Top Items:
Lisa Rein / Washington Post:
Biden fires head of Social Security Administration, a Trump holdover who drew the ire of Democrats — President Biden on Friday fired Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul, a holdover from the Trump administration who had alienated crucial Democratic constituencies with policies designed …
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Raw Story, New York Times, Fox News, CNN, Reason, Politico, The Daily Caller, NOQ Report, RedState, CBS News, National Review, Talking Points Memo, USA Today, New York Post, Insider, Alternet.org, Mediaite, Washington Examiner, Joe.My.God., UPI, The Hill, Forbes and Political Wire
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Zachary Petrizzo / Salon:
Stewart Rhodes, founder of right-wing Oath Keepers militia, spotted at CPAC — Multiple federal agencies are investigating the Oath Keepers for their alleged role in the Jan. 6 insurrection — DALLAS — Stewart Rhodes, the founder and leader of right-wing militia group the Oath Keepers …
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Alan Feuer / New York Times:
Oath Keepers Leader Sits for F.B.I. Questioning Against Legal Advice — In a bold move, Stewart Rhodes, the founder and leader of the right-wing militia group, sat for an interview with federal agents after they seized his phone in May. — It was shortly after federal agents confronted …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Balloon Juice and Talking Points Memo
Zachary Petrizzo / Salon:
White nationalists prep for “physical” altercation with security at Dallas CPAC conference
White nationalists prep for “physical” altercation with security at Dallas CPAC conference
Discussion:
Forbes, Joe.My.God., Anti-Defamation League, The Intellectualist, Boing Boing and Mother Jones
CNN:
The worst speech of Biden's presidency — Biden defends pulling US out of Afghanistan as Taliban advances — Peter Bergen is CNN's national security analyst, a vice president at New America and a professor of practice at Arizona State University. He is author of the forthcoming book “The Rise and Fall of Osama bin Laden.”
Discussion:
Breitbart, The Western Journal, Mediaite and National Review
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Reuters:
Special Report: Afghan pilots assassinated by Taliban as U.S. withdraws — Afghan Air Force Major Dastagir Zamaray had grown so fearful of Taliban assassinations of off-duty forces in Kabul that he decided to sell his home to move to a safer pocket of Afghanistan's sprawling capital.
Discussion:
ABC News, The Daily Caller, The Hill, RedState, Defense One and Insider
New York Times:
Biden Warns Putin to Act Against Ransomware Groups, or U.S. Will Strike Back — Mr. Biden's phone call appeared to be a pointed ultimatum to stop the hackers, who have attacked computer networks in the United States with relative impunity. — President Biden warned President Vladimir V. Putin …
Discussion:
RedState, One America News Network, Al Jazeera, NBC News and TASS
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Washington Post:
Biden tells Putin the U.S. will take ‘any necessary action’ after latest ransomware attack, White House says
Biden tells Putin the U.S. will take ‘any necessary action’ after latest ransomware attack, White House says
Discussion:
Axios, New York Times, CNN, Reuters, ABC News, New York Post, CBS News, National Review, Kyodo News+, WTOP, CNBC, Joe.My.God., Bloomberg and Radio Free Europe/Radio …, more at Techmeme »
Tom McKay / Gizmodo:
Secret Service Says It Has No Plan for Protecting White House Pets During an Attack
Secret Service Says It Has No Plan for Protecting White House Pets During an Attack
Discussion:
Washington Examiner and Political Wire
Jacqueline Charles / Miami Herald:
Colombians' arrest highlights growing presence of private military contractors in Haiti — ORDER REPRINT → — The arrests of 15 Colombians in the death of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse has shocked many Haitians, already reeling from the middle-of-the-night assassination of the country's leader.
Discussion:
The Western Journal, Al Jazeera, Honolulu Star-Advertiser and The Haitian Times
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Kevin G. Hall / Miami Herald:
South Florida men arrested in Haiti assassination said they were translators for operation
South Florida men arrested in Haiti assassination said they were translators for operation
Discussion:
Insider and The Haitian Times
The Atlantic:
The Biggest Threat to Democracy Is the GOP Stealing the Next Election — The greatest threat to American democracy today is not a repeat of January 6, but the possibility of a stolen presidential election. Contemporary democracies that die meet their end at the ballot box, through measures that are nominally constitutional.
Office of the Arizona Governor:
Governor Ducey, Legislature Take Strong Action To Stop Critical Race Theory — PHOENIX — Governor Doug Ducey today took a decisive step to prohibit the concerning practice of critical race theory, the latest action in just the past week to prevent the teaching of critical race theory …
Discussion:
FOX 10 Phoenix, Breitbart, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, The Western Journal, The Hill and TheBlaze
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Andrew Sullivan / The Weekly Dish:
What Happened To You? — The radicalization of the American elite against liberalism — “What happened to you?” — It's a question I get a lot on Twitter. “When did you become so far right?” “Why have you become a white supremacist, transphobic, misogynistic eugenicist?” Or, of course: “See!
