Top Items:
Jessica Piper / Politico:
Elon Musk pours another $76 million into boosting Republicans — SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gave another $76 million to boost Republicans in the first two weeks of October, bringing his total giving this cycle to more than $442 million. The additional funds, which Musk gave to his super PAC …
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, Bloomberg and Election Law Blog
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Bloomberg:
Musk Giving Tops $445 Million in Midterm Election Push for GOP — With a fresh infusion of cash to his super political action committee in the first two weeks of October, Elon Musk has now given more than $445 million in the current election cycle and become one of the biggest-ever contributors to such groups.
Discussion:
The Japan Times and Mediaite
CNN:
The latest sign of Republican midterm problems: A top super PAC is buying ads in Mississippi — Senate election US elections PACs Senate leadership — Republicans working to keep the Senate are increasingly anxious about holding onto a seat in Mississippi — a GOP stronghold in the deep South …
Andrew Howard / Politico:
Democrats' top Senate super PAC has raised $354M this year
Matthew Cole / Vanity Fair:
The Art of the Deal: Jared Kushner's Hacked Phone Revealed His Secret Negotiations—Including More Than $700 Million in Transfers — An exclusive excerpt from Princes and Thieves: Jared Kushner and Mohamed bin Zayed's Secret Plot to Remake the Middle East examines how bank accounts linked …
Discussion:
New Republic, Patterico's Pontifications, Newsweek, Gizmodo, Forbes, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Mediaite
New York Times:
Justice Dept. Opens Inquiry Into Corey Lewandowski — The details of the inquiry remain unclear, but it is one of the rare instances in which a Trump ally or appointee has been investigated for potential wrongdoing during the president's second term. — The Justice Department has opened …
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Lawrence Hurley / NBC News:
Supreme Court says New Hampshire student IDs can't be used to vote in November — The high court said a federal judge shouldn't have changed the rules so close to the Nov. 3 election by blocking guidance issued by New Hampshire's secretary of state.
Discussion:
The Independent
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Abbie VanSickle / New York Times:
Supreme Court Allows Blanket Ban on Student IDs at Polls in New Hampshire — The justices had been asked to weigh in on a New Hampshire directive that prevented election officials from considering student IDs to prove a voter's identity. — The Supreme Court agreed on Thursday that New Hampshire …
Chris Stein / The Guardian:
Trump attacks Ohio governor over call for Ramaswamy to drop ‘deeply troubling’ ad — Republican Mike DeWine said ad featuring estranged mother of Democrat Amy Acton was ‘wrong’ — Donald Trump issued a swift rebuke against Mike DeWine, Ohio's Republican governor, who on Thursday …
Discussion:
Ohio Capital Journal, The Washington Sun, CNN, New York Times, ABC News, Associated Press, The Statehouse News Bureau, New Republic, Blaze Media, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, CBS News, MS NOW, HuffPost, Cleveland 19 News, archive.is, The Hill, NBC News, Forbes, Talking Points Memo, Newsweek, The Independent, Washington Examiner, National Politics, Politico, NewsMax.com, Scripps News and Toledo Blade
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Dan Mangan / CNBC:
Trump defends Ramaswamy ad with Acton's estranged mom after bipartisan criticism
Discussion:
CNN, Politico, New York Times, Bloomberg, The Hill, The Bulwark, The Guardian, Daily Mail, PoliticusUSA, NBC News, TMZ.com, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Wall Street Journal, Erick Erickson's Show Notes, Washington Examiner, MS NOW, France 24, Mediaite, Los Angeles Times, The Daily Signal, National Politics, CBS News, The Daily Wire, Dr. Amy Acton for Governor, WTOP News, New York Post, Newsweek, FOX 26 Houston and The Independent
Caroline Vakil / The Hill:
Trump on controversial Acton ad: ‘Why would you shield somebody from that?’
Trump on controversial Acton ad: ‘Why would you shield somebody from that?’
