Top Items:
Christopher Mathias / Talking Points Memo:
Chris Rufo — Known For ‘DEI’ and ‘CRT’ Panics — Tries to Make ‘the Indian Question’ a Thing — Rufo often gets treated as a “respectable” conservative. His latest podcast episode — framing Indian-Americans as a problem in need of solving — is more evidence that he shouldn't be.
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog
Burgess Everett / Semafor:
Top GOP group pauses Senate spending in N.C., goes up in Kansas — Senate Republicans' top super PAC is making a tactical change, pausing its ad campaign in North Carolina's Senate race and launching a new one in Kansas. — Senate Leadership Fund is plowing seven figures into Kansas …
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New York Times:
As Prospects Dim, G.O.P. Pulls Money Out of North Carolina Senate Race — The Senate Leadership Fund is diverting money to Kansas, which has become a growing concern for the party as it seeks to hold its majority. — The top super PAC for Senate Republicans is canceling all the remaining ads …
Discussion:
New York Post
New York Times:
Trump Directed Use of Taxpayer Money for Ads Praising His Presidency — The government-funded ads show just how much President Trump has been able to use federal money for his own aims. — President Trump personally instructed his budget director to use taxpayer money for TV ads praising …
Discussion:
Alternet.org, The Independent and The Hill, more at Mediagazer »
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Betsy Klein / CNN:
‘God made Trump’ ad and at least 12 others are part of controversial taxpayer-funded ad campaign
Discussion:
Mediaite, Alternet.org and Slate
The Washington Sun:
White House Officials Told the DOJ to Delay Action on Abortion Ahead of the Midterms — The White House has instructed the Justice Department to move slowly on any abortion-related actions ahead of the midterm elections, The Washington Sun has learned. — In a series of discussions …
Discussion:
Abortion, Every Day, New York Magazine and Mock Paper Scissors
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Politico:
‘Blackmail’: Europe fumes against White House demand for more diesel — The Trump administration's full-court pressure campaign on Europe to release diesel supplies or face a U.S. export ban heading into the winter has split and angered European leaders, entangled oil companies and raised private charges of “blackmail.”
Discussion:
Al Jazeera, IJR News, The Daily Wire, NewsNation, Bloomberg and Politico
Marta Pacheco / Euronews:
G7 agrees 100 million-barrel emergency oil release amid US pressure over diesel
G7 agrees 100 million-barrel emergency oil release amid US pressure over diesel
Discussion:
Associated Press, NewsNation, Politico, elysee.fr, Bloomberg, NewsMax.com, BBC, Reuters, Scripps News, Foreign Policy, Breitbart, GB News, RedState, CBS News, Al Jazeera, Newsweek, The Hill, Townhall, New York Times, One America News Network, WTOP News, IJR News, CNBC and Washington Examiner
New York Times:
Agency Diverted $1.4 Billion in Science Funds Mandated by Congress — The move, affecting about one-fifth of the National Science Foundation's primary research budget, is the latest sign of how the White House is asserting more control over grants. — The National Science Foundation …
Ashley Ahn / Politico:
Justice Alito confirms he is considering retirement — Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has confirmed that he is considering retirement, leaving open the possibility that he could leave after next year's term and hand another nomination to President Donald Trump.
Discussion:
The Hill, The Independent and CBS News
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Gavin J. Quinton / The Washington Sun:
Alito Explains His Decision to Defer Retirement
Alito Explains His Decision to Defer Retirement
Discussion:
The Hill, Newsweek, The Gateway Pundit, Blaze Media, Forbes, CBS News and Mediaite
Mabinty Quarshie / Washington Examiner:
Trump says ‘Cornell Seven’ won't get a fair shake under Letitia James — President Donald Trump denounced New York Attorney General Letitia James's ability to serve as special prosecutor for the reopened case surrounding gang rape allegations at Cornell University on Friday.
