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.

Delta variant said to be far more widespread than federal estimates  —  The more-transmissible Delta coronavirus variant is believed to be significantly more widespread than the current federal projections, according to two senior Biden administration health officials with knowledge of the situation.

Naming the Capitol Police Officer Who Killed Unarmed Jan. 6 Rioter Ashli Babbitt  —  At top, pistol drawn in the House chamber, a plainclothes black officer who fits the description of Michael L. Byrd.  His name was apparently divulged at a hearing as the cop who shot Ashli Babbitt.

Trump's Social Media Lawsuits Are Full Of Arguments Courts Have Repeatedly Rejected  —  WASHINGTON — Former president Donald Trump's latest attempt at getting back on mainstream social media platforms came in the form of lawsuits on Wednesday against Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube …

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 …

Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg's Partnership Did Not Survive Trump  —  The company they built is wildly successful.  But her Washington wisdom didn't hold up, and neither did their close working relationship.  —  Sheryl Sandberg knew she'd be asked about the attacks on the Capitol.

Coronavirus almost certainly came from an animal, not a lab leak, top scientists argue  —  US intelligence working on report about Covid-19 origins  —  (CNN)The coronavirus pandemic almost certainly originated from an animal, probably at a wildlife market in China, and not from a laboratory leak …

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 …

Virginia GOP gubernatorial nominee admits to hiding extreme abortion views to win election  —  Glenn Youngkin said he won't talk publicly about some of his more severe positions on abortion because that 'won't win my independent votes that I have to get.'  —  Virginia's Republican nominee …

Secretary of State Katie Hobbs asks Attorney General Mark Brnovich to investigate possible election interference by Donald Trump, allies  —  Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs on Wednesday asked Attorney General Mark Brnovich to open a criminal investigation into possible efforts …

Saudi Arabia funds new digital news platform in U.S., launches White House lobbying effort  — Saudi Arabia is funding a digital news platform that will feature some U.S.-based media professionals as it begins a new lobbying effort aimed at the White House and Congress.

Trump charged Secret Service nearly $10,200 in May for agents' rooms  —  Former president Donald Trump's golf club in Bedminster, N.J., charged the Secret Service nearly $10,200 for guest rooms used by his protective detail during Trump's first month at the club this summer, newly released spending records show.

The 2020 Census of American Religion  —  THE AMERICAN RELIGIOUS LANDSCAPE IN 2020  —  The American Religious Landscape in 2020  —  According to PRRI's 2020 American Values Atlas, seven in ten Americans (70%) identify as Christian, including more than four in ten who identify as white Christian …

I've Always Suspected “Cat Person” Was Based on My Life.  Now I Know It Was.
  —  Kristen Roupenian's viral story draws specific details from my own life.  I've spent the years since it published wondering: How did she know?  —  One night in December of 2017, I saw Call Me by Your Name …

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.

Deal of the art: White House grapples with ethics of Hunter Biden's pricey paintings  —  White House officials have helped craft an agreement under which purchases of Hunter Biden's artwork — which could be listed at prices as high as $500,000 — will be kept confidential from even the artist himself …

Texas Is the Hardest State to Vote In.  It Could Soon Get Much Harder.  —  Let our journalists help you make sense of the noise: Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter and get a recap of news that matters.  —  Beto O'Rourke is once again crisscrossing the state of Texas …

Marjorie Taylor Greene Shuts Down Idea That Trump Will be Reinstated in August, ‘Not True’  —  Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is still a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump but she's not in the camp of people who believe he'll return to office before fall.

Biden's global corporate tax gambit  —  The corporate tax has always been a Rube Goldberg machine, trying to accomplish some simple tasks through unnecessarily complex machinations.  So, it's fitting, in a perverse way, that the Biden administration would try to jury-rig a patch for this complex machine.

Allen West's final days as state GOP chair filled with intraparty drama  —  With only days before he steps down from the helm of the state GOP, West is embroiled in a fight with his vice chair and under attack by county GOP chairs.  —  Copy link  —  Allen West's final days as Texas GOP chairman …

Climate Change Drove Western Heat Wave's Extreme Records, Analysis Finds  —  A rapid analysis of last week's record-breaking heat found that it would have been virtually impossible without the influence of human-caused climate change.  —  The extraordinary heat wave that scorched …

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 …

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 …

In Michigan, Pro-Impeachment Republicans Face Voters' Wrath  —  Representative Peter Meijer, a Republican who voted to impeach Donald J. Trump, seeks “decency and humility” in Western Michigan, but has found anger, fear and misinformation.  —  GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Representative Peter …

Afghan forces say Taliban being driven out of western city  —  Afghan troops have recaptured government buildings in a western city which was attacked by the Taliban, officials say.  —  On Wednesday, the Taliban entered Qala-e-Naw, the first direct assault on a provincial capital since the US began pulling out its last troops.