“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.

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.

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.

The United States, Joined by Allies and Partners, Attributes Malicious Cyber Activity and Irresponsible State Behavior to the People's Republic of China  —  The United States has long been concerned about the People's Republic of China's (PRC) irresponsible and destabilizing behavior in cyberspace.

First US Capitol rioter convicted of a felony gets 8 months in prison  —  (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 that could influence how hundreds of other rioters charged with the same felony are punished.

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.”

POLITICO Playbook: Schumer channels his inner McConnell  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  A LONG WAY FROM APPALACHIA — Ohio GOP Senate hopeful J.D. VANCE was in the Hamptons on Saturday night mingling with GOP titans of industry.  JIM TISCH, REBEKAH MERCER, STEVEN PRICE and HEATHER HIGGINS were among …

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

'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.

QAnon fanatics are rebranding their ‘secret war.’ And it could work. … By Mike Rothschild, author of “The Storm is Upon Us: How QAnon Became a Movement, Cult, and Conspiracy Theory of Everything”  —  A few years into waiting for “the storm” to sweep away former President Donald Trump's enemies …

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 …

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

Nina Turner Wants to Be the Squad's Nick Naylor  —  She thought Biden was half a bowl of shit; now she's offering Democrats a different flavor.  —  In an August 3 primary, Ohio Democrats will choose the all-but-inevitable replacement to former Rep. Marcia Fudge, a run-of-the-mill liberal Democrat …

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.

Branding the U.S. left: AOC makes a push into political merchandise  —  U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became one of America's most prominent progressive Democrats with her calls to tax the wealthy and spend heavily to fight climate change.  —  Now she is investing heavily …

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...

Rep. Michelle Steel reported $7,900 donation from woman who'd died months earlier  —  A joint fundraising committee controlled by Rep. Michelle Steel disclosed a donation of $7,900 earlier this year.  The only problem: The reported donor had been dead for seven months.

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 …

Bill de Blasio's Wet Hot Valedictory Summer  —  The lame-duck mayor, who has cut loose like a second-semester senior, plays cornhole and soaks up the rays at a pool in Bushwick as part of his late-term pursuit of authenticity.  —  A couple of Saturdays before Biblical-scale flooding turned …