Top Items:
Scott Clement / Washington Post:
We polled Kansas. Democrats wanted to talk. Republicans, not so much. — The Post is publishing results of its Kansas Senate poll in the interest of transparency and to highlight the challenges the poll faced. — SummaryLoading... The Washington Post and George Mason University began …
Discussion:
The Hill, RedState, No More Mister Nice Blog, Daily Mail, Mediaite, Newsweek, CNN and New Yorker
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Meredith Lee Hill / Politico:
‘It could be quite a brutal evening’: GOP braces for some once-unthinkable losses — Republicans are bracing for a brutal election night, convinced they're set to face some previously unthinkable losses in deep-red Trump territory as key battleground races hang on a knife's edge.
Discussion:
The Independent and Washington Examiner
Amanda Marcotte / Salon:
Ohio's Jon Husted, object of Trump's leering, is just an empty pair of pants — Trump's admiration of the senator's rear end can't distract from the GOP's hollow agenda — Jon Husted has a problem: People can't seem to remember who he is. The former lieutenant governor of Ohio was appointed …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Hill, Newsweek, HuffPost, Joe.My.God., Breitbart and Bloomberg
Defense News:
Pentagon tells Europeans to cool their rhetoric on Russia, sources say — Antoni Slodkowski, Gram Slattery and Andrius Sytas, Reuters — Pentagon officials have in recent weeks asked several NATO countries to tone down their rhetoric regarding the threat posed by Russia …
Discussion:
Stars & Stripes, CNBC, National Review, The Independent, Stories Framing the Globe, The Kyiv Independent and Al Jazeera
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Raquel Coronell Uribe / NBC News:
Trump cancels weekend rallies in Iowa and Kansas in favor of holding numerous tele-rallies — Senate races in both states are considered toss-ups and could be key in either party's path to control of Congress. — President Donald Trump announced Thursday he is canceling his rallies in Kansas …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Bloomberg, Washington Examiner, New York Post, Reuters, Associated Press, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, GOP.com, Joe.My.God., Political.org, The Independent, Straight Arrow, CBS News, CNBC, WTOP News, Mediaite, HuffPost, RedState, NewsMax.com, The Hill, MS NOW, New York Times and The Washington Sun
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The Washington Sun:
Trump Resurrects Canceled Rallies in Iowa and Kansas
Discussion:
The Guardian, The Hill, The Post Millennial, Radio Iowa, RedState, Reuters and NBC News
Chris Cameron / New York Times:
Trump Cancels Rallies in Kansas and Iowa, Where Polls Show Tight Races
Trump Cancels Rallies in Kansas and Iowa, Where Polls Show Tight Races
Discussion:
MS NOW, Scripps News, Bloomberg, Joe.My.God., Wonkette, Al Jazeera, The Hill, The Independent and CBS News
New York Times:
Binance Suspends Withdrawals After Crypto Hackers Steal $6.3 Billion — The world's largest crypto exchange said it was compromised in a “complex hack” that could be the biggest crypto heist ever. One research lab attributed the theft to “North Korea's elite hacking unit.”
Discussion:
Citation Needed, Associated Press, The Hill, Bloomberg, Gizmodo, Breitbart, CNBC, Straight Arrow, TechCrunch, CoinDesk, France 24, Axios, Ars Technica, The Block, The Information, Al Jazeera, Wall Street Journal, Joe.My.God., Daily Mail, The Verge, Wired, Metro.co.uk, Stories Framing the Globe, Forbes, 6abc, Mashable, NewsMax.com, Blue Virginia, KEYT-TV, Fox Business, Reuters, John W. Little, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Hacker News, Political.org, The Japan Times and IJR News, more at Techmeme »
Politico:
Trump tried not to roil the economy before midterms. He's about to be unleashed. — Voters are expected to send a very clear message on Tuesday that they want the U.S. to stop fighting wars — on the military and economic front. President Donald Trump is unlikely to listen.
