George W. Bush just threw a whole lot of shade at Donald Trump  —  (CNN)The man who was president during the attacks of September 11, 2001, used a speech commemorating the 20th anniversary of that terrible day to call out the “malign force” coursing through the country thanks to the presidency …

Facebook Says Its Rules Apply to All.  Company Documents Reveal a Secret Elite That's Exempt.  —  A program known as XCheck has given millions of celebrities, politicians and other high-profile users special treatment, a privilege many abuse  —  Mark Zuckerberg has publicly said Facebook Inc. allows …

Help!  I Couldn't Stop Writing Fake Dear Prudence Letters That Got Published  —  Sometime at the tail end of 2018, shortly after abandoning yet another draft of what was supposed to be my fifth Young Adult novel, I took up a different form of fiction: I started writing fake letters to Dear Prudence, Slate's long-running advice column.

F.E.C. Dismisses Claims That Twitter Illegally Blocked Hunter Biden Article  —  Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken defended the Biden administration's decision to withdraw American forces and diplomats from Afghanistan on Monday, saying there was no evidence that the country would have stabilized …

Apple Issues Emergency Security Updates to Close a Spyware Flaw  —  Researchers at Citizen Lab found that NSO Group, an Israeli spyware company, had infected Apple products without so much as a click.  —  Apple on Monday issued emergency software updates for a critical vulnerability …

As Newsom leads California recall polls, Larry Elder pushes baseless fraud claims  —  WASHINGTON — Republicans in Tuesday's California gubernatorial recall election are already laying the groundwork to argue the election was stolen — even before a single ballot is reported or a victor declared …

USCP Officers Arrest California Man with Bayonet & Machete  —  This morning the United States Capitol Police arrested a California man who had multiple knives in his truck near the Democratic National Committee headquarters.  —  “This is good police work plain and simple,” said Chief Tom Manger.

What the Never Trumpers Want Now  —  Many of the conservatives and Republicans appalled by Donald Trump's presidency clutched a hope through the bewildering years: Someday this would all be over and politics would return to normal.  —  But normal has not returned.

Chris Wallace's grilling of a GOP governor exposes a much bigger scam  —  When Chris Wallace grilled the Republican governor of Nebraska over his opposition to vaccine mandates on Sunday, the Fox News anchor did a fine job of exposing the incoherence of one GOP lawmaker's positioning on the issue.

Veronica Wolski, Woman Who QAnoners Demanded Hospital Treat COVID With Ivermectin, Dies  —  A woman who became the center of a harassment campaign against a Chicago hospital as QAnon supporters demanded they treat her COVID-19 diagnosis with ivermectin has died, according to reports.

Our Most Reliable Pandemic Number Is Losing Meaning  —  At least 12,000 Americans have already died from COVID-19 this month, as the country inches through its latest surge in cases.  But another worrying statistic is often cited to depict the dangers of this moment: The number …

Lab-grown woolly mammoths could walk the Earth in six years if geneticist's new start-up succeeds  — Tech entrepreneur Ben Lamm is helping to fund a project by Harvard geneticist George Church to revive the woolly mammoth.  — The project, called Colossal, aims to create a calf in as little as six years, Church told CNBC.

Homeland Security chief of staff abruptly resigns  —  Karen Olick, chief of staff to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, announced on Monday that she will be leaving for a new, undisclosed opportunity.  —  Jennifer Higgins, the current associate director of Refugee …

House Democratic proposals amount to $2 trillion tax hike  —  The tax hikes House Democrats plan to offset the costs of President Joe Biden's massive infrastructure and social welfare legislation would net more than $2 trillion in revenue over the next decade, according to an estimate released Monday.

California couple die of covid, leaving five kids behind.  Their newborn is 3 weeks old.  —  Davy Macias, 37, was intubated and dying of complications from covid-19 when doctors helped her give birth to her daughter.  She would never see her baby.  —  Her husband, Daniel Macias, 39 …

Trump Just Endorsed a QAnon-Loving Candidate to Run Arizona's Elections  —  Former President Trump just endorsed a QAnon-loving leader of the conspiratorial “Stop the Steal” movement to run the elections of a key swing state.  —  On Monday, Trump threw his support to Arizona state …

‘Their Crisis’ Is ‘Our Problem’: Washington Grapples With Idaho Covid Cases  —  Hospitals in Washington State, already strained, are taking on an influx of Covid patients from Idaho, where the governor has refused to require masks or vaccinations.  —  SPOKANE, Wash. — Surgeries to remove brain tumors have been postponed.

Major Trump Backer Is Hosting a Huge QAnon Conference in Las Vegas  —  A Nevada businessman who once cleared out his company's warehouse to host a Trump rally in violation of state lockdown laws, has become the new host for the country's biggest QAnon conference.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett argues Supreme Court isn't ‘a bunch of partisan hacks’  —  LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In the wake of a controversial decision on abortion rights, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett told a crowd of more than 100 here that she doesn't believe the highest court in the land is politically driven.

‘Smell my hair’: Hundreds of protesters greet Biden in Idaho  —  Hundreds of demonstrators gathered to protest President Joe Biden's visit to Boise, Idaho, on Monday.  —  The president, who is visiting Boise as part of his two-day tour of western states, including California and Colorado …

Most Hollywood Writers' Rooms Look Nothing Like America  —  I. “You Can Hear a Pin Drop”  —  Carl Winslow, the protagonist of the '90s sitcom Family Matters, wore his badge with honor.  On the show, about a middle-class Black household in Chicago, Winslow (played by Reginald VelJohnson) …

POLITICO Playbook: Grisham dishes on Melania  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  THE WEEK AHEAD: JOE BIDEN campaigns with GAVIN NEWSOM in Long Beach, Calif., tonight before voters there decide Tuesday whether Newsom should be recalled (polls show him up by double digits) ... Secretary …

Seven reasons to think Senate Democrats will actually change the filibuster  —  The party has to pass voting rights legislation.  Changing the rules is the only way to do it.  —  In the middle of a brazen nationwide assault on voting rights, of a kind we have not seen since Jim Crow …

They obey the bespoke instructions that pop up on their screens: Don't wait outside Benny's Burritos, don't ask to use the restroom, be “super nice!” to Dig Inn because it is a “VIP client” — or have your account suspended.  —  The apps failed and bought each other, and now three giants remain …

Former US Sen. Al Franken talks political downfall, return to comedy before Northampton show  —  The past few years have been unsettling for many — and Al Franken is no exception.  —  After a successful career in comedy, including a lengthy stint on NBC's “Saturday Night Live,” …

Federal judge temporarily blocks Iowa's ban on mask mandates in schools  —  Iowa school districts again have the power to enact mask mandates after a federal judge temporarily blocked a law banning them from doing so.  —  U.S. District Court Judge Robert Pratt issued a temporary restraining …