Why Democrats are starting to feel bullish about a midterm wave  —  Democrats say the Iran war, high prices and President Donald Trump's sinking popularity give them a real chance of congressional majorities.  —  Summary  —  Democrats' wary optimism about the midterms gave way to growing confidence this week.

Kansas 2026: Hamilton and Marshall in Tight Senate Race; Masterson Leads for Governor  —  Home Polls Kansas 2026: Hamilton and Marshall in Tight Senate Race; Masterson Leads for Governor  —  A new Emerson College Polling/Nexstar Media poll finds 45% of Kansas voters support Democrat Adam Hamilton …

A Brief History of Sam Alito's Delusional Obsession With Voter Fraud  —  His conduct in several recent cases suggests that Alito is deep in the right-wing conspiracy theory weeds.  —  Against Justice Samuel Alito's most fervent wishes, a federal district court order that prohibits …

A Republican ‘Minivan-Driving Mom’ Swerves Away From the Trump Brand … Representative Ashley Hinson of Iowa is locked in a tight race against Josh Turek, a Democratic state representative, that could be crucial for Senate control.  KC McGinnis for The New York Times

Former Institute of Peace board members ask court to stop addition of Trump name to headquarters  —  Former board members for the U.S. Institute of Peace asked a federal court on Thursday to block the Trump administration from etching President Trump's name into the facade of the institute's headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Iran War Updates: 2 ships attacked in Strait of Hormuz as Trump says next move could be to “annihilate” regime  —  What to know about the Iran war today:  — A U.K. navy agency said a tanker was hit by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz early Friday, hours after reporting another vessel coming under attack in the vital waterway.

Fear Strikes Out  —  But the hatred remains  —  On Wednesday Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, gave a speech affirming the EU's willingness to move toward making Canada an “associate member.”  Nobody quite knows what that would mean, and it might be mostly symbolic.

Kennedy Assures Vaccine Skeptics That They Have a ‘Friend at the White House’  —  The health secretary spoke at a conference featuring misinformation about vaccines, including a claim that the success of the polio vaccines was a “fraud.”  —  Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr …

The race raters are lowballing the Democrats  —  Based on my analysis of their historical ratings, Cook, Inside Elections and Sabato's Crystal Ball are probably underestimating Democrats' House win probability by about 30 percentage points  —  Soooo, wazzup with the race raters?

Pritzker presses Congress on AI  —  TGIF, Illinois.  The Bears are at Soldier Field on Sunday and we're feeling dangerously optimistic.  —  TOP TALKER  —  AI ALARM BELLS: Gov. JB Pritzker is out with a video today in which he criticizes President Donald Trump for rejecting AI guardrails …

String of daring Russian plots is testing Washington's restraint  —  A strike on a train that imperiled former European leaders and CIA officers is among a spate of attacks that risked a dangerous escalation with the West, experts say.  —  Summary  —  An airstrike on a train line …

‘My Money:’ Trump's Claim That He Controls MAGA Super PAC Draws Watchdog Complaint  —  Federal law bars those holding federal office from directing spending decisions for a political organization with no contribution limits.  —  President Trump has called the $400 million super PAC run …

Massie, Khanna Say They Have Secured 218 Signatures for New Epstein Files Vote  —  The announcement comes hours after MeidasTouch reported the discharge petition was just two signatures short of the threshold needed to force a House vote.  —  Co-Founder of MeidasTouch

The Story of America, Told in 15 Million First Drafts of History  —  Above my desk hangs an engraving of an island.  It depicts a still-young city in a still-young nation.  Its cobblestone streets are lined with squat buildings, none taller than a church spire.

Democrats vow to pursue ‘Trump crime family’ after midterm elections  —  Lawmaker on oversight committee says he will probe Donald Trump's sons and Elon Musk if his party takes control of the House  —  Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free  —  Democrats will be “aggressive” …

Blanche's Political Campaigning Breaks an Ethical Norm Going Back to Watergate  —  The attorney general's campaign politicking for Republicans adds to the degradation of post-Watergate values at the Justice Department.  —  Attorney General Todd Blanche has repeatedly participated …

Trump Is Considering More Data Centers on Public Lands Than Previously Known  —  The Trump administration is considering proposals for at least 12 data centers and data center-related infrastructure projects to be built on federal public lands — far more than previously known.

A Central African Hotel Has Become a Nightmare Prison for U.S. Deportations  —  Witnesses say men were hooded and beaten in Equatorial Guinea.  The autocratic government there is a partner in President Trump's deportation program.  —  Two men deported to Equatorial Guinea by the Trump administration …

Pentagon releases more UFO files, including documents on secretive military program  —  Washington — The Pentagon on Friday released its sixth batch of files on unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP or UFOs, including dozens of documents detailing a military program that commissioned studies …

Macron to call emergency G7 meeting as energy prices spike and Russian hybrid attacks mount  —  PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday he would call a Group of Seven meeting to address skyrocketing global energy prices and look at releasing strategic oil stocks.

How Three Brothers Built an AI Slop Empire by Buying Legitimate News Sites and Turning Them Into Zombie Content Farms That They Say Get 50 Million Page Views per Month  —  In September 2024, an entrepreneur named Justin Brown uploaded a YouTube video in which he argued that writers should be “scared right now” about the rise of AI.

Sweden's Social Democrats Get First Stab to Form New Government  —  Sweden's Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson was given the first try at forming a new government after the opposition bloc she leads won Sunday's election.  —  Parliament Speaker Andreas Norlen gave Andersson the task …

Democrats better not confuse gas price fury with thinking they figured out how to defeat Trumpism  —  The simplest and most seductive political analysis is that voters would share all my policy preferences if Democrats just did what I say they should.  And it's a decent analysis because it's somewhat true!

Haven't we seen this before?  The AI apocalypse has a century of reruns  —  Mid-September brought the convergence of three big issues for investors: oil prices over $100/barrel (keeping headline inflation sticky), surging bond yields (with the 10-year Treasury over 5%) …

Weeks Before the Midterms, Almost Everything Is Getting More Expensive  —  The price of eating out, filling a gas tank and buying a house keeps rising, while higher interest rates add to borrowing costs  —  Created with Highcharts 9.0.1Average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgageSource: Freddie Mac via St. Louis Fed