memeorandum: DOJ pulls Supreme Court into FCC fight over favorable campaign ad rates (Jack Birle/Washington Examiner)

1:00 PM ET, October 8, 2026

Top Items:

Democrats spy a red-state opening. There may not be enough cash for it. — Democrats' eyes may be bigger than their wallets. — Democrats across a slate of deep-red states are clamoring for more cash to fight for Senate seats that suddenly seem within reach, with polling showing …

Discussion: Axios and Wonkette

Jennifer Agiesta / CNN:

An Ohio edge. An Iowa tossup. New CNN polls give Democrats hope in a pair of red states — Election polls Congressional news Donald Trump Senate election — Widespread dissatisfaction with the state of the country has opened up a prime Senate pickup opportunity for Democrats in Ohio …

Discussion: MS NOW, Forbes and Newsweek

Calen Razor / Politico:
Capitol agenda: GOP ads have yet to overwhelm voters, poll finds

Discussion: Political Wire and Axios, more at Mediagazer »

Scott Clement / Washington Post:
GOP hope, Democratic worry: Are midterm polls underestimating Republicans?

Discussion: The Atlantic

The Hill: On the Ballot: The state of the states: Which states are most likely to see trifectas in November

The Atlantic:

Trump Is Considering a Plan to Strike Iran Before the Midterms — Pentagon planners are weighing options though no final decision has been made. — After months of on-again, off-again fighting, the United States hasn't struck Iran in several weeks. The stretch of relative tranquility …

Discussion: New York Post, The Hill, CNN, Time, Newsweek, No More Mister Nice Blog, Israpundit, Daily Mail, Rolling Stone, The American Conservative, Mediaite and CBS News

NBC News:
U.S. military prepares new Iran war options ahead of midterm elections

Discussion: CNN, CNBC, The Independent and CBS News

Politico:
Knives out for Blair and LaCivita

Discussion: The Hill, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, TMZ.com, Axios, Washington Examiner, The Gateway Pundit and Washington Post

Laura Kelly / The Hill:
White House on possible Iran strikes before midterms: Trump ‘has all options’

Discussion: NewsMax.com and Joe.My.God.

Barak Ravid / Axios:
Military ordered to be ready for possible Iran strikes as Trump weighs timing

Discussion: The Hill, CNBC, Breitbart and Associated Press

Steve Kopack / NBC News:
Oil prices hit $105 and stocks trade lower as Trump considers renewed strikes on Iran

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Wall Street Journal:

‘Honey Please’: Kimberly Guilfoyle Pushed Donor to Wire $100,000 to Her Amex Account — Text messages with a MAGA ally show her seeking funds and offering access to top administration officials ahead of her confirmation as ambassador to Greece — Kimberly Guilfoyle was preparing …

Discussion: CNN, The Hill, New York Post, MS NOW, HuffPost, WTTG-TV, TMZ.com, The New World, New Republic, Wonkette, The Independent, Mediaite, National Politics, The Daily Caller and Patterico's Pontifications

Andrew Egger / The Bulwark:

Our Big Fat Greek Bribery Scandal — Last year, Donald Trump pardoned Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar 1, who was under indictment for federal bribery charges. All he expected in return was that Cuellar, out of gratitude, would immediately switch parties and become a Republican. To his shock, Cuellar never did.

Discussion: The Hill, Mediaite and Joe.My.God.

Don Moynihan / Can We Still Govern?:

The arrest is yet to come — Here is what happened: the former girlfriend of the President's son asked an aspiring Republican politician for $100,000 to settle her credit card bill right before her Senate confirmation for an Ambassadorship, which she seems to have been awarded as a break-up present from the Trump family.

Discussion: HuffPost and Mediaite

Tom Schaller / Public Notice:

Trump faces his worst bankruptcy yet — 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: Politico

New York Times: 'He's Not Making Sense': How Trump Has Alienated Voters for the G.O.P.

Selena Kuznikov / MS NOW:
Republicans need to bank votes right now. Trump made that harder.

