Statement by the Department of Defense  —  (Attributable to Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby)  —  “At President Biden's direction, U.S. military forces earlier this evening conducted defensive precision airstrikes against facilities used by Iran-backed militia groups in the Iraq-Syria border region.

An Accusation Blew Up a Campaign.  The Media Didn't Know What to Do.  —  Handling a delicate allegation of sexual misconduct is a lot more challenging than covering a horse race.  —  Two days after coming in fifth in the election night count of votes for New York mayor last week …

Toyota is the no. 1 donor to 2020 election objectors — by far  —  The Japanese automaker gave $55,000 to 37 GOP objectors this year.

The Last-And Only-Foreign Scientist in the Wuhan Lab Speaks Out  —  Danielle Anderson was working in what has become the world's most notorious laboratory just weeks before the first known cases of Covid-19 emerged in central China.  Yet, the Australian virologist still wonders what she missed.

Where Jobless Benefits Were Cut, Jobs Are Still Hard to Fill  —  Missouri scrapped federal pay to the unemployed, saying it kept people out of the labor market.  But so far, workers still seem to be choosy.  —  MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. — By lunchtime, the representatives …

Trump Organization attorneys given Monday deadline to persuade prosecutors not to file charges against it  —  Prosecutors in New York have given former president Donald Trump's attorneys a deadline of Monday afternoon to make any final arguments as to why the Trump Organization …

Possible Failure Point Emerges in Miami Building Collapse  —  Some engineers looking at the failure of a 13-story condo tower in Florida said the collapse appeared to have begun somewhere near the bottom of the building.  —  The investigation into what may be the deadliest accidental building collapse …

DeSantis' big goal: Don't enrage Trump  —  As the Florida governor's national profile rises, he risks angering the former president.  —  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gives two thumbs up towards then-President Donald Trump during a 2020 campaign event.  Joe Raedle/Getty Images

QAnon Supporters Express Boredom With ‘Same Old’ Trump Speech: ‘This Is Getting Ridiculous’  —  Both QAnon and longtime supporters of former President Donald Trump criticized his Saturday night speech in Wellington, Ohio, accusing him of the “same-old, same-old” grievances against Democrats …

Voters didn't elect us to do nothing and blame the Senate filibuster.  Get rid of it.  —  Voters elected us to fix problems and we should.  Yes, the other party might take power and pass bills I think are bad, but that's how democracy works.  —  The future of our republic is being decided …

Madison Cawthorn, self-described ‘big history buff,’ keeps getting historical facts wrong  —  Washington (CNN)Rep. Madison Cawthorn, a freshman Republican from North Carolina, has called himself a “big history buff” and a “lover of history.”  —  But Cawthorn — who, at age 25 …

His Insurrection Inside the Oval Office on January 6.  —  Seems like quite a few crazies," said the president.  —  A little more than three weeks before rioters and revelers stormed the Capitol on January 6, several thousand Trump fans and fanatics gathered in Washington …

How Many Gaza Palestinians Were Killed by Hamas Rockets in May?  An Estimate  —  BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 2,081, June 27, 2021  —  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Much of the coverage and commentary surrounding the fighting in May between Hamas and Israel has focused on numbers …

‘Spray and Pray’: Republicans ramp up attacks on Biden on ... everything  —  GOPers have complained that the president is teflon.  They're still trying.  —  Over the last three months, Republicans and affiliated groups and committees have spent nearly $2.5 million trying to paint President Joe Biden …

The Catholic bishops' anti-Biden project is backfiring  —  In the 1960s, when Time magazine published its now-iconic “Is God Dead?” cover, the theologian Harvey Cox wrote that the “ ‘death of God’ syndrome can only occur when the controlling symbols of the culture have been more or less uncritically fused with the transcendent God.”

Arizona ‘Audit’ Leader Starred in Election Conspiracy-Theory Movie  —  The premiere of “The Deep Rig” doubled as a party for Republican activists in the state who had pushed lawmakers to organize the audit.  —  PHOENIX—The head of Arizona Republicans' controversial “audit” …

Le Pen's far-right party suffers blow in French regional elections  —  Rassemblement National fails to win region in south of France stronghold after rivals form ‘Republican front’  —  Marine Le Pen's far-right party has suffered a serious electoral blow when it failed to win a regional election …

Framework to Stop the Bias and Check Big Tech  —  A letter to House Republicans from Leader Kevin McCarthy:  —  Just days before the 2018 primary election, Google search results for “California Republicans” identified our ideology as “Nazism.”  At the same time, conservatives like Devin Nunes …