DJ posts stealth pics of Obama's ‘epic’ birthday party — before being forced to delete them  —  A performer at former President Barack Obama's birthday party managed to take stealth pictures of the opulent Martha's Vineyard event and share them with Instagram followers.

Executive assistant who accused Cuomo of groping speaks publicly for the first time: “The governor needs to be held accountable”  —  An executive assistant to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo — in her first public comments since accusing Cuomo of sexual harassment — told “CBS This Morning” …

Trump's coup attempt grows even more worrisome as new details emerge  —  What happened on Jan. 6 was horrifying: an attempted coup, inflamed by social media, incited by the defeated president and televised in real time.  What happened before Jan. 6, we are coming to learn, was equally horrifying …

Too many people are dying right now.  —  A few weeks ago, in a back-of-the-envelope calculation during an interview with Eric Topol of Scripps, I suggested that because of widespread vaccination of the most vulnerable elderly, we may have reduced overall mortality risk in the country by 90 percent.

COVID-19 cases among kids overwhelming Florida hospitals: doc  —  Pediatric hospitals in Florida have become “completely overwhelmed” with young patients battling COVID-19 amid the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant, a doctor says.  —  The grim development comes as Florida …

‘This Is Really Scary’: Kids Struggle With Long Covid  —  Lingering physical, mental and neurological symptoms are affecting children as well as adults, including many who had mild reactions to the initial coronavirus infection.  —  Will Grogan stared blankly at his ninth-grade biology classwork.

For first time, average pay for supermarket and restaurant workers tops $15 an hour  —  $15 an hour is suddenly the rule, not the exception, for U.S. workers.  It's a major shift from pre-pandemic norms.  —  The U.S. labor market hit a new milestone recently: For the first time …

The Taliban seize Kunduz, a major city in northern Afghanistan.  —  KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban seized the city of Kunduz in northern Afghanistan on Sunday, officials said.  It is the first major city to be overtaken by the insurgents since they began their sweeping military offensive in May.

‘Lynchings in Mississippi never stopped’  —  JACKSON, Miss. — Since 2000, there have been at least eight suspected lynchings of Black men and teenagers in Mississippi, according to court records and police reports.  —  “The last recorded lynching in the United States was in 1981,” …

Trump Spox Attacks Fox News for Editing Election Lie Out of Trump Interview With Dan Bongino on YouTube  —  Trump spokeswoman Liz Harrington went on the attack against Fox News after finding that they edited former President Donald Trump's unsubstantiated election claims out of an interview he gave to the network.

Andrew Sullivan, No One's Ally, Tells It as He Sees It … When you purchase an independently reviewed book through our site, we earn an affiliate commission.  —  OUT ON A LIMB  —  Selected Writing, 1989-2021  —  It's truly hard to provide a short description of “Out on a Limb,” Andrew Sullivan's newest book.

The rule of law is pushing back against Trump's big lie  —  Opinion by Norman Eisen and Joanna Lydgate  —  Norman Eisen, a former ambassador to the Czech Republic and former President Barack Obama's “ethics czar,” was special impeachment counsel to House Judiciary Committee in 2019-2020.

The Case Against Masks for Children  —  It's abusive to force kids who struggle with them to sacrifice for the sake of unvaccinated adults.  —  Do masks reduce Covid transmission in children?  Believe it or not, we could find only a single retrospective study on the question, and its results were inconclusive.

What some progressive activists fail to realize: Democrats like their party  —  (CNN)Mainstream Democrats have been winning a lot of big primaries in 2021.  Their latest win came on Tuesday in the primary for Ohio's 11th Congressional District special election: local legislator …

Criminal-Justice Reformers Chose the Wrong Slogan  —  “Defund the Police” is a disaster.  Under-policing is a form of oppression too. … after george floyd's murder, when sweeping criminal-justice reforms seemed more possible than ever, many Black Lives Matter activists and their allies settled …

A Bosnian woman walks among gravestones at the Potocari Memorial Center to victims of the Bosnian genocide near SrebrenicaCredit: AP Photo/Amel Emric  —  The most cynical form of genocide denial has to be the use of Jews as a means to downplay war crimes.  —  But that's exactly what Serb ethnonationalist politicians are doing.

In 10 days, 6 members of Jacksonville church die from COVID-19, pastor says  —  Pastor: Four members who died were under the age of 35, all of them healthy  —  JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A Jacksonville church pastor said in the last 10 days, six of his church members have died from COVID-19 …

The U.S. edges China for the most gold medals.  —  The United States has won the most medals at the Tokyo Olympics and will be the only country to take home more than 100.  But on the last day of competition, the race for the most gold medals was a tight contest between the United States and China.

Neighbors' Deaths From Covid-19 Have an Arkansas Town Reassessing Vaccines  —  With many still deeply skeptical of the vaccines, community leaders are trying everything to persuade a reluctant populace to take them  —  GREENWOOD, Arkansas—Michael Lejong fully intended to get vaccinated for Covid-19 …

California's crazy politics need a fix  —  There's crazy stuff in American politics — like the myth of voter fraud... and the California vote to recall a governor who was elected in a landslide.  —  On Sept. 14 Californians will decide the fate of Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez does not rule out 2022 challenge to Chuck Schumer  —  (CNN)New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez does not know what her political future holds — and that includes whether she might challenge Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in a 2022 primary.