“Flávio Bolsonaro dealt President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva a bruising first-round defeat Sunday, finishing ahead of the leftist leader and putting Brazil’s right within reach of taking back power in Latin America’s largest nation,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “Flávio Bolsonaro, a 45-year-old senator and the eldest son of imprisoned former President Jair Bolsonaro, […]

Politico: “Pete Buttigieg is barnstorming the nation in the final weeks before the midterms, boosting candidates in battlegrounds and even areas traditionally hostile to Democrats. And it’s helping him look beyond November.” ”Down the homestretch, Buttigieg is set to campaign in at least six states: North Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey, Georgia and Nevada, along with […]

“A new wave of attacks on vessels around the Strait of Hormuz is threatening a recovery in Middle Eastern oil exports—just as Gulf producers have pushed crude shipments back toward prewar levels,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“President Donald Trump said he ‘didn’t jump the gun’ in announcing South Korea’s participation in a $50 billion Alaska LNG project, warning Seoul could pay ‘double’ if it does not sign on soon,” CNBC reports. “His remarks come amid a discrepancy between Washington and Seoul over South Korea’s planned energy and infrastructure investments in the […]

“Right-wing senator Flávio Bolsonaro surged to a surprise lead over incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the first round of Brazil’s presidential race, a result that if confirmed in final counts would rally markets and position him as the favorite in a runoff later this month,” Bloomberg reports. “Bolsonaro led Sunday’s first round election […]

“If President Trump’s earlier political rallies felt like standing-room-only rock concerts, the latest ones are starting to feel like the first stops of a farewell tour,” the New York Times reports. “The events are a ritual. He will attack Democrats. His words will probably stop making actual, logical sense for a moment, or for many […]

“Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat whose father held the same job just over a decade ago, wants you to know that he’s not a ‘nepo baby,'” Axios reports. “Beshear brought up the phrase unprompted when Axios asked him to respond to critics who say that he won his ruby-red state largely because his dad, […]

“The White House is monitoring reports of a suspected plague case and a related quarantines in Russia, a Trump administration official told Axios on Sunday,” Axios reports. “Russian health authorities have taken precautionary measures in response to the death of a woman who worked at an anti-plague research factility, but have not confirmed that she […]

“The U.S. removed all its B-1 bombers from the U.K.’s RAF Fairford air base, a decision made due to security concerns over suspected terror plots against the facility, American officials said Sunday,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The decision represents a shift for the U.S. which has used the military base northwest of London as […]

“You’re never going to get an impeachment. Then if you do that, you just basically prove all Washington is what the American people think. It’s Disneyland on the Potomac. Deliver the change. Deliver a comprehensive ethics package that uses the investigations to then deliver change.” — Rahm Emanuel, quoted by Fox News, urging Democrats to […]

“Republicans know they have to spend big to save Ken Paxton. They’re increasingly worried MAGA Inc. won’t throw down in time,” Politico reports. ”In private conversations over recent weeks, senior Hill Republicans and GOP officials have nudged President Donald Trump’s team to start spending more on the Texas Senate race before it’s too late.” “Those […]

“President Donald Trump said he doesn’t care what the polls and the ‘fake news’ are showing: he is confident the Republicans are going to shock the world — and the Democrats, in particular — and perform much better than expected in the 2026 midterm elections,” Mediaite reports. Said Trump: “They’re in for a big surprise. […]

“Republicans are struggling with how to thread the needle on immigration ahead of what is expected to be a bruising midterm season in which many voters have soured on the Trump administration’s aggressive enforcement,” NewsNation reports.

“A new White House task force will have 120 days to report on the risks and opportunities of artificial intelligence—and determine the federal government’s responsibility—according to Jay Clayton, the director of national intelligence who effectively becomes the administration’s AI czar,” the Wall Street Journal reports. Said Clayton: “The president asked that a group be put […]

“Rep. Byron Donalds had a problem,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “President Trump had learned that the campaign of the man he’d endorsed to become Florida’s next governor had scrubbed prominent mentions of him from Donalds’s website. To calm Trump down, aides showed him a tweet where Donalds minimized the change and appeared beaming alongside […]

“Latino Democratic leaders are renewing calls for the Democratic Governors Association to invest more heavily in Texas after a New York Times/Siena College poll showed Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa narrowly leading Republican Gov. Greg Abbott,” CBS News reports.

