Feds seek to fast-track appeal in Trump Mar-a-Lago documents fight  —  The Justice Department moved to quickly dismantle the independent review of documents seized from Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, contending that the review — ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon — is impeding its criminal investigation.

Putin's Newest Annexation Is Dire for Russia Too  —  Vladimir Putin today announced his annexation of four provinces of Ukraine—four provinces that he does not fully control, that did not vote to join Russia, that have been the site of mass murder and mass deportation since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

Transition from hell  —  Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration.  With help from Allie Bice.  —  While DONALD TRUMP was attempting to prevent then President-elect JOE BIDEN from ascending to office in the months after the election …

Jared Kushner Allegedly Tried to ‘Inflate’ 2020 Poll Numbers to Avoid Trump's Tantrums, Book Says  —  The president would go “off the rails” at any suggestion that he was losing to Joe Biden, so Kushner advised pollsters to beef up Trump's standing in surveys

Darkened skin in anti-Abrams ad racially charged, ‘pernicious,’ political analyst says  —  Kemp and Abrams alter colors in negative ads - an expert explains the impacts of this.  —  ATLANTA — Viewers of negative political ads in Georgia may notice something: The bad guys in the ads always seem …

Facebook scrambles to escape stock's death spiral as users flee, sales drop  — Meta is trading at its lowest since early 2019, and the stock is one of the worst performers this year in the S&P 500.  — The company's problems are mounting, whether it's the ad hit from Apple's iOS changes or the growing threat posed by TikTok.

A statue of legendary spy Harriet Tubman now stands at the CIA  —  “A woke military is a weak military,” former CIA director Mike Pompeo tweeted Tuesday.  —  A few weeks earlier at CIA headquarters, in Langley, Va., current CIA director William J. Burns had a different perspective …

Poll: Most U.S. voters now say Trump should not be allowed to serve as president again  —  President of the United States since 2021  —  Given “what we know about the ongoing investigations into Donald Trump,” a narrow majority of registered voters (51%) now believe he should not …

Fired Fox News Anchor Must Face ‘Revenge Porn’ Allegations, Judge Rules  —  After a former Fox News associate producer filed a lawsuit accusing Henry of sexual assault, his legal team included 15 explicit photos of her in the public docket.  —  Disgraced former Fox News anchor Ed Henry's motion …

Gavin Newsom's trolling deftly unmasks Ron DeSantis's cruelty  —  It's hard to deny that Gov. Gavin Newsom harbors garish and even cringeworthy presidential ambitions.  The California Democrat regularly trolls Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, a top 2024 GOP contender, and Newsom surely knows playing foil …

Liz Truss' Woes Multiply After Media Blitz  —  In a round of interviews, the prime minister showed little sympathy for the pain that high interest rates could inflict on mortgage holders, critics said.  —  LONDON — For Prime Minister Liz Truss, it was a chance to steady the waters after days …

Cuba Makes Rare Request for U.S. Aid After Devastation From Hurricane Ian  —  Washington is assessing how much assistance Havana needs, according to communications  —  WASHINGTON—The Biden administration has received a rare request from Cuba's government to provide emergency assistance following …

KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor: September 2022  —  Key Findings  — The new, updated, bivalent COVID-19 boosters are now available for use, but the latest KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor survey finds that awareness of the updated boosters is relatively modest, with about half of adults saying they've heard …

GOP congressional candidate Joe Kent's ties to white nationalists include interview with Nazi sympathizer  —  Despite disavowing White nationalism last spring when one of its adherents endorsed him, a US House candidate in Washington subsequently gave a previously unreported interview in June to a Nazi sympathizer and White nationalist.

Judge upholds Georgia election laws on all counts in voting rights case  —  Ruling ends lawsuit filed by Fair Fight Action after 2018 election  —  A federal judge delivered a decisive ruling Friday against allies of Democrat Stacey Abrams in their 4-year-old voting rights lawsuit …

For Obama, One Trump Term Wasn't a Big Worry, but ‘Eight Years Would Be a Problem’  —  Barack Obama told reporters in his last days as president that he wasn't worried about a single Donald Trump term, but was concerned about a “sustained period” of political norms being undermined if he served two terms …

35 family members of Uvalde shooting victims throw their support behind Beto O'Rourke ahead of debate  —  In a news conference ahead of the only gubernatorial debate, 35 family members of Uvalde school shooting victims said they would support O'Rourke because of Gov. Greg Abbott's inaction on gun control measures.

Hatred Makes Fools of Us All  —  Tucker Carlson's conspiracies show that animosity fuels gullibility. … Earlier this week, the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that supplies natural gas from Russia to European customers suffered serious damage in what many believe was an act of sabotage.

Jan. 6 and Mar-a-Lago Inquiries Converge in Fights Over Executive Privilege  —  In both cases, former President Donald J. Trump is claiming a novel power to keep White House information from his time in office secret from the Justice Department.  —  WASHINGTON — Two high-profile criminal …

Republicans count on candidates of color to expand the House map  —  Nonwhite candidates are helping the GOP build bridges into minority communities—and deflect Democratic attacks.  —  On Wednesday, as Hurricane Ian bore down on the Florida district Anna Paulina Luna is likely to represent next year …

Sailor Acquitted of Setting Fire That Destroyed $1.2 Billion Navy Ship  —  A Navy judge cleared Seaman Recruit Ryan Mays of all charges over the fire that engulfed the U.S.S. Bonhomme Richard in 2020.  —  NAVAL BASE SAN DIEGO — A sailor charged with intentionally setting one of the worst noncombat fires …