*** REGIONAL NEWS FROM THURSDAY ***

+ JOLT News: Anonymous Donor Purchases lot to build Tenino Young-at-Heart Performing Center

+ The Olympian: Thurston County falls short of vaccine goal as state reopens. Do you still need a mask?

+ McClatchy News: Here’s how to prepare your dog to be home alone as more people return to offices

+ JOLT News: The Delta variant is here — and several other questions answered by Dr. Dimyana Abdelmalek, the Thurston County Health Officer.

+ The Washington Post: Historic heat wave in Pacific Northwest has killed hundreds in U.S. and Canada over the past week

+ Business Insider: 2 delivery companies in Oregon reportedly stopped working for Amazon, their only client, alleging ‘intolerable’ conduct and unsafe working conditions

+ The Washington Post: No one was prepared for the Northwest heat wave — especially not the animals

*** NATIONAL NEWS FROM THURSDAY ***

Intelligencer via MSN: Attorney General Merrick Garland Suspends Federal Executions – the Trump administration revived the federal death penalty at the end of his presidency after a 17-year hiatus on executions.

NBC News: McCarthy threatens committee seats if Republicans accept Pelosi appointment to Jan. 6 panel – Only two Republicans joined all Democrats in approving the new panel to probe the attack. [Ed. note: The Republicans must really be concerned some in their midst will be implicated to be so resistant to look into Jan. 6th’s insurrection.]

NBC News: Supreme Court upholds restrictive Arizona voting laws in test of Voting Rights Act

NBC News: In dissent, Kagan calls Arizona voting rights decision a ‘tragic’ erosion of law – Supreme Court upholds state restrictions on who can collect and deliver a completed ballot.

Salon Magazine: Supreme Court grants Trump’s Big Lie a major boost in one of its last decisions of the term

The Week: The Roberts Court thinks plutocrats should be able to buy the government in secret

Reuters: In Florida, Biden woos Trump ally DeSantis in unity pitch

NBC News: Covid cases up 10 percent as ‘hypertransmissible’ delta variant spreads, CDC says

*** INTERNATIONAL NEWS FROM THURSDAY ***

The Telegraph (UK): Letting children catch Covid may be safer than giving them vaccine, say experts – Rising wave of cases may be better way to build immunity in teenagers than exposing them to potential risks from a jab, says JCVI scientist

CNN: William and Harry reunite at Diana statue unveiling