The stakes are sky high  —  Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration.  —  ATLANTA — When President JOE BIDEN's team pushed to debate DONALD TRUMP in late June, it was an implicit admission of the anxiety they felt about the state of the race.

The Supreme Court strips the SEC of a critical enforcement tool in fraud cases  —  The Supreme Court on Thursday stripped the Securities and Exchange Commission of a major tool in fighting securities fraud in a decision that also could have far-reaching effects on other regulatory agencies.

Supreme Court sidesteps ruling on emergency room abortion-access dispute  —  The court opted against deciding whether Idaho's abortion ban conflicts with a federal law that sets standards for hospital emergency room care, leaving legal question unresolved.  —  WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court …

Supreme Court blocks EPA's interstate air pollution regulation  —  The Environmental Protection Agency's “good neighbor” rule is aimed at reducing air pollution that crosses state lines and contributes to smog.  —  WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked a Biden administration …

Trump allies' 920 page plan to give Trump more power over your daily life, gut democratic checks and balances, and consolidate power in the Oval office.  —  Project 2025 is the plan by Donald Trump's MAGA Republican allies to give Trump more power over your daily life, gut democratic checks and balances …

Exclusive: Michelle Obama's private frustration with the Bidens … - Michelle Obama also was initially reluctant to campaign for Biden after he became the Democratic nominee in 2020, people familiar with the situation told Axios.  — Biden's team says the relationship between the families is strong …

Oklahoma's State Superintendent Requires Public Schools to Teach the Bible  —  The state superintendent, Ryan Walters, said the Bible was a “necessary historical document” that must be taught in certain grades.  —  Oklahoma's state superintendent on Thursday directed all public schools to teach the Bible …

Right-wing group gets Anne Frank's Diary and other Holocaust books taken from Texas school  —  Pastor Luis Cabrera and his conservative group threatened to shut down school board meetings if a superintendent of a school district in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas did not heed their demands …

Jack Smith brings receipts of vile threats against judges and prosecutors in Trump cases, tells Cannon former president fundraised off of lies about FBI  —  In a Wednesday notice filled with examples of vile threats against judges and prosecutors from supporters of Donald Trump …

Trump tips hand on climate talking points ahead of debate  —  Former President Donald Trump posted a preview of proposed talking points on climate change and energy ahead of Thursday's debate, an unusual move before one of the most widely watched events before the November election.

Man on trial for threatening to kill presidential candidates found dead as jury was deciding verdict  —  CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire man on trial for threatening the lives of presidential candidates last year has been found dead while a jury was deciding his verdict, according to court filings.

Inside the Right-Wing Campaign to End Protections for Endangered Species  —  Leonard Leo's dark money hubs have funneled over $2 million to climate denial groups working to gut the Endangered Species Act  —  Leonard Leo, best known as the architect of the Supreme Court's conservative supermajority …

Prosecutors Accuse Illegal Alien, Freed into U.S. by Biden's DHS, of Murdering Girl on Her 21st Birthday  —  An illegal alien, released into the United States by President Joe Biden's Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has been accused of murdering a young woman on her twenty-first birthday …

Meadows quietly fights for his White House records  —  Newly disclosed court filings show that Meadows has been pressing the National Archives and special counsel Jack Smith since May to turn over massive troves of records.  —  Donald Trump's former chief of staff, Mark Meadows …

Supreme Court blocks Purdue Pharma opioid settlement  —  The justices ruled that a bankruptcy judge did not have the authority to let members of Sackler family evade facing future lawsuits.  —  WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday blew up the massive bankruptcy reorganization …

SCOTUS pushes Trump immunity decision to after debate … - Trump's two federal cases — one on his alleged efforts to undermine the results of the 2020 election and the other on his handling of classified documents after his time in the White House — hinge on the court's decision.

‘Insult to Democracy’: Sanders Says Citizens United the Real Story of Bowman Defeat  —  “Campaigns should be about a clash of ideas, not which candidate can raise more money from the oligarchs,” Sanders said after the defeat of Bowman, a progressive who was the target of huge dark-money spending.