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 …

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

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.

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 …

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.

Biden escalates shutdown stare-down with hurricane aid, Afghan resettlement plea  —  The White House asked Congress on Tuesday to include hurricane relief and money for Afghan resettlement in a package to fund the government later this month, upping the ante in the latest shutdown scare.

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 …

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.

Former Trump adviser Jason Miller briefly detained in Brazil as political tumult grips country  —  Jason Miller, a former senior adviser to Donald Trump, said Tuesday that he was detained and questioned by Brazilian authorities before eventually being released to fly back to the United States.

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?

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

QAnon Is Harassing a Hospital Into Giving Bogus COVID ‘Cure’ Ivermectin  —  Some of the most powerful QAnon influencers are urging their hundreds of thousands of followers to harass a Chicago hospital into treating an anti-vaccine activist with ivermectin.  —  Veronica Wolski …

Elizabeth Holmes's Last Pitch She now faces her greatest challenge: convincing a jury that she is not to blame for a massive fraud.  —  Over the course of what must have been several uncomfortable days for her in the summer of 2017, Elizabeth Holmes sat in a San Francisco conference room …

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.

Biden Could Share Vaccine Data With The World  —  A new report suggests the United States may have unfettered rights to the information countries desperately need to scale up COVID-19 vaccine production.  —  The Biden administration may possess unilateral rights to the biochemical makeup …

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