Top Items:
Alex Isenstadt / Axios:
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.
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Examiner, ActiVote, Newsweek, Mediaite, Daily Kos, Marist Poll, Grabien and Crooks and Liars
RELATED:
Charles Hilu / National Review:
Amy Acton's Mom Claims Candidate Lied About Childhood in Attack Ad — Despite Extensive Record of Abuse — The mother of Ohio Democratic gubernatorial nominee Amy Acton cut an ad Monday in which she accuses her daughter of lying about her childhood and encourages voters not to make her their next governor …
Jessica Contrera / New York Times:
Attack Ad Featuring Candidate's Mother Turns Ohio Governor's Race Even Uglier — A Republican ad features Amy Acton's estranged mother calling her daughter a liar. The two have not spoken since Dr. Acton's mother backed her husband after his arrest on rape charges.
Discussion:
HotAir, WKMG, KIFI-TV, Straight Arrow, Dr. Amy Acton for Governor, War Notes, The Washington Sun, Mediaite, The Hill, Forbes, Wonkette and Newsweek
Clarissa-Jan Lim / MS NOW:
Brother of Democrat in Ohio governor's race condemns attack ad featuring their estranged mother — In a new, unaired attack ad against Amy Acton, the Democrat running for governor of Ohio, her estranged mother speaks directly to the camera to accuse her of lying about her past.
Discussion:
CBS News, Dr. Amy Acton for Governor, ABC News, The Hill, WOSU Public Media, Mediaite, NBC News, Breitbart, NewsMax.com, The Guardian, The Gateway Pundit, Grabien and MeidasTouch
Paul Blumenthal / HuffPost:
Ohio Governor's Race Reaches New Low As Republicans Roll Out Amy Acton's Pedophile-Protecting Mother
Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:
Ohio governor's race in uproar over video featuring Democrat's estranged mother
Ohio governor's race in uproar over video featuring Democrat's estranged mother
Cheyanne M. Daniels / Politico:
Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton's campaign condemns ad featuring her estranged mother
Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton's campaign condemns ad featuring her estranged mother
Discussion:
Dr. Amy Acton for Governor, MS NOW, Slate, MeidasTouch, Rolling Stone, The Hill, Mediaite, The Rooster and Washington Examiner
Tyler Pager / New York Times:
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.
Discussion:
Mediaite and Lawyers, Guns & Money
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Raquel Coronell Uribe / NBC News:
Trump uses antisemitic slur in defending Sen. Roger Marshall at rally in Kansas
Trump uses antisemitic slur in defending Sen. Roger Marshall at rally in Kansas
New York Times:
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 …
Discussion:
HuffPost, Washington Examiner, The Wrap and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
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Rolling Stone:
Trump Blows Up at Reporters in Oval Office: ‘You Better Be Careful’ — The president hasn't been very fond of the media lately, including conservative outlets — Donald Trump has spent the months ahead of the midterm elections reaffirming his opposition to the free press, and he's only growing more combative as Election Day nears.
Discussion:
The Hill, Daily Mail, The Wrap, Newsweek, TMZ.com, HuffPost and New Republic
Mary Radcliffe / FiftyPlusOne:
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.
Thomas Frank / Politico:
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 …
Discussion:
LinkedIn, NewsMax.com and The Parnas Perspective, more at Techmeme »
Lindsay Whitehurst / Associated Press:
Justice Kagan Warns Supreme Court Rulings Are Fueling Polarization — The liberal-leaning justice said both political parties are “in a race to the bottom” with partisan gerrymanders. — Copy — Justice Elena Kagan on Tuesday said voting and elections decisions from her conservative …
Discussion:
Associated Press
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Ann E. Marimow / New York Times:
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 …
Discussion:
NBC News, Washington Post and Courthouse News Service
Natalie Hausmann / Democracy Docket:
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 …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Strength In Numbers, Courthouse News Service and The Washington Sun
RELATED:
Gregory Korte / Bloomberg:
Early Voting Data Shows Democratic Edge in Midterm Elections
Discussion:
FOX 26 Houston, Pew Research Center, San Antonio Current, CT News Junkie and Daily Kos
Helen Huiskes / The Hill:
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.
