She Took the White House Photos.  Trump Moved to Take the Profit.  —  The former chief White House photographer made plans to publish a book of Trump photos.  The former president had other plans.  — Give this article- - - Read in app  —  WASHINGTON — As President Donald J. Trump's tenure came …

Scoop: New clue on Trump gap  —  On Jan. 6, 2021, during an apparent seven-hour gap in White House call logs that the House select committee investigating the attack is now trying to piece together, then-President Trump's executive assistant, Molly Michael, was absent for most of the day, three sources with direct knowledge tell Axios.

POLITICO Playbook: Biden's sophomore slump  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  For JOE BIDEN, this was one of those weeks that demonstrated the limits of the powers of the presidency.  —  Political scientists often like to rib pundits and the public for having a so-called “Green Lantern” …

Russia's War Lacks a Battlefield Commander, U.S. Officials Say  —  WASHINGTON — Russia is running its military campaign against Ukraine out of Moscow, with no central war commander on the ground to call the shots, according to American officials who have studied the five-week-old war.

Federal judge: Some new Florida voting laws unconstitutional  —  A federal judge ruled that multiple parts of a voting law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis last year are unconstitutional, striking down various provisions and prohibiting the Legislature from passing future voter laws without first getting approval from a court.

The House Map's Republican Bias Will Plummet In 2022 — Because Of Gerrymandering  —  Congressional redistricting — the process of redrawing the nation's 435 congressional districts to reflect the results of the 2020 census — is not quite finished, but it's getting darn close.

Can Republicans Win by Just Saying No?  —  History suggests that opposing the party in power is often good enough.  — Give this article- - - Read in app  —  In the 1946 midterms, Republicans united around a simple but powerful mantra: “Had enough?”  —  The slogan was the brainchild …

Inside Ginni Thomas' ‘Insane’ Hiring Memos for Trump  —  Ginni Thomas' suggested hires included known bigots and at least one suspected foreign spy, sources say.  —  Years before she became one of then-President Donald Trump's most prominent coup supporters, Ginni Thomas was already notorious …

Biden's border headache to come whipping back  —  Immigration is about to roar back as a major crisis for President Biden: Republicans are already testing harsh new border messages for the coming midterm ad war.  —  Driving the news: This week's reports — that the administration plans …

Pregnant people at much higher risk of breakthrough covid, study shows … Pregnant people who are vaccinated against the coronavirus are nearly twice as likely to get covid-19 as those who are not pregnant, according to a new study that offers the broadest evidence to date of the odds …

A Facebook bug led to increased views of harmful content over six months … A group of Facebook engineers identified a “massive ranking failure” that exposed as much as half of all News Feed views to potential “integrity risks” over the past six months, according to an internal report on the incident obtained by The Verge.

Graydon Carter Hosts a Vanity Fair Ancien Régime Reunion for Dana Brown's Memoir, Dilettante  —  On Tuesday, the content proletariat of Condé Nast rose up on social media to say they were “burned out,” exhausted by “sad desk lunches,” and tormented by “midnight Slacks,” and they announced their intent to unionize.

DeSantis broaches repeal of Disney World's special self-governing status in Florida  —  DeSantis and Disney have recently sparred over a controversial parental rights bill he recently signed into law  —  Angle: Disney turns its back on millions of Americans

There Might Be a Stupid Explanation for the 7-Hour Gap in Trump's Phone Logs  —  That, plus: Why Colorado's secretary of state is being forced to take an opponent indicted for compromising voting equipment seriously.  (Hint: It has to do with the MyPillow guy.)

Cloud of notoriety builds over Cawthorn after sex-and-drugs claims  —  Rep. Madison Cawthorn showed up in person for a primary challenger to one of his House GOP colleagues Wednesday night — just as fellow Republicans started suggesting he's the next incumbent under threat.

Syrian Mercenaries Deploy to Russia en Route to Ukrainian Battlefields  —  BEIRUT, Lebanon — Hundreds of Syrian fighters are en route to join Russian forces in Ukraine, effectively returning the favor to Moscow for helping President Bashar al-Assad crush rebels in an 11-year civil war …

Severe storms bring damage, possible tornadoes in Fairfax County … An evening of strong to severe thunderstorms and inclement weather ended with multiple tornado warnings that affected Fairfax County, southern Montgomery County and the northern part of the District.

Five fetuses found at home of anti-abortion activist, DC Police say  —  Lauren Handy and eight others were indicted this week on felony charges stemming from the 2020 invasion of an abortion clinic.  —  WASHINGTON — Police discovered five fetuses at the home of an anti-abortion activist …

100 year-old National Park Service Ranger Betty Reid Soskin retires after remarkable career  —  WASHINGTON - Betty Reid Soskin, the National Park Service's (NPS) oldest active ranger, retired today after a decade and a half of sharing her personal experiences and the efforts of women …

The Obama FOIA timebomb  —  Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration.  With help from Allie Bice.  —  For JOE BIDEN, there have been a lot of advantages to having once served as vice president: familiarity with the office …

'He's a b—  ': Defense rests case in Whitmer kidnap plot after suspect's wild testimony  —  The defense in the Gov. Gretchen Whitmer kidnap trial rested its case following the explosive testimony of a defendant who came off as a defiant hothead, if his comment about an undercover informant is any indication.