Top Items:
Wall Street Journal:
Two False Narratives About the Capitol Riot — As the Jan. 6 committee meets, politics drowns out the actual story. — By The Editorial Board — The House inquiry on the events of Jan. 6 held its opening hearing Tuesday, and it showed why no Republican should try to brush aside the ugliness of the Capitol riot.
Discussion:
CNN, Raw Story, The Western Journal and The Hill
RELATED:
Jim Newell / Slate:
Turns Out Mo Brooks Was Wearing Body Armor to Trump's Very Peaceful Jan. 6 Rally — Rep. Mo Brooks may be done with Jan. 6, but Jan. 6 isn't done with him. — The Alabama representative, notorious for his speaking role at the Jan. 6 rally leading up to the invasion of the Capitol …
Discussion:
The Intellectualist and Insider
Mark Joseph Stern / Slate:
Mo Brooks Accidentally Gave Up His Immunity From Eric Swalwell's Insurrection Lawsuit — On Tuesday, the Department of Justice announced that it would not shield Rep. Mo Brooks from Rep. Eric Swalwell's lawsuit against the fomenters of the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Discussion:
Raw Story, Roll Call, Associated Press, NPR, POLITICUSUSA, Vanity Fair, Washington Post, Forbes, CBS News and 6abc
Politico:
Jan. 6 select-panel Dems confident they can corral ex-Trump aides — House Democrats investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot are newly optimistic about securing testimony from former Trump officials. That doesn't mean they're close to hauling in big names from the ex-president's turbulent final days.
Discussion:
CNN, Washington Examiner and Raw Story
John Wagner / Washington Post:
Rep. Jordan acknowledges speaking with Trump on Jan. 6
Rep. Jordan acknowledges speaking with Trump on Jan. 6
Discussion:
Spectrum News 1 Ohio, CNN and HuffPost
Yvonne Wingett Sanchez / Arizona Republic:
Sinema doesn't support Democrats' $3.5T bill, clinches bipartisan infrastructure deal — Sen. Kyrsten Sinema does not support Democrats' $3.5 trillion budget plan that aims to deliver major components of President Joe Biden's economic agenda that Democrats hope to pass after moving …
Discussion:
Washington Post, New York Times, American Prospect, Talking Points Memo, ABC News, Politico, NBC News, HotAir, BizPac Review, The Hill, Mediaite, Common Dreams, National Review, Breitbart, Political Flare, WV MetroNews, RedState, Insider, New York Post, Forbes, CNN, The White House, IJR, Washington Times, Roll Call, POLITICUSUSA, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, NPR, Patterico's Pontifications, CNBC, The Gateway Pundit, Los Angeles Times, NOQ Report, TheBlaze, Twitchy, The Intellectualist, USA Today and Mock Paper Scissors
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Alayna Treene / Axios:
Infrastructure bills face House chaos — The infrastructure agreement cinched Wednesday by senators faces several changes in the House before it — and a companion reconciliation bill — have any chance of becoming law. — Why it matters: The myopic focus on the bipartisan group …
Discussion:
Politico
Max Greenwood / The Hill:
Trump blows fuse over GOP moving forward on infrastructure deal — Former President Trump lashed out at Senate Republicans on Thursday after the upper chamber voted to take up debate on a bipartisan infrastructure package, accusing Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and “RINOs” for surrendering to Democrats.
