Trump Followed His Gut on Syria.  Calamity Came Fast.  —  All the warnings were there.  But President Trump's reliance on his instincts, and his relationships, led him to ignore the consequences of a move that has emboldened Russia, Iran and the Islamic State.

Mike Bloomberg keeps talking to allies about running for president as Joe Biden struggles against Elizabeth Warren  — Mike Bloomberg has indicated to associates in recent weeks that Joe Biden's recent struggles are making him rethink his decision to stay out of the 2020 Democratic primary …

About That Trump Video  —  Over the weekend at a conference for supporters of President Trump, a video was shown of Trump shooting, stabbing, and murdering various of his political opponents (such as Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and others), journalists (such as Rachel Maddow) …

Inside Mark Zuckerberg's private meetings with conservative pundits  —  Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been hosting informal talks and small, off-the-record dinners with conservative journalists, commentators and at least one Republican lawmaker in recent months to talk about issues like free speech and discuss partnerships.

GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz ejected from closed-door impeachment meeting  —  A Republican member of the House Judiciary Committee was ejected from a closed-door impeachment hearing.  —  Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida tried to enter a hearing Monday in which lawmakers from three different committees …

ABC News Broadcasts Fake Syria Bombing Video That's Actually From a Kentucky Military Show in 2017  —  ABC News aired a video on Sunday that host Tom Llamas said depicted a Turkish attack in northern Syria against Kurdish civilians.  Turkey is indeed pushing into Syria and slaughtering Kurds along the way …

The (Full) Case for Impeachment A menu of high crimes and misdemeanors.  —  The crimes for which impeachment is the prescribed punishment are notoriously undefined.  And that's for a reason: Presidential powers are vast, and it's impossible to design laws to cover every possible abuse of the office's authority.

Trump defends abandoning Kurds: “I hope they all do great”  —  President Trump defended his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria in a series of tweets Monday, saying he would much rather focus on the U.S. southern border and “let Syria and Assad protect the Kurds and fight Turkey for their own land.”

Now That Shep Smith Is Gone, Trump Zeroes In On Fox News' Chris Wallace  —  Wallace will “never be his father,” Trump complained, referring to the late TV journalist Mike Wallace.  —  Now that President Donald Trump doesn't have Shepard Smith to kick around at Fox News any longer, he's attacking “Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace.

China Wants More Talks Before Signing Trump's ‘Phase One’ Deal  —  China wants further talks as soon as the end of October to hammer out the details of the “phase one” trade deal touted by Donald Trump before Xi Jinping agrees to sign it, according to people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg News reports.

Former Trump Aide to Testify on Pressure to Oust Ambassador to Ukraine  —  WASHINGTON — Fiona Hill, President Trump's former top Russia and Europe adviser, headed to Capitol Hill on Monday morning where she is prepared to testify that she and other officials objected strenuously to the removal …

New Poll Finds Trump Underwater in Ohio, Trailing Generic Democrat  —  Columbus, OH - A new poll from Public Policy Polling and Innovation Ohio shows that Ohio is set to return to its traditional status as a battleground state in 2020.  —  A memo on the results and the cross tabs can be found on Innovation Ohio's website.

CNN Failed to Disclose Warren Town Hall Questioner Was Maxed-Out Donor  —  Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren's zinger at an LGBT town hall may have gone viral, but CNN failed to disclose that the questioner donated the federal maximum to her 2018 Massachusetts Senate campaign.

The Demolition of U.S. Diplomacy  —  Not Since Joe McCarthy Has the State Department Suffered Such a Devastating Blow  —  In my three and a half decades as a U.S. Foreign Service officer, proudly serving five presidents and ten secretaries of state from both parties, I've never seen an attack …

Ronan Farrow: National Enquirer shredded secret Trump documents  —  American Media, Inc. and the National Enquirer shredded sensitive Donald Trump-related documents that had been held in a top-secret safe right before Trump was elected in 2016, according to fresh allegations made in a new book by journalist Ronan Farrow.

How Don Jr., Ivanka, and Eric Trump Have Profited Off Their Dad's Presidency  —  No one knows a “clear conflict of interest” when they see it better than the president's children.  —  As House Democrats continue their impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump's efforts to leverage foreign aid …

Hunter Biden Still Holds Stake In Chinese Private Equity Firm.  His Business Partner Holds A Supervisor Role, Records Show  —  Hunter Biden announced Sunday that he will resign from the board of a Chinese private equity firm called BHR Partners, but he's still one of the two directors …

Jubilant ISIS Prisoners Hail American Liberators  —  AIN ISSA, SYRIA—As they streamed out of detention camps in northern Syria following U.S. withdrawal of military support in the region, jubilant ISIS prisoners on Monday hailed their American liberators.  “We never thought we'd see the day when someone …

Elizabeth Holmes Is a Visionary, and We Need More Like Her  —  “It is a fact that man can't fly.”  The Washington Post concluded the latter in an editorial published around the beginning of the 20th century.  Few disagreed with the Post.  Indeed, in his excellent biography of Orville and Wilbur Wright …

Power Up: ‘Just the tip of the iceberg.’ FEC chair warns charges against Giuliani associates highlight big dark money problems  —  Welcome to week four of the impeachment inquiry.  Stay up to date with us — reach out & sign up.  —  In the Agencies  —  ‘TIP OF THE ICEBERG’ …

CBO says House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's drug pricing plan saves Medicare $345 billion over decade  — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's bill to lower prescription drug prices would save Medicare $345 billion over 10 years, according to a preliminary analysis from the CBO.