Kyle Rittenhouse's white crocodile tears hold value in America  —  Paul Butler: Rittenhouse was prepared to disrupt image as trigger-happy vigilante  —  Kyle Rittenhouse, the man charged with homicide in the deaths of two anti-police brutality demonstrators, seems to have spent much more time at the gun range than in acting classes.

An Air Force sergeant killed himself on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.  The note he left is heartbreaking.  —  Kenneth Omar Santiago's perfect smile dazzles on social media as he poses in his Air Force uniforms — flight suits to mess dress.  —  He accepts military awards …

Appeals court temporarily bars release of Trump White House records to House Jan. 6 committee  —  A federal appeals court on Thursday blocked the imminent release of records of former president Donald Trump's White House calls and activities related to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack after a lower court found …

COVID-19 hot spots offer sign of what could be ahead for US  —  The contagious delta variant is driving up COVID-19 hospitalizations in the Mountain West and fueling disruptive outbreaks in the North, a worrisome sign of what could be ahead this winter in the U.S.

Chris Christie Dishes on What Turned Him Off Working for Trump  —  The former guv almost became Trump's third chief of staff.  But a combo of aggressive Javanka behavior and Trump's loose lips led to Christie turning down the gig, he writes. … When Chris Christie withdrew from consideration …

'We don't want any more Black pastors coming in here,' says defense attorney in Arbery death trial  —  (CNN)A defense attorney for one of the three White men charged in 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery's killing objected Thursday to nationally recognized civil rights leaders attending the trial to support the victim's family.

What happened to Eric Clapton? … Robert Cray was stunned when he first heard “Stand and Deliver.”  Eric Clapton, his onetime musical hero, who became a mentor and friend, had released his first protest song in 56 years of recording.  Only it wasn't about George Floyd or global warming.

Build Back Better 2.0 Still Raises Taxes For High Income Households And Reduces Them For Others  —  In a new analysis, the Tax Policy Center estimates that the major tax changes in the latest version of President Biden's Build Back Better plan would cut taxes on average for nearly all income groups in 2022.

Gov. Murphy's Republican Foe, Jack Ciattarelli, Will Concede  —  It took nine days.  But Mr. Ciattarelli is expected to acknowledge on Friday that he has lost the race for governor of New Jersey.  —  Jack Ciattarelli, a Republican vying to unseat Gov. Philip D. Murphy of New Jersey …

Lawsuit Threats, Empty Seats, and a “COVID Mobile”: Trump's Disastrous Tulsa Rally Was Even More of a Train Wreck Than Originally Thought  —  The rally made headlines for its empty seats, but things were even worse behind the scenes, writes Jonathan Karl.  The president feuded with advisers …

Project Veritas: Journalists or Political Spies?  —  Documents show how the conservative group worked with lawyers to gauge how far its deceptive reporting practices could go before running afoul of federal laws.  —  WASHINGTON — Hours after F.B.I. agents searched the homes …

The Main Driver of Inflation Is a Murderous Maniac in Riyadh … Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is enacting revenge on Democrats in general and President Joe Biden specifically for the party's increasingly standoffish attitude toward the kingdom — by driving up energy prices and fueling global inflation.

McConnell won't go to White House signing ceremony for infrastructure bill  —  Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on Thursday that he won't attend a White House signing ceremony for a bipartisan infrastructure deal that he voted for and has touted while in Kentucky this week.

Scoop: Biden appointing infrastructure chief  —  President Biden plans to install a point-person in charge of infrastructure to ensure his administration properly implements its trillion-dollar legislation, two sources familiar with the plans tell Axios.  —  Why it matters …

Chinese Voters Came Out in Force for the GOP in NYC, Shaking Up Politics  —  From Sunset Park in Brooklyn to Elmhurst and Flushing in Queens, frustrations over Democratic stances on schools and crime helped mobilize votes for Republican Curtis Sliwa for mayor and conservative Council candidates.

'I hope it's a fever that will break': GOP wrestles with infrastructure vote backlash  —  It's the party against critical race theory, “woke-ism” and vaccine mandates.  —  And now, it would seem, the Republican Party is against bridges and roads.  —  The ferocity of the reaction …

Sen. Joe Manchin, speaking at Toyota event in W.Va., calls union-built EV tax credit ‘wrong’  —  The news arrives as the state's senior senator holds a deciding vote on the Build Back Better Act, which includes a tax credit for union-made battery-electric vehicles that Toyota opposes.

‘Anti-woke’ University of Austin is right that college is ‘broken,’ but its founders are wrong about everything else  —  It's not every day that a brand new university is unveiled in the United States, and — thanks to its backing by an all-star team of politically conservative thought leaders …

Michigan's AG got drunk before a football game and wrote about it on Facebook  —  Two Bloody Marys on an empty stomach, it turns out, was a bit too much for Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.  —  In a post on her personal Facebook page Wednesday, the state's top prosecutor acknowledged drinking …

Durham indictments - don't be fooled, here's where this case is likely headed  —  Abuse of political power is not necessarily a violation of the criminal law  —  Andy McCarthy on the implications of John Durham's latest indictments  —  There is a great deal of extravagant commentary …

Biden Marks First Veterans Day in Two Decades Without Troops in Active Combat  —  President Biden, who ended the 20-year conflict in Afghanistan this summer, called veterans the “soul of America.”  —  WASHINGTON — President Biden paid homage on Thursday to veterans, calling them the …

Fugitive Jan. 6 Rioter Makes Insanely Desperate Plea on Belarus State TV  —  In the full special released Thursday, Neumann—who allegedly called Jan. 6 cops “little bitches”—said he'd face “torture” in America and promised to be a “good citizen” of Belarus.

Europe Weighs Border Walls as Migrants Mass in Belarus at Poland's Frontier  —  The European Union is adopting a tougher stance toward migration in response to what officials see as a hybrid attack from a close Russian ally  —  BERLIN—A standoff over the fate of thousands of migrants camped …

Can We Talk About Critical Race Theory?  —  The national debate over critical race theory — if one can even call it a debate — has been filled with half-truths, unfulfilled definitions, and a whole lot of obfuscation and obstruction.  It feels, at times, as if we've walked into an unfinished simulation …

Trump's legal woes multiply post-presidency  —  (CNN)The Trump Organization could lose the keys to an 18-hole public golf course with views of the Manhattan skyline in the coming weeks, making it another likely casualty to stem from former President Donald Trump's actions on January 6 before rioters stormed the US Capitol.

Gene Simmons rips anti-vaxxers: 'If you're willing to walk among us unvaccinated, you are an enemy'  —  Gene Simmons is blasting COVID-19 deniers and unvaccinated Americans, calling them the “enemy.”  —  “If you're willing to walk among us unvaccinated, you are an enemy,” …

Biden calls Satchel Paige ‘the great negro’ in latest gaffe  —  Paige played in the so-called ‘Negro leagues’ before moving on to MLB in the late 1940s  —  Concha: Biden, media cannot spin this inflation catastrophe  —  President Biden referred to the late baseball player Satchel Paige as …

Facebook's Vast Wasteland  —  Infinite channels but nothing on. … I've been thinking a lot lately about programming dead zones on TV.  I distinctly remember being sick and home from school in the early aughts and lying on the couch aimlessly trying to find something, anything, to watch on TV.

Trump Allies Help Bolsonaro Sow Doubt in Brazil's Elections  —  With his poll numbers falling, President Jair Bolsonaro is already questioning the legitimacy of next year's election.  He has help from the United States.  —  BRASÍLIA — The conference hall was packed …