U.S. Asks Taliban to Spare Its Embassy in Coming Fight for Kabul  —  The demand seeks to stave off an evacuation of the embassy by dangling aid to future Afghan governments — even one that includes the Taliban.  —  WASHINGTON — American negotiators are trying to extract assurances …

2020 Census Statistics Highlight Local Population Changes and Nation's Racial and Ethnic Diversity  —  U.S. Census Bureau Delivers Data for States to Begin Redistricting Efforts  —  AUG. 12, 2021 — The U.S. Census Bureau today released additional 2020 Census results showing an increase …

GOP Strategist Arrested for Underage Sex Trafficking  —  The feds just arrested wealthy Republican strategist and frequent Fox News guest Anton Lazzaro on five counts of underage sex trafficking.  —  Anton Lazzaro, a young Republican strategist and former congressional campaign manager in Minnesota …

The Supreme Court won't block Indiana University's vaccine mandate.  —  WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court allowed Indiana University on Thursday to require students to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.  —  Eight students had sued the university, saying the requirement violated …

Jamie Spears Agrees to Step Down as Britney's Conservator  —  EXCLUSIVE  — 41.3K … Jamie Spears has agreed it's time to step down as conservator of Britney's estate — he just said so in new legal docs — and he wants to work with the court on an orderly transition.

DeSantis sets plan for Regeneron monoclonal antibodies to fight COVID-19  —  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis rolled out a new state treatment plan to help fight COVID-19, announcing Thursday that the state will start dispensing Regeneron monoclonal antibodies through mobile clinics.

Rachel Maddow Seriously Considers Leaving MSNBC  —  As her contract draws to a close, sources told The Daily Beast, the MSNBC icon has been weighing taking her brand elsewhere. … Rachel Maddow has been MSNBC's most high-profile on-air personality for more than a decade …

Supreme Court Blocks Part of New York's Eviction Moratorium  —  The order applies only to a part of the law that bars the eviction of tenants who file a form saying they have suffered economic setbacks as result of the pandemic.  —  WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked part …

Why Only 27 Percent of Young Black New Yorkers Are Vaccinated  —  As the Delta variant courses through New York City, many young Black New Yorkers remain distrustful of the vaccine.  —  A construction site safety manager in Queens said that as a Black man, he was more worried about the prospect …

Rand Paul's wife bought Gilead shares in early days of Covid, the couple's only individual stock purchase in years  — Republican Sen. Rand Paul and his wife had not bought stock in an individual company in at least 10 years before Kelley Paul purchased Gilead Sciences shares in early 2020.

Lindell-apalooza melts down: MyPillow guy claims antifa sabotaged his “cyber symposium”  —  Mike Lindell produces no evidence of election fraud at South Dakota shindig; blames invisible antifa infiltrators  —  SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, on the final day of his …

Report: Matt Gaetz's Wingman Has Given the Feds “Years of Venmo Transactions” and “Thousands of Photos and Videos”  —  So that can't be good.  —  When we last checked in with Matt Gaetz, things were going less than swimmingly for the Florida congressman.  And in the interim, they haven't improved!

Covid Live Updates: Largest U.S. Teachers' Union Backs Vaccine Mandate  —  The support from the National Education Association follows that of the powerful American Federation of Teachers.  The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will require 25,000 of its health workers to be vaccinated.

Rumble, a YouTube rival popular with conservatives, will pay creators who ‘challenge the status quo’  —  The video site has exploded during the pandemic as a home for anti-vaccine misinformation and conservative complaints about Big Tech censorship  —  A fast-growing YouTube rival popular …

Texas children and children's hospitals are under siege from two viruses: RSV and COVID-19  —  More children are being treated in Texas hospitals for COVID-19 than ever before, and an unseasonable outbreak of respiratory syncytial virus is adding to the stress on children's hospitals.  —  Copy link

Donald's Plot Against America  —  I felt as though I had stumbled across a crime scene so violent that I couldn't process it, let alone synthesize the images in front of me.  The parts remained stubbornly separate, and there was no way to grasp the meaning of the whole.

DeSantis moderates school board salary threats  —  Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration signaled earlier this week that it would slash the pay of Florida school superintendents and school board members who defy the governor on school masks .  —  But now — as two Florida districts …

440 students in Palm Beach County in quarantine two days into school year, superintendent says  —  School started Tuesday in Palm Beach County and already 440 students have been instructed to quarantine after contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19.  —  Most of the 440 have not tested positive for COVID.

Four Broward County Educators Lose Battle With COVID-19 In Less Than 24 Hours  —  MIAMI (CBSMiami) - When it comes to picking its victims, COVID-19 does not discriminate.  —  The vicious virus, in less than one day this week, between Tuesday and Wednesday, claimed the lives …

Suspect in killing of Officer Ella French was out of jail despite being charged in April with serious hit-and-run while on probation for robbery  —  Authorities had sought to find him in violation of his probation, but a hearing that could have put him in jail was not scheduled until Aug. 10 — three days after French was killed.

Kentucky governor to school officials trying to skirt state's mask mandate: ‘Good luck’  —  Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) wished officials who were considering defying a recent statewide mask mandate in schools “good luck,” and vowed that the state would hold them accountable.

‘Everybody I Know Is Pissed Off’  —  The vaccinated, across party lines, have kind of had it with the unvaccinated, an array of new polls suggests.  —  While most state and national GOP leaders are focused on defending the rights of unvaccinated Americans, new polling shows that the large majority …

‘Karen’ podcast exposes media flaws  —  Over a year ago, in May 2020, New Yorker Amy Cooper briefly became the most hated woman in America — a living symbol of racism — after a viral video showed her making a 911 call in Central Park and frantically shouting that she was being threatened by “an African-American man.”

The March of the Karens  —  The name has come to represent an entitled and belligerent white woman.  But what does this narrative say — and elide — about racism and sexism today?  —  By Ligaya MishanArtwork by Carmen Winant  —  WORDS ARE HAUNTED things.

‘Dangerous:’ How GOP is turning Jan. 6 rioters into martyrs  —  “Think about that message: If you go and die for the cause, the former president will promote you as a great patriot.  All in the service of Donald Trump's self-centered big lie,” says Mehdi Hasan on GOP turning Capitol rioter Ashli Babbitt into a martyr.

Tallahassee hospital confirms first childhood COVID-19 death amid push for masks in schools … Renzo Downey  —  Renzo Downey covers state government for Florida Politics.  After graduating from Northwestern University in 2019, Renzo began his reporting career in the Lone Star State …

Ella Emhoff Is a Model Second Daughter  —  Ella Emhoff, daughter of second gentleman Doug Emhoff and stepdaughter of Vice President Kamala Harris, caught the nation's attention thanks to her now infamous Miu Miu inauguration coat and a moment of unplanned eyebrow wiggling toward Mike Pence.

Newberg school board votes to ban BLM, Pride flags and signs in district buildings  —  The board will also talk about re-examining Oregon's Every Student Belongs policy.  —  NEWBERG, Ore. — Nearly 5,000 kids attend Newberg-area schools.  As one parent points out, not all of them feel safe.