Still a summit secret: What happened in Helsinki between Putin and Trump?  —  Democrats say they are no longer pursuing records of the private meeting.  —  Ahead of President Joe Biden's meeting Wednesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, congressional Democrats said they are no longer seeking records …

Leaked Audio of Sen. Joe Manchin Call With Billionaire Donors Provides Rare Glimpse of Dealmaking on Filibuster and January 6 Commission … West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, in a private call on Monday with a group of major donors, provided a revealing look at his political approach to the most thorny issues confronting lawmakers.

Manchin proposes compromise on voting bills  —  Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., opened the door to a compromise on voting legislation Wednesday with a memo outlining provisions of federal voting and campaign finance legislation that he would support.  —  Manchin has emerged as a key figure …

Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, Forceful on Jan. 6, Privately Are in Turmoil  —  The far-right groups face a cash squeeze, internal discord, social-media cutoff and isolation from the financial system  —  The far-right group the Oath Keepers is splintering after board members accused the founder …

Title IX Protections Extend to Transgender Students, Education Dept. Says  —  Using a Supreme Court ruling as its guide, the department will issue guidance that says discrimination against gay and transgender students is prohibited under the 1972 law.  —  WASHINGTON — A year …

Justice Dept. Ends Criminal Inquiry, Lawsuit on John Bolton's Book  —  President Donald J. Trump had pressured the department to use its legal powers to stop his former national security adviser from publishing embarrassing details about him.  —  The Justice Department has closed …

‘Pure insanity’: How Trump and his allies pressured the Justice Department to help overturn the election  —  New documents and emails reveal how far the president and his supporters were willing to go to try to keep Donald Trump in office in a frenzied three-week stretch that tested Justice Department leaders.

IT IS OBSCENE: A TRUE REFLECTION IN THREE PARTS  —  When you are a public figure, people will write and say false things about you.  It comes with the territory.  Many of those things you brush aside.  Many you ignore.  The people close to you advise you that silence is best.  And it often is.

Republicans move to block inquiry into Trump DoJ's secret data seizure  —  Democrats are pushing for investigations into Trump's justice department for data seizures from Eric Swalwell and Adam Schiff  —  Top Republicans are moving to block a Senate inquiry into the Trump justice department's secret seizure …

Paul Gosar demands name of Capitol officer who killed rioter Ashli Babbitt, saying she was ‘executed’  —  In a hearing on Tuesday, Rep. Paul A. Gosar (R-Ariz.) abruptly turned his questions for FBI Director Christopher A. Wray toward the Capitol Police officer who fatally shot Ashli Babbitt …

Why Remote Learning Is a Failure  —  Ms. Almagor teaches fourth grade at a public charter school in Washington, D.C.  —  Our prepandemic public school system was imperfect, surely, clumsy and test-crazed and plagued with inequities.  But it was also a little miraculous …

Gov. Ricketts says he is ‘opposed to critical race theory’  —  Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts this week said he is “opposed to critical race theory,” voicing an increasingly common opinion among Republican politicians.  —  The governor was asked about the concept Monday on his monthly call-in radio program …

The Forever-Trump Movement Has Won  —  The 45th president lost an election and incited a failed insurrection, but his grip on the GOP is absolute.  What's next for a party at war with democracy — and the future?  —  The heretics left the champagne and orange juice untouched, but the conversation flowed freely all the same.

Leading Manhattan DA Candidate Has Repeatedly Paid Virtually No Federal Income Taxes  —  Tali Farhadian Weinstein, who donated $8 million to her own campaign, and her hedge fund manager husband paid nothing (or almost nothing) to the IRS four times in six years.  —  The Secret IRS Files

Biden Spending Plans Remain Popular  —  But presidential job rating takes a dip  —  West Long Branch, NJ - Joe Biden's job rating has taken a dip as progress on his spending plans has stalled.  The latest Monmouth ("Mon-muth") University Poll finds a majority of the American public continues …

POLITICO Playbook: The folly of bullying Joe Manchin  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  President JOE BIDEN is scheduled to meet Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN for some five hours of talks in Geneva starting at 7:10 a.m. Eastern time.  It's their first meeting in a decade.

Fox News trying to claim that Tom Hanks was ‘canceled’ is proof of its utter desperation  —  You may have a hard time understanding how Dr. Seuss, Mr. Potato Head and Tom Hanks are connected, but that probably just means you haven't been watching nearly enough Fox News recently

EXCLUSIVE: ‘No yellow!’  Hunter Biden used slur to refer to Asians in 2019 texts with his cousin Caroline who asked if he preferred ‘foreign or domestic’ women - as he's already been blasted as racist for using the n-word  — Hunter Biden referred to Asians with the offensive term 'yellow …

Mo Brooks gets arrest warrant for man who served lawsuit on his wife  —  U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks said Wednesday his wife has sworn out an arrest warrant for the man who served a lawsuit at their Huntsville home on June 6.  —  The Brooks have said they would seek the warrant for misdemeanor criminal trespassing …

For years US Army hid, downplayed extent of firearms loss  —  The U.S. Army has hidden or downplayed the extent to which its firearms disappear, significantly understating losses and thefts even as some weapons are used in street crimes.  —  The Army's pattern of secrecy and suppression dates …

'We're not old friends': Biden says his relationship with China's Xi is ‘pure business’  —  President Joe Biden rejected the idea Wednesday that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping are “old friends,” instead claiming their relationship is “just pure business.”

Who Is Trump Reaching?  —  “The Republican Party is just a name,” Steve Bannon told me last week.  I had called him to ask about the influence he believes his old boss still carries inside the GOP.  “The bulk of it is a populist, nationalist party led by Donald Trump.”  As for the rest of it?

Biden stays out of our face.  Isn't it great?  —  For the first time in decades, America has a president who avoids the limelight.  —  During his first overseas trip as chief executive, President Biden met with foreign leaders at the G-7 gathering in Cornwall, paid a visit to Queen Elizabeth …