POLITICO Playbook: New Jan. 6 witness: Trump had mystery call with Putin  —  With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  THE PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW: ALEX HOLDER — In September 2020, U.K. documentarian ALEX HOLDER started working on a film about DONALD TRUMP.

Confidence in U.S. Supreme Court Sinks to Historic Low  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — With the U.S. Supreme Court expected to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision before the end of its 2021-2022 term, Americans' confidence in the court has dropped sharply over the past year and reached a new low in Gallup's nearly 50-year trend.

The Law Firm That Got Tired of Winning  —  After our Supreme Court victory protecting the Second Amendment, we were told to ditch our clients or leave.  —  1x  —  We are blessed to have represented before the Supreme Court a wide variety of clients, from large corporations and religious orders …

What Happens if the GOP Tries to Leave Trump Behind  —  It's not exactly a thunderous roar, more like a stage whisper, running through the ranks of what we used to think of as mainstream Republicans: “Maybe he doesn't have to be our nominee in 2024.”  —  They grasp, if not at straws …

Giuliani is under scrutiny in Georgia probe into Trump  —  (CNN)Georgia investigators are scrutinizing Rudy Giuliani's appearance before state lawmakers in 2020, where he peddled baseless claims of voter fraud and encouraged legislators to appoint a new slate of presidential electors.

Senate Breaks Decades-Long Impasse on Gun Safety  —  The 65-33 vote late Thursday was aimed at keeping firearms out of the hands of dangerous people.  Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court struck down New York's gun law, likely limiting the ability of other state and local governments to restrict guns outside the home.

‘Unsettling,’ ‘un-American’: FPL consultant obtained personal information, surveillance photo of journalist Nate Monroe  —  An Alabama consulting firm that worked for Florida Power & Light during the attempted sale of JEA possesses records on Florida Times-Union columnist Nate Monroe …

‘YOU take YOUR seat’: Very specific cheat sheet reminds Biden how to act  —  MORE ON:  —  President Biden on Thursday inadvertently held up a comically detailed cheat sheet prepared by his staff instructing the gaffe-prone leader of the free world to “take YOUR seat” and to limit his remarks to “2 minutes.”

Internal GOP poll shows Biden's slide endangering Democratic House member  —  President Joe Biden's approval ratings are still dropping — and the effects of that plunge are reverberating across the House map.  —  A new internal GOP poll found Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) …

Liz Cheney sends instructions to Wyoming Democrats on how to switch parties  —  Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) is sending mailers to Wyoming Democrats with instructions on how to switch their political parties ahead of the state's primary on Aug. 16.  —  News of the mailers comes as Cheney faces …

The Biggest Disruption in the History of American Education  —  On March 4, 2020, a week before the World Health Organization formally declared the coronavirus a global pandemic, Northshore School District, in Washington State, closed its doors, becoming the first in the country to announce a districtwide shift to online learning.

‘Unwilling to accept defeat’: How Sinema and Murphy clinched guns deal for Dems  —  In a Washington run by Baby Boomers and octogenarians, it took two 40-something Democrats with a yin-and-yang approach to get a gun safety deal done.  —  Chris Murphy had developed self-described “pessimism” …

U.N. rights body says Israeli soldiers killed American journalist in West Bank  —  TEL AVIV — A veteran Palestinian American journalist was killed by Israeli forces while covering a military raid in the occupied West Bank, a spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights …

Ukraine: Not just a country, an EU candidate country  —  Ukraine — the country that Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded claiming that it was not a real country — is now officially a candidate country for membership of the European Union.  —  In a historic move toward the biggest expansion …