GOP CANDIDATES BEG (AND PAY) FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE MAN WHO TRIED TO END DEMOCRACY Donald Trump's effort to overthrow democracy and the resulting criminal investigations encircling him have done nothing to dim the ardor of Republicans falling all over themselves to win his endorsement. Candidates for Congress, governor and even state offices are pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into Trump's cash registers as they seek his endorsement — notwithstanding his own defeat and failed attempt to remain in power. [HuffPost]
COPS SENSING 'SOMETHING THERE' FIND TEEN LOST 3 YEARS AGO An autistic teen who disappeared in California while his mom was making him quesadillas for lunch was found shivering outside a convenience store in Utah by two sheriff's deputies who "just felt that there was something there." Connerjack Oswalt was 16 when he went missing in 2019. [AP]
ADAM KINZINGER IS 'SLOW-GHOSTING' CONGRESS. HE MAY BE ANGLING TO BEAT TRUMP IN A PRIMARY. GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a target of white-hot Trumpian rage since voting to impeach the former president, has been redistricted out of his House seat. But he sees a way out in 2024 — against Trump. "Even if he crushed me, like in a primary, to be able to stand up and call out the garbage ... I think it'd be fun," he told HuffPost's Liz Skalka. [HuffPost]
HATEMONGER ALEX JONES' INFOWARS FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY Infowars founder Alex Jones, who became a millionaire peddling lies that have included calling the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre a hoax, is seeking bankruptcy for his flagship Infowars site as a way to duck mounting defamation verdicts. [HuffPost]
NEW JERSEY WEED SALES BEGIN THIS WEEK — A DAY LATE AND A DIME BAG SHORT Legal weed sales begin in New Jersey on April 21, and a lot of people can't believe Gov. Phil Murphy let a PR opportunity go up in smoke by failing to start recreational sales on 4/20, the unofficial cannabis holiday. New Jersey's move puts weed within striking distance of millions in neighboring New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware. [HuffPost]
2 HOUSE GOPers UP TO THEIR NECKS IN INSURRECTION PLOTTING Text messages from GOP Sen. Mike Lee and Rep. Chip Roy to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows showed they plotted with other high-ranking Republicans to overturn Trump's 2020 election defeat, right up until the Capitol riot. That's when they started fretting that things could "backfire badly," as Lee wrote. [HuffPost]
IT'S BEEN 75 YEARS, AND PEOPLE STILL DON'T GIVE JACKIE ROBINSON HIS RESPECT The first Black man to play major league baseball wasn't just a barrier breaker. He was a freak athlete who dominated the game, opinion writer Law Ware points out. [HuffPost]
