“I'm Getting the Word Out”: Inside the Feverish Mind of Donald Trump Two Months After Leaving the White House  —  In an hours-long interview with Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker from his Mar-a-Lago throne, the former president repeated his election lies, bashed Mitch McConnell ("he's a stupid person"), and teased a triumphant comeback.

First US Capitol rioter convicted of a felony gets 8 months in prison after DOJ says stiffer sentence could stop future attacks  —  (CNN)A man who pleaded guilty to breaching the Senate chamber during the US Capitol insurrection was sentenced Monday to eight months in prison in a closely watched case …

“A pandemic of the unvaccinated”  —  Coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths are back on the rise in the U.S. as the highly transmissible Delta variant spreads across the country.  —  The big picture: This is happening almost exclusively to people who aren't vaccinated …

Ryan Grim: Fox News Workers Have Their Own Corporate Vaccine Passport  —  Ryan Grim discusses the discrepancy between Fox News anchors' coverage of the COVID vaccines and their personal opinions on them.About Rising: Rising is a we...

A vile new Trump-GOP claim about vaccines suggests trouble ahead  —  It was only a matter of time until Donald Trump converted the debate over covid-19 vaccines into an occasion for his supporters to show their loyalty to him — and even worse, to the “big lie” that his 2020 loss was illegitimate.

A federal judge upholds Indiana University's vaccination requirement for students.  —  In what appeared to be the first ruling upholding a coronavirus vaccine mandate by a university, a federal judge affirmed on Monday that Indiana University could require that its students be vaccinated against the virus.

Merrick Garland's insurrection ruling and democracy's destiny  —  The attorney general should not let Mo Brooks off the hook for his role in the insurrection.  —  Attorney General Merrick Garland confronts a choice that is more than just career-defining.  He must answer a question arising …

Trump's Business Hauled In $2.4 Billion During Four Years He Served As President  —  Forbes estimates the pandemic helped wipe about $200 million off Trump's top line last year.  —  In April 2017, Press Secretary Sean Spicer took the podium in the White House briefing room and announced …

Steve Doocy Implores Fox & Friends Viewers to Get the Covid Vaccine: ‘Get the Shot.  It Will Save Your Life’  —  Steve Doocy dismissed absurd anti-vax conspiracy theories that have gone viral among the vaccine-hesitant set and implored viewers of Fox & Friends to get the Covid-19 vaccine because it “will save your life.”

Trump Is Telling His Dinner Pals He's Planning to Run for President in 2024  —  In conversations with at least 3 people, a top GOP source says, Trump has said he wants another run at the White House  —  WASHINGTON — Brace yourself: Donald Trump plans to run for president again.

Agency watchdog: Trump cabinet chief provided false testimony … The Trump administration made every effort to include a citizenship question in the 2020 census, though the gambit ultimately failed.  Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts explained in 2019 that the White House came up short …

Eight weeks out, California recall lacks the buzz of 2003 contest  —  WASHINGTON — With 57 days to go until the election and with the official list of replacement candidates now complete, it's safe to say that the 2021 California gubernatorial recall bears no resemblance whatsoever to its 2003 predecessor.

Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Destruction of Property in Burning of Banner Taken from Church  —  Defendant Also Pleads Guilty in a Separate Firearms Case  —  WASHINGTON - Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, 37, of Miami, Fla., pleaded guilty today to charges in two cases, including one involving the burning …

Sell-off intensifies as the Dow tumbles more than 900 points amid pandemic fears  —  What experts are saying as stocks drop amid Delta variant concerns  —  U.S. stocks fell aggressively Monday on concern a rebound in Covid cases would slow global economic growth.

Outrage As A Business Model: How Ben Shapiro Is Using Facebook To Build An Empire  —  In 2021, Ben Shapiro rules Facebook.  —  The conservative podcast host and author's personal Facebook page has more followers than The Washington Post, and he drives an engagement machine unparalleled …

CNN announces CNN+, ‘most important launch for network since Ted Turner’  —  New York (CNN Business)CNN is hiring hundreds of people and developing dozens of programs for a subscription streaming service that will launch early next year.  —  The new venture, called CNN+, was formally announced on Monday morning.

