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

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.

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.

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.

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.

On Fox News, Vaccination Pleas Intensify, but Skepticism Persists  —  Amid mixed messages on the channel, the hosts Sean Hannity and Steve Doocy encourage viewers to get Covid-19 shots as the Delta variant spreads.  —  The morning anchor's plea was urgent and framed in the starkest of terms: Get the Covid-19 vaccine, or you could die.

Top U.S. Catholic Church official resigns after cellphone data used to track him on Grindr and to gay bars  —  The top administrator of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops resigned after a Catholic media site told the conference it had access to cellphone data that appeared to show …

Democrats begrudgingly accept McCarthy's picks for Jan. 6 committee  —  House Democrats are begrudgingly accepting Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's picks to join the select panel investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attacks — a list that includes a couple of their leading antagonists.

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.

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.

New Poll: Arizona Democrats Love Biden and Kelly.  Kyrsten Sinema?  Not So Much.  —  Fight disinformation.  Get a daily recap of the facts that matter.  Sign up for the free Mother Jones newsletter.  —  Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's support for the Senate filibuster appears to be doing real damage to her political brand back home.

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 …

Biden stacks his administration with yet another tech foe  —  Jonathan Kanter, who has been tapped to lead the DOJ's antitrust division, has represented Google's competitors.  —  Big Tech has yet another reason to be worried about the threat of US government regulation.

Swalwell spent thousands of campaign dollars on booze and limo services, $20K at hotel where his wife works  —  Rep. Nunes: There's a lot of questions surrounding Swalwell  —  Prominent Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California appears to have spent tens of thousands of campaign dollars …

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?”

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,” …

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 …

Scientists are worried by how fast the climate crisis has amplified extreme weather  —  (CNN)Until recently, climate change had been talked about as a future threat.  Its frontlines were portrayed as remote places like the Arctic, where polar bears are running out of sea ice to hunt from.

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 …

Republicans Have No Clear Message On Child Tax Credit Payments  —  Meanwhile, Democrats are celebrating their new policy and vowing to make it permanent.  —  As Democrats celebrate parents across the country receiving their first checks through the child tax credit, Republicans aren't quite sure how to respond.

Social conservatives ‘frustrated’ over Trump Supreme Court justices' rulings  —  Pence touts justices, but line gets a ‘golf clap, not a roaring applause’ from activists in Iowa  —  Fox News Flash top headlines for July 19  —  DES MOINES, Iowa - It was a line that you would expect would receive thunderous applause.

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.