15m ago / 8:00 AM EDTFormer prosecutor emailed herself the unreleased Jack Smith report, DOJ allegesA former federal prosecutor was indicted on charges she emailed herself confidential files from special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation of allegations that Trump mishandled classified documents, the Justice Department said yesterday.Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, 62, was charged with four counts related to stealing, concealing and altering government property and records, according to the nine-page indictment.Read the full story here.36m ago / 7:39 AM EDTSenate Republicans plan to take $1 billion fund toward White House ballroom out of spending billSenate Republicans are looking to remove a $1 billion provision for the Secret Service that would go toward the White House ballroom project from their proposed ICE and Border Patrol spending bill, Sen. John Kennedy told NBC News yesterday. Kennedy, R-La., left a closed-door lunch with Senate Republicans saying they plan to remove the ballroom funding after it became clear that the votes were not there to pass the bill with the provision included. “We were told that, and again, I haven’t looked at the text, but we’re told that the ballroom money is out,” Kennedy told reporters. “My understanding is that the security money has come out, and my understanding is it’s because the votes aren’t there.” The $72 billion spending bill had earmarked $1 billion in part to fund “security” adjustments within the White House, including those added specifically to the East Wing Modernization Project for “above-ground and below-ground security features.”The bill faced pushback from the Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, over the weekend. McDonough wrote that the bill would need to pass a 60-vote threshold, thus negating the advantage of including it in the reconciliation package, which requires only a simple majority in the Senate to pass.A growing number of Republicans have spoken out about including the ballroom funding, making it even more unlikely the measure could pass as written. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., would not confirm the funding was pulled from the bill, but he said, “I think there are issues related to the East Wing modernization project.”Thune said they are still discussing whether the entire $1 billion in Secret Service funding will come out of the bill or whether Senate Republicans will just take the money for the ballroom and the East Wing modernization project out. 36m ago / 7:39 AM EDTSenate to vote on advancing ICE and Border Patrol funding bill The Senate is expected to take a procedural vote to advance the bill to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol through the end of Trump’s term.Once senators vote to proceed to the measure, they will will start up to 20 hours of debate divided between the two parties. Following the conclusion of debate, the chamber would move to unlimited amendments, known as a vote-a-rama, and then final passage.The bill would go to the House next, which would need to pass it before it’s sent to Trump for his signature.36m ago / 7:39 AM EDTTop health official Jay Bhattacharya to testify before lawmakersJay Bhattacharya, the director of the National Institutes of Health, will testify before lawmakers this morning about the administrations budget request for the upcoming fiscal year. Bhattacharya is also the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Bhattacharya took over as CDC acting director earlier this year after the former director, Susan Monarez, was ousted. Monarez had told lawmakers that she was fired when she refused Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s pressure to pre-approve vaccine recommendations. Kennedy denied her allegations. Bhattacharya also faced backlash after the CDC delayed and ultimately canceled the publication of a study showing that Covid vaccines reduced the likelihood of severe illness.At NIH, he has faced criticism over the cancelation of research grant funding and clinical trials. In addition, he faced backlash over a series of firings, resignations and retirements that led to a partial leadership vacuum. 36m ago / 7:39 AM EDTRahm Emanuel proposes down payment assistance for people who complete national serviceAs he explores a White House run in 2028, Rahm Emanuel is proposing a program pairing help buying a first home with invigorating interest in national service. The new initiative Emanuel is to roll out on Thursday, first shared with NBC News, would provide $25,000 for first-time homebuyers’ down payments if they have contributed two years of national service. Emanuel — a former congressman, Chicago mayor, ambassador to Japan and White House chief of staff — said the program could be funded by fixing a specific part of a “rigged” tax system that allows taxpayers to claim a mortgage interest deduction on a second home. Under his initiative, taxpayers would be limited to claiming the interest deduction only on their primary residence. “You should not be subsidizing people who have a second home,” Emanuel said in an interview. “We need people to start off on the American dream. Build a family. No more mortgage deductions for second homes, it goes to people for their primary home. And if you do two years of service, we’re going to give you the resources for a down payment.” According to his estimates, limiting mortgage interest deductions to primary residences would save $108 billion over 10 years, with roughly 450,000 taxpayers claiming the mortgage interest deduction on a vacation home or investment home. Qualifying national service under the proposal would include time spent in AmeriCorps, conservation corps, public health, disaster relief and military service. The proposal is just the latest in a series from Emanuel, who has churned out numerous initiatives since he first said he was mulling a White House run last year. In this case, the idea addresses economic anxieties among young people and highlights the growing disparity of wealth in America. Emanuel pointed to polling showing that just 30% of young Americans believe they’ll be better off financially than their parents. Meanwhile, the average age of a first-time homeowner was 40 years old, an all-time high. “The system is rigged,” Emanuel said. “You’re not paranoid, it’s rigged against ya!” The new proposal comes on the same day that Emanuel and his wife, Amy, are honoring a cohort of students in ROTC programs with a scholarship they started and named after Admiral Lisa Franchetti. Last year, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth fired Franchetti, who served as chief of naval operations from 2023 to 2025 and was the first woman to serve in that position. In his 2024 book, Hegseth called Franchetti a “DEI hire.” Emanuel said he worked with Franchetti while he served as ambassador in Japan, which has the largest overseas U.S. naval presence in the world. “I worked with her extensively and when I saw what happened I was so offended, given her record,” Emanuel said. “Lisa was fired in a political purge … I’m not going to let Donald Trump and Hegseth be the last word.”