A federal judge on Friday night released her full opinion justifying an earlier decision to block President Donald Trump from deploying Texas National Guard troops in Chicago, and she even went so far as to question his administration’s grasp on reality. In her ruling, Judge April Perry began by citing a lengthy quote from the Federalist Papers in which Alexander Hamilton addressed concerns that a tyrannical US president would use a militia from one state to invade and occupy another state. After giving the matter brief consideration, Hamilton dismissed fears about a would-be tyrant carrying out such a scheme on the grounds that “it is impossible to believe that they would employ such preposterous means to accomplish their designs.” And yet, Perry noted, this exact scenario is one that the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago claim is happening right now, as they argue that “National Guard troops from both Illinois and Texas have been deployed to Illinois because the president of the United States wants to punish state elected officials whose policies are different from his own.” Perry went on to consider circumstances in which the president may federalize the National Guard, and concluded that the administration’s case for sending the National Guard to Chicago did not meet any of them. Perry noted that the president may federalize the National Guard if “there is a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority” of the US government, but she argued there has historically been a “very high threshold for deployment” that is not justified by current circumstances. “In the late 1800s and early 1900s, ‘rebellion’ was understood to mean a deliberate, organized resistance, openly and avowedly opposing the laws and authority of the government as a whole by means of armed opposition and violence,” she explained. “As an example, during the late 1800s, after the close of the Civil War, the Supreme Court and several statutes referred to the Civil War as constituting a ’rebellion.‘” She then found that the administration itself has not claimed any Civil War-like rebellion is occurring in the US right now. “In all of the memoranda actually deploying the National Guard to Illinois, the court does not see any factual determination by President Trump regarding a rebellion brewing here,” she wrote. “This is sensible, because the court cannot find reasonable support for a conclusion that there exists in Illinois a danger of rebellion.” Elsewhere in the ruling, Perry examined the government’s claims that local law enforcement officials have been unable to contain demonstrations at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Broadview, Illinois, which has become a focal point for protests in recent weeks. Although there have been incidents in which local law enforcement has had to intervene to keep protesters from getting too close to the facility, Perry said, there has never been a level of disorder that would justify the deployment of the National Guard. “The ICE Processing Center has continuously remained open and operational throughout the protest activity,” she wrote. “Broadview Police are not aware of any occasion where an ICE vehicle was prevented from entering or exiting due to activity by protestors.” This led her to remark upon a “troubling trend” of the Trump administration “equating protests with riots” and “a lack of appreciation for the wide spectrum that exists between citizens who are observing, questioning, and criticizing their government, and those who are obstructing, assaulting, or doing violence.” “This indicates to the court both bias and lack of objectivity,” she wrote. “Ultimately, this court must conclude that defendants’... perceptions are not reliable.”

The former supporter, Austin Beutner, who once led the city’s public schools as superintendent, is expected to challenge Ms. Bass’s re-election bid in next year’s mayoral race.

US President Donald Trump and his administration have been trying to depict the city of Portland, Oregon as a lawless apocalyptic wasteland in which roving bands of Antifa activists set fire to local businesses and terrorize federal immigration enforcement officials. Local residents and elected officials, however, have been openly ridiculing Trump for making claims that are, according to CNN fact checker Daniel Dale, “detached from reality.” Trump’s latest salvo against Portland came on Friday, when he said, “Every time I look at that place it’s burning down, there are fires all over the place.” Trump went on to falsely claim that “when a store owner rebuilds a store they build it out of plywood, they don’t put up storefronts anymore, they just put wood up.” These descriptions of Portland are are odds with the reality on the ground, where people dressed in inflatable animal costumes have been conducting peaceful protests and dance parties outside of a local Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) center for the last few weeks. US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appeared to recognize this discrepancy earlier in the week, and on Thursday she accused every public official in the city, including the chief of the Portland Police Department and the superintendent of the Oregon State Police Department, of trying to cover up the rampant lawlessness taking place there. “They are all lying and disingenuous, dishonest people!” Noem claimed during a White House Cabinet meeting. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) responded to Noem’s claim with open ridicule, and he posted a video showing Portland to be a safe and vibrant city. “Thoughts and prayers to Cosplay Cop Kristi who had to endure the dogs, farmer’s markets, capybaras, and marathon runners of Portland this week,” he wrote in a post on X. Portland City Council member Angelita Morillo appeared on CNN Thursday night and also heaped scorn on Noem for her remarks about her city. “I never thought that renowned puppy-killer Kristi Noem would be so afraid of protesters wearing frog costumes and chicken costumes, but here we are,” she said. “We’re not hiding anything. The reason she didn’t see anything on the ground is because everything here is under control. People are exercising their right to free speech, as they are allowed to under the Constitution... There is no terrorism happening here, I think that they are just a very scared people. Portland resident Samuel Cosby also posted a video from Portland that showed people going about their daily lives peacefully and without incident. ”There are not ‘fires all over the place,’“ Cosby emphasized. ”Stop letting these buffoons lie to you.“

