Top Items:

Key senators eye the exits ahead of 2022 midterms: 'It's a six-year commitment' — Washington (CNN)John Thune, the No. 2 Senate Republican, is struggling with a crucial decision: Whether to ask South Dakota voters for six more years in office. — Chuck Grassley, the longest-serving Senate Republican …
RELATED:

In Exclusive Interview, Trump Calls Sept. 18 Rally A ‘Setup,’ Says GOP Senate Should Fire ‘Disaster’ McConnell — In an exclusive, wide-ranging interview with The Federalist on Thursday, former President Donald Trump also unloaded on Bush, McConnell, ‘radicalized’ left-wing Democrats, and a completely ‘corrupt’ American news media.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Politico, RedState, Becker News, BizPac Review and CBS News

As G.O.P. Digs In on Debt Ceiling, Democrats Try Shaming McConnell — Senator Mitch McConnell says Republicans will not support raising the federal borrowing limit. Weeks before a potential default, Democrats do not appear to have a strategy for doing so.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Bloomberg and New York Magazine
Alayna Treene / Axios:
The debt ceiling stare down
The debt ceiling stare down
Discussion:
HotAir, One America News Network and Slow Boring

Florida GOP official who wanted to ‘end Faucism’ dies from COVID-19 — An official from Florida's Hillsborough County Republican Party — which has been busy mobilizing members to protest coronavirus restrictions such as school mask mandates — has died from COVID-19.
RELATED:

Death of Hillsborough GOP member from COVID-19 causes financial problems for party — The local Republican Party told federal election regulators it can no longer access its campaign finance software — The Hillsborough County Republican Party alerted federal election regulators Tuesday …
Discussion:
Florida Politics and Crooks and Liars

Expressing fury over the Australia submarine deal, France cancels a gala celebrating relations with the U.S. — Furious over President Biden's announcement of a deal to help Australia deploy nuclear-powered submarines, French officials in Washington on Thursday angrily canceled a gala …
Discussion:
Asia Times, Washington Examiner, Lawyers, Guns & Money, CNN and Reuters
RELATED:

France says Biden acted like Trump to sink Australia defence deal — France accused U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday of stabbing it in the back and acting like his predecessor Donald Trump after Paris was pushed aside from a lucrative defence deal that it had signed with Australia for submarines.
Discussion:
Sydney Morning Herald, CNBC, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, One America News Network, Page Array, Insider, HotAir and Washington Post

How Tucker Carlson Lost It — In February 2009, when he took the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Tucker Carlson was in the midst of an identity crisis. Five years earlier, he had been a victim of what was arguably the first viral takedown of the internet era.
Discussion:
HuffPost

Judge raises concerns about speed of Oath Keepers trial related to Capitol riot — The judge overseeing the sprawling case of the Oath Keepers who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 raised acute concerns Thursday about the pace of the government's effort to bring the matter to trial, particularly as three of the defendants sit in D.C. jail.
Discussion:
Raw Story
RELATED:
Claire Goforth / The Daily Dot:
How an Oath Keeper brought QAnon to the masses

Facebook Employees Flag Drug Cartels and Human Traffickers. The Company's Response Is Weak, Documents Show. — Employees raised alarms about how the site is used in developing countries, where its user base is already huge and expanding — In January, a former cop turned Facebook Inc. investigator posted …
Discussion:
Fox News, RedState and Gizmodo, more at Techmeme »

Durham Is Said to Seek Indictment of Lawyer at Firm With Democratic Ties — The lawyer, Michael Sussmann, is accused of lying to the F.B.I. in a 2016 meeting about Trump and Russia. He denies wrongdoing. — WASHINGTON — John H. Durham, the special counsel appointed by the Trump administration …
Discussion:
USA Today, NBC News, The Western Journal, The Daily Caller, Talking Points Memo, Law & Crime, Fox News, National Review, Raw Story, HotAir, New York Post, BizPac Review, Page Array, Trending Politics, Breitbart, TheBlaze, Conservative Brief, Twitchy, Washington Examiner, The Last Refuge, The Reactionary, RedState, Townhall and The Gateway Pundit
RELATED:

A broken America should build a monument to Joe Manchin's massive ego — As the summer of 2021 comes to an ignominious end this week, millions of Americans will remember these blazing hot months as a time of dashed hopes on ending our life-altering pandemic and growing alarm about the floods and fires fueled by climate change.
RELATED:

After recall flop, struggling California Republicans once again fighting over future — California Republicans thought they found a unifying rallying cry in the recall attempt against Gov. Gavin Newsom. Instead, the campaign exposed — and even worsened — some of the long-standing clashes between …
Discussion:
Politico, Reason, Fox News, AMAC, The Signorile Report, CalMatters and Palo Alto Online
RELATED:
Michael R. Blood / Associated Press:
California GOP licks wounds after another lopsided loss
California GOP licks wounds after another lopsided loss
Discussion:
Fox News, Raw Story, New Republic, CalMatters and Associated Press

