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 …

Democrats edge toward dumping Iowa's caucuses as the first presidential vote  —  President Biden is not a big fan.  Former Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez is openly opposed.  And elsewhere in the Democratic inner sanctum, disdain for Iowa's first-in-the-nation presidential caucus has been rising for years.

Congress' Jan. 6 investigators face an inevitable reckoning with their GOP colleagues  —  As congressional investigators accelerate their probe of Donald Trump's 2020 election challenges that culminated on Jan. 6, one thing is clear: All roads run through a handful of their GOP colleagues.

‘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.

Taliban say they won't work with US to contain Islamic State  —  ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Taliban on Saturday ruled out cooperation with the United States to contain extremist groups in Afghanistan, staking out an uncompromising position on a key issue ahead of the first direct talks between …

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

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.

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.

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.”

The Democrats' Privileged College-Kid Problem  —  To anyone who's spent time in Democratic politics in the past decade, a certain type of young person will immediately be familiar: bright-eyed, old enough to drive a car but not old enough to rent one without insurance fees …

Too fun — and dumb — to check: Did Biden snub Pelosi for Vatican ambassador pick?  —  Answer: Come on, man.  For some reason, though, rumors had apparently swirled in the Beltway that Joe Biden would pick Nancy Pelosi to be his ambassador to the Vatican.  Punchbowl founder Jake Sherman noted …

‘Starting a Fire’: U.S. and China Enter Dangerous Territory over Taiwan  —  The self-ruled island has moved to the heart of deepening discord and rivalry between the two superpowers, with the potential to ignite military conflagration and reshape the regional order.

It's Not Misinformation.  It's Amplified Propaganda.  —  You don't need fake accounts to spread ampliganda online.  Real people will happily do it.  —  About the author: Renée DiResta is the technical research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory.

Hungary's Orban backs Polish court ruling challenging EU law  —  Hungary has called on European Union institutions “to respect member states' sovereignty” after it backed a Polish court ruling that some EU law is incompatible with the Polish constitution.  —  Prime Minister Viktor Orban signed …

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 outlawing harmful social media content would face an uphill legal battle  —  Even in cases with tragic facts, courts have resisted penalizing speech involved with some general societal harm.  —  Testimony from Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen has given new life to a pair of ideas that …

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.

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 …

Luo Changping Detained in China After Criticizing ‘The Battle at Lake Changjin’  —  The police arrested Luo Changping on Thursday, two days after he questioned China's role in the Korean War, the subject of China's box office hit “The Battle at Lake Changjin.”

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.

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.

Global Supply-Chain Problems Escalate, Threatening Economic Recovery  —  Component shortages, surging prices of raw materials and transportation backups compound the bottlenecks  —  in Hong Kong, William Boston in Berlin and Alistair MacDonald  —  Global supply-chain bottlenecks are feeding …

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 …

‘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.