Permanent Ping-Pong Table to Be Installed in Tompkins Square Park Next Weekend

Yet Another Political Scion Runs for Office in Georgia

Bryan Miller, grandson of the late governor and senator Zell Miller, will try to do better than Matt Lieberman, Michelle Nunn, and Jason Carter.

12:56 p.m.

olympics 2021

Welcome to the ‘What Are We Doing Here?’ Olympics

By Jen Chaney

The opening ceremony’s determined efforts to project normalcy amid the abnormal were occasionally lovely and frequently surreal.

12:16 p.m.

sports

Cleveland Renames Baseball Team After Traffic Mascot

By Nia Prater

Good-bye, Indians; hello, Guardians.

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11:46 a.m.

congress

A Brief Guide to Congress’s Packed Summer Schedule

With conflicting reports on late-night talks and meaningless failed votes, it’s hard to track what Congress is doing. Here’s their pre-recess plan.

11:40 a.m.

business

The Backbreaking Work That Goes Into a Bag of Chips

By Sarah Jones

Frito-Lay workers strike for family time and against dangerous conditions.

11:20 a.m.

the discourse

How Anti-Racist Is Ibram X. Kendi’s Anti-Racism?

By Eric Levitz

His approach to fighting racism contains glaring inconsistencies and contradictions that might undermine his own project.

10:04 a.m.

explainer

What We Know About the Dangerous Delta Variant

By Chas Danner and Paola Rosa-Aquino

The more transmissible COVID strain now accounts for an estimated 83 percent of new cases in the U.S.

9:12 a.m.

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey tries openly shaming the unvaccinated

Folks are supposed to have common sense … It’s time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the regular folks. It’s the unvaccinated folks that are letting us down … I’ve done all I know how to do. I can encourage you to do something, but I can’t make you take care of yourself.

—Alabama.com

7:00 a.m.

the money game

The Not-So-Happy Story of the World’s Biggest SPAC

By Jen Wieczner

Billionaire hedge-funder Bill Ackman and a gang of retail investors on Reddit were both very excited about a deal. Now, no one is.

12:08 a.m.

tokyo olympics

The Olympics’ COVID Problem Is Growing

By Intelligencer Staff

The games are opening today, as more and more athletes test positive for the virus and cases in Tokyo rise.

Washington Post Sued for Gender Discrimination

power

By Claire Lampen

Reporter Felicia Sonmez says she was banned from covering sexual misconduct after going public with her own assault allegations.

The NFL Is Getting Tough on Unvaccinated Players

covid-19

By Nia Prater

Roger Goodell says teams with a COVID outbreak could face penalties and unprotected players must be tested daily.

Imagine a 9/11 Commission If the Hijackers Had Allies in Congress

the national interest

By Jonathan Chait

The whole premise of an investigation was that both parties opposed the insurrection.

7/22/2021

The NFL puts the pressure on unvaccinated players

The NFL just informed clubs that if a game cannot be rescheduled during the 18-week season in 2021 due to a COVID outbreak among unvaccinated players, the team with the outbreak will FORFEIT and be credited with a loss for playoff seeding, per sources.

Massive implications.

—@TomPelissero

De Blasio Raises Cringe Level to Maximum, Issues ‘FOMO Alert’

By Nia Prater

The mayor announced five concerts as part of the city’s comeback from COVID.

Elder Rises, Jenner Falls, As Newsom Recall Election Gets Real

california recall

The odds of Newsom surviving remain high, but talk-show host Larry Elder has some Republicans excited, and the COVID-19 resurgence bears watching.

The Olympics Will Reel You In Again

games

By Will Leitch

The Games still make for spectacular television, even with no fans and COVID cases surging.

Big Pharma Will Pay Biggest Settlement Since Big Tobacco

opioids

By Matt Stieb

Four companies will settle claims for $26 billion, two weeks after a similar settlement with Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family.

Maine Makes U.S. Recycling Actually Work Again

plastic

By Matt Stieb

A new law shifts the responsibility to producers after years of poor recycling rates due to China’s decision not to import plastic waste.

What If Republicans Were Anti-Lockdown, Anti-Mask, and Pro-Vaxx?

covid-19 vaccine

Tommy Tuberville suggests the best way to erode vaccine hesitancy is to give Trump credit for those shots in the arm. That may be sad but true.

Maria Taylor Leaves ESPN Weeks After Rachel Nichols’s Comments Leak

sports

By Matt Stieb

After the fallout from Nichols’s claim suggesting Taylor received assignments because she is Black, Taylor is reportedly close to a deal with NBC.

Pelosi and McCarthy Joust Over GOP Participation in January 6 Panel

McCarthy picked two MAGA hard-liners for the committee. Pelosi vetoed them, so all the GOP nominees quit. And now we have another stalemate.

Big, Ugly Hero to Workers Spared Execution

By Sarah Jones

The National Labor Relations Board says unions can continue to display Scabby the Rat.

Republicans Won’t Help Democrats Raise Debt Limit

debt limit

McConnell is again being a hypocrite by treating an essential debt-limit increase as a problem for Democrats. But it’s what he needs for his message.

7/21/2021

McCarthy takes his ball and goes home

NEWS: @GOPLeader will pull all Republican members from the Jan. 6 committee in response to @SpeakerPelosi vetoing the appointment of @RepJimBanks and @Jim_Jordan

—@JakeSherman