“President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke today with President Vladimir Putin of Russia. They discussed a number of regional and global issues, including the intent of the United States and Russia to pursue a strategic stability dialogue on a range of arms control and emerging security issues, building on the extension of the New START Treaty. President Biden also made clear that the United States will act firmly in defense of its national interests in response to Russia’s actions, such as cyber intrusions and election interference. President Biden emphasized the United States’ unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The President voiced our concerns over the sudden Russian military build-up in occupied Crimea and on Ukraine’s borders, and called on Russia to de-escalate tensions. President Biden reaffirmed his goal of building a stable and predictable relationship with Russia consistent with U.S. interests, and proposed a summit meeting in a third country in the coming months to discuss the full range of issues facing the United States and Russia” – White House readout of Biden call with Putin.

BuzzFeed’s Zoe Tillman reports on the messages sent from Ronald Tillman, a MAGA terrorist charged in the Capitol riot, to his mom via a monitored tablet inmates are permitted to have inside the lockup. The DOJ is presenting it as evidence to keep Sandlin in custody pending trial:

“I’m doing OK. ups and downs I’m in a cell block with all Capitol people I’m proud to call them my friends. We my stood up for what we believed in and sacrificed. I’m looking forward to being a free man again and hopping my motorcycle and riding off into the sunset far away from people and their machinations. I’ve learned a lot about myself in here. Solitary confinement is very intense. Reading books is about the most stimulation I get and most of the time it’s just me in my head. I’ve learned to be OK just being OK with myself and my own thoughts and for that lesson I’m grateful because I certainly wouldn’t have gotten that on my own. I’m writing a book on my journey and I hope to turn it into a movie. I plan on having Leonardo DiCaprio play me :-). I have so many stories to tell.”

“I got a cock marble in prison lol (google it haha) I’m at peace now and I’ve accepted that I’m here for reason…it may sound self serving but I truly believe I have a divine destiny to fulfill and I/we made history that day and the full implications of our actions his yet to be realized. My bind hearing is in 2 weeks and I expect it to be on the news because I will be making an explosive statement…I won’t ruin the surprise. My charges are pretty serious including 2 assault charges so I expect them to make an example out of me and to be in prison for a few years. I’ve come to peace with my actions and consequences. Josiah ratted/lied on me to save his own ass.”

The Donald Trump Show was rekindled privately Saturday night at a Republican National Committee event at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., with the former president delivering a speech heavy on his election grievances and with relatively little to say about the future of the GOP. As The Washington Post’s Josh Dawsey reported Sunday, Trump’s speech reserved the heaviest and newest criticisms for the man who is currently the most powerful Republican in Washington, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.). Trump hit McConnell for not helping overturn the 2020 election and called him a ‘dumb son of a bitch,’ while accusing him of being ungrateful for Trump’s appointment of McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao, to his Cabinet. Audio of the speech reviewed by The Post reveals that Trump at times went even further in going after his foes and revising electoral history, even lodging a suggestive attack involving former first lady Michelle Obama’s appearance” reports the Washington Post.

“McConnell wasn’t the only one Trump called an ingrate. That was also the verdict for another Republican who declined to toe Trump’s line on the legitimacy of the 2020 election and whom Trump has gone after before: Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. But in prosecuting that grievance, Trump made a somewhat uncharacteristic comment about Michelle Obama – of whom he has often steered clear – while also using her husband’s middle name in a suggestive way. ‘Oprah Winfrey camped out in Atlanta’ in support of Kemp’s 2018 opponent Stacey Abrams, Trump claimed, wrongly saying that Winfrey was there for ‘months.’ Trump added: ‘Barack Hussein Obama and the very beautiful Michelle Obama were there for … ‘ At this point, the audience laughed uproariously. Michelle Obama’s appearance has often served as a punchline in some portions of the conservative Internet. ‘ …they were there for – forever,’ Trump concluded. Trump has a history of disparaging the appearances of women he doesn’t like. It was also an odd attack for another reason: Michelle Obama didn’t actually campaign for Abrams.”

