Breaking: Rep. Chris Stewart plans to resign from Congress  —  The Utah Republican congressman is expected to announce his departure from the House of Representatives soon, several sources told The Salt Lake Tribune.  —  U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart plans to resign his seat in Congress, possibly as soon as this week.

Tara Reade, who accused Joe Biden of sexual assault, defects to Russia  —  Former Senate staffer who made claim in 2020 appears on Russian media alongside convicted Russian agent in US Maria Butina  —  Tara Reade, a former Senate staffer who in 2020 accused Joe Biden of sexual assault, said on Tuesday she had defected to Russia.

Mar-a-Lago prosecutors eye July episode with Trump surveillance cameras  —  Summer interactions inside Trump's home and private club are part of the special counsel's classified documents investigation  —  A Mar-a-Lago employee who helped move boxes of documents last June has been questioned …

Scoop: Chris Christie to announce GOP presidential campaign next week … - Being joyful and hitting a more hopeful note aimed at America's “exhausted majority.”  — Being authentic — a happy warrior who speaks his mind, takes risks and is happy to punch Donald Trump in the nose.

DeSantis Sets Sights on Iowa, Hoping It Slingshots Him Past Trump  —  In Iowa, Ron DeSantis warned supporters of a “malignant ideology” taking hold across the country, described children facing “indoctrination” and vowed to fight for conservative causes.  —  Reporting from Clive, Iowa

Twitter Is Now Worth Just 33% of Elon Musk's Purchase Price, Fidelity Says  —  Twitter is now worth just one-third of what Elon Musk paid for the social-media platform, according to Fidelity, which recently marked down the value of its equity stake in the company.

Ashli Babbitt's Mother Arrested After Striking Woman at Pro-Jan. 6 Event  —  Micki Witthoeft, 58, was spotted by The Daily Beast being taken into custody just after 6:45 p.m.  —  The mother of Ashli Babbitt, Micki Witthoeft, was arrested Tuesday evening after striking a counter-protester …

North Korean satellite plunges into sea after rocket failure  —  A North Korean satellite launch on Wednesday ended in failure, sending the booster and payload plunging into the sea, North Korean state media said, and the South's military said it had recovered parts of the launch vehicle.

Twitter Fails to Remove Hate Speech by Blue-Check Users: Report  —  If you pay $8 a month, Twitter will boost your tweets, new research found, even if you post about how “Hitler was right.” … Twitter is failing to remove 99 percent of hate speech posted by Twitter Blue users …

Trump White House Aides Subpoenaed in Firing of Election Security Expert  —  The special counsel is scrutinizing the dismissal of Christopher Krebs, who contradicted baseless claims by the former president that the 2020 election was marred by fraud.  —  The special counsel investigating …

Sacklers Can Be Shielded From Opioid Liability, Appeals Court Rules  —  The decision gives the Purdue Pharma owners long-sought protection, but it will release billions of dollars from their fortune to states and communities to help cope with the costs of addiction.

It Took Alito Barely a Month to Violate the Supreme Court's New Ethics Rules  —  On April 25, Chief Justice John Roberts sent the Senate Judiciary Committee a “Statement on Ethics Principles and Practices” signed by all nine justices.  Roberts forwarded along the “statement” …

Clayton Kershaw disagrees with Dodgers' decision to honor Sisters  —  LOS ANGELES — Clayton Kershaw says he disagrees with the Los Angeles Dodgers' decision to welcome an LGBTQIA+ group called the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence at the team's annual Pride Night.

Racy Novel by France's Finance Minister Has Even the French Blushing  —  Some ribald passages in the book are titillating the body politic, and drawing barbs about how he finds room for the hobby when many residents are struggling  —  PARIS—In this land that celebrates public intellectuals …

Banning book bans  —  Across the country, right-wing activists are seeking to ban thousands of books from schools and other public libraries.  Those promoting the bans often claim they are acting to protect children from pornography.  But the bans frequently target books “by and about people of color and LGBTQ individuals.”

GOP Rep. Andy Ogles Suddenly Wants to Defund the ATF Through 2025  —  IRONIC  —  In 2022, Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) ripped Democrats for the “Defund the Police” movement.  But on Tuesday, he proposed doing just that to the law enforcement agency in the Department of Justice.

Military says Sudan has suspended its participation in talks with paramilitary rival  —  Sudan's military has suspended its participation in talks with a paramilitary force it's been battling for weeks for control of the northeastern African country, a military spokesman said Wednesday.

The day has arrived for Elizabeth Holmes to report to a Texas prison  —  Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes entered Texas prison where she could spend the next 11 years for overseeing a blood-testing hoax that became a parable about greed and hubris in Silicon Valley.

How a High-Value Russian Wanted by the U.S. Escaped From Italy  —  Artem Uss was awaiting extradition to the U.S. Italy's failure to hold on to him has left red faces in Rome.  —  MILAN—A Kremlin-linked businessman accused of illegally exporting American military technology to Russia was arrested in Italy at the U.S.'s request.

Teens arrested in connection to assault of U.S. Marines that was caught on camera  —  Authorities say they have arrested multiple teenagers in connection with the assault of the three U.S. Marines in San Clemente, California, an incident that sparked outrage after footage of the attack went viral.

Israel Tempers Expectations of a Breakthrough in Normalization Talks With Saudi Arabia  —  Even hopes for an agreement on direct flights for Muslim Israelis seem unlikely to be realized this year, and in any event, most of those planning to make the Hajj have already made travel arrangements through Jordan

Conservatives Are Now Boycotting Chick-fil-A for Not Being Homophobic Enough  —  Bud Light apparently went too far after influencer Dylan Mulvaney, who is transgender, posted an Instagram video promoting a March Madness contest.  Target apparently went too far by selling shirts with rainbows.

Republican candidate accused of lying about military record ends comeback bid  —  It's good news for House Republicans, after JR Majewski lost a competitive Ohio seat in 2022.  —  JR Majewski, a pro-Trump Republican accused of misrepresenting his military record, is ending his comeback bid.