Here are the right-wing media figures endorsing “despicable” ad from Ohio Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy  —  The ad features Democratic nominee Amy Acton's estranged mother, who defended her husband's reported sexual assault of Acton when she was a child

Democrats Have a Wide Lead in Our New Poll as Trump Slides  —  The map favors Republicans, but cracks in their base are leaving them vulnerable in defending House and Senate control.  —  The final New York Times/Siena University national poll of the 2026 midterm campaign finds Democrats leading nationally …

Russia Releases American Who Was Jailed for 4 Years, State Media Reports  —  The move buys good will with President Trump while costing the Russian leader, Vladimir V. Putin, little.  —  Russia on Wednesday released an American man who was held for four years on what the State Department …

FCC's Brendan Carr warns broadcasters against covering fake polls  —  The Trump-appointed agency chairman has repeatedly sparred with media companies, and detractors say Wednesday's warning lacks legal heft.  —  SummaryLoading...  Brendan Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission …

In Six Decades of Public Life, I Never Thought I Would Write This Piece  —  The economy has been voters' top issue in four of the six midterm elections this century — and 2026 appears all but certain to make it five of seven.  Beyond the cost of living, the war in Iran and tariffs …

A Major Democratic Super PAC Begs Donors for More Cash as the Map Expands  —  The flagship Democratic House super PAC is urging donors to pony up more cash in the final sprint before the midterms, pointing to private polling showing a slew of deep-red House seats within the party's reach.

Meta Ordered to Pay $25 Billion for Deceiving Users on Privacy  —  The penalty, one of the largest levied against the tech giant, stemmed from a lawsuit by New Mexico claiming the social media company had misled users about their data privacy.  —  A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $25 billion …

The House GOP's imminent decision on the Omar raid  —  House Republicans have publicly cheered on the Trump administration's investigation of Rep. Ilhan Omar.  But underneath the posturing, the raid raises thorny nonpartisan questions about how aggressively Congress wants to defend itself from encroaching federal prosecutors.

Federal agents knock on doors to track down possible noncitizen voters ahead of midterms  —  Armed and in uniform, federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security have been knocking on doors in several states to ask residents about their immigration status — and to inquire …

Pentagon grants DHS permission to test heat ray weapon for potential use at border  —  Federal agencies US military Pete Hegseth National security  —  The Pentagon has given the Department of Homeland Security permission to test a military-grade heat ray and develop tactics to potentially use …

Electronic Arts to Shed 400 Jobs, Shut Down BioWare to Cut Costs  —  The next ‘Mass Effect’ will be canceled as part of the layoffs  —  Electronic Arts Inc. said it will lay off staff and shut down BioWare, the long-running development studio behind roleplaying games such as Dragon Age and Mass Effect.

Gov. Stein criticizes absentee ballot rejection rate, urges voters to plan ahead  —  Gov. Josh Stein is criticizing recent State Board of Elections changes for mail-in ballots, saying the changes have contributed to thousands more absentee ballot rejections.

Trump lost control and ordered me to be ‘quiet’ in the Oval Office.  Then it got personal  —  What was supposed to be an announcement on fraud quickly devolved into Trump vs The Independent.  Andrew Feinberg details how it all happened in the Oval Office  —  Leer en Español

Michigan's sleeper race is waking up  —  It's nearly impossible to break through the political media maelstrom in Michigan right now if your name isn't Abdul El-Sayed or Mike Rogers.  —  But GOP and Democratic operatives in Lansing, Washington and beyond — not to mention utilities …

Israeli military detains US politician Brad Lander and rabbis at olive harvest  —  About 80 US, Israeli and British volunteers held near Nahalin in West Bank and taken to police station  —  The Israeli military has detained about 80 US, Israeli and British volunteers helping Palestinians …

Minnesota's Democratic U.S. Senate Nominee Inflated Academic Record  —  Peggy Flanagan said she ‘graduated Phi Beta Kappa,’ but records raise questions about claim  —  Peggy Flanagan said she “graduated Phi Beta Kappa” while arguing a decade ago for legislation to encourage greater teacher diversity in Minnesota's public schools.

Brendan Carr takes up Trump's ‘fake polls’ fight  —  Brendan Carr warned broadcasters Wednesday to vet their polling carefully, suggesting his Federal Communications Commission could punish outlets for sharing results the administration believes deceive viewers.

New Mexico AG lawsuit accuses Epstein's attorney and accountant of facilitating sex trafficking … New Mexico's attorney general on Wednesday filed a lawsuit accusing Jeffrey Epstein's long-time personal lawyer and accountant of facilitating Epstein's sex trafficking operation.

Hazardous Materials Evacuation and Shelter-in-Place Orders in Effect for North Toledo  —  What happened?  —  At 10:48 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 20, Toledo Fire & Rescue ordered everyone within a 1-mile radius of 1266 Progress Ave (MC Tank Terminal) to evacuate. because of a hazardous materials release.

ICE Profiteers Trying To Buy the Senate for Republicans  —  Read the top story of the day in your inbox.  Sign up for the Daily Prospect newsletter here.  —  Only three months had passed since Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero was killed by a federal immigration agent in Maine …

Trump is the ‘principal enemy of the U.S.’ for helping Russia, veteran foreign analyst says  —  Lawrence: Trump and Hegseth ‘not telling how much damage there really was’ by Iran war to Navy base  —  Trump desperate to save ‘yes man’ senator in Kansas, says Democratic Senate candidate

US, allies warn of critical vulnerabilities in programming underlying 70% of the internet  —  The National Security Agency and cyber agencies in Europe, Australia, Canada, and elsewhere on Wednesday urged organizations to take their websites offline immediately after OpenAI tools found critical bugs …

Arrests: Kissimmee, FL Mayor on Grand Theft Charges; NJ Deputy AG for Child Sexual Abuse Materials  —  Gracious, it's been a banner run for Democrats over the past five days or so.  —  The breaking news this morning was the arrest of Kissimmee Mayor Jackie Espinosa, who seems to have gotten caught …

How ex-cops gained access to a massive surveillance network … When Andrae Wright left his job as an investigator at the Effingham County Sheriff's Office in 2021, he handed in his gun and badge.  But he kept something powerful: his log-in credentials for Flock, a police tool he used to search …

Supreme Court won't revive Trump administration's transgender inmate policy; Thomas, Alito dissent  —  The Supreme Court refused the Trump administration's bid to stop providing transgender inmates hormone treatments and certain surgeries on Wednesday, declining to lift a lower judge's block …

Israeli military conducts massive “power projection” operation near Iran's border  —  Dozens of Israeli Air Force fighter jets conducted a sortie on Monday, flying as far as the Iranian border, according to Israeli and U.S. officials. … The sortie wasn't connected to Hegseth's visit.

This Democrat's accountability plan has Trump fuming  —  The 2026 midterms are less than two weeks away, which means we'll soon have a better idea of what the next two years of American politics could look like.  If Democrats win at least one chamber of Congress — and they're comfortable favorites …