Discussion:
New York Post, The Hill, Reason, HotAir and Mediaite
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Michael R. Sisak / Associated Press:
NY governor says Cornell rape accuser was ‘failed’ by people obligated to protect her
NY governor says Cornell rape accuser was ‘failed’ by people obligated to protect her
Discussion:
Straight Arrow, NewsMax.com, WTOP News, All Rise News, Gothamist, RedState, The Independent, Washington Examiner, Reuters, Al Jazeera, Virginia Lawyers Weekly, Courthouse News Service, TMZ.com, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Mediaite, National Politics, WBUR, The Hill, CBS News and Townhall
Caleb Groves / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Georgia board asks Trump administration to investigate voting machines … The State Election Board's Executive Director James Mills has asked the Trump administration to examine Georgia's voting machines that are deployed statewide and prohibit QR-code vote counting, according to letters obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Discussion:
Georgia Public Broadcasting, Washington Examiner, NewsMax.com and The Gateway Pundit
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Paul Wiseman / Associated Press:
US adds disappointing 29,000 jobs and unemployment ticks up to 4.2% in September — U.S. employers added a disappointing 29,000 jobs and the unemployment rate ticked up last month, the government reported Friday, a month before voters go to the polls in pivotal midterm elections …
Discussion:
The Hill, New York Times, CNN, Reuters, CNBC, Meidas+, Bloomberg, Daily Kos, Deseret News, Townhall, NPR, Breitbart, Platypus Economics, Al Jazeera, Forbes, MS NOW, The Independent, Washington Examiner, Straight Arrow, NewsMax.com, CBS News, Washington Post, WTOP News, Fox Business, Casey Local, Mock Paper Scissors, GZERO, OutsideTheBeltway, Deadline, The San Joaquin Valley Sun, Conservative Daily News, Politico, Semafor and The American Conservative
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Konrad Putzier / Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Hiring Slows With 29,000 Jobs Added in September
U.S. Hiring Slows With 29,000 Jobs Added in September
Discussion:
New York Times, abc7NY, HotAir, Jared Bernstein, The Hill, Washington Examiner, CNBC, NewsMax.com, Bloomberg and CBS News
Wall Street Journal:
FlyDubai Attacker Had Been Banned From Flying by Oman for Radical Views — The U.A.E. airline later hired the co-pilot who stabbed the captain of Flight 1073 and nearly crashed the plane — The FlyDubai co-pilot who stabbed his captain and sent Flight 1073 diving toward the ground …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Breitbart, New York Times, The Daily Wire, Reuters, VINnews, Fox News, RedState, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Townhall, Axios, New York Post, CBS News, Washington Post, Bloomberg, NewsMax.com and Semafor
Bloomberg:
DOJ Not Reopening Criminal Probe Into Powell, Blanche Says — The US Justice Department isn't reopening a criminal investigation into former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for cost overruns related to the central bank's building renovation project. — Attorney General Todd Blanche …
Discussion:
Axios, CNBC, Reuters and Alternet.org
RELATED:
Casey He / Politico:
DOJ will not reopen criminal probe of Powell, Blanche says
DOJ will not reopen criminal probe of Powell, Blanche says
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit
Brandy Zadrozny / MS NOW:
MAGA podcaster Benny Johnson sued for defamation over ICE ride-along videos calling protesters ‘terrorists’ — Johnson accompanied top DHS officials last year to an ICE protest, where he pointed out “left-wing terrorists” for his millions of followers across social media.
Discussion:
The Parnas Perspective, New Republic, NPR, Washington Examiner, The Independent and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
Emily Cochrane / New York Times:
With Christa Pike Unconscious, Another Execution Attempt Is in Doubt — Her condition raises questions about whether Tennessee could attempt to execute her again if she is incapable of understanding what is happening. — Christa Pike was unconscious, intubated and on a ventilator …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Washington Post, WTOP News, Reason, New Republic, MS NOW, Associated Press, Reuters, The Guardian and TMZ.com
abc7NY:
Mayor Mamdani holds hands with onetime rival Curtis Sliwa to get flu shot in Fort Greene — Mayor Mamdani held hands with Curtis Sliwa as they received flu shots. — FORT GREENE, Brooklyn (WABC) — Mayor Zohran Mamdani held hands with his one-time political rival, Curtis Sliwa …
Discussion:
Mediaite, Associated Press and Washington Examiner
Politico:
Musk-led war commission triggers alarms in Pentagon — Pentagon officials warn that Pete Hegseth's plan for a pair of billionaire defense contractors to help steer the military's future will produce conflicts of interest that threaten the long-term integrity of the department.