Discussion: The Guardian

Avani Kalra / The Washington Sun: Why Republicans' Top Recruit Is Struggling in Purple New Hampshire

Fenit Nirappil / Washington Post:

Democrat called slur by Trump airs ad urging 'No men in women's sports' — Senate candidate Annie Andrews, a Senate candidate in South Carolina, released a transgender issues ad days after the president called her an anti-transgender slur. — Loading... Annie Andrews, the Democratic nominee …

Discussion: KTVZ-TV, The Daily Beast, LGBTQ Nation and Washington Blade

Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling / New Republic:
Trump Straight Up Admits He Pardons People to Get Something in Return

Discussion: Breitbart, The Guardian, HuffPost, The Hill, Axios, Trump's Truth, Mediaite and CBS News

Rena Rowe / Washington Examiner:
Trump fuels rumors about James Talarico's campaign trail absence

Discussion: UMass Lowell, HotAir, Daily Kos, The Hill, One America News Network, The Independent, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, Trump's Truth and San Antonio Current

Associated Press:
Trump interrupted by protesters as he fights to rally Texas voters behind Paxton in US Senate race

New York Times:

Maduro Charged With Ordering Torture of Americans in Venezuelan Prison — Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, jailed and tortured Americans and others in Venezuela to hang onto power, prosecutors said. — The Justice Department on Thursday announced new charges …

Discussion: Reuters, Associated Press, Washington Post, The Hill, Axios, The Guardian, Politico, RedState, ABC7, CNN, Fox News, The Gateway Pundit, CBS News, RTÉ, NewsMax.com, Washington Examiner and Mediaite

Mark Osborne / CBS News:
Nicolas Maduro, wife face torture charge in new U.S. indictment

Discussion: Reuters and The Gateway Pundit

Amy Mackinnon / Financial Times:

Daughter of Trump's chief of staff works at firm that lobbies for Republika Srpska — Susie Wiles's daughter is latest White House-linked adviser to the Russian-aligned Balkan entity — The daughter of Donald Trump's chief of staff Susie Wiles is working for a US lobbying firm that signed …

Discussion: Politico, The Guardian and Mediaite

Emmet Lyons / CBS News:
Photo shows top Trump aide's daughter with pro-Russia politician in Bosnia

Discussion: Al Jazeera and Politico

Politico:

Mike Johnson voices uncertainty about his future if GOP loses control — House Speaker Mike Johnson suggested that he could leave Congress if Democrats regain control — the farthest he has gone in acknowledging what he would do in a GOP House minority. “Heaven forbid, if we lose this majority …

Discussion: MeidasTouch and The Daily Wire

Kate Santaliz / Axios:
Exclusive: Mike Johnson raises record $156 million for House GOP

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Daily Wire and NewsMax.com

Will Sommer / The Bulwark:

Republicans Have an Andrew Tate Eel-Sex Problem — FOR ACCUSED SEX TRAFFICKERS AND RAPISTS, Andrew and Tristan Tate have been a real hit with the American right over the years. — A gleeful Tucker Carlson visited the Romanian compound shared by the brothers while they were under house arrest …

Discussion: The Daily Wire, Rolling Stone and Erick Erickson's Show Notes

Kayla Guo / The Texas Tribune:

‘We have to suck it up’: Ken Paxton privately suggests cutting federal benefit programs to reduce national deficit — In a conversation that has been leaked in pieces to multiple publications, the GOP Senate nominee called for “reasonable cuts to mandatory spending,” which is driven by Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

Discussion: Washington Post and New Republic

Jasmine Garsd / NPR:

ICE has quietly used this warehouse as a detention facility all summer, neighbors say — ROXBURY, N.J. — On a warm morning, on Sept. 4, masked immigration agents rolled into Dover, New Jersey. — Footage of the raids rippled across social media, sent people into hiding and reignited rumors …

Discussion: Joe.My.God., WAGA-TV and Mercury News

Rebecca Santana / Associated Press:

Microsoft is being suspended from program to apply for green cards for H-1B visa workers, Vance says — President Donald Trump's administration is suspending tech giant Microsoft from a program to apply for green cards for workers who come to the U.S. to live and work using an H-1B visa as it accuses the company of fraud.

