham Inquiry Failed to Deliver  —  A dysfunctional investigation led by a Trump-era special counsel illustrates a dilemma about prosecutorial independence and accountability in politically sensitive matters.  —  Reporting from Washington

DeSantis Goes 0-for-2 on Election Night  —  The 2024 hopeful made a dramatic, election-eve show of support in the Kentucky governor's race, only for his chosen candidate to get clobbered.  Another favored candidate in Jacksonville, Fla., lost, too.  —  On Monday, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida went out on a limb.

Kaitlan Collins, Moderator of Trump Forum, Named CNN's 9 p.m. Anchor  —  The appointment caps a fast rise at the network by Ms. Collins, 31, who previously covered the Trump and Biden administrations.  —  CNN has selected Kaitlan Collins to host a new weeknight show at 9 p.m. …

A Brief, Concerning Conversation With Dianne Feinstein  —  “Oh, you're an eager one,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein said as the elevator door opened and she saw me on Tuesday afternoon.  —  The senior California senator had just voted, after returning to the Senate last week after an extended absence following a case of shingles.

Key Trump attorney departs legal team  —  Timothy Parlatore, an attorney for Donald Trump who played a key role in the Mar-a-Lago documents investigation and once testified before the grand jury, is leaving the former president's legal team, two sources familiar with the exit tell CNN.

Elon Musk Among the Anti-Semites  —  Criticizing George Soros is not inherently anti-Semitic.  But presenting him as a literal comic book villain certainly is.  —  Last night, Elon Musk made two rookie social-media mistakes: He tweeted after 10 p.m., and he echoed paranoid anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists.

Frank Luntz Can't Quit … “That's the original Big Boy,” Frank Luntz said, gesturing to the deep end of a peanut-shaped swimming pool where the iconic restaurant mascot of a portly child triumphantly hoists a hamburger above his head.  —  We were standing in the backyard of Luntz's home …

Pentagon official who survived bruising confirmation battle to depart this summer  —  As policy chief, Colin Kahl has made the public case against sending F-16s to Ukraine.  —  Colin Kahl, the Pentagon's top policy official who was narrowly confirmed by the Senate after a tough confirmation battle …

Yemi Mobalade elected mayor of Colorado Springs — the first Black man to lead the city — in political upheaval  —  Yemi Mobolade, a Nigerian immigrant and businessman with no political experience, will be the first Black mayor of Colorado Springs after he defeated Wayne Williams on Tuesday night in the city's runoff election.

639-foot Great Lakes freighter runs aground at Belle Isle  —  Detroit ― A 639-foot Great Lakes freighter carrying salt ran aground Wednesday morning on the east end of Belle Isle, just feet from the shoreline.  —  The freighter was headed toward Lake St. Clair from Cleveland …

Naomi Klein investigates ‘conspiracy theory culture’ that has shaken her life  —  Doppelganger, due out this autumn, examines ‘the wildness of right now’, including personal issues arising from being confused with Naomi Wolf  —  Award-winning author and Guardian columnist Naomi Klein …

Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, May 16, 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.

Daniel Penny shows how much the right loves white vigilante violence  —  “Law and order” is often code for white supremacy.  —  ∙ Paid … Republicans often present themselves as the law and order party — the ones committed to public safety and fighting crime.

NYC seriously considering housing migrants in troubled now-shuttered jail on Rikers Island  —  New York City officials are seriously considering a plan to house migrants in a Rikers Island jail that was shuttered last year, the Daily News has learned.  —  The move, which would likely spark …

Republican councilman caught smoking crack and fentanyl in his car: report  —  A city councilman in Cranston, Rhode Island who chaired the local Republican Party was arrested on Monday for drug possession after police found him smoking a mix of crack cocaine and fentanyl in his car, reportedThe Providence Journal this week.

BLOWBACK: CNN advertisers get a serious warning about branding  —  Platforming extremism has consequences, and one network is finding out.  —  Donald Trump was welcomed onto CNN — a network he and his fans have long deemed “far-left” and “fake news” — for a Town Hall event last week …

I've never seen the Kremlin so rattled  —  Anna Nemtsova is a Daily Beast correspondent and a contributing writer for the Atlantic.  —  A mysterious drone attack on the Kremlin.  A car bombing that wounded a key advocate of the invasion of Ukraine.  Four military aircraft shot down in a single day — inside Russia's borders.

PEN America, Penguin Random House sue Florida school district over book bans  —  Writers' group PEN America and publisher Penguin Random House have sued a Florida school district over its removal of books about race and LGBTQ+ identities  —  TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Writers' group PEN America …

As GOP aims to punish poor, CBO says extending Trump tax cuts for rich would add $3.5 trillion to deficit  —  While congressional Republicans hold the global economy hostage by refusing to raise the U.S. debt ceiling without major spending cuts that would hurt the working class …

Biden admin pushing for Saudi-Israeli peace deal by end of year, officials say … - Such a deal could be unpopular among Democrats and might cost Biden a lot of political capital. … - But a deal could be a historic breakthrough in Middle East peace, leading to a domino effect of more Arab …

Supreme Court leaves in place Illinois restrictions on military-style weapons  —  The Supreme Court turned down a request to put on hold laws banning AR-15-style weapons and large ammunition magazines  —  The Supreme Court on Wednesday left in place for now Illinois's new ban on the purchase …

More than 1M tax returns flagged for potential identity fraud: IRS  —  More than 1 million tax returns have been flagged for potential identity fraud with more than $6 billion in refunds requiring additional review, according to the IRS.  —  An interim report on the 2023 tax filing season …

Revealed: Vladimir Putin's secret Black Sea bunker … You would think that the architects who designed Vladimir Putin's palace thought of everything.  —  After all, the 190,000-square-foot, billion-dollar complex, perched on a rugged bluff overlooking the Black Sea, has every luxury that an autocrat could possibly desire.

Ron DeSantis's immigration law is already leading to worker shortages  —  Dozens of videos on social media show empty construction sites and farms even before a new law goes into effect.  —  The videos from Florida aren't hard to find: Dozens of clips of empty fields, abandoned construction sites …

‘We Sale Your Bank’: WaPo Reporter Rewrites Disastrous Fetterman Word Salad as a ‘Quote’  —  To protect the ever-brilliant Sen. John Frankenstein — er, Fetterman (D-Pa.) — a Washington Post reporter rewrote a muddled Fetterman ramble and posted it as a quote.