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 …

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 …

Some Democrats don't expect to fill a Supreme Court vacancy under Trump  —  Democrats need a net gain of four seats to capture the Senate.  If so, they'd control what happens in a vacancy, as Justice Samuel Alito admits he's thought about retirement.  —  WASHINGTON — Senate Minority Leader …

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

Soldiers Wounded in Iranian Drone Strike Say They Aren't Getting Proper Care  —  The shrapnel hit Army Lt. Col. Arturo Lincón's body like shattered glass.  —  One chunk of metal lodged into the left side of his jaw.  Another piece sliced through his salivary gland before bouncing off …

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 …

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.

Suspected plague in Russia puts EU on alert  —  Europe is “very closely” monitoring a suspected case of pneumonic plague in eastern Russia, following the death of a lab worker, a European Commission spokesperson said Monday.  —  “We are aware of the reports concerning the laboratory incident in Russia …

Spain's November snap election — what you need to know  —  Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called an early election for November 29 that he hopes will hand him a parliamentary majority but which could just as easily usher in a conservative coalition, as the centre-left bloc trails in most opinion polls.

Trump plans executive order seeking to bring down high diesel costs  —  President Donald Trump plans to announce Monday executive actions aimed at lowering the high fuel costs weighing on Republicans ahead of the midterms, according to three people familiar with the plans.

Supreme Court's new term kicks off with blockbuster climate change case  —  A new Supreme Court term begins Monday with arguments in a blockbuster case about the reach of state power.  —  Boulder, Colo., is suing two big energy companies, arguing they deceived people about the harms …

Barack Obama is to appear with Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed in Detroit  —  DETROIT — Former President Barack Obama will campaign alongside Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed in Detroit later this month, lending his support to the progressive nominee after a bruising Democratic …

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 …

GOP senators, blindsided by Hegseth, demand notice, transparency  —  Key Republican senators say they were blindsided by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's announced 20 percent reduction of the U.S. military's general and admirals, and they're voicing concerns about the lack of consultation …

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.

CIA Report Warns Israel Could Head Toward Civil War, Total Collapse  —  U.S. intelligence raises fears of civil unrest and state breakdown in Israel ahead of October 27 elections.  —  As a reader-funded independent news outlet, we operate free from the influence of governments, advertisers, and corporate backers.

A Democratic Senate Should Adopt Secret Impeachment Ballots on a Priority Basis  —  Such a change, requiring no constitutional amendment, would free senators to vote their judgment instead of their fears  —  At the Philadelphia Convention in 1787, James Madison was determined to persuade …