CIA Director William Burns held secret meeting in Kabul with Taliban leader Abdul Ghani Baradar  —  CIA Director William J. Burns held a secret meeting in Kabul on Monday with the Taliban's de facto leader Abdul Ghani Baradar in the highest-level face-to-face encounter between the Taliban …

Two Congress members make unauthorized trip to Kabul amid evacuation efforts  —  Two members of Congress made an unauthorized whirlwind trip to Kabul early Tuesday, leaving less than 24 hours later on a flight used for evacuating U.S. citizens, allies and vulnerable Afghans.

Breaking: Herschel Walker is running for U.S. Senate in Georgia  —  Former University of Georgia football star Herschel Walker — at the urging of former President Donald Trump —launched a campaign Tuesday for the U.S. Senate, bringing both his celebrity and his untested political background …

FCC proposes record $5 million fine against Jacob Wohl, Jack Burkman for election robocalls  —  The agency's investigation said the pair made robocalls without people's consent before the 2020 presidential election  —  SAN FRANCISCO — The Federal Communications Commission has proposed …

Supreme Court says Biden administration must comply with ruling to restart ‘remain in Mexico’ program for asylum seekers  —  The Supreme Court on Tuesday said the Biden administration must comply with a lower court's ruling to reinstate President Donald Trump's policy that required …

Spike Lee's New Documentary Gives a Notorious 9/11 Conspiracy Theorist His Biggest Platform Ever  —  On Monday, the New York Times reported that Spike Lee devotes a significant amount of time in his new four-part HBO documentary series, NYC Epicenters 9/11-2021½, to the group Architects & Engineers …

Ohio State announces vaccination requirement  —  Decision follows full FDA approval of Pfizer vaccine  —  Ohio State University President Kristina M. Johnson sent the following message to students, faculty and staff today (Aug. 24).  —  Dear Students, Faculty and Staff:

House passes $3.5 trillion budget plan, aims to vote on infrastructure package by late September  —  The measure also sets in motion a potential House vote on a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill in late September  —  House Democrats on Tuesday approved a roughly $3.5 trillion budget …

Exclusive: Americans' harsh judgment on Afghanistan costs Biden's approval, down to 41%  —  Susan Page Matthew Brown Mabinty QuarshieUSA TODAY … Was the longest war worth it?  —  After two decades of combat, Americans by more than 2-1 say the war in Afghanistan, launched in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, wasn't worth it.

Biden receives inconclusive intelligence report on covid origins  —  The report falls short of concluding whether the coronavirus jumped from animal to human, or might have accidentally escaped from a lab in China  —  President Biden on Tuesday received a classified report from the intelligence community …

Afghanistan's Falling Man: The 17-Year-Old Soccer Star Who Plunged From a U.S. Military Jet  —  Zaki Anwari saw no future as the Taliban streamed into Kabul.  Viral images of his death horrified the world.  —  Hundreds of Afghans swarmed the runway of Hamid Karzai International Airport attempting …

Interview With Kathy Hochul: Sensing a ‘Weight of Responsibility’  —  Ms. Hochul sat down with The New York Times for her first one-on-one interview after becoming New York's first female governor.  —  ALBANY, N.Y. — Governor Kathy C. Hochul, the first woman in history to lead New York …

‘The Blob’ turns on Jake  —  Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration.  With Allie Bice and Louis Nelson  —  JAKE SULLIVAN is a D.C. golden boy — or at least he was.  —  The 44-year-old national security adviser …

The House Has Passed A Bill To Restore The Voting Rights Act  —  House lawmakers approved new legislation aimed at protecting the right to vote on Tuesday, amid a wave of restrictive new elections laws from Republican-controlled state legislatures.  —  The bill is named for the Georgia congressman …

Performative Antiracism at the University of Wisconsin  —  The University of Wisconsin has apparently done Black people a favor.  It lifted away a rock.  —  It was a big one, 42 tons, and at least some Black students thought of it as a symbol of bigotry.  Because, you see, 96 years ago …

Reuters photographer was killed after being left behind in Afghan retreat, general says  —  Danish Siddiqui was with soldiers on the front line of an Afghan Special Forces clash with the Taliban.  New reporting, and his last photographs, cast light on his final hours, on the collapse of the Afghan military …

Governor Kate Brown Announces Statewide Outdoor Mask Requirements  —  With COVID-19 rapidly spreading, masks help stop spread of the Delta variant  —  Salem, OR—Governor Kate Brown today announced new statewide outdoor mask requirements to help stop the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.

Fauci: Early use of monoclonal antibodies can cut risk of hospitalization, death up to 85%  —  COVID-19 sufferers can reduce their risk of hospitalization and death by up to 85 percent if they receive monoclonal antibody treatments in the early stages of their illness, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday.

Eric Adams ran errands for a prostitute named Micki as a teen, report says  —  Democratic mayoral nominee Eric Adams has frequently told the story of his arrest and beating by NYPD cops in Queens when he was a teenager.  —  But for the first time, he's revealed the backstory to the encounter …

Many Older Americans Still Aren't Vaccinated, Making the Delta Wave Deadlier  —  Compared with other highly vaccinated countries, large parts of the United States have many vulnerable seniors, helping spur hospitalization and death.  —  United States United Kingdom  —  WASH.  —  MAINE  —  MONT.