FACT SHEET: Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy … The economy is booming under President Biden's leadership.  The economy has gained more than three million jobs since the President took office—the most jobs created in the first five months of any presidency in modern history.

C.D.C. to Issue New School Guidance, With Emphasis on Full Reopening  —  The guidance acknowledges that many students have suffered from months of virtual learning.  —  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to release new guidance on Friday urging schools to fully reopen in the fall …

‘F— him’: Rupert Murdoch personally made the call to declare Arizona for Biden on election night, enraging Trump, book says  — A new book says Rupert Murdoch approved Fox News' decision to call Arizona for Joe Biden.  — “F— him,” the Fox News proprietor is said to have declared of Donald Trump at the time.

Citizens, Not the State, Will Enforce New Abortion Law in Texas  —  The measure bans abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy.  And it effectively deputizes ordinary citizens to sue people involved in the process.  —  People across the country may soon be able to sue abortion clinics …

Biden again tells Putin to ‘take action’ against ransomware attacks or risk US retaliation  —  President Joe Biden pressed Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday to take action against the groups that carried out a recent string of ransomware attacks or risk retaliation by the United States …

Trump Organization Indictment May Spell Trouble for Trump Spawn  —  The indictment against the Trump Organization named seven specific companies within the overall business.  Guess who's connected to those companies.  —  The indictment filed last week against the Trump Organization …

Former GOP Hill aide pleads guilty in child porn case  —  A former GOP staffer and Republican National Committee aide pleaded guilty Friday to a child pornography charge and is facing 12 years or more in prison under a plea deal with prosecutors.  —  Ruben Verastigui, 27 …

Live Updates: Americans Claim They Were Just ‘Translators’ in Killing of Haiti's President, Judge Says  —  As the investigation into the killing of Haiti's president continued, his chief bodyguards have been called in for questioning next week, and more than a dozen people have been arrested.

The Biggest Threat to Democracy Is the GOP Stealing the Next Election  —  Unless and until the Republican Party recommits itself to playing by democratic rules of the game, American democracy will remain at risk. … The greatest threat to American democracy today is not a repeat of January 6 …

New study on delta variant reveals importance of receiving both vaccine shots, highlights challenges posed by mutations  —  New laboratory research on the swiftly spreading delta variant of the coronavirus is highlighting the threats posed by viral mutations, adding urgency to calls to accelerate vaccination efforts across the planet.

Schumer: Democrats ‘ready to expeditiously fill’ any Supreme Court vacancy  —  Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on Friday that Democrats are ready to fill a Supreme Court seat if one becomes vacant, amid progressives pressure for Justice Stephen Breyer to retire.

The Christian Right Is in Decline, and It's Taking America With It  —  The presidency of George W. Bush may have been the high point of the modern Christian right's influence in America.  White evangelicals were the largest religious faction in the country.

POLITICO-Harvard poll: Most Americans believe Covid leaked from lab  —  Most Americans now believe that the coronavirus leaked from a laboratory in China, according to a new POLITICO-Harvard poll that found a dramatic shift in public perception of Covid-19's origins over the last year.

Scripps Spelling Bee 2021: Live Updates  —  Zaila Avant-garde spells her way to victory!  —  The last few words were rattled off fast between the two final finalists, Chaitra Thummala and Zaila Avant-garde.  —  First was fewtrils (things of little value), which Chaitra got right.

Trump, after agreeing to sit for a raft of book interviews, declares them a ‘total waste of time’  —  Former president Donald Trump, who reportedly agreed to sit for at least a dozen interviews in recent months for forthcoming books about his tenure, said Friday that he considered doing so “a total waste of time.”

“We're (expletive) idiots”: Some Democrats regret Colorado's new redistricting process now that their party is in charge  —  If Y and Z hadn't passed, Democrats would now have nearly unfettered power to draw new congressional districts ahead of the 2022 election, and more say over how legislative districts are drawn.

Charlottesville to take down Robert E. Lee statue, focus of 2017 Unite the Right rally  —  The city of Charlottesville will take down its two Confederate monuments Saturday, the city said, including the statue of Robert E. Lee at the center of the deadly “Unite the Right” rally in 2017.

Report: Crist Used Condo Repeal Bill to “Woo” Democratic Voters  —  A report from 2010 indicates that then Governor Charlie Crist signed a condo repeal bill, which is now being investigated for playing a role in the Surfside condo collapse, to “woo” democratic voters in his race for the U.S Senate.

Feds agree to pay $6.1M to create database for Capitol riot prosecutions  —  The Justice Department has agreed to pay $6.1 million to a technology contractor to create a massive database of videos, photographs, documents and social media posts related to the Capitol riot as part of the process …

Why corporate America can't quit the ‘sedition’ Republicans  —  caught flak for making political donations to 38 members of the “sedition caucus,” as critics refer to the  —  147 Republican members of Congress who voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

No, School Board Fights Over Critical Race Theory Are Not Going to Hurt Democrats  —  In red-turned-blue Loudon County, Virginia a fight over how to teach students about America's racial history has animated Fox News and conservatives.  But it's faux outrage.

AG accepts GOP lawmaker's request to investigate those peddling election lies  —  Michigan's chief law enforcement officer, along with state police, will launch an investigation into those who have allegedly peddled disinformation about the state's Nov. 3 election for their own financial gain.

“An Ugly Truth”: How Facebook discovered Russian meddling  —  “Oh f—, how did we miss this?”  Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg asked, looking around at the somber faces of his top executives, the N.Y. Times' Sheera Frenkel and Cecilia Kang write in their book, “An Ugly Truth: Inside Facebook's Battle for Domination,” out Tuesday.

New Evidence Indicates Enough Illegal Votes In Georgia To Tip 2020 Results  —  In Georgia, there was both an audit and a statewide recount confirming Biden's victory, but ignored in the process was evidence that nearly 35,000 Georgians had potentially voted illegally.

Pandemic gun violence surge was not linked to rise in gun sales, study finds  —  Research suggests looking at role of job loss, economic change, closure of schools and community organizations and civil unrest  —  Gun homicides surged across the United States during the coronavirus pandemic …