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In Today’s Brief
Tennessee: Factory probe
Israel: Payback planning
Swing states: Razor-thin margins
OpenAI: $157B valuation
Daniel Day-Lewis: Film return
... and more
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Top Tips
1) ‘Private criminal conduct’
Special Counsel Jack Smith's federal election interference case against former President Donald Trump has been laid out.
The news: U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan released a 165-page document from Smith's office that is the fullest accounting yet of his evidence against Trump. Smith argues the former president acted committed "private criminal conduct" in an effort to overturn the 2020 election and was not acting in his official capacity. The contents were previously under seal; some parts remain redacted.
At issue: Smith is arguing that Trump's partial presidential immunity -- granted by a Supreme Court decision earlier this year -- does not factor into this case. "At its core, the defendant's scheme was a private one," the document states. "He extensively used private actors and his campaign infrastructure to attempt to overturn the election results and operated in a private capacity as a candidate for office."
Key details: Smith and his team allege Trump operatives sought to create chaos in the wake of the former president's loss to President Joe Biden. They also claim Trump privately conceded his claims of election fraud were false, but continued public provocations. Smith will also attempt to enter evidence that former Vice President Mike Pence repeatedly told Trump he had lost and connect Trump's actions to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Big picture: It is highly unlikely Trump will stand trial before Election Day, and Chutkan has to rule on how the case will proceed and what Smith can and cannot pursue. But at the very least, Smith's evidence is now memorialized, even if Trump wins re-election and has the case tossed. Trump blasted the Department of Justice for "election interference" and called Smith's case a "scam."
2) Games without frontiers
The CIA is open for business.
What happened: The spy agency launched a campaign yesterday aimed at potential confidential informants inside American adversary nations. Instructions on how to covertly contact the CIA was published in the Farsi, Korean and Mandarin languages -- a clear message to China, Iran and North Korea.
Second swing: The CIA made waves last year when it launched a similar initiative targeting people in Russia. The agency said that recruiting effort has been fruitful and it wants to expand the scope. The CIA is aiming to capitalize on internal disaffections as the Russia-Ukraine war slogs on, China's economy struggles, North Korea agitates South Korea and Iran's regime deals with a run of embarrassments related to Israel's battles with Hamas and Hezbollah.
Big picture: The outreach comes as government officials expect China, Iran and Russia to attempt to meddle in the upcoming presidential election and as the U.S. supports the Israeli and Ukrainian war efforts, as well as Pacific allies. Butthere is no risk of a nation-state directly impacting November's vote, according to U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly.
3) Back in session
The Supreme Court has returned to work.
New season: The high court began its nine-month term earlier this week and is already on the verge of tackling its first high-profile case of the year. The justices will hear oral arguments involving "ghost guns," or home-assembled firearms that are extremely difficult to trace. President Joe Biden's administration is challenging a lower court ruling that limits the federal ability to regulate the weapons, which law enforcement say are frequently used in crimes.
On the docket: The court is also scheduled to take on cases involving Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors, a Texas law impacting pornographic websites and vape products. And, potentially, disputes that spin out of a November presidential election that will help shape the future makeup of the court.
Big picture: This Supreme Court term is unlikely to be as controversial and fraught as the preceding one, which included several matters involving former President Trump. But the majority-conservative court does remain a political lightning rod for myriad reasons -- rulings, ethics scandals, leaks, reported infighting and more.
Quick Tips
U.S. News
Tennessee state officials are investigating a plastics company that had 11 workers swept away in Hurricane Helene-caused flooding. Only five were rescued, two are confirmed dead and four are missing; employees at claim they were not allowed to leave the rural factory in time to avoid the storm's impact (More)
A federal prosecutor said New York Mayor Eric Adams may face additional corruption charges. U.S. Attorney Hagan Scotten said it is likely more people connected to Adams will be indicted; the mayor is pushing for his trial to conclude before next year's city elections (More)
Firefighters finally extinguished a marathon blaze at a Wisconsin recycling facility. Four football fields worth of railway ties and a 30-foot high mound of chips burned for over 20 hours at the plant outside of La Crosse; the fire was seen from miles away (More)
World News
President Biden said he will not support Israeli military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Israel is reportedly considering such missions as retaliation for Iran's largely-thwarted ballistic missile attack earlier this week; Iranian oil rigs may also be targeted (More)
A U.S. bomb from World War II exploded at an airport in Japan. The blast occurred underground and created a crater in the taxiway, canceling over 80 flights but causing no injuries; munitions have previously been detected at the airfield, which once housed kamikaze fighters (More)
The United Nations said over 700K are internally displaced in Haiti, with over half of them children. The Caribbean island nation has been rocked by gang violence in recent months and dealt with years of unrest; a Kenya-led UN police force is now operating in the country (More)
Campaign News
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump are neck-and-neck in all seven battleground states, according to a new series of polls. Harris leads Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin within the margin of error; Trump has a slight edge in Georgia and the candidates are deadlocked in North Carolina (More)
Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva said he will seek re-election for the final time this fall. The 76-year-old Democrat has spent 22 years in Congress and is expected to win his seat again comfortably; he was an early voice calling for President Biden to drop off the party's ticket (More)
Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown raised $31M in Q3 as he mounts a competitive re-election bid. The Democrat is battling Republican candidate Bernie Moreno; the GOP Senate campaign arm has reportedly shifted its national television ad strategy due to a cash crunch (More | More)
Business & Markets
Major indexes closed higher yesterday. The gains were modest as the Middle East situation continued to be a factor in the markets (Dow +0.09%, Nasdaq +0.08%, S&P 500 +0.01%).
OpenAI is valued at $157B after its latest fundraising round. The artificial intelligence firm took in $6.6B from Microsoft. Nvidia, Thrive Capital and other investors; the company is expected to begin focusing on profitability (More)
Costco will begin selling platinum bars as it continues its move into the precious metals market. The budget wholesaler already sells gold bars and silver coins; platinum prices have not had the same growth as gold in recent years and are down 8% since May (More)
Entertainment & Sports
Acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis will end his retirement. The three-time Academy Award winner will star in Anemone, which will be directed by his son Ronan; his last film role was in 2017's Phantom Thread (More)
Pink Floyd will sell its music rights to Sony Music for $400M. The deal encompasses recorded works, name-and-likeness rights and album artwork, but not songwriting; Sony has spent over $1B on song catalogs and artist intellectual property in recent years (More)
Diamond Sports Group said it will drop local coverage of 11 Major League teams next year. The bankrupt Bally Sports regional channel operator made the surprise announcement in open court, saying it will only maintain Atlanta Braves broadcasts; MLB claimed it was blindsided by the news (More)
Quick Hitters
Very Cute: You never know when beautiful friendships may blossom. Take this dog and donkey in Missouri.
Passing Grade: A housing community on Florida's coast was engineered to be hurricane-proof. It has now survived three after weathering Helene, proving that climate design can work.
Go Deep: Recent studies have suggested exposing Alzheimer's disease patients to flashing lights and sounds may slow cognitive decline. But scientists are still unsure if the results are anything more than false hope.
Pet Hack: Training a new puppy? Understanding when dogs hit various milestones can help you raise a good boy or girl.
Life Hack: Setting realistic rest goals is the best way to manage stress. Here are some tips on how to do so.
Watch This
A private investigator dishes on his career.
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Looking Ahead …
A comet believed to orbit Earth every 80K years is back in the neighborhood. Scientists are unsure what to expect, but they think it will be bright enough to be visible to the naked eye sometime next week.