POLITICO Playbook: White House wonders: To mask, or not to mask?  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  On Monday, just hours after a federal judge struck down the nationwide public transportation mask mandate, major airlines (and even President JOE BIDEN's beloved Amtrak) began telling their passengers …

CDC mask mandate for travelers no longer in effect following judge's ruling, official says  —  (CNN)A federal judge in Florida struck down on Monday the Biden administration's mask mandate for airplanes and other public transport methods, and a Biden administration official says the order …

Jared Kushner Flaunted His Influence With Saudi Arabia, Russia in Pitch to Investors … Jared Kushner's new investment fund, Affinity Partners, nakedly touts the former Trump adviser's work with Saudi Arabia and his links to several Trump-era deals in hoping to raise money from Wall Street …

Ron Johnson pursues a scorched-earth path to reelection  —  Ron Johnson's approval ratings are underwater in a swing state that President Joe Biden won.  —  Instead of moving to the center, though, as he faces reelection this fall, the Wisconsin senator has become the face of conspiracy theories …

Trump Allies Are Still Feeding the False 2020 Election Narrative  —  Fifteen months after they tried and failed to overturn the 2020 election, the same group of lawyers and associates is continuing efforts to decertify the vote, feeding a false narrative.  — Give this article- - - Read in app

Effort to Remove Marjorie Taylor Greene From Ballot Can Proceed, Judge Says  —  The case that Ms. Greene unsuccessfully sought to have dismissed mirrors efforts against other Republicans centered on the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.  — Give this article- - - Read in app

Text message trove shows Oath Keepers discussing security details for Trump associates  —  Top members of the Oath Keepers now facing seditious conspiracy charges chatted for days about providing security for some of the highest-profile figures associated with Donald Trump's effort to overturn the election …

Mayor moving ahead on metal detectors in subway system  —  Mayor Eric Adams on Monday said he is considering three types of metal detectors to be used in the subway system in the wake of last week's mass shooting on board a Manhattan-bound N train in Sunset Park.

First look — Tim Scott: Don't teach kids they are “oppressors”  —  Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) will use the stage at the Reagan Library in California tonight to slam public schools for “teaching kids that they are oppressors” and appeal to gig workers including ride-share drivers and food deliverers …

Russian forces seize city of Kreminna in eastern Ukraine - regional governor  —  Russian forces have seized the city of Kreminna in eastern Ukraine and Ukrainian troops have withdrawn from the city, the regional governor said on Tuesday.  —  Kreminna, a city of more than 18,000 people about 574 km …

Meet the woman behind Libs of TikTok, secretly fueling the right's outrage machine  —  A popular Twitter account has morphed into a social media phenomenon, spreading anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment and shaping public discourse  —  On March 8, a Twitter account called Libs of TikTok posted a video …

How ‘Drag Storybook Hour’ set off culture wars at a Virginia community center  —  The trouble at the McLean Community Center started last summer, after the Northern Virginia cultural facility co-sponsored “Drag StoryBook Hour” for children during Pride Month.

Rationalism, Pluralism, and Fear in the Speech Debate  —  There are many factors in a free society which conspire to make the public sphere an unseemly terrain.  Citizen sovereignty increases the stakes of public persuasion by distributing voting power so broadly that personal persuasion alone cannot suffice …

Kimberly Guilfoyle meets with January 6 committee  —  (CNN)Kimberly Guilfoyle, the fiancée of Donald Trump Jr. and a former member of the Trump presidential campaign, is meeting Monday with the House select committee investigating the Capitol Hill insurrection.

The Testosterone Hangover  —  The Biden administration says transgender kids are entitled to ‘gender-affirming’ medical care.  These girls disagree.  ‘I have this intense rage in me over the harm that was done to me.’  —  When Chloe woke up from an elective double mastectomy, she texted her mother in the waiting room: “Booba gone.”

More Than 70 Percent Of Trump's Endorsees Believe The 2020 Election Was Fraudulent  —  Normally, a one-term presidency would be a sign for a political party to move away, regroup and pivot away from a losing brand.  But Donald Trump is not a conventional former president.

Even if Russia Uses a Nuke, We Probably Won't—but Putin Would Still Pay Dearly  —  GAME CHANGER … Current and former U.S. officials say the U.S. and NATO have plenty of resources at their disposal without having to resort to the nuclear option.  —  If Russia were to use a tactical nuclear weapon …

Convicted Congressman Had to Sell Campaign Vehicle for Cash  —  Rep. Jeff Fortenberry's last campaign report as a congressman is one for the ages.  —  Convicted Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) punctuated his plunge from political grace with a campaign finance report for the ages …

Trump's PAC Keeps Losing Money.  His Lawyers Keep Cashing In.  —  Donald Trump's campaign keeps on losing money because he's just using it to pay his legal fees.  —  For the third straight quarter, Donald Trump's former campaign committee turned in a fundraising loss, shedding $1.2 million to start 2022.

Trump-Endorsed Candidate JD Vance Once Said Trump Might Be 'America's Hitler'  —  In a private Facebook message from 2016, Ohio Senate candidate JD Vance said Trump is either a “cynical asshole” or “America's Hitler.”  —  Former President Donald Trump's newest Senate endorsee was even less of a Trump fan than he publicly let on.