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Israel showed US ‘smoking gun’ on Hamas in AP office tower, officials say — “We showed them the smoking gun proving Hamas worked out of that building,” a source close to Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said. “I understand they found the explanation satisfactory.”
Discussion:
Daily Mail, Power Line, Washington Free Beacon, New York Times, TheBlaze, The Gateway Pundit and RedState, more at Mediagazer »
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Secretary Blinken's Call with Gary Pruitt, President and CEO of the Associated Press — The following is attributable to Spokesperson Ned Price: — Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke this evening with Gary Pruitt, the President and CEO of the Associated Press.
Discussion:
The Hill

AP statement on destruction of Gaza bureau — UPDATED 3:40 P.M. ET: AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt issued this statement Saturday after AP's Gaza bureau was destroyed in an Israeli airstrike: — Director of Media Relations — We are shocked and horrified that the Israeli military …
Discussion:
The Hill, Al Jazeera, Breitbart, BuzzFeed News, RedState, Associated Press, Twitchy, Washington Post, Reuters, WOOD-TV, IJR, Slate, Jihad Watch, The Week, Washington Examiner, The Wrap, New York Post, Townhall, Mediaite, Committee to Protect … and Instapundit

What Is Happening in Israel and Gaza? Here's What to Know. — A little-noticed police action in Jerusalem last month was one of several incidents that led to the current crisis. — JERUSALEM — Twenty-seven days before the first rocket was fired from Gaza this week …
Discussion:
Brookings, Outside the Beltway, New York Magazine, Vox, Forbes and CNN
Fares Akram / Associated Press:
DIARY: In Gaza, bombs drop and the conflict again hits home
DIARY: In Gaza, bombs drop and the conflict again hits home
Discussion:
The Guardian and New York Times, more at Mediagazer »

A surge of newcomers pack Georgia GOP meetings across state — The grassroots effort to punish Gov. Brian Kemp largely fizzled at key Republican meetings across the state this weekend even as record crowds of activists continued a relentless focus on former President Donald Trump's lies …
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Joe Walsh / Forbes:
Marjorie Taylor Greene Allegedly Broke Georgia Law By Taking Tax Exemptions On Two Homes
Marjorie Taylor Greene Allegedly Broke Georgia Law By Taking Tax Exemptions On Two Homes
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA, Daily Kos, Mother Jones and WSB-TV

Republican Arizona election official says Trump ‘unhinged’ — PHOENIX — The Republican who now leads the Arizona county elections department targeted by a GOP audit of the 2020 election results is slamming former President Donald Trump and others in his party for their continued falsehoods about how the election was run.
Discussion:
CNN, Insider, The Hill, Donald J. Trump and Washington Examiner

Increasingly active younger voters liberalize US electorate — President Biden, the oldest man ever elected to the White House, won on the strength of an emerging cohort of younger voters who are increasingly finding their political voice — and growing their influence in an electorate in which older voters are losing sway.

Maya Wiley Lands Major Endorsement From Rep. Hakeem Jeffries — Mr. Jeffries, New York's top House Democrat, said he intended to engage in significant efforts on Ms. Wiley's behalf, including making campaign appearances with her. — Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York …
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The Colonial Pipeline Attack Is a Dark Omen — In North Carolina, where I live, only about one-third of gas stations are currently reporting that they have any gas, and that's after some improvement in availability. A ransomware attack shut down a key pipeline supplying these stations …
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Manchester's political contributions, ambassador nod are subject of criminal probe — Records obtained by the Union-Tribune show subpoena being issued, witness summoned to testify in secret proceeding — A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., has begun issuing subpoenas in a criminal investigation …
Discussion:
Raw Story

Strap in, Virginia — the 2021 governor's race is suddenly at full speed — RICHMOND — The reboot began once Glenn Youngkin snagged the Republican nomination for Virginia governor. — A video of former president Donald Trump praising the former Carlyle Group executive by name for helping …
Discussion:
CNN

Matthew McConaughey making calls as he weighs running for Texas governor — Alright, alright, alright ... he might, he might, he might. — Matthew McConaughey has publicly said a run for Texas governor in 2022 is a “true consideration.” — But the Academy Award-winning actor's interest goes …

‘The right decision wrongly handled’: Inside the Biden administration's abrupt reversal on masks — During her opening statement before a Senate health committee Tuesday, Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was adamant that the Biden administration's masking …

WATCH: GOP targets Cheney, Fauci and voting rights legislation — The monthslong feud between Rep. Liz Cheney and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy officially came to a head this week, as Republicans voted to oust her from her congressional leadership position.
Discussion:
ABC News, Crooks and Liars and Washington Post

‘A sea change’: Subsidies and White House push leads to surge in Obamacare sign-ups … Sheryl Hagen was earning $13.25 an hour after working more than five years at a Missouri grocery store. But even working full time, she couldn't afford the $300 premium for her employer's health insurance plan — so she went without.

Jimmy Carter 2.0: Biden's bundle of crises look increasingly like 1970s — During the Carter years, American consumers were forced to pay more for the price of basic goods — Biden's America faces growing inflation — “Joe Biden is the new Jimmy Carter.”

G.O.P. Pursues Harsher Penalties for Poll Workers in Voting Crackdown — Heavy fines, felony charges and jail sentences: Republicans seeking to restrict voting are proposing strict punishments for election officials and workers who make errors or violate the rules.

Rep. Zeldin: Biden won and I won't call election ‘illegitimate’ — WASHINGTON — Rep. Lee Zeldin, the front-runner to be the Republican nominee for New York governor, acknowledged in a Newsday interview last week that Joe Biden won the presidency and said he won't call the election “illegitimate,” even though he sought to overturn it.
Discussion:
Real Clear Politics, CNN, The Guardian, HuffPost, NBC News, Raw Story and Washington Examiner
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Lexi Lonas / The Hill:
McCarthy dings Biden after meeting: Doesn't have ‘energy of Donald Trump’
McCarthy dings Biden after meeting: Doesn't have ‘energy of Donald Trump’
Discussion:
Fox News

University of California Will No Longer Consider SAT and ACT Scores — The university system has reached a settlement with students to scrap even optional testing from admissions and scholarship decisions. — The University of California will not take SAT and ACT scores into account …

Where have all the intellectuals gone? — Who among today's literary figures has any chance of being recognised as a thinker on par with a Dostoevsky or a Marx? — “Ibram X. Kendi, Robin DiAngelo, Jordan Peterson, Peter Thiel, Yuval Noah Harari, Steven Pinker, Tyler Cowen, Ta-Nehisi Coates …

More than 40,000 ‘Got-Aways’ at the Border in April — And we can't stop most of the drugs entering illegally, but Mayorkas offers no suggestions for policy change — DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas appeared before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee on Thursday to discuss unaccompanied migrant children.
Discussion:
Breitbart