The simple reason Republican Sunday show hits are disasters  —  It's hard to defend the indefensible. … Not so long ago, the Sunday morning news shows were a vital part of the political ecosphere.  Politicians and government officials clamored for the mainstream platform provided by ABC's This Week …

House Democrats' Surprise Campaign Play: Embracing Border Security  —  Republicans blamed Biden for surge in illegal crossings but blocked bipartisan deal  —  WASHINGTON—Some House Democrats are leaning into border security on the campaign trail after years of playing defense against Republican criticism …

‘We would need to make choices’: Why Biden is threatening Israel now  —  Biden's announcement is an unintentional admission that his efforts to privately sway Netanyahu have had limited effects.  —  After watching Israel flatten much of Gaza, President Joe Biden decided to draw the line at the city of Rafah.

Biden's big donors fume over Israel criticism … - “Bad, Bad, Bad, decision, on all levels, Pls reconsider,” he wrote in a message obtained by Axios and other news outlets.  — He added: “Let's not forget that there are more Jewish voters, who care about Israel, than Muslim voters that care about Hamas.”

Trump team throws out GOP plan and builds a ‘leaner’ 2024 operation  —  The new plan calls for fewer offices, less staff and a focus on new partnerships with outside groups — raising concerns among some Republicans.  —  Donald Trump's 2020 campaign called itself a “juggernaut” …

Virginia school board votes to restore Confederate names to two schools  —  School board members in Virginia's Shenandoah County voted early Friday to restore the names of two schools that previously honored Confederate leaders - four years after those names had been removed.

Jim Jordan's quiet power play for 2025 … - Jordan privately told colleagues what he would be doing differently than Johnson during the recent fight over foreign aid funding, multiple sources told Axios.  — The Ohio Republican has been noticed handing out more campaign checks to colleagues, multiple lawmakers told Axios.

Trump's trial trap: Voters to be his most important jury … - “It really is an all-or-nothing strategy in the sense that the delaying tactic could be a complete victory if he were to be elected president,” said Robert Mintz, a former federal prosecutor.  — Judges have latitude in sentencing …

Rick Scott tries to rewrite history on $1.7 billion Medicare fraud controversy  —  Conventional political wisdom would typically advise candidates to steer clear of mentioning their past controversies.  —  But U.S. Sen. Rick Scott went out of his way, quite literally, on Thursday …

Medical residents are starting to avoid states with abortion bans, data shows  —  Isabella Rosario Blum was wrapping up medical school and considering residency programs to become a family practice physician when she got some frank advice: If she wanted to be trained to provide abortions, she shouldn't stay in Arizona.

California Students Get $1 Million After They Were Expelled for Wearing Supposedly Racist Acne Masks  —  During a sleepover in August 2017, three 14-year-old boys, two of whom were about to start attending St. Francis High School in Mountain View, California, took a picture of themselves wearing dark green acne masks.

Playbook: MAGA Mike vs. Speaker Johnson  —  With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  PROTEST-PROOFING THE DNC — In a newsy column just posted, Jonathan Martin looks at the quiet effort to engineer this summer's Democratic National Convention …

BREAKING: President Pollack to Retire After Seven Years of Leadership  —  President Martha Pollack announced that she will retire from her position on June 30, in an email sent to the Cornell community on Thursday, May 9.  —  Provost Michael Kotlikoff will serve as interim president …

At a Dinner, Trump Assailed Climate Rules and Asked $1 Billion From Big Oil  —  At a private meeting at Mar-a-Lago, the former president said fossil fuel companies should donate to help him beat President Biden.  —  Former President Donald J. Trump told a group of oil executives …

Exclusive: Jared Kushner pitching donors on father-in-law Trump, sources say  —  Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has been making calls to encourage donors to attend a Trump fundraiser in New York, two sources told Reuters, in one of the first indications of Kushner working to help re-elect his father-in-law.

Islamic State Stages Boldest Attack in Mozambique in Three Years  — Militants raided town of Macomia in Cabo Delgado province  — The insurgency has held up giant natural gas projects  —  Islamic State-linked insurgents attacked the town of Macomia in Mozambique's gas-rich Cabo Delgado province …

The Students Have Never Been the Enemy  —  Student protest movements have historically functioned as an indispensable corrective for America and the West.  That is the legacy of 1968 we should be talking about  —  Has there ever been a student protest movement that wasn't immediately derided …