POLITICO Playbook: A new ‘Sputnik moment’  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  Reminder: HBO's “Succession” returns tonight for its third season.  —  A SIGN O' THE TIMES — Superman has long been known for championing “truth, justice and the American way.”  Now, DC Comics is changing that motto by cutting out the whole “American way” thing.

Allison Williams is leaving ESPN over COVID-19 vaccine mandate, says “I am so morally and ethically not aligned with this.” … Disney, ESPN's parent company, is one of many large corporations requiring all employees to be vaccinated against the COVID-19 novel coronavirus, which has led to more than 722,000 deaths in the United States.

At Axel Springer, Politico's New Owner, Allegations of Sex, Lies and a Secret Payment  —  A high-flying German media giant is ahead on digital media but seems stuck in the past when it comes to the workplace and deal-making.  —  A high-level editor at the powerful German tabloid Bild …

In Virginia, Republicans see education, curriculum fears as a path to victory  —  WARRENTON, Va. — Democrat Terry McAuliffe launched his campaign for Virginia governor last year at a public school to tout his education plan.  —  But in the final days of an unexpectedly tight race …

'I'm So Stupid': MAGA Fan Who Attacked Officer Mike Fanone Called Himself A ‘Piece Of S**t’  —  Danny “D.J.” Rodriguez, who was arrested after he was identified in a HuffPost story, called himself a “f**king piece of s**t” during his interview with the FBI.  —  “I'm not smart.”  —  “I'm so stupid.”

A woman won a million-euro Spanish literary prize.  It turned out that ‘she’ was actually three men.  —  The work of one woman was, it turned out, the equivalent of the labors of three men.  —  That was at least the case for Spain's top writer of crime thrillers, a professor and mother …

Is Trump running in 2024?  The Claremont Institute hopes so  —  A recent piece in The Atlantic described the influential conservative think tank Claremont Institute as “the intellectual home of America's Trumpist right.”  —  That is, of course, one way of putting it.

Former NYT opinion editor Bari Weiss hits out at CNN's Brian Stelter after he suggested a controversial column by a Republican senator she published ‘endangered lives’  — Bari Weiss appeared on Brian Stelter's podcast on Thursday to discuss media  — Weiss resigned from The New York Times in July 2020 in protest at their stance

A Jan. 6 ‘blood flag’ and a Bond villain in the Senate — it's no time to go back to brunch  —  Say what you will about our modern obsession with James Bond movies, but their timing often seems impeccable.  This fall's release of No Time to Die, the 25th official film in the series …

Civil Liberties Are Being Trampled by Exploiting “Insurrection” Fears.  Congress's 1/6 Committee May Be the Worst Abuse Yet.  —  Following the 9/11 script, objections to government overreach in the name of 1/6 are demonized as sympathy for terrorists.  But government abuses pose the greater threat.

Why the ‘Big Short’ Guys Think Bitcoin Is a Bubble  —  During the past year of COVID-induced market mania, cryptocurrencies have gone up so much — bitcoin is up about fivefold, while many other crypto projects are up far, far more — that even reluctant Wall Street institutions have begun to tiptoe into the arena.

90 Seconds of Rage  —  The American flag became a blunt instrument in the bearded man's hands.  Wielding the flagpole like an ax, he swung once, twice, three times, to beat a police officer being dragged down the steps of a United States Capitol under siege.

Buttigieg warns Manchin of resistance to Biden's climate plan: ‘It will cost lives’  —  White House has said clean energy provisions likely to be dropped from bill to secure support of Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema  —  The transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg delivered a blunt warning …

In allied capitals, a nuanced, cautious view of Biden  —  In the wake of a chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan and a diplomatic rift with France, America's bond with many of its strongest allies sometimes seems to be unraveling.  —  During less than a year in office, a narrative …

Bill Clinton released from Southern California hospital  —  ORANGE, Calif. (AP) — Bill Clinton was released Sunday from the Southern California hospital where he had been treated for an infection and will head home to New York to continue his recovery, a spokesman said.

Is Biden Doing Enough to Protect Democracy?  —  As a reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer in the early 2000s, I once received a call from a couple of Republican campaign operatives who said they had something to show me.  We met at their office in Washington, D.C., a few days later.

These Republicans torpedoed vaccine edicts — then slipped in the polls  —  Republican governors crusading against vaccine mandates are facing significantly lower approval ratings on their handling of the coronavirus pandemic than their counterparts.  But they're not worried.

‘More immediate, more visceral’ and a lot tougher on Eric Clapton: A plan for reviving Rolling Stone  —  Last Monday in Manhattan, outside the Fifth Avenue offices of Rolling Stone, dozens of young fans of the South Korean boy band P1Harmony swarmed the building, hoping to catch a glimpse of their idols.

J&J recipients should ‘feel good’ about booster recommendation: Fauci  —  Dr. Anthony Fauci appeared on ABC's “This Week” Sunday.  —  Recipients of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine should not be concerned about the shot's lower efficacy now that boosters have been recommended …

Has Interpol become the long arm of oppressive regimes?  —  Once used in the hunt for fugitive criminals, the global police agency's most-wanted ‘red notice’ list now includes political refugees and dissidents  —  licking through the news one day in early 2015, Alexey Kharis …