Philly Voice: “An Aldan man, who allegedly left 18 voicemail messages at the Glenside, Montgomery County, office of Rep. Madeleine Dean during the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump has been charged with harassment. Stephen Cilurso, 68, was investigated by Aldan police and the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office after Dean – the Democratic congresswoman for Pennsylvania’s 4th District – reported the disturbing voicemails to authorities. The small Delaware County town where Cilurso is not part of Dean’s district, which covers most of Montgomery County and a tiny part of Berks County. Dean was one of the House impeachment managers during Trump’s second trial. In several voicemails, Cilurso allegedly made vulgar and sexual remarks directed at Dean and members of her family, including a grandchild, authorities said. During one message, Cilurso referenced the white nationalist group the Proud Boys and called Dean a liar for remarks she made during the impeachment proceedings, police said.”

“‘Oh yes, Ms. Dean we’re just calling to see if we can get a, a very large monetary contribution from you,’ Cilurso allegedly said. ‘This is the Proud Boys. Our numbers are growing every, every day. And it’s unbelievable, unbelievable after your speech yesterday and your f***in lies. How many new recruits we have. So we’re given (sic) you the opportunity Ms. Dean to support us so we can continue our proud heritage.’ Investigators said Cilurso left four voicemails on Feb. 10, nine on Feb. 11, three on Feb. 12 and two more between Feb. 14 and Feb. 15. The last two were left after police had already attempted to intervene and warned Cilurso not to contact the Congresswoman, authorities said. Cilurso explained he had a drinking problem and that he had a tendency to get angry while watching television, according to police. ‘I’ve been an a-hole,’ Cilurso allegedly told detectives. ‘I get angry and I get on the phone, my mouth is my worst enemy.’ After being instructed to stop calling Dean’s office, Cilurso allegedly left a voicemail for Dean begging her to let their ‘relationship’ go and to stop harassing him by sending the D.A.’s office after him.”

Demographic change is the key to the Democratic Party’s political ambitions.https://t.co/L3t1l9cYOM

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) April 13, 2021

“Federal health agencies on Tuesday will call for an immediate pause in use of Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose coronavirus vaccine after six recipients in the United States developed a rare disorder involving blood clots within about two weeks of vaccination, officials briefed on the decision said. All six recipients were women between the ages of 18 and 48. One woman died and a second woman in Nebraska has been hospitalized in critical condition, the officials said.”

“Nearly seven million people in the United States have received Johnson & Johnson shots so far, and roughly nine million more doses have been shipped out to the states, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While the move is framed as a recommendation to health practitioners in the states, the federal government is expected to pause administration of the vaccine at all federally run vaccination sites. Federal officials expect that state health officials will take that as a strong signal to do the same. Scientists with the Food and Drug Administration and C.D.C. will jointly examine possible links between the vaccine and the disorder and determine whether the F.D.A. should continue to authorize use of the vaccine for all adults or limit the authorization. An emergency meeting of the C.D.C.’s outside advisory committee has been scheduled for Wednesday, officials said” – New York Times.

Palmetto Politics: “Chaos erupted at the Charleston County GOP meeting when attorney Lin Wood pushed conspiracy theories that Donald Trump won the 2020 election. It was part of Wood’s pitch to replace S.C. Republican Party Chairman Drew McKissick next month. Guests packed a ballroom at the Double Tree Hotel on April 12 to listen to Wood, an attorney whose party platform for South Carolina Republicans revolves around emphatically supporting Trump and calling out politicians who don’t back him enough. ‘I did not come to divide you,’ Wood said. ‘I came to unite you and and grow your party.’ Every time Wood talked about how Trump was actually president, many in the room erupted in applause. Other stayed silent. Maurice Washington, chairman of the Charleston County GOP, interjected multiple times reminding the crowd to be respectful of opposing viewpoints when members began to shout at each other about the November election results.”

