Inside Democrats' Secret Effort to Stack Alaska's Midterm Ballot With Another Dan Sullivan  —  Inside Democrats' Secret Effort to Stack Alaska's Ballot  —  In May, an unusual challenger entered the Senate race opposing Senator Dan Sullivan, the Alaska Republican.

Exclusive: Ad backfiring on Ramaswamy, GOP poll finds … - The ad “is having a significant effect on the gubernatorial race,” a memo attached to the poll states. … - Acton has said she was sexually abused by her stepfather when she was 12 and that her mother sided with her abuser.

A List of Things Democrats Might Do If They Retake Power  —  There are plenty of reasons to fear a Democratic trifecta in Washington, which next week's midterms may very well set up for 2028.  Below is a list of actions and policies that give conservatives cause for alarm:

Massive Leak Exposes 41,000 Homeland Security Workers—Including Undercover ICE Agents  —  The leaked records include the locations of ICE and CBP facilities, workers' cellphone numbers, and the members of groups tied to wiretap programs, Palantir software, and xAI's Grok chatbot.

Vance Reaches Out to Iranian Hard-Liner in Bid to Restart Peace Talks  —  Vice president sent letter to Iran's security chief at Trump's direction  —  Vice President JD Vance is engaging one of Iran's most powerful hard-liners to revive peace negotiations even as President Trump threatens …

Conservative influencer James O'Keefe charged with unlawful voting and identity theft in Minnesota  —  O'Keefe was charged alongside fellow influencer Cam Higby after they allegedly misrepresented themselves at polling places during Minnesota's primary in August.

Hegseth Fires a Top General  —  The U.S. military may be planning a return to war, but the director of planning is out.  —  Earlier this week, the Pentagon's chief planner, Army Lieutenant General Brett Sylvia, was ousted from the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  No explanation was given.

Israel faces weeks of political wrangling after deadlocked election  —  TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's electoral coalition opened a sizable lead over Gadi Eisenkot's opposition bloc with 85 percent of the vote counted.  — But while Netanyahu outperformed exit polls …

Kennedy to Allow Broad Use of Unapproved Peptide Injections  —  In a unilateral declaration by the health secretary, several injections promoted by online influencers will become widely available.  The F.D.A. had advised against the move.  —  Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr …

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Elon Musk?  —  A new New York Times poll today has some surprising findings in close Senate races: South Carolina is basically a tie at 48 percent for Sen. Darline Graham and the same for Annie Andrews.  Florida isn't nearly as close: Sen. Ashley Moody …

Judge Says US Bid to Block 20,000 Votes Would ‘Wreak Havoc’  —  A US judge blasted the Trump administration's effort to force California to set aside as many as 20,000 mail-in ballots from people who it claims are likely non-citizens, saying that doing so would “wreak havoc” on the midterm elections that are already underway.

Dolores Huerta, Who Founded United Farm Workers With Cesar Chavez, Dies  —  She founded the United Farm Workers with Cesar Chavez.  In early 2026, she told The Times that she had been raped by him decades earlier.  She was 96.  —  Dolores Huerta at a women's march in Utah in 2017.By Getty Images

An Unpredictable President, a Grim White House: Trump Faces Down the Midterms  —  The White House has been rocked by turnover and anxiety over the midterms.  The president, who is tightening his inner circle, has lashed out at critics, held meandering rallies and feasted on a diet of news clips and “A.I. slop,” as one aide put it.

Trump admin rebrands triumphal arch as ‘generational national defense opportunity’  —  A soaring triumphal arch that President Donald Trump wants to erect near Arlington National Cemetery would be a “generational defense opportunity” and not merely decorative, two of his Cabinet secretaries argued in court declarations Wednesday.

Google is aware its AI sometimes won't answer who won the 2020 election: 'We're fixing the issue'  —  Google's AI Mode was supposed to reimagine search.  Users are noticing that it's struggling with a basic question: “Who won the 2020 election?”  —  On Wednesday, users on BlueSky …

Cabinet Officials on the Campaign Trail?  Ethics Experts Say Some Are Breaking the Law.  —  As Trump officials stump for Republican candidates facing difficult races, ethics experts say they are being lax about complying with the Hatch Act, a federal anti-corruption law.

EXCLUSIVE: Hoekstra tells closed-door meeting Canada could be blamed if U.S. midterms go against Trump  —  OTTAWA - U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra told a closed-door meeting on Tuesday that Ottawa could be blamed if key races in next week's midterm elections go against U.S. President Donald Trump's Republican Party.

Putin salutes Musk's genius as Russia plays catch-up with Starlink  —  President Vladimir Putin hailed Elon Musk as a genius on Wednesday, acknowledging Russia is only beginning to roll out its answer to his Starlink satellite internet system.  —  The admission was all the more striking …

Federal Reserve Maintains Interest Rates Ahead of the Midterms  —  The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday in the committee's last move before the midterm elections, which have been dominated by affordability concerns.  —  “While uncertainty remains elevated owing …

Abdul El-Sayed widens lead over Mike Rogers to 7 points in newest Michigan Senate poll  —  Democrat Abdul El-Sayed has increased his polling lead to 7 percentage points over Republican Mike Rogers, a former congressman, among likely voters in a nationally watched U.S. Senate race in Michigan.

Texas county Republicans sue to block election certification unless every ballot is hand counted  —  A Texas county Republican Party is asking a federal court to stop certification of the state's upcoming election results unless officials first hand count every paper ballot in the state.

The Hispanic Voters Who Turned on Trump and Put Texas in Play  —  Voters upset about the economy and immigration policies are set to decide key Senate and House races  —  WESLACO, Texas—Abad Morales, who owns a construction company here in South Texas, was swayed by President Trump's 2024 campaign question …