Discussion:
Washington Post and NewsMax.com
RELATED:
Maria Varenikova / New York Times:
Why Zelensky Took the Gloves Off This Time With Trump — Staying quiet is riskier than speaking up, Ukrainian officials say, as President Trump goes further than ever in prioritizing Russia's interests. — Ukraine has been here before with President Trump.
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Vox and Semafor
RELATED:
Politico:
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.
RELATED:
Michael Gold / New York Times:
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 …
ProPublica:
The Secret Terms of Trump's Venezuelan Oil Deal — In late August, President Donald Trump announced what he called the “biggest oil deal in world history.” Since then, the full text of the accord — which grants the U.S. sweeping access to Venezuela's oil reserves — has been one of the most sought-after secrets in Washington, D.C.
Jason Wilson / The Guardian:
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 …
Discussion:
Daily Kos, MS NOW, Wonkette and New Republic
Greg Sargent / New Republic:
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.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, RedState, New York Post, American Greatness, Legal Insurrection, The College Fix, CNN, HuffPost and Off Message
Bloomberg:
Griffin Says Republicans Erred by Cutting Taxes Last Year — Billionaire Ken Griffin said Republicans in Congress and President Donald Trump made a mistake by cutting taxes even further last year. — “We didn't have the fiscal space to renew the tax cuts,” Griffin said in a wide-ranging interview Tuesday …
New York Times:
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 …
Discussion:
CNBC, Breitbart, Semafor, Townhall, The Washington Sun, Newsweek, Washington Post, New York Post, The Guardian and NewsMax.com
Sabrina Rodriguez / Wall Street Journal:
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 …
Discussion:
The Capitolist, Florida Politics, CBS News and Crooked Media
Michelle Del Rey / The Washington Sun:
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.
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, Breitbart, RedState and Axios
Thomas B. Edsall / New York Times:
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 …
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money and NextDraft
ProPublica:
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 …
Discussion:
Mediaite, The Washington Sun, New Republic, The Hill and Eschaton
The Atlantic:
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 …
Discussion:
TMZ.com, The Independent, Jewish Insider and Mediaite
Sarah Manavis / Wired:
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.
Discussion:
Fox News, Ace of Spades HQ, HotAir, The Gateway Pundit, Bloomberg and Instapundit
Sam Levine / The Guardian:
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 …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, The Independent and Salon
Bianca Quilantan / Politico:
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 …
Discussion:
NewsMax.com
Priya Sridhar / MS NOW:
‘I was terrified’: Military families describe their harrowing evacuation from a Navy base in Bahrain — In exclusive interviews with MS NOW, military family members said that after a hasty and traumatic evacuation from Naval Support Activity Bahrain in March, they have been living out of hotels …
Discussion:
Breaking Defense
Joseph Cox / 404 Media:
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.”
Neil Irwin / Axios:
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 …
Discussion:
Census.gov, The Daily Caller, RedState, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, National Association … and New York Post
Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
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:
Discussion:
HotAir, The Gateway Pundit, Scripps News and NewsMax.com
Jorge Liboreiro / Euronews:
Kaja Kallas accuses the US of pushing Ukraine to 'surrender on Putin's terms' — “American negotiators have been trying to push Ukraine into surrender for almost two years,” Kaja Kallas said amid rising EU-US tensions. — High Representative Kaja Kallas has sharply accused the United States …
Aaron Pellish / Politico:
JB Pritzker's midterm strategy wins the attention of Black and Hispanic Democrats — CHICAGO — JB Pritzker is pouring tens of millions of dollars of his own money into boosting Black and Hispanic candidates this cycle. That could help him win over critical voters in 2028.

