Disgraced former House Speaker Dennis Hastert dies at 84  —  The Illinois Republican, the longest-serving GOP speaker in U.S. history, was sentenced to 15 months in prison after leaving Congress for scheming to cover up child molestation accusations.  —  Former Rep. Dennis Hastert …

Mark Penn: GOP Holds The Senate, “Democrats Have Incredibly Weak Candidates In Maine And In Michigan”  —  On “Hannity,” pollster Mark Penn said the midterms are hard to predict given how close the races are, but he ultimately expects Republicans to retain Senate control.

Karoline Leavitt, Trump's ‘Machine Gun,’ Has a New Gig at Fox News  —  A fierce and nimble speaker, Ms. Leavitt is the second of Mr. Trump's former press secretaries to join the cable news network.  —  President Trump recruited a fleet of Fox News personalities for his second administration …

The Alito Court: A rare interview with the influential Supreme Court justice  —  Walking across the gritty New Jersey ball field for the first time since he played here as a boy, Samuel Alito couldn't help but stop to analyze the playing surface.  —  The pebbles were bigger back then, he said, the field more uneven.

Democrats add six more targets, two in districts Trump carried by 20 points  —  Democrats' House campaign arm is expanding its targets even further into Trump country, as the party grows increasingly bullish they will not just win, but win big next month.  —  The Democratic Congressional …

Sam Altman to Decoded: ‘The world should accept some bad things happening’ for the benefits of AI  —  OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said there remains a fundamental difference in worldview between his company and rival Anthropic on artificial intelligence regulation, arguing in an exclusive interview …

Campaign ‘all coming from DC,’ Paxton says  —  Ken Paxton is less than a month out from the conclusion of a D.C.-outsider campaign for a Texas U.S. Senate seat that he privately admitted is being run by Washington.  —  “I've never been in a race where I felt less control over the campaign and …

U.S. Rushes to Withdraw Bombers From U.K. Air Base After New Threats  —  The withdrawal came with unusual speed, following what U.S. officials said were threats of an Iran-based plot against the installation.  —  The United States rushed over the weekend to withdraw all 12 B-1 Air Force bombers …

The Trump Administration is a Cesspit of Corruption  —  And fighting it should be at the heart of the Democratic agenda  —  The cesspit of corruption that is Donald Trump's presidency is finally getting the attention it deserves.  It's about time.  And if a massive blue wave sweeps Washington …

A Death.  A Funeral.  And the Trump Rally Down the Block.  —  Let's get into it.  Happy Monday.  —  Join Will Sommer and Sam Stein for MAGA Mondays today at 10:00 a.m. EDT on Substack and YouTube.  —  Grief and Fear in Two Ohios … They buried Pierre Damas Bel on Saturday.

Scoop: White House monitors suspected plague outbreak in Russia  —  The White House is monitoring reports of a suspected plague case and a related quarantines in Russia, a Trump administration official told Axios on Sunday. … - Shipilova was admitted to a hospital on Sept. 29 with symptoms …

The Key Point Being Overlooked  —  The Russian escalation talk proves one key thing  —  Before I get to this piece, I have a little announcement for history readers.  My book: The Strategists: Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt, Mussolini, and Hitler—How War Made Them and How They Made War …

Crypto PAC to spend in 32 House races  —  A deep-pocketed super PAC network funded by the cryptocurrency industry is set to deploy its war chest to help 32 House candidates spanning both parties in the final weeks before the midterm elections, the group announced Monday.

Trump's Economic Meltdown Is the Ultimate Self-own  —  Most presidents are victims of what they inherit.  This one wrecked the economy all by himself  —  few years ago, Democrats in Washington were circulating a chart showing that the economy always does better when they're in charge and worse when Republicans hold the White House.

Flávio Bolsonaro leads Lula as Brazil heads to a runoff  —  SAO PAULO — Brazilian conservative Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro emerged in pole position from a first round of voting Sunday, spelling a pro-Washington turn in the country.  —  The general vote in Brazil …

It took four years, but a Capitol Hill office finally has a union contract  —  Four years ago, California Rep. Ro Khanna's staff voted to unionize — one of a handful of Democratic offices that sought to ride a wave of organizing momentum during then-President Joe Biden's administration.

FBI arrests alleged Chinese agent at LAX after she allegedly surveilled son of Taiwanese president  —  The FBI arrested a suspected Chinese agent at Los Angeles International Airport after she allegedly surveilled the Taiwanese president's U.S.-based son, law enforcement sources told CBS News.

White House defends new press aide who posed with rifle in ‘Fuck Joe Biden’ shirt  —  Beni Rae Harmony, 24, has been ‘a trusted voice for the MAGA movement as a White House correspondent’, White House says  —  The White House has defended a newly hired press aide who posed for a holiday photograph …

U.S. military says latest strike on alleged drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean kills 4  —  The military did not provide evidence that the vessel was ferrying drugs.  —  WASHINGTON — The U.S. military said it attacked a boat suspected of being used to smuggle drugs in the Caribbean Sea on Sunday …

A Prediction Market About the Past?  Sure, Why Not!  —  As prediction markets surge in popularity, a new platform called Verifact Markets is pushing the concept even further, letting users trade on “disputed facts.”  —  Would you put money on whether Covid-19 originated from a lab?