• BARR SAYS NO THANKS: “Attorney General William Barr will not appear before the House Judiciary Committee [today] to answer questions about special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation as previously planned, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday evening. Citing the ‘unprecedented and unnecessary’ conditions placed on Barr’s planned testimony by Congressional Democrats, a Department of Justice spokeswoman announced the attorney general would not return to Capitol Hill on Thursday to further explain his handling of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s findings.” (National Review)

• MUELLER TO TAKE THE STAND: “The Democratic chairman of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee said on Wednesday an agreement had been reached to have Special Counsel Robert Mueller testify to Congress on his probe into Russian election interference and possible attempts by the President Donald Trump to impede the probe. Representative Jerry Nadler told reporters the agreement was for Mueller to testify sometime in May, but that a specific date had yet to be agreed upon.” (Reuters)

• GENDER IDENTITY HEADS TO COURT: “In 2013, several years after he was first hired, a male employee told his employer, R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, he wanted to dress as a woman at work. The funeral home owner, Thomas Rost, refused to comply with this wish, insisting it was not ‘in the best interest of grieving families.’ … The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit ruled that the federal government can force R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes and its owner to allow a male employee who identifies as female to dress in women’s clothing at work. This essentially redefines ‘sex’ as referred to in Title VII in a way that is different than when it was interpreted when enacted in 1964. Now the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case and see if the EEOC and federal judges have the power to bypass Congress and redefine ‘sex.’” (Washington Examiner)

• GOP TAKES BUDGET LEAD: “Weeks after Democratic leadership decided to shelve their budget resolution for fiscal year 2020, a group of House Republicans has released a detailed budget it hopes will serve as a ‘playbook’ for how to govern should they regain the majority. The Republican Study Committee, chaired by Rep. Mike Johnson (R., La.), called it an abdication of responsibility by Democrats to fail to present a budget, but said it was ‘ready and willing to fill that vacuum of leadership’ with its own budget.” (The Washington Free Beacon)

• TRUMP SOLICITS EMERGENCY BORDER FUNDS: “The White House sent Congress a $4.5 billion emergency spending request on Wednesday, citing an unfolding ‘humanitarian and security crisis’ at the U.S.-Mexico border as record numbers of Central American families and children seek entrance to the United States. The request includes $3.3 billion for humanitarian assistance and $1.1 billion for border operations.” (The Washington Post)

• HISTORIC MIGRANT BUST: “U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents arrested 424 migrants attempting to cross the southern border on Tuesday in the ‘largest’ collective arrest in the agency’s history. CBP agents encountered and ultimately apprehended ‘a group of what seemed to be over 400 illegal aliens’ early Tuesday morning near the border town of Sunland Park, N.M., according to an agency press release.” (National Review)

• NANNY STATE UPDATE: According to the Associated Press, “Maine has banned single-use food and drink containers made from polystyrene foam, commonly known as Styrofoam, becoming the first state to do so. Democratic Gov. Janet Mills signed the bill, which takes effect in 2021, into law Tuesday.” On the flip side, Fox News reports that “Florida lawmakers on Tuesday passed a bill stating local governments could not enforce plastic straw bans over the next five years.”

• GILLIBRAND’S TERRIBLE, NO-GOOD IDEA: “In her first major policy proposal of the 2020 presidential election, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D–NY) — a long shot candidate for the Democratic nomination — is suggesting that every voter be given $600 to donate to federal election campaigns. Affectionately named ‘Democracy Dollars,’ she says the taxpayer-funded venture will clean up elections and "attack the corrupting influence of money at its core.” (Reason)

• SANDMANN MARCHES ON: “On Wednesday, attorneys for Nicholas Sandmann, the Covington Catholic High School student who was targeted by the media after his encounter with Native American activist Nathan Phillips at the Lincoln Memorial on January 18, announced they are filing a $275 million lawsuit against NBCUniversal, alleging ‘NBCUniversal created a false narrative by portraying the "confrontation” as a “hate crime” committed by Nicholas.’ … Sandmann’s attorneys have already filed a $250 million suit against the Washington Post and another suit against CNN for $275 million.“ (The Daily Wire)

• TRADE-DEAL WINDFALL: "The European Union announced Thursday that its imports of U.S. liquefied natural gas have climbed 272% since 2016, with the steepest increases occurring after President Trump met last July with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to hash out a trade deal. … The EU said it recorded its highest level of EU-U.S. natural gas trade in March with more than 1.4 billion cubic meters of LNG imports.” (Washington Examiner)

• HUMOR: Democrats call for “infinite” investigation into Trump (NPC Daily)

• POLICY: Military intervention in Venezuela? It’s not that easy (Washington Examiner)

• POLICY: California’s high-speed train makes Solyndra look like a bargain (Foundation for Economic Education)

For more of today’s editors’ choice headlines, visit In Our Sights.

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