Trump's Pledge to Exit Afghanistan Was a Ruse, His Final SecDef Says  —  Chris Miller now says talk of a full withdrawal was a “play” to convince a Taliban-led government to keep U.S. counterterrorism forces.  — AFGHANISTAN - WHITE HOUSE - PENTAGON - TERRORISM

Trump family friend, associate Ken Kurson re-arrested on cyber-stalking charges  —  Kurson was pardoned by then-President Donald Trump in January.  —  Seven months after he was granted a pardon by then-President Donald Trump, Ken Kurson, a friend of Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner …

Federal judge rejects Trump-era permits for major Alaska oil project  —  Wednesday's decision is a setback for ConocoPhillips's Willow project, which aims to produce more than 100,000 barrels a day on the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska  —  A federal judge on Wednesday threw out the permits …

Biden orders Education Department to take action against governors who ban school mask mandates  —  President Biden ordered Education Secretary Miguel Cardona on Wednesday to take action against governors who have banned universal masking in public schools, taking a tough stand …

A mom of 4 who died of covid days after her husband makes one final wish: ‘Make sure my kids get vaccinated’  —  A few weeks ago, Lydia Rodriguez thought her body was strong enough to fight the coronavirus without the vaccine.  —  But after a week-long church camp, she and other members …

Facebook wants you to hold your next meeting in VR  —  (CNN Business)For those who don't think Zoom meetings are a good enough substitute for the real thing, Facebook has another idea: a virtual reality app that lets you and your coworkers feel like you're sitting around a table in a conference room.

An Alabama doctor watched patients reject the coronavirus vaccine.  Now he's refusing to treat them.  —  In Alabama, where the nation's lowest vaccination rate has helped push the state closer to a record number of hospitalizations, a physician has sent a clear message to his patients …

Parliament holds Joe Biden in contempt over Afghanistan  —  MPs and peers unite to condemn ‘dishonour’ of US president's withdrawal and his criticism of Afghan troops left behind to face Taliban  —  Joe Biden's handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal was condemned as “catastrophic” and …

“A Smile With Sharp Teeth”: Mike Richards's Rise to ‘Jeopardy!’  Host Sparks Questions About His Past  —  The ‘Jeopardy!’ host search is finally over.  New reporting reveals that concerns about Richards and the show's selection process remain.  —  One day in the fall of 2013, Mike Richards called Ken Jennings.

Facebook shared new data about what's popular on its platform.  The answers are deeply weird.  —  Report shows a Green Bay Packers alumni page and an online CBD store, not right-wing pundits, are among the most viewed links in people's feeds, as Facebook pushes back against independent studies.

Larry David ‘screamed’ at Alan Dershowitz at grocery store over Trump ties  —  It seems that Alan Dershowitz's ties to the Trump administration have made him persona non grata among the Martha's Vineyard elite — including Larry David.  —  A Page Six spy spotted the Harvard Law professor …

GOP governors embrace Covid cocktails over masks as cases surge  —  Republican governors in some of the states hardest hit by the pandemic are pushing expensive Covid cocktails over cheap masks.  —  The governors in Florida, Missouri and Texas are promising millions of dollars in antibody treatments …

Guided by Faith, Divinity Student Fought His ‘Antiracist’ Princeton Seminary — and Won  —  Timothy Keiderling's decision to enroll in the Princeton Theological Seminary reflected his commitment “to give my life to work for justice and to live out the values of the Kingdom of God.”

Afghanistan war unpopular amid chaotic pullout: AP-NORC poll  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — A significant majority of Americans doubt that the war in Afghanistan was worthwhile, even as the United States is more divided over President Joe Biden's handling of foreign policy and national security …

Joseph Galloway, chronicler and champion of soldiers in Vietnam, dies at 79  —  In November 1965, journalist Joseph L. Galloway hitched a ride on an Army helicopter flying to the Ia Drang Valley, a rugged landscape of red dirt, brown elephant grass and truck-size termite mounds in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam.

OPEC tells a weak, incompetent US president to drop dead  —  Last week, we were wondering : What could be more pathetic than the sight of President Joe Biden begging OPEC to increase oil production, just to make up for the U.S. and Canadian oil production that he had gone out of his way to impede from the moment he took office ?

Herd Immunity Herp Derp  —  The pandemic's wrongest theory.  —  A lot of people, including many experts, made blunders when assessing the best ways to combat the novel coronavirus that emerged from Wuhan in late 2019.  For a while people were sanitizing their grocery bags.  Mask guidance was all over the map.

Jobless Claims Likely to Fall as Labor Market Withstands Delta Variant  —  Economists estimate the proxy for layoffs sank last week to its lowest level since Covid-19 took hold  —  Applications for unemployment benefits are likely to reach a new pandemic low, showing a healing labor market …