STAT+: FDA will limit Covid vaccines to people over 65 or at high risk of serious illness, leaders say  —  The Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that it will limit access to Covid-19 vaccines going forward to people 65 years of age and older and others who are at high risk …

Trump appears to be losing patience with blue-state Republicans on SALT  —  President Donald Trump took a surprising swipe Tuesday at efforts to increase a key tax deduction — underscoring that the main beneficiaries would be Democratic “governors from New York, Illinois and California.”

Chicago Sun-Times Prints AI-Generated Summer Reading List With Books That Don't Exist  —  Update: We have published a follow-up to this article with more details about how this happened.  —  The Chicago Sun-Times newspaper's “Best of Summer” section published over the weekend contains a guide …

‘What are we doing here?’:  Democrats were shocked at Biden's decline but stayed quiet, according to new book  —  In the final two years of his presidency, Joe Biden had private moments where he could not recall the names of top aides, had an increasingly limited private schedule …

Trump's deference to Putin stunned European leaders on call  —  Ukrainian President Zelensky and five other European leaders joined a conference call with President Trump immediately after his call with Vladimir Putin on Monday hoping to hear that Putin had agreed to a ceasefire …

Very confused old man given test ride by dealership, thinks car is actually a gift  —  Pretty funny if not like a clown investigation here (gift link) from Maggie's farm.  —  TL;DR: Trump's announcement that Qatar was giving him a very special 747 that's been tricked out like a luxury jet …

Feds charge New Jersey congressmember with assault  —  The charge against Rep. LaMonica McIver stems from a scuffle at a Newark migrant detention facility.  —  The Justice Department announced an assault charge Monday against Rep. LaMonica McIver, a New Jersey Democrat who was involved …

Donald Trump and the power of the big (fake) number  —  🔌 🤖 💭 With corporate outlets obeying in advance, supporting independent political media is more important right now than ever.  PN is possible thanks to paid subscribers.  If you aren't one already …

White House officials wanted to put federal workers ‘in trauma.’ It's working.  —  Federal workers describe struggling with panic attacks, depression, suicidal thoughts.  “Why doesn't anyone care?”  —  For this story, Post reporters interviewed more than 30 current and former federal employees.

Noem botches habeas corpus questions at Senate hearing  —  Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem botched questions about habeas corpus at a Senate hearing Tuesday, falsely asserting the check on the government's power to detain people actually gives President Trump a “constitutional right” to conduct deportations.

Elon Musk says he's going to do ‘a lot less’ political spending  —  Musk, who was the biggest donor in the 2024 political cycle, said he feels like he has “done enough” with political contributions.  —  Elon Musk, the world's richest man and a major benefactor to President Donald Trump …

Trump can complain all he wants - but he can't stop his own economic mess  —  Between his tariffs and his regressive ‘big, beautiful bill’, the president is wreaking havoc - and he never learns  —  With his usual threats, Donald Trump is trying to ward off the dire reality that he has created and is bearing down on him.

Virginia Republicans worry about their gubernatorial candidate who invoked slavery when criticizing DEI  —  Winsome Earle-Sears has had a sluggish start to her campaign.  Republicans are urging her to turn it around — or face a bloodbath this fall.  —  Virginia Republicans are bracing for November with a growing sense of doom.

Romania.  Poland.  Portugal.  —  Earlier this month, I wrote a piece for The Contrarian about the results of national elections results in Canada, Australia, and Germany.  My message was cautious optimism.  Liberal democracy had eked out a few wins.  Not breakthroughs, but breathers.

Donald Trump Drops Crude Line At Kennedy Center Dinner In Bizarre Rant About 2020 Election  —  The pro-MAGA audience lapped up the president's remark.  —  President Donald Trump on Monday dropped a vulgar turn of phrase as he talked about how he'd vowed to avenge his defeat in the 2020 election …

The Joe Biden cancer story that matters most  —  It still feels like the glorious blue-skied fall day when a plurality of American voters chose tyranny over democracy was just last week, but if you live in Pennsylvania you do get another crack at that whole voting thing today (Tuesday).

Supreme Court Won't Take Up Case Because Too Many Justices Recused Themselves  —  Topline  —  The Supreme Court declined Monday to take up a copyright dispute case because it lacked a quorum after five justices had to recuse themselves, a move that was cheered by ethics watchdogs as the high court …

Ron DeSantis's fall from grace: 'He's completely crashed to the ground'  —  Florida governor stands isolated from Trump and is feuding with Republicans at home - is he drifting to irrelevance?  —  These are challenging days for Florida governor Ron DeSantis, the man who would have been king.

Justice Dept. to Use False Claims Act to Pursue Institutions Over Diversity Efforts  —  The department's use of the law is all but certain to be met with legal challenges.  —  The Trump administration plans to leverage a law intended to punish corrupt recipients of federal funding …

Trump to announce $25B funding for Golden Dome project  —  The price tag matches the amount in the president's “big, beautiful bill” that lawmakers have yet to approve.  —  President Donald Trump will announce $25 billion for his “Golden Dome” defense project Tuesday afternoon …

Words & Phrases We Can Do Without  —  Donald Trump has demanded a “big, beautiful” bill to slash taxes for the wealthiest Americans and dismantle government, At various times he has disclaimed efforts to cut Medicaid and Social Security (as congressional allies pursue the former …

Democrats Throw Money at a Problem: Countering G.O.P. Clout Online  —  At private gatherings, strategists and donors are swapping ideas to help the party capture the digital mojo that helped President Trump win.  Yes, there's a price tag.  —  Six months after the Democratic Party's crushing 2024 defeat …

The President Will Destroy You Now  —  One thing stands out amid all the chaos, corruption and disorder: the wanton destructiveness of the Trump presidency.  —  The targets of President Trump's assaults include the law, higher education, medical research, ethical standards …