October 4, 2025

Gregory Svirnovskiy of Politico: “... Donald Trump will soon federalize 300 National Guard troops in Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker said Saturday, a move that comes despite the governor’s opposition. 'This morning, the Trump Administration’s Department of War gave me an ultimatum: call up your troops, or we will,' Pritzker said in a statement. 'It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a Governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will.'” At 2:00 pm ET Saturday, this is a breaking story; it will be updated. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

Alan Feuer of the New York Times: “A top national security prosecutor who was fired this week from the U.S. attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Virginia assailed the Justice Department in a blistering letter on Friday for being more concerned with pursuing ... [Donald] Trump’s political opponents than with protecting the United States against terrorist attacks and other threats. The prosecutor, Michael P. Ben’Ary, had served as the chief of the national security section in the Virginia prosecutor’s office, which has long handled some of the most important terrorism cases in the country. But he was removed on Wednesday evening, just hours after a right-wing journalist wrongly suggested on social media that he had played a role in pushing back on the decision by Lindsey Halligan, the district’s new Trump-installed U.S. attorney, to bring an indictment against James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director. After cleaning out his belongings, Mr. Ben’Ary posted a letter to his former colleagues on the door of his office in Alexandria, Va., saying that he believed his firing, coming after other departures from the office in the wake of the charges against Mr. Comey, would leave the country less safe.” ~~~

      ~~~ The NBC News story is here. You can read Ben'Ary's letter here, via Politico. (Enlarge it by cursoring over the letter & clicking the magnifying glass.)

Gregory Svirnovskiy of Politico: “A string of text messages from Jay Jones, Virginia’s Democratic nominee for attorney general, where he mused about violence directed toward a political rival is triggering widespread backlash and threatening to shake up the state’s November election. But while Jones has signaled he plans to remain in the race, Republicans up and down the ballot are pressing the Democratic nominee for governor, Abigail Spanberger, to publicly call on him to step aside. In August 2022, Jones mused about shooting then-Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert in text messages he sent to Republican state Del. Carrie Coyner. The texts, which were first reported by National Review and subsequently viewed by The Washington Post.... Jones has not questioned their veracity and has publicly apologized for them. 'Three people, two bullets. Gilbert, hitler, and pol pot,' Jones wrote. 'Gilbert gets two bullets to the head.' 'Jay,' Coyner responded. 'Please stop.' Jones later called Coyner to continue their conversation, where he invoked the death of Gilbert’s children and said it might cause the then-speaker to change his political views, National Review reported.”

David Gilmour of Mediaite: “Trump administration officials privately discussed sending one of the country’s most hardened combat units into Portland, Oregon, leaked Signal messages reveal. Anthony Salisbury, a top deputy to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, was reportedly exchanging messages with War Secretary Pete Hegseth’s adviser Patrick Weaver over Signal in a crowded public space last weekend while traveling in Minnesota to a family funeral. The alarmed source shared images of the exchange with the Minnesota Star Tribune.... According to the newspaper the texts reveal discussions about deploying the 82nd Airborne Division to Portland, a unit better known for parachuting into World War battlefields and Afghanistan than patrolling American streets.” Thanks to RAS for the lead. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Uh, what was it Krugman was saying about an "autocracy of dunces"? (Post linked below.) ~~~

~~~ Alicia Lozano of NBC News: "The Trump administration activated 200 National Guard troops in Portland on Friday as Oregon officials waited for a court ruling on their request to prevent the deployment. Lawyers for the city and state had asked a federal judge to grant a temporary restraining order blocking the mobilization. U.S. District Judge Karin J. Immergut, an appointee of ... Donald Trump, said after a two-hour hearing Friday that she would make a decision by the end of the day or Saturday. But U.S. Northern Command announced hours later, before Immergut issued her ruling, that the troops had been activated by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to support and protect federal personnel and property in the Portland area."

Marie: I meant to link something about this earlier but forgot: ~~~ 

~~~ Isabella Sarmiento of NPR: "On Friday, Sean Combs was sentenced by a federal judge to 50 months in prison. The 55-year-old music mogul was convicted in July on two counts of transportation for prostitution, but acquitted on more serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. After a daylong hearing that culminated in Combs himself addressing the judge, speaking at length for the first time during the trial, Judge Arun Subramanian said that a significant sentence was required to 'send a message to abusers and victims alike that exploitation and violence against women is met with real accountability.' Subramanian made his decision after hearing arguments from federal prosecutors, Combs' defense attorneys and Combs himself."

