Las Vegas Strip shooter targeted aviation fuel tanks, source says  —  Fuel tanks near the Route 91 Harvest country music festival, pictured on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017, were targeted by Strip shooter Stephen Paddock when he fired on concert-goers from his Mandalay Bay room Sunday night.

Repeal the Second Amendment  —  I have never understood the conservative fetish for the Second Amendment.  —  From a law-and-order standpoint, more guns means more murder.  “States with higher rates of gun ownership had disproportionately large numbers of deaths from firearm-related homicides …

‘Death spiral’: Tillerson makes nice but may not last long with Trump  —  The moment was as remarkable as it was unprecedented: A sitting U.S. secretary of state took to the microphone to pledge his fealty to the president — despite his well-documented unhappiness in the job and the growing presumption …

Jeff Sessions Just Reversed A Policy That Protects Transgender Workers From Discrimination  —  The Justice Department under Obama decreed that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned transgender discrimination in the workplace.  But in a new memo, the attorney general rescinded the policy.

Harvey Weinstein Lawyers Battling N.Y. Times, New Yorker Over Potentially Explosive Stories (Exclusive)  —  The Hollywood mogul has enlisted a team of attorneys to fight planned articles that are said to be about his personal behavior.  —  Is The New York Times about to expose damaging information on Harvey Weinstein?

Secret Service claims there are no Mar-a-Lago visitor logs  —  A Secret Service official said there are no logs for President Trump's visitors at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., Politico reported.  —  The official said in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) …

The Health of American Democracy: Comparing Perceptions of Experts and the American Public  —  Given wide­spread concern about the possible erosion of democracy in the United States, Bright Line Watch has conducted expert surveys since early 2017 asking thousands of pro­fes­sion­al …

Angry GOP donors close their wallets  —  Republicans are confronting a growing revolt from their top donors, who are cutting off the party in protest over its inability to get anything done.  —  Tensions reached a boiling point at a recent dinner at the home of Los Angeles billionaire Robert Day.

The Partisan Divide on Political Values Grows Even Wider  —  Sharp shifts among Democrats on aid to needy, race, immigration  —  The divisions between Republicans and Democrats on fundamental political values - on government, race, immigration, national security, environmental protection and other areas …

Democrat Northam leads Republican Gillespie in race for Virginia governor, new poll finds  —  A relatively unified party base gives Democrat Ralph Northam a clear lead over Republican Ed Gillespie heading into the final month of the Virginia governor's race, according to a new Washington Post-Schar School poll.

John Kelly: The Boston native in charge of bringing order to President Trump's White House  —  WASHINGTON — General John F. Kelly needed to deal with Al Qaeda, urgently.  It was 2008, and insurgents were operating with near impunity in the territory between two US commands.

America Will Return to the Moon—and Go Beyond  —  The U.S. is falling behind in the final frontier.  The National Space Council will help remedy that.  —  Sixty years ago this week, the Soviet Union launched the world's first satellite into orbit, changing the course of history.

Pro-Life Rep. Tim Murphy Will Not Seek Re-Election After Reports Of Urging Abortion  —  PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Congressman Tim Murphy, of Upper St. Clair, has reached a decision about his political future.  —  In a statement to KDKA's Jon Delano, the embattled anti-abortion Republican says he won't seek re-election.

Amazon Is Testing Its Own Delivery Service to Rival FedEx and UPS  —  Online retailer would deliver from other merchants' warehouses  —  Trial program underway on West Coast before national expansion  —  Amazon.com Inc. is experimenting with a new delivery service intended …

3 Special Forces Troops Are Killed and 2 Wounded in Ambush in Niger  —  WASHINGTON — Three United States Army Special Forces were killed and two were wounded in an ambush in Niger on Wednesday while on a routine patrol with troops they were training from the West African nation, American military officials said.

News Feed FYI: New Test to Provide Context About Articles  —  Today we are starting a new test to give people additional context on the articles they see in News Feed.  This new feature is designed to provide people some of the tools they need to make an informed decision about which stories to read, share, and trust.

Flake tries to strike DACA compromise  —  One of the Senate's most vulnerable incumbents, Jeff Flake of Arizona, wants to break the impasse on protecting young undocumented immigrants by deporting gang members in the United States and beefing up border security, according to a summary obtained by POLITICO.