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The head of a prominent centrist advocacy group quietly seeded a news outlet that provides a steady stream of positive coverage for her organization and its board members' lobbying clients, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: The fragmentation of digital media means virtually anyone can be a publisher. When public affairs intersects with political coverage, it can blur the lines between news and advocacy.

President Biden and Vice President Harris have their own "Pete Souzas," and they're also working to create a visual archive of the new administration.

Why it matters: Photographers Adam Schultz, Lawrence Jackson and their colleagues have a number of social media sites that give a look at the president and vice president when the news media isn't present.

The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks changed the trajectory of many lives, from the people who died to the heroes who responded, to everyone who watched — including one journalist for whom it marked a career-defining moment.

Why it matters: As the 20th anniversary of 9/11 approaches this Saturday, Axios politics editor Glen Johnson recalls the conversation he had that crisp Tuesday morning with his then-colleague, reporter Anthony Shadid.

The Afghans left behind by the U.S. airlift in the wake of the Taliban's takeover of the country include longtime U.S. Embassy contractors, Special Immigrant Visas applicants, and members of the Afghan military, among others.

Driving the news: In one of the largest airlifts in history, the U.S. evacuated 120,000 people from Afghanistan prior to their withdrawal. But at least 100 Americans and thousands of Afghan allies were left behind.

In the centuries since Asians first arrived in the United States, the color yellow has dogged their steps. It's been weaponized as a derogatory slur and exploited to villainize Asians as the Yellow Peril. In the last few decades, however, Asian Americans have sought to reclaim the term "yellow."

Driving the news: One such campaign is "The Yellow Whistle," a self-protection program launched this year by Agnes Hsu-Tang and Oscar Tang, owners of Kampgrounds of America (KOA), and four others in the wake of pandemic-fueled anti-Asian hate.

Black Americans are more likely to get federal life sentences than whites or Latinos, a new study has found.

Why it matters: The analysis, published recently in Criminology, further illustrates the racial disparities of federal sentencing at a time when advocates are pushing for sentencing reforms for nonviolent offenders.

The Taliban’s total victory has major implications for Afghanistan's neighbors and the broader region, with countries vying for influence while preparing for potential instability, refugee flows and the threat of a terrorist safe haven.

The big picture: It’s largely a strategic victory for Pakistan, which has assisted the Taliban and harbored its leaders, and a defeat for India, which invested heavily in an Afghan state that has now collapsed.

The U.S. Coast Guard said divers were being deployed Sunday to search for the source of a growing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico following Hurricane Ida, per Reuters.

What's happening: The Coast Guard is investigating the spill, which is believed to stem from an underwater source at an offshore drilling lease, some two miles south of Port Fourchon, Louisiana — a key oil industry hub and staging area, reports AP, which notes the cleanup operation has begun.

The U.S. men's wheelchair basketball team beat Japan 64-60 to win gold at the Paralympics Sunday — Team USA's final Tokyo Games medal.

Of note: The American women's team won a bronze medal on Saturday.

New Zealand officials tried "for years" to deport the terrorist who stabbed shoppers in an Auckland supermarket Friday before being fatally shot by police who were surveilling him, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.

Driving the news: Ardern vowed Saturday to tighten NZ's security laws by the month's end following the attack by the "ISIS-inspired" Ahamed Aathil Mohamed Samsudeen, 32 — who was fighting to stay in NZ as a refugee when he injured seven shoppers, three critically.

Civil war will "likely" erupt in Afghanistan and this could lead to al-Qaeda's resurgence, U.S. Gen. Mark Milley, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Fox News on Saturday.

Driving the news: He said it's too early to say whether the U.S. was safer now American troops have left Afghanistan, but it's "very likely" there'd be a renewal of terrorism in the region "within 12, 24, 36 months, and we're going to monitor that."