memeorandum: D.C., Virginia sue to block Trump's 250-foot arch (Ben Berkowitz/Axios)

12:00 PM ET, October 31, 2026

Top Items:

The New York Times invents a Democratic scandal while ignoring a new Trump rape allegation — America is four days out from the end of an election in which America's deeply unpopular fascist ruling party is trying to retain control of Congress. The week began with yet another new rape allegation …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, The Nation, Althouse, Fox News and The Wrap

Jay Willis / Slate:

The Truth About the Alaska Dan Sullivan Shenanigans — Earlier this week, the New York Times published a splashy feature detailing how allies of Mary Peltola, the Democratic nominee in this year's Senate race in Alaska, worked to “stack” the ballot with candidates who could help her defeat the Republican incumbent, Dan Sullivan.

Discussion: Conservative Brief, The Hill, FactCheck.org, HotAir, Political.org, WBAL, New York Magazine, Axios, Newsweek, Bloomberg and The Daily Caller

Greg Sargent / New Republic:
Inside Trump's Dark Plot to Keep Senate in GOP Hands Even If Dems Win

Discussion: Political.org, New York Times, Anchorage Daily News, The Federalist, Axios and Politico

Washington Post:

D.C. and Virginia sue to block Trump's proposed triumphal arch — The lawsuit increases legal pressure against the president's planned 250-foot-tall project. — SummaryLoading... The D.C. government and the commonwealth of Virginia sued Saturday to block construction …

Discussion: The Washington Sun, Washington Examiner, KFTC-TV, CNN, Joe.My.God., MS NOW, Politico, WTTG-TV and CBS News

Ben Berkowitz / Axios:

D.C., Virginia sue to block Trump's 250-foot arch — The governments of Washington D.C. and Virginia asked a federal court to block construction of President Trump's planned “triumphal arch,” claiming it's unlawfully tall and would snarl traffic for years.

Ford McCracken / The Hill:

DC, Virginia sue to block Trump's triumphal arch — Washington, D.C., and Virginia sued the National Parks Service and Interior Department to block President Trump's proposed triumphal arch on Saturday, a new court filing shows. — The planned arch would resemble arches in other cities …

Discussion: Political.org, HotAir and Washington Post

Liz Crampton / Politico:

Greg Abbott's Texas Empire Is Showing Cracks … The Texas governor pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket. — “Steve Radack Community Center, 18650 Clay Road, Houston, 1.2 miles away,” he read, identifying the precinct's nearest polling location. “Listen, I can roll over there in five minutes …

Discussion: NewsMax.com, Conservative Brief and The Texas Tribune

New York Times:
Led by Trump, Republicans Close Midterms With Ugly Personal Attacks

Discussion: The Free Press

Robert Draper / New York Times:
Talarico Makes Final Pitch to Texans: ‘You Are My Slingshot’

Discussion: Fox News

Michelle Goldberg / New York Times:
Republicans Tried to Turn the Cheesecake Factory Against Democrats. It Flopped.

Discussion: DeLong's Grasping …

Nancy Cook / Washington Post: Trump's economic message on eve of midterms: It's better than you think

Diana Paulsen / ABC News:
Texas Democrats see data centers as a winning issue

Discussion: The Hill and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Samuel Benson / Politico:

The last weekend of midterm campaigning begins — With just three days to Election Day, campaigns are scrambling to get out their closing messages. — Are you a player in Democrats' civil war? We want to hear from you! — Are you Haley Stevens, who Abdul El-Sayed's allies are sidelining …

Discussion: Washington Post, Fox News, The Hill, Instapundit, The Daily Wire and Mediaite

Politico:

El-Sayed campaign wants Stevens to stay away after day of back-and-forth sniping — Michigan's Democratic coalition is fragmenting in real time days before a critical Senate election. — After it seemed like former primary rivals Abdul El-Sayed and Rep. Haley Stevens might finally appear together …

Discussion: RedState, The Post Millennial, Newsweek, Newsbusters, Mediaite, Washington Examiner, HuffPost, Washington Post, NewsNation, CBS News, The Hill, New Republic, New York Times and twitchy.com

Reid J. Epstein / New York Times:
Why Haley Stevens Can't Stop Talking About Abdul El-Sayed

Discussion: New York Post, The Hill, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Legal Insurrection, The Guardian, Jewish Insider, NBC News, TMZ.com, Mediaite, RedState and Political.org

New York Times:

Republican Leads Independent in Nebraska Senate Race, Poll Finds — Voters see Dan Osborn, the independent seeking to unseat Senator Pete Ricketts, as more like a Democrat than an independent, a Times/Siena poll found. — Senator Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, a Republican …

Discussion: The Hill, NewsMax.com, Political.org, Bloomberg and Associated Press

Hans Nichols / Axios:
Your election night cheat sheet

Discussion: Denver Gazette

New York Times: Brace Yourself for an ‘Unusual Election’

Blake Paterson / Perdido Street:
Louisiana Senate contest is a tossup, poll finds

Discussion: RedState, NewsMax.com and The Hill

Washington Post:
4 ways the polls could be wrong — or right — about who will win the Senate

Discussion: America, America, Daily Mail, Townhall and The Intersection

Salvador Hernandez / Los Angeles Times:

