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.

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 …

Biden's planned vaccine rule meets resistance from large groups of federal workers  —  Groups representing law enforcement, postal workers and IRS managers issue statements raising concerns about a government mandate  —  President Biden's expected announcement of a vaccine mandate …

GOP lawmaker challenges McCarthy over ‘bulls—’ mask mandate enforcement  —  Rep. Chip Roy confronted House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Thursday about a new Capitol Police bulletin that suggests congressional staffers and visitors could be arrested if they fail to heed the chamber's new mask mandate.

In an America of ‘suicide shifts’ and toxic work culture, Simone Biles speaks for all of us  —  There has never been a more fraught time to be mid-air than 2021.  I'm thinking, of course, about what aviation officials are calling an “off the charts,” roughly seven-fold increase in so-called …

How the Head of the N.R.A. and His Wife Secretly Shipped Their Elephant Trophies Home  —  The couple had their names removed from the shipment, and placed an order for the animals' feet to be turned into “stools,” an “umbrella stand,” and a “trash can.”  —  In the early fall of 2013 …

Gross Domestic Product, Second Quarter 2021 (Advance Estimate) and Annual Update  —  Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 6.5 percent in the second quarter of 2021 (table 1), according to the “advance” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Schumer says he has votes for moving $3.5 trillion package  —  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Thursday that all 50 Democrats will vote to move forward on the party's $3.5 trillion social spending proposal.  —  Schumer's remarks come after the Senate took the first step to advance …

Defrocked cardinal Theodore McCarrick charged with sexually assaulting teenager in 1970s  —  Defrocked former cardinal Theodore McCarrick was charged Wednesday with sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy during a wedding reception at Wellesley College in the 1970s, making him the highest-ranking …

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.

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 …

The MyPillow Guy Really Could Destroy Democracy  —  When you contemplate the end of democracy in America, what kind of person do you think will bring it about?  Maybe you picture a sinister billionaire in a bespoke suit, slipping brown envelopes to politicians.

Scarlett Johansson Sues Disney Over ‘Black Widow’ Streaming Release  —  Star alleges simultaneous release of the latest Marvel movie in theaters and on Disney+ service was a breach of contract  —  Black Widow has a new enemy: the Walt Disney Co.  —  Scarlett Johansson, star of the latest Marvel movie …

Pennsylvania Republican blasts election audit, rebukes fraud claims  —  A Republican lawmaker in Pennsylvania has come out against his colleagues' “forensic” audit of the 2020 election, becoming the party's first statewide official to publicly call for an end to the effort and warn of electoral consequences for the party.

The January 6 Select Committee Must Remove David Buckley as Staff Director  —  Media Contacts: Danielle Brian, Executive Director at the Project On Government Oversight (POGO), [email protected]; or Caitlin MacNeal, Director of Communications at POGO, [email protected]

Kamala's five-pronged strategy for Biden's border crisis and are you kidding me?  —  Kamala Harris released today what is being described as “a sweeping strategy” to address the root causes of the Biden border crisis.  In March Biden appointed her as his border czar and that was quickly amended …

Trump's diminished power is showing at a very bad time  —  Scott Farkas's downfall came when his facade of dangerous invincibility crumbled.  —  You remember Scott Farkas.  He was the bully in the movie “A Christmas Story,” who terrorized the protagonist and his friends as they walked to and from school.

At doggie daycare, a pandemic puppy spends his first day without mom and dad  —  After more than four months of interrupting mom's Zoom calls, pulling dad around the block and napping in earshot of his two-legged parents, Pluto was buckled up in the back seat of a car en route to his first solo adventure.

GOP Could Retake the House in 2022 Just by Gerrymandering Four Southern States  —  Before Georgia voted for Joe Biden, the biggest upset in recent state politics came when Democrat Lucy McBath became the first Black person to represent Newt Gingrich's former congressional district.

New NPR Ethics Policy: It's OK For Journalists To Demonstrate (Sometimes)  —  NPR rolled out a substantial update to its ethics policy earlier this month, expressly stating that journalists may participate in activities that advocate for “the freedom and dignity of human beings” on both social media and in real life.

A Capitol Rioter Says He's Working On A Video Game Featuring Donald Trump Shooting “Dem Zombies” And “Antifa”  —  WASHINGTON — In the weeks leading up to Capitol rioter Jack Griffith's Thursday guilty plea, he repeatedly posted on Facebook promoting a video game he says he's building …

Exxon sting ensnares think tanks with climate credentials  —  A view of the ExxonMobil Baton Rouge Refinery in Baton Rouge, La.  —  In May 2018, the House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing on the geopolitical implications of oil and gas production in the United States.

How Biden Can Profitably Piss Off Republicans  —  Promoting good policy can also compel the GOP to defend the indefensible.  —  President Biden gestures from the stairs of Air Force One, at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, July 28, 2021. … Since taking office, President Biden has been steadily …