Discussion:
HotAir
CNN:
Los Angeles County sees exponential growth in Covid-19 cases as Delta variant becomes dominant, worrying officials — (CNN)The most populous county in the US is seeing “exponential growth” of Covid-19 cases as the Delta variant takes over as the dominant coronavirus strain, health officials in Los Angeles County said.
Discussion:
publichealth.lacounty.gov, KRDO, The Hill and The Daily Caller
Houston Public Media:
Texas AG's Office Arrests Houston Voter Hervis Rogers For Alleged Illegal Voting — Rogers captured national attention in March 2020 when he waited for hours to vote on Super Tuesday. — When Hervis Rogers went viral on social media for being the last person in line at Texas Southern University …
New York Post:
Eric Adams breaks bread with GOP heavyweights at Rao's — It was an offer he didn't refuse. — Just days after winning the Democratic nomination for mayor, Eric Adams broke bread at storied Italian eatery Rao's with billionaire Republican John Catsimatidis.
Bob Brigham / Raw Story:
GOP's Madison Cawthorn: Biden may use door-to-door vaccine program to ‘take your Bibles’ — Republican efforts to keep Americans from getting vaccinated continue to escalate despite the surge in Delta variant infections. — On Tuesday, President Joe Biden announced “door-to-door outreach” …
Discussion:
The Intellectualist
Insider:
Photos show shirtless Democratic congressmen and their wives riding camels on a Qatar trip paid for by a special interest group — By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Gateway Pundit and New York Post
Catrin Einhorn / New York Times:
Like in ‘Postapocalyptic Movies’: Heat Wave Killed Marine Wildlife en Masse — An early estimate points to a huge die-off along the Pacific Coast, and scientists say rivers farther inland are warming to levels that could be lethal for some kinds of salmon. — Dead mussels and clams coated rocks …
Matthew Haag / New York Times:
A Landlord Says Her Tenants Are Terrorizing Her. She Can't Evict Them. — A landlord in Queens says her tenants curse and spit at her and owe more than $23,000 in rent. But an eviction moratorium keeps them from being kicked out. — For more than a year, Vanie Mangal …
Discussion:
TheBlaze
Joseph Zeballos-Roig / Insider:
GOP lawmakers caught on video telling activists to thank Manchin and Sinema for not blowing up the filibuster: ‘Without that, we would be dead meat’ — GOP congressmen told activists to thank Sens. Manchin and Sinema for holding firm on the filibuster. — “Without that, we would be dead meat …
Discussion:
The Intellectualist and Mock Paper Scissors
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Matt Shuham / Talking Points Memo:
Capitol Rioter Who Pleaded Guilty Asks Court Not To ‘Cancel’ Him With Prison Time — Judge, don't cancel me! — That was the essence of the 31-page sentencing memorandum from Capitol rioter Paul Hodgkins, 38, of Tampa, who pleaded guilty to obstructing an official proceeding last month and likely faces one or two years in prison.
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Raw Story, Digby's Hullabaloo and The Daily Beast
New York Times:
Charlottesville to Remove Robert E. Lee Statue at Center of White Nationalist Rally — The statue was at the center of the deadly “Unite the Right” rally in 2017. The city said it planned to remove it on Saturday, along with a monument to Stonewall Jackson.
Schuyler Kropf / Post and Courier:
SC's Gov. McMaster joins effort condemning Biden ‘door-to-door’ promotion of COVID shots — Gov. Henry McMaster joined the pushback seen in other Republican-led states against “door-to-door” promotion of the COVID-19 vaccine after the idea was mentioned by President Joe Biden as a means of promoting availability.
Rob Stein / NPR:
Where Are The Newest COVID Hot Spots? Mostly Places With Low Vaccination Rates — As the weather warmed up this year, coronavirus case numbers plummeted, and life in the U.S. started to feel almost normal. But in recent weeks, that progress has stalled.
Jonathan A. Greenblatt / Newsweek:
It's Time to Admit It: The Left Has an Antisemitism Problem — In our super-charged partisan times, it is often said that every issue has become politicized, with each side of the spectrum lining up on “their” side. This is also true of antisemitism which, like so many other issues in society …
Politico:
Senate GOP backs emergency Capitol Police funding as shortfall nears — The Senate is adding another critical piece of business to its summer to-do list: funding the Capitol Police. — Top appropriators on Friday pushed for bipartisan legislation that would ease a funding crunch facing …
Discussion:
United States Senate Committee …, The Hill, Roll Call, Washington Post, Bloomberg and Florida Politics
Fabiola Cineas / Vox:
“Race norming” and the long legacy of medical racism, explained — The NFL recently announced it would end the practice, but race norming is still used across the medical field. — Last month, the NFL pledged to discontinue “race norming.” Since the early 2000s, the league had been using …