New York Times: Fort Hood shooter’s execution will be public and streamed live, Pentagon says.

“Republican nominee Mike Rogers repeatedly called Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed a ‘glitchy AI chatbot’ and suggested the Muslim American has ties to terrorists. El-Sayed called Rogers cowardly and accused him of going after the ‘Peeping Tom vote’ by supporting local government control of Flock cameras.”

New York Times: 5 key moments from hostile Michigan Senate debate between El-Sayed and Rogers.

CBS News: El-Sayed and Rogers toss insults in Michigan Senate debate.

“Rogers was asked during a debate Thursday whether he would welcome public backing from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee — and he pointedly did not rule it out.”

“Instead, Shapiro trained fire on his GOP rival, state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, for seeking the governor’s mansion instead of finishing out a full term in office.”

“Trump pardoned Cuellar and his wife last year as the couple faced charges pertaining to bribery and money laundering.”

Said Trump: “In any event, I did the pardons, and made no deal, where a crooked politician would have, but I thought there would be a good chance that Cuellar, who was persecuted by Democrats because they didn’t like him, would have routinely gone over to the Republican Party — the people that saved him from years in prison.”

“It’s not a question of whether the GOP will have a bad night, but how bad will it be, despite structural advantages that should have precluded them from having a devastating midterm.”

“New filings for unemployment benefits have held below 200,000 for four weeks, data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday shows.”

“That’s the longest stretch since the late 1960s.”

“And for many Maine voters, chilly weather could present a particular challenge this year: New England’s northernmost state is singularly reliant on heating oil, and the price of the product is surging because of President Trump’s war with Iran, which has clogged a vital oil shipping corridor.”

“The issue has started to move to the center of the race between Senator Susan Collins, a vulnerable fifth-term Republican, and her Democratic challenger, Troy Jackson, who has blamed Ms. Collins for the rising fuel oil costs.”

“It implies that the Fed is not in a full-scale effort to tighten the screws on the economy, but rather a cautious recalibration in light of inflationary pressures and robust growth.”

“But the past two years have yielded an impressive turnaround. Hochul has drawn praise for forging productive relationships with both Trump and Mamdani. She easily dispatched opponents on her left (Delgado quit his campaign for governor in February) and her right (Representative Elise Stefanik’s bid lasted just more than a month). Hochul appears on track to secure another four-year term as New York’s governor, and if she remains something less than an A-list political celebrity, she has earned the respect of a party that all but dismissed her not long ago.”

“Trump is considering nominating Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought’s deputy to serve as the nation’s comptroller general, the Government Accountability Office’s chief, for a 15-year term.”

Said Hegseth: “We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public, because people need to understand that there’s serious consequences for these types of things.”

“The Trump administration and Republican campaign committees asked the justices to halt a ruling from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which gave the Federal Communications Commission until noon Friday to resolve a challenge from Democratic Senate nominees to the agency’s March guidance granting political party committees access to lower ad rates when coordinating with candidates.”

“Chief Justice John Roberts quickly did so — at least for now.”

“On Thursday the Texas Tribune published audio of Paxton saying the U.S. needs to ‘suck it up’ and cut federal programs, more drips from the same fundraiser that elicited Paxton’s complaints about gas prices, lack of control over his own campaign, and the Republican midterm convention depressing his numbers.”

Said Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX): “Got to be more careful when you run with the big dogs.”