Top Items:
Axios:
Exclusive: Paxton privately blames woes on Iran war, gas prices — Texas Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton privately lamented the impact of the Iran war and gas prices on his campaign in a meeting last month, telling a group of donors and lobbyists, “I don't make the decisions,” according to audio obtained by Axios.
RELATED:
Politico:
Paxton's latest audio leak is making things tough for national Republicans — National Republicans have spent months trying to rescue Ken Paxton. He's complicating that effort. — Tensions are brewing with some Republicans after POLITICO published Paxton's closed-door comments that …
Discussion:
New York Magazine, The Hill, Alternet.org and The Guardian
Associated Press:
Can $1 billion power Republicans to victory in the midterms?
Discussion:
Washington Post, KOB 4, WTOP News and FactCheck.org
Wired:
Elon Musk's America PAC Is Spending Big on the Midterms. We're Tracking It Daily
Elon Musk's America PAC Is Spending Big on the Midterms. We're Tracking It Daily
Discussion:
Washington Post and Deseret News
MS NOW:
‘Biggest endorsement fail’: Why Texas has become personal for Trump
‘Biggest endorsement fail’: Why Texas has become personal for Trump
Discussion:
NBC News, The Hill, CNN and The Texas Tribune
Isaac Arnsdorf / Washington Post:
Half a billion dollars in GOP spending does little to move polls
Half a billion dollars in GOP spending does little to move polls
Discussion:
The Independent and Daily Kos
New Republic:
Transcript: Trump Spirals Into Fury as GOP Pollsters Deliver Bad News — The following is a lightly edited transcript of the October 7 episode of the Daily Blast podcast. Listen to it here. — Greg Sargent: This is The Daily Blast from The New Republic, produced and presented by the DSR Network.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, HuffPost, Associated Press, The Daily Caller and Mediaite
RELATED:
Politico:
Republicans enter triage mode as their election hopes continue to dim — Republicans are flooding the electoral map with a deluge of advertising to defend their House and Senate majorities. But their once-towering financial advantage is starting to show its limits.
Discussion:
CNN, National Review, Talking Points Memo, PoliticusUSA, New Republic and Alternet.org
Matt Dixon / NBC News:
Florida poll: Republicans lead in the races for governor and Senate — The new survey shows the state's Hispanic voters shifting away from President Donald Trump after Republicans made gains in 2024. — Republican Byron Donalds holds a 7-percentage-point advantage over Democrat David Jolly …
Discussion:
Scripps News, Politico, NewsMax.com and Fox News
David Nir / The Downballot:
Morning Digest: New spending shows Senate battlefield expanding into the Deep South
Elleiana Green / Politico:
Michigan's Mike Rogers says trade war with Canada needs to end
Michigan's Mike Rogers says trade war with Canada needs to end
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, Washington Examiner, The Hill, NewsMax.com, Forbes, Newsweek, The Daily Wire, Axios, Political.org, KTVZ-TV and Mediaite
Morgan Fischer / Phoenix New Times:
Congressional candidate is raped while repairing her campaign signs — Embarrassed, she initially didn't want to report attack. Maricopa County Sheriff's Office's investigation is ongoing. — Add New Times — as a preferred source on Google — It was just after 2 a.m …
Discussion:
New Republic
Claudia Chiappa / Politico:
WHO seeks clarity on second pneumonia case in Russia amid plague fears — Donald Trump will speak with Vladimir Putin about the situation after the U.S. urged Russia to share more information following the death of a lab worker. — The World Health Organization is looking into reports …
Discussion:
Reuters, Straight Arrow, MS NOW, Associated Press, The Washington Sun, The Hill, Legal Insurrection, Forbes, KOB 4, New York Times, Fox News, One America News Network, Malone News, Political.org, The Daily Wire, Washington Post, Healthbeat, CBS News, UnHerd, ABC News, Daily Mail, NewsNation and RTÉ
RELATED:
Dan Mangan / CNBC:
Trump doesn't think Russia plague incident is bioweapon, plans Putin call Wednesday … President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. does not think the death of a Russian laboratory worker from a suspected case of plague is the result of a bioweapon. — Trump also said he planned …
ABC News:
US issues formal complaint to Russia over response to suspected death related to plague lab
US issues formal complaint to Russia over response to suspected death related to plague lab
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, CBS News, Wall Street Journal, The Daily Wire, Associated Press, Straight Arrow, The Atlantic, abc7NY, RTÉ, RedState, Forbes, Legal Insurrection, WBUR and Breitbart
Nathan Lee / ABC News:
Trump sons' investments have won billions in Pentagon contracts since his election — The contract for a new plant in Baltimore is the latest linked to the brothers. — President Donald Trump and his sons Eric Trump, back left, and Donald Trump Jr., back, second right, and granddaughter Chole Trump …
Discussion:
Mediaite and The Daily Wire
Meryl Kornfield / Washington Post:
Trump wants to turn his West Palm Beach golf club into the new Camp David — The plan calls for the federal government to be granted part of the property, with the rest maintained as a private course. — SummaryLoading... Much of President Donald Trump's second term has focused on changes to the nation's capital.