President Biden Announces Three Key Nominations  —  WASHINGTON - Today, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate the following three individuals to serve in key roles:  — Tamara Cofman Wittes, Nominee for Assistant Administrator for Middle East, United States Agency for International Development

The American Descent into Madness  —  America went from the freest country in the world in December 2019 to a repressive and frightening place by July 2021.  How did that happen?  —  Nations have often gone mad in a matter of months.  The French abandoned their supposedly idealistic revolutionary project …

A Surprising Potential Swing Vote: Pro-Democracy Republicans  —  Political pundits seem united in their belief that Democrats will struggle to hold the House of Representatives in 2022.  —  The historical precedent that the party out of power in the White House always gains in the midterms …

If Socialism Isn't ‘Useful,’ Why Does Biden Rely On Socialists To Drive His Agenda?  —  When recent Cuban protests broke out, White House officials did everything they could to avoid mentioning either “socialism” or “communism.”  After some blowback on the matter, Joe Biden finally came out an said …

Khalilzad: Taliban in ‘stronger position than it was before’ after military gains  —  With Quint Forgey and help from Daniel Lippman, Andrew Desiderio, and Nahal Toosi  —  Welcome to the first edition of National Security Daily, POLITICO's newsletter on the global events roiling Washington and keeping the administration up at night.

Former Trump aide says campaign paid actors to appear at his 2016 presidential announcement  — Corey Lewandowski previously denied Trump paid actors to appear at his 2015 campaign announcement.  — Yet the first Trump 2016 campaign manager recently told Insider the opposite.

Despite the hype, iPhone security no match for NSO spyware … The text delivered last month to the iPhone 11 of Claude Mangin, the French wife of a political activist jailed in Morocco, made no sound.  It produced no image.  It offered no warning of any kind as an iMessage from somebody …

Senate Democrats propose requiring women to register for military draft  —  Senate Democrats are proposing a sweeping rewrite of the military draft laws aimed at requiring women to register for the Selective Service System, according to a draft authored by Senate Armed Services Chair Jack Reed and obtained by POLITICO.

Giuliani was intentionally given the wrong time for a debate prep session after clashing with other Trump advisors: book  — Giuliani was given the wrong time for a debate prep session, per an upcoming book.  — He wanted Trump to use a more personal strategy in attacking Hunter Biden during the first debate.

FBI agent in Whitmer kidnap case arrested following domestic incident  —  The arrest of an FBI agent credited with helping thwart a plot to kidnap and kill Gov. Gretchen Whitmer complicates one of the most closely watched cases of violent extremism that is becoming increasingly focused on allegations of wrongdoing by investigators.

Confidence in Big Business, Big Tech Wanes Among Republicans  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Republicans have lost significant confidence in big business and Big Tech over the past year, to the point that their generally positive view of each in 2020 has turned negative, on balance, in 2021.  Specifically:

How the New Child Tax Credit Is Already Changing Lives “There's very few good news stories, and this is one.”  —  Months into lockdown, Maggie Wiggin noticed that her 7-year-old son had become depressed.  “Lockdown was a nightmare, I think, for a lot of special-needs kids.

Republicans work to tie Democrats to inflation  —  Massive spending by Democrats and President Joe Biden has caused skyrocketing prices for gas and other consumer goods, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told fellow Republicans in a letter that pledged to “hold Democrats to account for their reckless handling of the economy.”

Delta variant fears send Dow tumbling more than 700 points in worst one-day decline of 2021  —  Global markets fall sharply amid growing anxiety about surging coronavirus cases and their potential to derail the economic recovery.  —  Global stock markets swooned Monday …

Trump's 2020 loss gave the GOP the last key to ‘win’ the midterms  —  There was a time in the not too distant past when the Republican Party was known for its sneakiness, a product of the underhanded tricks of operatives like Lee Atwater and his protégés.

Canada to open border to fully vaccinated U.S. citizens on Aug. 9  —  TORONTO — Canada on Monday said it would begin to ease pandemic restrictions at the U.S.-Canada border next month, allowing U.S. citizens and permanent residents in the United States who are fully vaccinated …

'It's ceding a lot of terrain to us': Biden goes populist with little pushback  —  When President Joe Biden unveiled a series of sweeping executive orders to combat monopoly power, the response from Republicans was notable — because there was barely one at all.