Scoop: Tucker Carlson sought Putin interview at time of spying claim  —  Tucker Carlson was talking to U.S.-based Kremlin intermediaries about setting up an interview with Vladimir Putin shortly before the Fox News host accused the National Security Agency of spying on him, sources familiar with the conversations tell Axios.

Scoop: Trump to sue Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey  —  Former President Donald Trump, who has complained about censorship by social media giants, plans to announce class action lawsuits today against Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, sources tell Axios.

Breakfast with J.D. Vance, Anti-Trump Author Turned Pro-Trump Candidate  —  “I'm not just a flip-flopper, I'm a flip-flop-flipper on Trump,” J.D. Vance says with a laugh, slicing into a half-stack of breakfast pancakes.  The Hillbilly Elegy author and newly minted Republican Senate candidate …

Exclusive: Documents Reveal Erik Prince's $10 Billion Plan to Make Weapons and Create a Private Army in Ukraine  —  On the second night of his visit to Kyiv, Erik Prince had a dinner date on his agenda.  A few of his Ukrainian associates had arranged to meet the American billionaire at the Vodka Grill that evening, Feb. 23, 2020.

Trump told chief of staff Hitler ‘did a lot of good things’, book says  — Remark shocked John Kelly, author Michael Bender reports  — Book details former president's ‘stunning disregard for history’  —  On a visit to Europe to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the first world war …

QAnon' new ‘plan’?  Run for school board  —  Drake Wuertz came to the school board meeting in Seminole County, Florida, in late June with a message familiar to those who had heard him speak at previous meetings: America's children are at risk of systemic abuse.  —  And the way to stop it is to run for local office.

Rudy Giuliani suspended from practicing law in D.C. court  —  The D.C. Court of Appeals has temporarily barred Rudolph W. Giuliani from practicing law, following a similar decision in New York.  —  A committee of judges in New York determined last month that Giuliani was unfit to keep practicing law …

The Chilling Message of Trump's Embrace of Ashli Babbitt Martyrdom January 6 is now a heroic uprising for the movement.  —  Last Thursday, Donald Trump announced a new theme, with all his customary blunt-force subtlety.  “Who shot Ashli Babbitt?,” he wrote on his official pseudo-presidential stationery.

Pa. GOP lawmaker — and Trump ally — Mastriano initiates ‘forensic investigation’ into state elections  —  (*This story was updated at 11:26 a.m., 11:50 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1 p.m., 2:11 p.m., 2:37 p.m., 3:48 p.m., and 4:25 p.m. on Wednesday, 7/7/21 to include the text of the letter …

Stop calling food ‘exotic’  —  “One of the nicest things about Afghan restaurants is that they appeal to even the most timid of diners,” Mark and Gail Barnett wrote in the May 16, 1993, edition of The Post.  “Your visiting aunt from Spokane, Wash., can enjoy the adventure of an exotic cuisine …

Judge rejects attempt to stop parts of Georgia voting law  —  New election rules withstand first court challenge  —  A federal judge denied an effort to invalidate parts of Georgia's voting law Wednesday, the first court ruling upholding new rules passed after last year's elections.

A Planned Biden Order Aims to Tilt the Job Market Toward Workers  —  Noncompete clauses, licensing requirements and corporate mergers have tended to strengthen the hand of business.  —  According to an increasingly influential school of thought in left-of-center economic circles …

Michigan Judge Refuses to Allow Sidney Powell, Lin Wood, and Other ‘Kraken’ Attorneys to Skip Sanctions Hearing  —  Mere hours after lawyers for the so-called “Kraken” litigation to overturn the 2020 presidential election asked to skip attending an upcoming sanctions hearing …

FBI orders new look at autopsy of Black motorist Ronald Greene after release of graphic bodycam video  —  The FBI is taking the unusual step of ordering a new look at the autopsy of Black motorist Ronald Greene to consider evidence not provided after his 2019 death, including graphic body camera video …

Americans' Life Ratings Reach Record High  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — The percentage of Americans who evaluate their lives well enough to be considered “thriving” on Gallup's Live Evaluation Index reached 59.2% in June, the highest in over 13 years of ongoing measurement and exceeding the previous high of 57.3% from September 2017.