Video shows ICE agent pointing handgun in face of North Hollywood bystander — 6 min Click here to listen to this article — A federal immigration agent pulled out a handgun and pointed it just inches from the face of a bystander during an apparent operation in North Hollywood on Friday morning …

Barak Ravid / Axios:

Iran's supreme leader orders “maximum” response to any U.S. attack — Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei told the country's top three military commanders that a renewed attack by the U.S. and Israel ״must be met with an immediate and effective response, without geographical limitations״ …

Discussion: Bloomberg, NewsMax.com, Al Jazeera, Associated Press, Middle East Monitor, CBS News and The American Conservative

Yeganeh Torbati / New York Times:
Iran Braces for More War, No Matter the Outcome of the U.S. and Israeli Elections

Discussion: Truthout

Barak Ravid / Axios:
Qataris hold marathon talks in Tehran in bid for U.S.-Iran deal before midterms

Discussion: Reuters, CNBC, MS NOW, Al Jazeera, Political.org, Breitbart, The National, Bloomberg, NewsNation and The American Conservative

New York Times:

How Trump Is Dismantling America's Scientific Research Machine — The system that has driven life-altering discoveries and helped make the United States a superpower is now under intense strain. — The warning, buried in an obscure government report this summer, was unflinching.

Discussion: The Hill

Kyle Chouinard / The Washington Sun:

A Super PAC Army Is Spending Millions on ‘Spoiler’ Candidates — Last week, a tsunami of outside spending surged onto Bill Redpath's ultra-longshot campaign for Ohio's U.S. Senate seat. — A single super PAC created in early October began spending $1.7 million in support of the little-known libertarian …

Luke Fountain / CNBC:
‘Pop-up’ super PACs pour $637 million into 2026 midterm races

Discussion: The San Francisco Standard

Tierney Sneed / CNN:

Judge imposes sweeping emergency order halting DOJ pressure campaign on election officials — Federal agencies Voting rights Election security — A federal judge imposed a sweeping emergency order halting various aggressive tactics employed by the Trump administration in recent days to pressure election officials across the country.

Discussion: Democracy Docket, Washington Post, NBC News, Axios, The Daily Wire, Political.org, RedState, The Hill, NewsMax.com, MS NOW, KDFX-TV and Protect Democracy

Politico:
Judge orders DOJ to stop threatening to prosecute election officials

Discussion: Washington Post, Reuters, Political.org, Democracy Docket, The Gateway Pundit, NPR, Axios, HuffPost, The Washington Sun and New York Times

Phillips P. OBrien / Phillips's Newsletter:

The US Military Is On A Precipice — The US military is standing on a precipice, and it is not clear which way it will jump. It has been used, tragically, for a series of appalling and in some cases criminal campaigns over the last few years. It has been and is being purged of talent …

Discussion: Fox News and Global Arab Network

Michael Luciano / Mediaite:

Tucker Carlson Gets Personal on ‘Sad, Greasy’ Ted Cruz: ‘His Personal Life Is a True Disaster’ — Tucker Carlson got personal on Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), claiming that the senator is a “sad, greasy” man who “doesn't know how absurd he is.” — On his show Friday, Carlson was asked by a viewer …

Discussion: Media Matters for America

Brynn Tannehill / Public Notice:

Move fast, break things — Public Notice is proudly celebrating five years of independent journalism. This special Saturday edition is possible thanks for paid subscribers. Become one ⬇️ — 💥 Subscribe to PN 💥 — Last week, the Washington Post reported …

Wall Street Journal:

Prediction Markets Keep Whiffing on Elections. Will They Miss on the Midterms? — Polling data remains at issue after Brazil, Serbia and Wisconsin elections markets were upset by supposed long shots — The day Israel voted in its consequential election this week, Kalshi Chief Executive Tarek Mansour …

Politico:

Data centers turn sleepy utility races into political battlegrounds — Once-sleepy utility board races across the South have turned into must-watch contests as Democrats try to wrest power from the Republicans who control energy prices in the region. Even Kamala Harris thinks so.

Wall Street Journal:

How Iran Battered U.S. Bases and Caused Billions in Damage — Satellite imagery shows hundreds of damaged buildings at more than two dozen installations, in the fullest accounting of the destruction yet — | Graphics by Carl Churchill and Katherine Chui — Three American servicemembers …

Discussion: Associated Press

New York Times:

Alina Habba's Husband Ignited a White House Drama. Now His Background Is Under Scrutiny. — Turhan Mildon, who married Alina Habba this summer, presents himself as a 29-year-old billionaire with ties to global leaders. His story has inconsistencies. — President Trump's former lawyer …

Thomas Frank / Politico:

The final sprint to Election Day — Here's the latest midterm news, with four days to go. — Trump approves Texas disaster aid just days before election — President Donald Trump approved disaster aid on Friday for households in central Texas that were damaged by July floods …

New York Times:

As Midterms Near, Top Law Firms That Capitulated to Trump Are on the Sidelines — None of the firms that struck deals to avoid crippling executive orders are publicly involved in the major legal efforts to check the Trump administration's attempts to meddle in the midterm elections, a review by The New York Times shows.

Wall Street Journal:

Why Did All the Fiscal Hawks Go Extinct? — The national debt is growing at an unprecedented pace and almost nobody is prepared to stop it — In the run-up to Tuesday's midterm elections, Democratic ads hammer at the Iran war, gas prices and alleged corruption.

Discussion: The National Pulse