Enough platitudes: Let's name names  —  President Trump's defenders and even some of his tepid critics on the right seem determined to keep their moral blinders firmly affixed so as to narrow the discussion about the horrible incidents such as the mass murder at Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.

Letter to President Trump from Pittsburgh Jewish Leaders  —  We are the Pittsburgh affiliate of Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice.  —  President Trump:  —  Yesterday, a gunman slaughtered 11 Americans during Shabbat morning services.  We mourn with the victims' families and pray for the wounded.

Trump's hate and lies are inciting extremists.  Just ask the analyst who warned us.  —  President Trump and Republicans are lashing out at the notion that they bear primary responsibility for the climate of rage and hate that has consumed our politics, now that a man has allegedly gunned …

Military to Deploy 5,000 Troops to Southern Border, U.S. Officials Say  —  The U.S. military is deploying 5,000 troops to the southern border, U.S. officials say, an increase from the initial estimate of 800.

9 hours of ‘Executive Time’: Trump's unstructured days define his presidency  —  President Donald Trump had about three times as much free time planned for last Tuesday as work time, according to his private schedule.  The president was slated for more than nine hours of “Executive Time,” …

Twitter to remove ‘like’ tool in a bid to improve the quality of debate  —  Twitter is planning to remove the ability to “like” tweets in a radical move that aims to improve the quality of debate on the social network.  —  Founder Jack Dorsey last week admitted at a Twitter event …

Full text of Carter's letter to Georgia secretary of state  —  Former President Jimmy Carter, a Georgia resident, wrote on his official letterhead to his state's Republican nominee for governor, Brian Kemp, asking him to resign as Georgia secretary of state.  The secretary of state oversees elections.

Suspicious package headed to CNN's Atlanta headquarters intercepted  —  (CNN)For the third time in a week, a suspicious package has been addressed to CNN.  This time, on Monday morning, the package was intercepted in Atlanta, the home to CNN's worldwide headquarters.

Choke it down, and vote for Menendez |  Editorial  —  Gallery: U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez Speaks in Newark  —  By Star-Ledger Editorial Board eletters@starledger.com  —  This year's U.S. Senate race presents the most depressing choice for New Jersey voters in a generation …

Merkel Steps Down as Party Leader as Election Setbacks Take Toll  — German leader makes dramatic concession to her party critics  — Power waning after leading Christian Democrats for 18 years  —  Germany's Angela Merkel will quit as head of her Christian Democratic party and won't run …

Poll finds Rep. Brat and Democrat Spanberger virtually tied in Virginia's 7th District  —  RICHMOND — Rep. Dave Brat (R) and Democrat Abigail Spanberger are in a dead heat in Virginia's 7th Congressional District, according to a poll released Monday, as the race in the one-time GOP stronghold enters its final week.

Jair Bolsonaro Is Elected President of Brazil.  Read His Extremist, Far-Right Positions in His Own Words.  —  Jair Bolsonaro was elected president of Brazil on Sunday evening.  The far-right candidate received more than 55 percent of valid votes.  His opponent, Fernando Haddad of the Workers' Party, received less than 45 percent.

Hillary Clinton leaves door open for 2020 run: 'I'd like to be president'  —  Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton during an event over the weekend left the door open to a possible 2020 run, saying that even though she doesn't want to run, “I'd like to be president.”

Inside a Trump rally: Stelter's view from the press pen  —  (CNN)The first thing you see at a Trump campaign rally is the line.  —  There was a long line in the pouring rain ahead of the October 26 rally in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Some devotees had started lining up the night before.

We Can't Go Back … Things are getting better - we can't go back!  Learn how to vote now at: https://vote.donaldjtrump.com/  —  This dramatic, high-quality ad depicts the new optimism of a working mom and the very real way that the future of her family is at stake in this election.

Let's stop asking Trump for comfort after tragedies  —  Patti Davis is the author, most recently, of the novel “The Earth Breaks in Colors” and the daughter of Ronald and Nancy Reagan.  —  When I was writing my book “The Long Goodbye,” a memoir about losing my father to Alzheimer's …

The Skimm Brains 7 million people wake up to their newsletter, and their voice, every morning.  —  In early September, the whole staff of the Skimm, a current-events newsletter aimed at millennial women, gathered on gray couches for an all-hands meeting.  Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisberg …

Russian held as agent studied US groups' cyberdefenses  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — A year before federal prosecutors accused Maria Butina of operating as a secret agent for the Russian government, she was a graduate student at American University working on a sensitive project involving cybersecurity.

‘Nothing to Gain,’ Kavanaugh Accuser Raises Nearly $1 Million  —  During the crucible of Brett Kavanaugh's Senate confirmation hearings, Democrats repeatedly asserted that Christine Blasey Ford had “nothing to gain” by coming forward with her explosive accusation of attempted rape against the Supreme Court nominee.

American ISIS Suspect Is Freed After Being Held More Than a Year  —  WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has freed an American citizen whom the military imprisoned without trial for more than 13 months as a suspected Islamic State member, United States officials said on Monday.

Beto O'Rourke Once Supported an El Paso Real Estate Deal.  Barrio Residents Remember.  —  EL PASO — At a special City Council meeting in 2006, a billionaire real estate investor unveiled his vision for redeveloping downtown El Paso.  To replace tenements and boarded-up buildings …

However the Midterms Go, the Republican Party Is Going to Get More Extreme  —  Politics since Donald Trump's election has felt like a static state of misery, as the president's approval ratings have been surprisingly stable and the only apparent variable has been each party's chances of gaining or consolidating power in the midterms.