It's Happened: The United States of America Is No Longer a Democracy  —  If you haven't had time yet to soak in the details of the stunning Tom Homan story that Carol Leonnig and Ken Dilanian of MSNBC broke over the weekend, hold on to your hats.  I'd say you won't believe what you're about to read, but of course, you will.

A lot of powerful people just don't realize how unpopular Trump is  —  Last week, ABC/Disney canceled Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show after the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, threatened to revoke the broadcast licenses of television stations that carry the program.

Tulsi Gabbard Breaks With Trump in MAGA Free Speech Rebellion  —  CARR SMASHED  —  Political observers viewed the comments as an implicit rebuke to the administration's punitive steps attacking dissent  —  Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has broken ranks with the Trump administration …

Jimmy Kimmel's Show to Return to ABC on Tuesday Night  —  The network removal of Mr. Kimmel's show last week almost immediately morphed into a flashpoint for free speech in America.  —  Jimmy Kimmel is coming back.  —  ABC said on Monday that “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” would return to its airwaves on Tuesday …

EXCLUSIVE |  Mamdani pulls planned ABC town hall event after network suspended Jimmy Kimmel's show  —  Democratic mayoral nominee and Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani.  —  Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani announced Monday that he is canceling a televised town hall with WABC News planned …

Supreme Court will weigh expanding Trump's power to shape agencies by overturning 90-year-old ruling  —  The Supreme Court said Monday it will consider expanding President Donald Trump's power to shape independent agencies by overturning a nearly century-old decision limiting when presidents can fire board members.

Top Goon  —  Kristi Noem is the face of Trump's police state.  Corey Lewandowski is the muscle.  Who really runs DHS?  —  On the morning of May 7, before making his way to Capitol Hill to testify in front of Congress, Cameron Hamilton, then the acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, packed up his office.

Join the ACLU and Over 400 Artists to Defend Free Speech  —  Jimmy Kimmel was taken off the air after our government threatened a private company with retaliation for Kimmel's remarks.  This is a dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation.  —  This is unconstitutional and un-American.

Tables turn for Democrats as they use shutdown for leverage … It's Republicans who are pushing a “clean” seven-week continuing resolution, which they say will buy time for more negotiations on full-year spending bills and possibly an extension of expiring health insurance subsidies.

How ICE Raids Are Making It Easier for Civilian Men to Assault Immigrant Women  —  Kylie Cheung argues in this op-ed that a rash of cases of men dressing as plainclothes ICE agents and assaulting immigrant women is possible because ICE agents operate with impunity.

I Thought I Knew Silicon Valley.  I Was Wrong  —  Tech got what it wanted by electing Trump.  A year later, it looks more like a suicide pact.  —  For decades, Mark Lemley's life as an intellectual property lawyer was orderly enough.  He's a professor at Stanford University and has consulted for Amazon, Google, and Meta.

US offers financial lifeline to Argentina's Javier Milei  —  Scott Bessent proposes support package during market volatility  —  US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said “all options” are on the table for the Trump administration to support Argentina through a bout of severe market volatility …

The Roberts Court Is Winning Its War on American Democracy … Twenty years ago, Chief Justice John Roberts took the oath of office and ushered in a new era for the Supreme Court.  His 2005 confirmation vote marked the transition from the Rehnquist court—where a narrow majority of conservatives …

Trump Cancels Trail, Bike-Lane Grants Deemed ‘Hostile’ to Cars  —  The Trump administration canceled grants for street safety measures, pedestrian trails and bike lanes in communities around the country this month, each time offering a simple rationale for yanking back federal aid: the projects aren't designed for cars.

Watch live: Trump autism announcement  —  President Trump on Monday afternoon is expected to make an autism announcement at the White House.  —  The remarks come after a Wall Street Journal report that suggested officials would release information linking Tylenol to the condition in children.

Transcript: Trump Boat Bombings Get Worse as Damning Info Emerges  —  The following is a lightly edited transcript of the September 22 episode of the Daily Blast podcast.  Listen to it here.  —  (Editor's note: After we recorded, Trump bombed a third vessel in similarly lawless fashion.)

Exclusive: US could hit entire International Criminal Court with sanctions soon  — U.S. considers entity-wide sanctions against ICC, sources say  — ICC member states to oppose U.S. sanctions at U.N. meeting  — ICC holds emergency meetings to prepare for U.S. sanctions

What is Schumer's shutdown endgame?  —  Democrats are in what chess players call zugzwang, where there aren't necessarily any winning moves.  But focusing on tariffs and inflation would be a better approach than Schumer's plan.  —  Quickish newsletter today, mainly to allow subscribers …

Why Trump's directive to AG Bondi should be seen as an impeachment-level scandal  —  The president isn't just being accused of trying to weaponize federal law enforcement, he's now publicly flaunting his corrupt and authoritarian efforts.  —  Imagine a scenario in which an investigative reporter uncovered …

Trump Must Lose the Second Bank War  —  Henry Clay understood what was wrong with the unitary executive theory back in the 1830s.  —  “Eventually, executive power will become completely uncontainable, and our beloved constitutional Republic will be no more,” Supreme Court Justice Ketanji …

Trump Appointees Roll Back Enforcement of Fair Housing Laws  —  Interviews and internal documents show that signature civil rights protections in housing are being dismissed as ideologically driven and D.E.I. in disguise.  —  In one email, a Trump appointee at the Department of Housing …

Suspect detained after allegedly pointing laser at Marine One with Trump on board … The filing states that a Secret Service officer who was stationed on the ground to monitor security initially approached Winkler, who was “shirtless, talking to himself and being loud,” …

Exclusive: Trump's letting Putin “embarrass” the U.S., Sen. Shaheen says … - “We need to send a strong message to Vladimir Putin that he is done. … - “President Trump has allowed him to embarrass not only the president but the United States,” she continued, noting that Trump …

Scoop: Pentagon restricts speaking engagements alongside media crackdown  —  Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in a memo this month cemented restrictions on when, where and how the military and Pentagon leaders can engage with the public, noting that past “external engagements have tended to canalize toward certain types of institutions.”

Trump Wants to Target Left-Wing Groups.  Here's How He Might Do It … There is a long history of political players improperly deploying the IRS for political purposes, says Patrick G. Eddington, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute.  “The IRS has been misused repeatedly …

Bill Kristol: Where Is the $50,000?  —  We thought Tom Homan was an extreme border hawk and ideologue.  Now we know this powerful law enforcement official, who's depriving immigrants of their freedom, may also be a corrupt law-breaker—after he was reportedly recorded taking a $50,000 cash bribe during an FBI sting operation.