Good morning, everyone. Two major stories are developing today, both with serious implications for American democracy and daily life.

First, the Trump administration is edging closer to invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807, a move that would permit the U.S. military to perform law enforcement duties against Americans on U.S. soil, something the country hasn’t seen since 1992. At the same time, the government shutdown continues to ripple through critical infrastructure, with 12 airports understaffed overnight, one reportedly operating without any air traffic controllers, and a new White House memo claiming furloughed federal workers aren’t guaranteed back pay.

Meanwhile, a quiet but seismic shift in media unfolded yesterday as CBS named Bari Weiss its new editor-in-chief, and inside the network, journalists are sounding alarms about what this could mean for the future of independent journalism in America.

This is exactly why I remain independent. I’m not here to sell out to a corporation or chase a multimillion-dollar buyout. My only commitment is, and always will be, to you.

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With that, here’s what you missed:

  • Trump said he would consider invoking the 1807 Insurrection Act to deploy U.S. troops to cities such as Portland and Chicago if courts or local leaders block his efforts to use the National Guard, amid Illinois’ lawsuit against the White House over federal troop deployment; the law, last used in 1992 during the L.A. riots, allows the military to perform civilian law enforcement.
  • Oregon’s Republican Party posted a doctored image on social media falsely depicting Portland protests as violent and chaotic, using two unrelated photos from South America — one of Ecuadorian riot police and another of a 2017 Brazilian demonstration — to support Trump’s claim that the city was “burning to the ground”; after being called out, the party dismissed the incident by replying, “We’re not reporters, just bad memers.”
  • Texas National Guard troops began deploying to Illinois after a federal judge declined to immediately block the Trump administration’s order allowing their arrival in Chicago, despite a lawsuit from Illinois officials; Governor JB Pritzker denounced the move as “Trump’s invasion,” accusing the White House of attempting to federalize Illinois’s National Guard without consent, while Attorney General Kwame Raoul warned it violated state sovereignty and could fuel unrest and economic harm.
  • A leaked White House memo obtained by Axios reveals the Trump administration’s legal position that furloughed federal workers are not automatically entitled to back pay during the ongoing government shutdown, a stance that could deny compensation to up to 750,000 employees and intensify pressure on Senate Democrats to end the funding standoff; the Office of Management and Budget argues that a 2019 law guaranteeing retroactive pay has been misinterpreted, asserting Congress must explicitly approve such payments.
  • At least twelve Federal Aviation Administration facilities across the United States experienced staffing shortages Monday night, as the ongoing government shutdown continued to strain air operations. According to the FAA’s operations plan, control towers in Burbank, Phoenix, and Denver hit official “staffing triggers,” signaling dangerously low personnel levels. Additional shortages were reported at major facilities managing air traffic for airports in Newark, Jacksonville, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Indianapolis, among others.
  • Hollywood Burbank Airport’s air traffic control tower was left unmanned for nearly six hours Monday due to staffing shortages caused by the federal government shutdown, forcing multiple flight cancellations and lengthy delays averaging more than two and a half hours. The FAA confirmed that controllers—working without pay—have begun calling in sick more frequently, while radar control was temporarily managed from Southern California TRACON in San Diego to maintain safety.
  • U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi is set to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee as lawmakers from both parties prepare to question her on a series of controversial Trump administration actions, including the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, recent military strikes on alleged drug boats off Venezuela, and the handling of Jeffrey Epstein-related documents.
  • CBS News employees reacted with shock and frustration to the appointment of Bari Weiss as the network’s new editor-in-chief following Paramount Skydance’s $150 million acquisition of her outlet, The Free Press; several staffers criticized her lack of broadcast or hard-news experience and perceived political bias, viewing the move as part of a broader rightward shift in U.S. media, while executives praised Weiss’s “fact-based reporting” and promised innovation.
  • A growing number of U.S. women are being denied access to intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT), a single-dose breast cancer treatment praised worldwide for its convenience, lower cost, and reduced side effects, as hospitals and radiation oncologists favor traditional, more lucrative multi-session treatments.
  • The conservative legal group Alliance Defending Freedom is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down Colorado’s 2019 ban on “conversion therapy” for minors, arguing it violates the free speech rights of Christian counselor Kaley Chiles, who claims the law prevents her from discussing faith-based views with clients.
  • Three U.S.-based scientists — John Clarke of UC Berkeley, Michel H. Devoret of Yale, and John M. Martinis of UC Santa Barbara — won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics for groundbreaking experiments demonstrating quantum mechanics in action, work that laid the foundation for modern quantum technologies like quantum computing, cryptography, and sensors; their discoveries from the 1980s continue to drive innovation in digital technology, with Clarke calling the honor “the surprise of my life.”
  • A 64-year-old man, Anibal Hernandez Santana, pleaded not guilty to federal charges after allegedly firing shots at Sacramento’s ABC10 station on Sept. 19, leaving three bullet holes in a window but no injuries; investigators found a note referencing public figures including FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi.
  • A REACH Air Medical helicopter crashed on Highway 50 in Sacramento on Monday evening after experiencing an in-flight emergency, critically injuring the pilot, nurse, and paramedic aboard; motorists and firefighters worked together to lift the overturned aircraft and rescue a woman pinned underneath, an effort officials said involved about 15 people; despite the crash landing in the middle of the highway, no motorists were hurt, and investigators are still determining the cause of the accident.

    • Good news:

  • After years of instability and homelessness, Florida social worker Ana Duarte gave her 64-year-old mother, Anette, the master bedroom in her new apartment — the first room her mother has ever had to herself. Ana, the first in her family to graduate college, said she wanted to offer her mother “peace, dignity, and a fresh beginning” after a lifetime of hardship and cramped living conditions.
  • Bat populations in Wisconsin are bouncing back for the third straight year after being devastated by white-nose syndrome, a deadly fungal disease that wiped out millions of cave-dwelling bats across North America. Recent surveys counted more than 25,000 bats across key roosting sites—up by over a thousand from last year—suggesting species like the little brown and tricolored bats are adapting by reducing fungal buildup on their bodies.

    • See you this evening.

    — Aaron