‘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 …

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.

Trump Is Planning a Much More Respectable Coup Next Time  —  In recent weeks, we've gotten an even greater glimpse into Donald Trump's efforts to discredit and overturn the results of the 2020 election.  From the clownish ongoing audit in Arizona to the revelation of Jeffrey Clark's insane …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

‘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.

'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 …

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.

Justice Department Opens Probe Into Phoenix Police Department  —  Civil-rights investigation to focus on police practices in the Arizona city, including possible violations of rights of homeless people  —  WASHINGTON—The Justice Department launched a broad civil-rights investigation …

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 …

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 …

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.

GOP fears grow over Herschel Walker as party leaders seek other candidates in Georgia Senate race  —  (CNN)Republicans from Georgia to Washington, DC, are searching for a viable candidate to mount a Senate bid in the Peach State next year, fearing that former President Donald Trump's choice …

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 …

False Election Audit Claims Surge on Facebook  —  Facebook failed to stem the flow of election conspiracies that led to the Capitol riot.  Now, it's failing again with misinformation about Arizona's election ‘audit.’  —  Facebook is allowing false claims about the election “audit” …

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 …

Florida's hospitals set a bleak pandemic record  —  The Delta variant is putting new pressure on US states with the lowest vaccination rates  —  Hospitals in Florida are struggling with more Covid-19 patients than at any point in the pandemic, as the fast spreading Delta variant strains US states …

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.