He was a baby on 9/11.  Now he's one of the last casualties of America's longest war.  —  After Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum, 20, landed in Afghanistan with his Marine unit, his father, Jim, began checking his phone for a little green dot.  Mr. McCollum had not been able to talk with his son …

US special operations vets carry out daring mission to save Afghan allies  —  At least 13 service members were killed in an attack in Kabul Thursday.  —  With the Taliban growing more violent and adding checkpoints near Kabul's airport, an all-volunteer group of American veterans …

Texas Anti-Mask ‘Freedom Rally’ Organizer Fighting For His Life With COVID-19  —  A Texas man who helped organize protests against pandemic restrictions is fighting for his life after being hospitalized for nearly a month with COVID-19, the  —  San Angelo Standard-Times reported.

Florida court rejects effort by Gov. Ron DeSantis to ban mask mandates.  —  A Florida court on Friday rejected an effort by Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state officials to prevent mask mandates in schools during the state's worst Covid-19 outbreak yet.  —  Judge John C. Cooper …

The utter ridiculousness of calls for Joe Biden to resign  —  (CNN)Thursday was a very bad day for Joe Biden as president.  —  The deaths of 13 American soldiers after twin blasts at the Kabul airport served as a devastating blow for an already fraught attempt by Biden to pull all American troops …

California parole panel votes in favor of release from prison for Sirhan Sirhan  —  Parole for 77-year-old convicted of assassinating Robert F. Kennedy still must be approved by full board, governor  —  A California parole board panel on Friday voted in favor of Sirhan B. Sirhan's request …

Having SARS-CoV-2 once confers much greater immunity than a vaccine—but no infection parties, please  —  The natural immune protection that develops after a SARS-CoV-2 infection offers considerably more of a shield against the Delta variant of the pandemic coronavirus than two doses …

Justice Breyer on Retirement and the Role of Politics at the Supreme Court  —  In an interview prompted by his new book, the 83-year-old leader of the court's liberal wing said he is working on a decision about when to step down.  —  WASHINGTON — Justice Stephen G. Breyer says he is struggling …

A school district opted out of a free meals program, saying students could ‘become spoiled’  —  With two girls in elementary school and a mother who is a teacher, the Dringenburg household in a Milwaukee suburb had been joyous and excited about back-to-school season — until this year …

Marine commander puts career on the line to demand accountability over Afghanistan withdrawal in viral video  —  On Thursday, a Marine infantry officer and battalion commander took to social media to air his frustrations with senior military leadership over their handling of the U.S. military's withdrawal …

Inflation is cooling off just as economists, the Fed, and Biden expected  — The PCE inflation measure rose 0.4% in July, signaling a slowdown in price growth from the prior month.  — The print matched the median economist estimate.  It was the slowest price growth since February.

GOP senator to Asheville business group: COVID-19 unvaccinated the problem, not immigrants  —  ASHEVILLE - Sen. Thom Tillis told a conservative local business group that anti-pandemic measures should focus on getting North Carolinians vaccinated, not on migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.

NRB spokesman Dan Darling fired after pro-vaccine statements on ‘Morning Joe’  —  Daniel Darling, right, appears on MSNBC's “Morning Joe” on Aug. 2, 2021, with host Joe Scarborough.  Video screengrab  —  (RNS) — The spokesman for a major evangelical nonprofit was fired for promoting vaccines on the MSNBC …

Parents chase and shout at governor over mask mandate  —  A meeting that included discussion about Connecticut's school mask mandate got heated as angry parents followed Gov. Ned Lamont out of the building and shouted at him.Source: WFSB  —  FOLLOW CNN POLITICS

California GOP Recall Candidate Larry Elder Wanted To End Medicaid  —  In 2010, Elder said he was also against mandating that insurance companies cover people with preexisting conditions.  —  Larry Elder, the Republican front-runner in the campaign to recall California Gov. Gavin Newsom …

Days After ‘Kraken’ Sanctions Ruling, Wisconsin Governor Asks Judge to Force Trump to Pay Up ‘Personally’  —  Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) asked a federal judge to force former President Donald Trump to “personally” pay fees for his “audacious” election-subversion efforts …

Leading From Fear  —  Worth dissecting where we are with Covid.  Instead of watching the television, or listening to blowhard politicians, it is best to look at data and statistics.  Unfortunately, most people do not understand stats.  Most of the stats you see in the news are manipulated in some way to drive an opinion.

In Britain, Young Children Don't Wear Masks in School  —  During the Delta surge, British schools emphasized other safety measures: quarantining and regular testing for the virus.  —  From late spring into early summer, Britain's elementary and secondary schools were open during an alarming wave of Delta infections.

Taliban kill squad hunting down Afghans — using US biometric data  —  The Taliban has mobilized a special unit, called Al Isha, to hunt down Afghans who helped US and allied forces — and it's using US equipment and data to do it.  —  Nawazuddin Haqqani, one of the brigade commanders over the Al Isha unit …

US intelligence community review does not determine origin of Covid-19  —  (CNN)The US intelligence community reached an inconclusive assessment about the origin of the Covid-19 virus following a 90-day investigation ordered by President Joe Biden, according to an unclassified summary of the probe released publicly on Friday.

New York's Private Schools Tackle White Privilege.  It Has Not Been Easy.  —  In this world — where tuition runs as high as $58,000 — the topic has become flammable.  Parents, faculty, students and alumni have all entered the fray.  —  Several years back Grace Church School …