“Even after Wood’s speech when the Charleston County GOP tried to continue their regular scheduled meeting, their agenda was interrupted and distracted by shouting and yelling from those following the attorney as he exited the hotel. Wood’s platform illustrates the schism forming among Republican organizations throughout the state, where local county GOP groups are faced with an identity crisis and split membership that many see relies on the litmus test: How loyal are you to the former president and do you believe his claims about the election? The 75 person-suggested occupancy of the meeting room was widely ignored, as was social distancing and mask wearing, as GOP members crammed in with many opting to stand and some spilling into the hotel hallway. A few guests wore ‘Win With Lin’ shirts and passed around pamphlets advocating for the lawyer. Wood announced March 29 he would challenge McKissick for the chairmanship only a few months after moving to the Palmetto State from neighboring Georgia. The former Atlanta-based attorney rose to national fame last year for spearheading baseless claims of election fraud after Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden.”

“Police in England have found themselves with an unusual case on their hands after he world’s largest rabbit suddenly disappeared from his home over the weekend. Darius, a Continental Giant rabbit who holds the Guinness world record for being the biggest rabbit in the world at 4 feet and 3 inches long (129 centimeters), vanished from his enclosure in Stoulton, Worcestershire, and police have issued an urgent appeal for the return of the prize-winning bunny” ABC news reports.

“‘It is believed the Continental Giant rabbit was stolen from its enclosure in the garden of the property of its owners overnight on Saturday (10 April – 11 April),’ the West Mercia Police in western England said in a statement. ‘The rabbit is quite unique in the fact it is 4ft in size and has been awarded a Guinness Record for being the biggest rabbit in the world.’ Annette Edwards, Darius’ owner, issued a plea on social media offering up £1,000 ($1,375) for anybody who can help return the giant leporine.”

Politico: “Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell’s relationship simply can’t go on like this for Senate Republicans. Though the Senate GOP is tantalizingly close to retaking the majority next year and largely united in opposition to President Joe Biden’s agenda, the ongoing feud between the former president and the Senate minority leader has decayed to an entirely untenable place. Trump’s insult-laden diatribe against McConnell this weekend signals that the GOP could splinter badly in primaries next year – and raises the question of whether McConnell and Trump can work together at all. In theory, the two Republicans could be back serving together in fewer than four years. But not if Trump keeps calling McConnell a ‘dumb son of a bitch’ and a ‘stone-cold loser.'”

“‘We’ve got issues as a party, with the demographic trends going against us, and we don’t have a lot of margin for error,’ said Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), observing that the Trump-McConnell feud is still in ‘full flare’ at the moment. ‘When it comes to the infighting politically, I don’t know how that can help – when you’re scrapping on the margins, when you’re trying to win states, and especially national elections.’ The feud is mostly one-sided as of late; McConnell barely utters Trump’s name these days and has no communication with the former president. Still, several high-ranking senators said on Monday evening that Trump and McConnell need to reach an understanding of some sort or perhaps even resume speaking to each other, which at the moment seems unthinkable. ‘Hopefully there will be some sort of truce,’ said Senate Minority Whip John Thune. ‘It’s in everybody’s best interest – including the former president, if he wants to continue to stay viable politically – to help us win the majority in 2022. And that means working with Senate Republicans, and not against them.’ Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), the No. 5 leader, said she hoped ‘at some point’ Trump and McConnell could even reconcile. ‘We really need to come together, both Leader McConnell and President Trump,’ Ernst said. ‘We just need to have good discourse within the Republican Party right now.'”

Ohio Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno is taking a page from Senate predecessors Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio:  dismiss and insult Donald Trump in 2016, then cozy up to him to make gains during your campaign.

As NBC News reports, Moreno wrote in an email exchange with GOP officials asking if he’d like to met RNC leader Reince Priebus in 2016, “If Donald Trump is nominated, I will consider that a hostile take over and no longer associate myself with THAT, new GOP.”

He followed that up with another email reply a month after the 2016 presidential election, when Republican officials asked him to contribute his leftover campaign funds to help other GOP candidates.  “Given that I see a future where trump [sic] is the leader of what used to be my party, I’ve sidelined myself,” Moreno replied. “I will support individual candidates, but can’t support a party led by that maniac.”

Republican Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney said the Republican Party needs to move away from favoring lies and shouting to a policy-based party that clearly communicates those policies to voters, the Washington Post reports.

