“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  —  (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.”

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.

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.

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 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 …

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's Business Hauled In $2.4 Billion During The 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 …

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 …

DOJ won't prosecute ex-Trump Commerce chief Ross for misleading Congress on census question … WASHINGTON — The Justice Department will not prosecute former Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross for misrepresenting the rationale for a proposed citizenship question in last year's census …

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.

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.

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.

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 …

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...

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 …

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 …

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.

Indiana NAACP and League of Women Voters of Indiana v. Lawson … The Brennan Center filed a lawsuit against the State of Indiana on behalf of the Indiana NAACP and the League of Women Voters of Indiana, challenging Indiana's voter purge statute.  Federal courts preliminarily enjoined a 2017 version of Indiana law.

'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.

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

GOP says Schumer vote will fail  —  Senate Republicans are signaling they're not going to agree to move forward on a scaled-down bipartisan infrastructure package if Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) goes ahead with his plan to force a vote Wednesday.

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 …

Paul Cheung named CEO of the Center for Public Integrity  —  Paul Cheung, a veteran journalist and leading advocate for innovative change in media, has been named chief executive officer of the Center for Public Integrity.  —  He'll lead one of the nation's oldest nonprofit investigative news organizations …

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 …