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Wafaa Shurafa, et al., of the AP: “... Donald Trump on Friday ordered Israel to stop bombing the Gaza Strip after Hamas said it had accepted some elements of his plan to end the nearly two-year war and return all the remaining hostages taken in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Hamas said it was willing to release the hostages and hand over power to other Palestinians, but that other aspects of the plan require further consultations among Palestinians. Senior Hamas officials suggested there were still major disagreements that required further negotiations. There was no immediate response from Israel, which is largely shut down for the Jewish Sabbath, and Hamas’ response fell short of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s demands that the group surrender and disarm. Israel had earlier accepted Trump’s plan in its entirety.” (Also linked yesterday.) A Washington Post story is here. ~~~

      ~~~ David Halbfinger of the New York Times: “The stunning turn of events on Friday — a Trump ultimatum to Hamas to accept his plan, a qualified Hamas acceptance, followed by a cautious Israeli agreement to proceed — held out the promise of an end to a devastating conflict just days before it reached the two-year mark. It remained unclear how soon any concrete steps to end the conflict might be taken, however.... About five hours after Hamas’s response to [Mr. Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu's] ... office issue[d] a statement saying simply that Israel was ready for the 'immediate release of all hostages.' It made no mention of Hamas’s conditions. The statement added that Israel would cooperate with the White House 'to end the war in accordance with the principles set forth by Israel that are consistent with President Trump’s vision.' The Israeli military said it had instructed its commanders to 'advance readiness for the implementation of the first phase of the Trump plan for the release of the hostages,' while reinforcing the need 'for a rapid response to neutralize any threat.'

Scenes from a Shutdown 

⭐Video Days. Heather Cox Richardson: “Although .... Donald J. Trump has not appeared in public since Tuesday, his social media account has been posting up a storm.... Trump’s account last night posted images of prominent Democrats, including former President Joe Biden, with the heading 'THE PARTY OF HATE, EVIL, AND SATAN.' It went on to say: 'The Democratic Party is Dead! They have no leadership! [N]o message! [N]o hope! [T]heir only message for America is to hate Trump!' The Trump account posted another AI video last night, as well.... The video shows Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance as band members ... and features Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought as the Grim Reaper.... Veterans of the U.S. national security community posting as The Steady State noted that 'a president posting a video depicting his opponents as prey for the Grim Reaper and zombies outside the ‘unemployment office’ is the opposite of what we expect in a healthy democracy.'” ~~~

     ~~~  Marie: Read Richardson's full post as if you hadn't heard any of the news for a year. It's nearly impossible to reconcile what the country has become with what we imagined were "American values" last year.

Tony Romm of the New York Times: Donald “Trump has embarked on a legally dubious campaign to weaponize the federal budget during a contentious government shutdown, halting more than $27 billion in approved funding in a bid to punish Democratic-led cities and states. Rather than broker a legislative truce or seek to ameliorate the fallout of a costly fiscal stalemate, the president has leveraged the crisis to exact revenge on rivals, slash federal spending and pressure Democrats into accepting his political demands. Since the shutdown started on Wednesday, the Trump administration has canceled or delayed federal aid to 16 states, most of them run by Democrats.”

