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.

Apple removes ICE tracking apps after Trump administration says they threaten officers  —  Following a request from the US Department of Justice, Apple has removed ICEBlock and similar apps that allow people to alert others nearby about sightings of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in their area.

Most Trump supporters back ObamaCare subsidies' extension: Survey  —  A new survey has found that a majority of Republicans and Make America Great Again (MAGA) supporters back the extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits at the center of the government shutdown fight.

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 …

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 …

Treasury Department considers minting a $1 Trump coin … The Treasury Department is considering producing a one-dollar coin featuring President Donald Trump to commemorate the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence next year, a spokesperson confirmed on Friday.

RFK Jr. fires NIH vaccine whistleblower Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo  —  Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has fired a top official with the National Institutes of Health who blew the whistle on internal clashes over vaccine research in the early months of the Trump administration.

White House freezes $2.1 billion in Chicago transit projects  —  The U.S. government has put $2.1 billion in Chicago infrastructure projects on hold, Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought said on Friday, in another jab at a Democratic-led city during the government shutdown.

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 …

Welcome to the Era of “Kavanaugh Raids”  —  ICE crosses another big, important line. … Welcome to the era of what history will remember someday as the Kavanaugh Raids.  Earlier this week, DHS surrounded and raided an entire apartment building in Chicago and then posted a Gotham …

U.S. Military Attacked Boat Off Venezuela, Killing Four Men, Hegseth Says  —  It was the fourth strike in the Trump administration's legally disputed campaign targeting suspected drug runners in the Caribbean Sea.  —  The U.S. military killed four men aboard a boat in international waters near Venezuela …

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.

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.

FCC Commissioner Gomez: Time for firm “public interest” definition  —  Speaking at an event on Thursday, FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez called on the agency to issue a rule that defines a broadcaster's public interest obligation. … The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) …

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.

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.

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.

Bari Weiss to be named top editor at CBS News  —  Paramount Skydance will acquire the journalist's publication, the Free Press, which she started after quitting the New York Times in 2020.  —  The newly formed media giant Paramount Skydance will acquire the Free Press, an online publication …

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 …

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 …

Suspects Arrested for Fighting at ICE Protest Identified  —  The three people that were arrested for fighting at the ICE protest Thursday evening are being identified.  —  PPB was monitoring the protest during the evening and observed some protest participants engaging in fights.