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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

Why Democrats are running more Epstein-focused ads … Democrats' top Senate super PAC is flooding the airwaves with ads hitting Republicans on Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier and convicted sex offender.  They have data to back it up.  —  Internal polling of over 4,500 voters from Senate Majority PAC …

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.

Researcher at Russian plague laboratory dies of ‘unknown’ infection  —  Russian authorities have imposed “anti-epidemic measures” after a laboratory worker at an institute in Siberia dedicated to studying the plague and other infectious diseases died of a mysterious illness.

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.

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.

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 …

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.

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?

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 …

Is it legal?  Trump promises Medicare and ACA checks without Congress ahead of midterm elections  —  President Trump announced that more than 20 million seniors on Medicare will soon receive a direct deposit of nearly $100, drawing Democratic criticism and questions about whether the payments …

Troy Jackson is scrambling to defeat Maine Sen. Susan Collins.  Time is not on his side  —  It's a Monday night, and Troy Jackson has drawn about 250 people into a converted church to hear him talk about healthcare and labor in Maine.  The event is notably different from the rallies held earlier …

The unmanly truth about Trump's jobs record  —  The latest jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics fell far short of expectations: just 29,000 jobs created in September.  Though not many people are losing their jobs, it is a bad time to be looking for one (just ask any graduating senior).