BREAKING: First Trump RICO defendant takes plea agreement  —  X  —  Bail bondsman Scott Hall on Friday became the first defendant in the Fulton County election interference case to take a plea agreement with prosecutors.  —  During an impromptu hearing before Fulton Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee …

GOP senators say they won't stop Democrats from replacing Feinstein on Judiciary Committee  —  Sen. Dianne Feinstein's death creates a vacancy on the powerful panel that oversees President Biden's judicial nominees.  Without her, Democrats don't have a majority on it.

House Republicans cancel planned recess as government shutdown appears more likely  — House GOP leaders failed to pass a short-term spending bill with fewer than two days left to fund the federal government and avoid a shutdown.  — GOP Speaker Kevin McCarthy pitched the bill …

Trump floats plan to attend New York trial on business fraud  —  The surprise move would bring Trump face-to-face with a Manhattan judge he has repeatedly derided.  —  Former President Donald Trump plans to show up in person for at least the first week of a civil trial set to open in New York …

How Trump Is Complicating McCarthy's Attempts to Avoid a Shutdown  —  The former president has been publicly pushing a shutdown, but his views are shaped by his own handling of the 2018 shutdown.  —  When a group of House Republicans thwarted Speaker Kevin McCarthy's attempt at averting …

Man tied to suspected shooter in Tupac Shakur's 1996 killing arrested in Las Vegas, AP sources say  —  One of the last living witnesses to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur has been arrested in the Las Vegas-area, a long-awaited breakthrough in a case that has frustrated investigators …

EXCLUSIVE: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Planning to Announce Independent Run  —  2024 presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to announce he will run as an independent on October 9 in Pennsylvania, Mediaite has learned.  —  Kennedy's campaign machine is now planning “attack ads” …

UPDATED: IRS consultant charged in massive leak of taxpayer data  —  DOJ said Charles Littlejohn stole the files while working as a government contractor and gave them to a news organization.  —  A consultant for the IRS has been charged with leaking to the news media private tax information …

Matt Gaetz is reaching out to Dems about a McCarthy ouster  —  Among the lawmakers he spoke to as he threatens the speaker's gavel: Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.).

On Fox News, GOP impeachment leaders spread false claims with impunity  —  The Republican push to impeach President Biden formally began on Thursday with a hearing held by the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill.  By most objective accounts, it was not a huge success for the GOP …

Flooding in New York  —  A ‘Fire Hose of Moisture’ Inundates New York Streets and Subways  —  Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency and urged people to stay off roads during what one official described as “the wettest day we've had since Hurricane Ida.”  —  Friday's rainfall in New York broke records.

Melania Trump ‘quietly’ renegotiated prenup with Donald ahead of potential second presidential term, legal woes: sources  —  Sources tell Page Six that Melania Trump has “quietly” renegotiated her prenuptial agreement with Donald Trump in advance of his potentially serving a second term in the White House.

The Shame of Collaboration  —  France on Trial: The Case of Marshal Pétain  —  If any of us thought we could do our fellow creatures good by committing or, more probably, condoning an evil act, would we do so?  Would we even recognize the moment when it happened, or accept that it was evil?

Trump's campaign machine is bleeding cash for legal expenses  —  Donald Trump's political operation has helped pay the legal expenses of more than a dozen people contacted by prosecutors investigating the former president, tying up millions of dollars that otherwise could be used for his 2024 White House bid.