Republicans Finally Caught the Car  —  The Back-Alley Reversal of Roe Just Made the GOP Unsafe for Right-leaning Women  —  Texas has banned abortion, more or less.  Terminating a pregnancy is now categorically forbidden in the Lone Star State except in the brief period before the embryo develops something …

Texas judge hands narrow win to abortion providers fighting new 6-week ban  —  A Texas state judge on Friday temporarily blocked an anti-abortion group from enforcing Texas's new 6-week abortion ban against Planned Parenthood, handing a narrow legal victory to abortion rights advocates.

Angry Men With Zip-Ties Ambush School Principal After COVID Masking Request  —  The surreal confrontation stemmed from the Arizona school asking a child who was exposed to the virus to abide by public health guidelines.  —  Police arrested a 40-year-old Arizona dad after he stormed …

Scoop: Trump nears deal for D.C. hotel  —  Former President Trump is in advanced talks to sell rights to his Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., sources tell Axios.  —  Why it matters: The removal of Trump's big, golden name from Pennsylvania Avenue would be a symbolic bombshell savored by opponents.

‘Sexist,’ ‘Racist,’ ‘Classist’: Georgia 8th Grader Challenges School Dress Code  —  After being cited for a rip in her jeans on the first day of school, Sophia Trevino has led a protest seeking changes to the district's dress code, which she says unfairly targets girls.

Florida to issue $5,000 fines for businesses, schools who ask for proof of COVID-19 vaccine  —  Florida businesses, government entities and schools will soon face fines of up to $5,000 fines for asking a customer or visitor to show proof they have been vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus.

Five reasons Biden's approval ratings have taken a pounding  —  As the summer comes to a close, President Joe Biden's job approval ratings have taken a major hit.  —  Both the RealClearPolitics and FiveThirtyEight polling averages show pluralities disapproving of Biden's performance in office …

Facebook Apologizes After A.I. Puts ‘Primates’ Label on Video of Black Men  —  Facebook called it “an unacceptable error.”  The company has struggled with other issues related to race.  —  Facebook users who recently watched a video from a British tabloid featuring Black men saw …

Doctors Say Texas Leaders Failed To Stop COVID-19 From Spreading  —  Hospitals across the state are running low on pediatric intensive care unit beds.  Texas' Department of State Health Services says only 81 of them remain — and just a couple hundred more regular ICU beds are available in the state of 29 million people.

Satellite Images Find Oil Spill in Gulf Left in Ida's Wake  —  Satellite and aerial survey images show oil spreading off the coast of an oil and gas hub in Louisiana.  —  Cleanup crews are working to contain what experts called a substantial oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico …

VOA Exclusive: American Stuck in Afghanistan Shares Her Story  —  Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can download this video to view it offline.  —  Download File  —  Embed  —  In a chaotic effort, the U.S. managed to evacuate more than 124,000 civilians …

Corporate boards, consulting, speaking fees: How U.S. generals thrived after Afghanistan  —  Stanley A. McChrystal exemplifies how ex-generals sell their battlefield experience in other arenas, from corporations to covid-19 response.  —  When Stanley A. McChrystal was the top general in Afghanistan …

H.R. 4 carries forward the legacy of Congressman John Lewis  —  On Aug. 28, 1963, thousands of Americans came to our nation's capital for the March on Washington.  Inspired by leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Fannie Lou Hamer and John Lewis, they sought to bring the country closer …

9/11 was a test.  The books of the last two decades show how America failed. … Deep within the catalogue of regrets that is the 9/11 Commission report — long after readers learn of the origins and objectives of al-Qaeda, past the warnings ignored by consecutive administrations …

‘Loss of hope’: Idaho hospitals crushed by COVID-19 surge  —  BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The intensive care rooms at St. Luke's Boise Medical Center are full, each a blinking jungle of tubes, wires and mechanical breathing machines.  The patients nestled inside are a lot alike: All unvaccinated …

U.S. covid death toll hits 1,500 a day amid delta scourge  —  ‘A perfect storm of viral changes and behavioral changes’ is driving pandemic's fourth wave  —  Brian Pierce, the coroner in Baldwin County, Ala., thought he had seen the last of the coronavirus months ago as the area's death count held steady …

Her Leaks Exposed Global Financial Corruption.  Now She Is In Prison.  —  Former Treasury Department official Natalie “May” Edwards said she is a whistleblower who sent suspicious activity reports to BuzzFeed News after trying in vain to work through lawful channels.

About 100 Afghan evacuees to U.S. flagged for possible ties to Taliban or terror groups, sources say  —  The U.S. plans to send at least two Afghan evacuees back out of the country to Kosovo because of security concerns raised after they arrived at a U.S. airport, said two sources familiar with the U.S. evacuation.

France And Russia Are In A Tussle Over Who Gets To Call Champagne ... ‘Champagne’  —  EPERNAY, France - In a chilly windowless basement in this provincial French city, workers stack bottles of bubbly.  Not just any bubbly, but le vrai champagne, which thanks to a special protected status …

Twitter's Former Comms Guru Advises Lincoln Project's Dark Money Offshoot  —  Twitter's former communications guru is now advising the Franklin Project, a dark money offshoot of the scandal-plagued Lincoln Project, the Democratic-aligned super PAC widely suspected of enabling a sex pest who preyed on young men and at least one child.