Trump calls for jailing Democratic leaders as troops prepare for Chicago deployment  — Trump threatens to jail Johnson, Pritzker  — Former FBI chief due in court to face criminal charges  — National Guard troops gather outside Chicago despite local opposition

Central witness undermines case against James Comey, prosecutors concluded: Sources  —  Ex-FBI Director James Comey is set to be arraigned on federal charges Wednesday.  —  FBI Director James Comey speaks during a news conference, March 24, 2016 in Washington.

Speaker clashes with Dem senators over Epstein files amid shutdown  —  Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday had a heated, face-to-face exchange with two Democratic senators Wednesday over the government shutdown and the swearing-in of Arizona's Democratic Rep-elect Adelita Grijalva …

A quarter of FBI agents are assigned to immigration enforcement, per FBI data  —  The large number of reassignments reflect a vast reshaping of the agency and could put other priorities at risk  —  Nearly a quarter of FBI agents across the country are currently assigned to immigration enforcement …

Starving children screaming for food as US aid cuts unleash devastation and death across Myanmar  —  U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has repeatedly said “no one has died” because of his government's decision to gut its foreign aid program.  But in Myanmar, families tell The Associated Press …

Pope Leo will ‘stand with’ Catholic leaders in protecting immigrants' rights, advocates say … Corbett said the pope urged Catholic bishops in the U.S. to be “more united and more forceful” on the issue of protecting migrants' rights in the U.S.  —  “I was kind of surprised …

Trump administration officials seriously discussing invoking Insurrection Act, sources say  —  A decision is not expected to be imminent, one source said, but debate within the administration has shifted recently to more deeply exploring how and when the act might be invoked.

Trump Labor Department Says His Immigration Raids Are Causing a Food Crisis  —  In a filing in the Federal Register, the Labor Department argues there are “immediate dangers to the American food supply” due to a lack of migrant agricultural workers.  —  Dayen Labor Department food crisis

Republicans could draw 19 more House seats after an upcoming Supreme Court ruling … While a ruling in time for next year's midterms is unlikely, the organizations behind the report said that it's not out of the question.  Taken together, the groups identified 27 total seats that Republicans …

Post Traumatic Disorder … Last Thursday, at least a half-dozen staffers on The Washington Post's opinion desk were quietly sent an email from the section's new editor, Adam O'Neal.  The note, which surprised some of its recipients, informed them that their positions had been “impacted as part of our organizational change.”

Florida Man Arrested on Federal Criminal Complaint Alleging He Maliciously Started What Became the Palisades Fire  —  For Immediate Release  —  U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California  —  LOS ANGELES - A former Pacific Palisades resident now living in Florida has been arrested …

Inside Stephen Miller's Secret Plan to Normalize Trump's Dictator Rule  —  Stephen Miller has a theory about this political moment.  As President Trump expands his lawbreaking and dictatorial rule, the powerful MAGA disinformation apparatus—at Miller's direction—is supercharging public attention …

Scoop: Ubisoft cancelled a post-Civil War Assassin's Creed last year  —  Company leadership deemed the project too controversial for the moment, sources tell Game File  —  In July of last year, word began to trickle through Ubisoft that an ambitious new installment of the company's top franchise, Assassin's Creed, had been cancelled.

Pro-Hamas Mobs Shut Down Streets on the Anniversary of Israel's Darkest Day  —  Pro-Hamas protesters commemorated the anniversary of the October 7 attacks on Israel by doing what they do best: Getting arrested for behaving like petulant thugs in Boston, Massachusetts.

Apple Banned an App That Simply Archived Videos of ICE Abuses  —  Apple removed an app for preserving TikToks, Instagram reels, news reports, and videos documenting abuses by ICE, 404 Media has learned.  The app, called Eyes Up, differs from other banned apps such as ICEBlock which were designed …

Grand Jury Declines to Indict Two Chicago-Area ICE Protesters  —  A federal grand jury declined to indict two people charged with assaulting law enforcement agents outside a suburban Chicago ICE facility, an attorney for one of the defendants said.  —  Federal prosecutors on Wednesday morning filed …

Hegseth's sprawling hunt for Charlie Kirk critics spans nearly 300 investigations  —  The inquiry, resulting in a smattering of disciplinary action so far, follows an extraordinary Pentagon directive aimed at silencing criticism of the slain activist and Trump supporter.

Voters Favor Deporting Those in U.S. Illegally, but Say Trump Has Gone Too Far  —  A Times/Siena survey shows that a majority of voters believe the Trump administration is deporting mostly the right people, even as a majority also say the process has been unfair.

DHS Says Videotaping ICE Agents Is Illegal.  Federal Courts Disagree. … The Trump administration last month made explicit what it has been implying for months, namely that it considers videotaping ICE raids to be illegal and intends to go after those who do it.

The Pentagon's revised press rules are unacceptable, journalists' group says  —  The Pentagon Press Association said the government's policy still appears “designed to stifle a free press and potentially expose us to prosecution.”  —  Just now  —  The Pentagon's latest revisions …

What Civil Society Can Do to Beat Trumpism  —  President Trump is trying to seize power that he is not entitled to under the law or the Constitution.  —  But Mr. Trump will fail in remaking American politics if people and institutions coordinate against him, which is why his administration …

The Viral MAGA Accounts Run by a Man Who Has Never Been to America  —  The right loves the accounts, which often rail against supposed voter fraud.  They're run by a Macedonian who illegally donated to a U.S. House candidate  —  The right-wing information sphere on social media is shaped by large …

Bob Ross artwork to be sold to help public television after funding cuts  —  Thirty of the late painter's works will be auctioned starting next month.  The net proceeds will benefit stations threatened by reductions in federal funding.  —  Dozens of Bob Ross paintings will be auctioned …

Vance heads to Indiana after Republicans warn White House of stalled redistricting push … Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, a Republican, conveyed his concerns about the redistricting effort's chances in the state Senate to the White House last week, two people familiar with those discussions told POLITICO.

Bari Weiss is a weird and worrisome choice as top editor for CBS News  —  When Weiss was named editor-in-chief, it was the latest turn in the network's confounding departure from its roots  —  If you're old enough to have admired CBS in its heyday, watching its decline has been painful.

Legacy Journalists from NYT, CNN Are Mentors in a Fellowship Founded for Pro-Israel “Information War”  —  We have a commitment to ensuring that our journalism is not locked behind a paywall.  But the only way we can sustain this is through the voluntary support of our community of readers.

DNC briefs top Democrats on audit of 2024 White House loss … The DNC officials said the party's failure to respond to voters' top issues led to losses across once-core constituencies, including working class voters.  One of the people briefed said they understood that assessment to mean Democrats …

Important Documents:  —  For continuing information on the furlough, IRS employees are encouraged to monitor this page, news outlets, IRS social media (Facebook, X and LinkedIn), OPM.gov and the 24/7 Emergency Hotline — 866-743-5748.  For TTY access (Federal Relay Service), call 800-877-8339.