Shinzo Abe, former Japanese leader, is assassinated by gunman  —  Listen  —  Gift Article  —  TOKYO — Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, a towering political figure at home and abroad, died after being shot at a campaign event Friday, doctors said, shocking a nation where firearms laws …

Biden to sign abortion rights executive order amid pressure  —  President Joe Biden will sign an executive order Friday morning directing his health department to expand access to abortion pills, beef up enforcement of Obamacare's birth control coverage mandate and organize a cadre …

What Happened to Michael Flynn?  —  Michael Flynn faced the camera with brow creased and lips compressed.  He hadn't been born yesterday, his expression said.  He was not going to fall for trick questions.  —  “General Flynn, do you believe the violence on January 6 was justified?”

Michael Flynn cited for unauthorized foreign payments  —  Retired general and former Trump adviser was notified by the Army that it was seeking to recoup nearly $40,000 from him  —  Listen  —  Gift Article  —  Michael Flynn, the retired Army general and onetime adviser to President Donald Trump …

North Carolina Looks to Remove Public EV Chargers, Probably to the Trash  —  Politicians have to run on some kind of platform, and Ben Moss—my incoming state House representative here in North Carolina's District 52—decided that his animating principle is Being Mad at Electricity.

POLITICO Playbook: Schumer ups pressure on McConnell in USICA-reconciliation dance  —  With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  BREAKING OVERNIGHT — Former Japanese Prime Minister SHINZO ABE was shot and killed during a campaign speech Friday in western Japan.  He was 67.

Trust in news collapses to historic low  —  Americans' confidence in newspapers and television news has plummeted to an all-time low, according to the latest annual Gallup survey of trust in U.S. institutions. … - Political party affiliation has become the primary driver of opinions …

‘This Is Disgusting’: An Insider's Account on the Fall of Cuomo  —  “Governor.  Stop.  It's over,” the voice broke through on the conference call line.  —  Six months earlier, it would have been inconceivable that anyone, let alone a mere political consultant, would cut off the most high-profile …

Ukraine targets Russia's ammunition depots, undermining its artillery advantage  —  It is an almost everyday occurrence in the Russian-occupied parts of eastern and southern Ukraine.  —  Russia's ammunition depots blow up, with large fires erupting as tons of ordnance detonate for hours.

Film offers inside look at Roger Stone's ‘Stop the Steal’ efforts before January 6  —  Footage shows key moments of planning with fellow activist Ali Alexander to overturn election results in Trump's favor  —  Weeks before the Capitol attack, top Republican political activists Roger Stone …

Twitter Is Ready for a Potential Legal Battle With Elon Musk  —  Mr. Musk has appeared reluctant to proceed with the $44 billion agreement, citing uncertainty about the number of fake accounts on the platform.  —  Elon Musk may be preparing for the next chapter in his Twitter takeover journey: court.

Wisconsin Supreme Court disallows absentee ballot drop boxes  —  MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin's conservative-controlled Supreme Court ruled Friday that absentee ballot drop boxes may be placed only in election offices and that no one other than the voter can return a ballot in person …

Jan. 6 Committee Is Considering a Prime-Time Hearing for Next Week  —  The House committee investigating the insurrection at the US Capitol is considering a second televised hearing next week, this one in prime time on Thursday, people familiar with the planning said.

WWE's Vince McMahon Agreed to Pay $12 Million in Hush Money to Four Women  —  The longtime chief of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. secured nondisclosure agreements to keep secret allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity  —  Vince McMahon, WWE's longtime leader …

Who Does the Mainstream Media Want the GOP to Nominate in 2024?  —  At this moment, any Republican official or strategist who spends a lot of time thinking about Donald Trump taking on Ron DeSantis in the 2024 presidential election is putting the cart before the horse - there's still a midterm election cycle to win.

U.S. on Johnson's departure: ‘OK, bye.’  —  The so-called special relationship that binds the United States and the United Kingdom has survived wars, Donald Trump and Brexit.  —  It will survive the departure of Boris Johnson.  It might even improve.  —  And if his no-namecheck statement …

Eric Swalwell is unfit for Congress and owes Lauren Boebert an apology  —  Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) has done many classless things during his time in Congress.  But this past week, he might have outdone himself with a tweet insinuating a connection between Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) …

More Republicans now call Jan. 6 a ‘legitimate protest’ than a ‘riot’  —  Listen  —  Gift Article  —  When the dust settled on Jan. 6, 2021, we were unable to agree on whether Donald Trump had incited the insurrection.  But at least one conclusion crossed partisan lines: This had been a very bad and violent thing.

Steve Bannon's lawyer asks to leave Jan. 6-related case, says he may be witness  —  A lawyer for Steve Bannon is seeking to withdraw from representing the adviser to former President Donald Trump in his criminal contempt case, citing the possibility of being called as a witness at trial, a court document on Friday showed.

The Glaring Contradiction of Republicans' Rhetoric of Freedom  —  For decades Republicans have marketed themselves as the party of freedom.  During the 1990s and early 2000s, conservative activists took up the description of the GOP coined by the anti-tax activist Grover Norquist as the …