Top Items:
CNN:
Democrats in striking distance: New CNN polls in four states highlight party's path to Senate majority — Donald Trump Congressional news Election polls Senate election — CNN polling across four key Senate races in the final days of the midterm campaign finds Democrats well-positioned …
Discussion:
The Hill, Forbes and Political Wire
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Wall Street Journal:
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 …
Discussion:
The Guardian
HuffPost:
Elon Musk Is Trying To Buy Texas. It Might Earn Him ‘Retribution.’
Discussion:
American Greatness, The Bulwark, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Guardian, Gizmodo and The Daily Caller
Jolie Myers / Vox:
Republicans are trying to make the Texas Senate race about “manliness”
Republicans are trying to make the Texas Senate race about “manliness”
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Al Jazeera and Washington Examiner
Wired:
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.
Discussion:
emptywheel, Distributed Denial …, The Independent, The Hill, UNICORN RIOT and Fox News, more at Techmeme »
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Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:
Hacker stole personnel data about thousands of Homeland Security employees, including CBP and ICE agents — Personally identifiable information belonging to thousands of U.S. Department of Homeland Security employees has been published online after a hacker stole reams of data …
Discussion:
Reuters, Politico, Straight Arrow and The Verge
Wired:
Bluesky Is Blocking Links to a Major Leak of DHS Employee Records — Bluesky tells WIRED it blocked links to a leaked archive of information on 41,000 ICE, CBP, and other DHS workers because it contains people's contact information, shared without their authorization.
Discussion:
TechCrunch and NPR, more at Techmeme »
Nancy A. Youssef / The Atlantic:
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.
Discussion:
MS NOW, The Bulwark, Washington Examiner, Straight Arrow, CBS News, Task & Purpose, Washington Post, Mediaite, The Independent, CNBC and NewsMax.com
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Filip Timotija / The Hill:
Hegseth ousted top military strategist from Pentagon, sources say
Hegseth ousted top military strategist from Pentagon, sources say
Discussion:
Fox News, CBS News, Straight Arrow, The Independent, ABC News, KDFX-TV and Military.com
Wall Street Journal:
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 …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Al Jazeera, CNBC, Axios, Semafor, Washington Examiner, HotAir, Jewish Insider, New York Post, NewsMax.com and The Guardian
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New York Times:
Vance Proposes Restarting Peace Talks in Outreach to Iranian Official
Discussion:
Semafor and The American Conservative
Barak Ravid / Axios:
Iran pressed to make nuke concessions as massive post-midterms strikes loom
Iran pressed to make nuke concessions as massive post-midterms strikes loom
Discussion:
Phillips's Newsletter, CBS News, Reuters, Breitbart, NewsMax.com, Algemeiner.com and The American Conservative
New York Times:
Nvidia Chief Seen as Target of Chinese Spy Plot … Jensen Huang, the chief executive of Nvidia, is influential at the White House on technology policy and has developed a close relationship with President Trump.Manuel Orbegozo for The New York Times — American spy agencies had gathered striking intelligence.
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, more at Techmeme »
Joe St. George / Scripps News:
Alaska governor orders investigation into ‘Dan Sullivan’ ballot controversy — Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy ordered an investigation into claims Democrats recruited a namesake candidate in a key Senate race. — Add Scripps News as a Google Preferred Source — A report alleging efforts …
Discussion:
twitchy.com, The Guardian, Fox News and New York Times
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Rachel Lerman / Washington Post:
Trump, Obama head out campaigning and accusations heat up in Alaska: What you missed on the election trail
Discussion:
Axios, The Hill, The Washington Sun, Reason, New York Times, The Daily Caller, CBS News, Agence France-Presse, American Thinker, Eurasia Review, New York Post, NBC News, Politico, HotAir, NewsMax.com, RedState, Alaska Public Media, The Independent, The Daily Wire, Bloomberg, Associated Press, Fox News, Breitbart, Washington Examiner, The Daily Signal, The Gateway Pundit, The Guardian, KEYT-TV, Mediaite, One America News Network and Newsbusters
Meg Kinnard / Associated Press:
Alaska's governor orders a probe into Peltola's Senate campaign over spoiler candidate controversy
Alaska's governor orders a probe into Peltola's Senate campaign over spoiler candidate controversy
Discussion:
Washington Post, HotAir, MS NOW, ABC News, The Hill, New York Post, The Washington Sun, Fox News, The Guardian, Legal Insurrection, The Daily Caller, Blaze Media, The Daily Wire, NewsMax.com, The Gateway Pundit, Forbes, Breitbart, Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, American Greatness, The Maine Wire and Reason
New Republic:
Trump-Vivek Ad Ploy Backfires as GOPers Leak Humiliating Private Poll … After Vivek Ramaswamy ran that vile ad attacking Amy Acton in the Ohio gubernatorial race, Donald Trump aggressively defended it. That sent out a command to MAGA to get behind the ad.
Discussion:
Axios, NewsMax.com and Talking Points Memo
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Katie Rogers / New York Times:
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.
Discussion:
The Independent, Washington Examiner, New York Post and Associated Press
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John R. Puri / National Review:
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:
Washington Post:
Nearly 1 in 5 federal workers left under Trump. Black workers took the biggest hit. — A Washington Post analysis shows that President Donald Trump has succeeded in reshaping the federal bureaucracy, with the largest impact on Black workers. — SummaryLoading...
