Elected officials, police chiefs on leaked Oath Keepers list  —  The names of hundreds of U.S. law enforcement officers, elected officials and military members appear on the leaked membership rolls of a far-right extremist group that's accused of playing a key role in the Jan. 6, 2021 …

Painting Michelle Obama Took 9 Months.  Keeping It Secret Took 6 Years.  —  Sharon Sprung, an instructor at the Art Students League of New York, is a realist painter of the old school.  —  When Sharon Sprung was chosen to paint Michelle Obama's official portrait for the White House …

Police search county official's home in connection with reporter's killing  —  Authorities served search warrants Wednesday morning in connection with the slaying of Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German, Las Vegas police said.  —  Around 7 a.m., reporters observed uniformed officers …

AOC's Fight for the Future  —  Almost four years after her improbable arrival in Washington, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has become the political voice of a generation—and a cultural star whose power transcends politics.  Now, as the country hurtles toward the midterm elections …

Pregnant women held for months in one Alabama jail to protect fetuses from drugs  —  Police arrested Ashley Banks on May 25 with an unregistered gun and a small amount of marijuana.  —  Under normal circumstances, the 23-year-old from Gadsden would have been able to post bond and leave jail until her criminal trial.

Ron Johnson says he won't support same-sex marriage bill in its current form, indicates the 2015 ruling was ‘wrongly decided’  —  WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson's vote on a bill to codify same-sex marriage has been in question since the Wisconsin Republican initially said he saw “no reason to oppose” the legislation.

Fetterman to POLITICO: I will debate Oz  —  PHILADELPHIA — John Fetterman said he is committing to attending one debate with his Republican opponent, Mehmet Oz, in the closely watched battle for the Senate in Pennsylvania, but his campaign is still discussing accommodations for his auditory processing problems.

F.B.I. Sought Interview With Trump Aide  —  Agents investigating the events leading up to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol tried to question William Russell, who served as a special assistant to the former president.  —  The F.B.I. sought to interview a personal aide to former President Donald J. Trump …

Texas judge rules ACA coverage of HIV prevention drugs violates religious freedom  —  A federal judge in Texas has ruled that a provision of Obamacare requiring most health insurance plans to cover HIV prevention drugs for free violates employers' religious freedom.

We Need to Know Trump's Motive For Taking Classified Documents  —  It's well past time for the Justice Department to stop coddling the rogue ex-president, and get to the bottom of his assault on U.S. national security. … The more we learn about former president Donald Trump's apparent theft …

Democrats Fret as Stacey Abrams Struggles in Georgia Governor's Race  —  She has been trailing her Republican rival, Gov. Brian Kemp, alarming Democrats who have celebrated her as the master strategist behind the state's Democratic shift.  —  NEWNAN, Ga. — Georgia Democrats …

Fed's Brainard: There's a risk of raising rates too much  —  At some point, the Federal Reserve will face the risk of raising rates too much, a top official said Wednesday, while asserting the central bank will remain resolute in its drive to bring inflation down.

Trump Ruling Lifts Profile of Judge and Raises Legal Eyebrows  —  Judge Aileen M. Cannon has issued the first highly scrutinized ruling of her short judicial career, involving the person who put her on the bench: former President Donald J. Trump.  —  MIAMI — In her just over 20 months as a federal judge …

Prospects for running a military campaign in 2023: Ukraine's perspective  —  How long the war could last and how can Ukraine win it  —  As understood by the absolute majority of military experts and analysts today, the large-scale war unleashed by the Russian Federation against Ukraine on February 24 …

Jen Psaki Hopes to Bring Passion for ‘Debunking’ and ‘Calling Out BS’ to MSNBC Show: ‘My Business Is Not Rage’ … Former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday that she hopes to bring her passion for “debunking” and “calling out BS” to her upcoming MSNBC show.

Texas Mass Shootings Up 62.5 Percent Since Permitless Carry Bill  —  Just over a year ago, Governor Greg Abbott signed a law making it legal for anyone in Texas over the age of 21 to openly carry a gun in public without a permit or license.  Since then, the number of mass shootings has risen 62.5 percent.

It's impossible to trust polls — or ignore them.  Here's how to stay sane.  —  It feels impossible to trust polls — and equally impossible to ignore them.  —  The polling industry faces well-known problems: Only 6 to 7 percent of people will pick up a phone call from a pollster …

Michael Flynn: From government insider to holy warrior  —  The crowd swayed on its feet, arms pumping, the beat of Twisted Sister's “We're Not Gonna Take It” thumping in their chests.  The people under the revival tent hooted as Michael Flynn strode across the stage, bopping and laughing …

'Don't Vote': A Look At Blake Masters' Emails To His Vegan Co-op At Stanford University  —  A trove of emails from 2006 found Masters - who's now a Republican Senate candidate - disparaging democracy and defending a 9/11 conspiracy theorist.  —  As a college student, Blake Masters ― …

Notes on the State of Politics: Sept. 7, 2022  —  House rating changes; MA-GOV to Safe Democratic; next week's primaries  —  Table 1: Crystal Ball House rating changes  —  District Old Rating New Rating … Table 2: Crystal Ball Gubernatorial rating change  —  Governor Old Rating New Rating

At Head Start, Masks Remain On, Despite C.D.C. Guidelines  —  Some of the nation's poorest pre-K students are the last still under mask mandates, affecting enrollment.  —  PERTH AMBOY, N.J. — The Biden administration has taken credit for a relative return to normalcy in schools over the last year of the coronavirus pandemic.

Nick Begich refuses Sarah Palin's request to drop out of Alaska congressional House race  —  Republican Nick Begich refused former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's request to drop out of the race for Alaska's only congressional seat so that Republican voters could unite behind her candidacy.

America Is a Rich Death Trap  —  Sign up for Derek's newsletter here.  —  Last week, the National Center for Health Statistics alerted Americans to two facts about life and death in the U.S.  —  The first fact was sadly unsurprising: The coronavirus pandemic killed so many people …