Playbook: Who took the debate bait?  —  With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: SAVE THE DATE — NIKKI HALEY makes her first public appearance since bowing out of the 2024 presidential race — and her inaugural appearance …

GOP Sen. Mitt Romney says Biden should have pardoned Trump  —  Romney, an outspoken Trump critic, told MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle that Biden “made an enormous error” by not pardoning Trump in federal cases or pressuring New York prosecutors to drop the hush money charges.

That grim NYT poll hints at a big opportunity for Biden  —  PN is a reader-supported publication made possible by paid subscribers.  Appreciate our independent journalism?  Then please sign up to support us.  —  📊 Subscribe to Public Notice 📊

Former far-right hard-liner says pro-voucher billionaires are using school board races to sow distrust in public education  —  The largesse from billionaires Tim Dunn and brothers Farris and Dan Wilks has made its way into local politics.  Courtney Gore, a Republican school board member in Granbury …

Supreme Court allows Louisiana to use congressional map with second majority-Black district  —  The court's decision is the latest twist in a long-running battle over the state's congressional map.  —  WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday paved the way for Louisiana to use …

The myth of “woke” indoctrination at American universities  —  According to some prominent billionaires, political pundits, and media figures, American universities have undergone a radical transformation.  Institutions of higher learning in the United States, they say, are no longer focused on free academic inquiry.

House Republicans Consider Holding Attorney General in Contempt  —  The Judiciary and Oversight Committees will discuss the option in response to Merrick B. Garland's refusal to turn over audio of a special counsel's interview with President Biden.  —  House Republicans are threatening …

House Democrats Fume Over Unprecedented Israeli Rebuke Of Lawmakers  —  Congressional aides told HuffPost a May 8 letter from Israel's ambassador was “stunning,” “embarrassing” and “verging on offensive.”  —  LOADING  —  One week after Israel's ambassador to the U.S. sent dozens of Democrats …

USCP Drug Investigation  —  The United States Capitol Police (USCP) is investigating a roughly one-inch by one-inch zip lock bag with a small amount of a white powdery substance, which field tested positive for cocaine.  —  The small bag was found on the floor of a hallway inside USCP headquarters.

Trump said men would see his mistreatment of Stormy Daniels as “cool.”  His trial suggests otherwise  —  Stormy Daniels is just the latest woman to note Trump uses coercion because he's incapable of persuasion  —  Despite all the press hand-wringing about Michael Cohen's so-called credibility issues …

U.S. seeing “increasing” number of threats to election, intelligence chief says … - Both Haines and Easterly said the federal government's ability to protect elections has increased in recent years and that it has never been more prepared.  — Easterly said election workers have resigned over threats they received.

Secretary Antony J. Blinken and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba at a Joint Press Availability  —  FOREIGN MINISTER KULEBA: (Via interpreter) (In progress) All of the matters that - all the issues that matter, but first of all I would like to thank Tony for standing with Ukraine …

Crew trapped on Baltimore ship, seven weeks after bridge collapse  —  As a controlled explosion rocked the Dali on Monday, nearly two dozen sailors remained on board, below deck in the massive ship's hull.  —  The simultaneous blasts sent pieces of Baltimore's once iconic Francis Scott Key Bridge …

And then there were two: Seventh Native American tribe bans Gov. Noem  —  The Crow Creek Sioux Tribe in central South Dakota has joined six of the state's tribes in preventing Gov. Kristi Noem from coming onto their tribal land, leaving the governor just two reservations she can still travel to.