Stop Calling It a ‘Pandemic of the Unvaccinated’ — “Your refusal has cost all of us,” President Joe Biden said to unvaccinated people last week, as he announced a new COVID-vaccine mandate for all workers at private companies with more than 100 employees. The vaccinated, he said …

Biden faces new border emergency in Texas, where thousands of Haitian migrants are stuck under bridge in squalid conditions — SAN ANTONIO — The Biden administration is facing a new humanitarian emergency along the border in South Texas, where thousands of mostly Haitian migrants waiting …

The right-wing media is helping Trump destroy democracy. A new poll shows how. — When future historians seek to explain the United States' perilous slide toward authoritarianism in the 21st century, they will grapple with the role played in all these events by Fox News and the right-wing media.
Discussion:
Raw Story

Mapped: Afghan refugees headed to 46 states — The Biden administration notified governors and mayors on Wednesday of the number of Afghan evacuees their state is expected to receive in the coming weeks, two senior administration officials told Axios. — Why it matters: Although …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, The Daily Caller and Wall Street Journal

Billboard Comparing Donald Trump to Jesus Christ Removed — A billboard hailing former President Donald Trump as the second coming of Jesus Christ has been taken down. — The advertisement was spotted near the city of Fort Oglethorpe in Georgia earlier this week by Washington Post political …

The Elizabeth Holmes Trial Is a Wake-Up Call for Sexism in Tech — Ms. Pao is a tech investor and chief executive of Project Include, a diversity, equity and inclusion nonprofit. She is the author of “Reset: My Fight for Inclusion and Lasting Change,” about her lawsuit against a venture capital firm …
Discussion:
Gawker

Amazon's New ‘Factory Towns’ Will Lift the Working Class — Plentiful new jobs at higher wages in places with cheaper housing sounds like a solution to inequality. — The campaign against economic inequality has put a bullseye on cities. Local governments are encouraged to raise minimum wages …

World Bank Cancels Flagship ‘Doing Business’ Report After Investigation — Probe faults leaders including Kristalina Georgieva, now IMF managing director, who disagrees with findings — The World Bank canceled a prominent report rating the business environment of the world's countries …

EXCLUSIVE: House Republicans Demand Article 15-6 Investigation Into Mark Milley — A group of House Republicans sent a letter Thursday to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin demanding a formal AR 15-6 investigation into Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley.
Discussion:
Tangle, Washington Post, Independent Chronicle, Trending Politics, HillReporter.com and Twitchy

Former Trump aides to spearhead $10 million campaign against Biden economic plan — Senior Trump officials Larry Kudlow, Linda McMahon, Brooke Rollins push ‘Save America Coalition’ opposing Democratic proposal — A new conservative coalition led by former Trump administration advisers plans …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, The Hill and Political Wire

The abortion rights protest at Justice Kavanaugh's home crossed the line — More than 50 people marched Monday night to the home of Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh. They carried signs with messages such as “safe abortion is a human right” and “hey Kavanaugh resign now.”

New York City Has Once Again Defied the Doomsayers. Here's Why. — By far the most densely populated metropolis in the country, Gotham offers a kind of urban living no other U.S. city has been able to replicate. — New York City is emerging as one of the world's most resilient big cities in the wake of the pandemic.

More White Americans adopted than shed evangelical label during Trump presidency, especially his supporters — Since Donald Trump was elected president in 2016 due in part to strong support from White evangelical Protestants, many observers have wondered what impact this political alliance might …
Discussion:
Raw Story

Alex Murdaugh turns himself in on charges connected to insurance fraud scheme — (CNN)Alex Murdaugh, the South Carolina lawyer whose wife and son were killed in June, turned himself in Thursday on charges related to an insurance fraud scheme. — A beige SUV containing Murdaugh pulled …
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Examiner, The Daily Beast, USA Today, Forbes, UPI, Slate, Insider, Fox News, myfox8.com, Law & Crime, Gawker and CBS News

Legal Journalism Is Broken — The conservative takeover of the Court is putting traditional legal media to the test. The results are not encouraging. — The end of the most recent Supreme Court term kicked off what has quickly become a cherished tradition for America's legal journalists …

United Airlines CEO says employees exempt from vaccine 'won't be in front of customers' — United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said employees who receive medical or religious exemptions from its COVID-19 vaccine mandate won't be interacting with customers. — “For all of our customer-facing employees …
Discussion:
HotAir

The Political Folly of Siding with Pharma — A new poll shows that the three House Dems blocking lower Rx prices are making a historic political error — With the narrowest of majorities, a complex set of policy issues, and huge differences between moderates and progressives …
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Common Dreams, Jacobin and Conservative Brief