Top Items:
Victoria Balara / Fox News:
Fox News Poll: It's a Lone Star Senate showdown between Talarico and Paxton — The contest is defined by Democratic engagement and GOP divisions — Weeks before Election Day, Democratic engagement and positive ratings give Democrat James Talarico a razor-thin edge over Republican Ken Paxton in what is …
Discussion:
Breitbart, The Independent, RedState and Newsweek
RELATED:
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
GOP senators warn Trump is hurting Republicans with independents — Senate Republicans say President Trump has become increasingly toxic with independent voters critical to winning Senate races in battlegrounds such as North Carolina, Ohio, Iowa and Alaska.
Dana Blanton / Fox News:
Fox News Poll: Turek, Hinson in close Iowa Senate race — The contest hinges on how much of the GOP base Hinson can hold — Economic concerns and party loyalty are key factors shaping Iowa's U.S. Senate matchup. — A Fox News statewide survey of Iowa likely voters finds Democrat Josh Turek …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Newsweek and Breitbart
Igor Bobic / The Washington Sun:
Red States Are Trending Blue. Is Mississippi Really on the Table?
Red States Are Trending Blue. Is Mississippi Really on the Table?
Discussion:
Washington Post, Magnolia Tribune and Mississippi Today
Mychael Schnell / MS NOW:
Democrats are making huge gains in Trump country. The battleground states are a different story.
Democrats are making huge gains in Trump country. The battleground states are a different story.
Discussion:
The Hill
Politico:
The reverend's run — With help from Eli Okun, Ali Bianco and Irie Sentner — Good Friday morning. We're kicking off today with some nastygrams you won't want to miss. Read on, and get in touch. — FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) lashed out in private texts …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal and Harper's, more at Mediagazer »
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John Light / Talking Points Memo:
JD Vance Says Black, Socialist Candidate for Senate Doesn't ‘Belong in America’ — A New Chapter in Vance's Effort to Police Who's American — JD Vance visited Florida yesterday, stumping for candidates in races that for a few cycles have been safely red.
Discussion:
The Washington Sun and Washington Examiner
Marc Caputo / Axios:
“Strange bedfellows”: Bernie Sanders, Florida Dems and a benchmark $250k donation
Kimberly Leonard / Politico:
Vance's red-state swing hits Florida as polls tighten in Sunshine State
Vance's red-state swing hits Florida as polls tighten in Sunshine State
Discussion:
Mediaite, NewsMax.com, Scripps News, The Floridian, The Gateway Pundit, Florida Politics, Newsweek, National Politics and CBS News
Jeff Cox / CNBC:
U.S. nonfarm payrolls increase by 29,000 in September, less than expected; unemployment rises to 4.2% … Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news. — CNBC Councils — Join the CNBC Panel — News Tips
Discussion:
Washington Examiner and NewsMax.com
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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:
Wall Street Journal, MS NOW, Washington Examiner, Straight Arrow, CBS News, The Hill, Washington Post, The Independent, NewsMax.com, WTOP News, Fox Business and Deadline
New York Times:
Hochul Names Letitia James as Special Prosecutor in Cornell Case — Gov. Kathy Hochul appointed the New York State attorney general to investigate allegations by a former Cornell University student that several men sexually assaulted her. — Gov. Kathy Hochul has named Letitia James …
Discussion:
Straight Arrow, The Hill, Townhall, Reuters, MS NOW, Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, NPR, One America News Network, Breitbart and The Cornell Daily Sun
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Hurubie Meko / New York Times:
Cornell Police Report Omitted Student's Claim She Was Raped — Documents obtained by The New York Times show that the campus police at Cornell University sent a condensed statement to a prosecutor, who then declined to bring charges. — At a campus police department on Nov. 14, 2024 …
Discussion:
Robert Reich, Fox News, Washington Examiner, HotAir, The Guardian, The Daily Wire, New York Post, The New World and PBS NewsHour
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.
Lisa Needham / Public Notice:
The mendaciousness of the latest DOJ attack on judges — Ahead of PN's 5th anniversary next week, we're offering paid subscriptions at the special yearly rate of $40 (or about 16¢ per edition). This newsletter is only possible thanks to the support of paid subscribers.
Discussion:
MS NOW, Townhall, Talking Points Memo and The Federalist
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Washington Post:
MLB drops proposal to host a baseball game at Grand Teton National Park — After The Washington Post reported on the proposal, local leaders sent letters to the Trump administration and the MLB commissioner expressing strong opposition. — SummaryLoading...
Discussion:
Associated Press and The Washington Sun
Politico:
Democrats push for a bigger majority that would alleviate headaches for Hakeem Jeffries — Democrats are making moves to try to secure a big enough House majority to sideline blocs of both progressive and moderate holdouts who could cause constant headaches for Hakeem Jeffries if he becomes speaker next year.
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
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 …
Lowkell / Blue Virginia:
Friday (10/2) News Roundup: Trump “Is Not Well”; Russ Vought, “Shadow President”; Hegseth Needs to Be Impeached ASAP — DOJ “Trying to Recast Richard Nixon as the Victim of Watergate”; National outrage over Cornell rape case, barbaric botched execution — Here are a few international …
Henry J. Gomez / NBC News:
Vance talks 2028, Ted Cruz and a tough midterm climate that could factor into his future — In an interview with NBC News, Vance said he is cautiously optimistic that Republicans' numbers are improving even as concerns about the war and gas prices take a political toll.
