Exclusive: Ramaswamy doubles down on explosive ad featuring rival's mother, despite backlash  —  Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign for Ohio governor is pouring $4 million into a bombshell ad in which his opponent's estranged mother attacks her daughter — doubling down on the message despite fierce bipartisan backlash, Axios has learned.

A Billionaire Wanted a Trump Pardon.  His Family Gave Alina Habba a $50 Million Deal.  —  A Billionaire Wanted a Pardon.  His Family Gave Alina Habba a $50 Million Deal.  —  A prominent Venezuelan was seeking clemency.  He got it not long after his daughter gave Ms. Habba, a lawyer close to President Trump, a lucrative job.

Trump Pushes to Evict the Press From the White House  —  President Trump has talked about replacing the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room with an indoor swimming pool.  —  In late August, during one of Karoline Leavitt's final meetings with President Trump in the Oval Office …

If Democrats Win Congress, Could the G.O.P. Refuse to Seat Them?  —  A changing of the congressional guard in January could leave room for meddling, though most legal scholars doubt it would happen.  —  President Trump's unfounded claims of large-scale voter fraud have Democrats bracing …

FEMA tells states to handle disasters on their own  —  The Trump administration's disaster chief told state officials Tuesday they must increase their financial reserves and emergency capabilities to handle most disasters on their own, without federal help.  —  Federal Emergency Management …

Cook Political Report shifts 2 Senate races toward Democrats, 1 toward GOP  —  The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election handicapper, on Tuesday moved Minnesota's Senate race from likely to lean Democrat, while also moving South Carolina's Senate seat from likely Republican to lean Republican.

Man who heckled El-Sayed is son of Republican adviser who was paid for ‘influencer marketing’  —  Timmy Teepell's firm paid $250,000 by America Next, which has been trying to gin up ‘organic’ opposition to El-Sayed  —  The man who attempted to ambush the Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed …

How Trump's FBI Purge Saved Lindsey Graham and James Clyburn From a Bribery Investigation  —  On March 3, 2020, Sen. Lindsey Graham walked into a private dining room at Charlie Palmer Steak in Washington, D.C. Graham's time was expensive.  He was meeting with two executives and a lobbyist …

They Fled Trump's America.  Now They Regret It  —  The internet told them Europe was a social paradise.  Turns out the trains are awful, the health care isn't free, and people can be really mean.  —  In the autumn of 2024, Annie was ready for something new.

FiftyPlusOne just caught a pollster faking data — and they copped to it  —  On Tuesday, Oct. 20, FiftyPlusOne reached out to Wedgewood Polls, a self-professed polling firm, with a request for comment on an investigation we had conducted into their alleged survey research.

Trump Jr. Privately Breaks With His Dad  —  Sign up for Inside the Trump Presidency, a newsletter featuring coverage of the second Trump term.  —  Donald Trump Jr. had a simple vision for his father's foreign policy during the 2024 presidential campaign: If elected, Donald Trump …

Bloomberg Gives Democrats $80 Million in 11th-Hour Midterm Push  —  The money from the former New York City mayor and megadonor, who is focused on ensuring a sizable Democratic House majority, will help cut into Republicans' financial advantage.  —  Around this time every election year …

Trump's Vile Tirade About Sen. Elissa Slotkin Exposes Sleazy MAGA Scam  —  So here's how the game works.  Right-wing propagandists dishonestly clip a Democrat's comments to conjure up the impression of a dark plot to persecute supporters of Donald Trump.  A bunch of them post on it with an algorithmic boost from Elon Musk.

Trump just made a last-minute gambit to save farm-state Republicans in the midterms  —  Republicans locked in tight races this November are desperately hoping the Trump administration's last-minute gambit to send farmers $8 billion in taxpayer money will work.

Hakeem Jeffries' Miami Trip Lands Cuban-Owned Bakery in Political Firestorm  —  A Cuban bakery in Florida has become the target of a conservative boycott campaign this week after it hosted a visit from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and a Democratic congressional candidate.

Russian missile and drone blitz kills 4 in Ukraine as Zelenskyy seeks help in Norway  —  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Kyiv is once again receiving early warnings from its partners about incoming Russian missiles following recent strikes that he said occurred without enough notice …

Ahead of Midterms, Justice Kagan Says Rulings Have Intensified Polarization  —  The justice said during a discussion that recent Supreme Court decisions on voting rights, gerrymandering and campaign finance have deepened America's divides.  —  Justice Elena Kagan on Tuesday criticized …

Trump announces fraud whistleblower program with 1% commission and awards Nick Shirley its first payout  —  President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced the White House Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program through which the federal government will now reward tipsters who advise authorities about alleged cases of fraud, waste, and abuse.

DoJ's suspected non-citizens list includes ‘high percentage’ of those born in US, LA officials say  —  The statement revealed in court papers raises questions about the reliability of the list of 20,000 people in California  —  The justice department's list of suspected non-citizens in California includes a …

Trump Can No Longer Mask His Real Agenda  —  One of the most memorable lines in President Trump's first Inaugural Address on Jan. 20, 2017, was: “The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer.'  —  It was so good, in fact, that he recycled it in his speech accepting …

F*ck Joe Manchin  —  Grow up, you Twitter-brained manchild.  —  1. Asymmetry  —  Joe Manchin will be in Maine tomorrow campaigning for Susan Collins.  Literally.  Manchin told Semafor that he was motivated to get off the sidelines—where he merely endorsed Collins—because, well, here's Semafor:

The college sports dispute fracturing conservatives … The coalition that built a motto around “protect women's sports” is splintering as some conservatives argue that a decades-old policy boosting female athletes is a threat to men. … But the movement is now fraying …

Democrats Make a Million-Dollar Bet on Florida Governor's Race  —  National Democrats have largely withheld major funding for Democrat David Jolly, but are seeing a late-race opportunity  —  National Democrats are making a million-dollar bet on David Jolly, the Democratic nominee for governor of Florida …

Housing is grim for builders, buyers, and homeowners right now  —  The AI boom is sucking up all the capital.  The Federal Reserve is raising rates to try to cool inflation.  And one sector is bearing the brunt of the pain from both: housing. … Builders are facing more expensive capital …

Exclusive: Thousands of North Carolina ballots set to be rejected after GOP imposed strict new rules, data shows  —  Thousands of North Carolina midterm ballots are set to be rejected over minor technical issues after a federal court upheld strict new Republican-backed rules for mail voters …

DHS Said They Searched Man Who Wiped GrapheneOS Phone for Child Abuse Material.  They Lied  —  Officials said they wanted to search the phone of Samuel Tunick, a Stop Cop City activist, for child abuse material.  It was actually because he was suspected of “terrorist activities.”

Kyle Francis Kennedy, the granddaughter of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, dies at 42  —  Kyle Francis Kennedy, the granddaughter of assassinated presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy and his wife Ethel Kennedy, has died.  She was 42.  —  An advocate for education reform and disability rights …

Her fiancé and caretaker was murdered by a far-right extremist.  Then Texas Gov. Greg Abbott pardoned the killer.  My interview with Whitney Mitchell.  —  For my new podcast, The Watch With Radley Balko, Mitchell and I discuss Abbott, the coming election, and the legacy of Garrett Foster, her late fiancé