Why I violated Texas's extreme abortion ban  —  Alan Braid is a physician who provides abortion care in San Antonio.  —  Newly graduated from the University of Texas medical school, I began my obstetrics and gynecology residency at a San Antonio hospital on July 1, 1972.

CNN's Shimon Prokupecz Goes ‘Down the Rabbit Hole’ With Justice for J6 Protester Who Didn't Believe Cops Were Assaulted on Jan. 6 (Even After He Was Shown The Video)  —  CNN's Shimon Prokupecz went “down the rabbit hole” with a protester at the “Justice for J6” rally in D.C. …

What if Covid Were 10 Times Deadlier?  —  “I think I've come to believe that even if the Covid death toll was 10 times what it currently is,” the MSNBC host Chris Hayes wrote a few days ago on Twitter, “the politics of all of it wouldn't be appreciably different.”

AOC's ‘Tax the Rich’ dress designer Aurora James owes debt in multiple states  —  Designer Aurora James called her “Tax the Rich” dress for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez a “powerful message” — but it's not one she has taken to heart.  —  The 37-year-old fashionista who made waves at the Met Gala …

Republicans caught in California's recall trap  —  Even after California Gov. Gavin Newsom's blowout victory in the Tuesday's recall vote, Democrats are re-considering the Golden State's 110-year history with the direct democracy device.  Democrats have good reason for their concern …

Five questions and answers about the debt ceiling fight  —  Democrats and Republicans are locked in a high-stakes battle over the federal debt ceiling, with the U.S on track to default as soon as next month.  —  GOP senators say they won't take any action to keep the U.S. solvent, insisting that Democrats must do so on their own.

Biden's Entire Presidential Agenda Rests on Expansive Spending Bill  —  A plan for the economy, education, immigration, climate and more binds disparate Democratic lawmakers, but the proposal risks sinking under its own weight.  —  WASHINGTON — No president has ever packed as much of his agenda …

In red California, anger over recall blowout.  ‘The Democratic Party is the New York Yankees’  —  On election day, Denise Pickens had a surprising feeling: Hope.  —  Surely, she figured, Gov. Gavin Newsom would be booted out of office.  Or at least get a good scare.

Biden's big union bailout  —  A generation ago, labor unions actually tried to represent the financial interests of workers.  For all their other faults, they at least focused on higher wages, better working conditions, and tight labor markets for their members.  —  That era is long gone.

Joe Manchin Got the Voting Bill He Wanted.  Time to Pass It.  —  The editorial board is a group of opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values.  It is separate from the newsroom.  —  Far too many Republicans are players …

McCarthy on Dems' spending bill: ‘The amount of money we spent to win World War II’  —  House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Sunday railed against Democrats' recent spending packages, arguing that the $1 trillion Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure bill and the $3.5 trillion …

28 U.S. citizens depart Afghanistan on Qatar Airways flight  —  The State Department on Saturday confirmed that a Qatar Airways charter flight left Kabul on Friday with 28 U.S. citizens and seven lawful permanent residents on board.  —  The big picture: Friday's flight is the third such airlift …

West Virginia Was a Covid-19 Vaccine Success Story, but Now Cases Are Surging  —  State's vaccination rate now lags behind others; 922 people with Covid-19 are hospitalized in West Virginia, up from 52 in early July  —  West Virginia has one of the fastest rates of new Covid-19 cases in the nation …

Gen. Milley's stress test  —  The final months of Donald Trump's presidency were a stress test for Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  He feared that Trump would use a violent crisis at home or abroad to draw the military into his machinations to retain power.

Furious Over Sub Deal, France Recalls Ambassadors to U.S. and Australia  —  PARIS — Calling American and Australian behavior “unacceptable between allies and partners,” France announced on Friday that it was recalling its ambassadors to both countries in protest over President Biden's decision …