Jacob Knutson / Democracy Docket:
ICE probed hundreds of voter registration groups across the U.S. — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over the past year investigated hundreds of nonprofits across the U.S. that help people register to vote, according to new records analyzed by Democracy Docket.
Discussion:
New York Times, Truthout, New Republic, The Independent and CNN
Matt Gertz / Media Matters for America:
Fox News at 30: Even the pretense of impartiality is all but gone — Fox News' role as a Republican propaganda machine is clear to anyone who has bothered to peruse its programming — President Donald Trump knows it, Fox co-founder Rupert Murdoch knows it, disgraced network co-founder Roger Ailes knew it …
Steven Nelson / New York Post:
Trump threatens to ‘terminate’ top campaign advisers after revelation of work for pro-Russia Bosnia party — WASHINGTON — President Trump threatened Wednesday to “terminate” two key advisers after they were revealed to have raked in “hundreds of thousands of dollars each” …
Discussion:
CNN, Bloomberg, Washington Post, The Washington Sun, The Hill, Washington Examiner, Trump's Truth, The Independent, NewsMax.com, Alternet.org and New York Times
Susan Heavey / Reuters:
Trump administration plans to charge international students $70,000 for work authorization — The US Department of Homeland Security has proposed that international students pay at least $70,000 in training fees if they want to work in the country, according to a government notice posted online on Wednesday …
Discussion:
Bloomberg Law, Politico, IJR News and Los Angeles Times
Molly Parks / Washington Examiner:
Mamdani draws heat over Oct. 7 statement: ‘Cannot give Jewish New Yorkers even a single day to mourn’ — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has drawn backlash from several pro-Israel political pundits and officials in response to his statement on the third anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023 …
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Suha Kidwai / The Independent:
Naked statue of Trump named ‘Orange Plague’ unveiled at European Parliament — The creator of the sculpture said it was a ‘satirical outcry’ against Trump's volatile climate and foreign policies — Become an Independent member to bookmark this article — Want to bookmark your favourite articles …
Discussion:
New Republic, Telegraph, Washington Examiner, HuffPost, Breitbart and Mediaite
Noah Berlatsky / Public Notice:
Roger Marshall is running an all time terrible campaign — To commemorate PN's 5th anniversary, this 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.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Scripps News and Mediaite
Kadia Goba / The Washington Sun:
Republicans Want to Flip the Script on Health Care — Back in the summer, physician and former Republican Rep. Brad Wenstrup and Trump-aligned pollster John McLaughlin offered coaching to House Republicans on how to talk about health care: Lean in. — Republican strategists say the party …
Discussion:
KFF
Arthur Jones II / ABC News:
Democrats push back on Trump administration's ‘brazen’ attempt to roll back education standards — They're calling on HHS Secretary Kennedy to stop proposed changes to Head Start. — Stock image of children at pre-school. — Democrats are urging Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr …
Joseph Nunn / Just Security:
No Emergency Exception: The Ban on Troops at the Polls Was Built for Crises — With the mid-term elections approaching, questions have arisen over whether the Trump administration might attempt to station federal troops at polling places. As the Brennan Center and many others have pointed out …
Jessica Grose / New York Times:
Billionaires Love This School Policy. Many Regular Parents Hate It. — “I've been voting Republican my whole life. I'm super conservative,” Pine Tree superintendent Steve Clugston tells the camera in an Instagram reel. “I'm gonna tell you what, when Greg Abbott sold us out to the billionaires …
Discussion:
Diane Ravitch's blog and The Daily Texan
Matt Cohen / Democracy Docket:
Maryland voters skeptical of Democrats' redistricting amendment, polls show — Maryland Democrats scored a win last month when the state's Supreme Court allowed a constitutional amendment on redistricting to appear on the November ballot. — But the victory might be short-lived.
