Oklahoma congressman threatened embassy staff as he tried to enter Afghanistan, U.S. officials say  —  The call to the U.S. ambassador to Tajikistan came in Monday.  On the line, two U.S. officials said, was Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) with an unusual and urgent request …

Has Delta Peaked?  —  We investigate Covid's mysterious two-month cycle.  —  Has the Delta-fueled Covid-19 surge in the U.S. finally peaked?  —  The number of new daily U.S. cases has risen less over the past week than at any point since June, as you can see in this chart:

With ban in effect, Texas abortion clinics will no longer terminate pregnancies after 6 weeks  —  AUSTIN — A Texas law that bans most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy went into effect Wednesday, as a midnight deadline for the Supreme Court to stop it came and went without action.

The Ashli Babbitt Standard  —  For those who have followed news coverage of police shootings of unarmed civilians in the last few years, Capitol Hill Police lieutenant Michael Byrd's interview with NBC News had a familiar ring.  The veteran officer voiced his fears about the situation he faced on Jan. 6 …

Julie Pace named new Associated Press executive editor  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Julie Pace, a longtime Washington journalist who managed coverage of the U.S. government during a period of historic tumult, was named Wednesday as the executive editor and senior vice president of The Associated Press.

What Happened to the Babylon Bee?  —  Until a few years ago, the Babylon Bee was a niche humor site—the Onion for conservative Protestants.  The Bee was founded seven months before Donald Trump took office and became popular mostly because many of the jokes were very funny—but also …

Texas parents accused a Black principal of promoting critical race theory.  The district has now suspended him.  —  At a heated Texas school board meeting in late July, a man accused a Black principal of promoting critical race theory and “the conspiracy theory of systemic racism.”

Elder Versus Newsom: A Battle for the Soul of America  —  LOS ANGELES—Sunday evening I was standing in an excited crowd at a Long Beach fundraiser for Larry Elder's California gubernatorial campaign when I received a text with the headline “Gov. Newsom Pivots Recall Speeches To Attack Larry Elder's Political Opinions.”

GOP douses Afghanistan withdrawal with misinformation  —  The Afghanistan withdrawal has gone poorly enough for the Biden administration, and it did itself no favors with its faulty predictions about how it would be carried out.  —  But even in the midst of the worst stretch …

The Trump News Show Is Over and We're All Healthier For It  —  What have you been doing with your time?  The numbers tell us that the average news consumer is watching a whole lot less cable news and has gone on a restricted online news diet.  Over the past year, the major cable channels …

NPR Trashes Free Speech.  A Brief Response  —  In an irony only public radio could miss, “On the Media” hosts an hour on the perils of “free speech absolutism” without interviewing a defender of free speech.  —  The guests for NPR's just-released On The Media episode about the dangers …

Four conservative radio talk-show hosts bashed coronavirus vaccines.  Then they got sick.  —  Marc Bernier was adamant: He was not going to get a coronavirus vaccination.  —  “I'm Mr. Anti-Vax,” he told listeners of his talk-radio program in Daytona Beach, Fla., after the federal government …