Discussion:
The Carpentariat
Sen. Thom Tillis / NBC News:
Senate infrastructure deal is a win for bipartisanship, thanks to Sen. Sinema
Senate infrastructure deal is a win for bipartisanship, thanks to Sen. Sinema
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Post, The American Spectator, BizPac Review, The Daily Caller, Raw Story and HotAir
Jacob Knutson / Axios:
$1.2 trillion “hard” infrastructure bill clears major procedural vote in Senate
$1.2 trillion “hard” infrastructure bill clears major procedural vote in Senate
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Breitbart, Washington Times, CNN and Politico
Dennis Aftergut / The Bulwark:
Meet the Corporations That Went Back on Their Word Not to Support the Sedition Caucus — They promised not to support Republicans who voted not to certify the election results. And then they changed their minds and hoped Americans wouldn't notice. — Following the January 6 insurrection …
Discussion:
OpenSecrets.org
Jeff Cox / CNBC:
U.S. GDP increased at 6.5% pace in the second quarter, well below expectations — GDP rose at a 6.4% annualized pace in the second quarter, according to the Commerce Department's first estimate Thursday. — That was well below the Dow Jones estimate of 8.4%.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal
Washington Post:
Something strange is happening in Britain. Covid cases are plummeting instead of soaring. — LONDON — This is a puzzler. Coronavirus cases are plummeting in Britain. They were supposed to soar. Scientists aren't sure why they haven't. — The daily number of new infections recorded …
Discussion:
Politico and Metro.co.uk
News Blog, Riverfront Times:
St. Louis County Health Director: I Was Assaulted, Called ‘Brown C— ’ After Mask Plea — Dr. Faisal Khan, acting director of the St. Louis County Department of Health. … Dear Chairwoman Days, — I appreciated the opportunity to share the latest data, scientific research …
Washington Post:
CDC reversal on indoor masking prompts experts to ask, 'Where's the data?' — New recommendations from federal health officials this week on when vaccinated Americans should don face masks came with a startling bolt of news: People who have had their shots and become infected with the delta variant …
Discussion:
HotAir, CNN, Twitchy, Virginia Mercury, Missouri Independent and TheBlaze
Doug Jones / USA Today:
Pass ‘Manchin Plus’ voting and election protection with or without Republicans — I implore my former Republican colleagues to step forward. If they don't, Manchin and other Democrats must override the filibuster to save democracy. — American democracy is at a critical juncture.
Discussion:
Washington Post and Common Dreams
Aaron Maté / RealClearInvestigations:
A Fresh Reminder of Russiagate's Failed Guardian(s) of Integrity — Above left, RCI writer Aaron Maté in a tense 2017 interview with Luke Harding of the Guardian (full video below). Harding was lead author on a supposed blockbuster this month ignored by major news outlets …
Ari Berman / Mother Jones:
GOP Could Retake the House in 2022 Just by Gerrymandering Four Southern States — Fight disinformation. Get a daily recap of the facts that matter. Sign up for the free Mother Jones newsletter. — Before Georgia voted for Joe Biden, the biggest upset in recent state politics came …
Discussion:
The Texas Tribune and Political Wire
Edward Luce / Financial Times:
Republicans have become the party of nihilism — US conservatives who might once have criticised Trump are now falling in line with disturbing speed — As long as Donald Trump is breathing, the odds are that he will run again in 2024. This has become clear not because his ambitions have changed …
Discussion:
Patterico's Pontifications
Rosalind Helderman / Washington Post:
Arizona's GOP-backed ballot review has raised more than $5.7 million in private donations, organizers say — A private contractor conducting a Republican-commissioned review of 2020 presidential ballots in Arizona's largest county announced late Wednesday that it has collected more than $5.7 million …
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Logan Hullinger / York Dispatch:
‘Election integrity committee’ in York County accused of voter intimidation — A group calling itself an “election integrity committee” drew allegations of voter intimidation after its members reportedly knocked on doors across York County asking about how and for whom residents voted.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Washington Post:
As Trump pushed for probes of 2020 election, he called acting AG Rosen almost daily — President Donald Trump called his acting attorney general nearly every day at the end of last year to alert him to claims of voter fraud or alleged improper vote counts in the 2020 election, according to two people familiar with the conversations.
Discussion:
Insider, Election Law Blog, The Hill, Raw Story, Political Flare, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Political Wire
W. James Antle III / Washington Examiner:
RNC fact-checks Biden on driving ‘18-wheeler’ — The Republican National Committee circulated a “fact check” on Twitter of whether President Joe Biden drove an 18-wheeler after a speech on manufacturing to a Mack truck facility in Pennsylvania. — “There is *zero evidence* that Biden 'used …
RELATED:
Andrew Miller / Fox News:
Biden confuses Trump with Obama, calls it ‘Freudian slip’
Biden confuses Trump with Obama, calls it ‘Freudian slip’
Discussion:
BizPac Review, The US Sun, Political Flare, POLITICUSUSA, The Daily Caller, Trending Politics and New York Post
New York Times:
After Adams Criticizes the Left, New York Democrats Try to Clear the Air — In a meeting in Washington, Representative Nydia Velázquez reminded Eric Adams to treat everyone with respect. — When Eric Adams arrived on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, he received a warm welcome from members …
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Politico and New York Post
Kevin Liptak / CNN:
Biden shifts onus for pandemic onto the unvaccinated as he readies federal worker vaccine requirement — Avlon: Unvaccinated are holding us hostage — WASHINGTON (CNN)President Joe Biden, who for months used techniques like public service announcements and grassroots campaigns …
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA, Trending Politics, Politico, The Daily Caller and Political Wire
Sheehan Hannan / Politico:
The Beltway Can't Stop Talking About Him. The Voters He Needs Barely Know Him. — LONDON, OHIO—Patrick Closser takes the political temperature most days from his drive-thru window here. The ring-ding sound of another car approaching the little hut at Casey's Carry Out & Drive Thru for beer …
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Trump allies blame conservative leader for failed Texas endorsement — Susan Wright's defeat in a Republican runoff dealt a blow to Trump's aura of invincibility as a GOP kingmaker.
