Ron DeSantis Has Learned Trump's Most Important Insight  —  For Christian nationalists, the cruelty is the point.  —  Tonight on the TNB livestream I'm going to spend the entire show talking about Ukraine and Russia with Cathy Young and Eric Edelman.  —  Not going to lie: This isn't going to be the sexiest conversation ever.

Biden approval rises sharply ahead of midterms: AP-NORC poll  —  President Joe Biden's popularity improved substantially from his lowest point this summer, but concerns about his handling of the economy persist, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Trump warns of ‘big problems’ if indicted, says he'd still run for office  —  Former president Donald Trump warned that if he were indicted for mishandling classified documents after leaving the White House, there would be “problems in this country the likes of which perhaps we've never seen before.”

Georgia 2020 election inquiry may lead to prison sentences, prosecutor says  —  Fulton County district attorney says her team has received allegations that serious crimes were committed  —  ATLANTA — The prosecutor investigating efforts by Donald Trump and his allies to challenge …

New Trump Attorney Negotiated $3 Million Advance Payment for Work  —  Chris Kise sought the arrangement based on unprecedented investigation, Trump's reputation for not paying legal fees  —  The Florida lawyer brought on to defend former President Donald Trump against potential government prosecution …

Blake Masters Wants to Fire All Generals and Replace Them With Conservatives  —  Masters explicitly called for a wholesale firing of the generals at least seven times between August 2021 and March 2022.  —  Cameron Joseph  —  WASHINGTON, US  —  Blake Masters, the Republican nominee …

Here's what Putin is hoping for from Xi. … Putin acknowledges China may have ‘questions and concerns’ about the war.  —  President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said on Thursday that Moscow understood that China had “questions and concerns” about the war in Ukraine — a notable, if cryptic …

CNN shakeup: Don Lemon moved from primetime to mornings, struggling ‘New Day’ to be replaced  —  ‘New Day’ hosts John Berman and Brianna Keilar will be shuffled to new CNN roles  —  CNN's Don Lemon says Biden ‘telling the truth’ with ‘semi-fascism’ comments: ‘That is unifying’

Senate delays same-sex marriage vote until after midterms  —  A bipartisan group of senators trying to pass same-sex marriage protection legislation on Thursday pushed a vote until after the election, a move they say increases their chances of success but avoids forcing the GOP on record before the midterms.

FBI seizes phone from election denier Douglas Frank, a Mike Lindell associate  —  Hours after FBI agents investigating an alleged breach of voting machines in Colorado seized a cellphone belonging to MyPillow founder Mike Lindell, agents also served a search warrant on Lindell associate …

The Moscow Signals Declassified Microwave Diplomacy, 1967-1977  —  Declassified Records Detail Diplomatic Efforts to End Microwave Radiation Directed at Moscow Embassy  —  Kissinger to Dobrynin: “We Are Trying to Keep the Thing Quiet”; “You Could Give Me a Radiation Treatment”

Putin is banking on his friends in the Balkans to help sustain his bloody war in Ukraine  —  United in a sense of victimhood, Russia has an ally in far-right Serbian groups.  The west underestimates them at its peril  —  work at the investigative journalism website Bellingcat …

Rioter who wore ‘Camp Auschwitz’ sweatshirt gets jail term  —  A Virginia man who stormed the U.S. Capitol while wearing an antisemitic “Camp Auschwitz” sweatshirt over a Nazi-themed shirt was sentenced on Thursday to 75 days of imprisonment.  —  Robert Keith Packer, 57 …

Partisanship Over Policy at the Heritage Foundation  —  Interviews with more than a dozen current and former employees reveal how the think tank sidelines its scholars to score political points.  —  In the weeks after Russian tanks rolled across the Ukrainian border on February 24 …

In Defense of Lindsey Graham  —  Boy, did Lindsey Graham step in it.  —  The South Carolina senator proposed a national restriction on abortion that has popular support and that could represent a defensible consensus GOP position.  —  For this, he's being portrayed as a political incompetent …

NY Attorney General May Sue Trump After Rejecting Settlement Offer  —  The attorney general, Letitia James, is also considering suing at least one of the former president's adult children as part of her Trump Organization inquiry.  —  The New York attorney general's office has rebuffed …

Friction between White House and senior Homeland Security officials mounts as migrant border crossings soar  —  Friction between the Biden White House and senior officials at the Department of Homeland Security over how to handle immigration is mounting, according to internal documents …

9/15/22 ☀️ Punchbowl News AM … THESE COMMENTS CAME DURING A DINNER AT TRATTORIA ALBERTO, AN ITALIAN RESTAURANT ON CAPITOL HILL FREQUENTED BY LAWMAKERS FROM BOTH PARTIES.  SENATORS AT THE DINNER INCLUDED CHRIS COONS OF DELAWARE, MARK KELLY OF ARIZONA, CHRIS VAN HOLLEN OF MARYLAND …