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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

'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 …

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 …

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.

California has enough Democrats to save Newsom — if he can persuade them to vote  —  OAKLAND, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom's political future now hinges on turning out enough Democratic voters in California to counteract surging Republican enthusiasm.  —  Newsom and his union allies …

Call the COVID Hysteria What It Is  —  There's a reason why you might be noticing the tactics and effects of psychological torture in your everyday life.  —  Do you know what one of the most common psychological torture tactics is?  Isolation.  —  Other common tactics of psychological torture …

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.

U.S. FTC says Facebook misused privacy decree to shut down ad research  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission criticized Facebook Inc on Thursday for making “misleading claims” to explain why it had disabled the accounts of researchers studying political ads on the social media platform.

Glenn Kessler's hit-piece-in-progress on Christopher Rufo blew up in his face  —  I really don't dislike Glenn Kessler's work most of the time.  He's certainly head-and-shoulders above some of the other fact-checkers out there and not averse to taking on Democrats as well as Republicans.

'We're back to panicking': Moms are hit hardest with camps, day cares and schools closing again  —  Parents of children under 12 are once again struggling to juggle work and child care.  There's concern about another mass resignation of moms.  —  Sarah Mordecai just got the phone call that no parent wants …

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 …

Lincoln Project in Ruins: Disgraced Super PAC Abandons Headquarters (Photos)  —  The Lincoln Project, a Democratic-aligned super PAC widely loathed for enabling the sexual exploitation of young men, has abandoned its once-celebrated headquarters in Park City, Utah.

The GOP's Bad Infrastructure Deal  —  The bill is filled with financial gimmicks, waste and expansions of Washington power.  —  It isn't just the Biden administration that is keen to redefine the term “infrastructure.”  A growing number of Republican senators are getting in on the act, and more fool the party.

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.

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.

Gov. Cuomo accuser files criminal complaint with Albany Sheriff's Office  —  A former assistant to Gov. Andrew Cuomo who accused him of groping her while they took a selfie together has filed a criminal complaint against him with the Albany County Sheriff's Office, The Post has learned.

The Struggle to Vaccinate Springfield, Missouri  —  COVID cases continue to rise, but many residents remain reluctant to get the vaccine.  —  On February 18th, deep in a deadly covid-19 winter at Cox Medical Center South, in Springfield, Missouri, the last patient was moved from the treatment ward …

Judge rejects billionaire Phil Anschutz's tax lawsuit, reveals how much money he wanted  —  The court rejected the argument that changes in tax law from the pandemic response entitled Anschutz and his wife to a refund  —  A Denver District Court judge Thursday dismissed a lawsuit filed …