Paul says Fauci will face ‘repercussions’ for taking the Fifth.  That could get complicated.  —  Rand Paul says Anthony Fauci can expect consequences for the former Covid czar's decision to exercise his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination to avoid testifying before Paul's Senate committee on Wednesday.

Why Do We Tolerate Elon Musk's Racist Commentary?  —  “The Turner Diaries” is a work of white supremacist agitprop.  It purports to be the diary of a neo-Nazi militant, Earl Turner, who is working to overthrow the United States government — or as the book calls it, “the System” — through a group called “the Organization.”

Trump Demanded Details of Agents' Interview of Comey, New Filing Says  —  The demand suggests the intense personal involvement of President Trump in investigating one of his longtime critics, the former F.B.I. director James B. Comey.  —  Secret Service agents who questioned the former F.B …

Blanche nomination hangs by a thread as Cornyn stands by settlement ultimatum  —  GOP Sen. John Cornyn said Wednesday, less than 24 hours before a critical committee vote, that he is “not prepared” to support Todd Blanche's confirmation as attorney general as the two continue to tangle …

Iran War Live Updates: U.S. and Saudi Airstrikes Drag More Countries Into Fighting  —  Global oil prices jumped on Wednesday after the U.S. and Saudi Arabia said they had carried out joint airstrikes on Iranian proxies in Iraq.  —  Here's the latest.  —  American and Saudi fighter jets …

Trump overrode his own agencies to deny four Democratic disaster requests  —  President Donald Trump overruled his own agencies when he denied disaster aid for four Democratic-led states this month.  —  Emails between state and federal officials obtained by POLITICO along with more than 150 pages …

GOP governors back new reconciliation bill as Senate sputters  —  Nearly two dozen governors are throwing their support behind President Donald Trump's push for a new party-line spending bill — the latest effort to build pressure on Senate Majority Leader John Thune and his GOP colleagues to move quickly.

Bari's New ‘60’ Slate … On Tuesday afternoon, I received an urgent tip on the encrypted-messaging app Signal: Ross Douthat, the conservative opinion columnist at The New York Times, was set to leave the newspaper and join “60 Minutes.”  Initially, I was skeptical.

Elon Musk's xAI sues to stop Minnesota law banning nudification technology  —  Add CBS News on Google  —  Billionaire Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company is suing Minnesota over a first-of-its-kind law that bans apps and websites that create fake, sexualized pictures of individuals, claiming it violates the First Amendment.

A New Age of Missiles Reshapes Battlefields Around The World  —  The world is on the cusp of a third missile age, with conventional ballistic weapons proliferating at unprecedented speed in the wake of widespread, battlefield-warping deployment in Iran and Ukraine.

The fake historian advising Trump's anti-Smithsonian crusade  —  Last Friday, President Trump released an executive order directing officials to install signs outside the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History (NMAH) informing visitors that the museum presents history inaccurately.

CNN Poll: Americans doubt Trump is paying enough attention to the country's most important problems  —  A record-high 73% of US adults say that President Donald Trump hasn't paid enough attention to the country's most important problems, a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS finds, with just 27% saying he's had the right priorities.

Domestic Abuse Allegations Rock an Ohio House Race  —  Representative Max Miller, a Republican, is facing accusations of abuse from his ex-wife in a bitter family feud that might put his otherwise safe seat in play.  —  A sordid, yearslong family drama involving two powerful Republican members …

Trump's Tariffs Are Sending Some Companies Back to China … Workers at factories in China and Thailand assembling and testing flashlights for sale to American customers.Videos by Lauren DeCicca and Qilai Shen  —  On a dusty piece of land south of Bangkok, a flashlight factory stands full of promise.

Todd Blanche Colluded with an Italian Mafioso ... and Also Rudy Guiliani ... to Indict Jim Comey  —  Jim Comey has filed his pretrial motions.  The memoranda and backup for each are here (Fitzgerald's affidavit is a worthwhile place to start):  — Motion to Dismiss (MTD) for lack of a true threat

US commander warns troops their videos help Iran, sources say  —  The top U.S. commander for the Middle East has warned troops that cellphone videos shared online can help Iran target American bases, and sources told Reuters some deployed personnel could soon be ordered to surrender their phones.

A U.S. Citizen Deleted His Phone's Data.  Now He Faces a Felony Charge.  —  Federal prosecutors charged a man returning to the United States with obstruction because he gave them a passcode that erased his smartphone during a customs search.  —  It sounds like something that James Bond would use …

ICE agents target NC's Pisgah National Forest and make multiple arrests, feds say  —  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has extended its reach into North Carolina's wilderness areas to find people suspected of living in the country illegally.  —  On Sunday, multiple arrests …

Republicans start pondering another debt limit hike as midterms loom  —  Republicans raised the debt limit by $5 trillion last year.  Now they are already thinking about how to head off another dive over the fiscal cliff on President Donald Trump's watch.  Independent forecasters predict …

Harmeet Dhillon demonstrates danger of posting through it  —  This edition of PN is made possible by paid subscribers.  Become one ⬇️  —  🫵 Subscribe to PN 🫵 … On October 3, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division …

GOP states join DOJ in asking Supreme Court to let Trump block some mail ballots  —  A dozen Republican states led by Missouri asked the U.S. Supreme Court to let President Donald Trump's sweeping executive order attacking mail voting go into effect before the midterm elections in November.

Why Republicans Aren't Funding a Key Senate Race Yet … Ken Paxton, attorney general of Texas, is the Republican nominee for Senate there but has struggled to raise money.Antranik Tavitian for The New York Times  —  In one of this year's most competitive Senate races, Republicans are refusing to spend money — so far.

GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno goes off on Fauci: ‘Who the f-k do you think you were?’  —  Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) went off on Dr. Anthony Fauci, blaming him for COVID lockdown mandates and asking: “Who the f-k do you think you were for doing that?”  —  “If, during the time of the COVID pandemic …