What's the Key to Understanding Donald J. Trump?  Start With Queens.  —  “Confidence Man,” Maggie Haberman's biography of the former president, argues that it's essential to grasp New York's steamy, histrionic folkways.  —  Buy Book ▾ … When you purchase an independently reviewed book through …

‘Giant Backfire’: Trump's Demand for Special Master Is Looking Like a Mistake  —  The former president failed to derail the criminal investigation into his hoarding of sensitive documents and is stuck paying for a costly process that threatens to undermine his public claims.

‘Putin Is a Fool’: Intercepted Calls Reveal Russian Army in Disarray  —  In phone calls to friends and relatives at home, Russian soldiers gave damning insider accounts of battlefield failures and civilian executions, excoriating their leaders just weeks into the campaign to take Kyiv.

Records contradict Majewski's account of military punishment  —  Republican J.R. Majewski has centered his campaign for a competitive Ohio congressional seat around his biography as an Air Force veteran.  But one of the big questions that has surfaced is why Majewski was told he could not reenlist …

As campaign struggles, Doug Mastriano plans ‘40 days of fasting and prayer’  —  It was billed as a blockbuster, but ended up a flop.  If Doug Mastriano's “big rally” last weekend were a movie, its Rotten Tomatoes score would be in the single digits.Only a few dozen supporters joined …

For Immediate Release  —  For Further Information Contact:  —  The Court will hear all scheduled oral arguments for the upcoming term in the Courtroom.  Seating for the oral argument sessions will be provided to the public, members of the Supreme Court bar, and press, and Courtroom bar admissions will resume.

'Where's Jackie?'  Biden Asks if Deceased Lawmaker Is at White House Event  —  President Biden apparently forgot that Representative Jackie Walorski, Republican of Indiana, had died in August.  —  WASHINGTON — President Biden looked in the audience on Wednesday for Representative Jackie Walorski …

Tucker Carlson's shoddy case linking U.S. to alleged Nord Stream sabotage  —  Fox News host Tucker Carlson's long-running quest to blame the Biden administration for the war in Ukraine hasn't borne much fruit, despite his prominent perch on the most-watched cable news channel.  —  But it's not for lack of trying.

Kagan v. Roberts: Justices Spar Over Supreme Court's Legitimacy  —  Liberal justice suggests recent decisions are sapping ‘reservoirs of public confidence’; Roberts and Alito say institution's status stands above its opinions  —  The Legal Reasoning Behind the Supreme Court Overturning Roe v. Wade

Biden administration to grant Puerto Rico shipping waiver after uproar  —  White House officials faced a backlash from the island's governor and members of Congress after a shipment of diesel was idled off the coast  —  The Biden administration is expected to approve a legal waiver as soon …

Russia poised to annex occupied Ukraine after sham vote  —  Russia positioned itself Wednesday to formally annex parts of Ukraine where occupied areas held a Kremlin-orchestrated “referendum” on living under Moscow's rule that the Ukrainian government and the West denounced as illegal and rigged.

Record methane leak flows from damaged Baltic Sea pipelines  —  Methane leaking from the damaged Nord Stream pipelines is likely to be the biggest burst of the potent greenhouse gas on record, by far.  The Nord Stream pipeline leaks that were pumping huge volumes of methane into the Baltic Sea …

Sanders, Raskin Want Congress to Get Serious About Averting a Coup in Brazil  —  Brazil's “Tropical Trump” says “only God will remove me” if he loses Sunday.  —  Polls from Brazil show that President Jair Bolsonaro, the Donald Trump-like authoritarian who has run the country disastrously since …

Marjorie Taylor Greene's Husband Files For Divorce  —  6:21 PM PT — MTG's estranged husband, Perry Greene, tells TMZ ... “Marjorie has been my best friend for the last 29 years and she has been an amazing mom!  Our family is our most important thing we have done.”  —  UPDATE

Bill Plante, legendary CBS News White House correspondent, has died at 84  —  William “Bill” Plante, one of the longest-serving White House broadcast journalists in history, died of respiratory failure on Wednesday, according to his family.  The award-winning CBS correspondent was 84 years old and lived in Washington, D.C.

Brexit ideology lies behind the UK's market rout  —  Kwarteng's statement last week was just one manifestation of the elevation of absolutism over economics  —  It is the Bank of England's failure to raise rates further.  No, wait, it's really all about Fed tightening and dollar strength.

CEO Says He's Been “Praying for Inflation” Because It's an Excuse to Jack Up Prices … The CEO of Iron Mountain Inc. told Wall Street analysts at a September 20 investor event that the high levels of inflation of the past several years had helped the company increase its margins …

Scoop: GOP leaders prepare for 2023 debt limit “nightmare”  —  GOP leaders, congressional aides and business groups are preparing for a potential “nightmare scenario” next year if House Republicans take back the majority: a debt limit showdown reminiscent of the near-crisis in 2011.

Smith & Wesson sued over link to July 4 parade mass shooting  —  Survivors of the mass shooting at a suburban Chicago Independence Day parade and family members of those killed filed 11 lawsuits Wednesday against the manufacturer of the rifle used in the attack, accusing gun-maker Smith & Wesson …

Oath Keepers trial: A 1800s-inspired defense meets most significant Jan. 6 prosecution yet  —  In a case that could be a referendum on the insurrection, “prosecutors are really going for the three-pointer” against an untested, controversial defense.  —  Stewart Rhodes and others from the Oath Keepers …

6 Injured in Oakland School Shooting, Police Say  —  Two of the victims were hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, the authorities said.  The shooting occurred at a campus in the Bay Area that houses multiple schools.  —  OAKLAND, Calif. — Six people were shot at a campus in Oakland …

Christine Drazan, Tina Kotek neck-and-neck in race for Oregon governor, new poll from The Oregonian/OregonLive shows  —  Republican Christine Drazan and Democrat Tina Kotek are neck-and-neck in the three-way race for governor six weeks before the November election, according to a new poll commissioned …

Why NOT Me?  —  “You're due for a mammogram,” my gynecologist said, looking over my medical chart.  It was May; I had just gotten a pap smear and was still sitting on the exam table in my pink cotton (open in the front) gown.  —  “That's crazy, I just got one!”  I told her, with a hint of indignation.

US Is Increasingly Worried About UK Turmoil, Working With IMF  —  The Biden administration is alarmed over the market turmoil triggered by the new UK government's economic program and is seeking ways to encourage Prime Minister Liz Truss's team to dial back its dramatic tax cuts.

Brett Favre's Charity for Needy Kids Gave $60K to Another Volleyball Gym  —  The NFL legend is in hot water for alleged misuse of welfare funds for a volleyball facility.  His nonprofit also directed $60K to daughter's high school for new volleyball digs.

Corey Lewandowski cuts deal on charge stemming from alleged unwanted sexual advances  —  Former senior Donald Trump adviser Corey Lewandowski has cut a deal with Las Vegas prosecutors after he was charged with misdemeanor battery, stemming from allegations of unwanted sexual advances toward a woman during a charity dinner in Sept. 2021.

Romance novel model pleads guilty to dragging officer down Capitol steps on Jan. 6  —  WASHINGTON — When former President Donald Trump called on supporters who believed his lies about the 2020 election to go to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, a Michigan bodybuilder-turned-construction worker responded with enthusiasm.

What Is the Permanent Problem?  —  Since 2016, I've done a great deal of reading, writing, thinking, talking, and brooding about the crisis of liberal democracy we're now living through — how it originated, what powers it, and how possibly to defuse it or at least muddle through it.