In all fairness to the Republicans who sabotaged herd immunity, they couldn’t have possibly known that a terrifying variant would emerge to feast on the unvaccinated, but alas, here we are.
 

• An internal slideshow presentation, leaked to the Washington Post, explains why the CDC abruptly changed course and recommended reimposing mask mandates. The upshot? Delta variant is insanely contagious—as contagious as chicken pox—and seems to reproduce aggressively enough that vaccinated individuals can carry and transmit it—even if they never get sick. The mandates wouldn’t be necessary if enough people had gotten vaccinated in recent months, and the onus to wear them falls on responsible, vaccinated people, because they can infect irresponsible, unvaccinated people, who are much more likely to get gravely ill. Thanks, Republicans.
   
• These new(ish) insights about Delta stem largely from superspreading at an Independence Day celebration in Provincetown, MA. After contact-tracing themselves, the people affected by the outbreak were able to deduce that most of those who tested positive were vaccinated, but nevertheless carrying large viral loads in their noses and throats. Transpose that kind of gathering in to a mostly unvaccinated community, and you get the horrible outbreaks and overrun hospitals we’ve seen across the south.
   
• Republicans have responded to these developments by expressing remorse for their terrible recklessness continuing to encourage spread of the virus. Earlier this week House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy lied about CDC’s basis for updating mask guidance on the House floor. Republican members and aides have paraded around the Capitol maskless as if hoping to create an outbreak that cripples the Congress. And Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) will reportedly attempt to override school mask mandates in Florida, home to the worst Delta outbreak in the country.  

If there’s good news here it’s that the reality of Delta appears to be breaking through—unfortunately, it’s doing so by force.
 

• The pace of vaccination is on the rebound in the U.S. driven by upticks in Delta-ravaged regions. Gov Kay Ivey (R-AL)—who, to be clear, opposes mask mandates—penned a Washington Post op-ed excoriating right-wing peddlers of vaccine disinformation for lying to people and “causing great harm.” More governments and businesses are imposing vaccine mandates—including Walmart, the largest employer in the U.S.—which should hasten the end of the fourth wave, and the need for vaccinated people to mask up.
   
• These promising trends unfortunately come too late for many people. A 39 year-old father of five died of COVID-19 Thursday morning, after deciding he would wait at least a year before obtaining a vaccine. One of his final messages to his fiancee? “I should have gotten the damn vaccine.” Stories like his are becoming increasingly common. As Biden said this week, “Read the news. You’ll see stories about unvaccinated patients in hospitals as they’re laying in bed, dying from COVID-19, they’re asking ‘Doc, can I get the vaccine?’ And the doctors have to say ‘Sorry, it’s too late.’”

The most pressing task the country faces now is finding ways to dramatically accelerate vaccine uptake, so that we can limit the carnage of the fourth wave, and avoid a fifth. Once that’s done, Democrats, journalists, and honest people everywhere have to be crystal clear about why we had a fourth wave in the first place. 

The Milwaukee Bucks are the official champions of the NBA Finals, taking home their first title in 50 years! If you’re serious about not missing out on any of the breaking NBA news, check out Takeline. Hosts Jason Concepcion and two-time WNBA champion Renee Montgomery break down all of the biggest sports news, and are joined by amazing guests like NBA All-Star Chris Bosh, Harrison Barnes, and culture comedian The Kid Mero. New episodes of Takeline drop every Tuesday. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

The House Oversight and Reform Committee has released handwritten notes from a December 2020 phone call showing that then-President Donald Trump directly pressured top Justice Department officials to help him overturn the election results. Just as importantly, the fact that DOJ turned them over voluntarily suggests the department will cooperate with Congress’s insurrection investigation. In an exchange with then-Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen, and his deputy, Richard Donoghue, Trump urged the two to take action on debunked voter-fraud conspiracy theories. When Donoghue told Trump that the Justice Department “can’t + won’t snap its fingers + change the outcome of the election,” Trump replied that he would handle that part: “Just say that the election was corrupt + leave the rest to me and the R. Congressmen,” according to Donoghue’s notes.