I do believe Barbie Kristi Gnome has screwed up. Again: ~~~ 

~~~ Oops! Grace Ashford & Tyler Pager of the New York Times: “The Trump administration will restore $187 million in cuts it had made to law enforcement funding, which would have devastated New York’s intelligence and counterterrorism operations, following a bipartisan push to reinstate the funds. The cuts, which represented the largest federal defunding of police operations in New York in decades, were made by the Department of Homeland Security, without explanation and without the approval of ... [Donald] Trump, White House officials said. Indeed, [Mr.] Trump was blindsided by the decision to defund the police, not learning of the cuts until Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York called him on Sunday to protest the change after the fact.... The frantic effort to undo the rolling cuts made to the Homeland Security Grant Program, with the last $100 million slashed over the weekend, underscored the chaos unfolding as the Trump administration moves to punish political adversaries by stopping the flow of billions of dollars in federal funds that had already been allocated nationwide.” (Also linked yesterday.)

Natasha Korecki & Monica Alba of NBC News: "A federal workers’ union has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for altering U.S. Department of Education employees' out-of-office email messages to include partisan language about a government shutdown without their consent. The American Federation of Government Employees, which is represented by Democracy Forward and Public Citizen Litigation Group in the matter, accused the administration of going to 'unprecedented lengths' to use government infrastructure to 'shift the public debate in its favor.' 'This whole-of-government approach to partisan messaging is unprecedented, and it makes a mockery of statutory prohibitions like the Hatch Act,'  the complaint states. 'Especially pernicious, however, are the Administration’s efforts to co-opt the voices of rank-and-file employees in the nonpartisan civil service to take part in political messaging.'"

From the pinned item on a New York Times liveblog: “The Senate adjourned for the weekend after failing for the fourth time to take up either party’s proposal to reopen the federal government, virtually guaranteeing the shutdown will extend at least until Monday. Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota and the majority leader, said his party would not bow to Democrats’ demands to tie a spending extension to health care concessions. That meant that unless some breakthrough occurred that appeared highly unlikely, the soonest a vote could take place to end the shutdown would be Monday. The House, for its part, will not return as scheduled next week, Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday. He suggested to reporters that he was not inclined to bring lawmakers back until the Senate had passed the Republican stopgap spending measure.” ~~~

~~~ Chris Cameron of the New York Times: “Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, the far-right Georgia Republican who has grown increasingly disillusioned with the G.O.P. and ... [Donald] Trump, said on Friday that her own party was at least partly to blame for the government shutdown, and that it had the power to unilaterally reopen the government. 'If Republican Senators wanted to pass the C.R.,' Ms. Greene said on social media, referring to the funding bill, 'and reopen the government they could, by using the nuclear option.' The  'nuclear option' ... is a proposal for Senate Republicans to lower the threshold for advancing legislation from 60 votes to a simple majority of 50. Senate Democrats and Republicans have lowered that threshold for specific votes in previous terms, chipping away at longstanding legislative precedent by making it easier to advance judicial nominees. In her social media post, Ms. Greene called for Senate Republicans to change the rules for all future legislation....”

Trump Determined to Wreck 250th, Ctd. Michael Stratford of Politico: “The Treasury Department is considering producing a one-dollar coin featuring ... Donald Trump to commemorate the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence next year, a spokesperson confirmed on Friday. The draft design of the coin, which was overseen by the Office of the U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach, features Trump’s profile on one side of the coin. The opposite side depicts Trump with a clenched fist in front of an American flag alongside the words 'FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT.'” Thanks to Ken W. for the link. MB: There is no way I would accept this coin as legal tender. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: “The Treasury is authorized to mint the coins for a year, according to the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020. The coins must have 'designs emblematic of the U.S. semiquincentennial,' the legislation says. It is not clear that Mr. Trump’s image can be featured on a coin. An 1866 law enshrined a tradition that only deceased people could appear on U.S. currency to avoid the appearance that America was a monarchy.  An explanation of the legislation on an archived page from the Treasury’s website noted that the act 'was caused by an uproar over the actions of the chief of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Spencer Clark,' who had 'placed himself on a five-cent note and had a large quantity of them printed before it was noticed.' That webpage has been removed from the Treasury’s website.” MB: That is to say, Treasury knows what it's doing is unlawful, and it has tried to hide the evidence of its lawbreaking. 

