Exclusive: Hawley calls on Biden to drop support for Ukraine membership in NATO  —  Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is calling on the Biden administration to drop longstanding U.S. support for Ukraine's eventual membership in NATO, arguing that a binding commitment to defend the country would undermine efforts to counter China.

Jeff Zucker Exits CNN After Relationship With Senior Executive  —  The relationship came up during the network's investigation into the former anchor Chris Cuomo.  “I was required to disclose it when it began but I didn't,” Mr. Zucker wrote in a memo to colleagues.

Trump's Words, and Deeds, Reveal Depths of His Drive to Retain Power  —  Donald Trump said he wanted Mike Pence to overturn the election, dangled pardons for Jan. 6 rioters and called for protests against prosecutors.  Now, it turns out, he had discussed having national security agencies seize voting machines.

Why I'm seeking accountability against Trump allies in court  —  Public servants who do their duty, tell the truth and uphold their oaths of office shouldn't be subjected to intimidation and retaliation.  —  In July 2019, my life took a dramatic and unexpected turn when I listened …

Whoopi Goldberg's Suspension from The View Is Illiberal and Irrational  —  Whoopi Goldberg is being suspended from ABC's The View: … This isn't just illiberal, it's irrational.  What Goldberg said was factually incorrect, yes.  But so what?  Figures on political TV shows say stupid …

U.S. Has Far Higher Covid Death Rate Than Other Wealthy Countries  —  Two years into the pandemic, the coronavirus is killing Americans at far higher rates than people in other wealthy nations, a sobering distinction to bear as the country charts a course through the next stages of the pandemic.

Trump: ‘RINO’ Graham ‘wrong’ on pardoning Jan. 6 rioters  —  Former President Trump in a new interview called Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) a “RINO” and said the Republican senator was “wrong” to say that pardoning those who took part in the Jan. 6 insurrection was “inappropriate.”

Biden to launch ‘long-form’ Moonshot  —  Act on the news with POLITICO Pro.  —  QUICK FIX  — The president is taking a long-term view of cancer prevention with a new Moonshot initiative.  — Medical boards are struggling to control misinformation within their ranks as some states fight efforts to sanction those doctors.

Scoop: Leaked document reveals Biden's Afghan failures  —  Leaked notes from a White House Situation Room meeting the day before Kabul fell shed new light on just how unprepared the Biden administration was to evacuate Afghan nationals who'd helped the United States in its 20-year war against the Taliban.

Companies unexpectedly cut 301,000 jobs in January as omicron slams labor market, ADP says  — Private payrolls fell by 301,000 for January versus the estimate for a 200,000 gain, according to payrolls processing firm ADP.  — This was the first reported net job less since December 2020 …

Democrats Move to Purge Half of New York's House Republicans  —  The biggest redistricting weapon of 2022 has always been the Empire State, and Democrats are poised to finally use it.  On Sunday, New York Democrats unveiled a gerrymander that could expand their lead in the delegation from 19D-8R to 22D-4R …

Republicans to field more than 100 far-right candidates this year  —  Anti-Defamation League list includes at least a dozen with links to white supremacists, anti-government extremists and Proud Boys  —  More than 100 far-right candidates are running for political office across the country …

Michelle Childs's Punitive Criminal Justice Rulings Were Repeatedly Overturned  —  The candidate for the Supreme Court vacancy has a history of tough-on-crime sentences and opinions that higher courts subsequently tossed out.  —  Judge J. Michelle Childs, who was nominated by President Barack Obama …

What if we replaced all federal levies, including the income tax, with a tax on land?  —  In Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore, redistribution of land, land taxes and land leasing pay for universal health care, education and more.  —  In 1873, Mark Twain published his satirical novel …

Americans Offer Gloomy State of the Nation Report  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans' satisfaction with a variety of aspects of U.S. society and the state of policy in key issue areas remains subdued in 2022 after falling in 2021.  In fact, in only one area — acceptance of gays and lesbians …

FBI Director Wray says scale of Chinese spying in the U.S. ‘blew me away’  —  Full interview: FBI Director Wray discusses efforts to halt China's economic and political spying  —  Chinese spying in the U.S. has become so widespread that the FBI is launching an average of two counterintelligence …

Woman Says She Was ‘Virtually Gang-Raped’ in Facebook's Metaverse  —  “Within 60 seconds of joining—I was verbally and sexually harassed.”  —  CS  —  A woman says that she was “virtually gang-raped” in Facebook's metaverse, just seconds after she stepped into the new virtual world.

Fact check: GOP Rep. Chip Roy twice promotes false online rumor about Canadian PM fleeing to the US  —  Republican candidate tells voters to ‘show up armed’ to polls  —  Washington (CNN)Rep. Chip Roy, a Texas Republican, has twice in the past three days promoted a fictional online rumor …

Center For American Progress Staffers Threaten To Strike Amid Contract Fight  —  Employees of the liberal think tank voted to put all options on the table as they push for higher salaries.  —  Workers at the Center for American Progress are considering going on strike amid a fight over salaries at the liberal think tank.

POLITICO Playbook: Republicans can't agree on a SCOTUS strategy  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  Republicans have been all over the map lately in their Supreme Court messaging.  Sen. ROGER WICKER (R-Miss.) called President JOE BIDEN's vow to only consider Black women for the vacancy “affirmative action.”