Scoop: Dem fundraising platform ActBlue boots Cuomo  —  The Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue has removed a donation page that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's campaign committee used to solicit contributions, the company confirmed to Axios.  —  Driving the news: ActBlue is the lifeblood of grassroots Democratic fundraising.

‘It was riot and mayhem’: Biden, honoring police, warns against distorting Capitol assault  —  President Biden signed legislation Thursday to award the Congressional Gold Medal to police who defended the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection, taking the opportunity to mount …

Exclusive: Going Down The ‘Big Lie’ Rabbit Hole With Former President Trump  —  The Uprising obtained the former president's purported evidence of election fraud.  Trump's statement reveals the origins of his conspiracy theories and how key conservative allies fuel them.

Belarus: IOC expels two coaches over Krystina Timanovskaya case  —  Two Belarusian coaches have lost their Olympic accreditations after allegedly attempting to force an athlete to leave the games in Tokyo.  —  The International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed that Artur Shimak and Yury Maisevich had left the Olympic Village.

Matt Gaetz denies sex crimes and attacks Fox News in desperate hourlong YouTube video  —  Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) targeted Fox News this week in the premiere episode of his Firebrand YouTube program.  —  Earlier this year, Gaetz disappeared from Fox News broadcasts after he made an appearance …

It is time for Congress to act again to protect the right to vote  —  Merrick B. Garland is attorney general of the United States.  —  Our society is shaped not only by the rights it declares but also by its willingness to protect and enforce those rights.  Nowhere is this clearer than in the area of voting rights.

Rudy Giuliani Admitted He Lied About Feds Slipping Him Info Ahead of 2016 Election, Watchdog Finds  —  The 2016 election was upended just as Giuliani went on the radio and claimed “active agents” had shared “rumors” about the Hillary Clinton email probe.  —  Rudy Giuliani has admitted …

Letter from Acting Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection Samuel Levine to Facebook  —  Today, Acting Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection Samuel Levine sent the following letter to Mark Zuckerberg concerning Facebook's misleading claims regarding the company's consent decree with the FTC:

Nancy Pelosi's Surprise Flip on Student Debt Cancellation Came After Urging From Billionaire Power Couple … The drive to persuade President Joe Biden to cancel student debt took a major hit last week when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stunned Congress with a surprise statement in opposition.

‘All of them’: Tennessee health chief says children's hospitals will fill up as the delta variant surges  —  Natalie Allison Brett KelmanNashville Tennessean  —  The delta variant of the coronavirus is ravaging hospitals in Tennessee, and pediatric wings won't escape the crisis, the state's health chief said Thursday.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka dead at 72  —  Richard Trumka, president of the powerful AFL-CIO labor organization, has died unexpectedly, the federation announced Thursday.  —  Trumka, 72, had served as president of the AFL-CIO, which represents more than 12.5 million workers …

'We're Going Back To The Capitol': Ex Trump Campaign Official Announces ‘Huge’ Protest  —  “We're going to push back on the phony narrative that there was an insurrection,” Matt Braynard told former White House strategist Steve Bannon.  —  The former data chief for Donald Trump's 2016 campaign …

Biden administration considers withholding funds and other measures to spur vaccinations  —  The Biden administration is considering using federal regulatory powers and the threat of withholding federal funds from institutions to push more Americans to get vaccinated — a huge potential shift …

More than 800 unaccompanied kids stopped at southern border in single day  —  US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) stopped a whopping 834 unaccompanied minors at the US-Mexico border Wednesday, the most since the Biden administration began releasing a daily tally of apprehensions of children earlier this year.

A critical ocean system may be heading for collapse due to climate change, study finds  —  ‘The consequences of a collapse would likely be far-reaching.’  —  Human-caused warming has led to an “almost complete loss of stability” in the system that drives Atlantic Ocean currents …

Americans On COVID-19 Vaccine Requirements: Yes For Health Care Workers, No For Restaurant Customers, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Majority Support Masking Up Indoors And At Schools  — mail_outline  —  As both the government and the private sector grapple …

It's been Meghan McCain's job to make you mad.  What happens when she leaves ‘The View’?  —  Meghan McCain is leaving her co-hosting gig on “The View” on Aug. 6.  —  McCain is a polarizing figure, and seems to enjoy being one, complaining about the media while courting their attention.

Reporter Removed From Kevin McCarthy Press Conference After 1/6 Commission Question: Video  —  A reporter was allegedly “dragged” by four police officers from a press conference on Thursday after asking Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy why he opposed a January 6th commission.

Novavax Delays Seeking U.S. Regulatory Approval for Covid-19 Vaccine  —  The shot, which can be stored at normal refrigerator temperatures, could provide much-needed boost to global vaccination efforts  —  Novavax Inc. said it would delay seeking U.S. emergency authorization …

Washington is still shying away from punishing Putin's closest cronies.  Why?  —  MOSCOW — Few topics rattle the Kremlin quite as much as Western sanctions targeting its officials and oligarchs.  For all its nationalistic posturing, the regime of Vladimir Putin — as corrupt as it is authoritarian …

Samantha Power has long championed humanitarian intervention.  Ethiopia's crisis is putting her to the test.  —  NAIROBI — On the day Samantha Power landed in Ethiopia this week, its civil war — now escalating and spreading beyond the northern region of Tigray — entered its 10th month.

‘Dark Money’ Is Funding The 2020 Election Challenge — And Could Challenge 2024  —  TERRY GROSS, HOST:  —  This is FRESH AIR.  I'm Terry Gross.  “The Big Money Behind The Big Lie” is the title of my guest Jane Mayer's new article in The New Yorker.  The Big Lie is, of course, that Donald Trump really won the election.

North Korean defector says she was robbed by 3 black women, accused of being racist  —  A North Korean defector claims she was mugged by three black women outside Chicago's Saks Fifth Avenue store last year - but white bystanders accused her of being racist when she tried to call police.

Shots Fired: A Reporter Visits Vermont's First Indoor Gun Range  —  I'm not a gun guy.  I haven't handled a firearm since I squeezed off a few rounds from an old .22 rifle at summer camp more than 35 years ago.  —  Nor have I felt the impulse to own a gun for personal protection, whether due to privilege or delusion or both.

Jimmy Graham says he was ‘basically forced’ to get COVID-19 vaccine  —  Jimmy Graham is vaccinated against COVID-19 - but he doesn't seem happy about it.  —  “Was basically forced into getting the vaccine.  Now I'm just confused @NFLPA,” the five-time Pro Bowler and Bears tight end tweeted Thursday …

Business Groups Call on Biden to Restart Trade Talks With China  —  U.S. chamber, others say tariffs on Chinese imports are a drag on U.S. economy  —  WASHINGTON—Nearly three dozen of the nation's most influential business groups—representing retailers, chip makers, farmers and others …