Discussion:
Council on Foreign Relations
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Politico:
GOP lawmakers start contemplating a diminished Donald Trump
Discussion:
Mediaite and Talking Points Memo
Nancy Cook / Washington Post:
Brash architect of Trump's midterm strategy could become midterm scapegoat
Brash architect of Trump's midterm strategy could become midterm scapegoat
Discussion:
emptywheel and The Atlantic
Tina Sfondeles / Chicago Sun Times:
Pope Leo will vote from the Vatican, by mail, in Illinois' midterm election — That mail ballot had to travel a long way — from Joliet to the Vatican City, where Pope Leo XIV has led the Catholic church since white smoke appeared from the Sistine Chapel in May 2025.
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Lucia I Suarez Sang / CBS News:
Pope Leo XIV becomes first pontiff to vote in a U.S. election, casting mail-in ballot
Pope Leo XIV becomes first pontiff to vote in a U.S. election, casting mail-in ballot
Discussion:
Chicago Sun Times, WTOP News and Breitbart
Tyler Pager / New York Times:
Trump Erupted After Learning of Alina Habba's $50 Million Deal — Angry about the scale of a contract signed by one of his former lawyers with the family of a wealthy pardon seeker, the president told allies he wanted some of the money to go to his future presidential library.
Discussion:
New Republic, The Independent, Joe.My.God. and Mediaite
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Administration, States Harden Battle Lines Ahead of Election Day — Voting standoffs are growing amid high levels of distrust between federal and state officials — WASHINGTON—State election officials and the Trump administration are eyeing one another with extreme suspicion ahead …
Discussion:
ProPublica, NewsMax.com, The National Pulse, Votebeat, CBS News and New York Times
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New York Times:
U.S. Oil Industry Earned Over $130 Billion in Profit During Iran War — That was almost three times as much as what businesses producing and refining oil in the United States made in the same period in 2025. — The war with Iran has been very lucrative for American oil companies …
Discussion:
MS NOW, Washington Examiner, KEYT-TV and Political.org
Hamed Ahmadi / The Washington Sun:
Trump Administration Halts Funding for Key Ukraine Security Programs — The Trump administration has halted future aid to Ukraine through the International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement program, even as Russia intensifies attacks on the country's energy infrastructure ahead of winter.
Aaron Couch / The Hollywood Reporter:
Patrick Stewart, ‘Star Trek’ Captain and ‘X-Men’ Superhero, Dies at 86 — He's forever known for playing Jean-Luc Picard and Charles Xavier, whom he “admired for their morality, for their kindness, for their sensitivity, for their compassion.” … He was 86.
Discussion:
New York Times, NPR, CBS News, spiked, Deadline, Variety, Associated Press, American Thinker, The Guardian, The Wrap, Legal Insurrection, RedState, LGBTQ Nation, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Breitbart, Deseret News, The Gateway Pundit, Vanity Fair, KEYT-TV, Drezner's World, Salt Lake Tribune, Townhall, Fox News, TMZ.com, The Daily Wire, Daily Mail, Blaze Media, PinkNews, Global News, Rolling Stone, The Post Millennial, WTOP News, OutsideTheBeltway, ColombiaOne, Forbes, archive.is, Ace of Spades HQ, Gizmodo, Reuters, MS NOW, The Spectator, France 24, Mediaite, Page Six, The Daily Caller and Mock Paper Scissors
New York Times:
Polymarket Is Investigating Suspicious Bets on Israeli Election — The company said it was looking into hundreds of new accounts that had placed wagers in two markets related to the election on Tuesday. — Polymarket is investigating dozens of suspicious bets made on the Israeli election this week …
RELATED:
Rebecca Falconer / Axios:
Alaska governor casts doubt on certifying election if Peltola wins — Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) suggested Thursday the state could withhold certification of the U.S. Senate election results if Democrat Mary Peltola wins. … - “We're going to investigate it.
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Madison Malone Kircher / New York Times:
How Common Is Ballot Stacking? What to Know as Conflict Roils Alaska Senate Race.
How Common Is Ballot Stacking? What to Know as Conflict Roils Alaska Senate Race.
Discussion:
Letters from an American, The Guardian, The Hill, Media Matters for America and Newsweek
Zachary Basu / Axios:
Corporate America's Trump trap — America's corporate titans greeted President Trump's 2024 victory with open checkbooks, 12-figure investment pledges and fawning tributes to his coming “Golden Age.” — Two years later, on the eve of a potential blue wave, Democrats are preparing to greet …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal and Politico, more at Techmeme »
Brian Beutler / Off Message:
Inside Donald Trump's Secret Plan To Restart The Iran War After The Election — In the summer of 2026, Donald Trump received a bleak update: The Islamic Republic of Iran had claimed sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz. The fragile, on-and-off ceasefire he'd raced into effect just weeks earlier, had collapsed altogether.
