Former Murdoch Exec: Fox News Is Poison For America  —  The Rupert Murdoch I worked for was brilliant, courageous, optimistic, and a gentleman.  Which makes his bile-filled network all the more confounding. … Rupert Murdoch, whom I served for seven years, has many business and journalistic achievements.

Trump Organization charges could open the indictment floodgates  —  We have now had a few days to try to absorb the Manhattan district attorney's criminal indictment against the Trump Organization and Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg.  Here are some topline takeaways …

You Really Need to Quit Twitter  —  I'm almost 60, and in these many decades I've seen people—some of them good friends—taken down by all kinds of things.  Alcohol and drugs, mostly.  A few years ago, I lost someone to heroin, and hundreds of us sat at his funeral in wordless communion.

Trump has cut off Rudy Giuliani, and is annoyed that he asked to be paid for his work on challenging the election, book says  — Rudy Giuliani spearheaded Donald Trump's attempt to overturn his election loss until February.  — Giuliani is said to have long been asking Trump to pay his legal fees but has been ignored.

I&I/TIPP Poll: Just 36% of Young People Are Proud To Be American  —  Editor's note: Issues & Insights gratefully acknowledges its collaboration with tippinsights on the simultaneous and exclusive release of this story.  —  Is pride in America a thing of the past?  Not if you ask Americans.

White House reaching out to Republicans about a second bipartisan infrastructure package  —  Senior White House officials are holding “informal discussions” with outside experts and congressional officials on how to split off a second, targeted bipartisan package from a larger reconciliation package expected …

We knew QAnon is anti-Semitic.  Now we know it's racist, too  —  In the summer of 2020, social media companies, led by Facebook, banned the hashtag #savethechildren, which had been hijacked by QAnon conspiracy theorists from the legitimate charity with the same name.

West Virginia GOP Governor Issues Blunt Warning To Unvaccinated  —  “They're not thinking right,” Jim Justice said of the COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in his state.  —  West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) said people hesitant about receiving a COVID-19 vaccine are “not thinking right” and warned they are playing a “death lottery.”

Eleven days after partial collapse, remainder of Surfside condo is demolished  —  The remaining portion of Champlain Towers South has been demolished.  —  At 10:30 Sunday night, authorities detonated charges inserted into holes drilled in the part of the 12-story Surfside condo that stood tenuously …

Birthday Parties as Virus Vector  —  Just how much Covid was spreading behind closed doors last year?  Quite a lot, as a new study with a simple yet creative approach found out.  —  At the height of the pandemic, it was easy to worry that strangers would give you the virus.

Biden says U.S. is close to “independence from a deadly virus”  —  President Joe Biden used his Fourth of July speech Sunday to declare that the U.S. is “closer than ever to declaring our independence from a deadly virus.”  What he's saying: “This year, the Fourth of July is a day of special celebration …

In ramp-up to 2022 midterms, Republican candidates center pitches on Trump's false election claims  —  A candidate to be Arizona's top elections official said recently he hopes a review of 2020 ballots underway in his state will lead to the reversal of former president Donald Trump's defeat there.

Ammon Bundy seizes on housing shortage in new bid to take public lands in Idaho  —  When Ammon Bundy announced his run for governor of Idaho during a recent barbecue, he cooked up quarter-pound “Bundy burgers” made from a cow that his father unlawfully grazed on federal lands …

The Tech Cold War's ‘Most Complicated Machine’ That's Out of China's Reach  —  A $150 million chip-making tool from a Dutch company has become a lever in the U.S.-Chinese struggle.  It also shows how entrenched the global supply chain is.  —  SAN FRANCISCO — President Biden and many lawmakers …

Facebook, Twitter, Google Threaten to Quit Hong Kong Over Proposed Data Laws  —  Industry group representing companies says proposed anti-doxing rules could put staff based locally at risk of criminal charges  —  HONG KONG— Facebook Inc., Twitter Inc. and Alphabet Inc.'s Google …

How the Supreme Court eroded voting rights  —  If a law is working, if it is preventing trouble, isn't that a good reason to get rid of it?  —  In a word, that is stupid.  —  Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the former Supreme Court Justice, famously warned such stupidity amounts to …

Texans with disabilities fear voting will get harder for them as special session on GOP restrictions nears  —  The extent to which Republicans' proposed voting restrictions might affect voters of color has received much attention, but Texans with disabilities also face the prospect of new barriers to the ballot box.

Afghanistan: Soldiers flee to Tajikistan after militant clashes  —  More than 1,000 Afghan soldiers have fled to neighbouring Tajikistan after clashing with Taliban militants, officials have said.  —  The troops retreated over the border to “save their own lives”, according to a statement by Tajikistan's border guard.

Gov. Abbott rebounds against possible challenger Matthew McConaughey, has razor-thin edge over actor  —  The Republican incumbent holds a more robust 12-point lead in a potential matchup against Democrat Beto O'Rourke.  —  AUSTIN — Gov. Greg Abbott, after trailing potential challenger Matthew McConaughey …

'A political Rubik's Cube': Democrats work to keep Biden's economic agenda alive … WASHINGTON — Democratic leaders are performing a high-wire act to keep President Joe Biden's economic agenda alive, seeking to balance tensions inside their party with pressure from Republicans who want to derail …