Top Items:
Reuters:
Pfizer to ask FDA to authorize booster dose of COVID vaccine as Delta variant spreads — Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) plans to ask U.S. regulators to authorize a booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine within the next month, the drugmaker's top scientist said on Thursday, based on evidence of greater risk …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Bloomberg, BizPac Review, Forbes, Mediaite, Gizmodo, Fox News and Reuters
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Michaeleen Doucleff / NPR:
The Delta Variant Isn't Just Hyper-Contagious. It Also Grows More Rapidly Inside You — After months of data collection, scientists agree: The delta variant is the most contagious version of the coronavirus worldwide. It spreads about 225% faster than the original version of the virus …
Discussion:
Mercury News, CNN, naked capitalism and Florida Politics
Joel Achenbach / Washington Post:
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.
Discussion:
Axios, Washington Examiner, Los Angeles Times, Mail&Guardian, HuffPost, CNN, USA Today, Idaho Capital Sun and Common Dreams
Lauran Neergaard / Associated Press:
Pfizer to seek OK for 3rd vaccine dose; shots still protect
Pfizer to seek OK for 3rd vaccine dose; shots still protect
Discussion:
HotAir, Axios, Balloon Juice, Washington Examiner, Politico, New York Times, Joe.My.God., Honolulu Star-Advertiser and Toledo Blade
Sky Palma / Raw Story:
Lincoln Project scores a win against the ‘Sedition Caucus’ after latest ad targeting Toyota — This Thursday, the anti-Trump conservative PAC Lincoln Project released a new ad targeting Toyota for being part of a string of corporations “lavishing massive campaign donations on Republicans …
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Lachlan Markay / Axios:
Toyota to cease donations to election objectors
Toyota to cease donations to election objectors
Discussion:
Mediaite, BizPac Review and The Daily Caller
Judd Legum / Popular Information:
Toyota reverses course, says it will stop donating to Republican objectors
Toyota reverses course, says it will stop donating to Republican objectors
Discussion:
Insider
Amy B Wang / Washington Post:
Toyota to stop donating to GOP lawmakers who objected to certifying Biden's win
Toyota to stop donating to GOP lawmakers who objected to certifying Biden's win
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA and YouTube
Riley Beggin / Detroit News:
Toyota stops donations to election objectors after PAC takes ads out against company
Toyota stops donations to election objectors after PAC takes ads out against company
Discussion:
Dallas Morning News, HuffPost, Raw Story, Breitbart, USA Today, Just The News and Townhall
David Shepardson / Reuters:
Toyota halting contributions to U.S. lawmakers who opposed Biden certification
Toyota halting contributions to U.S. lawmakers who opposed Biden certification
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Associated Press, New York Times and Kyodo News+
Sam Vaca / Toyota USA Newsroom:
Toyota Statement on PAC Contributions
Toyota Statement on PAC Contributions
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, TheBlaze, NBC News, CBS News, Talking Points Memo and Boing Boing
New York Times:
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.
Erika Edwards / NBC News:
Unvaccinated hospitalized patients say they regret not getting the shot … To describe Dr. Ryan Dare as frustrated would be a gross understatement. — Dare and his colleagues at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock are dealing with a surge in extremely ill Covid-19 patients …
New York Times:
Biden to Urge More Scrutiny of Tech Mergers and Data Privacy — The order is the president's latest acknowledgment of concerns that the tech giants have obtained outsize market power. — WASHINGTON — President Biden on Friday will encourage federal agencies to crack down on the way major …
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The White House:
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.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Insider, New York Post, KOIN-TV, Protocol, CNBC and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
The rapid decline of White evangelical America? — New data suggests a bigger decrease than previously understood — including in the GOP. — If there was an epitome of Donald Trump's hostile and often puzzling takeover of the Republican Party, it might have been his alliance with evangelical Christians.
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Digby's Hullabaloo, POLITICUSUSA, The Daily Caller, PRRI and Boing Boing
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Michelle Goldberg / New York Times:
The Christian Right Is in Decline, and It's Taking America With It
The Christian Right Is in Decline, and It's Taking America With It
Discussion:
Religion News Service and New York Magazine
Miami Herald:
Two South Florida men were involved in President Moïse's assassination, investigators say — Two South Florida men have been arrested in connection with the assassination of Haiti President Jovenel Moïse, the Miami Herald has learned. — James Solages, of Fort Lauderdale …
Discussion:
Washington Post, New York Post, Florida Politics, The Western Journal, Palm Beach Post and Insider
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Bob Brigham / Raw Story:
‘Call out Fox News!’ Mitch McConnell shredded after saying he's ‘perplexed’ about why GOP voters refuse vaccines — The politicization of coronavirus vaccines in America has created a correlation between vaccination rates and whether or not a state voted for Joe Biden or Donald Trump.
