‘Something Was Badly Wrong’: When Washington Realized Russia Was Actually Invading Ukraine  —  This oral history was compiled and woven together by writer and historian Garrett M. Graff, based on dozens of hours of interviews by POLITICO national security reporters Erin Banco, Lara Seligman …

Republican elites fear the monster they created  —  On screen, Fox News personalities paint a world of clear heroes and villains, where conservatives are always strong and right and liberals are weak and wrong.  But the extraordinary private communications revealed in the $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit filed …

Exclusive: How a box with classified documents ended up in Trump's office months after FBI searched Mar-a-Lago  —  The Justice Department wants to know how a box containing a handful of classified records scattered among copies of presidential schedules turned up at Mar-a-Lago late last year …

Rep. Judy Chu hits back at Texas Republican over ‘racist’ remarks questioning her loyalty to U.S.  —  Rep. Judy Chu, the chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, blasted GOP Rep. Lance Gooden of Texas on Thursday over his comments this week questioning her loyalty to the U.S.

The AP Interview: Biden ready to run, US first lady says  —  1 of 5  —  U.S. first lady Jill Biden gave one of the clearest indications yet that President Joe Biden will run for a second term, telling The Associated Press in an exclusive interview on Friday that there's “pretty much” …

Strapped to a gurney, death row inmate Donald Dillbeck saves his last words for DeSantis  —  RAIFORD — Donald Dillbeck didn't mince words in the minutes before the state executed him Thursday night.  —  “I know I hurt people when I was young.  I really messed up,” Dillbeck, 59, said …

After a Decade of Tracking Politicians' Deleted Tweets, Politwoops Is No More  —  Whether officials were deleting an embarrassing post or just correcting a typo, Politwoops tracked them all.  But service changes made after Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter have rendered it impossible for us to continue tracking these tweets.

The QAnon ‘Meme Queen’ Wants Trump To Help Her Convicted Pedophile Son  —  A woman who has devoted the last five years of her life fighting a non-existent secret cabal of pedophiles, says her convicted child sex abuser son needs protection.  —  David Gilbert

DOJ Seizing Luxury Hamptons, NYC Pads in $75M Real-Estate Raid on Russian Oligarch  —  The Justice Department's “Operation KleptoCapture” is seeking to seize luxury real-estate in the Hamptons, New York City and Miami Beach valued at $75 million and belonging to Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg, court documents show.

Mike Pence Should Drop His Grand Jury Subpoena Gambit  —  Former Vice President Mike Pence recently announced he would challenge Special Counsel Jack Smith's subpoena for him to appear before a grand jury in Washington as part of the investigation into former President Donald Trump's efforts …

GOP Rep. John James won't seek Michigan's open Senate seat  —  Republican Rep. John James filed paperwork Friday to run for reelection to his Detroit-area House seat, opting against a campaign for the Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Debbie Stabenow in 2024.

George Santos lied to a judge in 2017 bid to help a ‘family friend’ charged with fraud  —  NEW YORK — George Santos lied to a Seattle judge about working for Goldman Sachs while speaking at a 2017 bail hearing for a “family friend” who later pleaded guilty to fraud in an ATM skimming scheme …

Ukraine on One Year Anniversary of War: Defiant and Hopeful of Victory  —  Created with sketchtool.

GOP Ex-Sen. Inhofe Retired Due To Long COVID After Opposing COVID Aid  —  The longtime senator from Oklahoma said complications from the virus contributed to his stepping aside.  —  Former Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) attributed his decision to retire due to the long-term effects of COVID-19 …

Key US inflation measure surges at fastest rate since June  —  1 of 2  —  The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge rose last month at its fastest pace since June, an alarming sign that price pressures remain entrenched in the U.S. economy and could lead the Fed to keep raising interest rates well into this year.

Toxic air pollutants in East Palestine could pose long-term risks, researchers say  —  Texas A&M scientists analyzed EPA data on air pollutants at the Ohio derailment site and found some chemicals of concern, especially if they persist at same levels  —  Three weeks after the toxic train derailment …

The right's new culture-war target: ‘Woke AI’  —  ChatGPT and Bing are trying to stay out of politics — and failing  —  Christopher Rufo, the conservative activist who led campaigns against critical race theory and gender identity in schools, this week pointed his half-million Twitter followers toward …

Florida surgeon general fudged data for dubious COVID analysis, tipster says  —  The state closed the investigation, leaving more questions than answers.  —  Florida's health department opened and then closed an investigation into the state's polarizing surgeon general, Joseph Ladapo …

Nigerian Politician Arrested With Nearly $500,000 on Eve of Election, Police Say  —  For years, Nigerian politicians have been accused of buying votes.  The lawmaker, the police say, was caught with dollar bills and a list of possible recipients.  —  Reporting from Lagos, Nigeria.

‘A Great, Great, Great Man’: The Cringey Gushing Over Jimmy Carter … Is it the very unseemliness of the death watch over poor Jimmy Carter that has forced everyone to talk balls?  —  We human beings often react this way when we catch ourselves doing something that's in poor taste or otherwise undignified.

Rebuilding the Closet  —  Gender and sexuality are a spectrum.  In common discourse, we lose sight of what that means.  Very Online approaches to gender and sexuality seem to say that gender and sexuality are a spectrum, but everyone is at a very specific and static spot on that spectrum.

Don't Let Politics Cloud Your View of What's Going On With Teens and Depression  —  Last year, a study came out showing that left-leaning adolescents were experiencing a greater increase in depression than their more conservative peers.  Indeed, while girls are more likely to be depressed than boys …

Marjorie Taylor Greene Has a Dream  —  Marjorie Taylor Greene, now one of the most influential Republicans in the House of Representatives, says it is time for Americans to consider a national divorce.  —  “Tragically, I think we, the left and right, have reached irreconcilable differences,” Greene wrote a few days ago on Twitter.

The GOP field descends on Iowa, readying to eat some humble pie  —  DES MOINES, Iowa — Sen. Tim Scott arrived in Iowa this week amid buzz about a presidential bid to come.  But shortly after stepping foot in the state, that enthusiasm was complemented by the humbling elements that come with politicking in such an intimate place.

Billionaire financier Thomas H. Lee found dead of self-inflicted gunshot wound in NYC office: sources  —  Billionaire financier and investor Thomas H. Lee was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his Manhattan office Thursday morning, police sources said.

Biden immigration policy aides to depart amid criticism of new migration policy  —  Two White House officials involved in crafting immigration policy are preparing to depart as the Biden administration rolls out new asylum restrictions that critics say mirror those from the Trump era.