Today's Top Political and Coronavirus News Compilation - Sunday, April 18, 2021

Below are some of the top political news stories of the day:


(AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

GOP White House hopefuls move forward as Trump considers run
WASHINGTON (AP) — Less than three months after former President Donald Trump left the White House, the race to succeed him atop the Republican Party is already beginning.

Updated Sunday, 4/18/2020 at 11:35 AM CDT

Most Americans want to end lifetime Supreme Court appointments for justices

Blinken defends Biden's refugee cap, Afghanistan withdrawal in exclusive interview

How the Trump era made redistricting more complicated

Macron says Biden is "100% right" to push for more action on climate change

Sullivan promises Biden 'not going to take his eye off the ball' with Afghanistan

Senators in the dark on parliamentarian's decision

Some Jan. 6 defendants try to use journalism as riot defense
‘Trumpiest Trumpster of the bunch’: GOP gets a gut check

More people now feel illegal immigration is more important issue than COVID-19: Poll

Guilty verdict in Chauvin trial could set precedent: Crump, Floyd and Wright attorney

How Michigan Republicans could sidestep Whitmer to enact voting restrictions

As protests continue, lawmakers try to add to the list of crimes protesters could face

POLITICO Playbook: GOP struggles with how to handle Trumpism — and Trump

CBS News poll: Eye on Earth — Americans support U.S. engaging globally on climate

Faith leaders across US join in decrying voting restrictions

Boehner: 'America First Caucus is one of the nuttiest things I've ever seen'

JD Vance: Trump whisperer turned Senate hopeful

George W. Bush on painting a new vision of immigrants

Efforts to make Oregon's coronavirus rules permanent met with fierce opposition

GOP sheds college-educated voters

Blinken says of Afghanistan drawdown: 'The terrorism threat has moved'

Maxine Waters' 'get more confrontational' comment is latest in history of heated rhetoric

Fauci on gun violence: 'How can you say that's not a public health issue?'

Navalny's team calls protests amid reports of failing health

'There will be consequences' for Russia if Navalny dies, Biden official warns

Biden was tough on drugs for decades. Now he faces challenges in fighting money laundering

The Memo: Tense nation readies for Chauvin verdict

Lara Trump decision looms over GOP nomination fight for open NC Senate seat

Boehner: 'I did everything I could' to bring together Republicans

National security adviser says White House is looking at options if Navalny dies in Russian custody

John Ratcliffe: America's adversaries are 'testing', 'taking advantage of' Biden 'wrong decisions'

Russian Ambassador: Putin critic Navalny 'will not be allowed to die in prison'

Whitmer: Court ruling's a factor in COVID-19 surge

Wunderkind ex-mayor to face jurors in fraud, bribery case

Five questions ahead for the recovering economy

25 years of ‘Fox News Sunday’: Chris Wallace sits down with former US presidents (video)

Full Boehner: 'I don't think I could have done more' on 'knucklehead caucus'

Sullivan: Islamic State might grow once US troops withdraw

Israeli general who helped destroy Iraq, Syria nuclear plants says stopping Iran is harder

John Kerry's 'full speed' mission to restore American leadership on the climate crisis

Indianapolis gunman bought rifles despite earlier gun confiscation

Whitmer: State won't close down again following GOP lawsuits

A fight over Trump's SALT tax cap is threatening to derail Biden's $2 trillion infrastructure plan - BI

Biden takes on Dems’ ‘Mission Impossible’: Revitalizing coal country

Delights of Ramadan disappear for Syrian refugees in Lebanon

Obama's words hang over Biden's Afghanistan decision

Quiet No More: Sen. Hirono's Immigrant Journey Fuels Her Fire In Congress

Transcript: French President Emmanuel Macron on "Face the Nation"

Maxine Waters urges Minnesota protesters to 'stay on the street' if Chauvin acquitted in Floyd case

Structural, but solvable: These programs could be key to breaking cycle of poverty

What QAnon Documentaries Reveal About How Conspiracies Flourish

Navalny's life is Putin's 'personal' responsibility, say Russian politicians

George W. Bush says failure of immigration reform one of his biggest regrets

No food, mask breaks: What proms and graduations might look like this year

Helen McCrory was 'meteor in our life' says husband Damian Lewis

Russia retaliates against new US sanctions (video)

Republicans claim some blue states have stricter voting laws. In some cases, they're right.

3 people were killed and 2 others injured in a shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin, sheriff says

Armed 'good Samaritan' stops shoplifter, police say

Nearly 100 people injured after train derails in Egypt

Up, up and away: Travel industry prepares for post-pandemic surge

Noise pollution may prevent forest growth: Study
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Posted 2:35 AM CDT

In Minneapolis, armed patrol group tries to keep the peace

Republicans talk unity in Georgia but censure Kemp, others

As mask mandates end, Oregon bucks trend with permanent rule

There was Trump-Russia collusion — and Trump pardoned the colluder

‘Totally unfair’: Biden denounces Russia over Navalny

Alexey Navalny's rep says he's 'dying' as Russian prosecutors target his foundation

On foreign policy decisions, Biden faces drag of pragmatism

Biden finally admits 'crisis' at the border but it comes with a catch

US, China agree to cooperate on climate crisis with urgency

US cities beef up security ahead of Chauvin verdict

Police in Minnesota round up journalists covering protest, force them on the ground and take pictures of their faces

Post-pandemic boom poised to get smacked with severe shortages

Putin tests Biden with military buildup

Marjorie Taylor Greene scraps planned launch of controversial 'America First' caucus amid blowback from GOP

Nearly 100 people arrested as Daunte Wright protests turn violent again in Minnesota

