POLITICO Playbook: A victory lap and a reality check  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  It was all smiles and selfies at the White House on Monday as Democrats celebrated passage of the bipartisan infrastructure deal.  But rising voter concern about inflation has cast a pall over President JOE BIDEN's victory lap.

Trump allies pressed Defense Department to help overturn election, new book says  —  Michael Flynn told a DoD official that Democrats were “stealing the election.”  —  In the aftermath of the 2020 election, some of Donald Trump's closest allies embarked on an unprecedented effort …

In Another Trump Book, a Journalist's Belated Awareness Steals the Show … When you purchase an independently reviewed book through our site, we earn an affiliate commission.  —  By the looks of his formidable résumé, the veteran Beltway journalist Jonathan Karl shouldn't startle all that easily.

Jackie Speier is eighth House Democrat to announce retirement in 2022  —  California Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier announced that she will not seek reelection in 2022, adding to a Democratic exodus that is expected to grow as members expect Republicans to win control of the House next year.

Goldman: “Inflation will get worse”  —  “The current inflation surge will get worse this winter before it gets better,” Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research warns clients in a “2022 U.S. Economic Outlook.”  —  Driving the news: But Goldman expects the economy “to reaccelerate …

Biden and Xi Pledge More Cooperation, but Offer No Breakthroughs  —  President Biden and China's leader, Xi Jinping, met for about three and a half hours.  U.S. officials said the talks were meant to reassure both sides that misunderstandings would not lead to unintended clashes.

Unauthorized Migration Across the Mexico-U.S. Border Slips  —  Border crossings declined for the third consecutive month in October, but thousands of Haitians and other migrants were waiting in Mexico, hoping to head north.  —  After a major influx of migrants overwhelmed …

Americans broadly support Supreme Court upholding Roe v. Wade and oppose Texas abortion law, Post-ABC poll finds  —  Americans say by a roughly 2-to-1 margin that the Supreme Court should uphold its landmark abortion decision in Roe v. Wade, and by a similar margin the public opposes …

Biden tormented by Republican guerrilla campaign and ‘I did it’ stickers  —  If you see Joe Biden's picture on a gas pump these days, it's not a tribute to his amazingly successful energy policy.  —  The stickers — with Biden pointing to the $3.50 a gallon gas price and saying “I did that!”

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick Knew for Years About Sexual-Misconduct Allegations at Videogame Giant  —  Top executive didn't inform board of some reports, including alleged rapes; company faces multiple regulatory investigations  —  Bobby Kotick, the longtime chief executive …

GOP revenge for the Bannon indictment may have to wait  —  Donald Trump's closest allies in Congress greeted the indictment of Steve Bannon with a warning: It's payback time once we take back the House.  But getting revenge won't be so simple.  —  Bannon turned himself into authorities …

Waiting for the Apocalypse: The Unnerving New Normal  —  A few months ago, the humorist David Sedaris wrote about his joy at feeling he no longer had to care about political news.  Four years of “constant monitoring” of events, which a friend of his likened to having a second job, had left him exhausted.

Mary Trump: If Donald Runs Again, This Will Be the Reason  —  Mary Trump is honest about what she thinks about Biden's low approval ratings and what her uncle is brewing.  Plus, a Holocaust survivor's son shares a chilling Trump prediction.  —  Mary Trump knows her uncle, Donald Trump …

Tucker Carlson's Jan. 6 ‘Documentary’ Is His Most Nakedly Fascist Piece Of Propaganda Yet  —  His recent series for Fox Nation, “Patriot Purge,” is setting the stage for something even worse than the attack on the Capitol.  —  Tucker Carlson's “Patriot Purge,” a revisionist history …

Andrew Sullivan and the Narrative of the “MSM Narrative”  —  The narrative on MSM narratives is false.  —  Over the weekend Andrew Sullivan published a jeremiad against the “mainstream media” that tracks pretty closely with the Matt Taibbi-Glenn Greenwald-Bari Weiss view …

The second-biggest program in the Democrats' spending plan gives billions to the rich … The House is expected to vote this week on President Biden's Build Back Better legislation.  The social spending bill includes investments in clean energy and affordable child care …

GOP lawmaker takes credit for infrastructure funding after voting against it  —  Republicans have begun to take credit for things in the infrastructure bill they didn't vote for.  —  Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL) on Monday night touted “critical funding” that President Joe Biden's infrastructure bill provided …

Jen Psaki is annoyed you'd ask about Biden defaming Kyle Rittenhouse as a white supremacist  —  The Biden campaign defamed Kyle Rittenhouse as a white supremacist in 2020, even though there is nothing at all to back such a claim about him.  —  Now, the White House would rather not discuss …

Facebook struggled with disinformation targeted at Latinos, leaked documents show  —  ×  —  It was October 2020, election conspiracy theories threatened to pull America apart at its seams, and Jessica González was trying to get one of the most powerful companies in the world to listen to her.

Audit: Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds improperly used COVID funds for salaries  —  DES MOINES, Iowa — A state audit report on government spending released Monday accused Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds of using nearly $450,000 in federal coronavirus relief funds to pay salaries for 21 staff members …

I-Team: Las Vegas man, whose case GOP highlighted as voter fraud, to plead guilty to voting twice  —  Donald “Kirk” Hartle agrees to plea deal, will likely avoid prison time  —  LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A Las Vegas man charged with forging his dead wife's signature on her ballot …

Does It Matter if I Eat the Stickers on Fruits and Vegetables?  —  I keep finding myself biting into an apple or a peach, only to find I've eaten half the sticker the store put on there.  Is there any harm in eating produce stickers?  —  While the stickers that get placed on fruits …

Iran Resumes Production of Advanced Nuclear-Program Parts, Diplomats Say  —  Manufacturing of centrifuge equipment has begun without monitoring from the U.N.'s atomic-power watchdog  —  Iran has resumed production of equipment for advanced centrifuges at a site the United Nations' atomic energy agency …

FDR Drive Tear-Down and Manhattan Land Extension Eyed in Downtown Flood Plan  —  A higher waterfront and a lower highway may be on tap for Lower Manhattan.  —  The city has a new proposal for protecting the Financial District and Seaport from future flooding: extending the eastern edge …

Biden administration plans imminent booster expansion to all adults  —  The Biden administration is expected to begin the process of expanding the booster authorization to all adults as early as this week, according to a source familiar with internal planning.

Democratic strategists plan to get aggressive on critical race theory, saying Republicans are putting ‘politicians in charge of the classroom and white supremacists in charge of the curriculum’  — Democratic strategists say the party should hit back harder against GOP critical race theory claims.

New York ethics board revokes approval for Cuomo book deal  —  ALBANY — A New York state ethics board on Tuesday revoked the approval it gave former Gov. Andrew Cuomo to publish his 2020 memoir, a move the Democrat dismissed as “the height of hypocrisy.”  —  The revocation by the Joint Commission …