Discussion:
Grabien, Vindicator and NewsNation
New York Times:
Trump Asked Musk to Reverse Limits on Ukraine's Military Internet Use — The call from the president about the Starshield network came after officials in Ukraine reported that they found new limits on the use of military drones in their war against Russia. — President Trump called Elon Musk …
Discussion:
New York Times, New York Post, CNBC, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Wall Street Journal
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Wall Street Journal:
Trump Called Musk and Asked Him to Lift Ukraine Starlink Restrictions — Military-grade system appeared to be working more normally on Thursday, soon after the call — WASHINGTON—President Trump called Elon Musk on Wednesday and asked him to lift restrictions on a military-grade version …
Nandita Bose / Reuters:
Trump heads to Iowa as Republicans fight for seats in longtime stronghold — President Donald Trump on Thursday tried to galvanize Republican voters in Iowa, a state he won by double digits two years ago but now faces a tougher battle in the November midterm elections due to dissatisfaction with rising prices and the Iran war.
Discussion:
Semafor, The Gateway Pundit, The Independent, CBS News, WTOP News, Fox News and Reuters
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Forbes:
The Woolly Mammoth Billionaire's New Startup Is Genetically Engineering War Dogs For The Military — This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more. — Ben Lamm of de-extinction startup Colossal Biosciences has teamed up with Palmer Luckey's team at Anduril to create a dog that's optimized for military use.
Discussion:
Wired
NBC News:
Blanche won't rule out DOJ post-election action in a ‘doomsday’ scenario — The attorney general's comments come in the middle of a broader campaign by the Trump administration to zero in on what elections experts say is a relatively rare phenomenon of voting by noncitizens.
Discussion:
Democracy Docket, Townhall, The Hill, Fox News, New Republic, Election Law Blog and The Gateway Pundit
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Zach Montague / New York Times:
Trump Administration Asks Appeals Court to Intervene in California Ballot Suit
Trump Administration Asks Appeals Court to Intervene in California Ballot Suit
Discussion:
Reuters, The Hill, NewsMax.com, Democracy Docket, The Daily Signal, Fox News and ABC News
Hannah Schoenbaum / Associated Press:
Trump administration stopped sharing evidence in Good and Pretti killings, Minnesota officials say — The federal government has stopped sharing evidence with Minnesota authorities who are investigating the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal officers, state officials said in recent court filings.
Discussion:
KSTP-TV
Josh Christenson / New York Post:
Ilhan Omar isn't ‘Squad’ rep's real name as feds' bombshell docs give huge clue she did marry brother — WASHINGTON — The “real” name of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) has been revealed in a federal court filing with an identical surname to that of her ex-husband — and rumored brother, The Post has learned.
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Peter D'Abrosca / Fox News:
Ilhan Omar is not the Minnesota congresswoman's ‘real name’: sources
Ilhan Omar is not the Minnesota congresswoman's ‘real name’: sources
Discussion:
American Greatness, Daily Mail, twitchy.com, New York Post, The Gateway Pundit, NewsMax.com and MS NOW
Mary Radcliffe / FiftyPlusOne:
More pollster funny business uncovered by FiftyPlusOne — A shady pollster from sunny California just disappeared from the internet, a few days after FiftyPlusOne asked to verify its data — Mary Radcliffe, G. Elliott Morris, Cooper Burton, and FiftyPlusOne
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Slate, Straight Arrow, Mediaite, Legal Insurrection, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post and PBS NewsHour
Ben Chapman / New York Post:
Feds bust $2B medical fraud rings secretly operating in California — as agents seen scaling rich doctor's mega mansion — Feds busted Los Angeles medical fraudsters accused of stealing $2 billion Thursday, cuffing white-collar thieves for unneeded surgeries, hunting the homeless for rehabs …
Discussion:
American Greatness, The Daily Wire, NewsMax.com, FOX 11 Los Angeles, RedState and HotAir
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Kate Santaliz / Axios:
Scoop: Some Freedom Caucus members want Brandon Gill out — A small group of Rep. Brandon Gill's fellow House Freedom Caucus members are privately questioning whether he still belongs in the hardline group, Axios has learned. … - The lawmakers spoke on condition of anonymity to offer candid assessments of a colleague.
