Secret Service official at center of Jan. 6 committee probe retires  —  Tony Ornato, the senior Secret Service official who served as a top aide in Donald Trump's White House and faced scrutiny from the Jan. 6 select committee earlier this summer, announced his retirement Monday.

Trump Bragged He Had ‘Intelligence’ on Macron's Sex Life … For Trump, that has been a subject of intense — and tawdry — interest for years.  —  Specifically, Trump has bragged to some of his closest associates — both during and after his time in the White House …

Republican Senate candidate Blake Masters scrubbed language on campaign website saying the 2020 election was stolen from Trump  —  Arizona Republican Senate nominee Blake Masters removed language from his website following his primary win that included the false claim that the 2020 election …

Ron DeSantis' First Voter Fraud Bust Is Quickly Imploding  —  The governor's own administration greenlighted the defendants' voter registration applications.  Now it has arrested them for voting.  —  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made a spectacle out of the round of arrests …

‘Do Not Drink The Water’: Jackson Water System Failing For 180,000 People  —  Jackson's water system is failing and water across the city is entirely unsafe to drink, officials said at an emergency briefing Monday night.  State leadership have warned all residents of Mississippi's capital city …

FBI special agent who opened Trump investigation reportedly escorted out of Bureau  —  Former Washington Field Office Assistant Special Agent in Charge Tim Thibault was reportedly escorted out of the Bureau on Friday, amid whistleblower allegations that he showed political bias in his handling of politically sensitive investigations.

Who student debt relief helps (and it's not who you think)  —  Despite what critics may say, student loan debtors who stand to benefit most from the relief plan announced last week aren't exactly latte-sipping elites. … Second, a significant percentage of student loan debtors didn't get a four-year degree.

NBC's ‘Meet the Press’ Shakeup Puts Chuck Todd in Jeopardy … This reporting appears as one of several scoops featured in this week's edition of Confider, the newsletter pulling back the curtain on the media.  Subscribe here and send your questions, tips, and complaints here.

Lakewood cut down Town Square trees to deter homeless  —  LAKEWOOD - The township cut down all of the shade trees that once lined Town Square in a controversial move designed to prevent homeless people from spending time there.  —  Mayor Ray Coles said the decision was made after a recommendation …

Biden to give prime-time speech on ‘soul of the nation’ as voters prepare to cast midterm ballots  —  President Joe Biden plans to deliver a prime-time speech this week on how America's “rights and freedoms are still under attack,” returning to the core message of his 2020 campaign as Americans …

‘Joy and Sorrow, Pride and Fear’  —  On August 24, Ukraine's independence day, I e-mailed a Ukrainian friend, to wish her well — and to wish her country well.  She answered, “Such joy and sorrow, pride and fear.”  —  • On Independence Day, Boris Johnson, the British prime minister …

A Catholic Podcasting Star Says Theocracy Is Not the Way  —  There are things that, at first blush, might appear marginal but are in truth major.  Since it was introduced by the Catholic priest Mike Schmitz, who goes by Father Mike, in January 2021, the little-heralded “The Bible in a Year …

What's Behind Trump's Private War With the Intelligence Community?  —  The former president is serially criminal, loves dictators, and hates being held accountable.  No wonder he despises the U.S. intelligence community. … When you are at war with the truth, you attack the truth tellers.

Lindsey Graham's prediction of riots reads more like a threat  —  Sen. Lindsey O. Graham on Sunday said that if the Justice Department prosecutes former president Donald Trump for mishandling classified information, there will be “riots in the street.”  A few minutes later, he said it again.

Fox News trashes Prince Harry for idling in gas-guzzling SUV, not realizing its an Audi electric SUV  —  Fox News has made a segment on Prince Harry trashing him for “idling in gas-guzzling SUV” at the airport when in fact, he was sitting in Audi e-tron electric SUV.

Fewer Americans say they are living paycheck to paycheck as inflation begins to ease  — More than half of all U.S. consumers currently live paycheck to paycheck, according to a recent report.  — However, the number of Americans who say they are stretched thin has started to fall as inflation pressures ease.

Iran sends first shipment of drones to Russia for use in Ukraine  —  Russian cargo planes left Tehran 10 days ago with UAVs, some of which have already malfunctioned, U.S. and allied officials say  —  Russian cargo planes have quietly picked up the first of scores of Iranian-made combat drones …

'Police don't produce safety': the Black feminist scholars fighting for abolition  —  Mariame Kaba and Andrea J Ritchie on their new book and their vision for a prison-free world: 'Let's take money from death and put it toward life'  —  When killings by US police make national headlines …

Solomon Islands Suspends US Naval Visits as Tensions Rise  —  The Solomon Islands has temporarily suspended all naval visits by the US as relations continue to deteriorate between Washington and the Pacific nation.  —  The US government was notified by the Solomons on Monday of a …

Judge denies Kemp's motion to quash grand jury testimony  —  But Judge McBurney delayed questioning until after the November election.  —  A judge has denied Gov. Brian Kemp's request to avoid testifying before the special purpose grand jury investigating Donald Trump and his allies' attempts …

Police: Heroic Safeway employee confronted gunman in store  —  A Safeway employee who previously served in the U.S. Army for two decades attacked a gunman in the produce section of the Bend, Oregon, supermarket, police said Monday, possibly preventing more casualties from a shooting that left the employee and one other person dead.

Clashes erupt after Iraqi Shiite cleric resigns, 10 dead  —  An influential Shiite cleric announced Monday that he would resign from Iraqi politics, prompting hundreds of his angry followers to storm the government palace and sparking clashes with security forces and between rival militias.

The Mystery of the Missing Republican Ad Money  —  One Republican has been raking in the donations and siphoning dollars away from GOP candidates.  It's just that this (former) guy isn't on a ballot this time around.  —  Hey y'all: Welcome to Morning Shots.  It's Tim in for Charlie today.

Republican Paranoia Could Cost the Party in November  —  The terror that mainstream conservative Republican politicians have felt over the threat of being called insufficiently conservative — of being tagged as Republicans in Name Only — has made governing difficult for them since the 1990s.