“A provocative, sexually suggestive ad by GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton is drawing heat from his fellow Republicans while drawing millions of viewers online,” the Los Angeles Times reports. “Two young women sit on a bed, with an LGBTQ+ flag in the background, with one urging the other to try a new experience.” Said one […]

“Sen. Ted Cruz fired back at JD Vance for suggesting he’s already focused on a 2028 presidential bid, calling the vice president ‘insecure’ while insisting he’s focused on the 2026 midterms,” Politico reports. Said Cruz: “In my experience, people engage in political bomb-throwing when they’re feeling insecure. So he’s welcome to make whatever comments he […]

“In unveiling a panel to study the future of warfare this week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did more than announce some advisers. He brought Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, back into the Trump administration fold,” the New York Times reports. “With him came a raft of potential new conflicts of interest.” “Mr. Musk had […]

Wired: “DHS agents not only tracked and intimidated people observing ICE activity in Maine, but stored information about them in a Palantir-built database, newly unsealed court filings say.”

“If the Democrats win, you will have an economic depression, much like 1929. If the Republicans win you will each have $5,000 in your pocket.” — President Trump, quoted by the Wall Street Journal, once again promising to pay voters to vote Republican in the midterm elections.

“President Trump, who has long staged a rhetorical and legal assault against voting by mail even as he used the method himself to cast his ballots, released a video on Saturday urging Republicans to vote early and by mail in the midterm election,” the New York Times reports. Said Trump: “Vote early. Vote by mail. […]

“Justice Samuel Alito said in an interview this week that he ‘thought about’ retiring during the Supreme Court term that concluded in July but decided to continue serving out of a belief that he was making ‘a valuable contribution,'” the New York Times reports. Washington Sun: Alito explains his decision to defer retirement.

“President Donald Trump posted Sen. Tom Cotton’s cell phone number to the world on Saturday, as part of a plea for his Truth Social followers to badger his Republican ally into making daylight saving time permanent,” the Washington Sun reports. Mediaite: Trump posts Republican senator’s number in Daylight Savings feud: “Call Tom on his cellphone.”

“Angela Paxton wants to clear the air,” the New York Times reports. “Mrs. Paxton, the estranged wife of Ken Paxton, a conservative firebrand locked in a fierce battle for the U.S. Senate seat in Texas, is urging voters in a new ad to back the entire Republican ticket when they go to the polls next […]

“Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) plans to try to block Democratic nominee and New York socialist Darializa Avila Chevalier from taking her seat in Congress if she wins the Nov. 3 election — over her saying she used the American flag as a napkin,” the New York Post reports.

“Eleven years ago, Donald Trump arrived in Mobile in his Boeing 757, strode onto a football field to ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ and was greeted by a sight that revealed the scale of his fledging political movement: Tens of thousands of people had braved sweltering temperatures and snarled traffic to see him,” the Washington Post reports. […]

“Hispanic voters helped to power President Trump’s victory in 2024. Republicans thought they were watching a major, and permanent, realignment, one that would lock in their power in places like Texas and Florida for a generation,” the New York Times reports. “Polling suggests, though, that these voters have quickly soured on Republicans. That could be […]

A new CBS News/YouGov poll in Maine finds Troy Jackson (D) and Susan Collins (R) tied in the U.S. Senate race, 50% to 50%. Maine Senate Race Troy Jackson (D) 50% Susan Collins (R) 50% CBS News/YouGov poll · likely voters · ±4.7% The same poll in Maine finds Hannah Pingree (D) leading […]

“President Trump ragged on several mainstream news outlets, including the Washington Post, New York Times and MS NOW, at a dinner he hosted Tuesday for News Corp. executives, including Rupert Murdoch,” Axios reports. “The dinner, which the source described as cordial, comes amid a prolonged legal battle between the president and the Wall Street Journal.”

“A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from pursuing border wall construction in the Big Bend region in Texas on Friday,” Axios reports. “The construction inside the national park sparked local outrage and environmental concerns, with Friday’s decision handing the Department of Homeland Security a loss in its quest to rapidly expand the Southwestern border […]

“Sen. Bernie Sanders will hit the road for Troy Jackson in Maine starting Oct. 10, the first time the progressive leader will stump for the candidate this cycle,” Politico reports. “The Vermont independent plans to hold three rallies with Jackson.”