Discussion:
NewsMax.com and Washington Examiner
NBC News:
Hegseth staff damaged historic WWII-era Eisenhower globe trying to move it to his office — The globe was especially notable because it had green pen or marker notations where Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower marked areas in Europe, three U.S. officials said. — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's …
Discussion:
Metro.co.uk, New York Magazine, HuffPost, The Independent, MS NOW, New Republic, The Guardian, The Hill, Mediaite, Forbes, Eschaton and Washington Post
Avani Kalra / The Washington Sun:
Democrats Aim to Build Red State Momentum With an Epstein Ad Blitz — As the limits of where Democrats hope to win in 2026 creep further into reliably red territory, party operatives have been turning more often to a wedge issue that helped Donald Trump win in 2024 — disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Discussion:
Washington Post and Florida Politics
New York Times:
Most Voters Believe the Midterm Elections Will Be Accurate, Poll Finds — But about half expressed concerns that Republicans could try to overturn the results, a New York Times/Siena poll found. — With less than two weeks until the midterms, a wide majority of voters say that they largely trust …
Katy O'Donnell / Bloomberg:
Trump Signs Executive Order Aimed at Taming Housing Costs — President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order aimed at bringing down housing costs in a bid to show that his administration is addressing voters' affordability concerns in the final sprint to the midterm elections.
Discussion:
NBC News, The White House, NewsMax.com and The Hill
Rohan Goswami / Semafor:
Elon Musk makes $1 billion investment in Ellison's Skydance — The Scoop — Elon Musk has invested roughly $1 billion in Skydance, according to people familiar with the matter, providing a much needed financial injection as the company looks to cut costs and bolster its stock price.
Discussion:
The Guardian, Daily Mail, Washington Examiner, Daily Kos, Gizmodo, Deadline, TheDesk.net, The Hollywood Reporter, NewsMax.com, CNBC, TechCrunch, The Wrap and Forbes, more at Mediagazer »
New York Times:
Covert Russian Group Injects Baseless Claim Into the Texas Senate Race — Russian influence operations appear to be stepping up efforts to meddle in the midterms, according to intelligence officials. Most are targeting Democrats. — Even as President Trump pursued a thawing of relations …
Discussion:
The Kyiv Independent, San Antonio Current, Global News, Mediaite and Politico
Oren Oppenheim / ABC News:
Buttigieg endorses independent over Democratic nominee in Montana Senate race — Both parties are paying increased attention to Montana in recent weeks. — Pete Buttigieg, the former Transportation Secretary and popular Democratic Party surrogate who has confirmed considering a 2028 presidential bid …
Discussion:
NonStop Local Montana, The Gateway Pundit, The Hill and Daily Montanan
Bernd Debusmann Jr / BBC:
Trump ordered to answer questions under oath in BBC lawsuit — A US judge has ordered President Donald Trump to answer questions under oath in his defamation lawsuit against the BBC by 11 December. — Trump is suing the BBC over an episode of Panorama that edited together two different sections …
Discussion:
The Guardian, CNN, Associated Press, The Hollywood Reporter, New Republic, Reuters, Salon, Esquire, Fox News, Mediaite, Politico, Wall Street Journal, Variety, New York Post, CNBC, Washington Examiner, Courthouse News Service, Los Angeles Times, CBS News, The Hill, MS NOW, Axios and Newsweek, more at Mediagazer »
Wall Street Journal:
Iran Threatens Wider Strikes on Economic and Civilian Targets if U.S. Attacks — Tehran retains missile and drone stockpiles; Washington is trying to move more servicemembers and diplomatic staff out of harm's way — Iran's message is stark: If the U.S. and Israel restart their air campaign …
Discussion:
NewsMax.com
Miranda Bryant / The Guardian:
‘Pure arrogance’: anger in Finland as Google illegally fells 250,000 trees for datacentre — Company ordered to stop work at two sites in country, which has found itself at forefront of tech firms' latest push — Behind a wire fence lies a vast gaping wound of earth.
Ayah Ali-Ahmad / The Washington Sun:
Trump's Battle With the Media Ramps Up — As President Donald Trump barnstorms the country ahead of the midterms, on top of his usual White House events this week, he's had some pointed exchanges with journalists in his path. He called one reporter a “dummy,” another “a stupid person” and a third “a sick person.”
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, The Hill, Mediaite, Deadline, MS NOW, The Wrap, The Independent and Axios, more at Mediagazer »