Discussion:
Washington Post
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
October 6, 2026 — Judging from his social media posts, Trump is panicking. — Shortly after noon yesterday, he posted that it was “no longer the Strait of Hormuz” driving up gasoline prices, but Ukraine's strikes on Russia's refineries. In fact, some oil tankers have indeed …
Alex Harring / CNBC:
ICE came to town and left behind weakened economies … MINNEAPOLIS — Operation Metro Surge has been over for months. The same can't be said for the crisis facing Daniel Hernandez's Colonial Market grocery stores. — After Hernandez's parking lot became a well-known hangout spot …
Reid J. Epstein / New York Times:
Could Democrats Win the Texas Governor's Race? The Party Is Starting to Spend There. — Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois and the Democratic Governors Association are each sending $1 million to back Gina Hinojosa in a bid for Texas governor that appears increasingly competitive.
Discussion:
NBC News
Ryan Quinn / Inside Higher Ed:
Alabama Makes State Workers Say ‘Gulf of America.’ Colleges Aren't Spared. — Republican lawmakers say faculty can only call it the Gulf of Mexico for “historical purposes” in academic courses. Journalists are constrained by the restriction, too. — Alabama's Gulf of America Act took effect …
Discussion:
Reason
Erin Cox / Washington Post:
Amid 2028 buzz, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore doesn't commit to full second term — Moore is widely expected to run for president in 2028. But the Democrat must get reelected first. — Loading... In the lone debate of his reelection campaign, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore's toughest question was about his own future.
Vittoria Elliott / Wired:
A Mysterious Nonprofit Run by SpaceXAI's Top Lawyer Is Paying the Salaries of Government Workers — The National Design Studio has been something of a successor agency to DOGE. A WIRED investigation finds some of its members are on loan from a nonprofit run by SpaceXAI's general counsel.
Quinnipiac University Poll:
PA Governor's Race: Shapiro 59%, Garrity 34%, Quinnipiac University Pennsylvania Poll Finds; Voters Favor Dems To Win Control Of U.S. House By 15 Points — mail_outline — In the final weeks of Pennsylvania's gubernatorial race, 59 percent of likely voters support incumbent Governor Josh Shapiro …
Discussion:
The Hill and City & State Pennsylvania
Aljean Harmetz / New York Times:
Eva Marie Saint, Oscar Winner for ‘On the Waterfront,’ Is Dead at 102 — A luminous beauty with dramatic depth, she brought a layered intensity to harrowing roles and seduced Cary Grant in the romantic thriller “North by Northwest.” — Eva Marie Saint, who won an Academy Award in 1955 …
Fox News:
Rubio to deliver urgent plea to save Western civilization during speech in its birthplace — Secretary of state will speak against the backdrop of the Acropolis, urging allies to reject the decline of the West — Secretary of State Marco Rubio will deliver a speech in Greece on Wednesday calling …
Discussion:
New York Times, Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, Agence France-Presse, New York Post, One America News Network, CBS News, Reuters, RedState, Military.com, Los Angeles Times, VINnews, Breitbart, New Republic, Political.org, Associated Press, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit and National Politics
Jonathan Cohn / The Bulwark:
Donald Trump Is Buying Votes at $500 a Pop — He's calling it an Obamacare “refund,” but it's nothing of the sort. — October Surprise: 30% OFF Bulwark+ for a year. Upgrade now. — DONALD TRUMP IS HAVING the federal government send checks to millions of Americans …
Jonathan Saul / Reuters:
Attacks on tankers in Hormuz hit highest of any week since start of Iran war, sources say — Attacks on tankers sailing through the Strait of Hormuz hit their highest last week of any week since the Iran war began, according to maritime security sources tracking incidents, amid a bigger export push by Gulf producers.
Discussion:
CNBC and Al Jazeera
