Marc Novicoff: “The National Guard’s mostly quiet walks through Washington, D.C., are expected to cost a little more than $200 million… and that’s the figure just for the D.C. National Guard, not for the eight states that have sent troops. Those likely more than double that cost, because out-of-state troops make up a majority of the D.C. deployment.”

“According to the California National Guard, the deployment to Los Angeles cost another $118 million as of early September, a number that continues to grow as 100 troops remain in the city, long after the precipitating unrest has died down. Tens of millions of dollars—perhaps hundreds of millions in total—will be spent on deployments to Chicago, Portland, and Memphis, if Trump’s plans for those cities proceed.”

“Based on the known spending so far, the deployments could wind up costing Americans roughly two-thirds of a billion dollars.”

Jonathan Lemire: “If the secret to understanding a strongman is to identify his greatest weakness, one place to start with Donald Trump is his obsession with his own eventual obituaries. Trump knows that they will mention his history-making presidencies, his ostentatious wealth, and his unusual charisma—but he also is aware that when he dies, people will remember his conviction on 34 felony counts, and that there is nothing he can do about it.”

“Even now, White House officials have told me, Trump rages about how his guilty verdict is sure to be mentioned way up high in his obituaries.”

First lady Melania Trump announced Friday that she and Russian President Vladimir Putin have had an “open channel of communication” regarding children impacted by the Russian-Ukraine war, ABC News reports.

“Attorney General Pam Bondi was caught off guard Thursday when President Donald Trump’s handpicked US attorney, Lindsey Halligan, secured New York Attorney General Letitia James’ indictment from a grand jury,” CNN reports.

“Halligan, who has been running the Eastern District of Virginia for just over two weeks, did not coordinate with Bondi or other leaders at the Justice Department headquarters in Washington, DC, or inform them about timing before presenting the case to a grand jury.”

ABC News: Pam Bondi caught off guard by Tish James indictment.

Politico: “In late July, Paul Ingrassia, the White House liaison for the Department of Homeland Security, arrived at a Ritz-Carlton in Orlando with a lower-ranking female colleague and others from their department. When the group reached the front desk, the woman learned she didn’t have a hotel room.”

“Ingrassia then informed her that she would be staying with him… Eventually the woman discovered that Ingrassia had arranged ahead of time to have her hotel room canceled so she would have to stay with him.”

The Independent: “Trump just hosted an ‘Antifa roundtable’ at the White House. It was so much worse than you’re imagining.”