Thune warns Democrats about Russ Vought: 'We don't control what he's going to do'  —  Senate Majority Leader John Thune isn't endorsing the slash-and-burn campaign White House budget director Russ Vought has planned for the federal government during the pending shutdown.

Senior government officials privately warn against firings during shutdown  —  The Trump administration has telegraphed that mass firings are coming, but officials have cautioned that such moves could violate appropriations law.  —  Senior federal officials have quietly counseled several agencies …

Massive immigration raid on Chicago apartment building leaves residents reeling: ‘I feel defeated’  —  Dan Jones was jolted awake around 1 a.m. Tuesday to the sound of federal agents trying to break through his apartment door.  They couldn't get past his double lock, so he went back to bed.

Education Department employees surprised to find their email automatically changed to blame Democrats for shutdown  —  Five furloughed employees told NBC News they had put up nonpartisan out-of-office messages, only to see they were changed — without their permission — to partisan ones.

EXCLUSIVE: NARA Ousts Eisenhower Library Director Over Proposed Trump Gift to King Charles  —  James Byron, Special Assistant to Acting Archivist Marco Rubio at the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, this week forced Dr. Todd Arrington, director of the federal Dwight D. Eisenhower …

Trump ‘Determined’ the U.S. Is Now in a War With Drug Cartels, Congress Is Told  —  A notice calls the people the U.S. military recently killed on suspicion of drug smuggling in the Caribbean Sea “unlawful combatants.”  —  President Trump has decided that the United States is engaged in a formal …

Two dead in Manchester synagogue attack, with suspect also believed to have been killed - police  —  Summary  — Two people have died after a car and stabbing attack at a synagogue in Manchester - here's a timeline of how the attack unfolded  — A third person - thought to be the suspect …

Trump Quietly Grants Defense Guarantee To Autocracy That Gave Him A Luxury Jet  —  Maybe Ukraine should have just given him a gold-plated 747.  —  WASHINGTON - Just months after soliciting and receiving a $400 million luxury airliner for himself from Qatar, President Donald Trump …

Jane Fonda relaunches McCarthy-era committee to defend free speech  —  The actor said the Committee for the First Amendment — first backed by her father in 1947 — would fight the Trump administration's attempts to silence critics.  —  Actor and activist Jane Fonda has relaunched the Committee …

The Energy Department canceled billions in funding.  Democrats say it's retribution  —  The Department of Energy is cancelling more than $7 billion in funding for hundreds of projects that the agency said don't address the country's energy needs and aren't economically viable.

Corey Lewandowski Drops Menacing ICE Threat Over Bad Bunny's Super Bowl Show  —  The Department of Homeland Security adviser also joined in with MAGA outrage over the Puerto Rican superstar's halftime gig.  —  Department of Homeland Security adviser Corey Lewandowski on Wednesday fumed …

An Autocracy of Dunces  —  How stone-faced generals, Wall Street pushback, and a government shutdown may save America's quickly declining democracy  —  If America still had a fully functioning democracy, Donald Trump's speech Tuesday to the assembled generals would have ended his presidency.

Mamdani Says He Would Phase Out N.Y.C. Gifted Program for Early Grades  —  Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic front-runner in the mayor's race, plans if elected to replace the selective program, which became a symbol of segregation in public schools.  —  Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic front-runner …

Axios Vibes: Grocery price pain rises, in warning sign for Trump and GOP  —  Americans say it's harder to afford their groceries now than it was a year ago, a warning sign for President Trump and Republicans, in the latest Axios Vibes survey by The Harris Poll.

White House Asks Colleges to Sign Sweeping Agreement to Get Funding Advantage  —  An initial round of nine schools is being asked to sign a wide-ranging accord  —  The Trump administration is laying out a set of operating principles that it wants universities to agree to in exchange for preferential access to federal funds.

Mike Johnson's Response to Being Told Trump is ‘Unhinged’ Takes Off Online  —  A clip has gone viral of Democratic Representative Madeleine Dean telling House Speaker Mike Johnson that President Donald Trump's address to military top brass showed the U.S. president was “unhinged.”

Your Cheat Sheet to the 2025 General Elections  —  Four contests have come to largely define the 2025 elections: the elections to lead New Jersey, Virginia, and New York City, plus California's redistricting measure.  But there's so much else on the ballot.

Pope Leo condemns climate change critics  —  Pope Leo XIV has hit out at those who minimise the “increasingly evident” impact of rising temperatures in his first major statement on climate change.  —  Reiterating the words of his predecessor Pope Francis, the new pontiff lambasted critics who …

Trust in Media at New Low of 28% in U.S.  —  Republicans' confidence in mass media to report news “fully, accurately and fairly” now at 8%  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans' confidence in the mass media has edged down to a new low, with just 28% expressing a “great deal” or “fair amount” …

Elon Musk's SpaceX Took Money Directly From Chinese Investors, Company Insider Testifies  —  The newly unsealed testimony marks the first time direct Chinese investment in the company has been disclosed, raising new questions about foreign ownership interests in one of America's most important military contractors.

At Stake in the Shutdown Fight: Obamacare Prices That Could Rise by Thousands of Dollars  —  Democrats say they will not vote to end the government shutdown unless Congress extends extra Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire next year.  Republican leaders have said the subsidies …

Trump's Flood of Emergency Appeals Is Straining the Judicial System  —  The administration has turned to the Supreme Court at a record pace; the justices have issued orders that lower courts have struggled to interpret  —  WASHINGTON—The Trump administration's extraordinary pace …

‘NATO for nonprofits’: Groups organize to band together if targeted by Trump  —  Nonprofit organizations took lessons away from law firms and universities that largely decided to act in isolation after finding themselves in the administration's crosshairs.  —  WASHINGTON — Nonprofit groups …

A Holistic Plan for an Authoritarian Military  —  Welcome back to Lucid, and hello to all new subscribers.  Our next Q&A will take place on Sunday, Oct. 5, 8-9pmET.  Paying subscribers will receive a link at 5pmET that day to register for the Zoom call.  —  Our guest for the second half of the hour will be Miles Taylor.