U.S. lifts pause on Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus vaccine  —  The CDC and FDA on Friday lifted the recommended pause on use of Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus vaccine, saying the benefits of the shot outweigh the risk of a rare blood clot disorder.  —  Why it matters: The move clears …

Capitol rioter arrested after being turned in by match on online dating app Bumble  —  (CNN)The Justice Department has charged a Capitol rioter who was turned in by someone he matched with on the dating app Bumble, after he bragged about his exploits on January 6.

First day of Arizona Senate election audit nearly stopped before it began.  Here's what happened  —  The first day of an unprecedented recount of every ballot cast by Maricopa County voters during last year's general election almost did not happen Friday.  —  A court battle nearly stopped it.

The New York Times is readying a big newsletter push as Substack tries to poach its top writers with advances worth hundreds of thousands  — The New York Times is readying a newsletter push as Substack comes after top journalists.  — Substack offered opinion writer Liz Bruenig a $200,000 advance, double her Times salary.

MIT researchers say you're no safer from Covid indoors at 6 feet or 60 feet in new study challenging social distancing policies  — An MIT study showed that people who maintain 60 feet of distance from others indoors are no more protected than if they socially distanced by just 6 feet.

Low-Skill Workers Aren't a Problem to Be Fixed  —  Recently, I was mesmerized by a prep cook.  At a strip-mall Korean restaurant, I caught a glimpse of the kitchen and stood dumbfounded for a few minutes, watching a guy slicing garnishes, expending half the energy I would if I were doing the same at home and at twice the speed.

Virginia GOP won't let Orthodox Jews vote absentee in Sabbath-day convention  —  RICHMOND — Republican Party leaders have rejected a plea to let Orthodox Jews and others with religious obligations on Saturdays vote absentee in the GOP's May 8 nominating convention, in which the party will choose …

Why Aren't We Celebrating Operation Warp Speed?  —  Partisanship shouldn't prevent us from recognizing our own achievements.  —  5 hr ago  —  About half of all U.S. adults have now received at least one COVID-19 vaccine shot.  While the pandemic is far from over, our rapid pace of vaccination …

Trump says he does not miss ‘very boring’ Twitter and claims his press releases are ‘more elegant’  — Donald Trump told Fox News this week that Twitter has become “very boring” without him.  — The former president said that he prefers communicating via his “more elegant” press releases.

Gaetz probe includes scrutiny of potential public corruption tied to medical marijuana industry  —  Women detail late-night parties with Gaetz  —  (CNN)Federal authorities are looking into whether a 2018 trip to the Bahamas involving Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz and several young women …

Oath Keeper's Chilling Exchange About Nancy Pelosi Keeps Him Behind Bars in Capitol Siege Case  —  An Oath Keepers leader's chilling correspondence with another person who allegedly fantasized about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's “head rolling down the front steps” persuaded a federal judge …

DHS Announces Rescission of Civil Penalties for Failure-to-Depart  —  WASHINGTON - Today, at the direction of Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) rescinded two delegation orders related to the collection of civil financial penalties …

‘Excess Deaths’ in 2020 Surpassed Those of 1918 Flu Pandemic  —  Death rate above and below normal in the U.S.  —15% -10% -5% +5% +10% +15% 1910 1918 1933 1950 2000 2020  —  Data before 1933 do not include all states.  —  1918 flu pandemic  —  A surge in deaths from the Covid-19 pandemic created …

California Guard members feared fighter jet would be ordered to frighten protesters  —  In March of last year, California National Guard members awaited orders from Sacramento headquarters to make preparations for any civil unrest that might arise from the outbreak of the coronavirus.

After Testing the World's Limits, Putin Steps Back From the Brink  —  The Russian president pulled back troops from Ukraine's border and relented on medical treatment for his nemesis Aleksei A. Navalny, after a performance blending fear and force to affirm his power.

Police Reformers Need to Pick Their Battles  —  The conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the killing of George Floyd owes a lot to social media, which brought before millions of eyes the mobile-phone footage of a brave Black teenager named Darnella Frazier.

‘Lost in the shuffle’: Republicans battle around Biden — for now  —  Republicans have spent the past few months under President Joe Biden waging a campaign against “cancel culture” and locking horns with corporate America.  —  In state Legislatures, GOP lawmakers have prioritized contentious bills …

Florida Family Indicted for Selling Toxic Bleach as Fake “Miracle” Cure for Covid-19 and Other Serious Diseases, and for Violating Court Orders  —  Defendants Accused of Attempting to Avoid Government Regulation by Selling Products Through a Company They Deceptively Named “Genesis II Church of Health and Healing”

Myanmar: Military chief set to make first foreign trip since coup  —  The head of the Myanmar military is set to meet international leaders, in what will be his first known foreign trip since the army took power in a coup.  —  General Min Aung Hlaing is scheduled to attend an Asean regional summit …

Biden to Say Armenians Suffered Genocide.  Here's Why It Matters.  —  Events more than 100 years ago during the breakup of the Ottoman Empire are back in the news, with President Biden's intention to declare the killing of 1.5 million Armenians a genocide.  —  At the risk of infuriating Turkey …

Rep. Dan Crenshaw ‘hopeful and confident’ of recovery following emergency eye surgery  —  Rep. Dan Crenshaw said Friday that his emergency eye surgery “went very well,” although he still had “a while to go” before he was fully recovered.  —  “I can lift my head up again and no longer …

Iran talks: ‘We are not going to pay anything upfront,’ senior administration official tells Jewish leaders  —  In a call with Jewish American leaders on Friday, a senior Biden administration official assured that the U.S. will not provide Iran any sanctions relief until an agreement …