Biden plots new course to get relief for student loan borrowers  —  President Biden on Friday announced new actions to offer student loan borrowers some forgiveness, reintroducing his forgiveness plan grounded in the Higher Education Act (HEA).  —  Using the HEA to provide student debt relief …

Neil Gorsuch has a problem with telling the truth  —  Gorsuch hands a victory to the Christian right by making false claims about an important First Amendment case.  —  On Thursday, Justice Neil Gorsuch released a 26-page opinion venting outrage about a legal dispute that does not exist, involving websites that do not exist.

Gay Rights vs. Free Speech: Supreme Court Backs Web Designer Opposed to Same-Sex Marriage  —  The decision, which turned on the court's interpretation of the First Amendment, appeared to suggest that the rights of L.G.B.T.Q. people are on more vulnerable legal footing, particularly when they are at odds with claims of religious freedom.

Fox News Agrees to Pay $12 Million to Settle Hostile Workplace Suit  —  The settlement with a former producer, Abby Grossberg, is the latest development in a series of legal battles involving Fox.  —  Fox News has agreed to pay $12 million to Abby Grossberg, a former Fox News producer …

Biden administration failed to foresee Afghanistan mayhem, review finds  —  A State Department report released Friday finds fault with the Biden administration's crisis management and awareness before and during the fall of Afghanistan, an affirmation of critics who have said that bureaucratic lethargy …

Jan. 6 defendant arrested near Obama's home had guns and 400 rounds of ammunition in his van  —  WASHINGTON — A Trump supporter who stormed the Capitol wearing a “Make Space Great Again” hat had two guns and 400 rounds of ammunition in his van when he was arrested Thursday near former President …

CIA director, on secret trip to Ukraine, hears plan for war's endgame  —  During meetings in Kyiv, William Burns was told of Ukraine's ambitious goal to retake territory and push Moscow into talks by the end of the year  —  During a secret visit to Ukraine by CIA Director William J. Burns earlier …

Hunter Biden attorney says WhatsApp message cited by Republicans is fake  —  In a purported 2017 message to a Chinese businessman, Hunter Biden allegedly threatened retaliation from his father, who was then a former vice president.  —  An attorney for Hunter Biden says purported screenshots …

An unlikely provocateur, Miss Texas, takes on the state's GOP leaders  —  The day of the school shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Tex., last year, Averie Bishop posted a TikTok video, sobbing.  “These things happen all the time and nothing changes,” she said.

Protesters Blast Moms For Liberty Summit in Philly: ‘Klanned Karenhood’  —  “For people to come out here and stand against this kind of fascism is absolutely necessary.”  —  Moms for Liberty, the conservative organization that's pushed book bans across the country, descended on Philadelphia …

Alan Arkin, Oscar Winner for ‘Little Miss Sunshine,’ Dies at 89  —  Alan Arkin, an Oscar-winning actor for “Little Miss Sunshine” with a body of work that spans seven decades of stage and screen acting, died June 29 at his home in Carlsbad, Calif, Variety has confirmed.  He was 89.

Brazil Set to Bar Bolsonaro From Office for Election-Fraud Claims  —  Brazil's electoral court had enough votes to block former President Jair Bolsonaro from office until 2030 for spreading false claims about voting.  —  Jack Nicas, The Times's correspondent in Brazil …

18 Hasidic Schools Failed to Provide Basic Education, New York City Finds  —  An eight-year investigation determined that the religious schools were breaking the law by not offering thousands of students adequate instruction in English and math.  —  Eighteen private schools run …

Why Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote about babysitters in her student loan opinion  —  Justice Amy Coney Barrett, in a concurrence to Friday's ruling striking down President Joe Biden's student debt forgiveness plan, defended the Supreme Court conservative majority's use of a controversial legal theory and …

This Has Been a Very Bad Week for the Supreme Court … The Supreme Court had a banner week: overturning affirmative action, ruling that it's OK to discriminate against gay people, and blocking President Biden's plan to relieve up to 43 million Americans from crippling debt.

Ukraine Slams Russian Helicopter Base in Likely British Storm Shadow Missile Strike  —  Use of the high-tech British Storm Shadow is probable but unconfirmed.  Satellites photographed 29 Russian military helicopters parked at Berdyansk airport two weeks ago.

Shutting down the right-wing rabbit hole is possible: First, follow the money  —  Schools and parents are suing social media giants over their “addictive” algorithms.  Can that force a reckoning?  —  “The man I loved wasn't there anymore — and instead this monster that had the most horrible thoughts about people was in its place.”

White women have helped sink the affirmative action ship  —  A very sweaty greeting from the Dallas heat dome.  Temperatures here have risen to make my home city hotter than 99 percent of the rest of the planet.  So far, our notorious power grid has held up.

Soros' Foundations to Cut 40% of Staff After Handover to Son  —  Open Society Foundations, the nonprofit founded by billionaire George Soros, plans to cut at least 40% of its staff in the coming months.  —  The charity, which earlier this month confirmed Soros, 92, was handing control to his son Alex …

Republican candidate Chris Christie: ‘Trump wants to be Putin in America’  —  The former New Jersey governor on his mission to stop the ex-president returning to power  —  I arrive a quarter of an hour early at the Tick Tock Diner to discover that Chris Christie is already there.