I’m heading out on vacation next week, so Ariel Edwards-Levy, Kate Sheppard and Eliot Nelson will be taking over until I return Monday, August 7! Thanks as always for being loyal readers.

THE OBAMACARE REPEAL DIED IN THE GOP-CONTROLLED SENATE EARLY TODAY After seven years of promises to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Watch the Senate chamber gasp aloud as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) casts his “no” vote, which he defended as the “right thing to do.” He joined Republican Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and all of the chamber’s Democrats and independents to defeat the bill. [HuffPost] [Tweet | Shar e on Facebook]

HERE’S WHAT PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP HAD TO SAY ABOUT THE VOTE In a tweet, of course. [HuffPost]

RUSSIA ANNOUNCES SANCTION RETALIATION The country will “seize U.S. diplomatic properties and demand that the State Department reduce its staff in Russia.” [WaPo]

SO ABOUT THE WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR’S EXPLOSIVE INTERVIEW Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci went after his fellow White House staffers in an incendiary interview with The New Yorker, and there are so many things in the interview that are unfit to print in this email. “The Daily Show” turned in some of the most insane quotes into motivational posters. This is the photo that truly captures the spirit of the feud between Scarmucci and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus. And here’s how cable news dropped the ball in focusing on the White House infighting instead of health care last night. [HuffPost]

THE PRIME MINISTER OF PAKISTAN HAS RESIGNED After the country’s Supreme Court ruled “he was unfit to hold office and ordered a criminal investigation into his family over corruption allegations.” [Reuters]

RIP APPLE’S iPOD NANO AND iPOD SHUFFLE The company is slowly phasing out the alternatives to the iPod Touch. We have so many fond memories of you in the pre-iPhone days. [HuffPost]

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