Trump Pressed Justice Dept. to Declare Election Results Corrupt, Notes Show  —  “Leave the rest to me” and to congressional allies, the former president is said to have told top law enforcement officials.  —  WASHINGTON — President Donald J. Trump pressed top Justice Department officials late …

Breakthrough Covid cases: At least 125,000 fully vaccinated Americans have tested positive  —  WASHINGTON — At least 125,000 fully vaccinated Americans have tested positive for Covid and 1,400 of those have died, according to data collected by NBC News.  —  The 125,682 “breakthrough” …

Texas just passed New York in COVID-19 deaths, despite once trailing by 29,000.  Here's how.  —  Texas has passed New York to become the state with the second-most COVID-19 deaths, a feat experts say was driven by an inability to control transmission of the virus here.

Some Covid Vaccine Hesitant Now Express Regret  —  People who once rejected the vaccine or simply waited too long are now grappling with the consequences, often in raw, public ways.  —  PROVO, Utah — As Mindy Greene spent another day in the Covid intensive care unit, listening …

Biden appoints Trump-critic Khizr Khan to religious freedom commission  —  President Biden announced Friday that he will appoint Gold Star father Khizr Khan, who famously criticized former President Trump during the 2016 campaign, to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Fact check: Is Kevin McCarthy a ‘moron’?  —  After Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy this week decried the House's new face mask requirement, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) replied with a considered response: “He's such a moron.”  —  Mean!  But if the dunce cap fits ...

Justice Department says Trump's tax returns should be released  —  The Justice Department on Friday said the Treasury Department must turn over former President Trump's long-sought tax returns to the Democratic-led House Ways and Means Committee.  —  In a memo from the Justice Department's Office …

Let It Rip  —  How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Live With The Virus  —  It started with a text. … He asked me to be on call if he needed something.  A day later, he wrote, “Felt cruddy last night — chills, a little sweats, but slept 10 - 11 hours and slightly better so far today.”

Governor DeSantis: Florida Parents Are Free to Choose  —  Citing Parents' Bill of Rights, DeSantis protects right of parents to decide question of masks in schools for their children  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis was joined by Florida parents, students …

Wisconsin Republican expands 2020 election investigation  —  MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The highest ranking Republican in the Wisconsin Assembly said Friday that he was expanding a probe into the 2020 presidential election, saying it will take more investigators and time than originally planned.

‘Covid With a Vengeance’ Consumes U.S. Politics  —  Rising case counts and stagnant vaccination rates could prove equally frustrating for President Biden and the G.O.P., making it impossible to shift the public's attention to other priorities.  —  The American political system has come down with a case of long Covid.

Mike Lindell is now hoping Supreme Court allows a do-over election: 'Maybe that's a thing'  —  On the far-right Brandon Howse Live radio program on Friday, MyPillow CEO and conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell suggested that perhaps the Supreme Court will allow a do-over of the election without electronic voting machines.

What Philadelphia Reveals About America's Homicide Surge  —  ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.  Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published.  —  Reported with Miles Bryan and Jillian Weinberger as part of a collaboration for Vox's “Today, Explained” podcast.

Everyone presumes a backlash is coming for the Democrats.  The electorate has changed, though  —  Consider “law and order.”  —  2 hr ago  —  There had been a question of whether the Republicans were going to stick with the losing president.  That question seems settled now.

United States Seizes Oil Tanker Used to Violate Sanctions Against North Korea  —  A New York federal court today entered a judgment of forfeiture regarding the M/T Courageous, a 2,734-ton oil-products tanker used to make illicit deliveries of petroleum products through ship-to-ship transfers …

Statement of President Joe Biden on the Arrival of the First Flight of Operation Allies Refuge  —  Today is an important milestone as we continue to fulfill our promise to the thousands of Afghan nationals who served shoulder-to-shoulder with American troops and diplomats over the last 20 years in Afghanistan.

Ruth Pearl, seeker of justice for her murdered journalist son, Daniel, dies at 85  —  The premonition came to Ruth Pearl in her sleep.  In her dream, her son, Daniel Pearl, was in danger.  When she awoke, she rushed to the computer and implored him in an email to respond right away.

CDC Scaled Back Hunt for Breakthrough Cases Just as the Delta Variant Grew​​​​ ​​  —  Bloomberg identified more than 100,000 vaccine breakthroughs  —  The U.S. agency leading the fight against Covid-19 gave up a crucial surveillance tool tracking …

Require the vaccine.  It's time to stop coddling the reckless.  —  Pay people to get vaccinated, no matter whether that is unfair to those who didn't receive checks for jabs.  Require them to do so as a condition of going to work or enrolling in school.  Do whatever it takes — and …

Vaccine mandates are popular  —  Nearly two-thirds of Americans say they'd support federal, state or local governments requiring everyone to get a coronavirus vaccine, according to a new survey conducted by The COVID States Project.  —  Why it matters: This kind of blanket mandate hasn't even been proposed, at any level of government.

Covid in Sydney: Military deployed to help enforce lockdown  —  Australia has deployed hundreds of soldiers to Sydney to help enforce a Covid lockdown.  —  A Delta outbreak which began in June has produced nearly 3,000 infections and led to nine deaths.  —  Australian Defence Force soldiers …

GOP Rep. Madison Cawthorn Tried to Get on a Plane With a Glock  —  A SIMPLE MISTAKE  —  Freshman Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) tried to bring a Glock 9mm handgun through airport security in Asheville, North Carolina, in February, the Raleigh News & Observer reported.