Top Items:
G. Elliott Morris / Strength In Numbers:
Poll: Low-information voters have turned hardest against Trump and the GOP — Trump voters who can't answer two basic questions about politics are three times as likely as other Trump voters to back Democrats for the House. This is a big change since 2024.
Discussion:
Washington Post
RELATED:
Kevin Breuninger / CNBC:
Corruption is voters' top issue ahead of midterm election, CNBC survey shows
Discussion:
The Washington Sun, Washington Post and Election Law Blog
Bloomberg:
Musk Giving Tops $445 Million in Final Midterm Push for GOP — With a fresh infusion of cash to his super political action committee in the first two weeks of October, Elon Musk has now given more than $445 million in the current election cycle and become one of the biggest-ever contributors to such groups.
Discussion:
CNBC, The Hill, THE FARCE, Gizmodo, The Independent, Mediaite and The Japan Times
RELATED:
Jessica Piper / Politico:
Elon Musk pours another $76 million into boosting Republicans — SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gave another $76 million to boost Republicans in the first two weeks of October, bringing his total giving this cycle to more than $442 million. The additional funds, which Musk gave to his super PAC …
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, Bloomberg and Election Law Blog, more at Mediagazer »
Andrew Howard / Politico:
Democrats' top Senate super PAC has raised $354M this year
Chris Stein / The Guardian:
Trump attacks Ohio governor over call for Ramaswamy to drop ‘deeply troubling’ ad — Republican Mike DeWine said ad featuring estranged mother of Democrat Amy Acton was ‘wrong’ — Donald Trump issued a swift rebuke against Mike DeWine, Ohio's Republican governor, who on Thursday …
Discussion:
Salon, The Hill, CNN, Straight Arrow, New York Times, The Independent, Ohio Capital Journal, The Washington Sun, ABC News, NewsMax.com, The Daily Caller, Associated Press, Mediaite, NBC News, The Statehouse News Bureau, Blaze Media, CNBC, MS NOW, New Republic, CBS News, HuffPost, archive.is, Cleveland 19 News, Forbes, Los Angeles Times, Talking Points Memo, Newsweek, National Politics, Politico, Washington Examiner, The Daily Signal, Scripps News, Dr. Amy Acton for Governor and Toledo Blade
RELATED:
Sarah Rumpf / Mediaite:
Amy Acton's Estranged Mother Killed Kittens, Court Records Show
Discussion:
Block Club Chicago, Newsweek, MeidasTouch and FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul
Michelle Goldberg / New York Times:
The Meaning of the Republican War Over Ramaswamy's Vile Ad
The Meaning of the Republican War Over Ramaswamy's Vile Ad
Discussion:
National Politics, MS NOW and The Bulwark
Sasha Vakulina / Euronews:
Starlink restrictions not lifted in Ukraine despite Trump's claims, defence officials say — Ukrainian forces continue to experience disruptions to critical battlefield communications despite Donald Trump's assertion that restrictions have been removed, raising fresh questions about Kyiv's dependence …
Discussion:
Straight Arrow, Washington Post, The Guardian, Associated Press, WTOP News, The Daily Wire and NewsMax.com
RELATED:
New York Times:
Trump Asked Musk to Reverse Limits on Ukraine's Military Internet Use
Discussion:
CBS News, Off Message, The Kyiv Independent, KIFI-TV, HotAir, National Review, New York Post, Eschaton and CNBC
Jimmy Rushton / The Kyiv Independent:
Ukraine's Starshield access is still crippled, and no one is taking the blame
Ukraine's Starshield access is still crippled, and no one is taking the blame
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
GOP pushes for oversight of Musk's dominance of space
GOP pushes for oversight of Musk's dominance of space
Discussion:
Politico
Charlie Warzel / The Atlantic:
‘If Anything Happens to This Guy ... Everyone Is Screwed’ — Ondřej Surý was a relatively anonymous volunteer working on PHP security. Then the internet exploded. — On Tuesday, the world found out about two massive security vulnerabilities in PHP, a programming language …
Discussion:
404 Media, Reason, ClearanceJobs, NPR, New York Times, The Verge, Ars Technica, CBS News, The Register, Wired, Politico and The Guardian, more at Techmeme »
ProPublica:
Bird Flu Is Raging on a Mink Farm. It Could Spark a Human Pandemic, Experts Say, but Officials Won't Act. — The strain of bird flu that's ripped through American barns for the last four years has killed two people who caught it from sick animals. But as far as anyone can tell, humans can't spread it.
