Live Updates: Jury Begins Deciding Trump's Fate in Hush-Money Case  —  Twelve New Yorkers have begun deliberations on the 34 felony counts against Donald Trump in the first criminal trial of an American president.  He is accused of falsifying business records in connection with a payment to a porn star.

‘A dying empire led by bad people’: Poll finds young voters despairing over US politics  —  The Scoop  —  Young voters overwhelmingly believe that almost all politicians are corrupt and that the country will end up worse off than when they were born, according to new polling …

Trump Boasted About Sex With Stormy in Tahoe, Athlete Says  —  SUB PAR  —  The athlete also told The Daily Beast that in the run-up to the 2016 election he received anonymous calls from strangers asking what he remembered of the weekend. … Donald Trump boasted about having sex …

Giant pandas are returning to D.C.'s National Zoo … - But the number of giant pandas at U.S. zoos has dwindled as tensions between Washington and Beijing rose in recent years. … - They're coming back to one bougie bear den: Carlyle Group co-founder and billionaire philanthropist David …

Inside Donald Trump and Elon Musk's Growing Alliance  —  Donald Trump is weighing an advisory role for the Tesla leader in the event the former president reclaims the White House

How I went from left to center-left  —  My crisis of confidence in progressive epistemology  —  I've written about the history of left versus right since the French Revolution, about what the left gets right, and about what the right gets right.  Now, I want to talk about my own journey …

Don't Commit National Suicide: Ken Burns' Warning  —  Ken Burns Suspends ‘Longstanding Attempt At Neutrality’ to Utterly Torch Trump  —  “Filmmaker Ken Burns ditched his trademark political neutrality during an undergraduate commencement address at Massachusetts' Brandies University to warn …

Mother of Jan. 6 officer Michael Fanone swatted after he called Trump ‘authoritarian’  —  Fanone was abducted by the mob on Jan. 6 and nearly killed when a MAGA-hatted rioter who believed Donald Trump's lies about the 2020 election drove a stun gun into his neck.

Emerging Portrait of Judge in Trump Documents Case: Prepared, Prickly and Slow  —  Judge Aileen Cannon's handling of court hearings offers insights into how the case accusing Donald Trump of illegally retaining classified material has become bogged down in unresolved issues.

The Alitos, the Neighborhood Clash and the Upside-Down Flag  —  Inside the escalating conflict on a bucolic suburban street that Justice Alito said prompted a “Stop the Steal” symbol at his home.  —  The police in Fairfax County, Va., received an unusual phone call on Feb. 15, 2021.

Amy Coney Barrett's Husband Is Representing Fox in a Lawsuit  —  Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett's husband, Jesse Barrett, is defending Fox Corporation in a defamation case … The lawsuit relates to reports by one of Fox's local stations.  —  Jesse Barrett is a trial lawyer and managing partner at SouthBank Legal.

Jenna Ellis, ex-Trump campaign legal adviser, has Colorado law license suspended for 3 years  —  Washington — Jenna Ellis, who served as a legal adviser to former President Donald Trump during the 2020 election, is barred from practicing law in the state of Colorado for three years …

Steinglass pokes hole in defense's argument around National Enquirer  —  Steinglass makes a very good point about the Dino Sajuddin story and corresponding payment.  —  Sajuddin is the former Trump Tower doorman who claims Trump fathered a child out of wedlock, a claim the former president has denied.

Gun-Obsessed YouTuber Narrowly Defeated in Texas GOP Runoff  —  SANITY PREVAILS?  —  Rep. Tony Gonzales looks set to keep his seat representing Uvalde in Congress, but just barely, after beating MAGA favorite Brandon Herrera.  —  Texas Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales has fended off a challenge …

As Civil War Consumes Black Lives Matter, $8.7 Million Goes Missing  —  The left-wing dark money giant Tides Foundation raised more than $33 million on behalf of the national Black Lives Matter group during the George Floyd riots in 2020.  Now, Black Lives Matter is suing Tides over its refusal to hand the funds back.

Restaurant Workers' Battle for Higher Minimum Wage Goes National  — Four states set to vote on raising base pay for tipped workers  — Restaurant industry wants to convince voters it's a bad idea  —  How California's Wage Hike Impacts the Fed  —  US restaurants grappling with high costs …

North Korea Accused of Launching Floating Poop Balloon Attack  —  CAUSING A STINK  —  Over 260 balloons carrying trash and excrement appear to have floated across the border.  —  South Korea's military on Wednesday accused North Korea of floating balloons loaded with trash and manure across …

Trump makes sweeping promises to donors on audacious fundraising tour  —  By tying donation requests to pledges of tax cuts and other policies, Trump is testing the boundaries of federal campaign finance laws.  —  When Donald Trump met some of the country's top donors at a luxurious …