The Guardian:
‘A nightmare scenario’: how an anti-trans Instagram post led to violence in the streets — Misinformation about Wi Spa, a Korean spa in Los Angeles, quickly spread around the world. Since then, trans women in LA have faced violence and online abuse — On 24 June, a woman claimed …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Karen Hao / MIT Technology Review:
She risked everything to expose Facebook. Now she's telling her story. — The world first learned of Sophie Zhang in September 2020, when BuzzFeed News obtained and published highlights from an abridged version of her nearly 8,000-word exit memo from Facebook.
Washington Examiner:
Fund the police — it saves lives — “We must invest less in police and more in social workers,” President Joe Biden's Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke wrote in June of 2020. Clarke went on to say the Black Lives Matter movement slogan to “defund the police” is a “unifying call” …
Isaac Stanley-Becker / Washington Post:
Charlie Kirk's pro-Trump youth group stokes vaccine resistance as covid surges again — Turning Point USA and its affiliates are urging students to resist mandates and spreading baseless claims about “medical raids,” part of a bid for donations — A young emergency room doctor stood …
New York Times:
The Infrastructure Plan: What's In and What's Out … Sources: Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget; White House — The infrastructure bill that started moving forward again Wednesday is undeniably large: It calls for new federal spending of about $550 billion, an amount roughly equivalent …
Discussion:
The Daily Dot, The White House, CNN, Associated Press, Maryland Matters and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »
Alana Goodman / Washington Free Beacon:
Iran Attempted To Abduct at Least 3 American Journalists in 2019 and 2020 — Iran watchers say Biden admin downplays threats as it negotiates nuclear deal — At least three U.S. journalists working for Voice of America were the subjects of attempted Iranian abduction and surveillance efforts …
The Intercept:
CIA Drove Spike in Media Leak Investigation Requests Under Trump … In partnership with — New data obtained by The Intercept adds considerable detail to what we already know about former President Donald Trump's relentless campaign against whistleblowers and leakers in the intelligence community.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Lingling Wei / Wall Street Journal:
China's New Ambassador to the U.S. Adopts Placating Tone — NEW YORK—China's new envoy to the U.S. struck a conciliatory note upon his arrival in Washington on Wednesday, pledging to repair the increasingly testy relationship between the two world powers days after Chinese Foreign Ministry officials greeted …
Discussion:
New York Times and Japan Times
Allahpundit / HotAir:
Rumblings: Teachers union head, Fed chair hint that schools might not reopen on schedule — I've said it before, but once again for emphasis: If you have school-aged kids and you live in a blue state, you're courting disaster by not moving before the fall semester. Which is now only a month or so away.
Jason DeParle / New York Times:
Pandemic Aid Programs Spur a Record Drop in Poverty — The most comprehensive study yet of the federal response to the pandemic shows huge but temporary benefits for the poor — and helps frame a larger debate over the role of government. — WASHINGTON — The huge increase in government aid prompted …
Kurt Streeter / New York Times:
Simone Biles and the Power of ‘No’ — By withdrawing from competition citing concerns over her mental health, Biles showed that resisting expectations can be more powerful than persisting through them. — No. — What a small and simple word. — What transformative power it possesses.
Discussion:
UPI, Washington Post and The Western Journal
Max Boot / Washington Post:
People are dying because of Republican hostility to science — If you want to know why the United States is in such big trouble, look at the findings of a new Gallup poll. The percentage of Republicans expressing a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in science has plummeted from 72 percent in 1975 to just 45 percent today.