Trump Campaign Knew Lawyers' Voting Machine Claims Were Baseless, Memo Shows  —  Days before lawyers allied with Donald Trump gave a news conference promoting election conspiracy theories, his campaign had determined that many of those claims were false, court filings reveal.

No More Apologies: Inside Facebook's Push to Defend Its Image  —  Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive, has signed off on an effort to show users pro-Facebook stories and to distance himself from scandals.  —  Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's chief executive, signed off last month on a new initiative code-named Project Amplify.

Iowa Poll: 62% of Iowans disapprove of the job Joe Biden is doing as president  —  Fewer than one third of Iowans approve of the job Joe Biden is doing as president, a steep drop from earlier this year.  —  Thirty-one percent of Iowans approve of how Biden is handling his job …

Boris Johnson admits he has six children  —  London (CNN)Boris Johnson has finally admitted that he has six children, a question he has previously dodged in numerous interviews and press conferences.  —  The British Prime Minister, speaking to NBC's Today show on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly …

New FL surgeon general opposes mask, vaccine mandates  —  Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a new surgeon general for Florida on Tuesday, a Harvard-trained doctor who advocated for an approach to the coronavirus pandemic that emphasizes protecting individual rights over community-based precautions.

Dems fear Biden's domestic agenda could implode  —  Internal Democratic discord has wounded President Joe Biden's massive social spending plan, raising the prospect that the package could stall out, shrink dramatically — or even fail altogether.  —  Myriad problems have arisen.

U.S. default this fall would cost 6 million jobs, wipe out $15 trillion in wealth, study says  —  GOP refuses to help Democrats raise debt ceiling as study spells out devastating consequences of inaction  —  America could plunge into an immediate recession if Congress fails to raise …

READ: Trump lawyer's memo on six-step plan for Pence to overturn the election  —  (CNN)John Eastman, a conservative lawyer working with then-President Donald Trump's legal team, outlined in a two-page memo a scheme to try to persuade then-Vice President Mike Pence to subvert the Constitution …

Texas couple asked to leave restaurant for wearing face masks to protect their immunocompromised infant  —  (CNN)A Texas couple who landed themselves a rare night out with friends says it was cut short when the restaurant kicked them out for wearing face masks, which they say they wore to protect their immunocompromised 4-month-old son.

Their Baby Died in the Hospital.  Then Came the $257,000 Bill.  —  A New York family had good health insurance.  But the bills for their daughter's care started showing up and kept coming.  —  Brittany Giroux Lane gave birth to her daughter, Alexandra, a few days before Christmas in 2018.

Huge hack reveals embarrassing details of who's behind Proud Boys and other far-right websites  —  Researchers say it will allow them to gain important new insights into how extremists operate online  —  Epik long has been the favorite Internet company of the far-right …

Democrats Begin Effort to Curb Post-Trump Presidential Powers  —  But to appeal to Republicans, a bill being introduced in the House to impose checks on executive authority may be broken into pieces in the Senate.  —  WASHINGTON — House Democrats are planning to introduce a package of proposed …

House Democrats strip Iron Dome money from government funding bill  —  House Democrats on Tuesday stripped $1 billion for Israel's Iron Dome defense system from its short-term government funding bill after backlash from progressives, people familiar with the decision tell Axios.

Angelo Codevilla, R.I.P.  —  Angelo Codevilla, the historian of spycraft and powerful analyst of American political and social trends, has died.  It is difficult for many commentators to see beyond the current news cycle.  But Codevilla, because he could see America as it is presently, could also see into the future.

Haitian migrants revolt in custody and seize control of privately contracted bus  —  DEL RIO, Texas — Haitian migrants who were being transported on a federally contracted private bus away from the border revolted during the ride and overtook control of the commercial vehicle before escaping, according to two law enforcement officials.

Americans Have No Idea What the Supply Chain Really Is  —  Behind shipping delays and soaring prices are workers still at mortal risk of COVID-19.  —  At this point, the maddeningly unpredictable Delta variant has changed the expected course of the coronavirus pandemic so much that it can be hard …

Sinema Cueing Up To Go Indy (Must Read)  —  Absolutely fascinating look at Kyrsten Sinema's efforts to position herself as an independent in Arizona, possibly formally but definitely in effect.  It makes pretty clear she's not done with politics or angling for a high dollar lobbying gig, as some speculate.

US: Treatment of Haitian Migrants Discriminatory  —  Chased by Border Agents on Horseback; Returned to Danger in Haiti  —  (Washington, DC) - The US deployment of border agents on horseback against Haitian migrants on September 19, 2021, stems from abusive and racially discriminatory immigration policies …

Where are the tests?  —  Your daughter wakes up with a scratchy throat, and you can't decide whether she should go to school.  —  You can't shake a runny nose and start wondering whether it's really because of allergies.  —  You're planning a family gathering, but you are nervous about your aging parents being there.

Ohio Senate candidate who compared refugees to alligators is the grandson of refugees aided by resettlement organizations  —  (CNN)An Ohio Senate candidate who has pushed strong anti-refugee messages against Afghans and others is the grandson of refugees from Europe who settled in the Cleveland area …

State Department Plans ‘China House’ to Counter Beijing  —  Some fear larger State Department China desk could be a “massive bureaucratic blob.”  —  The U.S. State Department is planning to expand the number of officials dedicated to monitoring China, a bid to track Beijing's growing footprint in key countries around the world.

The Trailer: A socialist beat the mayor of Buffalo in a primary.  He's still running.  —  In this edition: Democrats vs. socialism in Buffalo, six easy steps to steal the presidency, and liberals get organized in Hawaii.  —  Yes, I had wings while I was in Buffalo, you can stop asking me, and this is The Trailer.

Democrats' dwindling 2022 map  —  Democrats are trying to unseat only about half as many Republican House members next year as they did in 2020, trimming their target list from 39 to 21.  —  Why it matters: The narrowing map — which reflects where Democrats see their best chance of flipping seats …

Bolsonaro vowed to show a new Brazil but ‘lie-filled’ UN speech cuts little ice  —  Far-right president peddled unproven Covid remedies and made baseless claims about Brazilian politics and the environment  —  The Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, told the United Nations general assembly …

Politico Playbook: Hey, the Hunter-laptop story was legit after all  —  The deuce you say.  Maybe the rest of the national media shouldn't have rushed to bury the story of Hunter Biden's laptop in the first place, huh?  A new book from a Politico reporter belatedly clears the decks …

Al Franken has a new comedy tour.  His targets?  Former Senate colleagues.  —  NORTHAMPTON, Mass. — For more than eight years in the Senate, Al Franken largely stifled the funny, as though he coexisted with a powerful alter ego in desperate need of submission: Senator Franken and “Saturday Night Live” Al.

James Craig says he supports abortion ban in secret recording  — Former Detroit Police Chief James Craig was swarmed by protesters at his campaign launch at Belle Isle.  —  Republican gubernatorial candidate James Craig said if elected he would block any attempt by Democrats …