Trump didn’t name names in the moment, but at other points in the call, he mentioned Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Scott Perry (R-PA), and Ron Johnson (R-WI). The notes are the latest evidence connecting GOP lawmakers to Trump’s scheme to steal the election with the help of DOJ officials, and the whole gang ought to have some fascinating insights to share with the January 6 committee.

• Speaking of Jim Jordan, he can’t quite seem to remember whether his conversation with Trump on January 6 was before, during, or after the attack on the Capitol, but at least he’s incredibly jumpy about it.
   
• Hell Yeah, DOJ’s Cooperating With Congress’s Trump Oversight, Part II: The Office of Legal Counsel has directed the Treasury to comply with the House Ways and Means Committee’s request for Trump’s tax returns.
   
• Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) told Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer that she would refuse to cancel her vacation plans if he kept the Senate in session to hold votes on infrastructure, proving once again why she has earned the moniker of America’s Favorite Senator.
   
• Attorney General Merrick Garland has threatened to sue Texas if Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) doesn’t revoke an illegal order directing state troopers to stop any vehicles suspected of transporting migrants.
   
• The Navy has charged a sailor with starting a fire last year that destroyed the USS Bonhomme Richard. The sailor was a member of the crew at the time; the Navy hasn’t released his name or said what his motive might have been.
   
• MyPillow Guy Mike Lindell said he’s pulled his ads from Fox News after the network refused to run a commercial promoting one of his election-denial events. Anyway, here's a bananapants glimpse into Mike Lindell's terrible brain.
   
• Former Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), the longest-serving senator in Michigan history, has died. He was 87.
   
• This week in Good Old-Fashioned Heists, a woman has been sentenced to five and a half years in prison for successfully swapping seven pebbles for $5.7 million worth of diamonds at a London jewelry store. Once again, anyone who can pull off a classic heist in the year 2021 without hurting anyone or hacking critical infrastructure should be given a movie deal and left alone.

Federal judges have begun pulling kombucha-meme faces about the government’s decision to let insurrectionists off easy. On Thursday, U.S. District Chief Judge Beryl Howell asked a prosecutor to explain why Capitol rioter Jack Jesse Griffith had been offered a deal to plead guilty to just low-level misdemeanors, and whether the government was at all concerned that it wouldn’t deter future asshats from terrorizing Congress. U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton pushed back on a similar deal on Tuesday, questioning whether he should put a couple in jail until their sentencing given their role in an “atrocious act” against democracy, even though prosecutors hadn’t made that request. Walton ultimately allowed them to go home, and Howell accepted Griffith’s guilty plea, but they’ve made clear that they think the Justice Department should be taking a harder line.

JuneShine hard kombucha is an insanely delicious, better-for-you alcohol made with real, organic ingredients. Each bold flavor is low sugar, gluten-free, high in probiotics, 6% ABV, and doesn’t contain any sketchy ingredients so you can enjoy tonight and feel great tomorrow morning. 

JuneShine is sustainably brewed—one percent of sales are donated to environmental nonprofits, the brewery runs on solar energy, and we plant trees for every 6pk box.

It all started when we were wandering the aisles of our local grocery store. There was a sustainable, transparent option in nearly every consumer category–except alcohol. This led us to ask: why do we know so much about the food we eat, but so little about the alcohol we drink?

With no solid answers in sight, we grew frustrated by the lack of honest, transparent alcohol brands catering to our active, healthy lifestyles. So, we decided to brew our own.

Enjoy a lighter, brighter buzz delivered straight to your doorstep. Use the promo code CROOKED for 20% off your first JuneShine purchase, plus free shipping!

Democrats and public health experts have successfully bullied the FDA into accelerating its review of the Pfizer vaccine for full approval.

Whatcom County, WA, has become the first U.S. county to pass a ban on building new fossil fuel infrastructure. 

The House has passed a spending bill without the Hyde amendment for the first time since 1976.

President Biden has nominated Gold Star father Khizr Khan, of 2016 DNC fame, to serve on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.