White House begins demolishing East Wing facade to build Trump's ballroom  —  The president had claimed construction of the $250 million ballroom wouldn't ‘interfere’ with the existing White House structure.  —  Just now  —  Demolition crews have begun tearing down part of the White House …

Trump nominee says MLK Jr. holiday belongs in ‘hell’ and that he has ‘Nazi streak,’ according to texts … Paul Ingrassia, President Donald Trump's embattled nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel, told a group of fellow Republicans in a text chain the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday should be …

“Anna, Lindsey Halligan Here.”  —  My Signal exchange with the interim U.S. attorney about the Letitia James grand jury.  —  annabower.bsky.social  —  Meet The Authors … It was 1:20 p.m. on the afternoon of Saturday, Oct. 11.  I was lounging in my pajamas, idly scrolling through Netflix …

Putin's mesmeric sway on Trump  —  Russia bets it can gain in US negotiations what it cannot win on the battlefield  —  If there were a Nobel Prize for patience, Volodymyr Zelenskyy would run away with it.  The Ukrainian leader's February encounter with the just-inaugurated Donald Trump went …

Some Republican Senators Entertain Nuking the Filibuster to End the Shutdown  —  “Obviously I'll look at any plan that anyone puts out in order to reopen the government,” Sen. Susan Collins told NOTUS, even as Republican leadership is firmly opposed to changing the filibuster rules.  — Copy

Ecuador says it has no evidence that survivor of US strike in Caribbean committed any crime … AP requested comment from the Attorney General's Office, but did not immediately receive a response.  —  The man was repatriated by the United States over the weekend following a U.S. military attack …

ICE's ‘Athletically Allergic’ Recruits  —  President Donald Trump's plan to double the size of the ICE workforce has met a foe more powerful than any activist group.  It is decimating new recruits at the agency's training academy in Georgia.  It is the ICE personal-fitness test.

White House Scrambles to Preserve Gaza Deal Amid Concerns About Netanyahu  —  The Trump administration strategy is to try to keep Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel from resuming an all-out assault against Hamas, U.S. officials said.  —  The White House scrambled to hold together …

Pardoned Capitol rioter charged with threatening to kill Hakeem Jeffries at NYC event this week  —  A pardoned Capitol rioter was arrested last weekend for allegedly threatening to kill House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.  —  Court documents obtained by CBS News said Christopher Moynihan …

US appeals court lets Trump send troops to Portland  —  A divided U.S. appeals court ruled on Monday that Donald Trump can send National Guard troops into Portland, Oregon, despite objections by the leaders of the city and state, giving the Republican president an important legal victory …

All but 2 Universities Decline a Trump Offer of Preferential Funding  —  One of the two, Vanderbilt University, signaled it had reservations.  —  Seven of the nine universities that the White House initially approached about a plan to steer more federal money toward schools aligned …

Exclusive: Wide-ranging group of US officials pursues Trump's fight against ‘Deep State’  — Source says focus on retribution for J6 and Trump prosecutions, Russia probe  — Documents show nearly 40 people involved from across government  — ODNI says group was formed to implement Trump's order on weaponization

Massive Amazon cloud outage has been resolved after disrupting internet use worldwide  —  Add AP News to Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.  Share  —  Amazon says a massive outage of its cloud computing service has been resolved as of Monday evening …

Married Congressman had alleged affair with aide... before she set herself on fire: Bombshell revelation as police block release of 911 call and other evidence  —  Texas Congressman Tony Gonzales allegedly had an affair with a senior aide who later died after dousing herself with gasoline …

Comey Moves To Dismiss  —  You have choices about where you get your news and analysis.  I'm grateful you've chosen to read Civil Discourse.  If you value clear, independent insight into the law and our democracy, I hope you'll consider a paid subscription.  Your support makes the newsletter possible.

U.S. Banks Are Hunting for Collateral to Back $20 Billion Argentina Bailout  —  Banks are looking for assets or guarantees from the U.S. that would back a private-sector loan to support Argentine President Javier Milei  —  A group of banks including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America …

US army taps private equity groups to help fund $150bn revamp  —  Apollo, KKR, Carlyle and Cerberus among investors that held talks with federal government  —  The US army has asked private equity groups including Apollo, Carlyle, KKR and Cerberus to pitch “meaty” strategic projects to help …

Russia sanctions bill on hold for now, Thune says  —  Senate Majority Leader John Thune indicated Monday that legislation slapping new sanctions on Russia and its trading partners is on hold until after an upcoming meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The New York Times Argues “Moving to the Center Is the Way to Win.”  But the Data Shows the Strategy Is Tapped Out.  —  Democrats already run moderates in nearly every swing district.  It's not enough.  A data-driven response to the case for centrism as a core electoral strategy.

Scoop: Schumer cancels Southeast Asia trip amid shutdown … - People familiar with the matter told Axios the CODEL was cancelled due to the logistics of a trip potentially in the middle of a shutdown, when many workers involved in planning are furloughed.

Scoop: Ted Cruz's phone records targeted by Jack Smith  —  Sen. Ted Cruz's phone records were subpoenaed as part of then-special counsel Jack Smith's investigations into then-former President Trump, Axios has learned. … - Cruz's phone records were ultimately not analyzed as part …

Maine Democrat running to unseat Susan Collins to stay in race after discovery of Reddit postings  —  Add AP News to Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.  Share  —  Old online comments made by a U.S. Senate candidate in Maine in which the candidate appeared …

Perry Says Democrats ‘Hate the Military,’ Echoing Trump's Attacks  —  The remarks by Representative Scott Perry, a Pennsylvania Republican, align with efforts by the president and G.O.P. leaders to portray the political left as un-American.  —  Representative Scott Perry of Pennsylvania …