Hunted by the Taliban, US-Allied Afghan Forces Are in Hiding  —  The Afghan forces disintegrated ahead of the Taliban's rapid advance.  Now, the militants are searching for thousands of Afghan soldiers and security officials.  —  Columns of Afghan soldiers in armored vehicles and pickup trucks sped through the desert to reach Iran.

Confidential State Department Cable in July Warned of Afghanistan's Collapse  —  About two dozen State Department officials in Kabul sent an internal memo to Secretary of State Antony Blinken  —  WASHINGTON — About two dozen State Department officials serving at the embassy in Kabul sent …

Elder's ex-fiancee said he brandished a gun at her  —  PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — Alexandra Datig, the former fiancee and longtime radio producer for California GOP gubernatorial candidate Larry Elder, says she broke off an 18-month engagement with the conservative talk show host in 2015 …

If North Texas runs out of ICU hospital beds, doctors can consider a patient's vaccination status  —  This would be a big change in health care, but doctors have yet to announce it.  So The Watchdog does it for them.  —  North Texas doctors have quietly developed a plan that seeks to prepare …

Wicker Office Statement on COVID-19 Diagnosis  —  WASHINGTON - The Office of Senator Roger F. Wicker Communications Director Phillip Waller today issued a statement after Senator Roger F. Wicker tested positive for COVID-19:  —  “Senator Wicker tested positive this morning for the COVID-19 virus …

Ron DeSantis has ‘made a monumental mess of masking in public schools’ |  Column  —  Several school districts are doing the right thing despite the governor's threats, writes columnist Mac Stipanovich.  —  Ron DeSantis is a governor uninterested in actually governing …

Greenville County GOP leader Pressley Stutts dies from COVID-19  —  Greenville County Republican Party leader Pressley Stutts died Thursday morning after battling COVID-19 for nearly a month.  —  Stutts death was confirmed by Dan Harvell, who represents the Anderson County Republican Party …

After a nearly six-week exodus over GOP voting bill, enough Democrats return to Texas House to resume work  —  Democrat Reps. Garnet Coleman, Armando Walle and Ana Hernandez were the latest to rejoin the House on Thursday, narrowly clinching a quorum.  —  Copy link

OnlyFans to Block Sexually Explicit Videos Starting in October  —  OnlyFans is getting out of the pornography business.  —  The company will prohibit users from posting any sexually explicit conduct, starting in October.  Creators will still be allowed to post nude photos and videos …

Police identify suspect who surrendered after claiming to have a bomb near US Capitol  —  (CNN)A suspect who claimed to have an explosive device in a truck near the US Capitol has surrendered to authorities and is in custody, US Capitol Police said Thursday.  —  Police have identified the suspect as 49-year-old Floyd Ray Roseberry.

Republican Rep. Diana Harshbarger failed to properly disclose more than 700 stock trades worth as much as $10.9 million in violation of federal transparency law  — Harshbarger disclosed hundreds of stock trades weeks or months after a federal deadline.  — The tardy trades could invite an ethics investigation and fine.

Almost all eligible Georgians are registered to vote, data shows  —  Federal election report: 95% of voting-age Georgians registered  —  Georgia now has one of the highest voter registration rates in the nation, with 95% of citizens over 18 years old signed up to vote, according to federal election data released this week.

Something Is Wrong with the President  —  What's Going On with President Biden?  —  After making no public appearances for four days — during a major foreign crisis — President Biden read a 20-minute speech off a teleprompter on Monday afternoon and took no questions.  He immediately returned to Camp David.

Are You Ready for Sentient Disney Robots?  —  Some of the animatronics at Disney's parks have been doing their herky-jerky thing since the Nixon administration.  The company knows that nostalgia won't cut it with today's children.  —  GLENDALE, Calif. — I was en route to meet Groot.

Taliban responsible for brutal massacre of Hazara men - new investigation  —  Taliban fighters massacred nine ethnic Hazara men after taking control of Afghanistan's Ghazni province last month, Amnesty International said today.  —  On-the-ground researchers spoke to eyewitnesses …

What I Learned While Eavesdropping on the Taliban  —  When people ask me what I did in Afghanistan, I tell them that I hung out in planes and listened to the Taliban.  My job was to provide “threat warning” to allied forces, and so I spent most of my time trying to discern the Taliban's plans.

Appeals court orders Arizona Senate audit records released  —  PHOENIX (AP) — An appeals court on Thursday rejected an effort by the Arizona Senate to keep secret records of its ongoing review of the 2020 election in Maricopa County that are in the possession of the contractors conducting the recount.

Pa. GOP lawmaker says the cause for a forensic election investigation is ‘weakened and diminished’  —  'We're not in a very good spot right now,' Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin, said Thursday  —  (*This story was updated at 12:48 p.m. on Thursday, 8/19/21, to note that Sen. Doug Mastriano …