The Washington Sun:
Trump Aides Are Leaning on U.S. Firms to Accept Russian Diesel — Trump administration officials are privately encouraging U.S. firms to accept Russian diesel currently crossing the Atlantic, industry groups familiar with the conversations said, despite warnings that doing so could place …
Discussion:
The Kyiv Independent, NewsMax.com and Fox News
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Anton Troianovski / New York Times:
U.S. Is Discussing Sanctions Relief for Russian Fund, Official Acknowledges
U.S. Is Discussing Sanctions Relief for Russian Fund, Official Acknowledges
Discussion:
NewsMax.com and Mediaite
Michelle Del Rey / The Washington Sun:
Conservative Activist James O'Keefe Charged Following Minnesota Voting Stunt — Conservative activists James O'Keefe and Cam Higby on Wednesday were hit with unlawful voting and identity theft charges in Minnesota, after allegedly misrepresenting themselves to poll workers during Minnesota's primary election as part of a video stunt.
Discussion:
HotAir, RedState, Courthouse News Service, Washington Examiner, The Post Millennial and The Gateway Pundit
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Rebecca Shabad / NBC News:
Conservative influencer James O'Keefe charged with unlawful voting and identity theft in Minnesota
Conservative influencer James O'Keefe charged with unlawful voting and identity theft in Minnesota
Discussion:
HotAir, Associated Press, RedState, CNN, The Gateway Pundit, New York Times, The Guardian, MPR News, Breitbart, Newsweek, Washington Post, American Greatness, Daily Kos, MS NOW, Wall Street Journal, The Daily Caller, ABC News, Truthout, NewsMax.com, The Hill, Democracy Docket, CBS News, New Republic, FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul, Mediaite, Straight Arrow, Townhall and IJR News
Lisa Mataloni / U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis:
GDP (Advance Estimate), 3rd Quarter 2026 — Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 3.4 percent in the third quarter of 2026 (July, August, and September), according to the advance estimate released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).
Discussion:
Courthouse News Service
Jory Heckman / GovExec.com:
USDA sends more relocation notices, seemingly in violation of court order — The Agriculture Department is sending more relocation notices to employees as part of its sweeping reorganization plans, despite a court order putting those actions on hold. — In a management-directed reassignment …
Tom Schaller / Public Notice:
The GOP's endless culture war slop is a sign of desperation — Public Notice is proudly celebrating 5 years of independent journalism. Our coverage is possible thanks for paid subscribers. Become one ⬇️ — ✅ Subscribe to PN ✅
Politico:
El-Sayed's allies fear Trump's anti-Muslim attacks are reaching undecided voters — After Trump called him a “jihadist,” Abdul El-Sayed brushed off the “desperate, bad faith attacks” — DEARBORN, MICHIGAN — “A threat to America.” “Radical ideology.” “A jihadist.”
Discussion:
American Thinker and HuffPost
Riley Rogerson / Politico:
The battle for the future of a House Democratic majority is raging — The battle for the future of a House Democratic majority is already underway. — In phone calls, group chats and strategy sessions, competing wings of the party are jockeying for position, seeking to build unity …
Reuters:
ECB President Lagarde resigns at time of mounting challenges for Europe — European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde announced her resignation on Thursday, ending months of speculation about her future just as Europe enters a period of rising economic volatility and divisive electoral politics.
Discussion:
Euronews, Agence France-Presse, The Guardian, Breitbart, Politico, ING Think, Bloomberg, France 24, WTOP News and Semafor
Eli Day / American Prospect:
Abdul El-Sayed Is Running Through, Not Around, the Right's Racism — This article was featured in the Daily Prospect newsletter. Sign up for it here. — WARREN, MICHIGAN - On an early-October afternoon, Macomb County's Carpenters Union Local 1234 hall is standing room only for Dr. Abdul El-Sayed's “It Shouldn't Be This Hard” tour.
Discussion:
Rolling Stone
Galit Altstein / Bloomberg:
Israel's Election Deadlock Opens Up Four Possible Scenarios — What's Next for Israel After Election Stalemate? — Video Player is loading. — Unmute — Current Time 0:00 — Loaded: 0% — Playback Rate — captions off, selected — English — This is a modal window.
Jordain Carney / Politico:
Elizabeth Warren eyes post-election Senate leadership move — Elizabeth Warren is looking at making a move within the Senate Democratic leadership team after the midterms. — Warren, who is currently in the No. 5 spot, isn't interested in being top leader but could try to take on a bigger role …
Reuters:
Bloomberg, trading firms to pay Trump for faster Truth Social access, sources say — Truth Social, the social media platform founded by President Donald Trump, has signed up news and data provider Bloomberg and two Wall Street firms for faster access to the president's posts …
Discussion:
The Japan Times, more at Mediagazer »
The Hill:
Johnson signals he'll remain atop GOP, scrambling leadership landscape — Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) recent hints that he intends to remain GOP leader even if Republicans lose the House have rattled the party's leadership outlook and raised fresh new questions about the GOP's future heading into the next Congress.
Discussion:
Magnolia Tribune and Politico
Chris Marquette / Politico:
Top House Democrats demand Trump preserve conversations with Grok — The top Democrats on the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees want President Donald Trump to preserve his conversations with artificial intelligence chatbots as part of an inquiry into whether Elon Musk's AI assistant played …
New York Times:
Candidate Websites Are Filled With A.I.-Written Text, Analysis Shows — The use of A.I. chatbots to write candidate biographies and policy positions is another way the technology is entangled with elections. — Eric Pratt, a Republican congressional candidate in Minnesota …

