Distinguished pol of the week: Biden hits his stride  —  Republicans who excuse a coup, vilify the FBI and rationalize defeated former president Donald Trump's holding on to highly sensitive national security secrets as he left the White House are whining that President Biden, at a fundraiser, called the MAGA movement “semi-fascist.”

How a Record Cash Haul Vanished for Senate Republicans  —  The campaign arm of Senate Republicans had collected $181.5 million by the end of July — but spent 95 percent of it.  A big investment in digital, and hyperaggressive tactics, have not paid off.  —  It was early 2021, and Senator Rick Scott wanted to go big.

Under pressure, security firm Cloudflare drops Kiwi Farms website  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Reversing course under growing public pressure, major tech security company Cloudflare Inc. announced Saturday that it would stop protecting the Kiwi Farms website, best known as a place for stalkers to organize hacks …

Review-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German killed outside home  —  Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German, one of Nevada's most accomplished and trusted journalists, was found dead with stab wounds outside his home Saturday morning.

Women Are So Fired Up to Vote, I've Never Seen Anything Like It  —  I've watched Americans in recent years acclimate to some very grim realities.  Especially since the ascension of Donald Trump, numerous tragedies and extreme policies have been met with little political consequence …

Iran sentences two gay rights activists to death  —  Iran's regime has executed between 4,000 and 6,000 gays and lesbians since the nation's Islamic revolution in 1979.  —  The Islamic Republic of Iran imposed the death penalty on two LGBTQ activists for allegedly promoting homosexuality …

Trump Lashes Out in First Rally Since F.B.I. Search  —  Donald J. Trump and President Biden have both made recent appearances in Pennsylvania, one of the key states in November's midterm elections.  —  WILKES-BARRE TOWNSHIP, Pa. — In his first rally since his home was searched by the F.B.I. on Aug. 8 …

Trump suggests the Mar-a-Lago documents were bound for his library.  But advisers say he's rarely talked about it.  —  A central question involving the records former President Donald Trump stored at his Mar-a-Lago home is why he was keeping reams of government documents and classified material.

What Is Owed to Pakistan, Now One-Third Underwater  —  We heard the story all the time, told as a warning: When man first set foot on Earth, all the winged animals flew high into the sky and the fish dived deeper into the sea, scattering in fear, because they knew the destroyer of the world had arrived.

When ‘wokeness’ comes to Middle-earth: Why some say diverse casting ruins the new ‘Lord of the Rings’ series  —  Cynthia Addai-Robinson portrays Queen Regent Miriel in Amazon's new “Lord of the Rings” series, “The Rings of Power.”  Addai-Robinson is among a number of actors of color playing …

The FBI Seized No Boxes with Press Clippings that Postdate November 2020  —  As I noted in this post, the government wrote their May 11 subpoena to cover all government records in Trump's possession, not just those that had come from the White House and not just those that were in Florida.

Hats off to Hillary: Prosecuting Trump in the shadow of Clinton's emails  —  THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS ARE THEIR OWN AND NOT THE VIEW OF THE HILL  —  THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS ARE THEIR OWN AND NOT THE VIEW OF THE HILL  —  Hillary Clinton recently hawked a line of hats with a mocking logo — “But her emails.”