In Landslide, San Francisco Forces Out 3 Board of Education Members  —  The recall, which galvanized Asian Americans, was a victory for parents angered by the district's priorities during the pandemic.  —  In a recall election fueled by pandemic angst and anger, San Francisco voters ousted three members …

Biden Rejects Trump's Claim of Privilege for White House Visitor Logs  —  The president informed the National Archives that it should turn over the logs sought by the Jan. 6 committee within 15 days.  —  President Biden is opposing another effort by former President Donald J. Trump …

Feinstein's approval ratings hit an all-time low; Harris underwater, poll says  —  Views of Sen. Dianne Feinstein's job performance have tumbled to the lowest point in her three-decade Senate career, with just 30% of California voters giving her positive marks in a new UC Berkeley Institute …

POLITICO Playbook: Exclusive poll: Answers to the midterm's 2 big questions  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  We have some news in our latest POLITICO-Morning Consult poll that we can share with you this morning.  —  The results get to the heart of two big questions about 2022:

Ryan Zinke broke ethics rules while leading Trump's Interior Dept., keeping improper ties with land developers, watchdog finds … While serving as Interior Department secretary under Donald Trump, Ryan Zinke broke federal ethics rules repeatedly by improperly participating in real estate negotiations …

Did Durham find something worse than Watergate?  Not so far  —  What does “worse than Watergate” mean?  Well, consider a hypothetical: Let's say a presidential administration puts the government's law enforcement and intelligence apparatus in the service of its party's presidential candidate …

Money That Won Melania Trump NFT Came From Melania Trump Wallet  —  The source of funds for the winning bid in Melania Trump's first NFT auction appears to be the creators of the project themselves.  —  A series of blockchain transactions show that the cryptocurrency used …

Trump's Inner Circle Freaks That His Tax Firm ‘Screwed’ Him  —  “If he gets away from this, there's no God and no reason to live,” said Barbara A. Res, a former construction executive at the Trump Organization.  —  Predictably, Donald Trump wants you to think his longtime accounting firm's decision …

Is Sleepy Joe Biden Making Vladimir Putin Blink?  —  The Ukraine story is far from over.  But if Vladimir Putin opts to back away from invading Ukraine, even temporarily, it's because Joe Biden — that guy whose right-wing critics suggest is so deep in dementia he wouldn't know Kyiv from Kansas …

Escalating hateful rhetoric leads nation down a dark, chaotic path  —  A terrifying incident in Louisville, Ky., this week revealed the dangers of the talk coming from the right about civil war and political violence.  —  Early Monday, mayoral candidate Craig Greenberg and his staff were busy …

Threats close Stella Luna Gelato Café after owner's name appears in GiveSendGo data leak  —  Tammy Giuliani says that she now regrets making her $250 donation.  —  Ottawa's Stella Luna Gelato Café was forced to close Tuesday after receiving threats when owner Tammy Giuliani's name appeared …

The Most Chilling Thing I Heard at the Sarah Palin-NYT Trial Came Before the Verdict  —  The former Alaska governor lost her libel suit against the New York Times.  But others were watching—and learning.  —  At about 2:30 on Tuesday afternoon, after roughly a dozen hours of deliberation …

“Disillusioned” Former Congressional Staffers Describe a “Toxic Workplace”  —  I talked to former Hill aides about a system that chews young workers up and spits them out  —  Unionization efforts on the Hill are picking up as Congressional staffers fight for representation and to change a toxic culture of overwork and stress.

Covid cases plummet — when does Biden get credit?  —  good news = no news  —  Editor's note: Having slight trouble with audio element.  Hopefully it will be restored soon. … Subscribe to PRESS RUN  —  During a January White House press conference which featured lots of tough questions about Covid …

Would Turkey's president have leverage over ‘Senator Doctor Oz’?  —  Members of the U.S. Senate often have conflicts of interest, both business and personal.  But never before has our country experienced a senator who has dual citizenship, served in a foreign military and maintains deep ties …

Jeff Zucker's Downfall at CNN: Ethical Lapses and Falling Ratings  —  The network's top-rated host and its president were forced out following ethical lapses, an office romance and a letter from a lawyer for “Jane Doe.”  —  Late in the day on Nov. 30, Jeff Zucker, the president of CNN Worldwide …

Why Nearly 40 Percent of Gen Z Identify as LGBTQ  —  I was shocked not long ago when I read a piece on the Newsweek website.  The headline read “Nearly 40 Percent of U.S. Gen Zs, 30 Percent of Young Christians Identify as LGBTQ, Poll Shows.”  That, aside from Joe Biden providing free crack pipes …

Walter Dellinger, influential scholar and lawyer, dies at 80  —  DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Walter E. Dellinger, a noted constitutional scholar who argued numerous cases before the Supreme Court, served in top positions in the Justice Department and was a professor at Duke Law School, died Wednesday.

The Verdict Is In: Trump Wasn't Right About China  —  He had the wrong goals—and didn't even achieve them.  —  One thing that Republicans persuaded themselves of during the past five years has just come a cropper.  It was the belief that whatever else Trump may have said or done, he sure was right about China.

Portman backs Timken as successor in Ohio  —  Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) will back former Ohio Republican Party chairwoman Jane Timken as his chosen successor in an attempt to boost her through a crowded GOP field later this year.  —  In a statement released Wednesday, Portman said Timken …

Florida Woman Used Pandemic-Relief Loan to Pay a Hit Man, Police Say  —  The authorities say that Jasmine Martinez, 33, of Miami, received the loan two weeks before the shooting death of Le'Shonte Jones as she walked with her toddler.  —  The Paycheck Protection Program is intended …

Migrants sew mouths shut in quest for Mexico passage to U.S. border … A dozen undocumented migrants on Mexico's southern border sewed their mouths shut on Tuesday in a bid to convince the country's immigration authority to grant them passage toward the U.S. border.

CDC expected to update mask guidance as early as next week  —  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to loosen its indoor masking guidelines to states soon, according to several people familiar with the matter.  The agency's update could come as early as next week.