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” …

'They're not going to f**king succeed': Top generals feared Trump would attempt a coup after election, according to new book  —  Washington (CNN)The top US military officer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley, was so shaken that then-President Donald Trump and his allies might attempt …

‘Faster, Harder, Louder’: Rolling Stone Hires Daily Beast Editor  —  Noah Shachtman, an experienced online journalist with a newsy sensibility, will lead the pop music bible founded in 1967.  —  Rolling Stone has chosen Noah Shachtman, a veteran of the news site The Daily Beast …

Exclusive: Stephen Breyer says he hasn't decided his retirement plans and is happy as the Supreme Court's top liberal  —  Plainfield, New Hampshire (CNN)Justice Stephen Breyer has not decided when he will retire and is especially gratified with his new role as the senior liberal on the bench …

Donald Trump and Kevin McCarthy to meet on Thursday as 1/6 committee hearing looms  —  Avlon: Kevin McCarthy is afraid of Donald Trump  —  (CNN)House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy is expected to meet with former President Donald Trump on Thursday, Trump announced in a statement …

Vaccine hesitancy morphs into hostility, as opposition to shots hardens  —  On July Fourth, President Biden celebrated dramatic progress in the war on the coronavirus, with more than 150 million adults fully vaccinated and infections plunging 93 percent since Inauguration Day.

IRS begins sending monthly checks to millions of American parents in crucial test for Biden  —  The Biden administration has launched the biggest U.S. anti-poverty program since Lyndon Johnson's ‘war on poverty’ in the 1960s.  —  The Biden administration on Thursday is launching …

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 …

Trump rages over post-presidential books he did interviews for  —  He knew it was coming.  But former President Donald Trump still was not pleased.  —  He had read a new book excerpt—one of many about his presidency in the last few weeks—that described him telling his former chief …

The U.S. Surgeon General Is Calling COVID-19 Misinformation An ‘Urgent Threat’  —  With about a third of adults in the U.S. still completely unvaccinated, and cases of COVID-19 on the rise, the U.S. Surgeon General is calling for a war against “health misinformation.”

Georgia Republicans center campaigns on false claims of election fraud  —  ROME — The organizers at the door handed out soft-pink “Trump Won” signs to each attendee.  An out-of-state radio host spouted far-right conspiracies.  Speaker after speaker insisted that Joe Biden couldn't have won …

U.S. military once trained Colombians implicated in Haiti assassination plot, Pentagon says  —  Some of the former Colombian servicemen arrested after last week's assassination of Haiti's president previously received U.S. military training, according to the Pentagon, raising fresh questions …

Porsches, Gucci rings, and billions of robocalls: Inside the PAC operation that raised millions by impersonating Donald Trump  —  (CNN)At first glance, “Matte Nox” looks like your typical thirty-something wannabe Internet influencer, flaunting a lavish lifestyle on his public Instagram and TikTok accounts.

DeSantis' tryst with Democrats is done  —  TALLAHASSEE — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' brief moment of unity with Democrats is over.  —  The Republican governor set aside his attacks on Democrats amid the crisis in Surfside, where more than 90 people were killed after a condominium collapse.

Video15:00 Wikipedia co-founder: I no longer trust the website I created  —  Freddie Sayers spoke to Larry Sanger about why he left  —  Chances are, if you've ever been on the internet, you've visited Wikipedia.  It is the world's fifth largest website, pulling in an estimated 6.1 billion …

Inflation could prompt largest Social Security cost-of-living adjustment in decades.  Why there's a push to change the way it's calculated  — Seniors could see a much bigger bump to their Social Security benefits next year.  — There could be as much as a 6.1% cost-of-living adjustment next year …

It Seems Odd That We Would Just Let the World Burn  —  I spent the weekend reading a book I wasn't entirely comfortable being seen with in public.  Andreas Malm's “How to Blow Up a Pipeline” is only slightly inaptly named.  You won't find, anywhere inside, instructions on sabotaging energy infrastructure.

Biden Is Speaking to an America That Doesn't Exist  —  Joe Biden is not known as a fiery orator, but the president was riled up yesterday.  —  Biden spoke in Philadelphia about voting rights, calling a current round of state laws and bills, plus rhetoric emanating from Donald Trump and others …

Maricopa County will spend millions to replace voting machines turned over to the Arizona Senate for audit  —  Lacey Latch Mary Jo PitzlArizona Republic  —  Maricopa County will spend nearly $3 million to replace voting equipment that officials say was permanently tainted by the Arizona Senate's election review.

Schumer: Marijuana legalization will be a Senate priority  —  Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Thursday announced on the floor that he will use his clout to make legislation ending the federal prohibition on marijuana a top priority.  —  Marijuana is currently listed …

Q&A with Adam Serwer  —  “The news is what people have forgotten, not just what people don't know yet.”  —  12 hr ago … I often get asked who I read and why.  It's a good question, especially with so much material out there competing for attention.  My answer is this …

What the Hell Happened to Bill Kristol?  —  Greetings from Budapest, where I'll be hanging out a lot at Cafe Roger Scruton at 10 Zoltan Street over the next several days, and giving a lecture for the Danube Institute next Monday evening on the topic, “What Is Going on in America?”

Authoritarianism advances as world battles the pandemic  —  LONDON (AP) — Here's some of what happened while the world was distracted by the coronavirus: Hungary banned the public depiction of homosexuality.  China shut Hong Kong's last pro-democracy newspaper.  Brazil's government extolled dictatorship.