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.

‘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 Supreme Court's stunning, radical immigration decision, explained  —  The Court's decision on Trump's “Remain in Mexico” policy upends decades of precedent warning that judges shouldn't mess with foreign affairs.  —  The Supreme Court handed down an order Tuesday evening that makes no sense.

House Democrats pass $3.5 trillion budget resolution  —  House Democrats passed a $3.5 trillion budget resolution on Tuesday, 220-212, advancing the party's effort to pass a sweeping economic package that would expand the nation's social safety net.  —  Why it matters: Democrats now will be able …

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 …

Why I voted to defy Ron DeSantis on masks for schools  —  Back to school in the middle of a mask fight  —  Lucia Baez-Geller was elected to the Miami-Dade County School Board in November 2020 after a 15-year career in teaching at Miami-Dade County Public Schools.  The views expressed in this commentary are her own.

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 …

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 a vaccine mandate for students and employees.  —  Ohio State University announced on Tuesday that all students, faculty and staff would be required to be vaccinated against Covid-19 during the fall semester, becoming one of the first large state universities to issue a vaccine mandate that extends beyond students.

Leader of ‘Atomwaffen’ conspiracy sentenced to 3 years in prison for threatening journalists and advocates  —  Seattle - Cameron Shea, 25, a leader of the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division, was sentenced today in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington to 3 years …

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 …

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.

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.

New York's New Governor Wants You to Forget Some Things … Kathy Hochul, who becomes the new governor of New York on Tuesday, can count herself fortunate that her state has forgotten just how closely bound to Andrew Cuomo she was as his choice for lieutenant governor in the 2014 election …

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.

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 …

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 …