Iranian Operatives Planned to Kidnap a Brooklyn Author, Prosecutors Say  —  Masih Alinejad spoke critically of her native country's autocracy.  Now an Iranian intelligence official and three others have been indicted in New York.  —  An Iranian American journalist living in Brooklyn …

Tennessee abandons vaccine outreach to minors — not just for COVID-19  —  The Tennessee Department of Health will halt all adolescent vaccine outreach - not just for coronavirus, but all diseases - amid pressure from Republican state lawmakers, according to an internal report and agency emails obtained by the Tennessean.

William Barr clashes with former Trump appointee from Pa. over handling of election-fraud claims  —  A war of words broke out Tuesday among former senior Justice Department officials over Pennsylvania politics and the aftermath of the 2020 election, fueled by former president Donald Trump's release …

Ken Starr helped Jeffrey Epstein with ‘scorched-earth’ campaign, book claims  —  Book by Miami Herald journalist details extraordinary efforts by special prosecutor who hounded Bill Clinton to aid sex trafficker  —  Ken Starr, the lawyer who hounded Bill Clinton over his affair with Monica Lewinsky …

Schumer launches long-shot bid for legal weed  —  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer released sweeping draft legislation Wednesday to legalize weed, officially kickstarting a difficult debate in his chamber that also makes a major splash for one of his campaign promises.

Inside the secret plan for the Texas Democratic exodus: A phone tree, a scramble to pack and a politically perilous trip  —  They activated the plan with a phone tree late Sunday: Pack your bags — and make sure they weigh no more than 45 pounds.  Be ready to leave Austin at noon tomorrow.

Biden names Arizona Republican Jeff Flake as his ambassador pick for Turkey  —  Ronald J. Hansen Yvonne Wingett SanchezArizona Republic  —  President Joe Biden intends to nominate former Sen. Jeff Flake as ambassador to Turkey, putting the Arizona Republican on the front lines diplomatically …

House GOP reelection committee smashes fundraising records, outpacing Democrats  —  Republicans need a net gain of 5 seats to regain the House majority in 2022 midterm elections  —  Fox News Flash top headlines for July 13  —  Building up resources as it aims to recapture the House …

There's a Word for What Trumpism Is Becoming  —  “I became worse.”  That's how double impeachment changed him, Donald Trump told a conservative audience in Dallas last weekend, without a trace of a smile.  This was not Trump the insult comic talking.  This was the deepest Trump self.

Sacha Baron Cohen, Showtime win dismissal of Roy Moore defamation lawsuit  —  British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen on Tuesday won the dismissal of a $95 million defamation lawsuit by Roy Moore, a former U.S. Senate candidate from Alabama who claimed he was tricked into being portrayed falsely …

Crime and Cuba backfire on Democrats  —  Two apparently unconnected issues that top the headline news endanger Democrats' election hopes.  I say “apparently” because although the events are taking place in different countries, both are tied indissolubly to the Left and to the party in power in Washington.

DeSantis' anti-riot law didn't apply as Cuba protesters shut down a Miami-Dade road.  Hmmm . . .  Gov. DeSantis should have just laid it on the line when a reporter asked about the hundreds upon hundreds of Cuban-American demonstrators and their supporters who shut down a portion of the Palmetto Expressway in Miami-Dade County.

Facebook staffers were told by execs to scrap any mention of Russia in a 2017 white paper on the platform's security concerns: ‘We started to feel like we were part of a cover-up’  — Facebook's 2017 white paper initially mentioned Russian election interference, a new book says.

New York takes conservative approach counting virus deaths  —  ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The federal government's count of the COVID-19 death toll in New York has 11,000 more victims than the tally publicized by the administration of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, which has stuck with a far more conservative approach to counting virus deaths.

Harris emerges as main GOP foil on campaign trail  —  Republicans on the campaign trail are zeroing in on Vice President Harris as their political target of choice as the midterm battle draws closer.  —  The attacks against Harris come as Republicans have struggled to define President Biden …

George W. Bush calls withdrawal of U.S. and other NATO troops from Afghanistan “a mistake”  —  Former President George W. Bush on Wednesday criticized the withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan and said civilians were being left to be “slaughtered” by the Taliban.

Norwegian Cruise Lines sues state of Florida over vaccine passport ban  —  The CEO previously threatened to move its ships out of Florida over the ban.  —  Norwegian Cruise Lines is suing Florida after the state banned vaccine passports, saying it cannot safely resume sailings without ensuring …

New concern for Biden: Could Larry Summers be right about inflation?  —  There is a new fear circulating inside the West Wing of the White House: Maybe Larry Summers was right.  —  The former Treasury secretary has been warning since February that President Joe Biden's big-spending agenda …

Newsmax vouches for vaccines after host Rob Schmitt says shots are ‘against nature’  —  “From time to time, a guest or host may not be as supportive of these efforts,” the conservative network said.  “However, they do not reflect the position of Newsmax.”  —  Rob Schmitt, a primetime host …

The good and the bad in Biden's blistering attack on GOP voter suppression  —  President Biden just delivered a slashing indictment of the GOP's ongoing assault on democracy in a speech in Philadelphia, and it contained good news and bad news.  —  The good news is that Biden went further …

New Book Details Eric Trump ‘Flipped Out’ On Election Night  —  Donald Trump's son reportedly screamed at campaign aides as his father's lead against Joe Biden narrowed, according to Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker's new book.  —  Eric Trump “flipped out” on the night of the 2020 election …