And now, a message from Google. The spirit of innovation is deeply ingrained in America,

and Google is helping Americans innovate in ways both big and small. Central Texas Regional Mobility

Authority is using Google AI to create smarter tolling systems and improve traffic flow for Texans.

This is a new era of American Innovation. Find out more at g.co slash American Innovation. Good morning. I'm Anna Palmer and welcome

to the Daily Punch, brought to you by Punchable News. It's Friday, August 20th, 2021.

Let's get into the mix.

Here are your Washington headlines of the day.

Number one, we've got a special treat.

The Power Matrix is out.

Number two, how the White House is thinking about Afghanistan.

And number three, three senators have now tested positive for COVID.

All right.

Let's get to it here on this Friday morning.

The Power Matrix usually is only for our premium members,

but because we are only doing one newsletter a day this week,

we have a special edition of the Punch Power Matrix out this morning.

It's the top three things that are up this week and the top three people are things that are down this week.

Number one, in the up category, the Capitol's police force dealt tactfully with a terrifying situation yesterday, a bomb threat. The officers who put

their lives on the line every day to protect democracy deserve our thanks. Number two in the

up category, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. The Senate Minority Leader consistently opposed

both Donald Trump and Joe Biden's Afghanistan withdrawal

plans. McConnell warned that a hasty exit could cause chaos. He was right. And the number three

...