Politico Magazine reports: There’s another, less explored route that Trump’s team could try: asking the judge to give the jury the option of convicting him on lesser, misdemeanor offenses instead of the felony counts that have actually been brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and his team of prosecutors. A person familiar with Trump’s legal strategy told me that …

The Daily Beast reports: The Biden administration on Thursday announced that it is moving to close the so-called gun-show loophole in which people selling guns online, at shows, and other informal venues have been able to do so without conducting background checks on their customers. The Justice Department said it has submitted a final rule to the federal register that …

Fortune reports: Postmaster General Louis DeJoy was a major Republican Party donor and Trump fundraiser—and was also the first postmaster general in two decades without prior USPS experience. Under DeJoy, the USPS has been bleeding money. In the first quarter of fiscal 2024 alone, USPS reported a $2.1 billion net loss, more than double its $1 billion net loss during …

The Associated Press reports: It will be a state crime for a person to be in Iowa if previously denied admission to or removed from the United States under a bill signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds on Wednesday. The law, which takes effect July 1, has elevated anxiety in Iowa’s immigrant communities and has prompted questions among legal …

The New York Daily News reports: Former president, presumptive 2024 GOP nominee and fast food lover Donald Trump stopped by an Atlanta Chick-fil-A on Wednesday, where he reportedly ordered 30 milkshakes and gave them out to patrons in an apparent attempt to woo local voters. The 77-year-old right-winger made his lunchtime visit en route to a fundraiser. “Hello everybody,” Trump …

The Hill reports: Mpox cases have been elevated since October, with an average of roughly 200 monthly cases detected per month, spurring efforts to avoid a summer surge like what was seen in 2022. Recent numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed a startling difference between the first quarter of 2023 and 2024, with the first …

The Louisiana Illuminator reports: The Louisiana House Committee on Education advanced House Bill 121 by Rep. Raymond Crews, R-Bossier City, which prohibits the use of transgender and nonbinary youth’s chosen names and pronouns in public K-12 schools without parental permission, along a party line 9-3 vote. House Bill 122 by Rep. Dodie Horton, R-Haugton, which limits discussion of gender and …

Mediaite reports: Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton revealed to CNN host Kaitlan Collins on Wednesday that he voted for former Vice President Dick Cheney in the 2020 presidential election and would write him in again this year. Collins asked, “Who did you write in in 2020? You’ve never revealed that before.” Bolton replied, “Well, I might as well …

The Albany Times Union reports: On Oct. 10, Alison Esposito, a former Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, announced she was running for Congress in New York’s 18th Congressional District against incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan. But according to her most recently available campaign finance records, Esposito did not pay anyone on her campaign in the three months after launching …

“The people on the left are so desperate attacking Trump, now for an Arizona Supreme Court ruling that upholds what is a Civil War-era law banning abortion. This will be fixed in the next week or two. “Let not your heart be troubled. I can pretty much assure that that will happen. And you know what? Arizona’s governor is a …

Reuters reports: The FBI is concerned about the possibility of an organized attack in the United States similar to the one that killed scores at a Russian concert hall last month, the bureau’s director plans to tell a House of Representatives panel on Thursday. “Looking back over my career in law enforcement, I’d be hard pressed to think of a …

NBC News reports: Kyle Benjamin Douglas Calvert, 26, of Irondale, was charged with malicious use of an explosive and possession of an unregistered destructive device, the Justice Department said. The explosion outside Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office occurred around 3:42 a.m. on Feb. 24. No injuries or major damage were reported. “That device had the characteristics of an IED, and …

InDepthNH.org reports: Republican Rep. Jon Stone’s New Hampshire law enforcement career ended when he threatened to kill fellow police officers in a shooting spree, and murder his chief after raping the chief’s wife and children, all while he was already under scrutiny for his inappropriate relationship with a teen girl, according to the internal investigation reports finally released this week. …

Broadway.com reports: Diego Luna will star in the previously announced film adaptation of Kander and Ebb’s Kiss of the Spider Woman with Jennifer Lopez. The movie is to be written and directed by Dreamgirls director Bill Condon, with Barry Josephson, Tom Kirdahy and Greg Yolen producing in conjunction with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon for Artists Equity. The Tony-winning 1993 …

Gothamist reports: Mayor Eric Adams, who called package theft a “New York nightmare,” pledged to end it on Wednesday by opening parcel storage lockers at seven locations throughout the city. “We want to send a message to the porch pirates that your days are over of sailing away with our packages,” the mayor said, noting that 90,000 packages are reported …

CNN reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told donors and supporters at an appreciation retreat over the weekend that he would help fundraise for former presidential rival Donald Trump, two sources familiar with the details told CNN. “He’s committed to helping Trump in any and every way,” said Texas businessman Roy Bailey, who attended the retreat. “We are going to follow …

CNBC News reports: Investment firms led by the former CEO of the SPAC that merged with Donald Trump’s media company allege that their files were hacked and stolen by a current member of the media company’s board of directors. In a federal civil lawsuit filed in South Florida last month, the firms accuse board member Eric Swider of plotting a …

The Washington Post reports: Sen. Rick Scott of Florida this week joined the ranks of Republican incumbents scrambling to strike a balance on reproductive rights, saying he opposes a November ballot initiative to strike down his state’s six-week abortion ban but thinks Congress should leave those decisions to the states. Scott, who is seeking reelection this fall, was one of …

The Associated Press reports: Speaking in Atlanta ahead of a fundraiser, the presumptive Republican nominee renewed his running criticism of Biden’s reaction to the Israel-Hamas war and the administration’s support for the rights of LGBTQ Americans, including transgender persons. “Biden has totally lost control of the Israel situation,” said Trump, whose rise in 2016 depended heavily on white Christian conservatives. …

Reuters reports: A New York appeals judge on Wednesday denied Donald Trump’s third last-ditch attempt this week to delay his April 15 criminal trial on charges stemming from hush money paid to a porn star, paving the way for the first-ever trial of a former U.S. president. During an earlier hearing, Trump lawyer Emil Bove said the trial should be …