American Kevolution: “If passed by Congress, the deal to raise the debt ceiling would enact changes in environmental permitting, institute tighter work requirements for food stamps, and claw back some money from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), according to the 99-page legislative text.” Here’s What’s in the Debt Ceiling Deal. (There’s no doubt that America’s biggest and growing problem is the historically massive economic divide. My guess is that making additional work requirements for those on food stamps and reducing funding for the IRS is not going to help the situation.) Meanwhile, the deal is far from done. Debt ceiling bill faces a tough path in the House as GOP opposition grows. (One of the questions is whether the deal too sane to enable Kevin McCarthy get it passed, or to even keep his job.)

+ State Farm “Was” There: State Farm is no longer accepting property insurance applications in California. (You may not believe in climate change, but bean counters sure do.)

+ Uganda Law: A new anti-gay law in Uganda calls for life in prison for those who are convicted. Penalizing people, at any level, for being gay is insane. There, and here.

+ Battle Pax: Could a GOP candidate win an election while under indictment? It’s an interesting question these days. The answer for Ken Paxton in Texas has been yes, but his luck is running out. Texas Monthly: The Texas House has voted to impeach the attorney general. After nearly eight years under indictment—during which he won two elections—why now?

+ Rap God: The New Yorker: How to Hire a Pop Star for Your Private Party. “The bar-mitzvah boy, in keeping with the customs of his forebears, had chanted his way into adulthood; then, following a more recent tradition, the celebrants had relocated to a warehouse-size event venue that is highly regarded on Chicago’s mitzvah circuit. A production company had installed the décor, including roller coasters stencilled across the dance floor and a banquet table made to resemble a red Ferrari. The whole affair was invisible to the outside world, except for the word ‘Andrew’ projected by brilliant red floodlights onto an exterior wall. The entertainment had been arranged by Andrew’s father, an executive at a financial-services company. At first, he had doubted that Flo Rida, his son’s favorite artist, would agree to come, but an agent informed him that most big-name musicians are available these days, under the right conditions.” (There is a longstanding rumor that my parents attempted to get Barry Manilow to perform at my Bar Mitzvah. I can neither confirm nor deny this allegation.)

+ A Legal Graze Area: “Targeted grazing is part of California’s strategy to reduce wildfire risk because goats can eat a wide variety of vegetation and graze in steep, rocky terrain that’s hard to access. Backers say they’re an eco-friendly alternative to chemical herbicides or weed-whacking machines that are make noise and pollution.” But there’s a labor dispute. California overtime law threatens use of grazing goats to prevent wildfires. (This would make a decent story arc in Yellowstone.)

+ The Write Stuff: Lots of spoilers in this Vanity Fair interview with Jeremy Strong on Succession’s Brutal Finale and Kendall’s Ending. What a crushingly great show. And Strong nails this timely (spoiler free) point: “Here we are in the middle of this writer’s strike, and we’re nothing without the writers. Nothing. There’s nothing meaningful without these writers. … It’s the writing that took this character where we’ve seen him— brought to the precipice—so many times.”