POLITICO barred from White House after court ruling restoring access  —  A POLITICO reporter was denied access to the White House Thursday and his press credentials confiscated after a judge ordered the Trump administration overnight to immediately restore access for news organizations …

Senate GOP trades recess for detention  —  The Senate is sticking around for one more week.  But there's a heavy dose of doubt about how much that week can actually move the dial for Republicans — with just over a month to go until Election Day.  —  Republicans are trying …

Judges Reject ICE's Underhanded Attempt to Maintain Third-Country Removals  —  An appeals court made clear deportation flights to third countries must stop immediately, but flight data showed ICE may be violating the order.  —  A Peruvian man threatened with removal to the Central African Republic …

Trump administration launches pro-Trump TV ad ahead of midterms  —  The Trump administration launched a new television advertisement featuring President Donald Trump calling out socialism, communism and marxism, appearing to use government resources to go on air in the weeks before the midterm election.

Trump, 80, Mocked for Telling Choice of Clothing at Xi Jinping Meet  —  HIDING SOMETHING?  —  A photographer revealed what the president was hiding.  —  President Donald Trump has been mocked after pulling out his winter wardrobe to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in pleasant fall weather.

From 16,000 to 185 to Zero: Trump's Claims of Illegal Voting in Nevada Fizzle.  —  It was the Trump administration's latest stumble in its effort to find proof of widespread noncitizen voting, despite decades of evidence that it is extremely rare.  —  When the Department of Homeland Security sent Nevada …

Mark Carney Says He Has Prepared for the Possibility of a U.S. Invasion  —  Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said during a lengthy interview this week that he has prepared for the possibility, however unlikely, of a U.S. incursion onto Canadian soil.  —  The stunning remarks come …

The blue wave is mostly in red states.  That's a little weird.  —  Still Counting Episode 3 is out.  Video version above, audio below.  We'll be publishing these each week here at the newsletter.  But for faster access, please subscribe on YouTube or follow us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Man wounded during 2024 Trump rally shooting in Butler County dies  —  One of the men who was wounded in the attempted assassination of President Trump in Butler in 2024 has died.  —  According to the House Republicans' social media feeds, Jim Copenhaver has died.

Mary Peltola's Campaign in Alaska Senate Race Is Rocked by Tumult, With Angry Outbursts and Slurs  —  Democrats hope that Mary Peltola can flip a Republican Senate seat in Alaska.  Former aides describe a campaign and congressional office marked by chaos.  —  National Democrats cheered …

OpenAI's agents went rogue — its human response caused the real damage  —  If you've been forwarded this newsletter, you can sign up free here.  —  Confide in me: Send your tips to this generic inbox, canberraplaybook@poltico.com.  —  ESSENTIALS  — It's time to sort out human responsibility for AI agents

Netanyahu, Facing a Frosty UN, Says Israel Must Fight to Victory  —  Israel will press ahead with its wars until victory is achieved, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the UN General Assembly in heated remarks directed equally at Western critics, enemies in the Middle East and voters at home.

ChatGPT Helped Tumbler Ridge Shooter Focus on Guns, Tactics, and Terror  —  Editor's note: This story discusses suicide and extreme violence.  Also read part 1, part 2, and part 3 of our investigation into AI chatbots and violence.  —  In June 2025, Jesse Van Rootselaar received an email notification from OpenAI.

Poll: Voters grow more concerned about capitalism, but they're still wary of socialism and the DSA  —  More young voters have positive views of socialism than of capitalism for the first time in NBC News polling.  —  Voter concerns about capitalism are rising amid the populist streak gripping …

‘They Picked the Wrong Candidate’: 12 Texas Swing Voters on the Paxton-Talarico Race  —  For years, Democrats have hoped to win a Senate seat in Texas, which has not elected a Democrat statewide since the 1990s.  According to polling, that hope appears to be closer in reach this year than any other time in recent memory.

Donald the Deadbeat Does Diesel  —  Trump gets ready to stiff more contractors  —  There's a strong whiff of desperation coming off the Republican Party these days, and it smells a lot like diesel fumes.  All indications are that the G.O.P. is headed for a huge defeat in the midterms …

No president has gone into a midterm election this unpopular.  Not even George W. Bush in 2006.  —  Two weeks ago, President Donald Trump stood in front of a crowd of supporters at a first-of-its-kind midterms convention and beseeched the American people to “pretend I'm on the ballot.”

California Supreme Court orders GOP sheriff to return seized ballots, affirms state's power over local law enforcement  —  The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco (R) violated state law when he seized roughly 650,000 ballots from last year's special …

Young men are swinging away hard from Republicans, pessimistic about economy, new poll finds  —  Republicans' 2024 gains among young men have evaporated — and that could have instant ramifications this November, according to a new Cygnal poll.  —  President Donald Trump narrowly carried young men in 2024 …

Ohio Democrats' trans panic, explained  —  Or why Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur won't be taking down her transphobic ads anytime soon.  —  ∙ Paid  —  The liquidation of newspapers alongside the rise of a billionaire-funded, right-wing propaganda network has disconnected Americans from state and local politics.

Error leads to backlog of tens of thousands of voter registration applications in Texas  —  County election officials are rushing to deal with the pile of delayed records before early voting begins in the state next month.  —  Texas officials sent tens of thousands of delayed voter registration applications …

Deaths of students at the University of Mississippi cast spotlight on kratom  —  A drug task force in Mississippi is urging people to avoid kratom after authorities found packages of the substance while investigating the deaths of two University of Mississippi students.

Our Politicians Suck.  But Our Voters Do, Too.  —  1. Springfield  —  I'm heading to Ohio in a couple hours because we're doing a live show tomorrow to raise money for the Haitian community in Springfield.  —  You guys always step up.  If you can contribute, the donation page is here: