Playbook: Scoop: The mystery woman at Feinstein's side  —  Presented by With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  THE VIEW FROM THE U.S. — “For Biden, Crisis at Home Complicates Diplomacy Abroad,” news analysis by NYT's Peter Baker

DeSantis expected to enter 2024 presidential race next week  —  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to enter the 2024 presidential race next week, two Republicans familiar with the matter tell CNN.  —  DeSantis will file paperwork next week with the Federal Election Commission declaring his candidacy …

Pete Buttigieg Loves God, Beer, and His Electric Mustang  —  Sure, the US secretary of transportation has thoughts on building bridges.  But infrastructure occupies just a sliver of his voluminous mind.  —  The curious mind of Pete Buttigieg holds much of its functionality in reserve.

ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED … NATIONAL RESULTS  —  Recent midterms have typically involved national waves that favor one party over the other, particularly when there's backlash against a party that controls the presidency and both chambers of Congress.  —  Figure 1.  Two-Way Democratic Support in General Elections (1976 to 2022)

F.B.I. Revokes Security Clearances of 3 Agents Over Jan. 6 Issues  —  At least two of the three agents are scheduled to testify on Thursday to a House panel investigating what Republicans contend is the “weaponization” of federal agencies against conservatives.

Christiane Amanpour voices dissent over Trump town hall, says she had ‘very robust exchange’ with CNN chief  —  Editor's Note: A version of this article first appeared in the “Reliable Sources” newsletter.  Sign up for the daily digest chronicling the evolving media landscape here.  —  CNN —

Florida Democrats think the unthinkable: We're in play  —  The Jacksonville win was just one election.  But the party hopes it represents something more.  —  TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Democrats, long under the thumb of Ron DeSantis, are giddy the mayoral victory in Jacksonville could be the end to a long, long losing streak.

Ron DeSantis Signs Law Allowing Trans Kids to Be Taken From Their Families  —  Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a horrifying bill Wednesday that will let the state take transgender minors away from their families if they are receiving gender-affirming care.

Trump's Dominance in the GOP Isn't What It Seems  —  He's presiding over a movement, not a party.  —  When Donald Trump won the presidential nomination in 2016, it was widely regarded as a “hostile takeover” of the Republican Party.  Prominent Republicans ripped his lack of conservative values …

The Left's disinformation industrial complex  —  By itself, the conclusions of special counsel John Durham's report on the FBI's involvement in the 2016 election are damning enough.  The FBI allowed itself to become a conduit for disinformation instigated by a partisan political campaign …

North Dakota Republican Gov. Doug Burgum likely to run for president  —  As potential Republican contenders Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott move closer to announcing their entries into the GOP presidential fray …

Axios-Ipsos poll: Gun violence soars as public health concern  —  Gun violence has surged ahead of the opioid crisis as Americans' top public health concern, according to the latest edition of the Axios-Ipsos American Health Index. … - 25% said the biggest threat is opioids and fentanyl, virtually unchanged since the last poll.

New federal lawsuit says Florida book bans are unconstitutional  —  Since December, Popular Information has detailed the extraordinary number of book bans being pursued in Escambia County, Florida.  Much of this activity is being driven by one woman, high school English teacher Vicki Baggett.

Antiabortion Group Used Cellphone Data to Target Ads to Planned Parenthood Visitors  —  Wisconsin group used precise geolocation data until last year to direct ads to women it suspected of seeking abortions  —  A Midwest antiabortion group used cellphone location data to target online content …

GOP Rep. Nancy Mace Warns Republicans Will ‘Suffer’ For Strict Abortion Laws  —  The GOP South Carolina lawmaker told CNN's Jake Tapper there would be election consequences for Republicans if they promote restrictive abortion bills.  —  Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) said Wednesday the Republican Party …

Democrats race to avoid a Biden embarrassment in New Hampshire  —  Democrats are searching for ways to get the president on the New Hampshire ballot after he pushed for changes to the nominating calendar.  —  NASHUA, N.H. — Top Democrats are scrambling for ways to avoid a catastrophe …

Supreme Court sidesteps ruling on scope of internet company immunity from lawsuits over content posted by users  —  The justices skip discussion of scope of legal immunity under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.  —  WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday sidestepped a ruling …

Exclusive: New evidence in special counsel probe may undercut Trump's claim documents he took were automatically declassified  —  The National Archives has informed former president Donald Trump that it is set to hand over to special counsel Jack Smith 16 records which show Trump and his top advisers …

Heat Will Likely Soar to Record Levels in Next 5 Years, New Analysis Says  —  Global temperatures are likely to soar to record highs over the next five years, driven by human-caused warming and a climate pattern known as El Niño, forecasters at the World Meteorological Organization said on Wednesday.

New House bill would block pay for members of Congress if the U.S. defaults  —  The bipartisan legislation by Reps. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., comes amid growing fears about a debt ceiling breach ahead of a June 1 deadline.  —  WASHINGTON — A bipartisan bill set …

School librarians face a new penalty in the banned-book wars: Prison  —  Several states have passed laws that could sentence people for years if they provide ‘obscene’ books to minors  —  Librarians could face years of imprisonment and tens of thousands in fines for providing sexually explicit …

Job Prospects for Black Workers Have Never Been Better—In Ways That Might Last  —  Tight market means better-paying, more-stable occupations that could provide resilience in potential recession  —  The tightest job market in generations is transforming the employment prospects for Black Americans …

McCarthy Predicts US Debt-Limit Deal on House Floor Next Week  —  Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he expects the House to consider a deal on the federal debt limit next week, offering his most positive take yet on the negotiations to avoid a default.  —  Negotiators, he told reporters Thursday, are in a “much better place” now.

A Little Optimism in the Middle of a Lot of Mess  —  A First Amendment lawsuit got filed in Florida today.  It's not a First Amendment lawsuit over the new Florida law we discussed earlier this week—the one where Governor Ron DeSantis stripped academic freedom out of the classroom …

Why the Supreme Court Is Blind to Its Own Corruption  —  The scandal surrounding Justice Clarence Thomas has further eroded the already record-low public confidence in the Supreme Court.  If Chief Justice John Roberts wonders how such a thing could have happened, he might start looking …

Wait!  Washington Post's Bump Makes the Last Pitch for Russian Collusion  —  Shortly before the release of the Durham report, I wrote about the concern that we have a de facto state media in the United States.  The column explored the pattern of false claims replicated across media platforms in the last four years.