Playbook: Scoop: House GOP targets Manhattan DA  —  Presented by With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  THE WEEK AHEAD — Monday: President JOE BIDEN hosts the cast of “Ted Lasso” at a White House event on mental health; Supreme Court hears case on Navajo water rights …

Earth to Hit Critical Warming Threshold by Early 2030s, Climate Panel Says  —  A new U.N. report says it is still possible to hold global warming to relatively safe levels, but doing so will require global cooperation, billions of dollars and big changes.  —  Earth is likely to cross …

Georgia prosecutors considering racketeering and conspiracy charges in probe of effort to overturn Trump's 2020 loss, source says  —  Atlanta-area prosecutors are considering bringing racketeering and conspiracy charges in connection with Donald Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia …

As Xi visits Russia, Putin sees his anti-U.S. world order taking shape  —  RIGA, Latvia — For Vladimir Putin, the state visit to Russia by Chinese President Xi Jinping, which begins on Monday, provides a giant morale boost and a chance to showcase the much-vaunted new world order …

‘What were the last 15 years for?’:  How Fed bank regulation failed  —  When Congress rewrote the rules for Wall Street following the 2008 financial crisis, it put the Federal Reserve at the center of oversight for the nation's wounded banks.  —  Now, the Fed is at the center …

Fear, burnout and insubordination: Insiders spill details about life at the highest levels of FBI  —  A gender discrimination trial in Washington, D.C., shined a harsh spotlight on one of the most important legal offices in the U.S. government, portraying it as a hotbed of dysfunction, turf wars, mismanagement and paranoia.

At the China-Russia Border, the Xi-Putin Partnership Shows Signs of Fraying  —  The meeting between the two leaders this week is expected to showcase unity, but a view of cities along the border reveals divisions that challenge the relationship  —  HEIHE, China—Years of investment …

Undercover agents saw nothing ‘lewd’ at Orlando drag show.  Florida is going after venue anyway  —  When the historic Plaza Live theater in Orlando hosted an event last December called “A Drag Queen Christmas,” the show drew a full house, noisy street demonstrators — and a small squad …

The Legislature's shameless and unconstitutional court-packing plan  —  As any Texas voter knows, we elect our judges—and, except for our highest courts (the Supreme Court and the Court of Criminal Appeals), we elect them locally.  That's true not just for trial courts, but for our fourteen intermediate appellate courts, too.

Why the Press Failed on Iraq … Twenty years ago, the George W. Bush administration invaded Iraq to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and eliminate the weapons of mass destruction (WMD) officials said he had.  Getting the American public to support a war against a country that had not attacked …

Senate absences multiply headaches for both parties  —  The last time all 100 senators were on the floor voting together was more than seven months ago.  And it's starting to take a toll on both parties.  —  This Congress features one of history's oldest Senates, a fact that's fueled ongoing debate about gerontocracy in government.

American citizen held hostage for 6 years in West Africa has been freed  —  An American aid worker who was kidnapped in Niger more than six years ago and held hostage by terrorists has been released, President Joe Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan tweeted on Monday.

Proud Boys bloodied and jailed during NYC drag queen story hour protest  —  Clashes between Proud Boys and counter-protesters led to at least one arrest on Sunday.  —  The incidents occurred on 7th Avenue in New York City at the Drag Queen Story Hour with Attorney General Letitia James event.

The Obscure Maritime Law That Ruins Your Commute  —  “Ship American” might sound nice in theory.  This is what it looks like in practice: not shipping much of anything in America at all.  —  What with everything going on in the world, stewing over an obscure, century-old maritime law might seem odd.