If you want to understand what’s driving the midterm elections, start with this chart. It shows just how badly the political conversation in Washington has diverged from what voters are actually worried about. Join now to continue reading. Members get exclusive analysis, bonus features and no advertising. Learn more. If you’re already a member, sign […]

“The National Science Foundation, one of the biggest sources of federal research funding, withheld $1.4 billion that Congress had intended for research over the course of the past year,” the New York Times reports. “The extraordinary move — holding back about one-fifth of the NSF’s primary research budget — is the latest sign of how […]

“A former Miami congressman and longtime friend of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison in connection with a secret $50 million lobbying campaign on Venezuela’s behalf during the first Trump administration,” the Washington Sun reports. “Republican David Rivera has been jailed since jurors found him guilty in […]

“The U.S. Justice Department isn’t reopening a criminal investigation into former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for cost overruns related to the central bank’s building renovation project,” Bloomberg reports. “Attorney General Todd Blanche didn’t rule out continuing to look into the project’s oversight and potentially take action if evidence of wrongdoing came to light.”

“In a new setback to prosecutors in the Sept. 11 case, a military judge on Friday excluded the confessions of another prisoner accused of helping the hijackers who carried out the attacks,” the New York Times reports. “Last month, the judge also threw out the confessions of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the man accused of being […]

“The Senate is well on its way to claiming the congressional attendance trophy this year, spending 32 more weekdays in session so far than the House,” Axios reports. “Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) have been torched by members for all the time off — not to mention Democrats, […]

“Christa Pike was unconscious, intubated and on a ventilator in a Nashville hospital as of Thursday evening, a day after surviving a botched execution attempt, her lawyers said in a court filing,” the New York Times reports. Reuters: Tennessee governor calls failed Christa Pike execution “a tragedy.”

“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered commanders to set aside a day this month for troops to register, request absentee ballots and vote, expanding his push for military voter participation,” the Washington Sun reports. “The directive, signed Thursday and announced Friday, requires a one-day voting ‘stand-down’ by Oct. 15 and establishes the practice for every even-numbered […]

“The Group of Seven nations has agreed to release up to 100 million barrels of crude oil and diesel from their strategic reserves to help bring down prices,” NewsNation reports.

“This year’s Kennedy Center Honors will be held at Washington’s Capital One Arena, not the riverfront building that’s been at the center of a legal fight over adding President Donald Trump’s name to the building,” the Washington Sun reports.

The Economist: “Call it executive dysfunction. Since 2021 American states have executed 148 convicted criminals. Of that number, according to data gathered from news reports by the Death Penalty Information Centre, an advocacy charity, 11 were botched, with many of the condemned left writhing in pain on gurneys for 30 minutes or more. Of these, […]

“President Trump said Friday that a lone Senate Republican is blocking Americans from gaining an extra hour of daylight on winter evenings — as he ratcheted up pressure on senators to pass his plan for permanent daylight saving time,” the New York Post reports. Said Trump: “Unfortunately, it’s being held up by Senator Tom Cotton, […]

“For America’s two major political parties, Nov. 3 is shaping up to be an Election Day of mutual distrust. The proof is in the deluge of litigation already filed in courthouses around the country,” the New York Times reports. “The Trump administration is heading into the midterms fixated on the unfounded claim that voter registration […]

“The Democrats’ main Senate super PAC is turning an explosive ProPublica investigation into Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) into a 30-second, $3.4 million attack campaign in one of the closest Senate races of the midterms,” Axios reports.

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A new Quantus Insights poll in Alaska finds Dan Sullivan (R) and Mary Peltola (D) tied in the U.S. Senate race, 46% to 46%. Alaska Senate Race Dan Sullivan (R) 46%   Mary Peltola (D) 46%   Quantus Insights poll · likely voters · ±4%

A new InsiderAdvantage poll in South Carolina finds Darline Graham (R) leading Annie Andrews (D) in the U.S. Senate race, 46% to 45%, with Mark Hackett (C) at 3% and Kasie Whitener (L) at 2%. South Carolina Senate Race Darline Graham (R) 46% Annie Andrews (D) 45% InsiderAdvantage poll · likely voters · […]

“President Donald Trump said Friday that Europe has agreed to release some of its diesel reserves ‘immediately,’ as the president and his Republican Party face pressure to address surging prices ahead of November’s midterm elections,” the Washington Sun reports. Bloomberg: Trump says Europe to release “massive amount” of diesel fuel.