Biden says he did not see a way to withdraw from Afghanistan without ‘chaos ensuing’  —  In an exclusive ABC News interview, Biden opens up on his decision to withdraw.  —  In an exclusive interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos, and the president's first since the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban …

Larry David ‘screamed’ at Alan Dershowitz at grocery store over Trump ties  —  It seems that Alan Dershowitz's ties to the Trump administration have made him persona non grata among the Martha's Vineyard elite — including Larry David.  —  A Page Six spy spotted the Harvard Law professor …

Trump's Pledge to Exit Afghanistan Was a Ruse, His Final SecDef Says  —  Chris Miller now says talk of a full withdrawal was a “play” to convince a Taliban-led government to keep U.S. counterterrorism forces.  — AFGHANISTAN - WHITE HOUSE - PENTAGON - TERRORISM

A mom of 4 who died of covid days after her husband makes one final wish: ‘Make sure my kids get vaccinated’  —  A few weeks ago, Lydia Rodriguez thought her body was strong enough to fight the coronavirus without the vaccine.  —  But after a week-long church camp, she and other members …

“A Smile With Sharp Teeth”: Mike Richards's Rise to ‘Jeopardy!’  Host Sparks Questions About His Past  —  The ‘Jeopardy!’ host search is finally over.  New reporting reveals that concerns about Richards and the show's selection process remain.  —  One day in the fall of 2013, Mike Richards called Ken Jennings.

Miami-Dade Votes to Mandate Masks in Schools, Setting Up Fight With DeSantis  —  The district and Hillsborough County voted to require masks, a day after the state sanctioned other districts  —  MIAMI—Two of Florida's largest school districts voted Wednesday to implement mask mandates …

Facebook shared new data about what's popular on its platform.  The answers are deeply weird.  —  Report shows a Green Bay Packers alumni page and an online CBD store, not right-wing pundits, are among the most viewed links in people's feeds, as Facebook pushes back against independent studies.

Joseph Galloway, chronicler and champion of soldiers in Vietnam, dies at 79  —  In November 1965, journalist Joseph L. Galloway hitched a ride on an Army helicopter flying to the Ia Drang Valley, a rugged landscape of red dirt, brown elephant grass and truck-size termite mounds in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam.

Federal judge rejects Trump-era permits for major Alaska oil project  —  Wednesday's decision is a setback for ConocoPhillips's Willow project, which aims to produce more than 100,000 barrels a day on the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska  —  A federal judge on Wednesday threw out the permits …

Fox News mandates employees disclose vaccination status, contradicting rhetoric from top stars  —  New York (CNN Business)The right-wing channel Fox News, whose top personalities have for months assailed the concept of vaccine passports and argued that asking about vaccine status amounts …

Afghan Women Are Already Fading From Public View as Fear of the Taliban and Uncertainty Prevail  —  Women are afraid to go outside or speak out as crackdowns on freedoms begin  —  Dr. Zuhal used to drive herself to work.  —  This week, she started taking a taxi to avoid reprisals from the Taliban, who once banned women from driving.

Movement for Black Lives: Feds targeted BLM protesters  —  The federal government deliberately targeted Black Lives Matter protesters via heavy-handed criminal prosecutions in an attempt to disrupt and discourage the global movement that swept the nation last summer in the wake …

Vaccines' protection against virus infection is waning, C.D.C. studies suggest.  —  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released three studies on Wednesday that federal officials said provided evidence that booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna coronavirus vaccines …

Kushner Friend Who Was Pardoned by Trump Is Charged in New York  —  Ken Kurson, the former editor of The New York Observer, has been charged with two felonies.  Prosecutors said he installed spyware on his former wife's computer in order to surveil her.  —  Seven months after he was pardoned …

Ron Johnson is a crook  —  Ron Johnson is not the only con artist in the U.S. Senate.  But he stands out as the senator whose grifting costs taxpayers — in Wisconsin and nationwide — the most.  —  Just last week, The Washington Post reported, “Sen. Rand Paul revealed Wednesday …

The mujahideen resistance to the Taliban begins now.  But we need help.  —  Ahmad Massoud is the leader of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan.  —  In 1998, when I was 9 years old, my father, the mujahideen commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, gathered his soldiers in a cave in the Panjshir Valley of northern Afghanistan.

The Biden administration will use a federal civil rights office to deter states from banning universal masking in classrooms.  —  The Biden administration, escalating its fight with Republican governors who are blocking local school districts from requiring masks to protect against the coronavirus …

Judge: USPS must turn over DeJoy conflicts docs  —  A federal judge ruled last night that the US Postal Service must give Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington documents about potential conflicts of interest by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.  —  Over the past seven years …

Hitting the vax ceiling  —  BOOST, THERE IT IS — Are Covid booster shots going to become a yearly ritual, or is it going to be three jabs and you're out?  Now that the Biden administration is finalizing a plan that would call for Americans to get a third vaccine dose eight months after their last one …

Taliban Is Denied Foreign Aid but Taps Billion-Dollar Drug Trade  —  The U.S. and its Western allies are blocking billions of dollars in financial assistance, but black-market operations provide significant revenue  —  in Washington, Benoit Faucon in London and Kate Davidson