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 …

Vax mandates are a cruel stick to beat people with.  They will tear us apart  —  Vaccine-passport requirements have come to Gotham.  Restaurants have started asking patrons to see their vaccination cards along with IDs to dine inside.  Starting Sept. 13, restaurants, museums and certain …

Moderates bring House to standstill in Biden budget clash  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Confronting moderates, House Democratic leaders tried to muscle President Joe Biden's multitrillion-dollar budget blueprint over a key hurdle, working overnight to ease an intraparty showdown that risks upending their domestic infrastructure agenda.

Maryland's Kimberly Klacik sues conservative commentator Candace Owens for defamation, asks for $20 million in damages  —  Kimberly Klacik, a former Republican congressional candidate in Maryland, is suing conservative commentator Candace Owens for $20 million in damages over an Instagram video Owens …

Monsoon Rains Just Washed Away Trump's ‘Impenetrable’ Border Wall  —  Photos show rusted steel border bollards along the Arizona border ripped from their hinges by the recent rains.  —  JE  —  Monsoon rainfall in southeast Arizona damaged sections of the multi-billion dollar border wall whose construction …

Republican Lobbyist Barry Bennett Comes Under DOJ Scrutiny  —  One-time Trump campaign adviser faces probe into whether he set up an undisclosed lobbying effort to embarrass Qatar's adversaries, people familiar with the matter say  —  WASHINGTON—Federal prosecutors are investigating Barry Bennett …

Conservative Bill Kristol endorses McAuliffe in race for Virginia governor  —  RICHMOND — Bill Kristol is just like all the other disaffected Virginia Republicans whom gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin needs to win over, only famous.  —  The longtime conservative commentator …

Even Amid a Crackdown, the Proud Boys Are Still Agitating  —  At least two dozen members of the Proud Boys face federal charges in the U.S. Capitol siege.  But on Sunday, members of the group were mobilizing once again in Oregon.  —  PORTLAND, Ore. — In the months since the siege …

Hochul, NY's 1st female governor, inherits vast challenges  —  ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Kathy Hochul became the first female governor of New York on Tuesday, inheriting immense challenges as she takes over an administration facing criticism for inaction during Andrew Cuomo's distracted final months in office.

300 recall ballots, drugs, multiple driver's licenses found in vehicle of passed out felon: Torrance police  —  Torrance police are investigating the discovery of hundreds of recall election ballots in a vehicle where a felon was found passed out with drugs, a loaded firearm and multiple driver's licenses …

Mark Sanford calls Graham ‘a canary in the coalmine’ on GOP's relationship with Trump  —  Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is a “canary in the coalmine” when it comes to the GOP's relationship with former President Trump, contending that the senator “has a good political nose for his base.”

Cuomo commutes sentence of radical who took part in '81 robbery  —  David Gilbert, imprisoned for four decades, can take case to parole board  —  ALBANY — Just hours before leaving office, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo granted clemency to five men, including the commutation of the 75-years …

He Walks the Line  —  More than 20 years ago, I sat down to talk with a Black cop from New York City.  He had a weightlifter's powerful hands, a quick-trigger tongue, and a scar on the back of his shaved head from his days in a youth gang.  —  At the time, the relationship between police officers and Black residents was raw.