Top U.S. General Said Trump Preached ‘Gospel of the Führer’  —  General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, likened Donald Trump's effort to hold on to power after the 2020 election to Adolf Hitler, saying the president was preaching “the gospel of the Führer” …

The Moral Collapse of J. D. Vance  —  What do we call a man who turns on everything he once claimed to believe?  For a practitioner of petty and self-serving duplicity, we use “sellout” or “backstabber.”  (Sometimes we impugn the animal kingdom and call him a rat, a skunk, or a weasel.)

FBI failed to pursue Nassar sex-abuse allegations, inspector general finds  —  The FBI failed to properly investigate sex-abuse allegations against Larry Nassar, the former doctor for USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University, according to a scathing report by the Justice Department's Inspector General …

Robin DiAngelo Wants White Progressives to Look Inward  —  The author of “White Fragility” discusses her new book, “Nice Racism.”  —  In 2018, Robin DiAngelo, an academic and anti-racism consultant, published the surprise best-seller “White Fragility.”  The book, which argues that white people tend …

Britney Spears granted right to hire own lawyer; accuses father of ‘conservatorship abuse’ … LOS ANGELES — Britney Spears was granted a request to hire her own attorney on Wednesday, a development that could mark a major shift in how her 13-year conservatorship case has been handled.

The Deeply Racist Dimensions To Ashli Babbitt's Martyrdom  —  “Who killed Ashli Babbitt?”  —  It's a question that, in recent weeks, has become a mainstream rallying cry among the MAGA crew after growing in volume for months on the far-right fringes.  Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) has asked it repeatedly …

Governor Ron DeSantis Urges the Biden Administration to Step Up and Restore Internet Access for the People of Cuba  —  The text of the letter can be read below.  A full copy is available here.  —  July 14, 2021  —  The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr.  —  President of the United States

Joe Biden's big lie  —  Did you know that black people are not going to be allowed to vote in America anymore?  At least in states controlled by Republicans.  Sounds a bit unlikely, but that's a conclusion you might have come to if you took seriously what President Joe Biden was saying in Philadelphia Tuesday.

Inside Facebook's Data Wars  —  Executives at the social network have clashed over CrowdTangle, a Facebook-owned data tool that revealed users' high engagement levels with right-wing media sources.  —  One day in April, the people behind CrowdTangle, a data analytics tool owned by Facebook, learned that transparency had limits.

Michigan GOP executive who blamed Trump for election loss resigns leadership post  —  Dave Boucher Clara HendricksonDetroit Free Press  —  A Michigan Republican Party leader who faced grassroots pushback after saying the 2020 presidential election wasn't stolen and blaming ex-President Donald Trump …

Biden to Announce ‘Operation Allied Refuge’ to Airlift All Eligible Afghans  —  President Joe Biden is set to soon unveil a massive airlift of Afghan interpreters and other personnel who served the ending U.S. military mission in the war-torn country, two individuals familiar with the operation told Newsweek.

Two-thirds of Southern Republicans want to secede  —  And that number is rising  —  A new YouGov survey conducted on behalf of a democracy watchdog group finds that 66 percent of Republicans living in the South say they'd support seceding from the United States to join a union with other Southern states.

GOP Criticism of Defender Judicial Picks Rebutted by Law Groups  —  President Joe Biden's judicial nominees with public defender backgrounds are being “singled out for extra criticism” during the confirmation process, a coalition of more than 50 legal groups, including multiple state criminal …

The Real Cuba Isn't a Potemkin Airbnb  —  Antonio García Martínez on what people taking to the streets are protesting.  —  8 hr ago … The difference between the communist system and the capitalist one is that both kick you in the ass, but in the communist one they kick …

Democrats Call for a Tax on Imports From Polluting Countries  —  The party's $3.5 trillion budget plan would include a carbon tariff, as well as a host of other climate actions.  —  WASHINGTON — Democrats have agreed to include a tax on imports from nations that lack aggressive climate change policies …

Bolsonaro in hospital as hiccups persist for more than 10 days  — President, 66, to be observed by doctors for next 48 hours  — Speculation grows over health of Brazil's far-right leader  —  The Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has been admitted to hospital complaining of abdominal pain …

