Gov. Ron DeSantis' Office: State Education Board Could Withhold Salaries Of Superintendents, School Board Members Who Implement Mask Mandates  —  TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami) - The Office of Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that the Florida Board of Education could withhold the salaries of superintendents …

Vaccination Status Has Americans Picking Sides  —  Vaccination status is splitting up groups of close friends and families; ‘it could just turn into a really nasty battle’  —  Weeks of rising Covid-19 cases have hardened divisions within families, communities and friend groups over which members …

CNN must investigate Chris Cuomo  —  Brian Stelter, host of CNN's “Reliable Sources,” attempted a demonstration of journalistic independence on his Sunday program.  In light of last week's report from New York's attorney general documenting Democratic Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's alleged sexual harassment …

Gov. Greg Abbott asks Texas hospitals to delay nonessential procedures as COVID-19 patients strain capacity  —  Abbott's request was one of several steps to address rising coronavirus case numbers and hospitalizations.  He did not back down from his refusal to allow local mask mandates.  —  Copy link

Pentagon to require COVID vaccine for all troops by Sept. 15  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon will require members of the U.S. military to get the COVID-19 vaccine by Sept. 15, according to a memo obtained by The Associated Press.  That deadline could be pushed up if the vaccine receives final FDA approval …

The Delta Variant Is Sending More Children to the Hospital.  Are They Sicker, Too?  —  It is not yet clear whether the Delta variant causes more severe disease in children, but its high level of infectiousness is causing a surge of pediatric Covid-19 cases.

Voting Machine Tampering Is Coming From Inside The MAGA House  —  Colorado County Clerk Tina Peters May Have Committed The Very Crime She Accused The Left Of Committing  —  “The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.”  - Hal Holbrook

Two more women contacted AG's Office with allegations against Gov. Cuomo  —  Two more women approached the state Attorney General's Office with allegations against Gov. Andrew Cuomo after Attorney General Letitia James released her sexual harassment report against him last week, The Post has learned.

Prince Andrew sued in federal court for alleged sexual abuse  —  The lawsuit comes almost two years to the day that Epstein died in jail.  —  An alleged victim of deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein filed a lawsuit against Prince Andrew of Britain on Monday, accusing the embattled 61-year-old royal …

Austin judge signs order to block arrests of Democrats who refuse to return to Texas Capitol for special session  —  A state district judge has granted a temporary restraining order blocking the arrest of House Democrats who have broken quorum, paving the way for those who remain outside …

I Need To Stop Scrolling  —  The diminishing returns of constant covid news … EDITOR'S NOTE: I left an editing note to myself in bold in the original draft of this newsletter at the end of the first paragraph.  Because I forgot to address it before I scheduled this piece to publish …

Press Secretary Jen Psaki is Good At Mending Fences.  Just Don't Call Her Nice.  —  It's a summer Friday.  President Biden is at his Delaware beach house, where he delivered a brief speech about that morning's encouraging jobs numbers.  Washington, D.C., is quiet—some might say eerily so.

D.C. Gyms Want To Require Vaccination Instead of Masks.  The City Said No.  —  Last week, Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser reinstated a citywide mask mandate for all indoor spaces, even though the city's recent uptick in COVID-19 cases has not yet produced a rash of deaths or hospitalizations …

Dallas school district defies governor's ban and announces a mask mandate.  —  The Dallas Independent School District said on Monday that everyone — students, employees and visitors — must wear a mask while on school property, starting Tuesday.  —  The mandate, which officials said was temporary …

Dr. Tony Fauci On Masks At School For K-3rd Grade; CDC Credibility; The “Omega” Variant  —  Dr. Tony Fauci joined me Monday morning:  —  Audio:  —  08-09hhs-fauci  —  Transcript:  —  HH: So pleased to welcome back Dr. Fauci.  Good morning, Dr. Fauci.  Welcome back to the Hugh Hewitt Show...Don't hear you, Dr. Hello?

Here's What We Know About California's “Print-at-Home Ballot” Recall Election Scheme  —  The story was all over social media this weekend: Crazy California Democrats have come up with another way to cheat on elections, this time by allowing every voter to vote from the “comfort of their own home” …

Judge asks why Capitol rioters are paying just $1.5 million for attack, while U.S. taxpayers will pay more than $500 million  —  A federal judge on Monday questioned why U.S. prosecutors are asking Capitol riot defendants to pay only $1.5 million in restitution while American taxpayers …

Florida church reeling after six members die within 10 days amid spike in cases  —  For George L. Davis, a bishop at Impact Church in Jacksonville, getting vaccinated against the coronavirus was an act of faith.  He says that he believes in divine creation, and that the shot is a miracle …

After Infrastructure Surrender, Republicans Deserve to Lose  —  Republicans have helped put President Biden several steps closer to passing his top legislative priority in voting multiple times to advance an unnecessary and costly infrastructure bill that will pave the way for Democrats to pass their multi-trillion dollar social agenda.

Infrastructure Is Having A Moment In Washington.  High-Speed Rail Is Not.  —  “There's no other country that builds highways and airways and never even considers high-speed rail as an option,” one rail advocate lamented.  —  The largest federal investment in the nation's infrastructure …

‘Pro-Israel’ Meets neo-Nazi: Brazil's Bolsonaro Unveils His New Best Friends on the German Far Right  —  The Brazilian president's proximity to neo-Nazi groups is nothing new.  But Jair Bolsonaro's brazen welcome for the German AfD party last month still sent shockwaves through the Jewish community, media and civil society.

The US is sending B-52s and AC-130 gunships back in Afghanistan to slow its impending collapse  —  The security situation in Afghanistan is so bad that the U.S. Air Force has brought out some of its biggest guns in an attempt to stop the Taliban's blitzkrieg throughout the country.

Dems double-dare a dug-in McConnell on debt  —  What happens when a cataclysmic deadline hits an immovable object?  Congress is about to find out when a looming credit crisis meets Mitch McConnell.  —  With the threat of default on the nation's $28 trillion debt awaiting this fall …

What Bobby McIlvaine Left Behind  —  When Bobby McIlvaine died on September 11, 2001, his desk at home was a study in plate tectonics, coated in shifting piles of leather-bound diaries and yellow legal pads.  He'd kept the diaries since he was a teenager, and they were filled with the usual diary things …