Discussion:
Politico, Joe.My.God. and New Republic
Matthew Lee / Associated Press:
G20 diplomats, including from China and Russia, face deep rifts as they prepare to meet in Atlanta — The U.S. scrapped plans for a photo of top diplomats of the Group of 20 largest world economies on the opening day of talks Friday as several Europeans objected to being photographed …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Associated Press, Reuters and WAGA-TV
TMZ.com:
Ilhan Omar's Ex-Husband, Rumored to Be Her Brother, Says He's Gay — LLHAN OMAR EX-HUBBY RUMORED TO BE HER BROTHER REVEALS HE'S GAY — Ilhan Omar's ex-husband — who has long been rumored to be her brother — says he's gay ... adding a new wrinkle to allegations that the Minnesota congresswoman married …
Discussion:
Breitbart, New York Post, The Washington Free Beacon and Daily Mail
Rozina Ali / New Yorker:
The Real Stakes of the Ilhan Omar Case — In seeking to revoke the citizenship of a sitting congresswoman, the Trump Administration has sent a chilling message about dissent, loyalty, and who gets to be an American. — All the way back in 2015, as Donald Trump was ascending onto the political stage …
NBC News:
ICE officer is indicted after striking, injuring immigrant with his vehicle in Houston — A Texas grand jury indicted ICE officer Mario Alberto Morales on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. — A Texas grand jury indicted ICE officer Mario Alberto Morales Friday on a charge …
Discussion:
New York Times and FOX 26 Houston
Huo Jingnan / NPR:
Websites pretending to be local news are boosting Democratic candidates — 📲 Get the latest on the midterms & more in the NPR App — Ahead of the midterms, some voters are turning to ChatGPT to help them decide who to vote for. When asked for information about candidates …
Discussion:
Political.org
Stephen Neukam / The Washington Sun:
The Unlikely Resurgence of Kirsten Gillibrand — The prognosis was brutal nearly two years ago when Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand told colleagues and staff that she wanted to run the Senate Democrats' campaign arm. Reeling from losing their majority in their colossal 2024 losses …
Noah Berlatsky / Public Notice:
We've blown past mere “transphobia” — Public Notice is proudly celebrating 5 years of independent journalism. Our coverage is possible thanks for paid subscribers. Become one ⬇️ — 🏳️⚧️ Subscribe to PN 🏳️⚧️
Discussion:
Media Matters for America, LGBTQ Nation and Fox News
Ryan J. Reilly / NBC News:
James Comey team in court seeking to toss out third DOJ case against longtime Trump foe — Attorneys for the former FBI director contend the third case isn't valid on its face because it wasn't presented to a federal grand jury within the statute of limitations.
Discussion:
CBS News and NewsMax.com
Eric Bazail-Eimil / Politico:
Democrats demand answers from State about taking in Bolsonaro — House Democrats are probing the State Department's role in facilitating former Brazilian presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro's escape from Brazil to the U.S. amid ongoing criminal investigations into him and his family.
Brandy Zadrozny / MS NOW:
‘Slopaganda’ has taken over the midterms — Generative AI makes content that looks real enough to fool people, is accessible to everyone and can be deployed at scale. MS NOW tracked the ways slopaganda is affecting elections. — Call it the slop election.
Hans Nichols / Axios:
Scoop: Dems privately name Texas as most-flippable red state — Democrats' main Senate super PAC is privately telling top donors that Texas offers their best shot at flipping a deep-red Senate seat, followed by Ohio, where the race remains close. — Senate Majority PAC also sees victories …
Discussion:
Political.org and NewsMax.com
The Atlantic:
Democrats Are Ready to Run Hegseth ‘Out of Town’ — Many Democrats have a post-midterm dream that goes something like this: Pete Hegseth, the push-up-loving, beardo-mocking former Fox News host who has led the Pentagon for almost two years with bombast and theatrics, is either fired or hauled …