Politico:
Who was behind a $250K mystery donation to super PAC backing Ken Paxton? — Last year, a super PAC supporting Texas Senate hopeful Ken Paxton received a $250,000 donation from a man calling himself “Paul McLaren,” a supposed “entrepreneur” living in Plano, Texas.
Discussion:
Associated Press
Carol Rosenberg / New York Times:
Judge Throws Out Another Confession in Sept. 11 Case — Prosecutors have long considered the defendants' admissions during interrogations in 2007 to be their best evidence. — In a new setback to prosecutors in the Sept. 11 case, a military judge on Friday excluded the confessions …
Ken Dilanian / MS NOW:
Kash Patel commissions classified, internal FBI report to examine department ‘failures’ — FBI Director Kash Patel has commissioned a classified report examining purported past FBI shortcomings, in what current and former bureau officials see as the Trump administration's latest effort to rewrite history in the president's favor.
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Associated Press, Daily Kos and Mediaite
Manuela Silva / The Washington Sun:
Judge Slows Border Wall Construction in Big Bend Sector — The order prevents the Trump administration from waiving environmental protections that would allow it to quickly build across a national and state park. — Copy — A judge on Friday slowed the Trump administration's plans …
Discussion:
Axios, Associated Press, The Texas Tribune, New York Times, The Hill, The Guardian and NewsMax.com
Wired:
ICE Has Been Dumping Protester Photos Into a Palantir Database — DHS agents not only tracked and intimidated people observing ICE activity in Maine, but stored information about them in a Palantir-built database, newly unsealed court filings say. — An explosive and newly partially …
Discussion:
Legal Insurrection
Stephen Wolf / The Downballot:
Voters can stop MAGA from running elections in more than a dozen states — Our complete guide every race for secretary of state (and more!) this year — As Donald Trump once again seeks to subvert America's elections, voters in three dozen states will have the opportunity next month …
Axios:
Senate crushes House on congressional work days — The Senate is well on its way to claiming the congressional attendance trophy this year, spending 32 more weekdays in session so far than the House. … - The Senate left town late Wednesday — two weeks after its House counterparts …
Discussion:
NewsMax.com
David Kurtz / Talking Points Memo:
Bill Pulte Guts the IG Office That Investigated Him — Cuts Would Put IG Office Out of Business — In a move that smacks of retaliation, Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte is moving to slash next year's budget for the agency's inspector general's office by more than 60% …
Robert Mackey / The Guardian:
Trump threatens to double tariffs on South Korea if they do not pay for Alaska natural gas pipeline - US politics live — President has claimed pipeline project was part of a deal made last year to lower tariffs on imports from South Korea in return for billions of dollars of investments in the US
Discussion:
The Hill, Bloomberg, Politico, Daily Kos, Scripps News, New York Post, New Republic, The Washington Sun and American Greatness
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
Not To Alarm You, But Trump's Brain Is Melted — Just how bad has Donald Trump's leadership been for the Kennedy Center's financial health? CNN reports that, after Trump slapped his name on the building late last year, donation pledges plunged more than 100 percent compared to the previous three-month period.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal
Kieran Healy:
Trump Tourism Effects — In the past day or two on social media I kept seeing this graph from a Semafor story on the declining volume of international visitors to the United States. — It seems to show, and was being remarked on as showing, that the second Trump administration …
Anthony Salvanto / CBS News:
CBS News poll finds voters split on state v. national focus in tied Maine Senate race — Anyone who's walked its rugged coast or skied in its mountains knows Maine can get windy. — But right now Maine's Senate race seems a bit insulated from the national political winds …
Discussion:
The Hill, NewsMax.com, The Portland Press Herald and NPR
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Trump talks 2028, midterms and media woes at Murdoch dinner — President Trump ragged on several mainstream news outlets, including the Washington Post, New York Times and MS NOW, at a dinner he hosted Tuesday for News Corp. executives, including Rupert Murdoch, a source familiar with the event told Axios.

