Scoop: Manchin's red lines  —  Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has told the White House the child tax credit must include a firm work requirement and family income cap in the $60,000 range, people familiar with the matter tell Axios.  —  Why it matters: While Manchin's demands would dramatically weaken …

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 …

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.

WATCH: Christopher Steele Breaks Silence in ABC Interview, Says the Trump Pee Tape ‘Probably’ Exists  —  Former British spy Christopher Steele defended the contents of his Donald Trump dossier in his first major TV interview since his bombshell allegations came to light years ago.

As Manchin Blocks Climate Plan, His State Can't Hold Back Floods  —  As the senator thwarts Democrats' major push to reduce warming, new data shows West Virginia is more exposed to worsening floods than anywhere else in the country.  —  FARMINGTON, W.Va. — In Senator Joe Manchin's hometown …

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.

Major League Baseball to require teams to provide housing for minor league players starting in 2022, sources say  —  Amid mounting pressure from players and advocacy groups, Major League Baseball will require teams to provide housing for minor league players starting in 2022, sources told ESPN.

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.

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 …

As a Woman Was Raped, Train Riders Failed to Intervene, Police Say  —  The SEPTA train car near Philadelphia had several passengers aboard but none called 911 while the woman was sexually assaulted, the authorities said.  —  As a woman was being raped while on a train near Philadelphia on Wednesday night …

For 105 days, COVID's death toll in Florida counties went missing  —  The state and federal government could have shared the death toll in each county with the public, but didn't.  —  Published Earlier today  —  For 105 days this summer, while COVID-19 deaths soared across the state …

'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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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