Kyrsten Sinema accidentally reveals the huge hole in her filibuster defense  —  If and when Republicans refuse to allow any debate of the Democrats' voting rights legislation on Tuesday, there will be a hidden silver lining: It will finally force the Senate to engage in the grand argument …

US government seizes dozens of US website domains connected to Iran  —  (CNN)The United States government has seized dozens of US website domains connected to Iran, linked to what the US says are disinformation efforts, a US national security official told CNN.

When an Eel Climbs a Ramp to Eat Squid From a Clamp, That's a Moray  —  Moray eels can hunt on land, and footage from a recent study highlights how they accomplish this feat with a sneaky second set of jaws.  —  In the video, forceps nudge a piece of squid that sits on a ramp as an offering.

Nearly 900 Secret Service employees got COVID … Nearly 900 Secret Service employees tested positive for COVID-19 between March 1, 2020 and March 9, 2021, according to government records obtained by CREW.  The vast majority served in protection jobs, either as Special Agents or in the Uniformed Division.

Trump Wanted His Justice Department to Stop ‘SNL’ From Teasing Him  —  “SNL” amounted to “nothing less than unfair news coverage and Dem commercials,” Trump tweeted in 2018, pondering whether his thought “should be tested in courts, can't be legal?”  —  It was the middle of Donald Trump's presidency …

Gov. Abbott vetoes bipartisan anti dog-chain bill.  Twitter responds with #AbbottHatesDogs.  —  “Pancake” gets some attention after Governor Greg Abbott, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick and Speaker Dennis Bonnen speak at the Governor's Mansion on January 9, 2019.  —  Texans love their dogs, no doubt.

Bill de Blasio Has Some Regrets  —  BROOKLYN, N.Y.—  The mayor likes to walk in the middle of the day, preferably around 2:30 p.m. This is the best time, when the sun has traveled across Prospect Park, just beginning its descent west, and when, on weekdays, the shaded trails are empty and still.

Biden's Justice Dept may defend Trump in Capitol riot lawsuits  —  Former U.S. President Donald Trump may have an unlikely ally to defend him against lawsuits alleging he incited the U.S. Capitol insurrection: President Joe Biden's Justice Department.  —  The Biden administration paved …

Iowa Poll: Majority of Iowans disapprove of the job Joe Biden is doing as president  —  President Joe Biden's approval rating among Iowans is underwater six months into his term in office, with 43% approving of the job he is doing and 52% disapproving in the latest Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll.

Scoop: Lincoln Project's Law Firm Concludes Independent Investigation of John Weaver Allegations  —  The independent investigation into the sexual harassment allegations against Lincoln Project co-founder John Weaver, and whether the anti-Trump group's leadership covered up those allegations, has concluded.

Marjorie Taylor Greene Demands Joe Biden Remove Kamala Harris as She Signs Letter  —  Georgia Republican Congressperson Marjorie Taylor Greene says she is proud to have signed a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to replace Vice President Kamala Harris in her role controlling illegal immigration at the U.S. border.

Fauci Warns Dangerous Delta Variant Is The Greatest Threat To U.S. COVID Efforts  —  The dangerous Delta variant of the coronavirus is spreading so quickly in the United States that it's likely the mutant strain will become predominant in the U.S. within weeks, according to federal health officials and a new analysis.

Listen to Black Parents Furious With Critical Race Theory  —  In a nation of hundreds of millions of people, each with their own thoughts, beliefs, and ideas, there will be those with ugly thoughts committing ugly deeds.  Racial prejudice will to a certain degree never be truly eradicated.

Rich Lowry stepping down as editor of National Review's print magazine  —  Rich Lowry, the longtime editor of the conservative opinion magazine National Review, is stepping down from his role overseeing the print publication to focus on more strategic long-term initiatives as the company's editor-in-chief, Lowry tells Axios.

Scoop: Longtime C-SPAN political editor Steve Scully leaving network  —  Longtime C-SPAN political editor and on-air host Steve Scully is leaving the network on July 2, Axios has learned.  He will join the Bipartisan Policy Center as SVP of communications.  —  Why it matters: Scully has been with C-SPAN for over three decades.

Ground Temperatures Hit 118 Degrees in the Arctic Circle  —  Newly published satellite imagery shows the ground temperature in at least one location in Siberia topped 118 degrees Fahrenheit (48 degrees Celsius) going into the year's longest day.  It's hot [Siberia] Earth summer, and it certainly won't be the last.

The Supreme Court Is Closer to a 9-0 Corporatist Supermajority Than a 3-3-3 Split  —  No amount of regrouping can obviate the need for Supreme Court reform.  —  While the language of recent decisions may seem alluring, the ideology of the Court is not experiencing a tectonic shift.

Mike Lindell Promises ‘Donald Trump Will Be in Office by This Fall, For Sure’  —  Thousands of right-wing activists gathered in Tampa, Florida, last weekend for a “Restore America” rally that featured a cavalcade of election, COVID-19, and QAnon conspiracy theorists as speakers.

Britney Spears Quietly Pushed for Years to End Her Conservatorship  —  Confidential court records obtained by The Times reveal that the singer has urged changes to the arrangement that controls her life, and her father's role in leading it.  —  In the years since a judge gave the father …

Shawnna Bolick, author of bill to reject voters' presidential choice, running to be top elections official  —  State Rep. Shawnna Bolick, who sponsored legislation earlier this year that would have allowed the legislature to reject voters' selection in presidential races, is running to become Arizona's top elections official.

153 people resigned or were fired from a Texas hospital system for refusing to get vaccinated  —  Houston Methodist was one of the nation's first health systems to impose a coronavirus vaccine mandate.  —  More than 150 health-care workers who did not comply with a Houston-based hospital …

‘Stop talking right now’: University of Oklahoma training shows instructors how to censor, indoctrinate students  —  Do you question whether refusing to use preferred pronouns is hate speech?  You can't — writing on that topic is “not acceptable.”  —  Think Black Lives Matter shouldn't engage in property destruction?

Job Approval of Biden Steady, Congress Down  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Fifty-six percent of Americans approve of the job President Joe Biden is doing overall, essentially unchanged from 54% in May. Biden's approval rating has averaged 56% since he took office, with his monthly approval ratings straying …

The big questions on Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and the allegedly ‘all-White’ beach club  —  It's not entirely clear whether Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) has indeed belonged to an all-White beach club.  What is clear is that he has handled questions about it poorly and that it remains inexplicable that we don't know more by now.

Exclusive: Biden's top intelligence official says COVID origins may never be known  —  The top U.S. intelligence official said in an interview with Yahoo News on Monday that the true origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed 600,000 Americans and almost 4 million people worldwide, may never be known.

Connecticut state Sen. Alex Kasser resigns, blames bitter divorce battle waged by Morgan Stanley executive husband  — Connecticut state Sen. Alex Kasser announced that she is resigning her seat, which represents Greenwich and parts of Stamford and New Canaan.

So when is Trump going to turn on Gov. Ron DeSantis?  —  For most of the summer of 2015, Donald Trump was leading the field of Republicans vying for the party's presidential nomination.  By August, though, he faced a new threat: Neurosurgeon Ben Carson had emerged from the pack behind him to surge into second place.

American Basketball Pro Spent Eight Months in Secretive China Detention  —  A human-rights group says a legal form of Chinese detention that often leaves people cut off from family and lawyers is used at a ‘mass level’  —  When Chinese police detained American professional basketball player Jeff Harper …