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 …

White House blocks Politico from Air Force One amid press access lawsuit  —  The White House is refusing to allow Politico on Air Force One on Monday, which means the news organization cannot fulfill its press corps pool responsibilities.  —  A Politico spokesperson confirmed that the publication …

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 …

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 …

Outgoing Sen. Tillis regrets pivotal vote for Hegseth: 'He's an actor.  He's not a manager'  —  Tillis, who voted to confirm Hegseth last year, said the defense secretary has “not demonstrat[ed] any knowledge of the Department of Defense.”  —  Outgoing Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C. …

Russian lab worker dies of suspected plague as 200 enter medical observation  —  The female staffer at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia and the Far East died from a “pneumonia of undetermined” origin last week, according to a regional governor.

Barack Obama to Campaign With Abdul El-Sayed in Detroit  —  The former president has been stepping up his involvement in this year's midterm elections.  — Copy  —  Former President Barack Obama will campaign with Democrat Abdul El-Sayed in Detroit later this month, the Michigan Senate hopeful announced on Monday.

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 …

Palm Beach GOP endorses candidate accused of child sex abuse  —  Suspended Palm Beach County Clerk of Courts Mike Caruso said he still “intend[s] to win” the November election and has not abandoned his campaign — nor has the local Republican Party abandoned him — even after his August arrest on allegations he molested a small child.

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 …

Trump's economic tightrope messaging of strong economy, high prices  —  President Trump's economic officials acknowledge that a strong economy alone will not persuade Americans that they are better off under this president. … - It is a high-wire messaging act just weeks before the midterms …

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.

The Doomsday Scenario  —  Even if Democrats crush the midterms, we're in a world of trouble.  —  1. Blue Tsunami?  —  I am bullish on the prospects of Democrats winning the Senate.  One month out, I'd say the rough outcome distribution looks something like this:  —  Can we agree on that?

“You Kidnapped My Son”  —  For several days this spring, trapped inside a Texas immigration detention center, Luis made frantic phone calls, one after the other, to everyone he could think of.  —  Could anyone help him find his 11-year-old son?  —  He'd last seen Andrés …

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.

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 …

DOJ sued for records on ‘unprecedented’ plan to deploy 1,000 election monitors in midterms  —  The NAACP sued the Trump administration Friday, seeking records about its plan to deploy roughly 1,000 federal personnel to polling places during the 2026 midterms.

Texas Pediatricians Face Paxton Investigations for Vaccinating Children  —  Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general and Republican Senate candidate, has alleged a sprawling profit-driven conspiracy.  Pediatricians say the accusations are an attempt at intimidation.

CIA Report Warns Israel Could Head Toward Civil War, Total Collapse  —  As a reader-funded independent news outlet, we operate free from the influence of governments, advertisers, and corporate backers.  This is essential to our mission: to report on what matters most, beholden only to the truth.

Job numbers make clear that Trump has a reality problem, not a public relations problem  —  To date, the White House hasn't even tried to explain why the job market worsened after the president's second term began.  —  With public opinion polls showing broad public dissatisfaction with the economy …

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 …

Senator's ‘Zombie’ Campaign Committee Shuts Down 13 Years After His Death  —  More than 13 years after Sen. Frank Lautenberg died, his Senate campaign committee has officially departed as well.  —  Lautenberg for Senate filed termination paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on Sunday …

Supreme Court vacates lower court ruling that Washington map discriminated against Latino voters  —  The Supreme Court on Monday reversed two pro-voter decisions in cases related to Washington's legislative redistricting, sending them back to a lower court for new proceedings in light …

Supreme Court declines to take up school ban on 'Let's Go Brandon' shirts  —  The Supreme Court will not hear a dispute over whether a Michigan public school district can bar students from wearing clothing emblazoned with “Let's Go Brandon,” a popular conservative slogan used to mock former President Biden.

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 …

Don't Bet On The Fever Breaking  —  Democrats have to be ready to box Trump in, even if Republicans in Congress close ranks around him, the way they always have.  —  ∙ Paid  —  Let me inject you with a dash of hopium before we spend the next month huffing into a paper bag.