Totally Brazen.  Comically Corrupt.  Painfully Dumb.  —  Twenty-six days into the government shutdown, we got an actual, meaningful development this morning.  The American Federation of Government Employees—a union that has regularly fought Donald Trump's assault on the federal workforce this year …

Trump Says a Recent M.R.I. Scan Was ‘Perfect,’ and He'd ‘Love’ a Third Term  —  President Trump made the comments on the second day of his trip to Asia.  The Constitution limits presidents to two terms, but Mr. Trump has suggested he might try to circumvent it.

Lawsuit Plunges New York Into the National Gerrymandering Fight  —  A suit filed by an election law firm contends that the state's 11th Congressional District, represented by a Republican, is drawn in a way that disenfranchises Black and Latino voters.  —  A lawsuit filed on Monday on behalf …

Trump Nixing of Dem State Disaster Aid Backfires, Screwing MAGA Voters … In recent days, President Trump has approved federal disaster aid for the red states of Nebraska, North Dakota, Missouri and Alaska while denying it to the blue states of Maryland, Vermont, and Illinois.

ICE's Hiring Surge Is Already a Disaster  —  It's cutting standards and racing to hire exactly the wrong people, precisely as predicted. … ICE, turbocharged by $75 billion in new dollars, is in a huge rush to hire, train, and deploy 10,000 new deportation officers.

How Jack Smith's strongest case against Donald Trump collapsed  —  Seeking to get the classified documents case to a jury before the 2024 election, the special counsel made a fateful decision that some in his office saw as a misstep.  —  This story is adapted from the forthcoming book by Leonnig and Davis …

Why Biden's White House Press Secretary Is Leaving the Democratic Party  —  Karine Jean-Pierre feels that Democrats were so mean to Biden that she is becoming an Independent.  —  In a new book, “Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines,” …

Trump Asks Supreme Court to Let Him Fire the Top Copyright Official  —  An appeals court sided with the director of the U.S. Copyright Office, saying her role is to work with Congress.  —  The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to allow the president to remove …

2 Illinois National Guard members speak out: “I won't turn against my neighbors”  —  Chicago — Two Illinois National Guard members told CBS News they would refuse to obey federal orders to deploy in Chicago as part of President Trump's controversial immigration enforcement mission …

Accusing Jordan Silverman  —  Jordan Silverman still isn't sure he wants me to write this story.  —  He isn't sure if he wants me to publish his real name (I have), his photo (I have not), or the real names of his partner and kids (I have not).  —  Silverman says he wants to clear his name.

Trump administration is racing to deport Abrego Garcia ahead of criminal proceedings … The Salvadoran native was illegally deported to his native country in March, despite a court order finding he was likely to be targeted by gang violence there.  —  After Abrego Garcia sued …

Food banks brace for 42 million without SNAP  —  Food banks are already seeing a surge as tens of millions of families prepare for their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits to freeze. … - When SNAP benefits run out this week, food banks say they will face a demand they can't possibly meet alone.

186. When Can States Prosecute Federal Officers?  —  Stephen Miller claims that ICE officers have “immunity” for anything they do while enforcing immigration law.  Even as an argument about *state* criminal prosecutions, that claim is overstated at best.  —  Welcome back to “One First,” …

Scoop: Graham Platner's campaign manager is out … - Platner's former political director, Genevieve McDonald, also previously departed the campaign.  — Politico reported that before Brown's start date, another aide, Daniel Moraff, worked as the de facto campaign manager, according to McDonald.

3 Scandals in 4 Days That Would Define Any Other Presidency  —  During the second Trump administration, corruption scandals that would typically define a presidency receive a day or two of coverage.  —  Part of the issue is that for Trump, enriching himself and his family is one of the core purposes of his presidency.

Trump dangles prospect of Mar-a-Lago visit for Xi  —  U.S. president hints at reciprocal summits with Chinese leader next year as trade talks are revived.  —  U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday he expects to visit China next year and that President Xi Jinping would likely travel to …

Sports Poll: Americans To NFL: Move The Super Bowl To A Holiday Weekend, Quinnipiac University National Sports Poll Finds; NFL Fans Favor Expanding Regular Season To 18 Games  — mail_outline  —  NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has talked about the possibility of extending the regular NFL season …

How Riley Gaines and the trans panic steal from horror films  —  Fake victims like Gaines evoke the little girls of “The Exorcist” and “The Conjuring”  —  On paper, former swimmer Riley Gaines is a puzzling choice for MAGA's appointed “victim” of trans people.

A Michigan elected official is married to a neo-Nazi.  Some constituents have a problem with that.  —  Meghyn Booth says she didn't know she was married to a neo-Nazi influencer, not exactly.  —  Did she realize her husband, Chris, had become more extreme in his views in the last few months?

California will dispatch observers to watch DOJ's election monitors … Bonta's comments come after Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Friday that the U.S. Department of Justice would monitor polling places during next week's off-year elections in California and New Jersey to uphold “the highest standards of election integrity.”

Trump administration quietly purges ICE leaders in five cities: Sources  —  EXCLUSIVE — The Trump administration has begun to purge Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in offices in five major U.S. cities and fill some of those top posts with senior Border Patrol agents …

UFC Fighter Who Vowed To Take A Bullet For Trump Has Revelation  —  Bryce Mitchell, who once called Hitler a “good guy,” made a wild claim of biblical proportions about the president.  —  Donald Trump has one less person willing to take a bullet for him.  —  That's because UFC fighter Bryce Mitchell …