State Senate to seek more election material from Maricopa County; door-to-door questioning recommended  —  Andrew Oxford Mary Jo PitzlArizona Republic  —  Senate President Karen Fann said the Legislature needs more materials and data from Maricopa County for an unprecedented and controversial review …

“You're Gonna Have a Fucking War”: Mark Milley's Fight to Stop Trump from Striking Iran  —  Inside the extraordinary final-days conflict between the former President and his chairman of the Joint Chiefs.  —  The last time that General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff …

Talking With Tucker Carlson, the Most Powerful Conservative in America  —  On a Thursday afternoon in June, five months after Inauguration Day, I asked Tucker Carlson whether Joe Biden was the legitimately elected President of the United States.  —  This was halfway through a meandering phone conversation …

Kevin McCarthy Rolls Over for Donald Trump, Like a Dog  —  HEEL … The meeting itself, at Trump's golf course, of course, was a show of dominance from the party's real leader to its House “leader.”  —  So Kevin McCarthy met with Donald Trump ("Much to discuss!), and I'm struggling to come …

Matt Gaetz hired legal firm used by Jeffrey Epstein and El Chapo, campaign report shows  —  Gaetz's campaign has spent $135,000 on legal expenses in the past year as his troubles have mounted.  —  Updated Just now  —  With his legal troubles still looming over him, U.S …

MAGA World's ‘Freedom Phone’ Actually Budget Chinese Phone  —  MAGA Influencers are pushing a phone preloaded with apps like Parler and Rumble that appears to be a vastly more expensive version of a phone made in China.  —  The pro-Trump internet went wild on Wednesday for the Freedom Phone …

'I'm Here, Mom!':  FBI Arrests Man Who Wore Roman Gladiator Costume To Capitol Riot  —  Nathan Wayne Entrekin was talking to his mother during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.  —  Nathan Wayne Entrekin, a man who wore a Roman gladiator costume to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot in support …

L.A. County will require masks indoors amid alarming rise in coronavirus cases  —  Just a month ago, Los Angeles County and the rest of California celebrated a long-awaited reopening, marking the tremendous progress made in the battle against COVID-19 by lifting virtually all restrictions on businesses and other public spaces.

Cuomo to Be Questioned in Sexual Harassment Inquiry  —  Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to face investigators on Saturday in a sign that the attorney general's inquiry may be nearing its final stages.  —  Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is expected to be questioned on Saturday by investigators …

'The screen door slams, Mary's dress...' waves?  Sways?  An investigation into The Boss' mystery verb  —  The internet doesn't seem to know the correct lyrics to Bruce Springsteen's “Thunder Road.”  It's possible Springsteen doesn't know either.  —  The latest niche Twitter controversy began on July 3 …

Kremlin papers appear to show Putin's plot to put Trump in White House  —  Exclusive: Documents suggest Russia launched secret multi-agency effort to interfere in US democracy  —  Vladimir Putin personally authorised a secret spy agency operation to support a “mentally unstable” …

Floods in Germany and Other Parts of Western Europe Leave at Least 45 Dead  —  Strong rains caused rivers to burst their banks, overloaded sewage systems and washed away buildings in Germany and Belgium.  Homes and streets in the Netherlands and Switzerland also flooded.

WHO chief says it was ‘premature’ to rule out COVID lab leak  —  BERLIN (AP) — The head of the World Health Organization acknowledged it was premature to rule out a potential link between the COVID-19 pandemic and a laboratory leak, and he said Thursday he is asking China to be more transparent …

Jeff Bezos Picks 18-Year-Old Dutch Student for Blue Origin Rocket Launch  —  Oliver Daemen will fly to the edge of space after another passenger who paid $28 million for the seat had a scheduling conflict.  —  Someone paid $28 million to not go to space with Jeff Bezos next week.

Windermere police officer arrested in Capitol riot along with ex-Apopka cop son  —  A Windermere Police Department officer resigned and was arrested Thursday on charges that he participated in the January riot at the U.S. Capitol — the first member of Central Florida law enforcement to face charges in the attempted insurrection.

Another Mercenary Spyware Vendor Comes into Focus  —  Summary  — Candiru is a secretive Israel-based company that sells spyware exclusively to governments.  Reportedly, their spyware can infect and monitor iPhones, Androids, Macs, PCs, and cloud accounts.

Sailor becomes first woman to complete Naval Special Warfare training  —  A sailor in the U.S. Navy made history this week by becoming the first woman to complete the service's rigorous, monthslong training for prospective Naval Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewmen.

Grassley And Johnson Request More Information From Justice Department About Special Counsel Mueller Team's Missing Phones  —  WASHINGTON - Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) are asking the Justice Department for more information and records after learning that the department …

Pigs fly: McConnell weighs giving Biden a bipartisan win  —  Something strange is happening in Washington: Mitch McConnell might go along with a central piece of Joe Biden's agenda.  —  The self-appointed “Grim Reaper” of the Senate, a minority leader who said just two months ago that …

Jen Psaki Just Escalated the Conservative War with Big Tech  —  Whether or not she intended to, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has escalated the conservative war with Big Tech.  —  During the Thursday press briefing, Psaki said regarding COVID-19 messaging that “we're flagging problematic posts …

Young Black Activists Helped Change The State Flag.  They Intend To Change The State.  —  Maisie Brown has heard people argue that removing an emblem of the Confederacy from Mississippi's state flag meant little—that, in a state still rife with systemic racism, it was nothing more than a symbolic change with no substance.

Alabama military base is first in the U.S. to require vaccination proof amid rising covid-19 rates  —  An Alabama military base is taking increased actions to combat the ongoing prevalence of coronavirus infections, authorizing leaders to ask for proof of vaccination of service members not wearing a mask while on duty.

Covid-19's global spread is a test for America  —  South Africa is the first country where covid-19 has contributed to serious social disorder (if you don't count the United States).  One of Africa's wealthiest nations is beset by inequality, corruption, political strife and now a health system that is …