Former Advisor to Presidential Candidate Among Three Defendants Charged with Acting as Agents of a Foreign Government  —  Defendants Allegedly Acted and Conspired to Act at the Direction of Senior United Arab Emirates Officials to Influence a Presidential Campaign, Public Opinion and the U.S. Government

Scoop: White House official, Pelosi aide test positive for COVID  —  A White House official and a staff member for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) have both tested positive for COVID-19 after attending the same reception last week, officials confirmed to Axios.

Unvaccinated Trump supporter who spread coronavirus conspiracy theories dies of COVID-19  —  On Tuesday, the Cape Cod Times reported that Linda Zuern, a former member of the Bourne, Massachusetts Board of Selectmen and a Trump-supporting figure in the local Republican Party, had died of COVID-19.

Tom Brady Joins Biden to Laugh at Trump in Worst Day of Trump's Life The sum of all Trump fears.  —  Tom Brady visited the White House Tuesday to celebrate the Tampa Bay Buccaneers winning the Super Bowl, where he joked around with President Biden at Donald Trump's expense.

After waiting, Steve Scalise gets vaccinated against COVID-19, calls it “safe and effective”  —  “Soon,” U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise replied at the beginning of April when asked when he would be vaccinated against the coronavirus.  —  “Soon,” he repeated at the beginning of May when asked the same question.

Bezos says space flight reinforced commitment to fighting climate change  —  Jeff Bezos said in an interview hours after flying to suborbital space on Tuesday that there are “no words” to adequately describe the experience, but that it reinforced his commitment to combatting climate change and keeping Earth …

WATCHING THE WATCHMEN  —  In the inky darkness of a late summer night last September, three cars filled with armed men began circling Birch Lake in northern Michigan, looking for ways to approach Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's three-bedroom vacation cottage, subdue her — using a stun gun if necessary — and drag her away.

Biden tiptoes around Fox News amid pushback on Covid vaccine disinfo  —  As President Joe Biden scrambles to convince hesitant Americans to get the Covid-19 vaccine, his White House has largely steered clear of Fox News, the major cable news outlet whose opinion hosts and guests …

Texas Senate Bill Drops Teaching Requirement That Ku Klux Klan Is ‘Morally Wrong’  —  Eliminated requirements also include the writings of Martin Luther King Jr., United Farm Workers leader Cesar Chavez and suffragist Susan B. Anthony.  —  In a new political low in Texas …

Axios-Ipsos poll: Most unvaccinated Americans won't get the shot for any reason  —  Many won't budge even if their own doctor gives the shot, a celebrity endorses it or they get paid time off.

NPR's Brilliant Self-Own  —  National Public Radio complains about a media figure who tells people “what their opinions should be” and uses political “buzzwords”  —  Yesterday's NPR article, “Outrage As A Business Model: How Ben Shapiro Is Using Facebook To Build An Empire,” …

Tarrant, AL Councilman Tommy Bryant: “Do We Have A House N***** In Here?”  —  Tarrant, AL city council member Tommy Bryant, has come under fire from residents after an exchange at a city council meeting Monday night in which he stood up and loudly asked, “Do we have a house n***er in here?”

Here's What to Expect from the Republicans on the Jan. 6 Committee  —  Kevin McCarthy met with Trump before announcing his appointees.  —  After a pilgrimage to Bedminster to get the blessing of the GOP's Apricot Archbishop, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy announced yesterday …

EXCLUSIVE: Ben & Jerry's Targets Anti-Semite Demographic With Audacious New Ice Cream Flavors  —  Ben & Jerry's, a left-wing ice cream company owned by Unilever, announced Monday that it will stop selling its products in the so-called Occupied Palestinian Territory, more commonly known as the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

D.C. Council votes to raise taxes on the rich  —  The D.C. Council voted Tuesday to increase income taxes on residents earning more than $250,000 per year, and use the revenue to tackle homelessness and other social problems.  —  With $2.3 billion in federal money to spend …

DEA agent arrested for participating in Jan. 6 Capitol riot by Trump supporters  — A U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent has been arrested for allegedly participating in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump.

We're begging you, Gov. DeSantis, stop messing in Texas and save Florida from COVID  —  That's what DeSantis told the conservative TPUSA crowd on Sunday.  —  We agree.  Completely.  —  Please, governor, we're begging you, handle the COVID problem.  Be a leader.

Synagogue Shooter Pleads Guilty, Will Serve Life in Prison  —  John T. Earnest, 22, pleaded guilty today to murder and other charges in San Diego Superior Court in connection with a deadly shooting at the Chabad of Poway synagogue two years ago.  There were 54 people inside the synagogue …

What were the Capitol rioters thinking on Jan. 6?  —  Robert Gieswein is a good man, according to family and friends, who describe him as gentle and compassionate.  His mother says he has “an amazing work ethic.”  His younger sister calls him “the most inspiring person in my life.”

U.S. urges Ukraine to stay quiet on Russian pipeline  —  In the midst of tense negotiations with Berlin over a controversial Russia-to-Germany pipeline, the Biden administration is asking a friendly country to stay quiet about its vociferous opposition.  And Ukraine is not happy.

Rand Paul Accuses Fauci of Lying to Congress about Gain-of-Function Research Funding  —  Senator Rand Paul (R., Ky.) and Dr. Anthony Fauci again clashed over alleged U.S. government funding of gain-of-function research on bat coronavirus in Wuhan, China, during testimony before a Senate committee on Tuesday.

I discussed ousting PM after 2019 election landslide  —  Dominic Cummings has revealed he discussed ousting Boris Johnson within days of the Conservatives winning the December 2019 election by a landslide.  —  The PM's former chief adviser told the BBC it seemed that, by mid-January 2020, Mr Johnson did not “have a plan”.

3 Tropes of White Victimhood  —  In the conservative world, the idea that white people in the United States are under siege has become doctrine.  In recent weeks, three prominent figures have each offered their own versions of this tenet.  —  In June, Brian Kilmeade, one of the hosts of Fox & Friends …

Don't Call Them ‘Shark Attacks,’ Scientists Say  —  In recent years, researchers and wildlife officials in Australia and the United States have adopted terms like “bites,” “incidents” and “encounters.”  They wish the public would, too.  —  On the beaches of Western Australia …

On the list: Ten prime ministers, three presidents and a king … Spies for centuries have trained their sights on those who shape destinies of nations: presidents, prime ministers, kings.  —  And in the 21st century, most of them carry smartphones.  —  Such is the underlying logic …

The Bizarre Martyrdom of Nikole Hannah-Jones  —  The creator of the 1619 Project is hardly the model journalist, despite her celebrity and prizes.  —  One of the summer's less predictable media firestorms has been the angst-ridden watch party concerning whether celebrity journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones …

The FBI has lost the plot  —  Whom the gods would destroy, they first make ridiculous.  Consider the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  That once-respected institution has been busy wiping (or, more to the point, not wiping) egg off its face at least since the moist tenure of James ‘higher loyalty’ Comey.

Indicted Trump Organization executive may have defended his Mercedes perks in custody, court documents show  —  NEW YORK — Indicted Trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg may have offered an unprompted early defense to investigators on the day he was charged in a 15-year tax avoidance …

Who is Kyrsten Sinema Really Representing?  —  By Brian Burton and Gustavo Sánchez  —  Halfway through her term as Senator of Arizona, Kyrsten Sinema is finding herself seemingly at odds with the members of her party.  Her dedication to preserving the filibuster has stood …