Paul Krugman: “Nixon, who was a piker by comparison to Donald Trump, was repudiated by his own party. Not only is Donald Trump a wannabe dictator, surely the worst person on multiple dimensions ever to occupy the White House, but he made his intentions clear in the January 6^th insurrection and his promises of retribution if re-elected. But unlike Nixon, Trump is backed by a Republican party that has become so extreme, so unwilling to acknowledge that opposition is even legitimate that none of his actions matter. Today’s Republicans show no hesitation whatsoever in adopting the Führerprinzip, the leader principle', in which Trump’s diktats override all written law and democratic norms.... It’s the nature of Trump’s party, not his personal depravity, that is responsible for the decline of American democracy.... The threat to U.S. democracy is much bigger than Trump himself. And it won’t end when he leaves the scene.” This is Krugman, so naturally he provides some statistics to make his point. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ "Autocracy of Dunces." Krugman's "essay of the day" Thursday was excellent, too. It begins, "If America still had a fully functioning democracy, Donald Trump’s speech Tuesday to the assembled generals would have ended his presidency. Trump treated the event like a political rally and was clearly taken aback by the refusal of the audience to applaud or laugh at his jokes. Delivering a nakedly partisan speech to a mandated assembly of military officers was a gross violation of the Hatch Act. The content — telling the officers to be ready to use force against U.S. citizens — was clearly an impeachable offense. In an earlier era, Trump’s incoherent ranting would have paved the way for his immediate removal from office under the 25^th Amendment." And the essay only gets better from there. (Also linked yesterday.) 

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: “The U.S. military killed four men aboard a boat in international waters near Venezuela, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Friday, in the first such strike since the Trump administration told Congress that the United States was engaged in a formal “armed conflict” with Latin American cartels. In his posting, Mr. Hegseth accused the four dead men of having been smuggling narcotics, without offering evidence. He also asserted that they were “affiliated” with one of the cartels and gangs that the Trump administration has designated as foreign terrorist organizations, but did not specify which. The strike was the fourth known attack by the U.S. military on boats in the Caribbean Sea dating back to Sept. 2.” The AP's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I have no idea if those four men were bad guys, but I know that we are. 

Daniel Lippman of Politico: “Defense Secretary Pete Hesgeth on Friday fired Navy chief of staff Jon Harrison, an unusually powerful top aide who had orchestrated a reshuffle of the service’s bureaucracy. The sudden ouster, according to two defense officials and a former defense official, follows the confirmation this week of Navy Undersecretary Hung Cao.... Cao is a high-profile Navy veteran and former Republican Senate candidate in Virginia who Donald Trump nominated for the post.... The Navy secretary’s chief of staff has traditionally been a behind-the-scenes job, the senior aide who keeps everything moving smoothly. But Harrison, a Trump administration appointee who joined the service in January, had a rare level of power.”

