Gov. Abbott: Abortion bill won't force rape victims to have babies, Texas will ‘eliminate’ rapists  —  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott weighed in on a burning question related to the state's recently passed bill banning abortions after six weeks: what about victims of rape?

The U.S. surpasses 40 million known coronavirus cases.  —  More than 40 million cases of the coronavirus have been recorded in the United States, according to a New York Times database.  —  The total number of known infections, more than the population of California, the nation's most populous state …

Mexico's Supreme Court Votes to Decriminalize Abortion  —  The ruling sets a landmark legal precedent for potential legalization nationwide in the conservative Catholic country of some 120 million people.  —  MEXICO CITY — Mexico's Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that making abortion a crime …

Idaho hospitals begin rationing health care amid COVID surge  —  BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho public health leaders announced Tuesday that they activated “crisis standards of care” allowing health care rationing for the state's northern hospitals because there are more coronavirus patients than the institutions can handle.

All White Men Are White Men  —  If “white men” does not mean white men, how can “white men” hurt white men?  —  Categorical claims about people carry a certain amount of rhetorical force.  They do so because we have a variety of psychological and political hang-ups about categories like race and gender …

Taliban Unveil New Afghan Government  —  Afghanistan's new rulers named prime minister, with senior post for leader of al Qaeda-linked Haqqani group  —  Breaking News:  —  *Taliban Announce New Afghan Government, Mullah Hassan Akhund as Prime Minister  —  *All Key Positions to Remain in Taliban Hands

Britney Spears' father petitions to end her conservatorship  —  (CNN)Britney Spears' fight to end her court-ordered conservatorship took an unexpected turn on Tuesday when her father and the conservator of her estate, Jamie Spears, filed a petition to end the arrangement.

We Found Rage In A Hopeless Place  —  People had big ideas for this summer that's now coming to an end.  This one would be normal, verging on fun and sexy, in a country now 18 months deep into a pandemic that keeps killing and denying, and six years into an extended surreal experience.

An Incredible Exercise in Public Hypocrisy Is Unfolding Right on Schedule  —  The world's most predictable exercise in public hypocrisy is unfolding right on schedule.  After spending a couple of weeks belaboring the administration over how it allegedly left our Afghan allies behind …

How the rise of Politico shifted political journalism off course  —  Politico's sale last month to the German media company Axel Springer for a reported $1 billion was the culmination of a stunning rise of a publication founded in 2007 in what most people assumed was an overly-crowded market: coverage of Washington and U.S. politics.

Biden twisted inside out as he claims people don't say ‘tornado’ anymore  —  President Joe Biden stumbled through parts of his Tuesday briefing on Hurricane Ida, leaving the definition of a tornado unclear.  —  Biden visited New York and New Jersey to observe the damage caused in recent days by Hurricane Ida.

Volusia County Councilman Fred Lowry ‘in the hospital wrestling with COVID-19’  —  DELAND — Volusia County Councilman Fred Lowry is hospitalized with COVID-19, County Chair Jeff Brower announced Tuesday.  —  “He is in the hospital wrestling with COVID-19.

The Non-Education of Ross Douthat  —  The New York Times columnist insists on defending a version of the Republican party that doesn't exist.  —  It's a tricky situation: How is one to be a loyal and energetic advocate of electing Republicans without joining the corrupt, authoritarian cult of Trumpism that has subsumed the party?

Trump builds ‘turnkey’ campaign operation for 2024  —  Boots on the ground in Iowa.  Accelerated fundraising.  More national media interviews.  A flood of new press statements.  A rise in attack ads on the web.  —  With a flurry of activity from his main political committee and hints dropped …

Death of a Storyteller Rare is the actor who can locate the specific in the universal and vice versa.  Michael K. Williams was that actor.  —  Michael K. Williams made you believe.  —  Michael K. Williams made you believe in Omar Little, a legendary Baltimore stickup man so fearsome …

The Zombie Trumpism of GOP governors gives Democrats a big opening  —  If there is one thing that might get Democratic voters to take state-level races more seriously, it's the Zombie Trumpism that continues to afflict GOP governors.  In states where covid-19 cases are surging …

Florida accounts for nearly a quarter of new U.S. COVID-19 deaths  —  August was Florida's deadliest month of the COVID-19 pandemic.  With a new batch of delayed COVID-19 deaths reported Monday, Florida lost more than 6,600 people to the coronavirus in August, an average of 213 deaths a day.

Poll: School mask mandate fight goes beyond battleground states  —  Most parents back mask mandates, but the states where GOP parents are most opposed aren't the ones we always hear about, according to a new Axios/Momentive poll.  —  Why it matters: While plenty of attention …

Monica Lewinsky says Bill Clinton ‘should want to apologize’ in TODAY exclusive  —  In an exclusive interview with TODAY's Savannah Guthrie, Monica Lewinsky opened up about how she felt in the wake of her sex scandal with former president Bill Clinton.  —  Lewinsky, who joined the show …

State Department obstruction of private rescue flights from Afghanistan revealed in leaked email  —  State Department ‘will not provide an approval’ of charter flights from Afghanistan, leaked email reveals  —  State Dept accused of blocking evacuation flights from Afghanistan

The lead proponent of Newsom's recall has been sidelined with the coronavirus.  —  As the pandemic-fueled campaign to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom of California heads into its last week, its lead proponent said he has been sidelined with the coronavirus.  —  Orrin Heatlie, 52 …

Biden anxiety levels  —  Presented by The American Petroleum Institute (API)  —  Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration.  With Allie Bice  —  JOE BIDEN often thinks he's his own best messenger.

Americans' Ratings of CDC Communication Turn Negative  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — More Americans now disagree (41%) than agree (32%) that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has communicated a clear plan of action in response to the COVID-19 situation.

How Professors Are Handling Unmasked Students Amid Delta  —  At universities, some instructors are finding the return to the classroom a nerve-racking experience.  A few have quit — one in the middle of class.  —  Matthew Boedy, an associate professor of rhetoric and composition …