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 …

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 …

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 …

Republicans' trail of destruction may haunt them  —  Republicans' embrace of conspiracy theories, election denial, vaccine mandate opposition and, frankly, nihilism pose real threats to our democracy and to the health of Americans.  But just because Republicans delight in “owning the libs” …

‘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 …

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 …

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?

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%) …

‘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 …

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 …

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.”

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.

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.

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 …

California rule change means Padilla faces extra election  —  A new California law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) means voters will get two chances to choose a replacement to fill the U.S. Senate seat once held by Vice President Kamala Harris next year.  —  The legislation …

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 …

The ‘comfort the comfortable’ coalition  —  Last Wednesday, I saw a friend walking his dog in the late morning on Capitol Hill, attired in shorts and flip-flops.  “Nice suit,” he said to me as we crossed paths.  “Yep,” I said.  “Busy week at work.”  He laughed.  “I am at work now.”

RNC challenges Vermont legislation giving voting rights to non-citizens  —  Montpelier and Winooski in May made changes to their charters allowing non-citizens to vote  —  Fox News Flash top headlines for September 27  —  EXCLUSIVE - The Republican National Committee is suing two Vermont cities …

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.

The Largest Autocracy on Earth  —  In 1947, Albert Einstein, writing in this magazine, proposed the creation of a single world government to protect humanity from the threat of the atomic bomb.  His utopian idea did not take hold, quite obviously, but today, another visionary is building the simulacrum of a cosmocracy.

How Miami Seduced Silicon Valley Awash in coders, crypto, and capital, the city is loving — and beginning to shape — its newest industry.  —  Silicon Valley's favorite politician, Miami mayor Francis Suarez, has many lures to dangle when he's wooing techies to relocate to his city.