Save All the White People! Zolan Kanno-Youngs, et al., of the New York Times: “The Trump administration plans to slash refugee admissions to a record low level in the upcoming year, reserving a bulk of the limited slots for white Afrikaners from South Africa and others facing 'unjust discrimination.'... [Donald] Trump is expected to lower the ceiling on refugee admissions to 7,500, a drastic decrease from the cap of 125,000 set by the Biden administration last year, according to a presidential determination dated Sept. 30 and signed by Mr. Trump.... [An] official said the government shutdown was preventing [required] consultation [with Congress] from happening and claimed no refugees would be admitted into the country in the fiscal year that started on Oct. 1 until Democrats and Republicans reached a deal to fund the government.” ~~~

~~~ Maria Sacchetti of the Washington Post: “The Trump administration is offering $2,500 to unaccompanied migrant children ages 14 and older if they return to their home countries voluntarily, according to officials and records reviewed by The Washington Post. A government record detailing the 'Family Assistance Reintegration Program' says that minors residing in U.S. Health and Human Services shelters will be eligible. An average of 2,000 minors were in shelters as of August, according to agency data. Department of Homeland Security officials said Friday the financial assistance will first be offered to 17-year-olds. They described the program as 'strictly voluntary' and aimed at helping children return to their families. Minors will be given the money only after an immigration judge grants their request to depart the United States and they return home, the department said.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: To children who have never seen more than a few dollars at a time, $2,500 seems like a fortune. IOW, the program is not “strictly voluntary”; it is just a dirty trick played on naive children. 

Maria Paúl of the Washington Post: “Mario Guevara, an Emmy award-winning reporter, was deported on Friday to his native country of El Salvador — a nation he fled more than two decades ago after being threatened and assaulted, according to his family. Guevara, an independent journalist and founder of an online news outlet, was arrested on June 14 in the Atlanta area while covering a protest of the Trump administration. Police charged him with failing to disperse and standing in the roadway, but those counts were quickly dropped. Despite the dismissals, he was transferred from county jail into immigration custody at the request of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.... As Guevara’s case moved through immigration, federal appeals and district courts, press freedom and civil rights groups decried the situation as a chilling assault on journalism and a stark example of the Trump administration’s weaponizing immigration law to muzzle unfavorable coverage.” Guevara's immigration status was complicated. The link is a gift link. A CBS News story is here.

The Show Trial Must Go On. Daniel Klaidman, et al., of CBS News: "The FBI is considering carrying out a 'showy' arrest and perp walk of the agency's now-indicted ex-Director James Comey, and has suspended an agent who refused to participate in the plan.... Comey was charged last week with lying to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding, an unprecedented move that came after ... [Donald] Trump publicly pressured Attorney General Pam Bondi to look into his longtime adversary. A grand jury voted to indict [Comey] on Sept. 25 and hours later, Comey was issued a summons directing him to appear in federal court in northern Virginia for an Oct. 9 arraignment. His lawyers agreed to bring him to his arraignment.... But .... FBI leadership discussed hauling Comey in.... [A] source told CBS News that leadership asked for 'large, beefy' agents to conduct an arrest of Comey 'in full kit,' including Kevlar vests and exterior wear emblazoned with the FBI logo. It was suggested that Chris Ray, a supervisory special agent in ... the FBI's Washington Field Office, would be able to put together the kinds of agents who fit the bill.... Ray refused to participate in this plan, believing it would be inappropriate and highly unusual for a white-collar defendant like Comey.... He was then suspended for insubordination."

Following the Billionaires' Agenda. Alan Blinder & Michael Bender of the New York Times: “The Trump administration shook higher education this week when it promised benefits to universities that signed a 'compact' closely aligned with conservative priorities.... Many of the ideas included in the proposal — and, in some instances, their exact wording — came from a document circulated last winter at the behest of Marc Rowan, the billionaire financier.... Mr. Rowan and others, including some people in academia, had been molding the template for months, long before the White House adopted the ideas. Although Mr. Rowan was not the lone author of the document that the Trump administration embraced as a model, he was regarded as a central force behind its development.... It has become clear in recent days that two financial titans — Mr. Rowan, who is chief executive of Apollo Global Management, and Stephen A. Schwarzman, the chief executive of Blackstone — are helping shape seismic discussions related to the Trump administration’s campaign to upend American campuses.” ~~~

~~~ Michael Bender, et al., of the New York Times: “As the dispute between the White House and Harvard over billions of dollars in research funds drags on, an influential new figure has entered the negotiations with the potential to sway both sides: Stephen A. Schwarzman, a billionaire Harvard alumnus who is close to ... [Donald] Trump. The prominent Wall Street executive has taken an active role in recent days, helping to shape the final terms of a potential deal that would require Harvard to agree to a series of measures to stop the administration’s pressure campaign against the school.... During calls with administration officials this week, Mr. Schwarzman has been the lead voice for Harvard. One conversation on Wednesday involved Linda McMahon, Mr. Trump’s secretary of education, who led the discussion for the administration, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr. Schwarzman’s sudden involvement, which came at the request of Harvard and was encouraged by Mr. Trump, is the latest development in the monthslong battle between the university and the Trump administration.”

Ann Marimow of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court on Friday cleared the way for the Trump administration to lift protections for more than 300,000 Venezuelan immigrants who had been living in the United States without risk of deportation.... The three liberal justices noted their dissent, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson sharply criticizing her colleagues for a 'grave misuse' of the emergency docket.,,, It was the second time in four months that the justices had agreed to allow the migrants to be deported. In an earlier iteration of the case, the justices in May agreed to temporarily block a judge’s order to retain the protections. That order was unsigned and gave no reasons. Only Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented. The case then returned to Judge Edward M. Chen of the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California, who ruled for a second time last month in favor of the immigrants after reviewing a new claim and receiving additional evidence. Judge Chen said he was not bound by the Supreme Court’s order from May, noting it 'did not provide any specific analysis.'” (Also linked yesterday.) The AP's report is here.

