💬 Quoted…​​ “We’re still doing a lot of work on it … but the pandemic is over. If you notice, no one’s wearing masks. Everybody seems to be in pretty good shape. And so I think it’s changing.”

• In a 60 Minutes appearance that aired on Sunday, President Biden declared the pandemic over, pledged US forces would defend Taiwan in the event of an attack from China (though officials say America’s policy of “strategic ambiguity” hasn’t changed), and said he hasn’t made a firm decision about running again in 2024.

Dive deeper: From the Left | From the Right | Read the transcript

🙏 Stat of the Day: Traffic deaths in the US are finally headed in the right direction. According to NHTSA data released yesterday, the number of fatalities from traffic accidents declined during the second quarter of this year – following seven straight quarters of year-to-year increases.

🤯 Did You Know?... The oldest ship in the world still afloat is the USS Constitution, aka Old Ironsides. Built in the 1790s to serve as one of the first ships of the brand-new US Navy, she served for approximately 80 years before being removed from service and converted into a floating museum.

📖 Worth a Read: The Day We Nuked Mississippi → (Hancock County Historical Society)

📊 Poll results: Yesterday, we asked whether y’all thought Section 230, a law that gives broad legal protections to websites hosting user-generated content, needs to be changed.

• 46% said yes, 40% said no, and 14% weren’t sure or had a more nuanced take.
• Among those who responded “yes”: 57% liked the Democratic proposal, 19% preferred the Republican proposal, 21% supported both proposals, and 3% went for neither.

See the full 360° view here.