President Donald Trump wants to send National Guard troops into Portland. Several court orders have stopped Trump from deploying the National Guard in Oregon. On Thursday, the Trump administration asked a three-judge panel to suspend one of those orders. The panel seemed likely to side with Trump.

Trump has also threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to get around court orders blocking his use of the National Guard. That law lets the president use the military or National Guard to quell an insurrection in an emergency. (More on the limits of Trump’s power here later.) He’s lied about an insurrection happening in Portland.

Meanwhile, in Chicago (where I live!), a federal judge sided “in part” with city and state officials who requested a temporary restraining order against deploying National Guard troops here. The military says National Guard troops are already active in Chicago. Video shows uniformed troops in Broadview, a Chicago suburb where law enforcement has used chemical munitions and physical force against protesters, journalists and residents outside of an ICE processing facility there.

Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff who’s come under investigation by the Southern Poverty Law Center for his “alignment with white nationalist thought and far-right extremism,” appeared on CNN Monday to discuss the president’s deployment of National Guard troops. Miller said Trump has “plenary authority” under Title 10 of the U.S. Code.

“Plenary” means complete or absolute. His use of the word here suggests that he believes Trump has absolute authority. And a leader with absolute authority is, definitionally, a dictator.

The law Miller cited says that the president can use the National Guard to repel an invasion by another country, suppress a rebellion against the authority of the U.S. government, or execute laws if the president is unable to “with the regular forces.” But the word “plenary” is absent from the law. So, Miller lied about what this law says.

Remember the Insurrection Act from the last blurb in this newsletter? The one that lets the president use the military or national guard to quell an insurrection in an emergency? Well, the Posse Comitatus Act (read more about its racist history here) blocks the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Space Force from enforcing domestic law. So if a space cop shows up at your door, know your rights.

Trump tried to build his case for sending National Guard troops to Chicago and Portland by deriding his political opponents on the left as terrorists. Trump has previously described Portland as “under siege from attack by Antifa” while talking about anti-ICE protests there. His description contradicts that of federal officers on the ground.

Late last month, Trump signed an executive order labeling Antifa as a “domestic terrorist organization.” But despite Trump’s characterization, “antifa” refers more to a broad landscape of anti-fascist activism than it does to one specific group.

Also, what’s a domestic terrorist organization, anyway? National security experts say the State Department has no legal authority to designate any such thing. Plus, prosecuting anyone who opposes fascism would violate the First Amendment.

It’s still shut down! What does that mean for federal employees? They’re either furloughed or working without pay.

“Furloughed” means not working and not getting paid. Furloughed federal employees have typically gotten backpay after a shutdown. A White House memo suggests the Trump administration will try to withhold backpay from furloughed workers amid this shutdown. Critics have taken issue with the administration’s legal reasoning and say a 2019 law guarantees backpay.

“Working without pay” means, well, working without pay. Some federal workers, like air traffic controllers and people who send out Social Security checks, have jobs that are deemed too important to pause during a shutdown. The president, Congress and the Supreme Court all get paid, though.

This video is part of Dave’s partnership with Free the Facts, a non-partisan, nonprofit organization that empowers young Americans to learn and lead.

Particle6, an “AI production studio,” has created an AI “actress” called Tilly Norwood, according to the company’s CEO. (Sorry of this comes off as anti-robot, but I’ll be calling Tilly a character rather than an actor from here on out.)

The announcement sparked strong backlash within the entertainment industry. SAG-AFTRA, the labor union representing actors and other talent, released a statement opposing “the replacement of human performers by synthetics.”

Particle6 CEO Eline Van der Velden also said talent agents are interested in signing Tilly. It wouldn’t be the first time something like this has happened — in 2020, Miquela, another AI character, signed with Creative Artists Agency.