Republicans usually lose shutdown fights.  So why are they going there again?  —  Republicans are threatening to withhold the votes needed to raise the debt ceiling and keep the government funded ahead of a crucial deadline in two weeks, putting the country on course for yet another fiscal crisis and government shutdown.

FDA backs Pfizer COVID-19 boosters for seniors, high-risk  —  The U.S. moved a step closer Wednesday to offering booster doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine to senior citizens and others at high risk from the virus as the Food and Drug Administration signed off on the targeted use of extra shots.

Sen. Susan Collins won't support abortion rights bill  —  As Democrats consider legislation to respond to a new Texas state ban on abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy, they have lost the support of one of the few remaining Republicans who support abortion rights.

Biden admin seeks contractor to run migrant detention facility at Gitmo, guards who speak Creole  —  LOS ANGELES — As it scrambles to deal with the surge of Haitian migrants at the southern border, the Biden administration is seeking a private contractor to operate a migrant detention facility …

Flynn: Libs Are Plotting To Put Vax In Salad Dressing  —  “Somebody sent me a thing this morning where they're talking about putting the vaccine in salad dressing.  Have you seen this?  I mean, I'm thinking to myself, this is the bizarro world, right?  This is definitely the bizarro world.

Murder Rose by Almost 30% in 2020.  It's Rising at a Slower Rate in 2021.  —  The increase in murders this summer does not appear to be as large as the record spike last summer.  —  The United States in 2020 experienced the biggest rise in murder since the start of national record-keeping in 1960 …

Tucker Carlson Goes All In On ‘The Great Replacement’ Theory, Says Biden Wants To ‘Change the Racial Mix Of the Country’  —  Tucker Carlson said the quiet part out loud on Wednesday night, calling the influx of immigrants into the United States via the southern border “the great replacement.”

Atlantic writer slams GOP, Trump voters as obese drug users: ‘Go for a walk and order the salmon’  —  'If you found a county where there is a lot of obesity and drub abuse, that's where you had a lot of Trump votes'  —  The Atlantic staff writer David Frum disparaged Donald Trump voters …

Bipartisan Police-Overhaul Talks End With No Deal  —  Lawmakers had sought to address abuses by law-enforcement in wake of protests over killings of Black Americans  —  WASHINGTON — Bipartisan talks aimed at overhauling police tactics and accountability have ended with no agreement …

Gubernatorial Candidates Locked in Close Contest, UMW Survey Shows  —  Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) and Republican nominee Glenn Youngkin remain locked in a tight contest for governor of Virginia, a University of Mary Washington statewide survey shows.

‘Outrageous’: Judge Lays Into Trump-Loving Deputy Who Wore ‘Sheriff’ Patch On Jan. 6  —  Ronald Colton McAbee was a sheriff's deputy when he attempted to breach the Capitol on Jan. 6.  A judge is deciding whether he'll be freed pretrial.  —  A federal judge criticized a Capitol attack defendant …

What Jonathan Franzen and the Left Get Wrong About Free Speech Don't wait for an emergency to criticize dangerous ideas by your allies.  —  Novelist Jonathan Franzen, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, explained why he refused to sign a letter to Harper's defending free speech norms from the left.

Special Report: Backers of Trump's false fraud claims seek to control next elections  —  One leading candidate seeking to become Georgia's chief elections official, Republican Jody Hice, is a Congressman who voted to overturn Democrat Joe Biden's 2020 presidential win in the hours after the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol.

The Emerging Artistry of Hunter Biden  —  At some point in the coming weeks, hundreds of thousands of dollars will be funneled to the son of the sitting American president—and none of us will know anything about who sent the money, or where it originally came from, or why anyone chose to send it in the first place.

After Mandating Masks Outdoors, Oregon's Active COVID-19 Cases Increased 73 Percent  —  On August 24, Oregon governor Kate Brown instated a state masking requirement that requires everyone five years and older, regardless of vaccination status, to wear a mask, face covering or face shield …

Not Getting Vaccinated to Own Your Fellow Libs  —  Conspiracy theorists who discount the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines and other public-health mandates are often portrayed in the media as right-wing.  That's for good reason: a not-insignificant number of the most vocal conspiracists tie …

News Media Can't Shake ‘Missing White Woman Syndrome,’ Critics Say  —  Major outlets have highlighted the case of Gabrielle Petito while often ignoring stories about women of color who go missing.  —  On Monday night, the MSNBC host Joy Reid invited two women on her show, “The ReidOut,” …

Biden's Approval Rating Hits New Low of 43%; Harris' Is 49%  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Eight months after President Joe Biden's inauguration, his job approval rating has fallen six percentage points to 43%, the lowest of his presidency.  For the first time, a majority, 53%, now disapproves of Biden's performance.

Top Adviser to Ukrainian President Is Targeted in an Assassination Attempt  —  President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would return to Ukraine from New York immediately.  The adviser, Serhiy Shefir, was unharmed, but his driver was shot and wounded in the attack.

Vaccine Mandates: The End of Covid?  Or the Beginning of Tyranny?  —  A Harvard law professor, a leading critic of the War on Terror, a rising GOP star and others weigh in. … This Will Come Back to Haunt Us  —  By Jay Bhattacharya and Jonathan Ketcham  —  Why the push for vaccine passports and mandates?

How to Navigate Your Climate Anxiety  —  How do you live in a world that is ending?  This is the central question of Daniel Sherrell's debut book Warmth: Coming of Age at the End of Our World.  Half-memoir and half-love letter to a future child, Sherrell's book provides insight on how to navigate …

My Time with Kurt Cobain  —  Befriending a rock star isn't necessarily as cool as you'd think—particularly when tragedy happens.  —  In early 1992, when I first met Kurt Cobain, he and Courtney Love were living in a little apartment in a two-up-two-down building on an ordinary street in the Fairfax section of Los Angeles.

Ousting Cuomo disenfranchised NY voters  —  As a lifelong Democrat and practicing lawyer for over 40 years, I am appalled by the Albany coup d'êtat in which Andrew Cuomo's political rivals trampled the rights of the electorate and basic due process for their own political gain.

Grand Jury Returns Indictments Charging 2 Afghan Evacuees with Crimes While at Fort McCoy & Wisconsin Residents with Gun & Drug Crimes  —  MADISON, WIS. - A federal grand jury in the Western District of Wisconsin, sitting in Madison, returned the following indictments today.

Diplomat overseeing ‘Havana Syndrome’ response is out after 6 months  —  WASHINGTON — The top State Department official overseeing the response to “Havana Syndrome” is leaving her position after only six months on the job, three officials tell NBC News.  —  Ambassador Pamela Spratlen …

Mary Trump unplugged  —  Donald Trump's niece, Mary, returns to talk about her new book, “The Reckoning: our nation's trauma and finding a way to heal.”  —  Among the topics Mary discusses with us: Don Jr's intelligence; Ivanka ego; her recent slapdown of Meghan McCain …

As Climate Envoy, John Kerry Faces Tough Path  —  As the first presidential envoy for climate, he wants to persuade world leaders to “do what the science tells us.”  With global climate talks less than two months away, he faces a tough path.  —  NEW DELHI — The lanky figure lugging …