Discussion:
HuffPost, POLITICUSUSA, The Hill and HotAir
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
GOP and Fox News rush to turn vaccine door-knockers into terrifying straw men — It has been three days since President Biden announced an initiative to send people door-to-door trying to get more people vaccinated, and Republicans and their conservative media allies have wasted no time turning …
Associated Press:
Amid growing frustration, White House pushes voting rights — WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing a call to “save American democracy,” the Biden administration on Thursday unveiled new efforts to help protect voting rights amid growing complaints from civil rights activists and other Democrats …
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Ronald Brownstein / The Atlantic:
The Democrats' New Voting-Rights Obstacle
The Democrats' New Voting-Rights Obstacle
Discussion:
New York Magazine and Slate
Media Matters for America:
Sean Hannity says “it's inevitable” that “America's streets will run with blood” — Tucker Carlson calls jailed insurrectionists “political prisoners” — Tucker Carlson compares vaccine requirements to forced sterilization — Fox host Mark Levin on Rep. Rashida Tlaib: “She's an enemy.
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA
Sabrina Tavernise / New York Times:
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 …
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Tom Cotton's slimy attack on a ‘critical race theory’ professor is full of holes — Sen. Tom Cotton is calling for the firing of a U.S. Air Force Academy professor after she admitted to discussing critical race theory with cadets. But even a cursory look at the Arkansas Republican's slimy argument shows …
Henry Olsen / Washington Post:
J.D. Vance is scaring America's elite. Good. — Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance is being attacked by critics on the left and right for his populist economics and his changed views on former president Donald Trump. That's a good sign that Vance's message is getting through and that he can win.
Discussion:
New Republic, Althouse, HotAir and Alternet.org
Justin Baragona / The Daily Beast:
Tucker Carlson's Extremely Mad That Journalists FOIA'd His FOIA Request to NSA — The idea that reporters would use basic journalistic tools to verify his claims about the NSA set Carlson off on Thursday night—and he took specific aim at Ken Klippenstein. — Fox News host Tucker Carlson …
Discussion:
PRESS RUN and Fox News, more at Mediagazer »
Mica Soellner / Washington Times:
Va. GOP demands ethics probe of polisci heavyweight Larry Sabato's ‘bitter partisanship’ on Twitter — The Virginia Republican Party on Thursday demanded an ethics investigation into the University of Virginia's top elections forecaster, Larry Sabato, over his tweets that they say display “bitter partisanship” in favor of Democrats.
Discussion:
Raw Story
SFGATE:
Too hot to hike? Yosemite to hit 111 degrees this weekend. — The mercury in Yosemite hit 103 degrees Thursday at 2 p.m., and it's still rising. The national park is forecast to hit 106 degrees today at the start of a heat wave that will broil the U.S. West Coast through Monday, according to the National Weather Service.
City Journal:
Progressive Policies Won't Stop the Crime Wave — An approach to crime-fighting that scorns policing and incarceration relies on empirical and conceptual errors. — Public safety — With last year's devastating homicide spike continuing, some proponents of “progressive” …
Roger Sollenberger / The Daily Beast:
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 …
Discussion:
Raw Story and Alternet.org
Howard Husock / The Hill:
The Supreme Court donor ruling is a defeat for Kamala Harris — Many media pundits will reflexively view the recent Supreme Court decision to strike down the California rule mandating that nonprofit groups disclose their top donors as a victory for conservatives such as Charles Koch.
Robby Soave / Reason:
The Capitol Police Will Open Offices in the States To ‘Investigate Threats to Members of Congress’ — The House of Representatives gave the agency $2 billion in additional funding. — The January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol thrust its police force into a sympathetic national spotlight …
Discussion:
Issues & Insights, NBC4 Washington, Washington Free Beacon and The Western Journal
Valerie Richardson / Washington Times:
Biden administration loses again on loan relief for non-White farmers only — Federal judge in Tennessee latest to block race-based loan forgiveness — The Biden administration was slammed Thursday with another court ruling against its pandemic-relief program to pay off the federal loans of all non-White farmers.
Discussion:
Mountain States Legal … and Townhall
Saeed Shah / Wall Street Journal:
Pakistan, After Rooting for Afghanistan's Taliban, Faces a Blowback — Islamabad wants a negotiated agreement, fears that outright Taliban takeover would galvanize Pakistani jihadists — ISLAMABAD—For two decades, a large part of the Pakistani security establishment rooted for the Taliban in the Afghan war.
Discussion:
Washington Post