Biden declines Trump request to withhold White House records from Jan. 6 committee  —  WASHINGTON — The White House on Friday formally blocked an attempt by former President Donald Trump to withhold documents from Congress related to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, setting up a legal showdown between …

Kyrsten Sinema Wants to Cut $100 Billion in Proposed Climate Funds, Sources Say  —  The Arizona senator, who started in politics as an environmentalist, is one of two centrist Democrats who could make or break a spending bill at the center of President Biden's legislative agenda.

‘Mad Men’ advice for Biden  —  BUILD BACK BETTER, BETTER — Wherever you sit on the political spectrum, and whatever you think of the substantive merits of the multi-trillion dollar bill that Joe Biden has staked his presidency on, you will probably agree that the bill has been terribly named.

LI Rep. Suozzi to outflank Hochul in Buffalo ahead of potential gov challenge  —  A Long Island Democrat, Rep. Tom Suozzi, is making his most aggressive move in a potential bid to challenge Gov. Kathy Hochul in a primary next year — by outflanking the former lieutenant governor in a local race on her own Buffalo turf.

McConnell vows GOP won't help raise debt ceiling in December after Schumer ‘tantrum’  —  Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) warned President Biden Friday that Republicans won't help raise the debt ceiling later this year, and stated that a recent speech by Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y) had “poisoned the well.”

Appeals court reinstates Texas's six-week abortion ban, two days after it was lifted  —  A federal appeals court late Friday reinstated the nation's most restrictive abortion law, which bars the procedure as early as six weeks into pregnancy with no exceptions for rape or incest.

French elections: Far-right TV pundit climbs to second behind Macron  —  A far-right firebrand is shaking up the French presidential election and, with six months to go, has pulled into second in the polls.  —  Why it matters: This race had long seemed on course for a rematch between President …

America's unemployed are sending a message: They'll go back to work when they feel safe - and well-compensated  —  September marked the weakest hiring this year, and an alarming number of women had to stop working again to deal with unstable school and child-care situations

Major Harris surrogate goes full DGAF  —  Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration.  With Allie Bice.  —  “Her portfolio is trash.”  —  That's what BAKARI SELLERS, one of the most public and vocal defenders …

Why is a prominent federal judge hiring a law clerk who said she hates Black people?  —  For a graduating law student, a clerkship with a federal appeals court judge is a glittering credential.  With the right judge, it can be a steppingstone to the most sought-after credential of all, a clerkship at the Supreme Court itself.

Capitol Police whistleblower delivers scathing rebuke to two of its senior leaders on Jan. 6  —  A former high-ranking Capitol Police official with knowledge of the department's response to the Jan. 6 attack has sent congressional leaders a scathing letter accusing two of its senior leaders …

I Interviewed Trump For 5 Hours.  Here's What He Told Me About ‘Stupid F—er’ McConnell, McCarthy's Bromance With Luntz, And The Fake News That Bothered Him The Most  —  In multiple interviews, Former President Donald Trump unloads on the rigged 2020 election, Republicans who screwed him …

National Democrats seek to intervene in GOP-backed challenge to mail voting in Pennsylvania  —  The Democratic National Committee is seeking to intervene in a lawsuit brought by Pennsylvania Republicans aimed at curbing the use of mail voting, according to a copy of the filing shared with NBC News.

Michigan Students Accuse Celebrated Music Professor of Racism for Screening Othello  —  Bright Sheng is a professor of composition at the University of Michigan.  He was born in China in 1955; when he was a child, the Red Guards took away his family piano.  Nevertheless, he grew up to become …

EXCLUSIVE U.S. delegation to meet Taliban in first high-level talks since pullout - officials  —  A U.S. delegation will meet with senior Taliban representatives in Doha on Saturday and Sunday in their first face-to-face meeting at a senior level since Washington pulled its troops from Afghanistan …

Black Children Were Jailed for a Crime That Doesn't Exist.  Almost Nothing Happened to the Adults in Charge.  —  Judge Donna Scott Davenport oversees a juvenile justice system in Rutherford County, Tennessee, with a staggering history of jailing children.  She said kids must face consequences …

There's an urgent need to clean up the World Bank and IMF  —  Devesh Kapur, Arvind Subramanian write: Global political leaders convening next week must open up selection of heads of these institutions to the best candidates, regardless of nationality.  —  Something is rotten on 19th Street in Washington DC.

Three U.S. Embassy staff in Russia face expulsion over allegations of property theft  —  MOSCOW — Russia on Friday accused three U.S. Embassy employees of theft and demanded that they leave the country or face prosecution, exacerbating already tense relations.

White House condemns NC Lt Gov Robinson's anti LGBTQ comments  —  The Biden White House condemned on Friday North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson's comments calling transgender people and homosexuality “filth.”  —  “These words are repugnant and offensive,” said Andrew Bates …

Facebook Faces the Media's Existential Crisis  —  Despite coverage suggesting the contrary, Facebook is not facing an existential crisis, and Frances Haugen is far from Facebook's worst nightmare.  In fact, she might even be the company's ideal whistleblower.

Harrison Nominates New Corporate Lobbyists to Join the DNC  —  DNC members say they were not allowed input on the nominees, who were put forward as a slate by Chair Jaime Harrison and will almost certainly be approved.  —  EDITED BY  —  Tomorrow, Democratic National Committee members …

Former VP Mike Pence talks to Alabama audience about his Christian faith  —  Former Vice President Mike Pence, a possible contender for the White House in 2024, delivered a message about his Christian faith and optimism about America's future at a speech in Montgomery tonight.

Jon Gruden Used Racial Trope to Describe NFLPA Chief DeMaurice Smith in 2011 Email  —  The NFL has been examining more than 650,000 emails, including the one sent by the Las Vegas Raiders coach, as part of a recent investigation.  Gruden apologized for the comment.

‘Battered on trust, doubted on leadership’: A ‘brutal’ poll for Biden shows no easy fix  —  “These new poll numbers are frankly brutal for the president,” CNN anchor Jake Tapper reported on Wednesday after a new Quinnipiac University poll showed that President Biden is at his lowest approval number yet — 38 percent.