Where is Trump's White House staff now?  We created a searchable database of more than 327 top staffers to show where they all landed  — Insider set out to find 327 of the most prominent Trump administration alumni.  — Nearly 100 have gotten “establishment” jobs.

Democrats race to push bipartisan infrastructure bill through Senate  —  The White House's long sought-after bipartisan infrastructure deal could hit the Senate floor as early as the week of July 19, according to multiple House and Senate Democratic sources with knowledge of the conversations.

Kevin McCarthy's struggles over the Jan. 6 committee reveal a dark GOP truth  —  Here's a puzzling development to ponder.  Why is it that the Republicans most eager to join the Jan. 6 select committee are also among those most prone to sowing doubt about the legitimacy of the 2020 election …

We Might Have Reached Peak Populism  —  Feeling optimistic about the state of American politics is hard.  The country is deeply polarized.  Much of the debate consists of name-calling and demonization.  Dissatisfied with a strategy of maximal obstructionism in Congress …

From corporate America to conspiracy theory promotion: How a Minnesota man made a career out of anonymously amplifying dark plots  —  STILLWATER, Minn. — Sean G. Turnbull displays many of the hallmarks of a successful upper-middle-class family man, a former film producer and marketing manager …

Conservative groups mount opposition to increase in IRS budget, threatening White House infrastructure plan  —  The new funding is supposed to be a cornerstone of a bipartisan deal negotiated by the White House and moderate senators  —  Conservative political groups are mobilizing …

Biden taunts McConnell for ‘bragging’ about relief bill he voted against  —  McConnell has vowed to wage a “hell of a fight” on Biden's infrastructure plan.  —  President Joe Biden taunted Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday for having acknowledged his home state of Kentucky …

California Capitol reinstates mask mandate after COVID outbreak  —  California has reinstated a mask mandate for all lawmakers and employees at the state Capitol regardless of vaccination status following an outbreak of nine COVID-19 cases there.  —  All nine people who contracted the coronavirus …

Biden's new Cold War with China will result in climate collapse, progressives warn  —  As a new Cold War takes shape between the U.S. and China, progressives fear the result will be a dramatically warming planet.  —  Over 40 progressive groups sent a letter to President Joe Biden and lawmakers …

Newsmax's $25K Trump Facebook Ad Boosted Fossella's Staten Island Borough President Bid  —  Ex-Rep. Vito Fossella's last-minute, game-changing endorsement from former President Donald Trump in the Staten Island borough president GOP primary got a paid, targeted Facebook boost from an unexpected source …

Jacob Zuma, Former South African President, Is Arrested  —  The Constitutional Court had found him guilty of contempt for failing to appear before a commission investigating corruption accusations that tainted a president once best known for fighting apartheid.

Ted Cruz, perennial favorite at CPAC, cites family commitment for skipping Dallas gathering  —  Trump headlines 3-day conservative conference.  Cruz spoke at CPAC in Orlando four months ago, as he almost always does.  —  WASHINGTON - Sen. Ted Cruz, a reliable presence and recurring star …

Rep on bipartisanship: Republicans want ‘18 more months of chaos’ … On the surface, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Tex.) might seem like the kind of House Republican who might be willing to work with his Democratic colleagues.  It's not because he's moderate — he's actually a very conservative Texas Republican …

Trump golf club to pay penalty after customer's fatal car crash  —  One of former president Donald Trump's golf clubs on Wednesday agreed to pay a $400,000 penalty to the state of New Jersey for overserving alcohol to a customer who later caused a fatal car crash, according to settlement documents released by the state.

‘We Make Mistakes’: Twitter's Embrace of the Extreme Far Right  —  Twitter gave far-right extremists the platform they needed to plan an attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, and the website, if it maintains its current approach, will likely enable politically motivated violence again in the future.

The Biden team welcomes a Saudi prince connected to the murder of Jamal Khashoggi  —  The Biden administration welcomed to Washington this week a Saudi prince who, as ambassador to the United States, played a key role in events leading to the murder of a U.S.-resident journalist, according to U.S. intelligence.