The House GOP's Trump trap  —  A LEGITIMATE QUESTION — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is backing the removal of his No. 3 leader, Liz Cheney, after her repeated criticism of Donald Trump's baseless claims that the 2020 election was marred by widespread fraud.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Authorizes Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for Emergency Use in Adolescents in Another Important Action in Fight Against Pandemic  —  For Immediate Release:  —  Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded the emergency use authorization (EUA) …

Kathryn Garcia for Mayor  —  The editorial board is a group of opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values.  It is separate from the newsroom.  —  The mix of optimism and anxiety that New Yorkers feel as the coronavirus is beaten …

Sheikh Jarrah highlights the violent brazenness of Israel's colonialist project … The young Palestinian writer Mohammed El-Kurd sits quietly in front of his laptop with a grin on his face, preparing for the launch of his most recent manuscript, “Rifqa.”  He seems excited …

Leonardo DiCaprio unrecognizable in first photos of new Scorsese film  —  Apple has released the first-ever photos from Martin Scorsese's highly anticipated Western, “Killers of the Flower Moon.”  —  The pics depict Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone as Ernest and Mollie Burkhart …

Ted Cruz bets big on Facebook  —  The Texas Republican has spent more than all but one other senator on Facebook ads in recent months.  He isn't up for reelection until 2024.  —  Sen. Ted Cruz's campaign and allied groups raised $5.3 million in the first quarter of this year.  Stefani Reynolds/Getty Images

GOP weighs going bigger on infrastructure  —  Senate Republicans are signaling that they could raise the price tag of their infrastructure offer to President Joe Biden, days ahead of a pivotal series of meetings that could make-or-break Biden's hopes for a bipartisan deal.

Gov. Reeves Ending Federal Aid for Unemployed Mississippians, Rejecting ‘Rescue Act’ Funds  —  Unemployed Mississippians will no longer be eligible for $300 per week in federal COVID-19 unemployment benefits after Gov. Tate Reeves announced today that Mississippi will opt out next month.

Glenn Youngkin Wins G.O.P. Nomination for Virginia Governor  —  Mr. Youngkin, a wealthy newcomer to politics who walked a line between the Trump base of the G.O.P. and business interests, will look to test Democrats' strength in the blue-leaning state in November.

Obamacare sign-ups reach 1 million during special enrollment window  —  One million people have signed up for health coverage under an Affordable Care Act special enrollment period announced earlier this year, officials said Tuesday.  —  “That's one million more Americans who now have the peace …

S.F. seniors might go back to school for only one day before term ends.  Parents are furious  —  When the teachers union over the weekend announced the “exciting news” that San Francisco's high school seniors will get a chance to go back to classrooms starting Friday, they left out details about the plan …

Claims of Microwave Attacks Are Scientifically Implausible  —  There's little evidence for an unknown weapon being behind “Havana syndrome.”  —  “It's an act of war,” said Christopher Miller, former President Donald Trump's last acting secretary of defense.

Vaccinated but wary, Washingtonians start to emerge from isolation  —  The liberation of Richard McWalters was in full bloom as he strolled 14th Street NW the other day, his nose and jaw newly freed of the mask and constant worry that had shrouded him for more than a year.

Reporters fume at White House ‘quote approval’ rules  —  Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. … Email us at [email protected].  —  If you've read a quote from an administration official in a newspaper or a wire story recently …

Rahm Emanuel to be appointed US ambassador to Japan  —  Former Chicago mayor will boost Washington's alliance with Tokyo as China's influence grows  —  Joe Biden has chosen Rahm Emanuel, a former congressman and Chicago mayor, to be US ambassador to Japan, according to eight people familiar …

Britain's Labour Party just collapsed in blue-collar England.  Democrats should consider themselves warned.  —  Opinion by  —  Political trends in the United States and Britain have mirrored one another for decades, so the Labour Party's stunning collapse across blue-collar England …

CAN WE PLEASE DITCH THE TERM “SYSTEMIC RACISM”?  —  As a linguist I know we can't, but systemic racial inequities can almost never be undone by “getting rid of the racism.”  —  3 hr ago  —  The Elect are direly committed to teaching us the difference between personal racism and systemic racism.

Where in the World is Q?  Clues from Image Metadata  —  The hunt to identify the person or group behind the QAnon conspiracy theory continues.  Known only as “Q,” this individual or collective is responsible for the many posts, or “drops,” that appeared on internet imageboards between October 2017 and December 2020.

J. Lo and Ben Affleck were spotted together in Montana, which is set to gain a new House seat in redistricting  — Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, engaged in the early 2000s, were spotted together in Montana.  — Montana is gaining a seat in Congress after the 2020 census due to its population growth.

China increases spending 500% to influence America  —  New foreign-agent filings are finally detailing a massive Beijing propaganda operation that's fueled a sixfold increase in Chinese foreign influence efforts in the United States in recent years.  —  Why it matters: Propaganda is central …

The Rise of Private Spies  —  As WikiLeaks was riding to global fame a decade ago by publishing archives of leaked American military and diplomatic files, its founder, Julian Assange, liked to call his organization an “intelligence agency of the people.”  The slogan conjured an ideal …