Biden's immigration backtrack leaves cloud of confusion over the White House

How Democrats Who Lost in Deep-Red Places Might Have Helped Biden - NY Times

Trump rape accuser E. Jean Carroll's lawyers call DOJ defense 'dangerous'

As voting fight moves westward, accusations of racism follow

Suspect in FedEx shooting used two assault rifles he bought legally: police

GOP Rep. Ken Buck slams 'hatefulness' and 'ignorance' of reported America First caucus platform

How the Supreme Court Helped Create 'Driving While Black'

French President Emmanuel Macron says international community must draw "clear red lines" with Russia

US orders diplomats to leave Chad as rebels near capital

Hunter Biden twists US intelligence on emails into false 'Russian operation' narrative

What early fundraising signals about 2022 Senate map

Student-loan borrowers are battling for relief even after Biden's administration canceled $2.3 billion: 'We were taken advantage of' - BI

Treasury Department links Paul Manafort to Kilimnik to Russian intelligence

Czechs expel 18 Russians over huge depot explosion in 2014

North Carolina primary field builds, with or without Lara Trump

The 2020 election still hovers over the Supreme Court with another pending Pennsylvania case

Minnesota police pledge not to harass journalists at protests

Tensions rise in US amid police shootings, Chauvin trial

Minnesota updates police guidance on reporters covering violent riots on the front line

Navalny’s doctor: Putin critic ‘could die at any moment’

Republicans have an idea who should pay to overhaul the country's infrastructure: average people - BI

Iran nuclear talks to continue amid ‘new understanding’

Iran names suspect in Natanz attack, says he fled country

Police killing of Daunte Wright puts renewed focus on Minnesota town's racist past

Adam Toledo remembered by family as kind, funny teen in wake of fatal police shooting

Black Americans experiencing collective trauma, grief

Kinzinger slams fellow GOP for America First caucus

National Border Patrol president: ‘The left wants to excuse cartels abusing children’

US West prepares for possible 1st water shortage declaration

POLITICO Playbook: Fury over 'Anglo-Saxon' caucus

Biden says administration will raise refugee cap in first comments after Friday's back and forth

Idaho governor signs bill making it harder for voters to put initiatives on the ballot

The queen says goodbye to Philip, continues her reign alone

Salisbury poisoning agents 'linked to Czech blast'

Pelosi says in new book that Trump's 2016 victory felt 'like a mule kicking you in the back over and over again'

Can Biden Join FDR And LBJ In The Democratic Party's Pantheon?

List of mourners attending the funeral of Prince Philip

Sen. Blackburn says Democrats playing 'good cop, bad cop' on Supreme Court packing

Queen Elizabeth II mourns loss of her husband, Prince Philip, with the world

Biden on refugee cap: 'We couldn't do two things at once'

Family of Indianapolis FedEx shooter apologizes: 'We tried to get him the help he needed'

Biden plays first round of golf as president

Chad’s Deby takes early election lead as rebels near capital

Defense expert in Chauvin trial faces lawsuit

New "America First Caucus" would champion "Anglo-Saxon political traditions"

US deports woman who lied about role in Rwandan genocide

Police body camera footage shows fatal shooting of Black man in Honolulu

AOC declares victory after Biden reverses course on refugee cap

Man charged for allegedly molesting multiple children at Atlanta summer camp

Life In The Roaring 2020s: Young People Prepare To Party, Reclaim Lost Pandemic Year

Prince Philip is laid to rest as somber queen sits alone

60 years after the Bay of Pigs invasion, many Cuban Americans' distrust of the Democratic Party still affects national politics

Founder of Adobe and developer of PDFs dies at age 81

Is the US safe for refugees? Canada’s top court could soon decide

Coronavirus News and Updates:
Updated 11:35 AM CDT

The Latest: Fauci says he expects fast decision on J&J shots

WHO warns of global surge in COVID cases, deaths

Live: 'Pockets' of transmission of SA variant in England

Fauci says comments like Rep. Jim Jordan's are 'quite frustrating'

Germany remembers nearly 80,000 dead in COVID pandemic

For Some Americans, Getting A Vaccine Is As Easy As Showing Up To Work

J&J vaccine will probably return but could face restrictions, Fauci says: Today's COVID updates

Fauci says he doesn't believe health officials will 'just cancel' Johnson & Johnson vaccine

Fauci: Public will know if third booster shot is needed by fall

Macron says France "finalizing" plans to ease restrictions for vaccinated travelers

'Quite frustrating': Dr. Fauci on GOP vaccine hesitancy (video)

Michigan infections spike, unfilled vaccine appointments rise

COVID roundup: India’s record cases, no masks in Israel

Transcript: Anthony Fauci on "Face the Nation"

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Posted 2:35 AM CDT

Worldwide death toll surpasses three million and it isn't showing signs of letting up

The world's biggest vaccine producer is running out of Covid-19 vaccines, as second wave accelerates

Covid-19 booster shot likely needed within 12 months, Pfizer's CEO says

US has administered over 200 million COVID vaccine doses: CDC

DeSantis spurns CDC advice: 'You’re immune, and so, act immune’

Five global concerns for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine pause

Doctors home in on cause of blood clots potentially linked with Covid-19 vaccines

More young people are getting hospitalized as Covid variants spread. Here’s what we know

COVID-19 death toll tops 3 million worldwide

Covid in Brazil: Pandemic meets poverty in growing crisis

COVID-free Australia ‘in no hurry’ to open its borders

Michigan set to make coronavirus restrictions on businesses permanent

What Can Wealthy Nations Do To Address Global Vaccine Inequity?