Discussion: Axios, Bloomberg, Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, The Hill, New York Times, New York Post, Politico, HuffPost, Washington Examiner, TechCrunch, Semafor, Newsweek and NewsMax.com, more at Techmeme »

Paul Krugman:

What's the Matter With France? — Is Europe's #2 economy too big to save? — France: 5 year CDS — Source — Suddenly, financial markets are treating France as the economic sick man of the Western world. Yes, interest rates have been surging everywhere.

Discussion: The Dark Side Of The Boom, Bloomberg and CNBC

New York Times:

How a U.S. Diplomat Suppressed and Altered Reports Critical of Israel — A top aide to Ambassador Mike Huckabee skewed information to portray the Netanyahu government in a favorable light, according to multiple officials and documents obtained by The Times.

Discussion: New Republic, Telegraph and The Daily Caller

Anthony Izaguirre / Associated Press:

Mamdani's Oct. 7 commemoration outrages supporters and critics of Israel — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani tried to thread a needle on the third anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks by condemning Hamas' “horrific war crimes” and denouncing Israel's “genocide” in Gaza. It did not go well.

Discussion: New York Times, RNS, The Daily Wire, Mediaite, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Townhall, One America News Network, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Examiner and American Thinker

Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:

GOP Rep. Brad Finstad Runs Attack Ad That Erases Critical Voter From Photo — “What a poor decision,” Beth Benike said of her congressman altering her photo with Democrat Jake Johnson to make a fake image of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. — WASHINGTON - Minnesota small business owner Beth Benike …

Discussion: KSTP-TV

Stephen M. Lepore / Daily Mail:

Russian plague lab project reportedly received $800k in research funding from RFK Jr's Health and Human Services — Robert F Kennedy Jr allegedly allowed over $800,000 in taxpayer money to go to a research project with ties to the Siberian lab behind the possible Russian plague outbreak.

Discussion: Metro.co.uk and Mediaite

Chris Marquette / Politico:

Democrats call on Chuck Grassley to apologize to Jack Smith for basketball gaffe — Senate Judiciary Democrats are asking chair Chuck Grassley to apologize to Jack Smith on the behalf of his GOP committee members — especially for Sen. Eric Schmitt, the Missouri Republican who falsely accused Smith …

Discussion: The Hill and Washington Examiner

Chloe Taylor / CNBC:

Trump's former defense secretary sees no end in sight for Iran war — to the benefit of America's ‘greatest adversary’ … The U.S.-Iran war could drag on for years, putting America at risk of overlooking China's rise to power, according to President Donald Trump's former defense secretary.

Alex Isenstadt / Axios:

Inside Trump's blow-up at Fox News over El-Sayed coverage … The frustration boiled into public view Tuesday when President Trump lashed out at his favorite network. … - Polls show El-Sayed, a critic of Israel's government who'd be the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate, in a tight race against former Rep. Mike Rogers (R).

Discussion: The Hill, Salon, Mediaite, Forbes, Townhall and HuffPost

Michael Birnbaum / Washington Post:

Trump's Nobel ambitions fade, but Norway still fears his wrath — As the president's hopes dissipate for the coveted prize, some in Norway wonder whether Friday's award, whoever gets it, will risk provoking the president. — SummaryLoading... A year ago, President Donald Trump …

Discussion: New York Post

Ross Douthat / The Free Press:

I'm Writing a Column for The Free Press — Sometime in the fall of 2020, shortly after she departed The New York Times, I had a brief conversation with Bari Weiss. She was in an entrepreneurial mood, making calls and soliciting opinions, and I told her that I thought there was a potential market …

Discussion: The Wrap

Washington Post:

Sens. Merkley and Daines: Our bipartisan plan would reform the U.S. Senate — For too long, both parties have been hamstrung by the Senate's tangled rules. — Loading... Jeff Merkley, a Democrat, represents Oregon, and Steve Daines, a Republican, represents Montana in the U.S. Senate.

Discussion: The Hill

Politico:

How Iran's drones hit America's Achilles heel — The abrupt evacuation of American bombers from a key U.K. airbase underscores the extreme vulnerability facing the world's most powerful fighting force and its NATO allies — as cheap drones and off-the-shelf tech transform warfare.

Discussion: NewsMax.com, The Hill and Reuters