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 winning recall strategy offers a playbook for Democrats in 2022  —  The Democratic establishment played its cards exactly right in California — much to my surprise.  —  I watched the developments in Golden State politics this year with a mix of worry and annoyance.

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.

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 …

Simone Biles Breaks Down at FBI's Nassar Failures: ‘I Blame an Entire System’  —  “To be clear, I blame Larry Nassar and I also blame an entire system that enabled and perpetrated his abuse,” Biles told a Senate hearing.  —  Celebrated Olympic gymnast Simone Biles delivered emotional testimony …

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.

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 …

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 …

Maverick Dem senators meeting with Biden on spending plan  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden planned meetings Wednesday with a pair of moderate Democratic senators whose objections to the size of a proposed, huge package of social and environment initiatives have thrown serious obstacles in its path.

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.

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.

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.

This is how a Republican lie is born  —  This is what happens when an entire political party takes leave of reality.  —  On Tuesday morning, one of the most senior and important Republican senators used one of the most prominent settings in official Washington to level one of the most serious …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

U.S. State Department: For a Visa to Leave Afghanistan, Please Go to a U.S. Embassy in a Neighboring Country  —  My reader who is trying to get his company's former employees out of Afghanistan offers another update, and another illustration of the Kafkaesque process for getting an Afghan ally authorization to leave the country.

Josh Hawley, Clownish Menace  —  Hawley is a hypocrite and an opportunist, and now he has shown himself to be the lowest kind of demagogue.  —  Josh Hawley is a clownish menace: … Hawley is a hypocrite and an opportunist, and now he has shown himself to be the lowest kind of demagogue.