Unofficial ballot drop boxes popping up throughout the state worry elections officials  —  In a photo posted to social media last week, a young man wearing a mask with Orange County congressional candidate Michelle Steel's name on it is holding a mail ballot and giving a thumbs up next to a box …

POLITICO Playbook: Republicans face the prospect of more House losses  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  THE UNDERTOLD STORY in Washington right now is how KEVIN MCCARTHY'S House Republican minority is likely to thin quite significantly after this election.  STEVE SHEPARD, our election guru …

Trump's task: Resetting campaign that GOP fears is slipping  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is running out of time to recover from a series of self-inflicted setbacks that have rattled his base of support and triggered alarm among Republicans who fear the White House is on the verge of being lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

The Billionaire Who Stood by Jeffrey Epstein  —  Leon Black, whose $9 billion fortune could buy the best counsel in the world, paid at least $50 million to Mr. Epstein for advice and services after most others had deserted him.  —  The billionaire financier Leon Black …

How Biden could end 2020 on election night — and why Trump's path is unlikely  —  President Donald Trump has demanded to know the results of the 2020 election on election night, even though some states warn that it will take days to count their votes.  But if there is a winner declared on Nov. 3 …

‘Green tsunami’: Inside Senate Republicans' financial freak-out  —  In mid-April, senior advisers to a dozen Republican senators gathered on the second floor of the National Republican Senatorial Committee's offices, where NRSC executive director Kevin McLaughlin detailed …

Americans' Readiness to Get COVID-19 Vaccine Falls to 50%  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans' willingness to be vaccinated against the coronavirus has dropped 11 percentage points, falling to 50% in late September.  This sharp decline comes after the percentage dwindled from 66% in July to 61% in August.

Locked in Tight Race, GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan Caught in Environmental Scandal … In the final month of his reelection campaign, Alaska's one-term Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan is fighting to recover from a scandal that ties him more closely to a controversial mining project opposed by the majority of voters in his state.

VOTE BIDEN GET ‘CROOKED’: Hillary Auditions For SecDef In 5000-Word Pro-Biden Article Which Admits Massive Defense Jobs Cuts Plan  —  FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE, U.S. SENATOR, AND BENGHAZI BELITTLER HILLARY CLINTON HAS PENNED A 5000-WORD OPINION EDITORIAL FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS MAGAZINE …

An Arrest in Canada Casts a Shadow on a New York Times Star, and The Times  —  A top editor is now reviewing Rukmini Callimachi's reporting on terrorism, which turned distant conflicts into accessible stories but drew criticism from colleagues.  —  Derek Henry Flood wasn't looking for work in March of 2018 …

Sanford, Florida, Braces for Trump's ‘Crazy’ COVID Roadshow  —  “Do I think it's safe to have this rally?  No I don't,” one business owner told The Daily Beast.  —  If it was up to Patrick Austin, President Donald Trump would hold off from heading to Sanford, Florida …

The Lincoln Project: Career Republicans call on Americans to vote out President Trump  —  A group of longtime Republican strategists who have worked with the likes of John McCain and George W. Bush have launched a scorching campaign against the president.  Lesley Stahl reports.

CNN exclusive: Fauci says he was taken out of context in new Trump campaign ad touting coronavirus response  —  (CNN)Dr. Anthony Fauci did not consent to being featured in a new advertisement from the Trump campaign touting President Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Coronavirus: WHO backflips on virus stance by condemning lockdowns  —  Lockdowns have been used to control the coronavirus around the world.  Now a WHO official has questioned the success of them.  — Video  — Image  —  WHO's huge lockdown backflip (VIDEO: The Spectator)

The Gamble  —  Long before COVID-19 or the economic collapse that followed in its wake, President Trump gambled his re-election prospects on the assumption that his base would be enough to ensure his re-election.  Since the first days of his presidency, Trump rewarded those who already liked …

The New York Times Guild Once Again Demands Censorship Of Colleagues … The New York Times Guild, the union of employees of the Paper of Record, tweeted a condemnation on Sunday of one of their own colleagues, op-ed columnist Bret Stephens.  Their denunciation was marred by humiliating typos …

Portland protesters topple statues of Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln in ‘Day of Rage’; police declare riot  —  Protesters topple statues of former presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln  —  A group of protesters toppled statues of former presidents Theodore Roosevelt …

‘I Feel Like I Have Dementia’: Brain Fog Plagues Covid Survivors  —  The condition is affecting thousands of patients, impeding their ability to work and function in daily life.  —  After contracting the coronavirus in March, Michael Reagan lost all memory of his 12-day vacation in Paris …

Florida Sees Signals of a Climate-Driven Housing Crisis  —  Home sales in areas most vulnerable to sea-level rise began falling around 2013, researchers found.  Now, prices are following a similar downward path.  —  If rising seas cause America's coastal housing market to dive — or …

Trump taps U.S. Marine Band for White House event and raises questions about employing the military for political purposes  —  When President Trump, recovering from the novel coronavirus, welcomed hundreds of people on Saturday to what resembled a campaign rally on the White House grounds …

These 6 swing states are pivotal in the White House race.  But what are the keys to winning each state?  —  USA TODAY Network reporters explore battlegrounds within 6 swing states- the keys to the political map in the states likely to choose the next president.  —  Michigan again expected to be a key battleground