Trump Campaign Knew Lawyers' Voting Machine Claims Were Baseless, Memo Shows  —  Days before lawyers allied with Donald Trump gave a news conference promoting election conspiracy theories, his campaign had determined that many of those claims were false, court filings reveal.

No More Apologies: Inside Facebook's Push to Defend Its Image  —  Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive, has signed off on an effort to show users pro-Facebook stories and to distance himself from scandals.  —  Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's chief executive, signed off last month on a new initiative code-named Project Amplify.

Political journalists are both-siding a “crisis” caused entirely by the GOP  —  Republican congressional leaders are flagrantly ginning up a major political and financial crisis — safe in the knowledge that the Washington press corps will blame both sides.  —  At issue is a formality …

Boris Johnson admits he has six children  —  London (CNN)Boris Johnson has finally admitted that he has six children, a question he has previously dodged in numerous interviews and press conferences.  —  The British Prime Minister, speaking to NBC's Today show on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly …

Moderate Democrats not monolithic about their budget concerns  —  A group of centrist House Democrats is united in ensuring the chamber won't vote on a reconciliation package unless it can pass the Senate.  But they have individual policy priorities that could divide them on the final product.

Iowa Poll: 62% of Iowans disapprove of the job Joe Biden is doing as president  —  Fewer than one third of Iowans approve of the job Joe Biden is doing as president, a steep drop from earlier this year.  —  Thirty-one percent of Iowans approve of how Biden is handling his job …

New FL surgeon general opposes mask, vaccine mandates  —  Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a new surgeon general for Florida on Tuesday, a Harvard-trained doctor who advocated for an approach to the coronavirus pandemic that emphasizes protecting individual rights over community-based precautions.

Dems nix $1 billion for Iron Dome from budget bill after progressive pressure  —  Sources say several lawmakers, opposed to money for Israeli defense, threatened to vote against bill that keeps US government funded; missile system set to get funded later  —  Progressive Democrats …

Huge hack reveals embarrassing details of who's behind Proud Boys and other far-right websites  —  Researchers say it will allow them to gain important new insights into how extremists operate online  —  Epik long has been the favorite Internet company of the far-right …

Equitable Research Requires Questioning the Status Quo  —  Research is a powerful tool to determine fact from fiction.  Policies, programs, and solutions are grounded in these facts, making researchers agents for shaping how the world works.  —  However, long-standing values and practices rooted in racism …

Their Baby Died in the Hospital.  Then Came the $257,000 Bill.  —  A New York family had good health insurance.  But the bills for their daughter's care started showing up and kept coming.  —  Brittany Giroux Lane gave birth to her daughter, Alexandra, a few days before Christmas in 2018.

A couple wore masks inside a Texas restaurant to protect their newborn son.  The owner kicked them out.  —  Natalie Wester and her husband were waiting for their appetizer to arrive when the server came to their table, not with the fried jalapeños, but an ultimatum.  —  Take your masks off or get out.

Why Sane Republicans Are Purging Themselves  —  Anthony Gonzalez leaves no doubt about what he thinks about Donald Trump and his impact on the GOP.  The former president, he says, is like a “cancer,” and he has turned his party into a toxic and hostile environment.

Wuhan scientists planned to release coronaviruses into cave bats 18 months before outbreak  —  Leaked documents reveal researchers applied for $14m to fund controversial project in 2018  —  Wuhan scientists were planning to release enhanced airborne coronaviruses into Chinese bat populations …

Americans Have No Idea What the Supply Chain Really Is  —  At this point, the maddeningly unpredictable Delta variant has changed the expected course of the coronavirus pandemic so much that it can be hard to know exactly what you're waiting for, or if you should continue waiting at all.

New Zealand Covid: Men caught smuggling KFC into lockdown-hit Auckland  —  NZ police have made a bizarre arrest after a pair of alleged gang associates were caught trying to enter Auckland with a boot full of KFC chicken and tens of thousands of dollars.  —  The men were charged with breaching the country's tough Covid-19 rules.

Sinema Cueing Up To Go Indy (Must Read)  —  Absolutely fascinating look at Kyrsten Sinema's efforts to position herself as an independent in Arizona, possibly formally but definitely in effect.  It makes pretty clear she's not done with politics or angling for a high dollar lobbying gig, as some speculate.

Haitian migrants revolt in custody and seize control of privately contracted bus  —  DEL RIO, Texas — Haitian migrants who were being transported on a federally contracted private bus away from the border revolted during the ride and overtook control of the commercial vehicle before escaping, according to two law enforcement officials.

Russian hackers target Iowa grain co-op in $5.9 million ransomware attack  —  Cybercrime cell BlackMatter threatened to release New Cooperative's proprietary business data unless it paid up  —  Russian hackers leveled a ransomware attack on an Iowa farming co-op and demanded $5.9 million …

Bolsonaro vowed to show a new Brazil but ‘lie-filled’ UN speech cuts little ice  —  Far-right president peddled unproven Covid remedies and made baseless claims about Brazilian politics and the environment  —  The Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, told the United Nations general assembly …

GOP Senate candidates back Trump on almost everything.  But only Greitens has joined him in publicly attacking McConnell.  —  Former Missouri governor Eric Greitens (R), who is running for Senate, said Tuesday that if he wins next year, he will not support Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell …

Angelo Codevilla, R.I.P.  —  Angelo Codevilla, the historian of spycraft and powerful analyst of American political and social trends, has died.  It is difficult for many commentators to see beyond the current news cycle.  But Codevilla, because he could see America as it is presently, could also see into the future.

State Department Plans ‘China House’ to Counter Beijing  —  Some fear larger State Department China desk could be a “massive bureaucratic blob.”  —  The U.S. State Department is planning to expand the number of officials dedicated to monitoring China, a bid to track Beijing's growing footprint in key countries around the world.

With No U.S. Support, Leaders of Afghan Resistance Flee the Country … The son of Afghanistan's most celebrated anti-Taliban resistance leader has escaped into neighboring Tajikistan, less than a month after vowing to defend his homeland “no matter what happens.”

Ohio Senate candidate who compared refugees to alligators is the grandson of refugees aided by resettlement organizations  —  (CNN)An Ohio Senate candidate who has pushed strong anti-refugee messages against Afghans and others is the grandson of refugees from Europe who settled in the Cleveland area …

Democrats' dwindling 2022 map  —  Democrats are trying to unseat only about half as many Republican House members next year as they did in 2020, trimming their target list from 39 to 21.  —  Why it matters: The narrowing map — which reflects where Democrats see their best chance of flipping seats …

The Trailer: A socialist beat the mayor of Buffalo in a primary.  He's still running.  —  In this edition: Democrats vs. socialism in Buffalo, six easy steps to steal the presidency, and liberals get organized in Hawaii.  —  Yes, I had wings while I was in Buffalo, you can stop asking me, and this is The Trailer.

Eric Trump's Lawyer In New York State Attorney General's Suit Quits  —  Alawyer representing Eric Trump in the New York Attorney General's civil suit alleging the Trump Organization committed fraud has quit, according to a court filing he submitted last week.