US blames China for hacks, opening new front in cyber offensive  —  Washington (CNN)The United States and its foreign allies on Monday accused China of overseeing widespread attempts to extort money in cyberspace, including through ransomware attacks, a dramatic escalation in the increasingly urgent attempt …

Private Israeli spyware used to hack cellphones of journalists, activists worldwide … Dana Priest, a reporter at The Washington Post for 30 years, covers national security issues.  Recently, she has investigated Russian disinformation operations, censorship around the world …

2 more Texas Democrats test positive for COVID-19 in Washington, D.C., 5 total cases  —  Madlin Mekelburg Nicole CoblerAustin American-Statesman  —  WASHINGTON — Two more Texas Democrats tested positive for the coronavirus Sunday, bringing the total number of cases among the nearly 60 lawmakers in Washington up to five.

“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.

Pollsters: ‘Impossible’ to say why 2020 polls were wrong  —  A new, highly anticipated report from the leading association of pollsters confirms just how wrong the 2020 election polls were.  But nine months after that closer-than-expected contest, the people asking why are still looking for answers.

New York Times Columnist Nicholas Kristof Is Exploring a Run for Oregon Governor  —  Kristof, a two-time Pulitzer winner, grew up on a Yamhill County farm.  —  Nicholas Kristof, the two-time Pulitzer winning columnist for the New York Times, is considering a run for Oregon governor.

Biden Administration Transfers Its First Detainee From Guantánamo Bay  —  The Biden team picked up where the Obama administration left off with the repatriation of a Moroccan man, reducing the prison population to 39.  —  WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Monday transferred …

The Ascension of Ron Klain  —  President Biden's chief of staff worked his whole career to reach the corner office of the West Wing.  He says he's just a “staff person,” but Republicans call him “Prime Minister Klain.”  —  WASHINGTON — Ron Klain, who after a few near misses finally achieved …

“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 …

Wary and Weary, Los Angeles Largely Accepts Restored Mask Mandate  —  Los Angeles County on Sunday became the first major county to revert to requiring masks for all people indoors in public spaces.  —  SANTA MONICA, Calif. — As the sun began to burn through the morning marine layer …

Pence flatlines as 2024 field takes shape  —  DES MOINES, Iowa — Mike Pence was met by a respectful, even warm, crowd in his first trip back to Iowa since the election.  Republicans at a picnic in the northwestern corner of the state stood and clapped for him on Friday.

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.”

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 …

David Chipman Is Unfit to Lead the ATF  —  The fate of David Chipman, President Joe Biden's pick to run the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), is now in the hands of undecided moderate Democrats such as Senator Jon Tester and Senator Joe Manchin.

The GOP is criminally reckless on COVID  —  Here comes trouble.  —  What happens if President Biden, facing a new surge in COVID, asks people to start wearing masks again?  What happens if he suggests people stay home for a while to get the virus under control?  —  Here's my bet: