Nearly 1,000 US political scientists sign letter in support of key voting rights bill  —  Hundreds urge Senate to protect voting rights amid GOP attacks  —  A group of nearly 1,000 political scientists from around the country released an open letter on Tuesday affirming their support …

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.

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

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.

Manchin Will Vote With Democrats On Election Bill Set To Be Blocked By GOP  —  Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said Tuesday he will vote with Democrats to move forward with a S.1, a sweeping election reform bill poised to be blocked by Republicans.  —  KEY FACTS

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 …

‘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?

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.

Tentacles of Manhattan DA's Trump probe reach former bodyguard Calamari  —  New York prosecutors involved in a sweeping probe of the Trump Organization are investigating Matthew Calamari, the former Donald Trump bodyguard who's now a top executive at the former president's company …

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.

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.

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 …

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.

US Must Do More to Stop AI From Causing Trouble, Pentagon No. 2 Says  —  The concept of “artificial intelligence safety” is given short shift, says Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks, who wants the Defense Department to lead a cultural change.  — ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE - AI & AUTONOMY - INDUSTRY

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.

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 …

Department of Justice Announces Formation of Firearms Trafficking Strike Forces to Crack Down on Sources of Crime Guns  —  Today, the Department of Justice announced it will launch five cross-jurisdictional firearms trafficking strike forces within the next 30 days to help reduce violent crime …

The Real Danger of the New Texas Silencer Law  —  Texas passed a law last week that claims to legalize unregistered gun silencers made and sold within Texas, putting it at odds with federal law.  There is a significant danger in this law, but it's not the one many people might expect.

To the man who shouted at me about stolen elections,  —  A poll worker responds to an angry heckler.  —  To the man who shouted at me about stolen elections,  —  Just thought I'd follow up about our recent encounter at the polling place where I'm a poll worker.

How Democrats can defy history in 2022  —  (CNN)The huge voter turnout over the past three elections could scramble the usual dynamics of midterm voting — potentially providing Democrats their best chance to avoid losses next year that could cost them control of the House, the Senate or both.