POLITICO Playbook: Scoop: Liz Cheney's next move  —  With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  SCOOP: CHENEY'S NEXT MOVE — Rep. LIZ CHENEY is wasting no time beginning the next phase of her bid to prevent DONALD TRUMP's return to office.

Trump is rushing to hire seasoned lawyers — but he keeps hearing ‘No’  —  The former president's current legal team includes a Florida insurance lawyer who's never had a federal case, a past general counsel for a parking-garage company and a former host at far-right One America News

Lisa Murkowski and Sarah Palin Survive Primary Battles, but a Democrat Breaks Through  —  ANCHORAGE — Two of the most prominent women in Alaskan Republican politics — Senator Lisa Murkowski and Sarah Palin — appeared to be on divergent paths early Wednesday following the state's special election and primary.

Jared Kushner's ‘Breaking History’ Is a Soulless and Very Selective Memoir  —  In this lengthy book, Kushner recounts the time he spent in the White House during his father-in-law's term.  —  Buy Book ▾ … When you purchase an independently reviewed book through our site, we earn an affiliate commission.

Inside the 100-day U.S. struggle to stop monkeypox  —  The nation's top health officials believed they had finally hit upon a solution to quell weeks of public criticism about the straggling government response to the monkeypox outbreak spreading across the country this summer.

3 things everyone should know about the Inflation Reduction Act  —  President of the United States since 2021  —  Today, I signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law — one of the most significant laws in recent history.  With this law, the American people won and special interests lost.

Planned Parenthood to spend record $50M in midterm elections  —  Planned Parenthood, the nation's leading reproductive health care provider and abortion rights advocacy organization, plans to spend a record $50 million ahead of November's midterm elections, pouring money into contests where access to abortion will be on the ballot.

Texas school district orders librarians to remove a version of Anne Frank's diary from shelves  —  (JTA) - A school district in suburban Fort Worth, Texas, has ordered its librarians to remove an illustrated adaptation of “The Diary of Anne Frank” from their shelves and digital libraries …

Giuliani arrives to testify in Georgia 2020 election probe  —  Rudy Giuliani arrived at an Atlanta courthouse Wednesday under a judge's order to appear before a special grand jury that is investigating attempts by former President Donald Trump and others to overturn his 2020 election defeat in Georgia.

Saudi woman given 34-year prison sentence for using Twitter  —  Salma al-Shehab, a Leeds University student, was charged with following and retweeting dissidents and activists  —  A Saudi student at Leeds University who had returned home to the kingdom for a holiday has been sentenced …

A Rant: ‘Team Normal’ Republicans, Stop Whining That Democrats Won't Help You  —  Your Trump problem is just that: Your problem.  —  Dear readers,  —  I have a rant for you today.  —  I wrote a couple of weeks ago about the “bellyaching and scolding from establishment Republicans” …

Taking the Fifth should disqualify a politician from taking office  —  Donald Trump invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 400 times in New York's investigation into his business's finances.  Of course, the defeated former president and alleged pilferer of nuclear secrets has every right …

The Biden administration's emergency care abortion guidance goes to court(s)  —  Texas says the guidance is “subverting the Supreme Court's holding in Dobbs,” even as Idaho, also fighting the administration, says that claiming a “wide and deep conflict” is a “false picture.”

Officials discuss defunding FBI in wake of Mar-A-Lago search  —  OMAHA, Neb (KMTV) — Defunding law enforcement is a topic that has come up a lot over the last couple of years.  —  Conservative voters and politicians typically oppose any efforts to defund law enforcement but some are changing their tune when it comes to the FBI.

FBI arrests former Rep. T.J. Cox on dozens of fraud charges  —  The FBI arrested former one-term Democratic Rep. T.J. Cox on dozens of charges related to financial fraud, according to public records with the Fresno County Sheriff's Office.  —  The arrest took place around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday …

Scientists warn of dire effects as Mediterranean heats up  —  While vacationers might enjoy the Mediterranean Sea's summer warmth, climate scientists are warning of dire consequences for its marine life as it burns up in a series of severe heat waves.  From Barcelona to Tel Aviv …

Video Shows Dr. Oz Saying He Has Two Houses.  He Actually Has 10.  —  It's a simple question for most people: How many houses do you own?  But apparently, it's not so simple for Dr. Oz. … It's a question most Americans can answer pretty easily: “How many houses do you own?”

Vance, DeSantis rally puts ‘highly unusual’ restrictions on press  —  Journalists must agree to give access to their footage to the event organizer, pro-Trump GOP youth group Turning Point USA, and explain how they intend to use it  —  Journalists hoping to cover a Republican rally featuring Florida …

Redistricting, abortion supercharge state Supreme Court races  —  The U.S. Supreme Court may get all the attention.  But some of the most consequential decisions for the next decade could come instead from their counterparts in the states, many of whom are facing voters in the fall.

Ukraine war: Thousands of Jews quit Russia amid fears of persecution  —  Russia is facing the mass migration abroad of large numbers of its Jewish population, with at least one in eight leaving the country since its war with Ukraine began.  —  The Jewish Agency helps Jews around the world move to Israel.

‘This Was the Albatross Around His Neck All Year’  —  For many Americans, the one-year anniversary of the disastrous withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan is a sober milestone marking one of the country's biggest foreign-policy mistakes in modern history.  But for President Joe Biden …