Discussion:
KIFI-TV
Bloomberg:
Ship With Russian Diesel Signals US Port After Trump-Putin Deal — A tanker carrying diesel left the Russian port of Primorsk and intermittently signaled New York, potentially marking the first such shipment following a fuel-supply agreement between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.
RELATED:
Steve Kopack / NBC News:
Russian diesel tanker heads to the U.S., the first since Trump's deal with Putin
Russian diesel tanker heads to the U.S., the first since Trump's deal with Putin
Discussion:
New York Post, The Kyiv Independent, Reuters, Associated Press and NewsMax.com
Lawrence Hurley / NBC News:
Supreme Court says New Hampshire student IDs can't be used to vote in November — The high court said a federal judge shouldn't have changed the rules so close to the Nov. 3 election by blocking guidance issued by New Hampshire's secretary of state.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and The Independent
RELATED:
Brendan Hartnett / The Bulwark:
Top GOP Operative Let Out-of-State Voters Vote From His PA Home — Legal experts say Scott Presler's houseguests could run afoul of election law. — ONE OF THE MOST HIGH-PROFILE grassroots organizers in the Republican party purchased a home in Beaver County, Pennsylvania in April 2024.
Robert Draper / New York Times:
In the Wisconsin Governor's Race, Another Case of Trump Avoidance Syndrome — The Republican candidate for governor, Tom Tiffany, is best known as a staunch ally of the president. He's trying to change that. — President Trump has been urging Republican voters to pretend that he is on the ballot for the midterm elections.
Discussion:
Townhall, Wisconsin Watch, NBC News, Fox News, The Hill, Urban Milwaukee and Associated Press
Michael Kruse / New York Times:
The Michigan Senate Race Keeps Getting Nastier — Supporters of Mike Rogers, the Republican candidate, have described his Democratic opponent, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, as un-American and worse. — Mike Rogers snickered as his surrogate smeared his opponent. — At a recent campaign stop …
Discussion:
Washington Post, RealClearPolitics, CBS News, Mediaite, Associated Press and New York Post
RELATED:
Shane Goldmacher / New York Times:
Bernie Sanders Gives $1 Million to Bolster El-Sayed and Counter AIPAC in Michigan
Bernie Sanders Gives $1 Million to Bolster El-Sayed and Counter AIPAC in Michigan
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Daily Kos, Newsweek, NewsMax.com, Washington Post and The Hill
Forbes:
The Woolly Mammoth Billionaire's New Startup Is Genetically Engineering War Dogs For The Military — This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more. — Ben Lamm of de-extinction startup Colossal Biosciences has teamed up with Palmer Luckey's team at Anduril to create a dog that's optimized for military use.
Dave Philipps / New York Times:
Hegseth Barred Trans Troops. Military Boards Are Rejecting Those Orders. — The service members at Navy and Marine Corps hearings are finding ways to keep trans troops in uniform. — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used a slur to proudly announce to an auditorium of Marines in September …
Matthew Cole / Vanity Fair:
The Art of the Deal: Jared Kushner's Hacked Phone Revealed His Secret Negotiations—Including More Than $700 Million in Transfers — An exclusive excerpt from Princes and Thieves: Jared Kushner and Mohamed bin Zayed's Secret Plot to Remake the Middle East examines how bank accounts linked …
Discussion:
CBS News, The Wrap, New Republic, emptywheel, Gizmodo, Mediaite, Forbes, Patterico's Pontifications, Newsweek and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Financial Times:
Oil hits $115 for first time since May as global stocks knocked by AI fears — Markets face twin threats of surging crude prices and concern over durability of AI boom — Ian Smith in London, Leo Lewis in Tokyo, Song Jung-a in Seoul and Kate Duguid in New York
Discussion:
Associated Press and WTOP News
Hannah Schoenbaum / Associated Press:
Trump administration stopped sharing evidence in Good and Pretti killings, Minnesota officials say — The federal government has stopped sharing evidence with Minnesota authorities who are investigating the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal officers, state officials said in recent court filings.
