Why Our Monsters Talk to Michael Wolff  —  In his new book, the author of “Fire and Fury” continues his specialty: teasing out stories from men in power.  —  It's early 2019, a few months before Jeffrey Epstein will be arrested on sex charges, and he is sitting in the vast study …

POLITICO Playbook: Grisham dishes on Melania  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  THE WEEK AHEAD: JOE BIDEN campaigns with GAVIN NEWSOM in Long Beach, Calif., tonight before voters there decide Tuesday whether Newsom should be recalled (polls show him up by double digits) ... Secretary …

'They're All In on It!'  Rose McGowan Slams Dems at Larry Elder Campaign Event  —  The actress, campaigning for Republican Larry Elder ahead of California's recall election, aired damning accusations against Gov. Gavin Newsom's wife.  —  At a press conference in Los Angeles on Sunday …

Afghan American woman's escape highlights secretive CIA role in Kabul rescues  —  Five days after Afghanistan's fall, Shaqaiq Birashk, holed up in her Kabul apartment, was contacted by a stranger offering to have her picked up and escorted to the airport for evacuation.

Alabama man dies after being turned away from 43 hospitals as covid packs ICUs, family says  —  When Ray DeMonia was having a cardiac emergency last month, his Alabama family waited anxiously for a nearby hospital with available space in its intensive care unit.

Texas wanted to be the tech haven of the U.S. Its new abortion bill and other measures are causing workers to rethink their move.  —  Tech workers are marking Texas off the list of places they'd consider working after the state passed the nation's most restrictive abortion law

More than half of Americans support vaccine mandates for workplaces, classrooms and sporting events  —  Biden to the unvaccinated: ‘Our patience is wearing thin’  —  (CNN)Americans have grown more supportive of coronavirus vaccine mandates for workers, students, and in everyday public life …

Long-Secret FBI Report Reveals New Connections Between 9/11 Hijackers and Saudi Religious Officials in U.S.  —  “This validates what we have been saying,” says an attorney for families of 9/11 victims who are suing the Saudi government over alleged support of the 2001 terrorist attacks.

Trump Politicizes Soldier Deaths.  Gold Star Families Call It ‘Disgusting.’  —  Former President Donald Trump has taken to calling out President Joe Biden for soldier deaths in Afghanistan.  Gold Star families aren't so pleased.  —  “Gross.”  “Disgusting.”  “Without honor.”

Without drastic changes, Democrats are on track to lose big in 2022  —  The marked decline in support for President Biden and his administration nationally and in key swing states indicates that the Democratic Party could endure a blowout defeat in the 2022 midterm elections.

I spent 5 years inside DC's foreign policy ‘blob.’ Here's why the experts keep getting us into unwinnable wars like Afghanistan. … One autumn afternoon a few years ago, I took the subway from my Brooklyn apartment to a mansion on the Upper East Side.  I was nervous.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett argues Supreme Court isn't ‘a bunch of partisan hacks’  —  LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In the wake of a controversial decision on abortion rights, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett told a crowd of more than 100 here that she doesn't believe the highest court in the land is politically driven.

Biden tries to build back cooler and a new and improved Power Up  —  Good morning and welcome to The Early 202 newsletter — Power Up's glow up, so to speak.  —  If you loved Power Up, we think you'll love The Early 202 even more.  We'll continue to bring you the most important political stories …

There's No Unified Front Against China  —  Cracks are emerging between Europe and America.  —  Joe Biden went to Europe in June for the first foreign trip of his presidency.  But he mostly wanted to talk about China.  No one found it very surprising: Everyone understands that when it comes …

I Didn't Want to Push My Aunt to Get the Vaccine.  Now I Live With Regrets  —  In normal times, the ICU is a dreadful place.  —  Sickness lingers like a fog.  You can feel it, sense it, even hear it—the machinery pumping, the alarms ringing, the nurses scrambling.  —  In pandemic times, the ICU is chilling.

Trump's White House chief of staff is target of Capitol attack records request  —  House select committee investigating 6 January wants telecom and social media companies to preserve records on Mark Meadows  —  The House select committee investigating the 6 January attack on the Capitol …

Rudy Giuliani rambles during 9/11 memorial dinner  —  Ex-Mayor Rudy Giuliani at a 9/11 commemoration on Saturday called a top US general an “idiot” and “a-hole,” imitated Queen Elizabeth and distanced himself from Prince Andrew, in a series of rambling soliloquies, video shows.

Meet Ron Klain, manager of the White House's summer from hell … The secret meeting of the nation's most exclusive political fraternity took place on a Zoom call on December 18, deep into what had become the rockiest presidential transition in memory.  —  President Donald Trump refused to accept defeat.

High school cancels 9/11 tribute, says it could offend some students  —  Students were ready to wear red, white, and blue colors to honor the lives lost on September 11.  But school staff pulled the plug, concerned the expression could be racially insensitive and offend some people.

G.O.P. Seethes at Biden Mandate, Even in States Requiring Other Vaccines  —  Resistance to vaccine mandates, once a fringe position, has entered the Republican mainstream.  But the governors fighting President Biden's Covid-19 requirements impose mandates of their own.