Colin Powell, first Black US secretary of state, dies of Covid-19 complications amid cancer battle  —  (CNN)Colin Powell, the first Black US secretary of state whose leadership in several Republican administrations helped shape American foreign policy in the last years of the 20th century …

Trump sues Jan. 6 committee, National Archives  —  Donald Trump is suing the Jan. 6 select committee and the National Archives to block the release of his White House's records related to the Capitol attack.  —  The former president's lawyers filed the 26-page suit in D.C. district court on Monday …

Huma Abedin on the Moment Her Private Life Went Public  —  To listen to this excerpt, click the play button below: … When I awoke in Buckingham Palace, it was as if I were still in a dream.  I turned my head to the tall, narrow windows, where sunlight was just beginning to peek through the gray clouds.

F.D.A. to Allow ‘Mix and Match’ Approach for Covid Booster Shots  —  The agency may act this week, when it is expected to authorize booster shots for recipients of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.  —  WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration is planning to allow Americans …

State IG launches investigations into end of Afghanistan operations  —  The State Department's inspector general is launching a series of investigations into the end of the Biden administration's diplomatic operations in Afghanistan, according to State Department and congressional officials, as well as documents viewed by POLITICO.

‘History of the World Part II’ Variety Series Ordered at Hulu, Mel Brooks to Write and Executive Produce (EXCLUSIVE) … “History of the World, Part I” is finally getting a Part II, with Hulu ordering a variety series followup to the classic Mel Brooks comedy film, Variety has learned exclusively.

Jefferson Statue Will Be Removed From N.Y.C. Council Chambers  —  After a debate over Jefferson's legacy and his history as a slaveholder, city officials delayed deciding on where to display the statue.  —  For more than 100 years, a 7-foot-tall statue of Thomas Jefferson has towered …

Steve Bannon Thought Jeffrey Epstein Was a Spy  —  The billionaire may have exaggerated his connections to the world of international espionage, but the tales were enough to pull in a top official in Trumpworld  —  In the run-up to the 2016 presidential campaign, Jeffrey Epstein told associates something …

Supreme Court will consider fast track appeal of Texas abortion law  — The Supreme Court agreed to a request from abortion-rights advocates and providers to quickly consider taking up their challenge of a restrictive Texas law that bans most abortions after as early as six weeks of pregnancy.

Washington State football coach Nick Rolovich fired after failing to comply with vaccine mandate  —  In perhaps the most striking case to date of a public employee being terminated because of a coronavirus vaccine mandate, Washington State football coach Nick Rolovich was dismissed Monday …

Gaetz ally Joel Greenberg is giving investigators new information, prosecutors say  —  (CNN)Joel Greenberg, the former Florida official whose crimes in the state ensnared Rep. Matt Gaetz in a federal sex trafficking investigation, has been providing the Justice Department with new information …

Jerome Powell Sold More Than a Million Dollars of Stock as the Market Was Tanking  —  Disclosure documents reveal that the spectacle of Fed officials personally trading stocks extended to the chair himself.  —  Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell sold between $1 million and $5 million worth …

Trump Dodges Questions in Marathon Deposition Over Protest Violence, Lawyer Claims  —  A spokesperson for the Trump Organization, meanwhile, said the president answered every question asked about a 2015 protest that went bad.  —  Donald Trump testified under oath for about four-and-a-half hours …

Brian Laundrie lookalike ambushed by feds at gunpoint on Appalachian Trail  —  An upstate New Yorker bearing an uncanny resemblance to Brian Laundrie had a rude awakening when US Marshals on the hunt for the fugitive pulled their guns on him during a nap on the Appalachian Trail.

The wealthiest 10% of Americans own a record 89% of all U.S. stocks  — The wealthiest 10% of Americans now own 89% of all U.S. stocks, a record high that highlights the stock market's role in increasing wealth inequality.  — The top 1% gained over $6.5 trillion in corporate equities …

JOE ROGAN DESTROYSSSSSS CNN YOU WONT BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT  —  (We all lose) … The Least Productive Conversation  —  Today, I want to talk about a way that our media ecosystems can take even relatively boring exchanges and turn them into internet chum that helps basically nobody.

Manchin Hasn't Killed Biden's Climate Agenda (Yet)  —  The cornerstone of Joe Biden's climate agenda looks dead.  —  Last week, Joe Manchin told the White House that he strongly opposes the president's Clean Electricity Performance Program (CEPP), a policy that would require all electric utilities …

Senate Republicans have put a ‘hold’ on Biden's pick to oversee the January 6 prosecutions  — Senate Republicans have put a “hold” on Biden's pick for US attorney in Washington, DC.  — Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton confirmed the block on the nominee but declined to provide details.

Calls to end Wisconsin Republicans' review of 2020 election grow amid investigator's blunders  —  (CNN)The Republicans conducting a review of Wisconsin's 2020 election results are facing mounting calls to shut the probe down after a series of blunders by the former judge hired to conduct it.

Biden to participate in CNN town hall in Baltimore on Thursday  —  Biden hits road to make case for policy plan  —  (CNN)President Joe Biden will participate in a CNN town hall on Thursday in Baltimore, where he'll take questions as his administration continues to sell his ambitious legislative agenda …

Be Green: Buy a Coal Mine!  —  It's time to reup the idea of buying coal mines and shuttering them.  I wrote about this a few years ago based on Bard Harstad's piece in the JPE and it came up again on twitter so I went looking for a coal mine to buy.  Here's a coal mine for sale in West Virginia for only $7.8 million!