Anxious Democrats float Plan B: Raise debt ceiling on party-line vote  —  Moody's chief economist: US default would be ‘cataclysmic’  —  (CNN)A number of key Democrats say that their party should take matters into its own hands and raise the national debt limit by itself once Republicans block …

FDA Authorizes Booster Dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for Certain Populations  —  For Immediate Release:  —  Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration amended the emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine to allow for use of a single booster dose …

Sen. Susan Collins won't support abortion rights bill  —  As Democrats consider legislation to respond to a new Texas state ban on abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy, they have lost the support of one of the few remaining Republicans who support abortion rights.

A year after Trump said he wanted to “get rid of the ballots,” has the press learned anything?  —  “That particular question was the precursor to everything that followed - the Big Lie, the Insurrection and what we're living with as far as Trump being in denial about the election results...”

Not Getting Vaccinated to Own Your Fellow Libs  —  Conspiracy theorists who discount the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines and other public-health mandates are often portrayed in the media as right-wing.  That's for good reason: a not-insignificant number of the most vocal conspiracists tie …

Biden admin seeks contractor to run migrant detention facility at Gitmo, guards who speak Creole  —  LOS ANGELES — As it scrambles to deal with the surge of Haitian migrants at the southern border, the Biden administration is seeking a private contractor to operate a migrant detention facility …

Florida's new surgeon general says COVID-19 vaccines are ‘nothing special’ and opposes mask mandates  — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Dr. Joseph Ladapo to surgeon general and secretary of the state's health department on Tuesday.  — But Ladapo has come under fire for his criticism of COVID-19 vaccines and mask mandates.

The Emerging Artistry of Hunter Biden  —  At some point in the coming weeks, hundreds of thousands of dollars will be funneled to the son of the sitting American president—and none of us will know anything about who sent the money, or where it originally came from, or why anyone chose to send it in the first place.

Diplomat overseeing ‘Havana Syndrome’ response is out after 6 months  —  WASHINGTON — The top State Department official overseeing the response to “Havana Syndrome” is leaving her position after only six months on the job, three officials tell NBC News.  —  Ambassador Pamela Spratlen …

Grand Jury Returns Indictments Charging 2 Afghan Evacuees with Crimes While at Fort McCoy & Wisconsin Residents with Gun & Drug Crimes  —  MADISON, WIS. - A federal grand jury in the Western District of Wisconsin, sitting in Madison, returned the following indictments today.

Ousting Cuomo disenfranchised NY voters  —  As a lifelong Democrat and practicing lawyer for over 40 years, I am appalled by the Albany coup d'êtat in which Andrew Cuomo's political rivals trampled the rights of the electorate and basic due process for their own political gain.

The Stacey Abrams tour  —  Stacey Abrams this week launched an ambitious national tour that will stretch across months and many swing states ahead of the 2022 midterms — and potentially elevate her standing in the Democratic Party in the process.  —  Driving the news: Abrams kicked off …

Gubernatorial Candidates Locked in Close Contest, UMW Survey Shows  —  Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) and Republican nominee Glenn Youngkin remain locked in a tight contest for governor of Virginia, a University of Mary Washington statewide survey shows.

What Jonathan Franzen and the Left Get Wrong About Free Speech Don't wait for an emergency to criticize dangerous ideas by your allies.  —  Novelist Jonathan Franzen, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, explained why he refused to sign a letter to Harper's defending free speech norms from the left.

After Mandating Masks Outdoors, Oregon's Active COVID-19 Cases Increased 73 Percent  —  On August 24, Oregon governor Kate Brown instated a state masking requirement that requires everyone five years and older, regardless of vaccination status, to wear a mask, face covering or face shield …

‘Outrageous’: Judge Lays Into Trump-Loving Deputy Who Wore ‘Sheriff’ Patch On Jan. 6  —  Ronald Colton McAbee was a sheriff's deputy when he attempted to breach the Capitol on Jan. 6.  A judge is deciding whether he'll be freed pretrial.  —  A federal judge criticized a Capitol attack defendant …

Murder Rose by Almost 30% in 2020.  It's Rising at a Slower Rate in 2021.  —  The increase in murders this summer does not appear to be as large as the record spike last summer.  —  The United States in 2020 experienced the biggest rise in murder since the start of national record-keeping in 1960 …

Hawley slams Biden as ‘dangerous,’ demands top officials resign amid Afghanistan withdrawal fallout  —  Hawley placed a hold on Biden's State Department nominees, forcing a vote on the Senate floor  —  There needs to be accountability for the humiliation US has suffered at Biden's hands: Hawley

Special Report: Backers of Trump's false fraud claims seek to control next elections  —  One leading candidate seeking to become Georgia's chief elections official, Republican Jody Hice, is a Congressman who voted to overturn Democrat Joe Biden's 2020 presidential win in the hours after the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol.

Vanderbilt children's hospital chief: COVID-19 is spurring mental health crises in kids  —  COVID-19 is driving both physical and mental health crises among kids, according to the leader of Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.  —  A surge of pediatric COVID-19 hospitalizations …

Haitians Who Fled The US Border Are Now Facing Nights Of Raids And Terror In Mexico  —  CIUDAD ACUÑA, Mexico — Mexican authorities carrying rifles and flashlights combed through this city's downtown early Wednesday, searching for the Haitians who were in hiding after being pushed to flee the US just days ago.

RIP, Angelo Codevilla, the conservative thinker who took on the ruling class  —  Donald Trump's election in 2016 caught most intellectuals by surprise — and not least conservative intellectuals.  —  The right-of-center editors, columnists and think-tankers who had sung hymns …

As Climate Envoy, John Kerry Faces Tough Path  —  As the first presidential envoy for climate, he wants to persuade world leaders to “do what the science tells us.”  With global climate talks less than two months away, he faces a tough path.  —  NEW DELHI — The lanky figure lugging …

Atlantic writer slams GOP, Trump voters as obese drug users: ‘Go for a walk and order the salmon’  —  'If you found a county where there is a lot of obesity and drub abuse, that's where you had a lot of Trump votes'  —  The Atlantic staff writer David Frum disparaged Donald Trump voters …

The tangled tale of the Israel consulate, the Dilbert cartoonist and the Matt Gaetz case  —  The Novak incident is one of the many twists and turns in the Gaetz case.  —  The most-salacious aspects of the federal probe into Gaetz have received saturation media coverage over the months.

How to Navigate Your Climate Anxiety  —  How do you live in a world that is ending?  This is the central question of Daniel Sherrell's debut book Warmth: Coming of Age at the End of Our World.  Half-memoir and half-love letter to a future child, Sherrell's book provides insight on how to navigate …