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

The GOP's Work-Requirement Scam  —  The Republican Party is threatening to deliberately engineer a global financial crisis unless Joe Biden slashes aid for America's most vulnerable.  And the president seems inclined to pay that ransom.  —  In recent days, the parameters of a deal to raise the debt ceiling have come into view.

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.

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.

Prince Harry and Meghan involved in ‘near catastrophic’ paparazzi car chase in New York  —  Prince Harry and his wife Meghan were involved in a “near catastrophic” car chase with paparazzi photographers in New York on Tuesday night, his spokesperson has alleged.

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. …

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

‘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.

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 …