Vought sounds layoff siren: ‘The RIFs have begun’ … It's unclear how many people were laid off and Vought provided no further details.  —  But an administration official granted anonymity to discuss the layoffs said they hit agencies including: Interior, Homeland Security, Treasury, EPA, Commerce, Education, Energy, HHS and HUD.

Democrats fume as Mike Johnson cancels third week of votes … - Johnson said earlier this week that there would be no standalone vote on paying the troops, saying the House has already done its work by passing a stopgap spending bill last month that includes troop pay.

Lindsey Halligan didn't coordinate NY AG Letitia James indictment with Pam Bondi's DOJ  —  Attorney General Pam Bondi was caught off guard Thursday when President Donald Trump's handpicked US attorney, Lindsey Halligan, secured New York Attorney General Letitia James' indictment from a grand jury …

Transcript: Trump ICE Raids Worsen as Pritzker Drops Bombshell Warning  —  The following is a lightly edited transcript of the October 10 episode of the Daily Blast podcast.  Listen to it here.  —  (After we recorded, a judge temporary blocked National Guard deployments in Illinois).

M.I.T. Rejects a White House Offer for Special Funding Treatment  —  The Trump administration offered nine universities benefits in exchange for signing an agreement to protect conservative voices, among other things.  M.I.T. was the first to refuse.  —  M.I.T. became the first university …

Trump announces extra 100% tariff on Chinese goods starting next month  —  President Trump said Friday he will impose an additional 100% tariff on imports from China starting next month, citing new Chinese export controls — marking a significant escalation in the U.S.-China trade war.

ICE Pins Chicago TV News Producer to the Ground, Hauls Her Off in Unmarked Van  —  A longtime TV news produced at Chicago-based station WGN on Friday was forcefully pinned to the ground and then hauled off in an unmarked van by masked federal agents.  —  As reported by the Chicago Tribune …

Criminal charges against Bolton expected as early as next week  —  Federal prosecutors could charge Trump's former national security adviser as early as next week, sources told MSNBC exclusively.  —  The acting U.S. Attorney in Maryland is moving forward quickly to seek criminal charges …

Neighbor shielded 7-year-old during South Shore federal raid: 'I didn't want them to take her'  —  During the Sept. 30 raid, one tenant protected a terrified girl and her mom.  Remnants at the complex, including a detailed map of all the units, offer clues to what authorities may have known before that night.

Inside tech billionaire Peter Thiel's off-the-record lectures about the antichrist  —  The political svengali and investor has been giving lectures on ‘an evil king or tyrant ... who appears in the end times’  —  Johana Bhuiyan, Dara Kerr in San Francisco and Nick Robins-Early

Marc Benioff Says Trump Should Send Guard Troops to San Francisco  —  Mr. Benioff, the Salesforce C.E.O. and owner of Time magazine, once supported Hillary Clinton and a business tax for homeless services.  Now he's fully behind Donald Trump.  —  For years, San Franciscans considered him their benevolent, big-hearted billionaire.

Stephen Miller Accidentally Says “I” When Discussing Trump's Powers  —  Stephen Miller may have just accidentally confirmed that he, not President Donald Trump, is the one calling the shots in regard to deportation raids and National Guard deployments.  —  “Illinois governor …

Hegseth announces Qatar will build air force facility at U.S. base in Idaho  —  Washington — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday announced a finalized agreement that will allow the Qatari Emiri Air Force to build a facility at the Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills to run for Senate, seeking to dislodge Susan Collins  —  Mills, a two-term governor, will join an already crowded field of Democratic candidates hoping to challenge the Republican who has held the seat for nearly three decades.  —  Maine Gov. Janet Mills …

Another Unhinged Leftist Arrested: He Threatened to Murder Benny Johnson  —  The threat happened just a few days after the murder of Charlie Kirk last month but it's coming to light now because the person responsible was just arrested. … Here's Pam Bondi announcing the arrest.

DHS top lawyer says ‘no legal barrier’ to actions officers can take to defend federal property  —  In a memo obtained exclusively by The Handbasket, Federal Protective Service (FPS) officers were given free rein. … Staffers at a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) law enforcement agency received …

Nobel-winning economists Duflo and Banerjee will leave US for Switzerland  —  The University of Zurich said that Nobel laureates Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee, known for their work in development economics, will move from the US to Switzerland, amid Donald Trump's attacks on universities.

Some killed in explosion at Hickman County plant felt miles away — everything we know  —  Kirsten Fiscus Vivian Jones Craig Shoup Angele Latham Liz Schubauer Austin Hornbostel Hadley HitsonNashville Tennessean  —  Hickman County emergency services are warning people to stay away …

Trump eyes a triumphal arch to mark America's 250th anniversary  —  The new structure would be President Donald Trump's biggest architectural mark on the nation's capital.  —  Across from the Lincoln Memorial, barely inside the boundaries of Washington, sits a traffic roundabout known as Memorial Circle …

Melania Has Been Secretly Working With Putin for Months  —  KREMLIN WHISPERER  —  The first lady has been engaged in talks with the Russia leader over the war in Ukraine.  —  First Lady Melania Trump made a rare formal announcement from the White House on Friday where she revealed …

Trump ‘in Exceptional Health’ Says White House Doctor  —  The president received a Covid-19 booster shot during medical exam at Walter Reed Medical Center  —  President Trump underwent his latest physical exam on Friday during a trip to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center …

Americans Are Falling Behind on Their Car Payments  —  Delinquency rates on subprime auto loans are at records  —  One of the cylinders in the U.S. economic engine is causing some sputtering.  —  Since the pandemic, buyers on auto-dealer lots have encountered surging sticker prices …

Green group files Hatch Act complaints against HHS, Forest Service over ‘partisan’ shutdown messaging  —  An environmental advocacy group has filed complaints under the Hatch Act against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Forest Service over what it described as …

Indian immigrant fights deportation after police mistake perfume labeled ‘Opium’ for the narcotic  —  Kapil Raghu, 28, was arrested in May after an officer in central Arkansas spotted the rollerball perfume bottle in his car during a routine traffic stop.  —  An Indian immigrant who was working …

Trump administration has failed to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Africa … Abrego is originally from El Salvador.  He entered the U.S. illegally and lived in Maryland for more than a decade before he was arrested in March and deported to a notorious Salvadoran prison.

Venezuelan opposition leader dedicates Nobel Prize to Trump for ‘decisive support’ … Machado's win is underscored by a sweeping conflict in Venezuela, where the country has been entangled in a political and humanitarian crisis for years, only worsening under the presidency of Nicolás Maduro.