Trump played tough with Putin when cameras were around, but a new book details his insecurities  —  Little is known about what happened in the 90-minute conversation between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Osaka, Japan, two years ago.

131 Federal Judges Broke the Law by Hearing Cases Where They Had a Financial Interest  —  The judges failed to recuse themselves from 685 lawsuits from 2010 to 2018 involving firms in which they or their family held shares, a Wall Street Journal investigation found

‘People are going to get skittish:’ White House sweats over McAuliffe  —  President Joe Biden can't afford Terry McAuliffe to lose the governor's race in Virginia — and the White House knows it.  —  It's a scenario the president and his aides and close allies increasingly view as a real possibility …

Schumer to try to get deal to bypass filibuster on debt hike  —  Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on Tuesday that he will try to bypass the legislative filibuster on increasing the country's borrowing limit — a move expected to be blocked by Republicans.

Pass the damn infrastructure bill, dammit  —  Then pass the reconciliation bill, then pass another bill...  I am annoyed at the way Democrats are handling the two spending bills now moving through Congress.  When the bipartisan infrastructure deal passed the Senate, I assumed it was a done deal …

Deadline Looming, Thousands of Health Care Workers in New York Get Vaccinated  —  Though many hospital and nursing home employees remain unvaccinated, officials say worst-case staffing shortages seem less likely.  —  When New York State officials issued a sweeping coronavirus vaccine mandate …

‘Speed equals safety’: Inside the Pentagon's controversial decision to leave Bagram early  —  On a rainy day in early May, weeks after President Joe Biden announced the U.S. exit from Afghanistan, senior leaders from across the government gathered in the basement of the Pentagon …

Trump Loses Case to Enforce Omarosa Manigault Newman's N.D.A.  —  Donald Trump had filed the case against Ms. Manigault Newman, a former White House aide and “Apprentice” star, after she wrote a tell-all book about serving in his administration.  —  Former President Donald J. Trump has lost …

KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor: September 2021  —  , Mellisha Stokes , and Mollyann Brodie … Key Findings  — As the U.S. continues to grapple with the “third wave” of the COVID-19 pandemic, the latest KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor finds that more than seven in ten U.S. adults (72%) …

Marine officer who blasted leaders over Afghanistan withdrawal now in the brig  —  “All our son did is ask the questions that everybody was asking themselves, but they were too scared to speak out loud.”  —  Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller, the Marine officer whose meteoric rise to internet fandom began …

Obama: Del Rio migrant crisis is “reminder that we don't have this right”  —  Former President Barack Obama in an interview with ABC's “Good Morning America” called the migrant crisis at the border in Del Rio, Texas, “heartbreaking” and a “painful reminder that we don't have this right yet.”

Milley: Beijing's fears of U.S. attack prompted call to Chinese general  —  “My task at that time was to de-escalate,” Gen. Mark Milley told senators on Tuesday.  —  Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Mark Milley arrives before a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.

Axios-Ipsos poll: Biden trust takes a blow as COVID lingers  —  For the first time in his presidency, Joe Biden faces a trust deficit among Americans when it comes to COVID-19, according to the latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index.  —  Why it matters: The latest findings point to malaise more than fear.

The Age of Progressive Misinformation  —  The vicious lie that mounted border agents whipped Haitians is only the latest entry in progressives' vast trove of propaganda.  —  How does a stupid and ridiculous lie come to be embraced and promulgated by top officials of the United States government?

‘Mad Dash’: Trump's demand for a Texas ‘audit’ caught Gov. Abbott off guard  —  Donald Trump's letter to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott demanding he pursue an “audit” of the 2020 election set off a “mad dash” in the governor's office as aides sought to figure out just how serious the former president was …

Trump's spiteful support for Abrams over Kemp sparks midterms fear from Georgia Republicans  —  (CNN)Donald Trump is escalating his fight against Republican Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia, and state Republicans fear it will give Democrats a stronger foothold in the key swing state as next year's midterm elections loom.

A.C.L.U. Apologizes for Tweet That Altered Quote by Justice Ginsburg  —  The organization acknowledged that changing references from women to people was a mistake — albeit a well-intentioned one.  —  Anthony Romero, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union …

NY Times' cluelessness is wrecking journalism  —  I know, I know, you're probably sick of “anniversary journalism,” but it must be noted that this week marked the 32nd anniversary of Billy Joel's last big hit, the unforgettable “We Didn't Start the Fire.”  I'm thinking there's plenty of material …

How the Christian right embraced voter suppression  —  Abortion isn't the only victory conservative evangelicals have won in 2021. … For decades, the Christian-right foot soldiers who form the backbone of the Republican Party have regularly and enthusiastically showed up for legislative battles …

As Trump hints at 2024 comeback, democracy advocates fear a ‘worst-case scenario’ for the country  —  A year before the 2020 election, about two dozen constitutional scholars and democracy advocates traveled to Washington to work through a range of scenarios where something goes awry on Election Day.

She Was Walking Home: How Sarah Everard's Murder Revealed Feminism's Fault Lines  —  The disappearance and murder of a young British woman, whose killer will be sentenced this week, unleashed a torrent of anger—and exposed deep rifts in feminist approaches to criminal justice.

We Underestimated Trump Before.  It Didn't Go Well.  —  Sometimes, and much to our detriment, we find real events are simply too outlandish to take seriously.  —  Many professional Republicans, for example, initially dismissed the movement to “Stop the Steal” as a ridiculous stunt.

New Taliban Chancellor Bars Women From Kabul University  —  The new policy for Afghanistan's premier university is another major blow to women's rights under Taliban rule, and to a two-decade effort to build up higher education.  —  Tightening the Taliban's restrictions on women …

Idaho COVID Insanity Shows How Much Worse the GOP Can Get  —  The slightest hint of responsibility is enough to draw primary challenges in the party's ever-accelerating race to the bottom. … As the morgues and ICUs in Idaho overflow with COVID patients, Republican Governor Brad Little …

Kyrie Irving wants to leave a legacy.  With his stance on vaccination, he just might.  —  Kyrie Irving is too smart for you.  He's so smart, he can outwit germs and governments.  He's so smart, you can't understand a word he's saying.  That's how smart he is.

Sorry, but a national split up just won't work  —  Is it time for a national divorce?  The idea has understandably gained steam — though it can't possibly work and shouldn't.  —  In 2018, conservative Jesse Kelly argued that “our political disagreements have become a powder keg” and we should redraw the map.

Memo to Centrists: The Planet is Melting  —  A radical group of centrists is wasting our best - and maybe last - chance to save the planet from climate change  —  In the final days before the 2010 midterm elections, Barack Obama was in Charlottesville, Virginia campaigning for an almost certainly doomed member of Congress.