Israel showed US ‘smoking gun’ on Hamas in AP office tower, officials say  —  “We showed them the smoking gun proving Hamas worked out of that building,” a source close to Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said.  “I understand they found the explanation satisfactory.”

Rep. Liz Cheney criticizes ‘disgraceful’ GOP attempts to ‘whitewash’ Capitol attack  —  Cheney talked with ABC's “This Week” shortly after the GOP voted to replace her.  —  ‘I do regret’ voting for Trump in 2020: Rep. Liz Cheney … Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., said Friday it was “indefensible” …

The man who didn't invent Flamin' Hot Cheetos  —  For the last decade, Richard Montañez has been telling the story of how he invented Flamin' Hot Cheetos.  The world has been eating it up.  —  It goes like this: He was working as a janitor at Frito-Lay's Rancho Cucamonga plant …

New mask guidance does not grant permission for widespread mask removal: Walensky  —  Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC director, appeared on ABC's “This Week.”  —  CDC director discusses new mask guidance for fully vaccinated Americans  —  Dr. Rochelle Walensky talks about the Centers …

Man charged with wife's murder illegally cast her ballot for Trump, officials say: ‘I just thought, give him another vote’  —  The county clerk immediately knew something strange was going on last fall.  A mail ballot had arrived from Suzanne Morphew — a woman missing since May.

A surge of newcomers pack Georgia GOP meetings across state  —  The grassroots effort to punish Gov. Brian Kemp largely fizzled at key Republican meetings across the state this weekend even as record crowds of activists continued a relentless focus on former President Donald Trump's lies …

Republican Arizona election official says Trump ‘unhinged’  —  PHOENIX — The Republican who now leads the Arizona county elections department targeted by a GOP audit of the 2020 election results is slamming former President Donald Trump and others in his party for their continued falsehoods about how the election was run.

Matt Gaetz equates sex trafficking investigation with earmarks in Ohio speech  —  STRONGSVILLE, Ohio — Rep. Matt Gaetz, the Florida Republican mired in controversy, told a crowd of Republican activists Saturday that sexual misconduct allegations involving him are as benign as legislative earmarks.

The demise of ‘thoughts and prayers’: How the clichéd greeting-card condolence died amid a rash of mass shootings … The wordsmith-in-chief found himself flummoxed.  It was June 2015, and President Barack Obama had been invited to a memorial service for nine Black churchgoers gunned …

Democracy depends on two guys named Joe  —  Opinion by  —  Two Joes will determine whether we protect the voting rights of all Americans.  And one may have to persuade the other to get the job done.  —  These are no ordinary Joes.  I am, of course, speaking of President Biden and Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.).

The ‘frills’ of Biden's infrastructure plan are real needs  —  Critics of Joe Biden's infrastructure bill say the problem is all the frills.  A deal is possible “if we leave out the unrelated provisions,” said Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), the third ranking Republican in the Senate …

Matthew McConaughey making calls as he weighs running for Texas governor  —  Alright, alright, alright ... he might, he might, he might.  —  Matthew McConaughey has publicly said a run for Texas governor in 2022 is a “true consideration.”  —  But the Academy Award-winning actor's interest goes …

Joe Biden is proving even more of a ‘master of disaster’ than Jimmy Carter  —  President Joe Biden entered office poised to oversee a record recovery and a return to the booming economy and all-round stability of pre-pandemic life.  Instead, he's turned out to be a master of disaster …

The Next Big Gasoline Shortage Is Coming  —  In North Carolina, where I live, only about one-third of gas stations are currently reporting that they have any gas, and that's after some improvement in availability.  A ransomware attack shut down a key pipeline supplying these stations …