Top Items:

Joe Manchin: I will not vote to eliminate or weaken the filibuster — Joe Manchin III, a Democrat, represents West Virginia in the Senate. — When Americans vote to send their two senators to Washington, they trust that they will work to represent the interests of their state on equal footing with 98 other senators.
Discussion:
CNN, CBS News, CNBC, NBC News, USA Today, Breitbart, Lawyers, Guns & Money, HotAir, Balloon Juice, RedState, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Election Law Blog, National Review, The Week, Outside the Beltway, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, HuffPost, Politico, Insider, The Hill, The Daily Caller, New York Times, Townhall, New York Post and Mediaite

Matt Gaetz trip to Bahamas is part of federal probe into sex trafficking, sources say — Federal investigators are looking into a Bahamas trip Matt Gaetz allegedly took in late 2018 or early 2019 as part of an inquiry into whether the Florida representative violated sex trafficking laws, multiple sources told CBS News.
Discussion:
CNN, Human Events, Reason, The Intellectualist, Daily Kos, TheGrio, New York Post, Eschaton, The Week, Raw Story, The Hill, Crooks and Liars, Insider and The New Civil Rights Movement
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Rep. Matt Gaetz's Trip to the Bahamas Scrutinized in Teen Sex Probe: Report
Discussion:
The Intellectualist, Forbes and The Daily Beast
Melissa Gira Grant / New Republic:
What Kind of Monster Is Matt Gaetz?
What Kind of Monster Is Matt Gaetz?
Discussion:
The Sun, Orlando Sentinel and Media Matters for America

Intelligence forecast sees a post-coronavirus world upended by climate change and splintering societies — U.S. intelligence officials have little comfort to offer a pandemic-weary planet about where the world is heading in the next 20 years. Short answer: It looks pretty bleak.
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U.S. Intelligence Report Warns of Global Consequences of Social Fragmentation — The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted weaknesses of the international order, said the report, which is issued every four years. — WASHINGTON — U.S. intelligence officials warned in a report issued …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal

Don't Confuse GOP's Spat With Companies as Warfare — “Saying that I've thought about it doesn't mean that I'm doing it.” — Alex Trebek — Corporate America and the Republican Party are at war. Supposedly. — To their credit, some members of the business community have come …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Raw Story and CNN
RELATED:
Kurt Schlichter / Townhall:
The GOP Needs to Understand That the Corporations Are Its Enemy
The GOP Needs to Understand That the Corporations Are Its Enemy
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog

Democratic governor in deep-red Kentucky signs bill to expand voting, bucking national trend — As Republicans in more than 40 states have pushed bills to restrict voting after former president Donald Trump's November loss, a markedly different story played out in deep-red Kentucky.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, The Atlantic and New York Times
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Duncan not expected to run for reelection as Georgia's No. 2
Discussion:
Washington Post, Associated Press, Raw Story and CNN

Border agents took more than 172,000 into custody in March, Biden officials say — During the busiest month along the Mexico border in nearly two decades, U.S. authorities took more than 172,000 migrants into custody in March, according to enforcement statistics released Thursday that provide …
Discussion:
USA Today, Forbes, Twitchy, The Federalist, The Gateway Pundit, Townhall, KVOA-TV and The Western Journal
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Sabrina Rodriguez / Politico:
Biden administration: Child arrivals at southern border hit record number in March
Biden administration: Child arrivals at southern border hit record number in March
Discussion:
Reuters, CBS News, ABC News, Washington Examiner and BorderReport

Latinas Drove Trump's Gains With Hispanic Voters in 2020 — On November 3 of last year, Miami-Dade County gave the Democratic Party a panic attack. Florida was the first major swing state to report its ballots in the 2020 election, and returns from overwhelmingly Hispanic — and, heretofore …

What exactly is Trump doing at Mar-a-Lago all day? — Fortunately for us, the club's members are giving the man most of what he needs. — 17 hr ago — Donald Trump was relatively quiet when he first left office, and while that's not too unusual for most former presidents, it was unprecedented for him.
Discussion:
CNBC, Althouse and The National Interest

Corporate Taxes Are Wealth Taxes — And their decline has led to a steep drop in tax rates for the affluent. — The main cause of the radical decline in tax rates for very wealthy Americans over the past 75 years isn't the one that many people would guess.
Discussion:
The American Independent, Washington Post and Insider

Trump Organization Hires Criminal Defense Lawyer — Ronald Fischetti will represent the firm in Manhattan district attorney's probe into former president's business dealings — The Trump Organization has hired Ronald Fischetti, an experienced New York criminal-defense attorney …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, The Intellectualist, The Week and Raw Story

Chauvin Trial Day 8 Wrap-Up: “I Ate Too Many Drugs” Video May Be Game-Changer — Once again the defense weaponizes prosecution ‘expert’ witnesses against the prosecution case. — Parler — Gab — MeWe — Buffer — Pocket — Blogger — Yahoo Mail — Viber
Discussion:
Breitbart

Andrew Weissmann on How to Prosecute Trump — It would have been hard to imagine in April 2019 that two years later, we would barely be talking about the investigation into Donald Trump by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. — Once the subject of nightly news coverage and the object of liberal fantasies …
Discussion:
Raw Story

Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill admits affair, won't run for U.S. Senate: 'There's no excuse' — After initially denying reports of an affair, Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill on Wednesday afternoon told AL.com that he had “an inappropriate relationship” with a 44-year-old woman …

'That's Disgusting! I'm Done!' Eric Bolling Walks Off During Heated Live BBC Debate on Georgia Election Law — Former Fox News host Eric Bolling walked away during a contentious BBC News debate on Wednesday after a fellow guest called his comments “ignorant” and “disrespectful.”
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Hill, The Independent, Crooks and Liars and Insider

