With ban in effect, Texas abortion clinics say they won't terminate pregnancies after 6 weeks  —  AUSTIN — Texas enacted the nation's strictest state-level abortion ban Wednesday, prohibiting the procedure in most cases after six weeks of pregnancy, with an emergency request for the Supreme Court to block the statute going unanswered.

52% of Voters Think Biden Should Resign Over Afghanistan Withdrawal  —  The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan was so badly handled that President Joe Biden should resign because of it, according to a majority of voters.  However, most don't think Vice President Kamala Harris is qualified to replace Biden if he leaves office.

Majority of Interpreters, Other U.S. Visa Applicants Were Left Behind in Afghanistan, Official Says  —  Many Afghan allies had applied for visas to escape reprisal from the Taliban

Has Delta Peaked?  —  We investigate Covid's mysterious two-month cycle.  —  Has the Delta-fueled Covid-19 surge in the U.S. finally peaked?  —  The number of new daily U.S. cases has risen less over the past week than at any point since June, as you can see in this chart:

Kevin McCarthy keeps revealing how ugly a GOP House would be  —  Mark this down: If Republicans win the House in the 2022 elections, one of their very first acts in the majority will be to impeach President Biden for the offense of having won the 2020 election.  —  Okay, that's a joke.  But only partly.

The Legal Minds Who Tried to Overturn the Election for Trump Are Being Welcomed Back Into Polite Society  —  Though it hasn't received the attention it deserves, courage from Republican election officials and leaders helped save this country from a total election meltdown in 2020 based on lies …

Sweetgreen CEO: Vaccines and Masks Will Not Save Us, But Salads Might  —  The pricey salad chain CEO took to LinkedIn to espouse his views on the pandemic, such as that Americans who got seriously ill were too fat.  —  EO  —  On Tuesday, the CEO of Sweetgreen, a restaurant chain …

Texas parents accused a Black principal of promoting critical race theory.  The district has now suspended him.  —  At a heated Texas school board meeting in late July, a man accused a Black principal of promoting critical race theory and “the conspiracy theory of systemic racism.”

McDonald's McFlurry Machine Is Broken (Again).  Now the FTC Is On It.  —  The frequently malfunctioning equipment leads to a lawsuit and gets the federal antitrust agency involved  —  Can the FTC help get you your McFlurry?  —  As many customers of McDonald's know all too well …

Far-Right Propagandist Turns up in Moscow After Jan. 6  —  Russia Insider founder Charles Bausman traveled from his home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 and advanced as far as the Capitol's balustrades after Trump's speech, he said.  Soon after, he left the country for Moscow.

Exclusive: Government can't reach one-in-three released migrant kids  —  The U.S. government has lost contact with thousands of migrant children released from its custody, according to data obtained by Axios through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

After Hurricane Ida, President Joe Biden to visit Louisiana Friday  —  President Joe Biden will get a up close look at the devastation wrought by Hurricane Ida on Friday when he plans to spend most of the day touring southeast Louisiana, the White House said.

An Open Letter to Tucker Carlson from a Hungarian Conservative  —  Viktor Orbán isn't building the Christian conservative Disneyland in Hungary you think he is, but a Chinese and Russian Trojan Horse in the EU and NATO.  —  Editor's note: Earlier this month, Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson visited Hungary.

Taliban show off captured weapons at Kandahar victory parade  —  (CNN)The Taliban on Wednesday showed off dozens of American-made armored vehicles along with newly seized weapons at victory celebrations in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar.  —  In videos posted on social media …

Massive randomized study is proof that surgical masks limit coronavirus spread, authors say  —  The authors of a study based on an enormous randomized research project in Bangladesh say their results offer the best evidence yet that widespread wearing of surgical masks can limit the spread of the coronavirus in communities.

Excerpts of call between Joe Biden and Ashraf Ghani July 23  —  U.S. President Joe Biden and Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani spoke by phone July 23.  Here are excerpts from that call, based on a transcript and recording reviewed by Reuters:  —  BIDEN: Mr. President.  Joe Biden.

California Recall Election Aug Survey  —  California Recall Election Aug Survey See Report Here

What Happened to the Babylon Bee?  —  Until a few years ago, the Babylon Bee was a niche humor site—the Onion for conservative Protestants.  The Bee was founded seven months before Donald Trump took office and became popular mostly because many of the jokes were very funny—but also …

Jaleel Stallings shot at the MPD; a jury acquitted him of wrongdoing  —  Before the white, unmarked cargo van of the Minneapolis Police Department drove down Lake Street, an officer gave Sgt. Andrew Bittell his orders: “Drive down Lake Street.  You see a group, call it out.  OK great!

Arrest warrant issued for Ohio man accused of confronting NBC's Shaquille Brewster on live TV  —  Mississippi police issued an arrest warrant Tuesday for an Ohio man who they say confronted NBC News' Shaquille Brewster on live television.  —  The man, Benjamin Eugene Dagley, of Wooster …

Ben Dugan Works for CVS.  His Job Is Battling a $45 Billion Crime Spree.  —  Retailers are spending millions to combat organized rings that steal from their stores in bulk and peddle goods online, often on Amazon  —  Ben Dugan sat in an unmarked sedan in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood …

FACT SHEET: Biden-⁠Harris Administration Announces Immediate Steps to Increase Affordable Housing Supply  —  Immediate Steps Supplement the Biden-Harris Administration's Push for Historic, Long-Term Investments in New Housing as Part of the Build Back Better Agenda

‘It still seems unbelievable’  —  At 36, Simon Maloy was a successful political writer with a wife and two young sons.  Then he found out he had colon cancer, a disease striking more and more young people.  —  Three days.  That's all Simon Maloy got.  Three days to hop on bikes …

MoD could move UK nuclear subs abroad if Scotland breaks away  —  Contingency plans for Trident look at US and French bases if no long-term lease possible on navy facilities like Faslane  —  The UK has drawn up secret contingency plans to move its Trident nuclear submarine bases from Scotland …

Judge Dismisses Hunter Biden Laptop Guy's Defamation Lawsuit with Prejudice, Forces Him to Pay Twitter's Attorneys' Fees Under Anti-SLAPP Law  —  A federal court in Florida has dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed against Twitter by the Delaware computer repairman who briefly captured national attention during …

America's Acute Governance Problem  —  We have difficulty handing out money intended for people who need it.  And that's just the beginning.  —  Demonstrators in Brooklyn, New York, call for an extension of the state's eviction ban until 2022 and the cancellation of rent, August 19, 2021.