Why Our Monsters Talk to Michael Wolff  —  In his new book, the author of “Fire and Fury” continues his specialty: teasing out stories from men in power.  —  It's early 2019, a few months before Jeffrey Epstein will be arrested on sex charges, and he is sitting in the vast study …

POLITICO Playbook: Grisham dishes on Melania  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  THE WEEK AHEAD: JOE BIDEN campaigns with GAVIN NEWSOM in Long Beach, Calif., tonight before voters there decide Tuesday whether Newsom should be recalled (polls show him up by double digits) ... Secretary …

Justice Amy Coney Barrett argues Supreme Court isn't ‘a bunch of partisan hacks’  —  LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In the wake of a controversial decision on abortion rights, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett told a crowd of more than 100 here that she doesn't believe the highest court in the land is politically driven.

Gavin Newsom and the Revenge of California's ‘Anger’ Lobby  —  The strange story of how progressive reforms put power in the hands of the state's most aggrieved voters.  —  The political universe has been transfixed by what could happen to California's governor on Tuesday …

Afghan American woman's escape highlights secretive CIA role in Kabul rescues  —  Five days after Afghanistan's fall, Shaqaiq Birashk, holed up in her Kabul apartment, was contacted by a stranger offering to have her picked up and escorted to the airport for evacuation.

Alabama man dies after being turned away from 43 hospitals as covid packs ICUs, family says  —  When Ray DeMonia was having a cardiac emergency last month, his Alabama family waited anxiously for a nearby hospital with available space in its intensive care unit.

The Legacy of America's Post-9/11 Turn to Torture  —  Twenty years after the attacks, the United States is still grappling with the consequences of brutal interrogations carried out in the name of national security.  —  NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania — Mohamedou Ould Slahi is almost clinical …

Texas wanted to be the tech haven of the U.S. Its new abortion bill and other measures are causing workers to rethink their move.  —  Tech workers are marking Texas off the list of places they'd consider working after the state passed the nation's most restrictive abortion law

Red flags for Biden's “over-the-horizon” strategy  —  The Biden administration's “over-the-horizon” strategy in Afghanistan is drawing serious questions from lawmakers and counterterrorism experts, as the U.S. withdrawal shifts calculations about threats and capabilities.

Long-Secret FBI Report Reveals New Connections Between 9/11 Hijackers and Saudi Religious Officials in U.S.  —  “This validates what we have been saying,” says an attorney for families of 9/11 victims who are suing the Saudi government over alleged support of the 2001 terrorist attacks.

Trump Politicizes Soldier Deaths.  Gold Star Families Call It ‘Disgusting.’  —  Former President Donald Trump has taken to calling out President Joe Biden for soldier deaths in Afghanistan.  Gold Star families aren't so pleased.  —  “Gross.”  “Disgusting.”  “Without honor.”

It made me sick to watch a once-male special forces combat veteran beat up a woman on TV - it's time to stop this trans sport insanity before women start being killed  —  It was the moment ideology met cold, hard reality.  —  Alana McLaughlin, 38, the second transgender MMA fighter to compete in the sport …

Trump says Dems ‘disparaged’ COVID-19 vaccine while he was president: ‘Now they wonder why’ some are hesitant  —  Trump criticizes Biden's new COVID-19 vaccine mandates for employers  —  Joe Biden's Massive Vaccine Mandates  —  EXCLUSIVE: Former President Donald Trump blamed Democrats …

Biden's vaccine mandate theater  —  If you want to understand President Joe Biden's motives, look no further than White House chief of staff Ron Klain's Twitter feed.  —  Less than an hour after Biden ordered his Labor Department to issue a nationwide vaccine mandate in the workplace …

Trump's White House chief of staff is target of Capitol attack records request  —  House select committee investigating 6 January wants telecom and social media companies to preserve records on Mark Meadows  —  The House select committee investigating the 6 January attack on the Capitol …

More than half of Americans support vaccine mandates for workplaces, classrooms and sporting events  —  Biden to the unvaccinated: ‘Our patience is wearing thin’  —  (CNN)Americans have grown more supportive of coronavirus vaccine mandates for workers, students, and in everyday public life …

Biden tries to build back cooler and a new and improved Power Up  —  Good morning and welcome to The Early 202 newsletter — Power Up's glow up, so to speak.  —  If you loved Power Up, we think you'll love The Early 202 even more.  We'll continue to bring you the most important political stories …

Without drastic changes, Democrats are on track to lose big in 2022  —  The marked decline in support for President Biden and his administration nationally and in key swing states indicates that the Democratic Party could endure a blowout defeat in the 2022 midterm elections.

I spent 5 years inside DC's foreign policy ‘blob.’ Here's why the experts keep getting us into unwinnable wars like Afghanistan. … One autumn afternoon a few years ago, I took the subway from my Brooklyn apartment to a mansion on the Upper East Side.  I was nervous.

'They're All In on It!'  Rose McGowan Slams Dems at Larry Elder Campaign Event  —  The actress, campaigning for Republican Larry Elder ahead of California's recall election, aired damning accusations against Gov. Gavin Newsom's wife.  —  At a press conference in Los Angeles on Sunday …

Union Veteran Takes Over at Emily's List as Abortion Fights Loom  —  Laphonza Butler, a labor leader turned strategist, will become the first woman of color — and the first mother — to lead the Democratic fund-raising powerhouse.  —  Emily's List, the fund-raising powerhouse …

I Didn't Want to Push My Aunt to Get the Vaccine.  Now I Live With Regrets  —  In normal times, the ICU is a dreadful place.  —  Sickness lingers like a fog.  You can feel it, sense it, even hear it—the machinery pumping, the alarms ringing, the nurses scrambling.  —  In pandemic times, the ICU is chilling.

Tensions mount between CDC and Biden health team over boosters  —  Senior officials from the White House and the FDA say the CDC is withholding critical data needed to develop the booster plan.  —  Some officials outside the CDC working on the Covid-19 response in the past month have placed blame …