Apple takes down ICE tracking apps after pressure from Bondi DOJ  —  Bondi confirmed the department reached out to Apple Thursday to demand it remove ICEBlock  —  FIRST ON FOX: Apple dropped ICEBlock, a widely used tracking tool, from its App Store Thursday after the Department …

White House Senses Political Risk on Healthcare Despite Shutdown Bravado  —  Trump aides are discussing proposals to extend Obamacare subsidies on which millions of Americans rely  —  Loading...  WASHINGTON—President Trump has projected unwavering confidence that he is winning the messaging war over the government shutdown.

MAGA's Top “Voter Fraud” Watchdog Votes in a Swing State.  He Doesn't Live There.  —  This article is a joint production of Slate and the Handbasket.  —  Jack Posobiec is very concerned about voter fraud.  An influential MAGA voice and prominent conspiracy theorist, he's perhaps best known …

Trump Administration Reverses $187 Million in N.Y. Counterterrorism Cuts  —  Gov. Kathy Hochul had described the cuts, which would have devastated New York's intelligence and counterterrorism operations, as “utterly shocking.”  —  The White House will restore $187 million in cuts …

Trump sets Sunday deadline for Hamas to agree to peace deal with Israel  —  Trump promised “all HELL ... will break out” against Hamas if the group does not abide by the deadline to accept his plan.  —  Just now  —  President Donald Trump announced Friday that he is giving Hamas until 6 p.m. Eastern …

Trump charts path to total control amid government shutdown  —  President Trump is seizing on the government shutdown as an “unprecedented opportunity” to consolidate control in the Oval Office, accelerating a trend toward unchecked power. … So far, the standoff is only emboldening the White House.

Trump's ‘Compact’ With Universities Is Just Extortion  —  On Wednesday, the Trump administration sent letters to nine major universities proposing a “compact.”  As The Times reports, the agreement would, among other things, require these universities to freeze tuition rates for five years …

The Jobs Report That Wasn't Leaves Economists Guessing  —  Policymakers will enter uncharted territory without employment data that the government is expected to withhold because of its shutdown.  —  Every month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics produces the most reliable gauge of U.S. employment.

The retiring Senate Democrat who could end the shutdown … Earlier this year, Shaheen was one of the 10 Democrats who helped advance a GOP-written stopgap to avoid a March shutdown — and one of two members of the caucus who ultimately voted for it.  This time around, she's holding …

Cori Bush launches comeback bid for Missouri seat  —  Former Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) is making a play for her old St. Louis seat in Congress, she announced Friday on X, a year after losing a primary in part due to her opposition to Israel.  “I ran for Congress to change things for regular people,” she said in a video announcement.

ICE Wants to Build Out a 24/7 Social Media Surveillance Team  —  Documents show ICE plans to hire dozens of contractors to scan X, Facebook, TikTok, and other platforms to target people for deportation.  —  United States immigration authorities are moving to dramatically expand …

After Declining to Give Trump a Sword for King Charles, a Museum Leader Is Out  —  The departure of Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, came after the administration sought a sword from its collection as a gift for King Charles.

Trump Canceled 94 Million Pounds of Food Aid.  Here's What Never Arrived.  —  ProPublica obtained records from the Department of Agriculture that detail the millions of pounds of food, down to the number of eggs, that never reached food banks because of the administration's cuts.

Transcript: Chris Murphy's Dark and Unnerving New Warning about Trump  —  The following is a lightly edited transcript of the October 3 episode of the Daily Blast podcast.  Listen to it here.  —  Greg Sargent: This is the Daily Blast from The New Republic, produced and presented by the DSR Network.

Trump admin freezes $2.1 billion for Chicago projects, blames Democrats for shutdown holdup … The Trump administration on Friday froze $2.1 billion in Department of Transportation funding for two projects to improve Chicago's transit system.  —  The DOT in a statement blamed Congress …

Kash Patel fires FBI agent trainee for displaying gay pride flag  —  The FBI employee was fired on the first day of the government shutdown as President Trump threatened more terminations.  —  FBI Director Kash Patel on Wednesday fired an agent in training for displaying a gay pride flag …

At Saudi Comedy Fest, American Free Speech Becomes the Punchline  —  American comics used Saudi Arabia's first global comedy festival to skewer a debate raging at home.  Critics said the event was part of Saudi efforts to draw attention away from a political crackdown.

A Note About the Comey Case  —  In the wake of the Comey indictment, The Washington Post is reporting tonight that “Lawyers inside the high-profile U.S. attorney's office [for the Eastern District of Virginia] prosecuting former FBI director James B. Comey are unnerved by what they see as an unprecedented push …

USC sold dead bodies to U.S. military to train IDF medical personnel  —  A review of seven years' worth of contracts unveiled more than $860,000 to use cadavers in surgical trainings involving the Israeli Defense Forces. … By USC Annenberg Media … Near the end of 2017 …

BREAKING: Kash Patel's FBI Cuts All Ties to Southern Poverty Law Center  —  FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—The FBI has confirmed that it severed all ties to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a far-left activist group that puts conservatives and Christians on a “hate map” along with Ku Klux Klan chapters.

Conservative influencer Nick Sortor released after arrest in fight outside Portland ICE building, police say  —  A conservative influencer who this week posted videos of clashes outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland, Oregon, has been released without bond …