The Justice Department is giving President Trump what he wants. Here’s how my colleagues described last night’s news:
The clearest way to understand the extraordinary nature of the indictment on Thursday of James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, is to offer up a simple recitation of the facts.
An inexperienced prosecutor loyal to President Trump, in the job for less than a week, filed criminal charges against one of her boss’s most-reviled opponents. She did so not only at Mr. Trump’s direct command, but also against the urging of both her own subordinates and her predecessor, who had just been fired for raising concerns that there was insufficient evidence to indict.
At the same time, the Justice Department has also ordered prosecutors to investigate George Soros, a billionaire Democratic donor whom Trump has targeted for financing left-wing groups.
The moves dispense with the decades-old norm that the agency should be free from political interference. Today’s newsletter breaks down both cases.
James Comey
Trump has detested Comey ever since Comey led an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The inquest ultimately did not prove that Trump’s campaign had colluded with Moscow, and the president claims it was a witch hunt designed to hurt him politically.
Yesterday’s indictment was bare-bones — one count of making a false statement and one count of obstructing Congress. The charge sheet says Comey lied during a Senate hearing when he said he hadn’t authorized a news leak about the F.B.I.’s investigations.
The lead prosecutor also tried to indict Comey on a second charge of making a false statement. But the grand jury rejected it.
To convict Comey, the government must prove not only that his statement was false, but also that he knew so when he testified. Comey faces up to five years in prison if convicted, although many prosecutors believe that the case will be difficult to prove.
George Soros
The Justice Department has also ordered more than half a dozen U.S. attorneys’ offices to examine Soros’s grant-making organization, the Open Society Foundations, my colleague Devlin Barrett reports. The agency even suggested possible charges that prosecutors might file against Soros, including arson and terrorism sponsorship.
Open Society awards money to groups that promote human rights, democracy and equity. Soros personally donated hundreds of millions of dollars to Democrats during the last two election cycles.
In August, Trump said that Soros should be charged under a racketeering law historically used to prosecute Mafia bosses. Then, after the assassination of Charlie Kirk this month, Trump blamed progressive advocacy groups and donors for left-wing violence; he said Soros “should be put in jail.” Yesterday, Trump signed a memo endorsing such prosecutions.
As grounds for investigating Soros, the Justice Department points to a right-wing report stating that the Open Society Foundations “has poured over $80 million into groups tied to terrorism or extremist violence.” (Israel designated one grant recipient, a Palestinian human rights group, as a front for terrorist activity in 2022; Open Society said at the time that there was no evidence for the designation.)
SHUTDOWN STALEMATE
Republicans and Democrats are stuck. Both parties introduced bills to avert a government shutdown next week. Both bills failed. On Wednesday, the White House offered an ultimatum: If Congress doesn’t prevent a government shutdown, it could push another round of mass layoffs across the federal government. Lyna Bentahar explains the negotiations.
The stakes
Senate Republicans need seven Democratic votes to fund the government before the end of the month. But Democrats won’t agree unless the G.O.P. extends Obamacare subsidies and reverses cuts to Medicaid and other health programs made by the domestic policy bill it passed this summer.
The Obamacare subsidies make health insurance cheaper for some Americans. If they expire, the Congressional Budget Office says, around four million people are projected to lose coverage and prices will rise for another 20 million starting next year. (My colleagues Margot Sanger-Katz and Catie Edmondson wrote about how their expiration presents a dilemma for members of both parties.) Republicans want to discuss those subsidies later this year but haven’t made any promises about funding.
The talks
Gridlock in Congress is not new, but these days the parties are barely speaking.
Trump has told congressional Republicans not to work with Democrats. For months, they haven’t had to. Instead, Trump has relied on his party’s majority — to pass the domestic policy bill, to claw back billions in spending, to confirm his nominees.
But the one-party approach has its limits. Even though they control the Senate, Republicans need 60 votes to bypass the filibuster. That means winning Democratic votes.
Democratic leaders say they won’t respond to White House layoff threats. Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, called them “an attempt at intimidation.” Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, put it more simply on social media, telling Trump’s budget director, “Get lost.”
The parties have until Tuesday night to work something out.
THE LATEST NEWS
Trump Administration
Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, summoned military leaders stationed around the globe to a meeting in the U.S. next week, four officials said. He did not say why, stirring anxiety among the top brass.
Trump signed an executive order to clear the way for a separate American-owned version of TikTok.
Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, decided her teams would stop publishing a report on global challenges. Former officials said some issues in the document, including climate change and the risk of a pandemic, had become politically inconvenient.
During an Oval Office session with reporters, Trump insulted two Black congresswomen: Jasmine Crockett, whom he called a “very low IQ person,” and Ilhan Omar, who he suggested should be sent back to Somalia.
Trump has a knack for twisting data to his benefit, citing favorable statistics while dismissing those he doesn’t like. In the video below, Linda Qiu fact-checks his claims. Click to watch.
Trump’s Economics
Trump announced tariffs of 100 percent on certain pharmaceuticals made overseas, and of 25 to 50 percent on other items including bathroom vanities and some furniture.
