POLITICO Playbook: Is McCarthy prepared for Trump's wrath about the Jan. 6 committee?  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  IN MEMORIAM — @SenatorEnzi: “Former Wyoming U.S. Senator MIKE ENZI passed away peacefully today surrounded by his family.  His family expresses their deep appreciation for all of the prayers, support and concern.

New York's $200 french fries offer ‘escape’ from reality  —  Jerome Powell, this story's for you.  —  The Federal Reserve chair, always on the look-out for signs of inflation, might want to drop by Manhattan's Upper East Side, where a $200 plate of french fries stretches the definition of haute cuisine.

Trump Endorses Paxton Over Bush In Texas  —  “Former President Donald Trump endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton as he seeks his third term, a major boost for the embattled Republican that also stymies one of Paxton's primary opponents, Land Commissioner George P. Bush,” the Houston Chronicle reports.

I'm a Parkland Shooting Survivor.  QAnon Convinced My Dad It Was All a Hoax.  —  Bill's final semester at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, was already difficult enough.  —  He was part of the final graduating class of survivors of the 2018 shooting …

Former Sen. Mike Enzi dies following bike accident  —  Former Sen. Mike Enzi died Monday after suffering serious injuries in a recent bike accident.  He was 77.  —  The announcement of Enzi's passing came in a tweet posted at 11:14 p.m. to his senatorial Twitter account.

Tunisia's Democracy Verges on Collapse as President Moves to Take Control  —  The effort by President Kais Saied threatened the only democracy to emerge from the Arab Spring protests a decade ago, and his opponents called it a coup.  —  CAIRO — Tunisia's fledgling democracy …

Matt Gaetz's Future Sister-in-Law Says He's a Gaslighting ‘Creep’  —  Matt Gaetz's fiancée's sister says the Florida Republican tried to set her up with a man much older than her when she was 19, and went “full lawyer” on her when she confronted him.  —  Rep. Matt Gaetz's future sister …

‘It Failed Miserably’: After Wargaming Loss, Joint Chiefs Are Overhauling How the US Military Will Fight  —  In a fake battle for Taiwan, U.S. forces lost network access almost immediately.  Hyten has issued four directives to help change that.  —  A brutal loss in a wargaming exercise …

Exclusive — Classified Report Biden Could Release Provides Intricate Detail on Eric Swalwell Relationship with ‘Fang Fang’  —  The U.S. Intelligence Community currently has in its possession a classified report that includes intricate and intimate details of the nature of the relationship between …

Michigan lawmaker reports $221 campaign spending at strip club  —  Lansing — A Michigan lawmaker reported spending $221 of his campaign money at a strip club in Dearborn for a March 8 “constituent meeting” to discuss “potential economic projects,” according to a disclosure filed Sunday.

Biden team weighs return to mask mandates in some states  —  Top Biden administration officials are weighing whether to recommend that states and communities with low vaccination rates reimpose mask mandates, particularly indoors, as part of discussions on how the administration can do more to slow the spread of the Delta variant.

Likely California voters now almost evenly split on Newsom recall, poll finds  —  Californians who say they expect to vote in the September recall election are almost evenly divided over whether to remove Gov. Gavin Newsom from office, evidence of how pivotal voter turnout will be in deciding …

The Revolt of the Unwoke  —  Three progressive San Francisco school board members are targeted for a recall.  —  If the land of woke has a capital, it's San Francisco.  Which makes it all the more extraordinary that the City by the Bay has now become ground zero for a revolt by unwoke moms and dads.

Will Pence primary Trump — and win?  —  Not too long ago, The New York Times floated the idea of a Donald Trump-Ron DeSantis presidential primary.  Aside from the lame attempt to sow division among Republicans, it was an absurd suggestion.  DeSantis does not have the profile or national experience to challenge Trump.

V.A. Issues Vaccine Mandate for Health Care Workers, a First for a Federal Agency  —  Employees who provide direct patient care have eight weeks to get inoculated against the coronavirus or face penalties including possible removal.  —  WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs …

A 2nd New Nuclear Missile Base for China, and Many Questions About Strategy  —  Is China scrapping its “minimum deterrent” strategy and joining an arms race?  Or is it looking to create a negotiating card, in case it is drawn into arms control negotiations?

Britney Spears Files to Remove Her Father From Conservatorship  —  More than 13 years after a strict legal arrangement gave James P. Spears control of the singer's affairs, a new lawyer for Ms. Spears asked the court to remove him from the arrangement.  —  More than 13 years after the life …

‘Sellout’: Anti-vax conservatives come for DeSantis  —  TALLAHASSEE — Florida's Covid crisis has wedged Gov. Ron DeSantis between two competing forces: public health experts who urge him to do more and anti-vaxxers who want him to do less.  —  The Republican governor has come under attack …

Lightfoot says she would ‘absolutely’ exclude white journalists from interviews again  —  Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she would “absolutely” grant interviews only to journalists of color again after she drew waves of backlash earlier in the year when she announced the policy.

Candidate Under Investigation in PA Road Fatality is Vice Chair of CPAC  —  You see this story about the gubernatorial candidate from Pennsylvania who's being investigated for his involvement in a fatal motorcycle accident.  He apparently drove for miles after the accident with the motorcycle stuck to the front of his car.

Document: Barrack and Emirati Associate Sought to Displace Diplomats, Kushner  —  According to a recently unsealed charging document, former president Trump's friend, advisor, and confidant Thomas Barrack had more extensive communications than previously known with his alleged Emirati coconspirator …

South, North Korea have restored hotlines as leaders seek to rebuild ties  —  South and North Korea have restored their once-severed hotlinesas part of efforts by the two countries' leaders to rebuild strained ties, Seoul's presidential Blue House said on Tuesday.

After Clay Higgins gets COVID, a look at Louisiana's U.S. Congress members who are vaccinated  —  A day after U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins revealed he is ill with COVID, he along with Rep. Garret Graves and Rep. Mike Johnson would not disclose Monday whether they have been vaccinated.

Grayzone's Genocide Denial: Meet the U.S. Authoritarian Left's New Neo-fascist Allies  —  An ‘academic institute’ tied to an antisemitic Italian ‘Nazi-Maoist’ linked to Iran has released a report denying China's atrocities against the Uyghurs.  It's been loudly welcomed by America's conspiracy theory-riven …

How to Avert Disaster in Afghanistan  —  The least the U.S. can do is offer air support, intel and ensure proper logistics and maintenance contracting.  —  The situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating rapidly.  As the U.S. and its international partners withdrew military forces over the past few months …