The absurd coverage of the January 6 committee  —  In late May, over the Memorial Day weekend, the top story on NBC's Meet the Press was a recent vote by Republican senators to kill the prospect of an independent, fully bipartisan commission to investigate the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6.

V.A. Issues Vaccine Mandate for Health Care Workers, a First for a Federal Agency  —  Employees who provide direct patient care have eight weeks to get inoculated against the coronavirus or face penalties including possible removal.  —  WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs …

Four Illusions  —  Illusion #1: Biden is not too old.  —  People who have been around American politics for a long time know Joe Biden well.  The eldest among them have known Joe Biden for nearly five decades.  What they will tell you is that he didn't seem to age during his two terms as vice president.

EXCLUSIVE U.S. will not lift travel restrictions, citing Delta variant -official  —  The United States will not lift any existing travel restrictions “at this point” due to concerns over the highly transmissible COVID-19 Delta variant and the rising number of U.S. coronavirus cases, a White House official told Reuters.

Is Vaxed America Running Out of Patience?  —  I wanted to share some thoughts and snippets of news following up on the GOP vaccine switcheroo.  But first I wanted to share this LA Times article that helped me think more broadly about the issue.  Reporter Brittny Mejia went to a pop …

I'm a Parkland Shooting Survivor.  QAnon Convinced My Dad It Was All a Hoax.  —  Bill's final semester at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, was already difficult enough.  —  He was part of the final graduating class of survivors of the 2018 shooting …

This is the most unhinged Trump rant about the 2020 election yet  —  Donald Trump has set a pretty high bar for himself when it comes to wild rants.  And yet, over the weekend in a speech to Turning Point Action in Arizona, he managed to outdo himself.  —  Words - or at least my words - can't do it justice.

‘People are scared’: Democrats lose ground on school equity plans  —  Elina Kaplan is the kind of suburban mom who made Joe Biden president.  —  An immigrant who came to the United States from the Soviet Union, she is a registered Democrat from San Mateo County, Calif. And she's alarmed …

Takeover of Fulton elections considered by Georgia Republicans  —  Georgia voting law allows removal of county election boards  —  With a rising drumbeat of criticism, several Republican Georgia legislators are building a case for the state government to take over Fulton County elections.

First look: Don Jr., Ron DeSantis dominate poll of GOP frontrunners  —  Don Jr. and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis top a poll — provided first to Axios — gauging the popularity of seven key GOP figures.  —  Between the lines: Don Jr. is the Trump child with the strongest connection to the base …

'We're f—ed': Dems fear turnout catastrophe from GOP voting laws  —  ATLANTA — After Georgia Republicans passed a restrictive voting law in March, Democrats here began doing the math.  —  The state's new voter I.D. requirement for mail-in ballots could affect the more than 270,000 Georgians lacking identification.

An Alabama mother who lost her son to covid says not getting the vaccine is her biggest regret  —  These days, Christy Carpenter finds strength in her family and faith.  But on some days, one question keeps ringing in her head: “Why?”  —  After weeks of battling through oxygen treatments …

In Official Washington, Chasten Buttigieg is a stranger in a (very) strange land  —  Chasten Buttigieg put on a few pounds during quarantine.  So in April, with pandemic restrictions easing and two doses of vaccine safely in his arm, he set about looking for a gym to join in the city …

Questions the January 6 Select Committee Should Ask Its Witnesses  —  The House select committee established to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol will hold its first public hearing on July 27.  Like the 9-11 Commission before it, the select committee is investigating …

For the Jan. 6 Committee to Succeed, This Guy Has to Go  —  Chairman Bennie Thompson's staff director pick could irrevocably undermine the credibility of the fledgling committee—with no real upside. … On July 22, Chairman Bennie Thompson announced the senior staff for the fledgling 1/6 committee.

Facebook and tech giants to target attacker manifestos, far-right militias in database  —  A counterterrorism organization formed by some of the biggest U.S. tech companies including Facebook (FB.O) and Microsoft (MSFT.O) is significantly expanding the types of extremist content shared between firms …

Olympic broadcasters curb sexual images of female athletes  —  TOKYO (AP) — Ariarne Titmus and Luka Doncic made memorable Olympic debuts.  —  Titmus lived up to the billing of her nickname the “Terminator” when she chased down Katie Ledecky in the 400 freestyle Monday to win one of the most anticipated races of the Summer Games.

Police Are Telling ShotSpotter to Alter Evidence From Gunshot-Detecting AI  —  Prosecutors in Chicago are being forced to withdraw evidence generated by the technology, which led to the police killing of 13-year-old Adam Toledo earlier this year.  —  TF  —  On May 31 last year …

Brother of top Biden advisor lobbied Executive Office of the President on behalf of GM  — Jeff Ricchetti lobbied the National Security Council on behalf of General Motors in the second quarter, a lobbying report says.  — The report shows that Jeff Ricchetti, who is the brother …

Trump pressures McConnell, GOP to ditch bipartisan talks until they have majority  —  Former President Donald Trump on Monday urged Senate Republicans to abandon talks on a bipartisan infrastructure deal until after the midterm elections or when the GOP retakes majorities in Congress.

Top Obama pollster warns left not to get greedy ahead of midterms  —  Joel Benenson, who led polling for President Obama, tells me liberal Democrats are endangering the House majority in next year's midterms by trying to load too much onto President Biden's spending packages.

8 US attorney picks by Biden would include historic firsts  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is nominating eight new leaders for U.S. attorney positions across the country, including in the office overseeing the prosecutions of hundreds of defendants charged in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.

Pasco Sheriff's Office letter targets residents for ‘increased accountability’  —  Critics of the agency's intelligence programs called the letter ‘patronizing’ and ‘offensive,’ and raised continued concerns about civil rights  —  It starts like an offer of admission from a prestigious university.

Biden and Iraqi PM announce end to US's combat mission  —  President Joe Biden and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al Kadhimi announced the United States's combat mission will cease at the end of the year.  —  The two leaders agreed to the policy shift, which will leave the remaining troops …

Facebook's Broken Vows  —  How the company's pledge to bring the world together wound up pulling us apart. … Facebook has a save-the-world mission statement—"to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together"—that sounds like a better fit for a church …