GOP makes weak pitch as Senate rejects Mayorkas impeachment articles  —  Republicans are pretending that Democrats set a dangerous precedent by discarding Alejandro Mayorkas' impeachment without a trial.  They have it backwards.  —  More than a month after House Republicans impeached …

Playbook: Why Biden world has gone quiet on the Trump trial  —  With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  THE BUZZ OF THE LEGAL WORLD — “2 of Trump's jurors are lawyers.  Would they acquit on a technicality?” by Betsy Woodruff Swan …

Complaint Asks the FBI to Probe Trump Claims on a $50 Million Loan  —  GIMME SHELTER  —  A government watchdog group is filing a complaint about a $50 million loan that Trump claimed for years on government disclosure forms but which may have never existed.

Trump is funneling campaign money into cash-strapped businesses.  Experts say it looks bad.  —  Donald Trump's main 2024 White House campaign fundraising operation sharply increased spending at the former president's properties in recent months, funneling money into his businesses …

Kennedy family members will endorse Biden at Philadelphia event  —  The move is a rebuke of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is pursing the White House as an independent  —  Several Kennedy family members plan to endorse President Biden for reelection at a campaign event in Philadelphia on Thursday …

The two-party system isn't the problem  —  See: Netanyahu, Benjamin.  —  ∙ Paid … The US two-party system is a perennial punching bag.  —  “Can the US ever break the two-party binary?”  Al Jazeera asked earlier this year.  “How to fix democracy: Move beyond the two-party system …

Treasury Targets Iranian UAV Program, Steel Industry, and Automobile Companies in Response to Unprecedented Attack on Israel  —  New Industries Targeted Generate Billions of Dollars in Annual Revenue  —  WASHINGTON — Today, in response to Iran's unprecedented attack on Israel on April 13 …

Miscalculation Led to Escalation in Clash Between Israel and Iran  —  Israeli officials say they didn't see a strike on a high-level Iranian target in Syria as a provocation, and did not give Washington a heads-up about it until right before it happened.  —  Israel was mere moments away …

Jawbone of Long Dead U.S. Marine Found in Kid's Rock Collection  —  ‘UNEXPECTED’  —  He was laid to rest at a cemetery in Missouri back in 1951, and there had reportedly never been any inkling that the grave did not contain all of his remains.  —  Capt. Everett Leland Yager of the U.S. Marine Corps …

WaPo Gives Bill Barr Platform to Attack Joe Biden without Mentioning Barr's Role in Framing Biden  —  WaPo wrote a story on Bill Barr's statement on Fox News that he would support Trump over Biden because Biden would represent a “continuation of the Biden administration is national suicide.”

Our Uniquely American Drug Shortages  —  More drugs are in short supply than ever before.  We've known the reason why for a long time: monopolistic middlemen.  —  Last week, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) announced that the United States has the largest number …

Pelosi memoir ‘The Art of Power’ planned for August release  —  A new memoir penned by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will be available later this year, according to publisher Simon & Schuster.  —  In the book, titled “The Art of Power,” Pelosi details her years in public service …

Raskin: Greene ‘recycling direct Russian propaganda’  —  Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said on Wednesday that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is “recycling” Russian propaganda in falsely saying Ukraine is a Nazi state.  —  In an interview on MSNBC's “The Reid Out,” Raskin noted concerns …

Senate nominee bankrolled by far-right activist trashing MLK and the Civil Rights Act  —  Judd Legum, Tesnim Zekeria, and Rebecca Crosby  —  Last month, Bernie Moreno won the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Ohio.  Moreno benefited from an early endorsement from Turning Point Action …

Biden chokes up while talking about deceased son and Trump's disparaging remarks about service members  —  “That man doesn't deserve to have been the commander in chief for my son, my uncle,” he said, referring to Beau Biden and Ambrose Finnegan, who both served in the military.

Blinken Is Sitting on Staff Recommendations to Sanction Israeli Military Units Linked to Killings or Rapes  —  A special State Department panel told Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the U.S. should restrict arms sales to Israeli military units that have been credibly accused of human rights abuses.

DOJ nearing settlement with sexual assault victims of Larry Nassar over FBI failures  —  The Department of Justice is close to reaching a settlement with the sexual abuse victims of former U.S. gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar.  —  According to the Wall Street Journal …

Rep. Mike Gallagher hints death threats may be behind his early resignation  —  GREEN BAY, Wisc.  (WLUK) — With just days until he leaves his seat in Congress, Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wisc., could be shedding some light on the reasoning behind his early resignation

Russia to Hire Contract Soldiers in Bid to Avoid Unpopular Draft  — Kremlin anxious not to stir fears that triggered 2022 exodus  — Ukraine has faced delays in Western aid and personnel shortage  —  Russia is preparing to enlist more contract soldiers as it presses its invasion of Ukraine …

Maine Joins National Popular Vote Compact  —  In voting news, Maine has become the latest state to join the National Popular Vote compact, which could transform the way presidents are elected in the United States.  Sixteen states and Washington, D.C., have now pledged to award …

‘Banned in the USA’  —  America's right-wing forces would have you believe that they are the courageous entities standing up for free speech.  —  But, as they try to claim that mantle, many of those same forces in media and politics are behind a disturbing wave of book bans sweeping the nation.

Red states threaten librarians with prison — as blue states work to protect them  —  Sam Lee, a leader of the Connecticut Library Association, heads to work these days torn between hope and fear.  —  She's encouraged because legislators in her state proposed a bill this year making it harder for school boards to ban library books.