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 …

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.

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 …

A 17-Year-Old Afghan Soccer Player Died Falling From a US Evacuation Plane  —  A member of Afghanistan's national youth soccer team was among the people who were killed as they tried desperately to cling to a U.S. military plane evacuating people from Kabul, the country's official sports federation said Thursday.

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 …

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

Biden shouldn't cave to the bigots on evacuating our Afghan allies  —  Lots of explanations have been floated for why the Biden administration didn't get more Afghan allies and refugees out before U.S. troops withdrew, as it had been urged to do.  —  Maybe the problem was disorganization.

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 …

Afghanistan: Taliban carrying out door-to door manhunt, report says  —  The Taliban have stepped up their search for people who worked for Nato forces or the previous Afghan government, a UN document has warned.  —  It said the militants have been going door-to-door to find targets and threatening their family members.

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.

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 …

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.

Unvaccinated terror: Proud Boys push the anti-vaccination movement into a violent threat  —  The violent, fascist energy of January 6 didn't just disappear  —  After the January 6 insurrection at the U.S Capitol, domestic terrorism experts were worried about the potential for more violence.

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.

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 …

Former Afghan women's captain tells players to burn kits, delete photos  —  The former captain of the Afghan women's soccer team has urged players to delete social media, erase public identities and burn their kits for safety's sake now that the country is again under Taliban rule.

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.