Alan Feuer of the New York Times: “A federal judge in Nashville ruled on Friday that there was a 'realistic likelihood' that the indictment filed against Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the immigrant who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador in March and then brought back to face criminal charges, amounted to a vindictive prosecution by the Justice Department. The ruling was an astonishing rebuke of both the department and some of its top officials, including Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general. Mr. Blanche was called out by name in the ruling for remarks he made about Mr. Abrego Garcia’s case on the same day in June he was returned to U.S. soil to face the charges in Federal District Court in Nashville. In a 16-page decision, Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr. ... found that Trump officials may have sought to punish Mr. Abrego Garcia for having filed a lawsuit successfully challenging his initial 'unlawful deportation' to El Salvador. Moreover, Judge Crenshaw ... said he intended to permit Mr. Abrego Garcia’s lawyers to pry, at least in part, into the Trump administration’s process of deciding to bring an indictment in the first place and how the charges related to the deportation case.”

Mattathias Schwartz of the New York Times: “Sophie Roske was sentenced to just over eight years — 97 months — in prison on Friday for a 2022 attempt to assassinate Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh of the Supreme Court. The sentence was handed down by Judge Deborah L. Boardman, of the Federal District Court for the District of Maryland, at the end of a daylong hearing at a courthouse in Greenbelt, Md. Ms. Roske, 29, was charged under her legal name, Nicholas J. Roske. In September, her attorneys disclosed to the court that she is transgender and now uses the name Sophie. 'Violence is never a means to a political end in a democratic society,' said Judge Boardman, before delivering the sentence. 'We cannot and will not tolerate it.'” The Hill's report is here.

Annals of “Journalism,” Ctd. Will Oremus, et al., of the Washington Post: “The newly formed media giant Paramount Skydance will acquire the Free Press, an online publication, and install its iconoclastic founder, Bari Weiss, as editor in chief of CBS News, according to two people.... The appointment of Weiss, a staunch advocate of Israel and frequent critic of the mainstream media, to lead the company’s news operation follows its hiring last month of a conservative-leaning ombudsman to field complaints about the network’s editorial coverage. Weiss, whose background is in opinion journalism and commentary, has no experience working at a broadcast television network. Hired by the New York Times’s opinions section in 2017 as part of a push to bring more conservative voices onto its pages after ... Donald Trump’s election, she resigned in 2020, saying she had been 'bullied' by liberal colleagues for her views.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I seldom watch CBS News programming, and now I probably never will. ~~~

     ~~~ Justin Baragona of the Independent: “The imminent arrival of anti-woke and stridently pro-Israel 'heterodox ' pundit Bari Weiss as the editor-in-chief of CBS News has left the newsroom’s staff 'literally freaking out,' with sources telling The Independent that the Tiffany Network is 'not a good place right now.' The rising frustration among the network’s journalists has also been compounded by the fact that David Ellison, the chief executive of the newly merged Paramount Skydance, is preparing to implement brutal layoffs and slash up to 10 percent of CBS News’ staff – all while paying Weiss up to $150 million to acquire her digital media outlet The Free Press. Meanwhile, Weiss seizing the reins of the network’s vaunted news division – which has been months in the making – comes as staff have grown increasingly disgruntled with Ellison’s transformation of CBS News, with many feeling that the new owner 'lied' to them when he insisted he didn’t want to 'politicize' the network.”

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Japan. Javier Hernandez, et al., of the New York Times: “Sanae Takaichi, a hard-line conservative Japanese lawmaker, won a critical leadership vote on Saturday, putting her on track to become Japan’s first female prime minister, a milestone in a country where women are vastly underrepresented in politics. Ms. Takaichi, 64, emerged as the winner of an election by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party after two rounds of voting by lawmakers and rank-and-file members. She will succeed Shigeru Ishiba, Japan’s prime minister, who announced last month his intent to resign after less than a year in office, with his party being battered in the past two elections that saw it become a minority in both houses of the parliament, known as the Diet.”