Trump Directed Use of Taxpayer Money for Ads Praising His Presidency  —  The government-funded ads show just how much President Trump has been able to use federal money for his own aims.  —  President Trump personally instructed his budget director to use taxpayer money for TV ads praising …

Chris Rufo — Known For ‘DEI’ and ‘CRT’ Panics — Tries to Make ‘the Indian Question’ a Thing  —  Rufo often gets treated as a “respectable” conservative.  His latest podcast episode — framing Indian-Americans as a problem in need of solving — is more evidence that he shouldn't be.

Top GOP group pauses Senate spending in N.C., goes up in Kansas  —  Senate Republicans' top super PAC is making a tactical change, pausing its ad campaign in North Carolina's Senate race and launching a new one in Kansas.  —  Senate Leadership Fund is plowing seven figures into Kansas …

Agency Diverted $1.4 Billion in Science Funds Mandated by Congress  —  The move, affecting about one-fifth of the National Science Foundation's primary research budget, is the latest sign of how the White House is asserting more control over grants.  —  The National Science Foundation …

White House Officials Told the DOJ to Delay Action on Abortion Ahead of the Midterms  —  The White House has instructed the Justice Department to move slowly on any abortion-related actions ahead of the midterm elections, The Washington Sun has learned.  —  In a series of discussions …

Justice Alito confirms he is considering retirement  —  Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has confirmed that he is considering retirement, leaving open the possibility that he could leave after next year's term and hand another nomination to President Donald Trump.

Trump says ‘Cornell Seven’ won't get a fair shake under Letitia James  —  President Donald Trump denounced New York Attorney General Letitia James's ability to serve as special prosecutor for the reopened case surrounding gang rape allegations at Cornell University on Friday.

FlyDubai Attacker Had Been Banned From Flying by Oman for Radical Views  —  The U.A.E. airline later hired the co-pilot who stabbed the captain of Flight 1073 and nearly crashed the plane  —  The FlyDubai co-pilot who stabbed his captain and sent Flight 1073 diving toward the ground …

Georgia board asks Trump administration to investigate voting machines … The State Election Board's Executive Director James Mills has asked the Trump administration to examine Georgia's voting machines that are deployed statewide and prohibit QR-code vote counting, according to letters obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

With Christa Pike Unconscious, Another Execution Attempt Is in Doubt  —  Her condition raises questions about whether Tennessee could attempt to execute her again if she is incapable of understanding what is happening.  —  Christa Pike was unconscious, intubated and on a ventilator …

DOJ Not Reopening Criminal Probe Into Powell, Blanche Says  —  The US Justice Department isn't reopening a criminal investigation into former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for cost overruns related to the central bank's building renovation project.  —  Attorney General Todd Blanche …

US adds disappointing 29,000 jobs and unemployment ticks up to 4.2% in September  —  U.S. employers added a disappointing 29,000 jobs and the unemployment rate ticked up last month, the government reported Friday, a month before voters go to the polls in pivotal midterm elections …

MAGA podcaster Benny Johnson sued for defamation over ICE ride-along videos calling protesters ‘terrorists’  —  Johnson accompanied top DHS officials last year to an ICE protest, where he pointed out “left-wing terrorists” for his millions of followers across social media.

Mayor Mamdani holds hands with onetime rival Curtis Sliwa to get flu shot in Fort Greene  —  Mayor Mamdani held hands with Curtis Sliwa as they received flu shots.  —  FORT GREENE, Brooklyn (WABC) — Mayor Zohran Mamdani held hands with his one-time political rival, Curtis Sliwa …

Musk-led war commission triggers alarms in Pentagon  —  Pentagon officials warn that Pete Hegseth's plan for a pair of billionaire defense contractors to help steer the military's future will produce conflicts of interest that threaten the long-term integrity of the department.

ICE Has Been Dumping Protester Photos Into a Palantir Database  —  DHS agents not only tracked and intimidated people observing ICE activity in Maine, but stored information about them in a Palantir-built database, newly unsealed court filings say.  —  An explosive and newly partially …

Judge Throws Out Another Confession in Sept. 11 Case  —  Prosecutors have long considered the defendants' admissions during interrogations in 2007 to be their best evidence.  —  In a new setback to prosecutors in the Sept. 11 case, a military judge on Friday excluded the confessions …

Judge Slows Border Wall Construction in Big Bend Sector  —  The order prevents the Trump administration from waiving environmental protections that would allow it to quickly build across a national and state park.  — Copy  —  A judge on Friday slowed the Trump administration's plans …

Kash Patel commissions classified, internal FBI report to examine department ‘failures’  —  FBI Director Kash Patel has commissioned a classified report examining purported past FBI shortcomings, in what current and former bureau officials see as the Trump administration's latest effort to rewrite history in the president's favor.

Who was behind a $250K mystery donation to super PAC backing Ken Paxton?  —  Last year, a super PAC supporting Texas Senate hopeful Ken Paxton received a $250,000 donation from a man calling himself “Paul McLaren,” a supposed “entrepreneur” living in Plano, Texas.

Trump threatens to double tariffs on South Korea if they do not pay for Alaska natural gas pipeline - US politics live  —  President has claimed pipeline project was part of a deal made last year to lower tariffs on imports from South Korea in return for billions of dollars of investments in the US

Judge says federal law banning noncitizen voting is unconstitutional  —  In a possible blow to the Trump administration's efforts to charge noncitizens with voting in U.S. elections, a judge has dismissed a federal case against a Jamaican national accused of illegally voting, finding the law she was charged under is unconstitutional.

CBS News poll finds voters split on state v. national focus in tied Maine Senate race  —  Anyone who's walked its rugged coast or skied in its mountains knows Maine can get windy.  —  But right now Maine's Senate race seems a bit insulated from the national political winds …

Trump talks 2028, midterms and media woes at Murdoch dinner  —  President Trump ragged on several mainstream news outlets, including the Washington Post, New York Times and MS NOW, at a dinner he hosted Tuesday for News Corp. executives, including Rupert Murdoch, a source familiar with the event told Axios.

F.D.A. Found Cyclospora During Taylor Farms Inspection in Mexico  —  The discovery adds strong evidence that the outbreak that sickened thousands over the summer originated in the company's fields or processing facility in northeastern Mexico.  —  The Food and Drug Administration said on Friday …

Sanders to rally for Troy Jackson in Maine  —  Sen. Bernie Sanders will hit the road for Troy Jackson in Maine starting Oct. 10, the first time the progressive leader will stump for the candidate this cycle.  The Vermont independent plans to hold three rallies with Jackson …

Voters can stop MAGA from running elections in more than a dozen states  —  Our complete guide every race for secretary of state (and more!) this year  —  As Donald Trump once again seeks to subvert America's elections, voters in three dozen states will have the opportunity next month …

Justice Department sues Maryland over federal agent mask ban  —  The Justice Department sued Maryland on Thursday over a new law barring federal law enforcement officers from wearing masks and requiring them to identify themselves while working in the Old Line State.