The Delta Variant Isn't Just Hyper-Contagious.  It Also Grows More Rapidly Inside You  —  After months of data collection, scientists agree: The delta variant is the most contagious version of the coronavirus worldwide.  It spreads about 225% faster than the original version of the virus …

Lincoln Project scores a win against the ‘Sedition Caucus’ after latest ad targeting Toyota  —  This Thursday, the anti-Trump conservative PAC Lincoln Project released a new ad targeting Toyota for being part of a string of corporations “lavishing massive campaign donations on Republicans …

Scripps Spelling Bee 2021: Live Updates  —  Zaila Avant-garde spells her way to victory!  —  The last few words were rattled off fast between the two final finalists, Chaitra Thummala and Zaila Avant-garde.  —  First was fewtrils (things of little value), which Chaitra got right.

Two South Florida men were involved in President Moïse's assassination, investigators say  —  Two South Florida men have been arrested in connection with the assassination of Haiti President Jovenel Moïse, the Miami Herald has learned.  —  James Solages, of Fort Lauderdale …

Unvaccinated hospitalized patients say they regret not getting the shot … To describe Dr. Ryan Dare as frustrated would be a gross understatement.  —  Dare and his colleagues at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock are dealing with a surge in extremely ill Covid-19 patients …

J.D. Vance is scaring America's elite.  Good.  —  Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance is being attacked by critics on the left and right for his populist economics and his changed views on former president Donald Trump.  That's a good sign that Vance's message is getting through and that he can win.

‘Call out Fox News!’  Mitch McConnell shredded after saying he's ‘perplexed’ about why GOP voters refuse vaccines  —  The politicization of coronavirus vaccines in America has created a correlation between vaccination rates and whether or not a state voted for Joe Biden or Donald Trump.

Tom Cotton's slimy attack on a ‘critical race theory’ professor is full of holes  —  Sen. Tom Cotton is calling for the firing of a U.S. Air Force Academy professor after she admitted to discussing critical race theory with cadets.  But even a cursory look at the Arkansas Republican's slimy argument shows …

Sean Hannity says “it's inevitable” that “America's streets will run with blood”  —  Tucker Carlson calls jailed insurrectionists “political prisoners”  —  Tucker Carlson compares vaccine requirements to forced sterilization  —  Fox host Mark Levin on Rep. Rashida Tlaib: “She's an enemy.

The rapid decline of White evangelical America?  —  New data suggests a bigger decrease than previously understood — including in the GOP.  —  If there was an epitome of Donald Trump's hostile and often puzzling takeover of the Republican Party, it might have been his alliance with evangelical Christians.

The Supreme Court donor ruling is a defeat for Kamala Harris  —  Many media pundits will reflexively view the recent Supreme Court decision to strike down the California rule mandating that nonprofit groups disclose their top donors as a victory for conservatives such as Charles Koch.

Va. GOP demands ethics probe of polisci heavyweight Larry Sabato's ‘bitter partisanship’ on Twitter  —  The Virginia Republican Party on Thursday demanded an ethics investigation into the University of Virginia's top elections forecaster, Larry Sabato, over his tweets that they say display “bitter partisanship” in favor of Democrats.

Disgraced Trump foe Michael Avenatti weeps as he is sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for Nike extortion scheme  — Michael Avenatti, the brash attorney who became a leading foe of then-President Donald Trump, was sentenced Thursday to 30 months in prison for a brazen botched scheme …

Tucker Carlson's Extremely Mad That Journalists FOIA'd His FOIA Request to NSA  —  The idea that reporters would use basic journalistic tools to verify his claims about the NSA set Carlson off on Thursday night—and he took specific aim at Ken Klippenstein.  —  Fox News host Tucker Carlson …

The Democrats' New Voting-Rights Obstacle  —  There is a gnawing anxiety among voting-rights advocates that even if Democrats find a way to roll back the Senate filibuster and pass new federal legislation safeguarding access to the ballot, the Republican-appointed majority on the Supreme Court might still strike it down.

‘Financially Hobbled for Life’: The Elite Master's Degrees That Don't Pay Off  —  Columbia and other top universities push master's programs that fail to generate enough income for graduates to keep up with six-figure federal loans  —  Recent film program graduates of Columbia University …

Too hot to hike?  Yosemite to hit 111 degrees this weekend.  —  The mercury in Yosemite hit 103 degrees Thursday at 2 p.m., and it's still rising.  The national park is forecast to hit 106 degrees today at the start of a heat wave that will broil the U.S. West Coast through Monday, according to the National Weather Service.

“There's Going to Be a Blowup”: Trump and DeSantis Are on a Collision Course  —  In public it's all smiles, but behind the scenes, Republicans are already preparing themselves for a showdown between former president Donald Trump and Florida governor Ron DeSantis.

What does Vladimir Putin have on Joe Biden?  —  Biden is refusing to act as Russian attacks become more ambitious and more aggressive  —  In May 2017, TIME magazine published a cover showing the White House being infected and taken over by Russian onion domes.

Europe is becoming a right-wing continent  —  In Europe today, the most viable traditional parties are often mainstream right-wing parties that have sought to coopt the nationalist right's issues — most notably Boris Johnson's Tory Party, which eclipsed UKIP by adopting Brexit for itself …

EXCLUSIVE U.S. set to add more Chinese companies to blacklist over Xinjiang  —  The Biden administration is set as early as Friday to add at least 10 more Chinese companies and other entities to its economic blacklist over alleged human rights abuses and high-tech surveillance in Xinjiang, two sources told Reuters.

Rudy Giuliani's Legal Fund Was a Bust.  Now, Its Donation Page Has Disappeared.  —  The Fundly account raised $9,798 before the page disappeared—far short from its goal of raising $5 million in two months.  —  After raising a paltry sum of money from supporters and attracting little interest …