“The most important thing has to be the truth, and we have to be willing to speak the truth, and the truth is that the election wasn’t stolen. That doesn’t mean that there weren’t irregularities,” Cheney told a virtual meeting of the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service. “For us as a party, we have to be clear what we stand for; we have to be clear that we’re going to always tell our constituents and our voters that truth, that we owe them that.”

Cheney has been lambasted by members of the Trump wing of the GOP for being unsuitably unfaithful to Donald Trump because she voted to impeach Trump during his second impeachment trial in January. 

The NCAA is firing a warning shot over the bow of Republicans in Florida who are considering legislation banning transgender athletes from competing in sports, specifically on women’s and girls’ teams in high school college sports, according to Politico.

One day before the Florida state house is scheduled to consider a law that would permit only “biological” females–that is, people whose gender is specified as female at birth–to participate on girls’ and women’s teams during competitions.

“When determining where championships are held, NCAA policy directs that only locations where hosts can commit to providing an environment that is safe, healthy and free of discrimination should be selected,” the NCAA Board of Governors wrote in a statement.

A NationalZero exclusive editorial: Since before Trump left office there has been a great deal of saber-rattling among Republicans about the threat posed by the Chinese government. Since Biden took office there have been numerous examples of Republican lawmakers urging Biden to take a more aggressive stance towards our largest trade partner. There’s one question though that I’ve yet to hear any Republican bother to address when it comes to the US/China relationship, what happens if the US and China do end up in a more confrontational stance, and China ends up suspending shipments of many consumer goods and components for manufactured goods to the US? Do Republicans think that the Chinese are going to continue shipping us tons of wafer boards, basic pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and hard drives while we’re in a shooting war with them?

“Wouldn’t it be ironic if the Supreme Court of the United States, after showing that they didn’t have the courage to do what they should have done on the Great Presidential Election Fraud of 2020, was PACKED by the same people, the Radical Left Democrats (who they are so afraid of!), that they so pathetically defended in not hearing the Election Fraud case. Now there is a very good chance they will be diluted (and moved throughout the court system so that they can see how the lower courts work), with many new Justices added to the Court, far more than has been reported.”

“There is also a good chance that they will be term-limited. We had 19 states go before the Supreme Court who were, shockingly, not allowed to be heard. Believe it or not, the President of the United States was not allowed to be heard based on ‘no standing,’ not based on the FACTS. The Court wouldn’t rule on the merits of the great Election Fraud, including the fact that local politicians and judges, not State Legislatures, made major changes to the Election – which is in total violation of the United States Constitution. Our politically correct Supreme Court will get what they deserve – an unconstitutionally elected group of Radical Left Democrats who are destroying our Country. With leaders like Mitch McConnell, they are helpless to fight. He didn’t fight for the Presidency, and he won’t fight for the Court. If and when this happens, I hope the Justices remember the day they didn’t have courage to do what they should have done for America” – Trump Statement.

Sitting in a parked car in the parking lot of a Walmart in a Dallas neighborhood, a 9-year-old boy reported found a gun in the car and shot an 11-year-old with him in the car, killing the older boy, the Dallas Morning News reports.

A 32-year-old who was taken into custody said she was watching the two boys.  Police did not release the identify of the boys, their relationship to each other or their relationship to the woman.

As a proponent of freedom, enjoying some Taiwanese dried pineapple. Checkmate. pic.twitter.com/Y0wD2E3GDt

— Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo) April 11, 2021

The three Minneapolis-area professional sports team currently in their seasons have canceled their games for Monday night in response to the homicide of Daunte Wright, a Black man killed by a police officer in suburban Brooklyn Center, and fears of community violence, USA Today reports.

The NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves, the NHL Minnesota Wild and MLB’s Minnesota Twins all postponed their games.  The Twins were scheduled for an afternoon game against the Boston Red Sox.

Wright was killed by a Brooklyn Center police officer on Sunday night.  Body cam footage and an account by the Brooklyn Center police chief indicate that the officer involved accidentally fired their service pistol when she thought she was firing a taser.