Former GOP treasury secretaries tried defusing debt ceiling bomb in private talks with McConnell, Yellen  —  Paulson and Mnuchin have warned political leaders about the consequences of default, but the Biden administration and Senate Republicans don't appear close to a deal.

Biden admin seeks contractor to run migrant detention facility at Gitmo, guards who speak Creole  —  LOS ANGELES — As it scrambles to deal with the surge of Haitian migrants at the southern border, the Biden administration is seeking a private contractor to operate a migrant detention facility …

Bipartisan Police-Overhaul Talks End With No Deal  —  Lawmakers had sought to address abuses by law-enforcement in wake of protests over killings of Black Americans  —  WASHINGTON — Bipartisan talks aimed at overhauling police tactics and accountability have ended with no agreement …

Flynn: Libs Are Plotting To Put Vax In Salad Dressing  —  “Somebody sent me a thing this morning where they're talking about putting the vaccine in salad dressing.  Have you seen this?  I mean, I'm thinking to myself, this is the bizarro world, right?  This is definitely the bizarro world.

Sen. Susan Collins won't support abortion-rights bill  —  As Democrats consider legislation to respond to a new Texas state ban on abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy, they have lost the support of one of the few remaining Republicans who support abortion rights.

Murder Rose by Almost 30% in 2020.  It's Rising at a Slower Rate in 2021.  —  The increase in murders this summer does not appear to be as large as the record spike last summer.  —  The United States in 2020 experienced the biggest rise in murder since the start of national record-keeping in 1960 …

Top Adviser to Ukrainian President Is Targeted in an Assassination Attempt  —  President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would return to Ukraine from New York immediately.  The adviser, Serhiy Shefir, was unharmed, but his driver was shot and wounded in the attack.

Biden's Approval Rating Hits New Low of 43%; Harris' Is 49%  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Eight months after President Joe Biden's inauguration, his job approval rating has fallen six percentage points to 43%, the lowest of his presidency.  For the first time, a majority, 53%, now disapproves of Biden's performance.

Joint Statement on the Phone Call between President Biden and President Macron  —  President Emmanuel Macron of the French Republic and President Joe Biden of the United States of America spoke on September 22, at the request of the latter, in order to discuss the implications of the announcement on September 15.

Mary Trump unplugged  —  Donald Trump's niece, Mary, returns to talk about her new book, “The Reckoning: our nation's trauma and finding a way to heal.”  —  Among the topics Mary discusses with us: Don Jr's intelligence; Ivanka ego; her recent slapdown of Meghan McCain …

News Media Can't Shake ‘Missing White Woman Syndrome,’ Critics Say  —  Major outlets have highlighted the case of Gabrielle Petito while often ignoring stories about women of color who go missing.  —  On Monday night, the MSNBC host Joy Reid invited two women on her show, “The ReidOut,” …

Facebook Chief Technology Officer Schroepfer to Step Down  — Veteran executive ‘Schrep’ will shift to senior fellow role  — Hardware boss Andrew Bosworth will be promoted to CTO role  —  Facebook Inc. Chief Technology Officer Mike Schroepfer, a 13-year veteran who oversees …

‘Outrageous’: Judge Lays Into Trump-Loving Deputy Who Wore ‘Sheriff’ Patch On Jan. 6  —  Ronald Colton McAbee was a sheriff's deputy when he attempted to breach the Capitol on Jan. 6.  A judge is deciding whether he'll be freed pretrial.  —  A federal judge criticized a Capitol attack defendant …

Charter schools boomed during the pandemic  —  Charter schools picked off hundreds of thousands of public school students across the U.S. during the pandemic, according to a new analysis from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.  —  Why it matters: The pandemic …

Book Review: ‘The Authority of the Court and the Peril of How Much I Love My Job,’ by Stephen Breyer  —  The 83-year-old leader of the Court's liberal wing is facing significant public pressure to step down from the bench.  He decided to write a book instead.

Hillary Clinton tried to warn us — and paid the price.  Let's at least call Republicans what they are  —  Still, America's political class is unwilling to call the fascist, white supremacist Republicans what they are  —  During a speech in September 2016, Hillary Clinton …

The Texas abortion law is a human rights crisis for American women  —  Uma Thurman is an actress and mother.  —  I have followed the course of Texas's radical antiabortion law with great sadness, and something akin to horror.  Now, in the hope of drawing the flames of controversy away …

Tim Cook says employees who leak memos do not belong at Apple, according to leaked memo  —  The CEO says the company is doing everything in its power to track down workers  —  Tim Cook sent an email to Apple employees Tuesday evening about an all-hands meeting that leaked to The Verge last week.

Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement  —  The Federal Reserve is committed to using its full range of tools to support the U.S. economy in this challenging time, thereby promoting its maximum employment and price stability goals.  —  With progress on vaccinations and strong policy support …

‘Critical race theory’ roils a Tennessee school district  —  Robin Steenman, an Air Force veteran and white mother of three, is fed up with the way public schools in her community of Franklin, Tennessee are teaching kids about race.  —  She believes that the reading materials and teachers' manuals …

Gubernatorial Candidates Locked in Close Contest, UMW Survey Shows  —  Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) and Republican nominee Glenn Youngkin remain locked in a tight contest for governor of Virginia, a University of Mary Washington statewide survey shows.

Liz Cheney's Re-Election Bid Pits Trump Against Bush  —  George W. Bush to hold fundraiser for Wyoming congresswoman who has sparred with Donald Trump  —  WASHINGTON—The race for Wyoming's single U.S. House district has pitted two of the biggest names in Republican politics against one another …

The Emerging Artistry of Hunter Biden  —  His upcoming solo show is a headache for the White House—and a window into the murky finances of the international art market.  —  About the author: Casey Michel is a writer based in New York.  He is the author of the forthcoming book American Kleptocracy …

High Covid Hospitalizations Have Delayed Elective Surgeries  —  In areas inundated with coronavirus patients, hospitals have postponed treatments and surgeries for people with other serious conditions.  —  In chronic pain, Mary O'Donnell can't get around much.

'It's Become Increasingly Hard for Them to Feel Good About Themselves'  —  Mr. Edsall contributes a weekly column from Washington, D.C., on politics, demographics and inequality.  —  Is there a whole class of men who no longer fit into the social order?  —  A decade ago, Marianne Bertrand …

The sad, predictable limits of America's “economic recovery”  —  Officially, the Covid-19 recession lasted just two months.  So why are so many still suffering?  —  Part of the Recovery Issue of The Highlight, our home for ambitious stories that explain our world.