House Republicans' new claims of an "alleged criminal scheme" involving Joe Biden have unleashed a frenzy of headlines in conservative media, setting off impeachment speculation even before any evidence has been produced.
Why it matters: The GOP's "Biden bribery" playbook is not new — it was a central theme of the 2020 election, and even led to former President Trump's first impeachment after he pressured Ukraine to investigate corruption allegations against Biden and his son.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said in a statement Thursday she intends to return to the Senate from her prolonged medical absence but did not include an exact return date.
The Arizona Supreme Court ordered defeated GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake's attorneys pay $2,000 in sanctions for making an "unequivocally false" claim that more than 35,000 ballots were "injected" into Maricopa County's total after the election.
Catch up quick: In her challenge of the Arizona Court of Appeals' rejection of her case in March, Lake's attorneys said it's an "undisputed fact" that 35,563 "unaccounted for ballots" were added to the county's total at a third-party processing facility run by Runbeck Election Services.
Why it matters: Tarriocould face 20 years in prison after being convicted in one of the highest-profile cases stemming from the attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election.
The Florida legislature on Thursday passed a bill that bans gender-affirming care for transgender youth and adds restrictions for adults seeking care, sending it to the desk of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).
Why it matters: The Florida Board of Medicine already barred health providers from offering this type of care to trans minors. If enacted, this bill would codify those restrictions into state law, and would also add criminal penalties for physicians who provide gender-affirming treatments.
U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy visited U.S. citizen Paul Whelan in a remote Russian penal colony on Thursday, according to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.
Why it matters: It marked Tracy's first visit with Whelan, a former Marine who has been jailed in Russia since being arrested by on espionage charges in December 2018. The U.S. has rejected the charges against Whelan and has accused Russia of wrongfully detaining him.
Republican megadonor Harlan Crow made private school tuition payments for the grandnephew of Justice Clarence Thomas, according to a ProPublica investigation published Thursday.
Why it matters: A series of stories about Thomas' close relationship with Crow have heightened scrutiny of the Supreme Court justice and has prompted several lawmakers demand the court create or adopt sweeping ethics reforms.
Student enrollment in "supplementary" Hebrew schools across the U.S. fell by almost half during the 14 years that ended in 2020, as about 27% of those schools closed, a new report has found.
Why it matters: The enrollment drop in supplementary Jewish schools — which students attend in addition to public or secular private schools to learn Hebrew and Jewish rituals and history — came amid falling membership at some synagogues.
Rep. David Trone (D-Md.) on Wednesday announced his candidacy to replace retiring Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), adding to a potentially hotly contested Democratic primary.
Why it matters: Trone, a three-term House member and co-founder of Total Wine & More, has a personal fortune and electoral record that could make him a serious contender for the seat.
New data out this week revealed dismal scores by eighth graders on a national U.S. history test. Experts are pointing to a devastating combination of polarization over school curriculums and pandemic disruptions.
Why it matters: The test results — showing an all-time low score in history and a first-ever decline in civics — paint a troubling picture of how much America's youth know about their own country.
Real estate professionals and Asian American groups are alarmed at a Florida bill that's designed to prevent operatives in hostile nations from acquiring sensitive American land but could actually impact a much wider immigrant population.
North Carolina faced mass corporate backlash and lost billions after passing a so-called "bathroom bill" that banned transgender people from using bathrooms aligning with their gender identity. That was in 2016.
Why it matters: Republicans today don't seem to fear the same economic consequences. The business community has grown far more quiet in the face of 469 anti-LGBTQ bills that the ACLU is tracking.
President Biden,racing to upgrade the government's artificial-intelligence expertise and role, is calling the leading architects of generative AI to Washington today to discuss guardrails for the powerful technology.
Driving the news: Biden will push Google, Microsoft and others building generative AI to be sure their products are safe before unleashing them on the public.
The White House announced a number of actions around artificial intelligence ahead of a meeting with top tech CEOs Thursday.
Why it matters: Technology usually develops faster than government action can keep up, and the rapid rise of generative AI systems has raised alarm bells for governments around the world.
A sizable number of GOP lawmakers are quietly cheering Fox News’ decision to remove Tucker Carlson from its airwaves as making it easier to provide aid to Ukraine, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Carlson was one of the most vocal critics of continued support to Ukraine, often going after lawmakers by name on his program. His commentary was a source of regular heartburn for defense hawks.
The death of an unhoused man who was placed in a chokehold by another New York subway train passenger as he experienced an apparent mental health episode was ruled a homicide on Wednesday evening.
The big picture: Prominent civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton was among those calling for the death of Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old Michael Jackson impersonator known for his performances in Times Square, to be investigated "as a potential case of manslaughter — if not murder" after video emerged of Monday's incident.
Former President Trump's lawsuit against The New York Times was dismissed by a New York Supreme Court judge on Wednesday.
Driving the news: Trump filed a $100 million lawsuit against the NYT and his niece Mary Trump in 2021 over the news outlet's 2018 Pulitzer Prize-winning reporting on his tax records, alleging "an insidious plot to obtain confidential and highly-sensitive records."
Michelle Obama announced Wednesday that she's co-founded PLEZi Nutrition, a food and drink company that says it aims "to help raise a healthier generation of kids."
Driving the news: Building on Obama's "Let's Move!" health campaign that she launched at the White House in 2010 when she was first lady, the first product is a kids' drink called PLEZi , which has no added sugar and 75% less sugar than average leading 100% fruit juices.
