“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 …

Leaving Trump behind  —  Donald Trump's cultural and long-term political legacy will be debated for decades.  But his legacy for the Republican Party will be tested far sooner than that.  He has the power to leave the GOP and the conservative movement intact or disastrously divided.

Reuters journalist killed covering clash between Afghan forces, Taliban  —  Reuters journalist Danish Siddiqui was killed on Friday while covering a clash between Afghan security forces and Taliban fighters near a border crossing with Pakistan, an Afghan commander said.

Explosive Interview Directly Implicates Trump in Tax Scheme  —  As investigators look into a scheme at the Trump Organization to avoid paying taxes on employee benefits, one witness has set the scene to show Trump was involved.  —  A witness in the New York investigation against the Trump Organization …

Manchin signals he'll be team player on spending deal  —  Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), a crucial centrist vote in the Democratic caucus, is signaling to colleagues that won't derail a $3.5 trillion budget resolution that contains many of President Biden's legislative priorities.

Two men charged over plan to attack Democratic Party office in Sacramento  —  A federal grand jury indicted two men on multiple charges in connection to an alleged plot to attack the  —  Democratic Party's headquarters in Sacramento.  —  Ian Rogers, 45, and Jarrod Copeland, 37 …

‘How Did We End Up Back Here Again?’  —  The summer wasn't meant to be like this.  By April, Greene County, in southwestern Missouri, seemed to be past the worst of the pandemic.  Intensive-care units that once overflowed had emptied.  Vaccinations were rising.

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.

Hunter Biden's prosecutor rejected moves that would have revealed probe earlier  —  Last summer, federal officials in Delaware investigating Hunter Biden faced a dilemma.  The probe had reached a point where prosecutors could have sought search warrants and issued a flurry of grand jury subpoenas.

Ticket sales are moving slowly for the coming Trump-O'Reilly stadium tour  —  Donald Trump is having trouble selling advance tickets for his upcoming speaking tour with conservative pundit Bill O'Reilly, according to interviews with ticketing officials for the venues.

Trump showerhead rule to increase water flow getting dumped  —  So much for Donald Trump's quest for “perfect” hair.  —  President Joe Biden's administration is reversing a Trump-era rule approved after the former president complained he wasn't getting wet enough because of limits on water flow from showerheads.

Democratic, Republican Confidence in Science Diverges  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sixty-four percent of U.S. adults say they have “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in science, compared with 70% when Gallup last measured it more than four decades ago.

Biden selects Jane Hartley as ambassador to U.K.  —  President Biden will nominate Jane Hartley, a former ambassador to France, to serve as ambassador to the United Kingdom, according to two people with knowledge of the decision.  —  The ambassador to the Court of St. James's is considered …

CNN Snares Kasie Hunt From NBC in Big Bet on Streaming (EXCLUSIVE) … CNN has snatched Kasie Hunt, the Capitol Hill correspondent long viewed as a rising star at NBC News, as part of an aggressive bid to push the WarnerMedia cable-news outlet into the new frontier of streaming video.

It's Time to Name Anti-Palestinian Bigotry  —  IN JUNE, three Republicans in the House of Representatives—Michael Waltz, Jim Banks and Claudia Tenney—introduced a resolution censuring Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Presley, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for, among other things …

As COVID-19 surges again, what experts say about the millions of unvaccinated  —  U.S. coronavirus cases have doubled in recent weeks.  —  As Americans start packing bars and live venues once again in the age of mass COVID-19 vaccination — with many abandoning masks and social distancing measures …

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 …

Justice in legal knot in Mo Brooks, Trump case  —  The Justice Department is facing a decision over whether to help insulate Rep. Mo Brooks from a civil lawsuit claiming the Alabama Republican was among those responsible for inciting a mob to storm the Capitol on January 6.

Oligarchs' Favorite U.S. Visa Might Not Last  —  Calls are growing louder to fix the “golden visa” program that has flooded the United States with dubious foreign money.  —  Thanks in large part to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, “golden visas” and “golden passports”—visas and passports granted …

Live Updates: Europe Flooding Death Toll Passes 100 as Climate Change Worsens Extreme Rainfall  —  Most of the dead were in Germany, where hundreds were still missing.  Search-and-rescue efforts were hampered, and more rain threatened.  —  Here's what you need to know:

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 …

Facebook has a vaccine misinfo problem...  ...But the White House + Olivia Rodrigo are coming to the rescue  —  This week, Kevin Roose at the New York Times reported on Facebook's internal discussions about restricting access to their transparency data because they don't like how it makes them look.

Might Trauma Affect Gender Identity?  —  , SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW, FAITH AND REASON INSTITUTE  —  Another month, another social milestone.  On June 27, Kataluna Enriquez became the first transgender woman in history to be crowned Miss Nevada USA, thereby qualifying to compete in November's national Miss USA contest.

Our Woke Book Burners  —  Books are not violence … Apparently, we have to remind people about this again: … We've devoted a great deal of time lately to discussing illiberalism and authoritarianism, and justifiably so.  But we have to recognize that liberalism and free expression face …

The pandemic-fueled decline of cash  —  Cash is getting a bad reputation.  It was already on the ropes but the pandemic accelerated a decline that's been underway.  —  Why it matters: Consumers used less cash in 2020.  That along with a trend toward digital transactions in the smaller-dollar realm …

Kevin McCarthy's trip shows House Republicans see the path back to power is with Donald Trump  —  (CNN)The House GOP's plan to win back power is becoming increasingly centered on one man: Donald J. Trump.  —  On Thursday, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy became the latest in a parade …

Covid Still Killing Americans Faster Than Guns, Cars and Flu Combined  —  The U.S. remains a dangerous place for the unvaccinated  —  Even with half the U.S. vaccinated, Covid-19 continues to kill people faster than guns, car crashes and influenza combined, according to a review of mortality data.

The Dreaded Misery Index Is On The Rise Under Biden  —  Young adults today are likely unfamiliar with the term “misery index.”  But they could soon learn about it the hard way, thanks to President Joe Biden's economic incompetence.  —  The misery index, a measure started under President Lyndon Johnson …