Discussion:
The Guardian and KSTP-TV
Jordain Carney / Politico:
John Barrasso to campaign with Ken Paxton — Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso will campaign with Ken Paxton next week in Texas as Republicans work overtime to try to hold onto the endangered seat. Barrasso said in an interview that he plans to join a bus tour with Paxton …
Discussion:
Associated Press
Miranda Bryant / The Guardian:
‘Pure arrogance’: anger in Finland as Google illegally fells 250,000 trees for datacentre — Company ordered to stop work at two sites in country, which has found itself at forefront of tech firms' latest push — Behind a wire fence lies a vast gaping wound of earth.
Discussion:
Mother Jones
Kate Santaliz / Axios:
Scoop: Some Freedom Caucus members want Brandon Gill out — A small group of Rep. Brandon Gill's fellow House Freedom Caucus members are privately questioning whether he still belongs in the hardline group, Axios has learned. … - The lawmakers spoke on condition of anonymity to offer candid assessments of a colleague.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner and NewsMax.com
Avani Kalra / The Washington Sun:
Democrats Aim to Build Red State Momentum With an Epstein Ad Blitz — As the limits of where Democrats hope to win in 2026 creep further into reliably red territory, party operatives have been turning more often to a wedge issue that helped Donald Trump win in 2024 — disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Discussion:
HuffPost and Washington Post
Tom Schaller / Public Notice:
Strong and right — Public Notice is proudly celebrating 5 years of independent journalism. Our coverage is possible thanks for paid subscribers. Become one ⬇️ — 💪 Subscribe to PN 💪 — Long ridiculed as too soft, civil, or politically correct to play hard ball …
Associated Press:
2 ex-FBI officials charged with making false statements about Hunter Biden's laptop — Two former FBI intelligence officials who specialized in foreign election interference were charged Friday with making false statements about their roles in investigating the origins of Hunter Biden's laptop …
Discussion:
CNN, New York Post, Washington Examiner, NBC News, Fox News, The Independent and CBS News
New York Times:
Covert Russian Group Injects Baseless Claim Into the Texas Senate Race — Russian influence operations appear to be stepping up efforts to meddle in the midterms, according to intelligence officials. Most are targeting Democrats. — Even as President Trump pursued a thawing of relations …
Discussion:
The Kyiv Independent, San Antonio Current, Global News, Diane Ravitch's blog, Mediaite and Politico
Irit Skulnik / CNBC:
Democratic socialist set to become D.C. mayor — and face Trump's pushback … Zohran Mamdani famously brought democratic socialism to the largest U.S. city when he became New York's mayor. Now another member of the Democratic Party's progressive flank is poised to lead Washington, D.C.
NBC News:
Hegseth staff damaged historic WWII-era Eisenhower globe trying to move it to his office — The globe was especially notable because it had green pen or marker notations where Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower marked areas in Europe, three U.S. officials said. — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's …
Discussion:
The Bulwark, Daily Kos, Adam Kinzinger, Metro.co.uk, New York Magazine, HuffPost, The Independent, Washington Post, MS NOW, New Republic, The Guardian and The Hill
Shane Harris / The Atlantic:
The Man in the Middle of Trump's Deeply Conflicted Ukraine Policy — CIA Director John Ratcliffe leads an agency that's at war with Russia, even as Trump makes nice with Putin. — Donald trump and volodymyr zelensky have never enjoyed a warm relationship, or even a stable one.

