A document describing a foreign government’s military defenses, including its nuclear capabilities, was found by FBI agents who searched former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence and private club last month, according to people familiar with the matter, underscoring concerns among U.S. intelligence officials about classified material stashed in the Florida property.

Some of the seized documents detail top-secret U.S. operations so closely guarded that many senior national security officials are kept in the dark about them. Only the president, some members of his Cabinet or a near-Cabinet-level official could authorize other government officials to know details of these special-access programs, according to people familiar with the search, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive details of an ongoing investigation.

Documents about such highly classified operations require special clearances on a need-to-know basis, not just top-secret clearance.

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A historically severe September heat wave is baking the West, breaking hundreds of records, posing a danger to public health and pushing California’s power grid to the limit. Some records have been shattered by wide margins as the scorching air mass exacerbates the fire danger in the drought-stricken region. 

As San Jose and Sacramento soared to all-time records of 109 and 114 degrees Tuesday afternoon, California’s Independent System Operator (ISO) said the state’s electric grid is under heavy strain and warned consumers “to be prepared for possible outages” Tuesday evening. 

“As the state faces the hottest day in this prolonged, record-breaking heat wave, grid conditions are expected to worsen,” the grid operator wrote in a news release. “If needed, ISO could order utilities to begin rotating power outages to maintain stability of the electric grid.”

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Judge Aileen Cannon at the same time temporarily blocked the Department of Justice from reviewing or using the seized material for investigative purposes, until the special master’s examination of the documents is completed, or until a further court order.

That independent third party will examine “the seized property for personal items and documents and potentially privileged material subject to claims of attorney-client and/or executive privilege,” Cannon wrote in her order in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Cannon said her order would not impede an ongoing review of classified documents found at Trump’s residence and the assessment of any possible damage on U.S. intelligence by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

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A federal judge agreed to appoint a special master to review records seized by the FBI during its search of former President Donald Trump's Florida estate, a move that is likely to delay the Justice Department's criminal investigation.

In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in West Palm Beach, Florida, granted Trump's request for a special master, an independent third party who is sometimes assigned in sensitive cases to review materials that could be covered by attorney-client privilege.

Cannon said the person will be tasked with reviewing documents that are not just covered by attorney-client privilege, but any records possibly covered by executive privilege as well.

The decision to allow a special master to review documents that could be covered by executive privilege, a legal doctrine that can shield some White House records from disclosure, is uncharted legal territory.

Cannon also ordered the Justice Department to stop reviewing the records as part of its criminal investigation, a move that will likely at least temporarily hinder its ability to continue investigating.

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What is a special master? A special master is a third-party attorney appointed by a court to oversee part of a certain case.

The special master will oversee the Justice Department's review of the evidence gathered from his beach club and filter out privileged material that may have been seized in the search.

It also halts the DOJ from continuing its review of the materials seized from Mar-a-Lago "pending completion of the special master's review or further Court order."

Why did Trump want a special master appointed? Trump's legal team argued that a special master is necessary to ensure the Justice Department returns any of his private documents seized during the search of Mar-a-Lago.

Generally speaking, it is not outside the legal norm for Trump to want a special master involved in the review of the evidence seized from his Florida residence.

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David Pietrusza's new book, "Roosevelt Sweeps Nation," is garnering rave reviews from critics and readers alike, including John Rothmann. they'll talk about FDR's legacy and comparisons from his speeches to ones made today by President Biden, plus your calls.

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With more information and images leaking on the Trump Mar-a-Lago classification scandal, John wants to talk to the listeners about the new evidence. He also discusses Biden's speech on this subject from Thursday night, and gives his opinion on what the outcome should be.

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While Biden spent much of his speech railing against MAGA Republicans and positioning them as a major existential threat to America’s political project, he stopped himself from going a step further and, with equal force, calling out the social forces this movement feeds off — chiefly, white supremacy.

“No matter what the white supremacists and extremists say, I made a bet on you, the American people, and that bet is paying off,” Biden said towards the end of his speech, in a coy and singular reference to what ideologically underpins the MAGA movement. 

Biden may not have wanted to alienate purple and red Americans who, one would imagine, do not enjoy being identified as racists. But in the absence of identifying the threat of white supremacy, he reinforces fears amongst civil rights activists and progressives that the ideology’s pernicious and pervasive effects will prevail. And the stakes are simply too high. 

“Political violence has always been the answer for white supremacists,” as Elie Mystal, justice correspondent at The Nation, noted after the speech.

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“Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent extremism that threatens the very foundations of our Republic,” Mr. Biden said, noting that not all Republicans follow Mr. Trump’s ideology. “But there’s no question that the Republican Party today is dominated, driven and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans. And that is a threat to this country.”

Citing the “extraordinary experiment of self-government” represented by the American Constitution, Mr. Biden said that “history tells us a blind loyalty to a single leader and a willingness to engage in political violence is fatal to democracy.”

“MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards,” Mr. Biden said. “Backwards to an America where there is no right to choose, no right to privacy, no right to contraception, no right to marry who you love.”

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According to White House Deputy Press Secretary Chris Meagher, President Biden plans to talk about the “soul of the nation” during tonight’s speech.

Meagher says the president’s speech will stress what he believes are America’s core values like democracy, our standing in the world, a woman’s right to choose, and equality.

The White House says the speech is not political despite it being so close to the midterm elections. Either way, RNC Communications Director Danielle Alvarez says Democrats will have a tough time selling President Biden’s priorities.

“They will have to answer for rampant crime. They will have to answer for an open border. They will have to answer for a botched Afghanistan withdrawal. They will have to answer for all of these failures that they’re struggling with as a result of Joe Biden and the Democrats poor leadership,” said Alvarez.

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