House passes workaround to move forward on raising the debt ceiling  —  The House passed a bill Tuesday night to expedite a debt ceiling fix in the Senate, allowing Democrats to essentially raise the nation's credit limit on their own and thwart a Christmastime default.

Dems begin souring on vaccine mandates  —  Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration.  With Allie Bice.  —  Three months ago, as California Gov. GAVIN NEWSOM was turning around his fate in the state's recall election …

Pfizer's vaccine provides some protection against Omicron, a lab study suggests.  —  A report out of South Africa offered a first glimpse at how vaccinated people might fare against the fast-spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus.  —  Laboratory experiments found that Omicron seems …

Exclusive: January 6 committee casts a wide net with over 100 subpoenas for phone records  —  (CNN)The House select committee investigating the January 6 riot has formally subpoenaed the phone records of more than 100 people, a substantial number that includes former Trump officials and associates …

The pandemic worsened young people's mental health crisis.  —  The United States surgeon general on Tuesday warned that young people are facing “devastating” mental health effects as a result of the challenges experienced by their generation, including the coronavirus pandemic.

‘Her failing is not an option’ — Harris convenes Black women and charts the path ahead  —  When Vice President Kamala Harris walked into her ceremonial office on Monday, a room full of Black women greeted her there in-person and on Zoom, waiting for some deliverables.

Young Dems more likely to despise the other party  —  Nearly a quarter of college students wouldn't be friends with someone who voted for the other presidential candidate — with Democrats far more likely to dismiss people than Republicans — according to new Generation Lab/Axios polling.

Wisconsin Conservative Group Finds ‘No Evidence Of Widespread Fraud’ In 2020 Election  —  A 10-month-long review of Wisconsin's 2020 election conducted by a conservative group in the state found no signs of widespread or significant election fraud, according to a new report of its findings …

‘I think we need to rethink entirely how we do things,’ says Dana Milbank of the Washington Post  —  Longtime Washington Post political journalist Dana Milbank on Friday accused his colleagues of being “accessories to the murder of democracy.”  —  Milbank wrote in his biweekly opinion column:

The Fight for Ukraine From Putin's View  —  He sees Russia's loss of the country as a historic injustice.  So how far will he go?  —  An independent Ukraine is for Vladimir Putin what the Treaty of Versailles was for Hitler —a historical injustice imposed on a defeated nation at its moment …

French Police Arrest Man in Connection With Khashoggi Killing  —  A man with the same name, Khalid Alotaibi, is wanted in connection with the murder of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.  A Saudi official says France arrested the wrong man.  —  BEIRUT, Lebanon — The French police arrested …

A Very Weird Interview With Robert F. Kennedy Jr.  —  There are many criticisms to lob at Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and, as a result of the COVID pandemic, one of the most powerful and adored physicians in America.

Inside Tim Cook's Secret $275 Billion Deal with Chinese Authorities  —  Interviews and internal Apple documents provide a behind-the-scenes look at how the company made concessions to Beijing and won key legal exemptions.  CEO Tim Cook personally lobbied officials over threats that would have hobbled its devices and services.

CNN's Don Lemon blasted for not mentioning his own key role in Jussie Smollett drama  —  CNN host Don Lemon is getting blasted for covering his pal Jussie Smollett's trial on his late-night show — without mentioning his own central role in tipping off the “Empire” star that he was being investigated by police.

Michael Nutter: Larry Krasner owes an apology to the 521 families of Philly's homicide victims  —  District Attorney Larry Krasner's recent remarks about whether we are experiencing a crime crisis are some of the worst, most ignorant, and most insulting comments I have ever heard spoken …

Cancel Student Debt: $50K for Every Borrower  —  Higher education should be accessible to everyone, regardless of economic status or background.  Unfortunately, that's not the reality in the United States.  —  The cost of higher education has grown exponentially in our country …

Rep. Pressley to introduce resolution to condemn Rep. Boebert  —  Nearly a dozen House liberals want Democratic leadership to act against the Colorado Republican for anti-Muslim remarks  —  Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) plans to introduce a resolution Wednesday to strip Rep. Lauren Boebert …

Unvaccinated Illinoisans Would Pay COVID Hospital Bills Under New Proposals  —  Illinois residents who are eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine and refuse to take it would have to pay for their treatment if they contract the virus under a proposed new bill.  —  “I think it's time that we say …

Saule Omarova, Biden's pick for top bank regulator, withdraws nomination  —  Saule Omarova, President Biden's pick to serve as a top banking regulator, has withdrawn her nomination for the office of the Comptroller of the Currency.  —  The Cornell University law professor …

I am leaving New York City for Florida.  I never thought I would  —  I was raised in Brooklyn, my husband in Queens.  Our three children were born in Manhattan  —  Parents should ‘speak up on behalf of their kids’: Karol Markowicz  —  I always hated the “Goodbye, New York” genre of writing.

Major antitrust adversary in Congress has daughter on Google's legal team  —  US Rep. Zoe Lofgren — a Democrat who's one of the most vocal opponents of antitrust bills now winding their way through Congress that would target Big Tech — has a daughter who works on Google's legal team.

‘Latinx’ is an unpopular term but Democrats shouldn't panic  —  New poll finds only 2% of U.S. Hispanics use term ‘Latinx’  —  Once again, the term “Latinx” is trending — and once again, it is all for the wrong reasons.  —  Like a modern-day Hydra, a term based on a Spanish gender-inclusive …

Italian Lives Matter  —  Italian reader Giuseppe Scalas says that the murder in NYC of an Italian researcher by a black gang member out on parole has turned the left-wing Milan daily Corriere della Sera against The New York Times.  He sent a translation of the Federico Rampini commentary in the Corriere today.

Toomas Hendrik Ilves on why liberal democracy matters  —  Authoritarians deliver fast results but repress individual freedoms and the rule of law that a just society requires, says a former president of Estonia  —  My father was a teenager in 1940 when the Soviet Union invaded Estonia.

Downing Street staff shown joking in leaked recording about Christmas party they later denied  —  Senior Downing Street staff joked about holding a Christmas party in Number 10 just four days after the event is alleged to have taken place last December, a recording leaked to ITV News has revealed.