National Emergency: President Trump faces a political fight over his declaration of a national emergency to grab billions of dollars for building his southern border wall.

  “The Congress cannot let the president shred the Constitution,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a joint statement.

  House Democrats plan to introduce a bill under the emergency Powers Act to block the President’s declaration, but if it passes, the President has the power to veto it.

  The issue is almost certain to be taken to court as well. The state of California has already declared its intention to sue. Gov. Gavin Newsom said, “Donald Trump, we’ll see you in court.”

  Oddly, even though Trump stepped into the Rose Garden yesterday to make his emergency announcement, it wasn’t the first thing he talked about. He delivered a rambling speech about trade negotiations with China, the upcoming summit with North Korea, and generally how wonderful his administration is. He even repeated his suggestion that he should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Then he declared that the passage of drugs and illegal immigrants over the southern border is a national emergency. He said, “We’re talking about an invasion of our country, with drugs, with human traffickers, with all types of criminals and gangs.” 

  Disappointed that Congress wouldn’t give him money for his wall, Trump is sidestepping the legislative process. In effect he admitted yesterday that there isn’t really an emergency.“I didn’t need to do this, but I’d rather do it faster,” he said. “I want to get it done faster, that’s all.”

  Trump’s speech as usual was loaded with untruths and twisted facts. Challenged by a reporter about statistics that say illegal border crossings are diminishing, Trump said, “The numbers you gave are wrong. It’s a fake question.”

  The numbers cited by the reporter came from the federal government.

The Stone Connection: Prosecutors say in court documents that they have evidence of Trump buddy Roger Stone communicating with WikiLeaks. 

  This brings the investigation very close to the Trump campaign, if not the President himself.

  The documents say, “The government obtained and executed dozens of search warrants on various accounts used to facilitate the transfer of stolen documents for release, as well as to discuss the timing and promotion of their release.” They say, “Several of those search warrants were executed on accounts that contained Stone’s communications with Guccifer 2.0 and with Organization 1,” which is WikiLeaks.

Gun Beat: Five people were killed, and five police officers wounded yesterday in Aurora, Ill., when a former warehouse worker who had lost his job stormed into the building where he had worked, firing away. The police responded quickly. Five were hit and the gunman was killed in an ensuing gun fight.

  The gunman, identified as Gary Martin, 45, of Aurora had worked at the Henry Pratt Company’s industrial warehouse for about 20 years before he was let go. He was armed with a pistol equipped with a laser sight. 

Don’t Do the Crime:The Special Counsel’s office has recommended that former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort be sentenced to 19 years in prison for his conviction on tax and bank fraud. For the 69-year-old Manafort, that’s just about a life sentence.

Take a Knee:The National Football League has settled a lawsuit brought by Colin Kaepernick, the former San Francisco quarterback who took a knee during the National Anthem to protest racism and police killings of black men. Kaepernick accused the NFL of colluding to prevent the talented quarterback from getting a job with another team after his protests.

  The terms of the settlement with Kaepernick and another player were not disclosed. A statement by the NFL said that “the parties have decided to resolve the pending grievances” and that “there will be no further comment.” 

Under the Collar:Pope Francis has defrocked former US Cardinal Theodore McCarrick after Vatican officials found that he had actually solicited parishioners for sex while hearing confession. McCarrick used to be the powerful archbishop of Washington and is one of the biggest figures to fall in the Catholic Church’s continuing sexual abuse scandal.

  The punishment means that the 88-year-old McCarrick, who now lives in a friary in Kansas, can no longer celebrate Mass, wear clerical vestments, or be addressed by any religious title.

The Obit Page:Betty Ballantine, who with her husband introduced America to affordable paperback books, has died at 99. Betty and Ian Ballantine established the American division of Penguin Books in 1939. They later founded Bantam Books and then Ballantine Books. When the Ballantines started, bookstores were rare and hardback books were expensive. Readers borrowed from the library. The Ballantines made cheap paperbacks available everywhere from the department store to the train station. — Sharon Mattes, whose parents famously sued and won custody of her son when she entered a relationship with another woman, has died at age 48. Mattes went by her family name Bottoms at the time. It was a landmark case for gay rights. A Virginia judge ruled that, “The mother’s conduct is illegal and immoral and renders her an unfit parent.”

We’d Like to Thank:After howls of protest, The Motion Picture Academy has reversed its plan to give out four Oscars during commercials. The awards for Cinematography, Editing, Make-Up and Hairstyling, and Live Action Short will now be given out during the live broadcast. Bring the music up, now.

-30-