Mark Milley's crisis  —  When Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley goes before Congress on Sept. 28, he may face some of the most hostile questioning of any modern four-star general.  —  Driving the news: Newly released excerpts from “Peril” by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa …

Newsom's Anti-Trump Recall Strategy Offers Republicans a Warning for 2022  —  California Democrats were able to nationalize the vote — thanks to an avalanche of money, party discipline and, above all, an easily demonized opponent.  —  SAN LEANDRO, Calif. — California basks in its clairvoyance.

Gymnasts testify as Congress investigates FBI's handling of Larry Nassar sexual abuse case  —  A report said the FBI made “fundamental” errors in the investigation.  —  By Katie Kindelan via  —  U.S. elite gymnasts Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney, Maggie Nichols and Aly Raisman are testifying …

Facebook Tried to Make Its Platform a Healthier Place.  It Got Angrier Instead.  —  Internal memos show how a big 2018 change rewarded outrage and that CEO Mark Zuckerberg resisted proposed fixes  —  In the fall of 2018, Jonah Peretti, chief executive of online publisher BuzzFeed …

White House avoids questions about Biden ‘responsibility’ for civilian casualties in drone strike  —  The White House did not directly answer questions from reporters on Wednesday about the casualties resulting from President Joe Biden's Afghan drone strike.

The pandemic marks another grim milestone: 1 in 500 Americans have died of covid-19  —  At a certain point, it was no longer a matter of if the United States would reach the gruesome milestone of 1 in 500 people dying of covid-19, but a matter of when.  A year?  Maybe 15 months?  The answer: 19 months.

Mercer family played bigger role in 2020 election than thought, giving nearly $20 million to dark-money GOP fund  — The wealthy family led by Robert and Rebekah Mercer invested nearly $20 million last year into a dark money fund that allows donors to keep secret the ultimate destination of their contributions.

1 in 500 US residents has died of Covid-19  —  'It's bad to the bone': Unvaccinated man describes Covid-19 fight  —  (CNN)The United States has reached another grim milestone in its fight against the devastating Covid-19 pandemic: 1 in 500 Americans have died from coronavirus since the nation's first reported infection.

CNN Poll: Most Americans feel democracy is under attack in the US  —  (CNN)Most Americans feel democracy is under attack in this country (56%), according to a new CNN Poll conducted by SSRS, as 51% say it is likely that elected officials in the US will successfully overturn the results …

Capitol Police officers face discipline for photos with rioters  —  A Capitol Police officer facing disciplinary action told investigators that he posed for a photo with a suspect during the Jan. 6 riot in order to identify him later.  —  But the officer never shared that plan with his supervisor …

This pastor will sign a religious exemption for vaccines if you donate to his church  —  A pastor is encouraging people to donate to his Tulsa church so they can become an online member and get his signature on a religious exemption from coronavirus vaccine mandates.

Once again, the GOP's answer is ‘no.’ Democrats should take it and run.  —  Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) in a statement on Tuesday announced a compromise voting reform bill supported by Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine (Va.), Angus King (I-Maine), Joe Manchin III (W.Va.), Jeff Merkley (Ore.) …

Ministers granted border exemptions to attend urgent meeting in Canberra  —  Normal text sizeLarger text sizeVery large text size  —  Several federal cabinet ministers were called to a top-secret meeting in Canberra on Wednesday ahead of a major international development expected out of the United States on Thursday morning.

California Recall Exit Polls  —  Exit polls are surveys of a random sample of voters taken as they leave their polling place on election day.  Absentee and early voters are represented by either telephone polls or in-person exit polls at early voting locations.

Afghanistan: Taliban leaders in bust-up at presidential palace, sources say  —  A major row broke out between leaders of the Taliban just days after they set up a new government in Afghanistan, senior Taliban officials told the BBC.  —  Supporters of two rival factions reportedly brawled …

POLITICO Playbook: Scoop: Grisham texts cast doubt on book claim  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  NOT A SHOCKER: Calif. Gov. GAVIN NEWSOM crushed the recall attempt by a nearly 2-to 1 margin.  The coverage: David Siders and Carla Marinucci with how he did it. ...  AP's Nick Riccardi with 5 takeaways …

Republicans seek Pennsylvania voters' personal information as they try to review the 2020 results.  —  Pennsylvania Republicans moved on Wednesday to seek personal information on every voter in the state as part of a brewing partisan review of the 2020 election results, rubber-stamping …

Third Republican drops out of race to replace Cheney after Trump endorses challenger  —  Former President Trump's endorsement of Wyoming attorney Harriet Hageman in the GOP primary to take out Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) has pushed out a third candidate in under a week, further clearing what was a crowded field.

Kim Jong Un's sister warns of ‘destruction’ of S.Korean ties  —  SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday criticized South Korea's president and threatened a “complete destruction” of bilateral relations after both of the countries tested ballistic missiles hours apart.