Ron DeSantis will launch his presidential bid with Elon Musk  —  The Florida governor will announce he is running for president on Twitter Wednesday evening in a conversation with Musk.  —  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will announce he is running for president during a discussion with Twitter CEO Elon Musk …

Florida school bans poem read at Biden inauguration after objection of just one parent  —  The poem that was read by poet Amanda Gorman at President Joe Biden's inauguration has been banned from elementary schools in Miami-Dade County, Florida after the objections of just one parent.

Driver arrested and Nazi flag seized after truck crashes into security barriers near the White House  —  The driver of the U-Haul truck faces multiple charges after the Monday night incident, which the Secret Service said may have been intentional.  —  A driver was arrested and a Nazi flag …

The looming existential crisis for cable news  —  The number of cable subscribers, dropping for years, just took a record-breaking plunge.  Sooner or later, it will hurt news channels' bottom line.  —  After a week of promotion and controversy, CNN staged a live town hall telecast …

Special Counsel Is Wrapping Up Trump Mar-a-Lago Probe  —  Some Trump associates anticipate an indictment—and raising funds off it  —  WASHINGTON—Special counsel Jack Smith has all but finished obtaining testimony and other evidence in his criminal investigation into whether former President …

Sex Abuse in Catholic Church: Over 1,900 Minors Abused in Illinois, State Says  —  A new report by the attorney general of Illinois covering decades names more than 450 credibly accused sexual abusers, including priests and lay religious brothers.  —  The Latest

Harlan Crow's Lawyers Say Congress Doesn't Have Authority to Investigate Supreme Court  —  Harlan Crow, the Texas billionaire and GOP megadonor with close ties to Clarence Thomas, refused to answer questions from a Senate committee about his years of gifts to the Supreme Court justice.

Court sets legal showdown on debt limit 14th Amendment argument  —  Justice Department lawyers declined to say whether Biden has the power to defy a debt cap.  —  A judge in Boston has ordered a hearing next week on one of the key arguments that President Joe Biden has the legal authority …

Trump hush money trial in Manhattan DA criminal case set for March 2024  —  Former President Trump's criminal trial in Manhattan over his alleged role in a hush money scheme has been set for next March during the heat of the GOP primary election.  —  Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the case …

UT-Austin tried to hire a game theorist for its new free-enterprise think tank.  He turned down the job because of fights over tenure.  —  Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick wants to eliminate tenure, but his attempts have impacted the institute he helped create.  —  It was going to take Keith Schnakenberg …

The QR-Code Menu Is Being Shown the Door  —  A dining innovation that once looked like the future has worn out its welcome with many restaurateurs, customers and servers who say it takes the joy out of dining.  —  Heavenly Buffaloes, a chain of restaurants with locations …

Republican Debt Ceiling Lies  —  Today's X-Date: GOP members insist they're worried about the national debt.  It ain't true.  —  House Speaker Kevin McCarthy speaks alongside House and Senate Republicans during a bicameral press conference on the debt ceiling outside the U.S. Capitol, May 17, 2023.

7 news outlets reimagining political journalism in smart ways  —  Political journalism is in crisis.  Over the past few months, BuzzFeed News, FiveThirtyEight, Vice and a number of other outlets that specialize in political news have substantially cut staffing and coverage.

Unhinged NYC college professor who cursed out anti-abortion students holds machete to Post reporter's neck  —  The unhinged Manhattan college professor who went viral for cursing out anti-abortion students shockingly held a machete to a Post reporter's neck Tuesday — and made wild threats that she was going to “chop” him up.

Here's How Bad CNN's Post-Trump Town Hall Ratings Have Been  —  This reporting is featured in this week's edition of Confider, The Daily Beast's media newsletter.  Subscribe here and send your questions, tips, and complaints here.  —  More than a week after CNN's disastrous town hall …

Target CEO defends ‘woke’ capitalism during calls to boycott kids ‘tuck friendly’ swimwear  —  Target's top executive dismissed the social media uproar over the retailer's new line of LGBTQ-friendly clothing, including “tuck-friendly” swimwear for children, saying that marketing the products are good for business.

GOP extortion has backed Biden into a corner.  He still has a way out.  —  As America hurtles toward default on its debts and the subsequent economic cataclysm, it's looking as if President Biden is running out of options.  He still has a way out — remaining prepared to invoke the 14th Amendment …

As funds run short, Treasury asks agencies if payments can be made later  —  Senior Biden aides are rummaging through the nation's books, looking for new ways to conserve cash while Washington battles over the debt ceiling  —  The Treasury Department has asked federal agencies whether …

Disney's reputation jumps among Democrats, drops among Republicans: poll  —  Sentiments toward the Walt Disney Company have become increasingly divided along partisan lines amid a public relations and legal battle with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).  —  The company dropped a dozen spots …

Trump Organization finishes last in brand reputation survey for second straight year  —  The Trump Organization, the company led by former President Trump and his family, finished last in an Axios Harris survey of brand reputations for the second year in a row.

AG Merrick Garland Needs to Get Out of the Business of Defending Trump  —  E. Jean Carroll wants to add Trump's latest insults to a pending defamation case.  The attorney general still allows the federal government to help Trump's defense. … E. Jean Carroll's latest legal move …

Charlie Kirk's ‘Turning Point’ Pivots to Christian Nationalism  —  The organization founded to promote the free market sure is spending a lot of time promoting attacks on the separation of church and state … Its mission, as recorded with the IRS since 2012, is to enlighten students about …

Heat Wave and Blackout Would Send Half of Phoenix to E.R., Study Says  —  New research warns that nearly 800,000 residents would need emergency medical care for heat stroke and other illnesses in an extended power failure.  Other cities are also at risk.  —  If a multiday blackout …

Russian Court Extends Evan Gershkovich's Pretrial Detention by Three Months  —  WSJ reporter was detained on March 29 while on a reporting trip in the Urals  —  A Russian court extended until at least Aug. 30 the pretrial detention of Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter deemed …

Republican John Kennedy: southern plain-talk or Foghorn Leghorn shtick?  —  The Louisiana senator, once a Democrat, trots out folksy, at times racist lines in an exaggerated accent - but is it a put-on?  —  enator John Neely Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, offended Mexicans across the world …

Guess who just bid $100K for McCarthy's used chapstick  —  The fundraiser, which Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) won with a $100,000 bid, is set to benefit Republicans' campaign arm.  —  House Republicans are bidding for steep spending cuts in exchange for raising the debt ceiling.

Kevin McCarthy has identified the victims of America's debt: Babies  —  When Donald Trump was president, despite surging deficits, Republicans in Congress were happy to sign off on a suspension of the debt ceiling, despite every baby born in 2019 owing an $83,000 bill to the government

How Vivek Ramaswamy helped make Martin Shkreli the ‘pharma bro’  —  Ramaswamy's hedge fund firm invested with the since-infamous Shkreli.  Later, he would say he was “pathologically incapable of telling the truth.”  —  Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican presidential candidate who made a fortune in biotech …

Republicans Are Trying to Seize Control Over Voting In Texas' Largest Democratic County  —  The GOP-controlled legislature just passed bills to oust local election officials in Houston and neighboring cities.  —  The Texas legislature passed a series of bills on Monday that amounted …

Reality is an endlessly useful political opponent  —  Kari Lake lost the Arizona gubernatorial election by about 17,000 of the votes cast by Nov. 8, 2022.  —  She lost the election in the mind of the public when it was called by the Associated Press on Nov. 14.  She lost officially when the election was certified on Dec. 5.