As Argentina’s economy sputters, the U.S. is preparing it a $20 billion bailout.
Trump also hinted at a possible bailout for farmers, who have struggled under his trade war.
One example of tariffs’ effect on farmers: Last year, China bought nearly $13 billion worth of American soybeans; since May, it has bought none.
More on Business
Amazon agreed to pay billions to settle claims that it tricked millions of people into signing up for Prime.
Starbucks plans to close hundreds of its more than 18,000 stores in North America as part of a corporate revamp.
War in Gaza
In its new ground offensive, the Israeli military is flattening parts of Gaza City, razing them block by block, The Times found.
The Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, spoke to the U.N. by video link, vowing that Palestinians would not leave Gaza and that Hamas would not govern the territory after the war.
Trump assured leaders of Arab and Muslim-majority nations that he would not let Israel annex the occupied West Bank.
Benjamin Netanyahu will address the U.N. today. Follow updates.
Microsoft disabled some services to Israel’s Defense Ministry, citing evidence that it was using the technology to enable surveillance of Palestinians.
Europe’s growing anger over the war is spilling over into the arts: Broadcasters will vote next month on whether to bar Israel from the Eurovision Song Contest.
Political Violence
Federal officials said the gunman who shot three detainees at an ICE facility in Dallas had left notes indicating a desire to cause immigration agents “real terror.”
Sara Jane Moore, who attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford in 1975, hoping to ignite a leftist revolution, has died at 95.
Other Big Stories
People are searching online for Humberto, a storm which just has just become a hurricane in the Atlantic. Follow its path.
China has more working robots than the rest of the world combined.
ONE-WAY-TICKET
For years, John Alle complained about homelessness in the Los Angeles neighborhood where he owned and managed properties. He dogged officials. He put huge signs in front of his vacant storefronts: “Santa Monica IS NOT safe.” “Crime. Depravity. Outdoor mental asylum.” “Santa Methica.” In 2023, a homeless man followed him in a park, bashed him on the head, kicked him 17 times and broke his jaw in two places, according to police reports. Alle needed two brain surgeries to save his life.
Now, fed up, Alle is trying to make a dent in the problem on his own: He set up a hotline so that any of the county’s 70,000 homeless people can call and ask for help returning home. He buys tickets for about three people a week to different states. One beneficiary, Jason Narron, 38, dialed his mom in North Carolina to tell her he was on his way. “Wonderful,” she said. “And then what?”
Read the Times reporter Eli Saslow’s story about the hotline, how Alle decides whom to help and what happens next.
OPINIONS
It’s a great time to be Google, which is facing only the meekest of punishments for abusing its monopoly, Julia Angwin argues.
Here’s a column by Michelle Goldberg on terrorism and copycat killings.
MORNING READS
Working Barcelona’s angles: Take our virtual tour of the city’s architecture, with math as your guide to a bullring, a skyscraper and Antoni Gaudí’s sacred curves.
“One Battle After Another”: A new movie with Leonardo DiCaprio is “a startling, present-day American epic,” our critic writes.
Your pick: The most-clicked story in The Morning yesterday was about an actually supportive bralette.
Wordplay master: Mel Taub, who died at 97, created puzzles for The Times that sometimes involved groan-inducing puns. See for yourself.
SPORTS
World Cup: Trump suggested moving games in the 2026 men’s tournament away from some U.S. host cities. He can’t do that by himself, but he could influence FIFA leaders and alter security funding.
M.L.B.: Netflix is continuing its foray into live sports and will broadcast the Opening Day 2026 matchup between the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants.
BEATING THE HEAT
As climate change makes city life hotter and hotter, people are finding clever adaptations so that summer remains livable. Here are a few:
Reflecting light: Asphalt traps heat. Vienna has painted roads with bright colors, which can lower an area’s temperature by up to 9 degrees Fahrenheit.
A steady breeze: Some Japanese construction companies give workers fan-equipped jackets.
Flipping the script: Kosovo has shifted outdoor work to nighttime to avoid peak heat times.
Cool-off zones: Restaurants in Rio de Janeiro put makeshift showers in the street.
Planting trees: Vijayapura, in southern India, has planted about 15 million trees in the past decade. They’ve cooled the area off by at least 1 degree.
Culture news
A London judge dismissed a charge of supporting terrorism brought against a member of the Irish rap group Kneecap. The charge was about a Hezbollah flag at a concert.
“The Tell,” a blockbuster memoir by Amy Griffin, details how psychedelic therapy brought back her memories of child abuse. Readers have started to question some of its claims.
Stephen Colbert joked about Trump’s criticism of the U.N. escalator. See more from late night.
THE MORNING RECOMMENDS …
Char broccoli and stir-fry it with tofu to make a takeout classic at home.
Watch “All of You,” a weepy romance.
Tube down one of Nebraska’s lazy rivers.
Straighten your hair with an affordable tool.
Take our news quiz.
GAMES
Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangrams were grouping and pouring.
And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections, Sports Connections and Strands.
Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow.
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Amelia Nierenberg contributed to this newsletter.