CNN reports: Matthew Pottinger, who served on former President Donald Trump’s National Security Council before resigning in the immediate aftermath of January 6, 2021, will testify publicly at Thursday’s prime-time hearing held by the House select committee investigating the US Capitol attack, according to multiple sources familiar with the plans. Pottinger is slated to appear alongside former Trump White House …

NPR reports: The House is set to vote to protect same-sex and interracial marriages, a direct confrontation with the Supreme Court, whose conservative majority in overturning Roe v. Wade abortion access has sparked concerns that other rights enjoyed by countless Americans may be in jeopardy. Tuesday’s vote in the House is part political strategy setting up an election-year roll call …

NBC News reports: The chair of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, Rep. Bennie Thompson, said Tuesday that has tested positive for the coronavirus and is experiencing “mild symptoms.” “I am continuing to follow CDC guidelines and will be isolating for the next several days,” the 74-year-old Mississippi Democrat said in a statement he …

“I worked for law enforcement, y’all didn’t know that either? I spent time at Quantico at the FBI training school. Y’all didn’t know I was an agent?  “I grab my gun. I say, ‘I will kill him.’ Herschel Walker, won the Heisman Trophy. ‘I’m going to kill him.’ “I got in the David, one of my many, I took off …

The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle reports: The ReAwaken America tour no longer will include a stop on Aug. 12 and 13 at the Main Street Armory. In an email distributed Monday, venue owner Scott Donaldson wrote, “In response to the outpouring of concern from our community, both good and bad, I have decided after careful thought to cancel The ReAwaken …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Amazon said it filed a lawsuit against the administrators of what it says are more than 10,000 Facebook groups used to coordinate fake reviews of Amazon products. Those in charge of the Facebook groups solicit the reviews for items ranging from camera tripods to car stereos in exchange for free products or money, Amazon said …

USA Today reports:  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ended its COVID-19 Program for Cruise Ships on Monday. “CDC has worked closely with the cruise industry, state, territorial, and local health authorities, and federal and seaport partners to provide a safer and healthier environment for cruise passengers and crew,” the agency’s website reads. “Cruise ships have access to guidance …

Bloomberg News reports: US retail gasoline prices fell below $4.50 a gallon for the first time since mid-May, starting to ease pressure at the pump for millions of Americans. The nationwide average was at $4.495 a gallon, according to data released on Tuesday by the American Automobile Association. Prices have fallen more than 10% since hitting a record last month …

Florida Politics reports: Consultants for Republican congressional candidate Erick Aguilar have dropped him. Reed + Company confirmed to Florida Politics they have cut ties with the disgraced politician. “We terminated our agreement with Erick Aguilar over the weekend,” said Lance Watson, the Florida director for Reed + Company. “From the beginning, unfortunately, Erick has not been a candidate willing to …

Reuters reports: China’s government warned on Tuesday it would take “forceful measures” if U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, after the Financial Times said she would go to the Chinese-claimed island next month. Pelosi and her delegation will also visit Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore, and spend time in Hawaii at the headquarters of U.S. Indo-Pacific command, …

The Washington Post reports: President Biden is considering declaring a national climate emergency as soon as this week as he seeks to salvage his environmental agenda in the wake of stalled talks on Capitol Hill, according to three people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private deliberations. If an emergency is invoked, …

NBC News reports: Government lawyers said Monday they will not prosecute a production crew associated with “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” that was arrested on unlawful entry charges inside a congressional building last month. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said prosecutors determined it was untenable to move forward with the misdemeanor charges against the nine …

Newsweek reports: U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memo on May 25 extending a Department of Justice policy from 2020 that requires investigators to clear any investigations into presidential candidates or their staff with the attorney general. MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow revealed the existence of the memo on her show on Monday. The memo reiterates a policy introduced by former …

Axios reports: Twitter on Monday labeled but refused to take down a pair of highly transphobic tweets attacking Adm. Rachel Levine, the assistant secretary for health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Twitter has a practice of often labeling — but not removing — tweets from elected officials that would otherwise violate its terms of service. The …

The Daily Beast reports: Environmental activists smashed the windows of Rupert Murdoch’s News Building in London Tuesday morning after taking issue with his paper’s coverage of this week’s heat wave in the U.K. Protesters from Extinction Rebellion (XR) scrawled messages including “TELL THE TRUTH” and “40 DEGREES = DEATH” on the lavish office building in central London alongside recent headlines …

The BBC reports: The UK is set to see its hottest day on record, with temperatures on Tuesday expected to reach up to 42C (107.6F). A high of 38.1C was reached in Suffolk on Monday, just short of the UK record of 38.7C set in 2019. Wales recorded its hottest day on record with 37.1C. The Met Office has issued …

The Associated Press reports: The Uvalde, Texas, gunman gave off so many warning signs that he was obsessed with violence and notoriety in the months leading up to the attack that teens who knew him began calling him “school shooter.” A state investigative report that highlighted law enforcement’s bungled response to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School has also …

Deadline reports: Time to retrofit that Stormtrooper mask. The organizers of this week’s San Diego Comic-Con are requiring “all attendee groups, including but not limited to exhibitors, guests, staff, press, professionals, volunteers, and cosplayers…to wear an approved face covering regardless of vaccination status.” The organizers add the following: “Face coverings should completely cover the nose and mouth, fit snugly against …

ABC News reports: A bipartisan group of House members and senators introduced a bill, the Respect for Marriage Act on Monday, which would enshrine marriage equality for the purposes of federal law and provide additional legal protections for marriage equality. “The Supreme Court’s extremist and precedent-ignoring decision in Dobbs v. Jackson has shown us why it is critical to ensure …

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: A former youth program minister at First Baptist Church in Covington pleaded guilty in 22nd Judicial District Court on Monday to felony second-degree battery and a misdemeanor count of sexual battery, both stemming from the abuse of a girl who belonged to the church youth group in the early 2000s. Darrell Jay English, 50, could …