In Florida, the pandemic is worse now than it has ever been before.  —  More people in Florida are catching the coronavirus, being hospitalized and dying of Covid-19 now than at any previous point in the pandemic, underscoring the perils of limiting public health measures as the Delta variant rips through the state.

Henry Kissinger on why America failed in Afghanistan  —  It was not possible to turn the country into a modern democracy, but creative diplomacy and force might have overcome terrorism, says the American statesman … THE TALIBAN takeover of Afghanistan focuses the immediate concern …

Federal judge in Michigan orders pro-Trump lawyers disciplined over lawsuit seeking to overturn 2020 election  —  A federal judge in Michigan has ordered that Sidney Powell, L. Lin Wood and seven other attorneys who filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the state's 2020 presidential election be disciplined …

U.S. Allies Halt Afghanistan Evacuations, Warn of Growing Threat From Islamic State  —  European countries say they can't airlift citizens, Afghans to safety because U.S. forces need to prepare for withdrawal  —  Several European countries said they were halting evacuation flights from Afghanistan …

Republicans Balk on the Battle for Voting Rights  —  The Party of Lincoln has made itself the party of the new Jim Crow.  —  “Old battles have become new again,” said US Representative Terri Sewell, of Alabama, as she introduced the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act for Tuesday's essential vote in the House.

A naked baby helped Nirvana sell millions of records.  Now 30, he's suing the band for ‘child pornography.’  —  Spencer Elden may very well be the most famous naked baby the world has ever seen.  —  A photo of him as an infant — submerged in water and seemingly chasing a dollar bill dangling …

One of the Biggest Welfare State Expansions in US History Just Got Approved By the House  —  It's another day that ends in y, so, Congress just nonchalantly voted to spend trillions of taxpayer dollars.  On Tuesday, the House approved a $3.5 trillion spending resolution on a party-line vote …

Man who claimed to have bomb outside Capitol diagnosed with bipolar disorder  —  A man who prompted evacuations around the U.S. Capitol last week by claiming to have a bomb in his truck has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and needs more medical treatment, a court-appointed psychologist said Wednesday.

The Real Winner of the Afghan War?  It's Not Who You Think.  —  Pakistan, nominally a U.S. partner in the war, was the Afghan Taliban's main patron, and sees the Taliban's victory as its own.  But now what does it do with its prize?  —  Just days after the Taliban took Kabul …

OnlyFans Drops Planned Porn Ban, Will Continue to Allow Sexually Explicit Content … OnlyFans dropped plans to ban pornography from its service, less than a week after the U.K. content-creator subscription site had announced the change citing the need to comply with policies of banking partners.

The Taliban wants to forget the past, a leader tells The Times, but there will be some restrictions.  —  KABUL, Afghanistan — In his first sit-down interview with a Western media outlet since the Taliban took full control of Afghanistan, one of the group's leaders on Wednesday offered …

Fact check: Republican House leader Kevin McCarthy makes at least 5 false claims in 7-minute Fox News interview  —  This is what Trump said about US' evacuation of Afghan allies  —  Washington (CNN)House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy made at least five false claims during a seven-minute Sunday interview on Fox News.

Let's Not Pretend That the Way We Withdrew From Afghanistan Was the Problem  —  In 2005, my colleagues at The American Prospect, Sam Rosenfeld and Matt Yglesias, wrote an essay I think about often.  It was called “The Incompetence Dodge,” and it argued that American policymakers …

Taliban show off U.S.-made weapons and gear in a bid to intimidate, project authority  —  On his tour through the fallen city of Kabul last week, Taliban-aligned militant Khalil Haqqani rose to address a crowd at the capital's largest place of worship, Pul-i-Khishti Mosque.

EXCLUSIVE Internal UN document says Taliban threatened, beat staff  —  The Taliban stopped an Afghan United Nations staff member as he tried to reach Kabul airport on Sunday.  They searched his vehicle and found his U.N. identification.  Then they beat him.