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 …

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.

‘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.

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 …

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 …

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.”

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 …

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.

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

“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.

In Children, Risk of Covid-19 Death or Serious Illness Remains Extremely Low, New Studies Find  —  The findings come from some of the most comprehensive research on the risks of the coronavirus for those 18 years and younger  —  Children are at extremely slim risk of dying from Covid-19 …

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.

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 …

Biden to deliver voting speech in Philadelphia next week … WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will deliver remarks in Philadelphia on Tuesday about his administration's actions “to protect the sacred constitutional right to vote,” a source familiar with the matter tells NBC News.

Biden aims for Canadian prescription imports in new drug price executive order  —  President Joe Biden will direct the Food and Drug Administration to work with states on developing a plan to import cheaper versions of prescription drugs from Canada, a controversial move that fizzled under the Trump administration.

Education Department urges Biden to extend student loan relief  —  Education Department officials are recommending that the White House once again extend the pause on federal student loan payments, according to people familiar with the internal discussions, putting more pressure on the Biden administration ahead of a fall deadline.

The Jolt: Brian Kemp's first ad focus: “Stacey Abrams and the liberal mob”  —  Even though Stacey Abrams has not announced what her plans are for a 2022 rematch against Gov. Brian Kemp, you get the strong sense that Republicans can't wait to run against her.Look no further …

2 US men, ex-Colombia soldiers held in Haiti assassination  —  PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Seventeen suspects have been detained so far in the stunning assassination of Haiti's president, and Haitian authorities say two are believed to hold dual U.S.-Haitian citizenship and Colombia's government …

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” …