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. laid off more than 1,000 CDC scientists, doctors and health officials Friday night amid the shutdown as Trump administration RIFs continue

An appeals court said National Guard troops could remain under the Trump administration’s control, but left in place an earlier temporary ruling barring troops from deploying into the Chicago area as a legal fight proceeds.

The Oscar-winner best known for her many collaborations with Woody Allen, as well as films including Reds, The First Wives Club and The Book Club, has died Diane Keaton, one of the best-loved film stars of the past 50 years, has died at the age of 79 in California. The news was confirmed by People magazine. Further details are not available at this time, and her loved ones have asked for privacy, according to a family spokesperson. Continue reading...

The president said he had identified funds even though Congress has not appropriated new money for the military.

Another round of mass layoffs has struck CDC. The agency had already been cut during a reorganization this year, and more employees are now being shed amid the government shutdown.

The appeals court weighed in after a federal judge, concluding that it was “likely to lead to civil unrest,” barred the president from deploying troops in and around Chicago.

Scientists who focused on other infectious diseases, like an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, also were let go.

The New York Times reports U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan may have left out important information in her indictment against New York AG Letitia James that might have derailed some charges. “In the indictment, … Halligan accuses Ms. James of having misrepresented the purpose of the house when she purchased it in August 2020 for $137,000,” reports the Times. “The indictment says that while Ms. James indicated to her mortgage broker that she expected to use the house as a second home, she had instead used it as a “rental investment property, renting the property to a family.” Only it does not look like she rented it at all. The Times reports occupant Nakia Thompson — Letitia James’ grandniece — testified to a grand jury in Norfolk, VA. that she “had lived in the house for years (with her children) and that she did not pay rent,” according to a person familiar with her testimony. Additionally, The Times reports prosecutors did not ask Nakia Thompson to testify again, and the grand jury that voted to indict Letitia James was not seated in Norfolk, where this information was revealed, but in Alexandria. Lawfare Senior Editor Anna Bower posted on X that she suspected prosecutors “used the other grand jury for testimony, then moved things over to Alexandria to seek indictment.” But the big problem in the testimony, according to legal analyst Jeffrey Evan Gold, is that Halligan may have excluded this evidence to pad her case against James, which — if proven true — would not go well for her in court. “Did Halligan present this exculpatory evidence?” asked Gold on X. “… If not, or if she explained it away without proper basis, the government already has a huge problem in the James case.” Federal rules on the presentation of evidence state that “It is the policy of the Department of Justice … that when a prosecutor conducting a grand jury inquiry is personally aware of substantial evidence that directly negates the guilt of a subject of the investigation, the prosecutor must present or otherwise disclose such evidence to the grand jury before seeking an indictment against such a person.” The rules further state that appellate courts “may refer violations of the policy to the Office of Professional Responsibility for review.” “Halligan — President Trump’s handpicked replacement for Erik S. Siebert after he concluded there wasn’t sufficient evidence to charge either James or former FBI Director James Comey — presented evidence to grand jurors herself in the case,” reported Lawfare analyst Molly Roberts. “That’s unusual, and not only because Halligan is an insurance lawyer with no prosecutorial experience; career staff would typically do the job of presenting, but in this case … they balked. In fact, Halligan reportedly didn’t even inform Attorney General Pam Bondi or the main Justice Department the indictment was coming.” “No wonder,” Molly added.

Government workers, including active duty service members, were set to miss their first payday soon.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries sits down with The Weekend to break down why Speaker Johnson cancelled next week’s votes and how Trump’s massive layoffs is already impacting federal workers, as well as the latest surrounding Trump's indictment of New York Attorney General Letitia James.

The former president, who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer in May, also had a cancerous lesion removed from his forehead recently.