10 Things in Politics: These 13 experts fix DC’s biggest crises

Welcome back to 10 Things in Politics. Sign up here to receive this newsletter. Send tips to [email protected] or tweet me at @BrentGriffiths.

Here's what we're talking about:

• 13 of the best crisis experts in politics and business
• The Education Department could launch civil-rights investigations into states banning mask mandates
• Rachel Maddow is staying at MSNBC

With Phil Rosen.

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1. WHO TO CALL DURING A CRISIS: Imploding campaigns. Gun mishaps. Nude pics. These crisis communicators have been relied on to address it all. My colleagues gathered the names of the nation's best who have done everything from shepherding witnesses for Donald Trump's impeachment to advising Monica Lewinsky. They've worked with clients swept up in the crisis involving the BP oil spill and fought misinformation such as the "Pizzagate" conspiracy theory. One of the experts on our list even inspired the hit show "Scandal."

Here's a peek at their advice on what to do if you ever face a crisis:

Don't lie, and don't panic: "I've never looked at any of this as I've got to win the news cycle," said Mark Corallo, the founder of Corallo Media Strategies. Corallo cut his teeth working in GOP politics and is now advising Postmaster General Louis DeJoy through a federal inquiry into questionable campaign contributions.

• It helps to get the correct information out: Lanny Davis, who is best known for his work with the Clintons, advises "telling it all, telling it early, and telling it yourself." Davis, pictured at the top right in the above photo next to Judy Smith, Risa Heller, and Richard Levick, said the best way to go was to present reporters with provable facts, such as through emails and other documents.

Companies should prepare for the worst: CommCore's president and CEO, Andrew Gilman, runs "crisis simulations" to prepare for when disaster strikes. Gilman's experience dates back to the Johnson & Johnson Tylenol crisis in 1982. He also worked with Lockheed Martin after the deadly Challenger space-shuttle accident and with the FBI after 9/11.

• A good crisis manager needs to listen too: A former Emmy-winning news producer, Molly Levinson, the CEO of The Levinson Group, said it was important for experts in crisis communications to "listen more than you talk." Levinson's firm represented Fiona Hill when she testified before House lawmakers during Trump's first impeachment.

See our entire list of the top crisis managers politicians and CEOs call when things go sideways.

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2. Biden says safe zone around Kabul airport will expand: President Joe Biden said troops were "executing a plan" to move stranded American citizens to the airport in Afghanistan's capital in greater numbers, pledging to stretch the safe zone around the facility, The Washington Post reports. He didn't detail how he would put the plan into action. Biden once again suggested the US could remain in Afghanistan beyond the current August 31 withdrawal deadline. More on what's being done to get Americans out.

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3. Twenty-two people in Tennessee are dead after 17 inches of rain: At least 51 people were reported missing as of Sunday afternoon after torrential rains tore through Humphreys County, about 60 miles west of Nashville, destroying homes and washing away rural roads. The National Weather Service said the 17 inches of rain recorded in the city of McEwen most likely broke the 24-hour rainfall record for the state. The flash floods destroyed homes, washed away rural roads, and left thousands without power.

Startling photos, including the one above, capture east-coast flooding and wreckage from Tropical Storm Henri: Heavy rain and flooding are expected along the Atlantic coast through today.

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4. Pelosi faces a make-or-break day for Democrats' agenda: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will try to muscle through the first steps toward the party's $3.5 trillion spending plan later today, but its passage is far from guaranteed, The Washington Post reports. More-centrist Democrats are aghast that Pelosi and party leaders want to move on sweeping changes to healthcare, education, and tax laws before passing the bipartisan infrastructure plan into law. But progressive lawmakers who are less than thrilled with that deal are inclined to vote for it only if the $3.5 trillion plan moves forward. Pelosi has little room for error for a spending plan that is the centerpiece of Biden's domestic agenda.

• More on the plan: How Democrats' $3.5 trillion "human" infrastructure plan would affect your work, finances, and family life

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5. Education secretary threatens investigations over mask-mandate bans: States that bar schools from introducing mask mandates could face civil-rights investigations from the Education Department, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said Sunday. Cardona said schools that did implement mask mandates couldn't be denied federal funds. This pits the Biden administration against Republicans like Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida.

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6. Rachel Maddow is staying at MSNBC: Maddow, MSNBC's most popular primetime anchor, opted to stay put after months of talks with other networks. My colleague Claire Atkinson broke the news that she signed a new multiyear contract that will include the development of new projects with MSNBC and its parent company NBCUniversal. The superagent Ari Emanuel was brought in to negotiate the deal. The news is a major start to Cesar Conde's time atop the network as NBCUniversal News' chairman.

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7. Former congressman, who left GOP because of Trump, has a posthumous message: CNN posthumously aired an interview with Paul Mitchell, the Michigan congressman who left the GOP after rejecting Trump's claims of election fraud. Mitchell, who died August 15, said hatred "is destroying our society." More on his final message, including why Americans need to find people they can disagree with.

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8. Biden's honeymoon phase may be over: Two major network polls indicate the American people are beginning to sour on the president, Politico reports. A CBS News poll found the nation evenly split on how Biden was doing his job, with 50% approving and 50% disapproving. An NBC News poll found Biden's approval rating at 49%. Biden's approval slid 8 percentage points in CBS' poll in just one month. Biden's numbers are still above Trump's at this point in his presidency. Still, there are reasons Democrats should worry.

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9. Juul and other electronic-cigarette makers face a looming federal deadline: The FDA faces a September 9 deadline to decide which e-cigarettes should remain on the market, a ruling that will continue to reshape an industry that has been rocked by federal regulations, The Wall Street Journal reports. The FDA has said it won't have decisions on every e-cigarette by the deadline, but it has prioritized those with the largest market share. Juul and big tobacco companies are among those anxiously awaiting the news.

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10. The weekend's best read: Insider's Mattathias Schwartz wrote about growing up in Portland, Oregon, and the protests, politics, hipsters, and climate crisis that have changed his home. Here's why he's never moving back.

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Today's trivia question: With "Jeopardy!" in the news again, I wanted to ask a bit of trivia about the legendary Alex Trebek. He is well known for his philanthropic giving, but he almost entirely avoided political contributions. Who was the one member of Congress he ever sent money to? Hint: He later appeared at this then-former senator's confirmation hearing. Email your guess and a suggested question to me at [email protected].

• Friday's answer: America's first official circulation coin had the phrase "Mind Your Business." The coin has a couple of different names, but it is often called the Fugio cent after the Latin phrase for "I fly" that accompanies Mind Your Business on one side. It's likely that Ben Franklin, who helped design it, was encouraging frugality rather than sass.