AP Exclusive: Northam endorses McAuliffe for Va. governor — RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday that he is backing Terry McAuliffe in the race to succeed him, handing his predecessor one of the contest's most coveted endorsements.
Discussion:
The Hill, Fox News, Politico, CNN, Twitchy, Associated Press and Political Wire

FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Announces Initial Actions to Address the Gun Violence Public Health Epidemic … Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing six initial actions to address the gun violence public health epidemic. The recent high-profile mass shootings in Boulder …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Human Events, TheBlaze, USA Today, Daily Kos, The Hill, National Review, UPI, Insider, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart and Townhall

Biden officials rebuff appeals to surge Covid-19 vaccine to Michigan amid growing crisis — WASHINGTON — Amid Michigan's worst-in-the-nation coronavirus surge, scientists and public health officials are urging the Biden administration to flood the state with additional vaccine doses.
Discussion:
HotAir

Ron Paul spotted wearing a pair of Daisy Dukes for interview — Looks like Ron Paul likes his shorts as small as he likes his government. — The former congressman gave viewers on YouTube an eye full Wednesday, when he ended a Zoom interview by revealing he was wearing a tight pair …
Discussion:
Althouse

Google Has a Secret Blocklist that Hides YouTube Hate Videos from Advertisers—But It's Full of Holes — Many well-known White supremacist and White nationalist terms and slogans were not blocked — First of two parts. — If you want to find YouTube videos related to “KKK” to advertise on, Google Ads will block you.

America is losing its religion — New surveys show Americans' membership in communities of worship has declined sharply in recent years, with less than 50% of the country belonging to a church, synagogue or mosque. — Why it matters: The accelerating trend towards a more secular America represents …

Collins-led group of GOPers blasts Biden after president says they 'didn't move an inch' on COVID compromise — Senators say Biden ‘roundly dismissed’ their effort at compromise to justify ‘go-it-alone strategy’ — Sen. Young: Biden ‘deceiving’ Americans by ‘rebranding’ infrastructure definition
Discussion:
The American Independent, NECN and IJR

G.O.P. Group Warns of ‘Defector’ List If Donors Uncheck Recurring Box — The National Republican Congressional Committee says to donors who opt out of recurring monthly donations: “We will have to tell Trump you're a DEFECTOR.” — The political arm of House Republicans is deploying …
Discussion:
HuffPost, Mother Jones, WinRed, Mediaite, Insider and Vanity Fair

Business group's study says corporate tax hike would cost 1M jobs — One million jobs would be lost in the first two years if the corporate tax rate increased to 28 percent and other policies went into effect, according to a new study from the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM).

‘This is a political prosecution’: After its members were charged in the Capitol riot, one group says it is more popular than ever — BRIDGEWATER, Mass. — In federal court, Mark Sahady and Suzanne Ianni are facing charges of illegal entry and disorderly conduct for their alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

This Trump backer defended the Jan. 6 riot in print — without mentioning he was in the Capitol — The top editor of a self-described “politically incorrect” Orthodox Jewish newspaper — a Donald Trump booster who scored a recent interview with the former president's impeachment attorney …
Discussion:
Raw Story

EXCLUSIVE: Georgia's Raffensperger says provision stripping him of power is ‘retribution’ for election fallout — Republican lawmakers included a provision in Georgia's voting reform law that strips the secretary of state of some power over elections — a move Brad Raffensperger, the incumbent …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal and IJR

How Brexit Saved Britain — Europe's vaccine debacle demonstrates the downsides of the EU — In March 2020, with COVID-19 bearing down on Europe, the Guardian published a stark headline: “Brexit means coronavirus vaccine will be slower to reach the UK.” The European Union would entice drug makers …
Discussion:
Associated Press and The Sun
U.S. Department of Justice:
Self-Described Member Of Boogaloo Bois Arrested, Charged With Illegal Possession Of A Machine Gun — Acting United States Attorney W. Anders Folk today announced a federal criminal complaint charging MICHAEL PAUL DAHLAGER, 27, of St. Cloud, Minnesota, with illegal possession of a machine gun.

Howard Dean Pushes Biden to Oppose Generic Covid-19 Vaccines for Developing Countries … Howard Dean, the former progressive champion, is calling on President Joe Biden to reject a special intellectual property waiver that would allow low-cost, generic coronavirus vaccines to be produced to meet the needs of low-income countries.
U.S. Department of Justice:
Leader of Neo-Nazi Group Pleads Guilty to Hate Crime and Conspiracy Charges for Threatening Journalists and Advocates — A Washington state man pleaded guilty today to federal hate crime and conspiracy charges in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
Discussion:
UPI

$2.1 Billion for Undocumented Workers Signals New York's Progressive Shift — The fund, which could provide payments to hundreds of thousands of people excluded from other pandemic relief, ignited a battle among state lawmakers before it was approved this week.

Anthony Fauci's limitless publicity thirst is undermining the war on COVID — It was said of the late actress Sylvia Miles, who spent her nights going from event to event in New York, that she would “attend the opening of an envelope.” US government virus guru Anthony Fauci has very little …

Virginia just legalized marijuana — It's now the first state in the South to legalize cannabis. — SHARE All sharing options — Virginia lawmakers on Wednesday enacted a marijuana legalization law, making the state the first in the South to legalize cannabis.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, The Daily Caller and Marijuana Moment

NRA chief Wayne LaPierre acknowledges he did not disclose bankruptcy plans or luxury yacht trips to other top officials — Wayne LaPierre, who positioned the National Rifle Association as an uncompromising lobbying powerhouse over the past three decades, admitted Wednesday …
Discussion:
New York Times, Associated Press, Raw Story, The Week, Wall Street Journal, Daily Kos and Law & Crime