Sen. Joe Manchin, key Democratic holdout on federal voting protections, coming to Texas for fundraiser hosted by several GOP donors  —  The fundraiser comes just a day after Manchin met with Texas House Democrats on Capitol Hill who are desperate for his support of the congressional efforts …

Delta Is Driving a Wedge Through Missouri  —  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.

“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 …

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.

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.

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 …

Psaki excoriates criticism of Biden administration work on vaccine misinformation  —  The White House press secretary ripped Fox News' Peter Doocy for saying the federal government was ‘spying’ on social media users  —  White House press secretary Jen Psaki forcefully defended …

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.

Convincing the Skeptics  —  Vaccine resisters can't be persuaded if they feel disrespected.  —  here's no doubt that vaccination rates have hit a wall of skepticism: 48.5 percent of the population is fully vaccinated, and 56.1 percent have had at least one dose of the vaccine.

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.

To Trump's hard-core supporters, his rallies weren't politics.  They were life.  —  What 2020 looked like from the front row on the campaign trail  —  Donald Trump soaked in the adoration as he commanded a rally stage inside a massive central Florida arena.  I stewed in my seat and stopped taking notes.

Trump showerhead rule to increase water flow being dropped  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — 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.

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 …

Democrats' New Amnesty Gambit  —  If a $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill isn't bad enough, how about a $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill that tortures the Senate rules to include a highly contentious, consequential policy change that wouldn't have a prayer of passing otherwise?

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.

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.

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.

Yellen to Convene U.S. Regulators to Discuss Stablecoins  — Government increasingly concerned about lack of oversight  — Group to develop recommendations to address risks in market  —  Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will convene top U.S. financial-market and bank regulators …

GB News in crisis as exec quits and presenter is pulled for ‘taking the knee’  —  Director of programming at TV channel resigns and Guto Harri taken off air after viewer backlash  —  GB News has been plunged into crisis as news of a senior executive's resignation emerged hours after a presenter …

House Republicans introduce bill to ban ‘tyrannical’ federal mask mandates  —  House Republicans join with Sen. Rand Paul to ban mask mandates on public transit  —  CDC says unvaccinated students still need to wear masks in fall  —  EXCLUSIVE: A group of House Republicans introduced legislation Friday …

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 …

California man was arrested with an arsenal of weapons and a racist manifesto, officials say  —  A California man is in custody after police found a cache of weapons, ammunition, and racist writings in his vehicle saying he wanted to wipe out the Black, Hispanic and Jewish populations, officials said Thursday.

Former Sen. Tom Udall is Biden's pick as ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa  —  Former Sen. Tom Udall is President Joe Biden's pick to be ambassador to New Zealand and the Independent State of Samoa, the White House said Friday.  —  Udall, a Democrat from New Mexico whose second term …

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 …