It Was More Than a #DeSaster  —  Ron DeSantis's botched campaign launch suggests that he's no Trump killer.  —  I've long been of the view that Donald Trump is something akin to a horror-movie monster—a Godzilla or a T. Rex, say—for the American political system.

CPAC Is Rocked by a Resignation  —  A top leader in the organization that puts on CPAC, the highly influential conference of conservative leaders, resigned on Tuesday night citing financial mysteries surrounding the organization's leader.  —  Bob Beauprez, the longtime treasurer …

Supreme Court Limits E.P.A.'s Power to Address Water Pollution  —  The justices ruled that discharges into some wetlands are not covered by the Clean Water Act.  —  Reporting from Washington  —  The Supreme Court on Thursday curtailed the Environmental Protection Agency's authority …

Exclusive: Slimmed-down US debt ceiling deal takes shape  —  U.S. President Joe Biden and top Republican lawmaker Kevin McCarthy are edging close to a deal on the U.S. debt ceiling, with the parties just $70 billion apart on discretionary spending, according to a person familiar with the talks.

Ronna McDaniel Says Possible U.S. Default ‘Bodes Very Well for the Republican Field’ in 2024  —  Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel said the U.S. potentially defaulting on its debt would be a boon for Republicans in 2024.  —  McDaniel joined Wednesday's edition of The Story on Fox News …

Trump's Lawyers Warn Him: Get Ready to Be Indicted by the Feds  —  The former president has angrily complained in response to predictions that if the Justice Department is going to charge him, then “what about Joe Biden?” … The feds have also been probing whether or not Trump tried …

The Florida mom who sought to ban Amanda Gorman's poem says she's sorry for promoting the Protocols of the Elders of Zion  —  (JTA) - Months before a Miami-area mother persuaded a local school to restrict access to an Amanda Gorman poem, she was posting antisemitic memes on her Facebook page.

CNN Is Tanking After Its Unforgivable Trump Town Hall  —  CNN's brass defended its disastrous early-May town hall with Donald Trump on journalistic grounds, arguing that while he may present unique challenges as an interview subject—serial lying, general incoherence, a literal attempted coup …

'I Told My Assistant, “They're Gonna Fire Me"'  —  James Cromwell feared his scene-stealing Succession eulogy would end his career.  —  James Cromwell's career is a series of milestones.  From his breakout role as Stretch on All in the Family through acclaimed performances in Babe and L.A. Confidential …

Iowa 2024: Biden and Trump Start with Significant Leads in Party Caucuses  —  Home Polls Iowa 2024: Biden and Trump Start with Significant Leads in Party Caucuses … An Emerson College Polling survey of Iowa voters finds President Joe Biden with a 35% job approval rating, and a 54% disapproval.

Tennessee Speaker appoints conspiracy theorist to develop state social studies standards  —  Last week, Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R) announced that he had appointed Laurie Cardoza-Moore to serve on the Tennessee Standards Recommendation Committee to oversee …

Gym Shoes In The Oval Office Is A Sartorial Wake-Up Call For Leaders  —  It was, to borrow a Sports Illustrated phrase, a sign that the apocalypse is near.  —  Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries …

Target's surrender to MAGA rage shows how anti-wokeness really works  —  It is sometimes said that corporate America is a battleground in the culture wars.  This has taken on ugly new meaning in the case of Target, which just announced that it will pull some LBGTQ-friendly merchandise …

Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes' actions after 2020 election amounted to domestic terrorism, judge finds  —  The federal judge presiding over sentencing for Oath Keepers members convicted of seditious conspiracy has ruled that militia leader Stewart Rhodes' actions amounted to domestic terrorism.

Henry Kissinger at 100: Still a War Criminal  —  Henry Kissinger is turning 100 this week, and his centennial is prompting assorted hosannas about perhaps the most influential American foreign policymaker of the 20th century.  The Economist observed that “his ideas have been circling back into relevancy for the last quarter century.”

Volt Typhoon targets US critical infrastructure with living-off-the-land techniques  —  Microsoft has uncovered stealthy and targeted malicious activity focused on post-compromise credential access and network system discovery aimed at critical infrastructure organizations in the United States.

China faces a new Covid wave that could peak at 65 million cases a week  —  Though China once had some of the harshest Covid restrictions on the planet, the response from the government and public is relatively muted this time.  —  BEIJING — China is bracing for a new wave of Covid-19 infections …