Top Items:
Nate Cohn / New York Times:
Democrats May Have Found the Recipe for Flipping Red-State Senate Seats — New Times/Siena polls continue a run of strong results for the party in states that President Trump won easily in 2024. — On paper, the Democrats' path to winning the Senate in November is daunting.
Discussion:
Alternet.org
RELATED:
Paul Krugman:
The Midterms! — Talking with G. Ellliott Morris and David Nir — TRANSCRIPT: — Paul Krugman in Conversation with David Nir and G. Elliott Morris — Paul Krugman: Like almost everybody I know, I spend about 17 hours a day thinking about the midterms, and I've got G. Elliott Morris …
Discussion:
Townhall, Washington Examiner, New York Times and Lawyers, Guns & Money
New York Times:
Senate Races in Republican States Tilt Toward Democrats, Polls Find — Democrats are performing strongly in five reliably Republican states where they are trying to flip Senate seats to win control of the chamber, new New York Times/Siena polls found. — A month before the midterm elections …
Discussion:
Silver Bulletin, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Newsweek, America, America, NRSC and Alternet.org
Lauren McGaughy / New York Times:
As She Divorces Ken Paxton, His Wife Urges Texans to Vote for Him — In a new ad, Angela Paxton tells voters to focus on the “whole team,” not “individual players.” — Angela Paxton wants to clear the air. — Mrs. Paxton, the estranged wife of Ken Paxton, a conservative firebrand locked …
Discussion:
Washington Post and HotAir
Alice Miranda Ollstein / Politico:
Republicans tried to punt health care cuts until after the midterms. It didn't work. — The political bill for Republicans' health care agenda is coming due earlier than they'd hoped. — Republicans' signature legislation from Trump 2.0 — 2025's One Big Beautiful Bill Act …
Discussion:
Washington Post
Jonathan Martin / Politico:
Democrats Are Underfunding the Races That Could Remake the Map
Democrats Are Underfunding the Races That Could Remake the Map
Discussion:
Newsweek
CNN:
A growing number of House Republicans privately believe they won't win the House
A growing number of House Republicans privately believe they won't win the House
Discussion:
Mediaite, Hackwhackers and Fox News
New York Times:
U.S.-Russia Talks on Ukraine Now Involve an Oil Deal Tied to Trump Allies — President Vladimir V. Putin brought up a sale of Russian energy assets with President Trump's envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, pushing a deal that raises new questions about conflicts of interest.
Discussion:
emptywheel, NewsMax.com, The Hill, Reuters and Mediaite
Ben Berkowitz / Axios:
Trump promises $100 checks for 20 million seniors for Medicare — President Trump late Friday night said the administration would send just under $100 to more than 20 million senior citizens to help pay for Medicare benefits. … - Trump said the money would come from the Medicare Improvement Fund …
Discussion:
MeidasTouch
RELATED:
Sarah Davis / The Hill:
Trump announces US will send $90 checks to 20 million seniors enrolled in Medicare
Discussion:
Reuters, Breitbart, New York Post, Bloomberg, Daily Mail and Trump's Truth
Josh Boak / Associated Press:
A gut punch in Ohio: Nearly 1,400 laid off at truck factory just days before Trump rally — Sipping tea from beer mugs with his co-workers, Kyle Bos listed the ways his life is changing. Bos has two daughters, with a third due in January. At the grocery store, five items cost as much as a full cart once did.
Steven Hale / Nashville Banner:
Tennessee Prison Commissioner Resigns After Failed Christa Pike Execution — Frank Strada's department has botched two executions this year — Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email … Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada has resigned as head …
Discussion:
The Guardian, The Hill, Reuters, CBS News, New York Times, RedState, Associated Press, NewsMax.com, TMZ.com, The Gateway Pundit, NewsNation, New York Post and RTÉ
New York Times:
Cross-Tabs: September 2026 Times/Siena Polls of the Likely Electorate in Battleground Senate Races — Results of New York Times/Siena polls conducted among 2,946 voters from Sept. 21 to Oct. 1, 2026. … ‹ › — Do you think [state] is on the right track, or is it headed in the wrong direction?
Discussion:
The Hill and Siena Research Institute
Shawn McCreesh / New York Times:
In Alabama, Trump Relives His Glory Days (This Time With Some Empty Seats) — The Deep South was the birthplace of the mega MAGA rally. How do people on the Gulf feel about President Trump now? — On Friday night, President Trump turned up in Mobile, Ala., to give a campaign rally five weeks ahead of the midterm elections.
Lydia Polgreen / New York Times:
Zohran Mamdani Is Showing the World How It's Done — A few days before the leaders of the world streamed into the cavernous, marble-lined General Assembly Hall to deliver their speeches on the grave crises convulsing our combustible world, Mayor Zohran Mamdani offered his own …
Patricia Mazzei / New York Times:
How a Provocative Ad on Trump and Immigration Stirred a Florida House Race — Representative María Elvira Salazar, a Republican, ran an ad criticizing the Trump administration. It may have jolted other Republicans — and drawn attention to her Democratic opponent.
Discussion:
Politico
RELATED:
Barak Ravid / Axios:
Scoop: Trump's top national security aides meet secretly at Camp David on Iran, Yemen — President Trump's top cabinet members huddled for hours at Camp David on Friday to discuss next steps in the Iran war and the Saudi-Houthi conflict in Yemen, three U.S. officials told Axios.
Discussion:
MeidasTouch, Telegraph, IJR News, NewsMax.com, New York Times, The American Conservative, Middle East Monitor, NewsNation and CBS News
RELATED:
Barak Ravid / Axios:
Saudis plan major offensive against the Houthis, but U.S. won't join for now
Saudis plan major offensive against the Houthis, but U.S. won't join for now
Discussion:
Al Jazeera, Middle East Monitor, NewsMax.com and Reuters
Rebecca Solnit / The Guardian:
We live in a rape-prone society. The horrific Cornell case reveals what that looks like — Public outcry to punish the alleged perpetrators in the Cornell case misses the point - the only solution is political, legal and cultural equality of women — Sometimes a story is so so appalling …
Discussion:
New York Times, Salt Lake Tribune, CBS News and CNN
Tom Schaller / Public Notice:
Diesel Don is tanking the GOP — 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. If you're not already one of them …
Lingling Wei / Wall Street Journal:
Unusual Rest Breaks for Xi Jinping Sucked Hours Out of Summit With Trump — Beijing pared back the schedule and insisted on private downtime for China's 73-year-old leader — Chinese officials made unusual demands that the U.S. accommodate Xi Jinping's need for rest during a summit with President Trump …
Discussion:
Daily Mail
Rebecca Santana / Associated Press:
Judge temporarily blocks border wall construction in Texas' Big Bend region — A federal court in Texas on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from building a border wall and other infrastructure across the state's Big Bend region, in a victory for opponents who have pushed …
RELATED:
Manuela Silva / The Washington Sun:
Judge Slows Border Wall Construction in Big Bend Sector
Judge Slows Border Wall Construction in Big Bend Sector
Discussion:
New York Times, The Texas Tribune and Axios
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:
Townhall, Mock Paper Scissors, The Daily Wire, Blaze Media, The Hill, CBS News, The Independent and Reason
RELATED:
Gavin J. Quinton / The Washington Sun:
Alito Explains His Decision to Defer Retirement
Alito Explains His Decision to Defer Retirement
Discussion:
New York Times, CBS News, NewsMax.com, RedState, Breitbart, Newsweek, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit, Forbes, MS NOW, Mediaite and NBC News

