United Airlines to Require All U.S. Employees to Get Covid-19 Vaccines  —  The airline is the first U.S. carrier to mandate vaccines for all employees  —  United Airlines will require its U.S. employees to be vaccinated this fall, the first major airline to take this step as the Delta variant drives …

Washington's hottest club is Joe Manchin's houseboat  —  Generally speaking, the first rule of visiting Joe Manchin III's houseboat is don't talk about Joe Manchin's houseboat.  —  This week, however, when Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) tested positive for the coronavirus after attending …

Houston ISD to consider mask mandate next week, superintendent says  —  Houston ISD Superintendent Millard House II said Thursday he plans to bring a mask mandate for ratification to the district's board meeting next week, setting the stage for the state's largest district to potentially buck …

'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 …

How Cuomo and His Team Retaliated Against His Accusers  —  Governor Cuomo relied on a shrinking cadre of trusted advisers to guide strategy over sexual harassment allegations and to hit back at the women who accused him.  —  The governor's inner circle was in a frenzy …

Employers Added 943,000 Jobs in July, Unemployment Rate Fell to 5.4%  —  Robust job growth last month reflects a strong labor market ahead of the Delta variant threat  —  Employers added jobs at the best pace in nearly a year in July and the unemployment rate fell sharply …

Tucker Carlson's Self-Loathing International Tourism  —  Tucker Carlson is spending a week in Budapest in order to annoy Americans and everybody else who believes in the ideals of America: the rule of law, a free press, free elections, the conviction that democracy is preferable to autocracy.

Biden's Ratings Slip, but It's More Than Just Delta Fears  —  Like Donald Trump before him, President Biden didn't get much of a political honeymoon.  Even before he finished his first full week of work at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, an early February Gallup poll found views of the former Vice President …

House Democrats call on Biden to close Guantánamo ‘once and for all’  —  Dozens of House Democrats are pushing President Biden to “immediately” shrink the population being held at the Guantánamo Bay detention facility and “finally” shutter the prison.

New York Magazine Writer Baffled by Support for the Rule of Law  —  At New York magazine, Ed Kilgore has penned a confession: He has no principles, and he doesn't understand people who do.  —  Kilgore is absolutely baffled that, in his words, “conservatives are freaking out about the eviction moratorium …

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.

Felt Alive Again  —  There was a glorious yet fleeting moment this summer, between waves, when the Covid case count was at its lowest since the beginning of the pandemic.  Before the Delta variant began heightening anxieties and led to increased calls for a return to wearing masks, the city felt, shockingly, almost normal.

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.

The Backstory: My brother is one of millions who won't get the COVID-19 vaccine.  I asked why.  Here are his reasons, my responses.  —  I'm USA TODAY editor-in-chief Nicole Carroll, and this is The Backstory, insights into our biggest stories of the week.  If you'd like to get The Backstory in your inbox every week, sign up here.

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.

The ‘disinformation’ deception  —  “We're flagging problematic posts for Facebook that spread disinformation,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, almost matter-of-factly, in July.  The same week, Biden communications director Kate Bedingfield insisted that social media companies …

CRT Roundup: Fairfax County Schools Sent Second Graders Video Vilifying Cops: ‘I Feel Safe When There Are No Police’  —  Over the last year, teachers and administrators nationwide have weaponized K-12 education, injecting progressive politics into classrooms, and indoctrinating students …

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 …

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 …

MyPillow magnate Mike Lindell's latest election conspiracy theory is his most bizarre yet  —  (CNN)Since the presidential election, Christina Jensen says she's been stopped on the street several times by acquaintances who wanted to share troubling news: hackers from Beijing had switched nearly 24,000 votes …

Pressure Mounting To Launch ‘McMafia Law’ Probe Into Trump's Scottish Golf Courses  —  Manhattan district attorney's charges against the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer add fuel to fight to reveal cash sources for foreign golf courses.  —  Lawyers for a global activist organization …

How Trump stiff-armed Congress — and gaslighted the courts — to build his wall  —  Pentagon records obtained by POLITICO paint the clearest picture yet of how far the Trump administration went to get around Congress and speed the diversion of military construction funds to build its border wall in 2019.