A federal judge today temporarily blocked the White House's plans to fire scores of federal workers during the government shutdown.

• The order sets up another high-stakes legal battle over President Trump's authority.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston — a Clinton appointee — said the White House has "taken advantage of" the shutdown to embark on an "illegal" reduction-in-force campaign.

• Unions representing federal workers challenged the mass layoffs before they had technically even begun, arguing that a shutdown does not provide a legal opening to fire people.

✂️ The other side: The Trump administration was doubling down on its plans.

• More than 10,000 workers may ultimately be fired during the shutdown, White House budget director Russ Vought said today on "The Charlie Kirk Show" broadcast from the White House.
• That's more than double the 4,000 firings the administration had discussed in court documents just last week, Axios' Emily Peck reports.
• "I think it'll get much higher," he added. "I think we'll probably end up being somewhere north of 10,000."

🏦 Vought also said he has largely halted the work of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau.

• "We don't have anyone working there except our Republican appointees and a few careers that are doing statutory responsibilities while we close down the agency," he said on the podcast.
• The conservative Heritage Foundation's Project 2025, co-authored by Vought, calls for the agency's elimination.

Sales of electric vehicles shattered previous records in the third quarter of this year, Axios' Ben Geman reports from new Cox Automotive data.

• Consumers raced to take advantage of EV tax credits before they ended on Sept. 30, as a result of the GOP's "one big, beautiful bill."

🚙 By the numbers: EV sales were up roughly 41% from the previous quarter and almost 30% year over year, per Cox's data.

• And that doesn't include plug-in hybrids.

🔺 Winners: Volkswagen, GM, Honda and Hyundai all saw significant sales growth in the July to September stretch.

• Tesla accounted for 41% of EV sales — still dominant, but losing market share.

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1. 🇻🇪 The Trump administration secretly authorized the CIA to conduct covert action, which could include lethal force, in Venezuela, The New York Times reports. (gift link)
2. 💋 Mark Cuban predicted that OpenAI's plan to introduce adult material to ChatGPT will backfire. "No parent is going to trust that their kids can't get through your age gating," he wrote on X. Go deeper.
3. ⚖️ The Supreme Court seems likely to roll back a key piece of the Voting Rights Act, in a case that could pave the way for red states to eliminate a slew of majority-Black congressional districts. Go deeper.

Polar bears have taken over an abandoned research station off Russia's far eastern coast.

• Photographer Vadim Makhorov was filming the landscape of Kolyuchin Island last month when he noticed polar bears using abandoned buildings for shelter. He went back for a better view, captured with a drone.

See more photos.