Exclusive: As war began, Putin rejected a Ukraine peace deal recommended by aide  —  Vladimir Putin's chief envoy on Ukraine told the Russian leader as the war began that he had struck a provisional deal with Kyiv that would satisfy Russia's demand that Ukraine stay out of NATO …

Mike Lindell: Feds Seized My Cellphone at Hardee's  —  Lindell also posted a subpoena and what appears to be a search warrant.  —  MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell told The Daily Beast on Tuesday night that the FBI seized his cellphone while he was at a Hardee's restaurant.

Durham Inquiry Appears to Wind Down as Grand Jury Expires  —  The special counsel appointed by the Trump administration to examine the Russia investigation seems to be wrapping up its work with no further charges in store.  —  WASHINGTON — When John H. Durham was assigned by the Justice Department …

POLITICO Playbook: Did Lindsey Graham just score an own goal on abortion?  —  With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, most Republicans stuck to a simple message: The decision merely sent the issue back to the states …

Ken Starr, Independent Counsel in Clinton Investigation, Dies at 76  —  Mr. Starr's investigation into President Clinton's affair with a former White House intern propelled issues of sex and morality to the center of American life for more than a year.  —  WASHINGTON — Ken Starr …

Economy, abortion shape Pennsylvania midterm races — CBS News Battleground Tracker  —  Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman leads Mehmet Oz by five points among Pennsylvania's likely voters, in a Senate race that seems still fluid, with Republicans less enamored by the candidates they nominated …

Former Gov. Phil Bryant helped Brett Favre secure welfare funding for USM volleyball stadium, texts reveal  —  Text messages entered Monday into the state's ongoing civil lawsuit over the welfare scandal reveal that former Gov. Phil Bryant pushed to make NFL legend Brett Favre's volleyball idea a reality.

First on CNN: Former Gov. Bill Richardson held meetings in Moscow this week with Russian leadership  —  Former Gov. Bill Richardson and his team were in Moscow this week and held meetings with Russian leadership, CNN has learned.  The details around those meetings were not immediately clear.

9/14/22 ☀️ Punchbowl News AM  —  AS WE SCOOPED YESTERDAY, NEW YORK REP. ELISE STEFANIK IS RUNNING FOR ANOTHER TERM AS HOUSE REPUBLICAN CONFERENCE CHAIR.  —  STEFANIK, A CLOSE ALLY OF FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, IS THE ONLY ANNOUNCED CANDIDATE FOR THE SLOT.

FTC and Six States Sue Roomster Over Alleged Deception, Including Fake Reviews … The FTC and six states allege violations of the FTC Act and various state statutes, prohibiting deceptive trade practices (state UDAP statutes) at a cost of over $27 million to consumers.

Fear of a Black Hobbit  —  The demand to keep politics out of art is too often a demand for art to conform to conservative politics.  —  Maybe you've heard that people are mad about Black actors being cast in Lord of the Rings.  Or Game of Thrones.  Or maybe it was Star Wars.  Or perhaps Thor.

1 person injured at Northeastern University after package detonated on Boston campus, officials say  —  (CNN)A Northeastern University staff member was injured Tuesday when a package he was opening detonated on the Boston campus, officials said,  —  “The staff member sustained minor injuries …

Harvard Tells Students: ‘Using Wrong Pronouns’ Constitutes ‘Abuse’  —  Mandatory Title IX training tells Harvard undergrads they may be subject to disciplinary proceedings for ‘sizeism,’ ‘fatphobia,’ ‘cisheterosexism,’ ‘ableism’  —  Welcome to Harvard!  —  “Fatphobia” and “cisheterosexism” perpetuate “violence.”

Election deniers advanced to November ballots in 27 states, report finds  —  Candidates who deny the results of the 2020 election have advanced to November ballots in statewide races for positions that will oversee, defend or certify elections in more than half of the states, according to a nonpartisan group tracking the races.

Florida sees sharp rise in white power, anti-Semitic incidents, report finds  —  Florida saw a sharp increase in anti-Semitic incidents last year, according to a new report from the Anti-Defamation League, the New York-based organization that tracks anti-Semitic incidents and other extremist activity across the country.

Matt Yglesias and Laura McGann Launch a Podcast to Counter the Internet's ‘Bad Takes’ (EXCLUSIVE) … Matt Yglesias returns to podcasting today with “Bad Takes,” a new show that aims to challenge political pieties that take hold online.  —  Yglesias will co-host the show with his longtime editor …

Justice Department criminal investigation now touches nearly all efforts to overturn 2020 election for Trump  —  Justice Department criminal prosecutors are now examining nearly every aspect of former President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election - including the fraudulent electors plot …

Mainstream Democrats romped in the primaries.  Republicans went full MAGA.  —  The 2022 primary season has come to an end — and with it so should any claims that our politics is afflicted by “polarization.”  —  In both parties, ideological forces did indeed try to pull the center of gravity toward the extremes.

It's on: Walker and Warnock to debate in Savannah on Oct. 14  —  U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican hopeful Herschel Walker will meet in an Oct. 14 debate in Savannah, ending weeks of wrangling, taunting and name-calling by agreeing to a nationally watched showdown that will be one of the campaign season's biggest events.

Merrick Garland stars in Joe Biden's ‘The Godfather Part IV’  —  With “The Godfather” serving as a leadership manual for many politicians, Joe Biden might have been thinking of a particular scene during his 9/11 speech at the Pentagon.  The president solemnly declared that “national unity” …

Trump remembers his clubs!  Former President plays a round in DC one day after convening his lawyers on the fairway for a MEETING amid fears of imminent indictment  — Donald Trump was pictured at his golf course in Sterling, Virginia - just outside Washington, D.C. -on Monday without any golf clubs

Trafficked Teenager Who Killed One of Her Abusers Ordered to Pay Restitution  —  Pieper Lewis was 15 years old when, according to court documents, the man sheltering her forced her to have sex with other men for money.  She stabbed one abuser 30 times.  —  Pieper Lewis was a 15-year-old repeat runaway …