Jared Kushner ‘slow walked’ carrying out Trump's craziest orders until he forgot he ever gave them: Michael Wolff  —  Since leaving the White House, Jared Kushner and Donald Trump haven't been as close as they were during the previous four years.  —  Journalist Michael Wolff's new book …

Disgusting: Deliver driver tampered with NYPD officer's food claiming ‘we at war’  —  A Door Dash delivery driver posted a video of himself tampering with food that had been ordered by an NYPD officer in Brooklyn.  The Facebook account where it was originally posted has been deleted but not before it was captured:

Poll: 1.8 million Americans have turned down jobs due to unemployment benefits  —  About 1.8 million out-of-work Americans have turned down jobs because of the generosity of unemployment insurance benefits, according to Morning Consult poll results released Wednesday.

Welcome to Year Zero  —  A Tentative Beginning in a Subdued Key  —  The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of America announced last year that it would set diversity quotas for any film eligible to win a best picture award.  In order to enforce these targets …

Ex-Kamala Harris staffers have bad memories of a toxic culture in her past offices and are texting each other about it  — Some former Harris staffers are feeling vindicated after reports of dysfunction in her office.  — They're texting one another and having flashbacks about their time working for her.

Have You Herd?  The Goats Are Back at Riverside Park.  —  After taking a break last year, goats have returned to help fend off invasive plant species.  New Yorkers can use ranked-choice voting to pick their favorites.  —  It was about 15 minutes into the second-ever “Running of the Goats” …

‘The Steele Dossier Was a Case Study in How Reporters Get Manipulated’  —  To pick the worst press failure of the past half-decade would be a daunting assignment, but the coverage of the Steele dossier would have to be high on any list.  The document, penned by former British intelligence …

Can the Black Rifle Coffee Company Become the Starbucks of the Right?  —  The company doubled its sales last year by leaning into America's culture war.  It's also trying to distance itself from some of its new customers.  —  To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Former Kamala Harris national finance chair to launch firm to advise corporations, execs on political issues  — Vice President Kamala Harris' former national campaign finance chair is opening a strategic advisory firm that will aim, in part, to guide corporations and C-suite executives …

Justice Department Sought Reporter Records from Security Firm Proofpoint, in Bid to Unmask Leak Sources  —  Documents unsealed by a court this week reveal that the Justice Department didn't just go after email providers to obtain reporter records, but also went after the security firm Proofpoint

Groups sue to block enforcement of DeSantis' anti-riot law as Cuban violators in FL go largely untouched  —  Quality Journalism for Critical Times  —  Civil rights groups have asked a federal judge to block enforcement of HB 1, Gov. Ron DeSantis' crackdown on street protests …

Jenny Erpenbeck Is Keeping Time  —  When the Berlin Wall fell, some called it the end of history.  For Erpenbeck, history just needed saving.  —  Every time I spoke with the German author Jenny Erpenbeck over Zoom, the conversation began with her cheerfully noting the fun …

Under Trump, Republicans touted the coronavirus vaccines.  Now, under Biden, they're questioning them.  —  Days after initial data from two coronavirus vaccines showed broad effectiveness at preventing illness, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) went on Fox Business Network to laud them.

How Tucker Carlson became the voice of White grievance  —  Tucker Carlson huddled in a low-ceilinged dungeon that had served as a holding pen for Africans bound for enslavement in the United States.  It was a July day in 2003 in Ghana, and Carlson stood alongside some of America's most prominent civil rights leaders.

U.S. Leadership on Human Rights and Ending Systemic Racism  —  This Administration is deeply dedicated to addressing racial injustice and inequities at home and abroad.  On the global stage, the United States is leading by example.  —  Last month, the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights released …

For Democrats, Money Is Just a Number  —  Why stop at $3.5 trillion?  Why not $5 trillion or $10 trillion?  —  The Democrats just unveiled a new $3.5 trillion spending package that, when combined with the $600 billion bipartisan proposal tentatively in place, adds up to a lot of money.