Discussion:
Mediaite
Megan Messerly / Politico:
Trump's ‘pitch perfect’ project announcements may be too late to help the GOP — It's finally infrastructure week. President Donald Trump is announcing major transportation, energy and manufacturing projects and promising thousands of jobs in states with vulnerable Republicans.
Discussion:
New York Post, New Republic, The Korea Times, The Washington Sun, The Hill, Washington Post, The Daily Wire, Deseret News, CBS News and RedState
Andrea Sachs / Washington Post:
TSA officers must now stand up on the job — The agency is removing chairs from document-checking stations. — Loading... Transportation Security Administration officers who check passengers' documents can no longer sit down on the job. — The agency announced this week …
Discussion:
NewsMax.com
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 …
Prem Thakker / Zeteo:
Jasmine Crockett Offered Lobbying Services on Her Campaign-Funded Website - While in Office — The offering was removed after Zeteo contacted the Texas Democratic congresswoman's office. — ∙ Paid — Texas Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett was offering government relations …
Dan Merica / Washington Post:
Democrats expand battleground for House, reaching into bloodred districts — The additions include Kansas's 2nd, Michigan's 1st, North Carolina's 13th, New Jersey's 2nd, Oklahoma's 5th, Texas's 9th, Virginia's 6th and Washington's 5th. — Loading... House Democrats' campaign arm announced Friday …
John Hudson / Washington Post:
Trump defies Democrats, diverts aid for Europe to Latin America instead — The diverted funds include tens of millions of dollars Congress approved for countries impacted by the war in Ukraine. — SummaryLoading... The Trump administration, acting in defiance of top Democrats on the House …
Discussion:
Letters from an American
NBC News:
Democrats regain ground on voter registration in key states after steep post-2024 drops — An NBC News Decision Desk analysis of voter file data in seven states found that Democrats managed to reverse or slow their registration decline over the past year. — After having suffered massive …
Steven Levitsky / Journal of Democracy:
Competitive Authoritarianism in America — Read the full essay here. — The United States crossed the line into competitive authoritarianism during Donald Trump's second presidency: Elections remained real, but incumbents systematically abused state institutions to tilt the playing field against opponents.
Washington Post:
Dems are running against the One Big Beautiful Bill. What can they do if they win? — Loading... In today's edition ... How does Christa Pike factor into changing views on the death penalty ... We ask you about dating ... but first ... Can Democrats do anything about the One Big Beautiful Bill Act?
Discussion:
NPR, Post and Courier and The Federalist
Theodoric Meyer / Washington Post:
Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez debut bill to crack down on Flock cameras — The legislation is part of a bipartisan backlash against a technology that has been abused by law enforcement. — SummaryLoading... Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez …
Discussion:
Houston Public Media, NewsMax.com and American Prospect
Lawrence Hurley / NBC News:
Trump clashes ahead as new Supreme Court term begins — The president has lost major cases and openly criticized the justices, but he still has a winning record at the court, which will consider his immigration policies and more this term. — WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's harsh criticisms …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, MS NOW, Reuters, SCOTUSblog, Ms. Magazine, Breitbart, Townhall, RedState, The Hill, Mediaite and NewsMax.com
Paul Krugman:
A “Who You Gonna Believe?” Election — If you're arguing, you're losing. Trump is arguing. — They're still doing it! Click on any White House press release and the image above pops up. The tone-deafness is almost surreal. Even if you're a Trump loyalist who really believes …
Discussion:
Axios
Alex Roarty / The Washington Sun:
The Democratic Brand Is a Mess. Some Democrats Are Taking Advantage. — EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. — Paige Cognetti is trying to be the kind of Democratic candidate Republicans want to have a beer with. — It's why her congressional campaign held a meet and greet at a local brewery here Sunday …
NBC News:
How Trump's homelessness crackdown became a sweeping retreat from disability rights — After issuing a memo making it easier to institutionalize homeless people, the Justice Department began abandoning cases protecting disabled people's right to live in the community.
Discussion:
NPR
Michael Lewis / Wall Street Journal:
Michael Lewis on the Lone Security Guard Who Resisted DOGE — In an exclusive excerpt from ‘Blockers,’ the inside story of the high-stakes D.C. standoff where security chief Colin O'Brien fought off DOGE operatives. — COLIN O'BRIEN was the chief security officer at the United States Institute of Peace.
Discussion:
Fox News
Elizabeth Elkind / Fox News:
Inside the House GOP's 4-week battle plan to save its majority — A House GOP leadership memo to Republican lawmakers obtained by Fox News Digital reveals four key messaging points — FIRST ON FOX: House GOP leaders are quietly laying their battle plans for the final month ahead of the November midterm elections.
Andrew Duehren / New York Times:
Are Democrats Worried About the Wrong Rich People? … Other than Donald Trump — who is himself worth nine figures — billionaires are perhaps the most common foil for Democrats running for office this year. Whether they're trying to win a safe blue seat or a competitive red one …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Jacobin and CalMatters

