“Systemic failures” in Uvalde shooting went far beyond local police, Texas House report details  —  The most extensive account of the shooting to date says that after the Uvalde schools police chief failed to take charge, better-equipped departments should have stepped up to fill the leadership void.

Cut Biden some slack.  U.S. presidents have to deal with dictators.  —  Listen  —  Gift Article  —  It was the fist bump that sent shock waves around the world.  —  On Friday, Biden was photographed — by the Saudis, naturally — engaging in that greeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, popularly known as MBS.

No major problems with ballot drop boxes in 2020, AP finds  —  ATLANTA (AP) — The expanded use of drop boxes for mailed ballots during the 2020 election did not lead to any widespread problems, according to an Associated Press survey of state election officials across the U.S. that revealed …

Kinzinger says Trump would probably lie under oath to Jan. 6 committee  —  Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) on Sunday said he saw little value in attempting to have Donald Trump testify before the committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol because he did not trust the former president would tell the truth, even under oath.

Sen. Ted Cruz says Supreme Court ‘clearly wrong’ in decision legalizing same-sex marriage  —  Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Saturday that the Supreme Court was “clearly wrong” and “overreaching” when it legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges ruling in 2015.

‘He could be a good president’: is Tucker Carlson the next Donald Trump?  —  The Fox news host spoke at the Family Leadership Summit in Iowa, a state that has first say in Republican presidential nominees  —  He entered to rapturous applause, flattered his hosts shamelessly …

Moms for Liberty's conservative activists are planning their next move: Taking over school boards  —  TAMPA, Fla. — Eighteen months after a pair of former school board members in Florida founded Moms for Liberty, the group's first national gathering drew 500 people, including major Republican figures …

Gottlieb says window for containing monkeypox ‘probably has closed’  —  Former U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said on Sunday he wouldn't be surprised if there are thousands of monkeypox cases in the United States, warning that the window to get control of the virus may be closed.

Sanders says Manchin 'sabotaged the president's agenda'  —  Sen. Bernie Sanders on Sunday blasted Sen. Joe Manchin for what he called “sabotaging” President Joe Biden's agenda by rejecting Democrats' party-line spending bill last week.  —  “He has sabotaged the president's agenda,” Sanders (I-Vt.) said on ABC's “This Week.”

For Wyoming Democrats, voting for Cheney is another chance to vote against Trump … Tanner Ewalt and his friends have a saying.  —  “We all have to vote for Liz Cheney.  I'm so sorry.”  —  Ewalt is a 20-year-old University of Wyoming student from Casper majoring in political science.

When Ivana Trump Met Sarah Palin  —  Back in 1996, I went looking for Ivana Trump but discovered Sarah Palin.  I had no way of knowing that the political history of the 21st century was taking shape in a line outside a J.C. Penny store in Anchorage, Alaska.

Tech billionaire Peter Thiel is under fire from Arizona Republicans hoping to defeat his Trump-backed protégé Blake Masters in Senate primary  — Blake Masters has surged in the Arizona GOP Senate primary after securing Trump's endorsement.  — His main opponent, Jim Lamon …

Doug Ducey rebukes Trump-endorsed candidate for Arizona governor  —  Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey on Sunday blasted a Trump-backed gubernatorial candidate in his state who has claimed the 2020 presidential election was stolen and suggested the 2022 gubernatorial election is about to be.

The God Gap Helps Explain a ‘Seismic Shift’ in American Politics  —  The most important religious divide isn't between right and left, but between left and left  —  There's talk of realignment in the air.  If you think all the way back to 2012, you might remember a certain phrase—the coalition of the ascendant.