Lawyers with supreme court business paid Clarence Thomas aide via Venmo  —  Payments to Rajan Vasisht, an aide from 2019-21, underscore ties between the justice and lawyers who argue cases in front of him  —  Several lawyers who have had business before the supreme court …

DeSantis Confronts a Murdoch Empire No Longer Quite So Supportive  —  The Florida governor has faced tough questions and critical coverage lately from Fox News and other conservative outlets, in a sign of growing skepticism.  —  Nicholas Nehamas reported from Miami, and Maggie Haberman from New York.

CPI Report Shows Inflation Eased to 3% in June  —  Fed officials are still likely to raise interest rates when they meet later this month  —  U.S. inflation eased last month to its slowest pace in more than two years as underlying price pressures moderated more than expected.

Democratic jitters grow over Cornel West's third-party bid  —  Cornel West's third-party presidential campaign is stirring up unpleasant flashbacks to 2016 for members of the Democratic Party, some of whom are starting to grow anxious about the effect it could have on President Biden's reelection.

Hollywood Studios' WGA Strike Endgame Is To Let Writers Go Broke Before Resuming Talks In Fall  —  EXCLUSIVE: Regardless of whether SAG-AFTRA goes on strike this week, the studios have no intention of sitting down with the Writers Guild for several more months.

NASA releases spectacular image to celebrate James Webb Space Telescope  —  The James Webb Space Telescope was designed to tunnel deeper into space and farther back in time than any previous observatory, with the audacious goal of seeing the very first galaxies that lit up the young universe.

Arizona Man Cited in Conspiracy Theories Sues Fox News for Defamation  —  Ray Epps, a two-time Trump voter, says Tucker Carlson repeatedly and falsely named him as a covert government agent who incited the Jan. 6 attacks.  —  Ray Epps, the man at the center of a widespread conspiracy theory …

China-based hackers breached email accounts, Microsoft says  —  Microsoft said late Tuesday a known group that primarily focuses on hacking Western governments to spy on them had successfully breached some accounts.  —  Hackers in China recently broke into the email accounts of around 25 organizations …

MSNBC Expert Arrives At Darkly Hilarious Take On Tommy Tuberville  —  Eddie S. Glaude Jr. made MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace crack up with his zinger aimed at the senator from Alabama.  —  MSNBC guest Eddie S. Glaude Jr. riffed on Nicolle Wallace's takedown of Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) on Tuesday, drawing cackles from the host.

On Biden's watch, Lady Justice has been weaponized.  But Merrick Garland can't do this one thing  —  When a prosecutor wants to protect the boss' son more than the country, we've got a problem  —  PROGRAMMING ALERT: Watch House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Fox Business Network's “Mornings with Maria” on Wednesday, July 12 at 8 am ET.

Wray hearing: FBI director says he is ‘absolutely not’ protecting the Bidens  —  Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) pressed FBI Director Christopher Wray on whether his agency is protecting President Joe Biden and his family during testimony Wednesday.  —  At the hearing, Wray and Gaetz got …

This Is One Republican Strategy That Isn't Paying Off  —  Mr. Edsall contributes a weekly column from Washington, D.C., on politics, demographics and inequality.  —  In 2011, determined to push back the ascendant Democratic coalition that elected America's first Black president …

Tax prep companies shared private taxpayer data with Google and Meta for years, congressional probe finds  —  Some of the nation's largest tax-prep companies have spent years sharing Americans' sensitive financial data with tech titans including Meta and Google in a potential violation of federal law …

Pence would ban abortions when pregnancies aren't viable.  His GOP rivals won't say if they agree  —  In a Republican presidential field full of opponents to abortion rights, Mike Pence stands out in his embrace of the cause.  The former vice president, who is seeking the White House in 2024 …

Michigan Salon Owner Refuses to Serve LGBTQ+ Community Because of ‘Pedophiles’  —  Some members of the LGBTQ+ community have been banned from a hair salon in Michigan in a breathtaking display of ignorance and bigotry.  —  The owner of Studio 8 Hair Lab, Christine Geiger …

The campaign of Chris Christie's dreams  —  Who needs to wake up to the political realities of 2024 — Trump loyalists, or the anti-Trump candidate?  —  MANCHESTER, N.H. — Chris Christie has a dream.  Not a fantasy, though some might call it that, but rather a waking ambition that he is pursuing with open eyes.

White House warns reporter Simon Ateba about his press-room outbursts  —  In a first for Biden's press office, the formal reprimand cites ‘continued interruptions’  —  Escalating its feud with an assertive reporter, the White House on Tuesday issued a formal warning to Simon Ateba …

‘He was free and clear’: How the leak of Jon Gruden's email led to the fall of Commanders owner Dan Snyder  —  AS HE HOPPED on a call with Roger Goodell, Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis had no plans to fire his head coach.  —  It was the afternoon of Friday, Oct. 8, 2021.

Conservative Group Withdraws Lawsuit Against Left-Wing Podcast  —  Young America's Foundation had filed a suit against the podcast “Know Your Enemy,” saying the satirical use of the phrase “Young Americans for Freedom” violated its trademark.  —  Over the past four years, the podcast …

Rough Days for Biden, Rougher Days for Trump  —  WAS LAST WEEK “hellish” for President Joe Biden?  Is he in for a cruel summer, filled with setbacks, scandal and calls for him to step aside because he's too old?  On the contrary.  The cruel, hellish summer of setbacks and scandal is coming for Donald Trump.

Georgia election workers say Giuliani failed to turn over key evidence in defamation suit  —  “He failed to take any steps to preserve relevant electronic evidence,” their attorneys said of Giuliani.  —  Amid Donald Trump's desperate bid to subvert the 2020 election, a top adviser …

S.F.'s Anchor Brewing is shutting down after 127 years  —  Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate  —  San Francisco institution Anchor Brewing Co., the godfather of steam beer, is shutting down after 127 years.  —  The brewery was “losing millions of dollars a year,” said Anchor spokesperson Sam Singer.