Trump Seeks to Oust U.S. Attorney Investigating Letitia James and James Comey  —  Trump Seeks to Oust U.S. Attorney Investigating Two of His Foes  —  Erik Siebert had hit roadblocks investigating New York's attorney general, Letitia James, and the former F.B.I. director James Comey.  —  6 MIN READ

House passes a bill to avoid a partial government shutdown, but prospects in the Senate look dim  —  The House on Friday passed a short-term spending bill to extend government funding for seven weeks and avoid a partial government shutdown on Oct. 1, but prospects looked dimmer in the Senate …

Cruz calls out FCC for taking down Jimmy Kimmel  —  Sen. Ted Cruz on his podcast Friday admonished Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr for demanding ABC suspend Jimmy Kimmel's late night show over comments regarding Charlie Kirk — calling Carr's actions “dangerous as hell” …

Judge Dismisses Trump's Lawsuit Against The New York Times  —  The judge said that the complaint failed to contain a “short and plain statement of the claim.”  Mr. Trump has 28 days to refile.  —  A federal judge in Florida on Friday threw out President Trump's defamation suit …

Russian warplanes breach NATO airspace in ‘dangerous provocation’ over Estonia  —  Three Russian fighter jets flew into Estonian airspace on Friday in what would appear to be the third attempt by the Kremlin this month to test NATO's eastern border.  —  The MiG-31 aircraft …

Pessimism about the direction of the country is growing among Republicans  —  Forty-nine percent of Republicans say things in the United States are heading the right direction down from 75% in June. … Since June, the share of adults who say the country is on the wrong track increased 13 percentage points from 62% to 75%.

Draft Bill Would Authorize Trump to Wage Drug Trafficking War  —  The potential legislation would grant President Trump sweeping power to use military force if he saw a link to “narco-terrorists.”  —  Draft legislation is circulating at the White House and on Capitol Hill …

Trump to Add New $100,000 Fee for H-1B Visas in Latest Crackdown  —  President Donald Trump is expected to sign a proclamation as soon as Friday that would move to extensively overhaul the H-1B visa program, requiring a $100,000 fee for applications in a bid to curb overuse, according to a White House official familiar with the matter.

RFK Jr.'s anti-vaccine panel realizes it has no idea what it's doing, skips vote … The second day of a two-day meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices—a panel currently made up of federal vaccine advisors hand-selected by anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. …

At Broadview ICE facility, federal agents hurl tear gas and pepper spray at protesters blocking vans  —  Federal agents hurled tear gas and pepper spray into a crowd of about 100 protesters who attempted to block vans from entering and exiting a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview Friday morning.

Bureau of Labor Statistics postpones key data report  —  The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday postponed the release of a key annual report central to future inflation data. … - There is heightened concern about the future of U.S. statistics, including the politicization and accuracy …

Children's Hospital Chaplain Jailed by Trump Admin Finally Released  —  Ayman Soliman, a beloved former children's hospital chaplain in the Cincinnati area, was released on Friday … Just before 1:15 p.m. on Friday, Adam Allen — one of the Cincinnati Children's Hospital chaplains who was fired …

Most Americans critical of Trump on crime, economy and other issues, poll finds  —  The Post-Ipsos survey paints a downbeat picture of Trump's presidency, as Americans disapprove of his performance by double-digit margins on a broad range of issues.  —  Just now

Who's paying for the White House ballroom and what's in it for them  —  Washington — Contribute money to the new White House ballroom President Trump is constructing and, in exchange, donors may be able to choose a Trumpian option: their names etched inside the White House forever.

Weighted vest women are the 2026 swing voters … Matthews' wanted answers to two simple questions: How many women were wearing weighted vests?  And what were their politics?  So she commissioned a poll of 1,000 women across the U.S., the results of which she shared exclusively with POLITICO.

Chicago Starbucks Worker Did Not Write ‘Loser’ On Order Honoring Charlie Kirk, Company Says  —  NORWOOD PARK — A viral social media video this week claimed that employees at a Norwood Park Starbucks wrote “Loser” on a drink ordered in honor of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

The S.E.C. Drops Efforts to Recoup Funds From Trump Clemency Recipients  —  Devon Archer, Trevor Milton and Carlos Watson were convicted in fraud schemes totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.  Now, they will not be required to pay back victims.  —  The Securities and Exchange Commission …

AOC builds toward a big choice for 2028  —  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and her team are positioning her to run for president or the U.S. Senate in 2028, according to people familiar with her operation. … A fellow New Yorker, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, 74, is up for re-election in 2028.

Pentagon demands journalists pledge to not obtain unauthorized material  —  A document spells out the latest in a series of escalating restrictions placed on the press corps covering the Pentagon during Trump's second term.  —  The Trump administration unveiled a new crackdown Friday …

Schumer, Wary of Blowback, Holds Out on Mamdani … In 2021, when India Walton, a political activist supported by the Democratic Socialists of America and the Working Families Party, won an upset victory in the Democratic primary for mayor in Buffalo, one national party leader backed her when most of the establishment would not.