POLITICO Playbook: Pelosi gives Playbook a preview of the Democratic majority  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  BREAKING ... SECRETARY OF STATE MIKE POMPEO has arrived in Saudi Arabia to meet with King Salman, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir.  Photo, courtesy State Department

American Mercenaries Were Hired To Assassinate Politicians In The Middle East  —  “There was a targeted assassination program in Yemen.  I was running it.  We did it.”  —  Cradling an AK-47 and sucking a lollipop, the former American Green Beret bumped along in the back of an armored SUV …

Trump calls Stormy Daniels ‘Horseface’  —  President Trump on Tuesday called adult-film star Stormy Daniels “Horseface” and threatened to “go after” her after he won a court victory over his alleged mistress.  —  “'Federal Judge throws out Stormy Danials lawsuit versus Trump.

CNN poll: Cruz leads O'Rourke with three weeks to go  —  New ad questions Ted Cruz's Texas ‘toughness’  —  Washington (CNN)Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz appears well-positioned for re-election over his Democratic challenger Rep. Beto O'Rourke, topping him 52% to 45% among likely voters, a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS finds.

Top Democratic Super PAC Comes To Bob Menendez's Rescue In New Jersey  —  Senate Majority PAC is spending $3 million to attack Republican Bob Hugin as a Trump clone.  —  The Senate Democrats' leading super PAC is set to spend $3 million in bright blue New Jersey in an effort to save Sen. Bob Menendez …

Chats Show FIU Turning Point USA Members Sharing Racist Memes and Rape Jokes … Back in 2017, New Times obtained screenshots of gross chats among Florida International University's Campus Republicans.  They joked about the Charlottesville neo-Nazi attack last year and threatened to “call ICE” …

Republicans Are Adopting the Proud Boys  —  Before and after the Manhattan brawl, GOP figures defended and promoted the far-right group.  It's a valuable and dangerous bridge between fascism and mainstream politics.  —  Nine members of the far-right Proud Boys group and three protesters …

Heitkamp apologizes for ad misidentifying victims of abuse  —  BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Sen. Heidi Heitkamp apologized Tuesday for misidentifying victims of domestic violence, sexual abuse and rape who were listed in a recent North Dakota newspaper ad aimed at her opponent.

Obituary: Madelyn Linsenmeir, 1988-2018  —  Our beloved Madelyn Ellen Linsenmeir died on Sunday, October 7.  While her death was unexpected, Madelyn suffered from drug addiction, and for years we feared her addiction would claim her life.  We are grateful that when she died, she was safe and she was with her family.

Trump's Attacks on the Press Are Illegal.  We're Suing.  —  A coalition of free-press advocates is taking on the president.  —  President Donald J. Trump's frequent threats and hostile acts directed toward journalists and the media are not only offensive and unbecoming of a democratic leader; they are also illegal.

Resource Center  —  Home » Resource Center » Financial Sanctions » OFAC Recent Actions » Iran-related Designations and Updates; Counter Terrorism Designations and Updates; Administrative Removals from Executive Order 13599 List  —  Iran-related Designations and Updates …

Democrats Fear Obama Is Going Soft for the Midterms  —  The former president's allies say his distance has been strategic and that he will ramp up his presence as voting nears.  But some alums wonder if that plan is wise.  —  With just three weeks to go before one of most critical midterm elections …

Polarization Seems to Be Helping Republicans in Run-Up to Midterms  —  Energized voters on the right dim prospects for big Democratic gains in red districts and states.  —  One big question looms over the fight for control of Congress: Will strong Democratic candidates ride a blue wave …

McConnell Blames Entitlements, Not GOP, for Rising Deficits  — Leader sees little chance of tackling debt without Democrats  — GOP passed tax cut bill adding more than $1 trillion in debt  —  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday blamed rising federal deficits and debt …

Top 10 Russophobes of 2018: See who made RT's prestigious list this year … It's that special time of year when RT names the top 10 Russophobes of the last 12 months.  This prestigious list is made up of those RT believes have contributed to and benefited the most from the thriving world of Russophobia.

Tucker Carlson Says He Can't Go to Restaurants Anymore  —  “Having someone scream, ‘F— you!’ at a restaurant, it just wrecks your meal,” he said on a podcast.  —  Fox News host Tucker Carlson said he's “not a restaurant guy anymore” because of the way he's treated when he dines out in Washington, D.C.

Big advertisers still shunning Ingraham's Fox News show months after boycotts  —  'They're kind of forced off, whether they want to be or not,' one Fox executive said.  —  Laura Ingraham's ratings are surging, but big advertisers are still steering clear of her show months after a series …

These Women Are Fleeing The Republican Party And Could Help Create A Blue Wave  —  If there's a Democratic sweep in November, politically moderate suburban women will be a big reason why.  “Now, I'm Democratic,” said one Michigan woman.  “I've never been before.”

Alumni and faculty call on St. Lawrence University to rescind Susan Collins' honorary degree  —  Alumni and faculty at the alma mater of Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, are calling on university officials to rescind an honorary degree awarded to her as punishment for voting to confirm Supreme …

Race by race: Here's the Democrats' path to a House majority in November  —  First Read is your briefing from “Meet the Press” and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter.  —  WASHINGTON — Exactly three weeks out until Election Day 2018 …

Charlottesville's Other Jim Crow Legacy: Separate and Unequal Education  —  CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — High school seniors Zyahna Bryant and Trinity Hughes have been friends since they were 6 years old, raised by blue-collar families in this affluent college town.

Here's what should excite and depress Democrats so far in 2018  —  (CNN)For two years Democrats have raged over Donald Trump's presidency, quarreled among themselves over the best strategy for responding to it, and above all, counted the days until next month's midterm election.

Ex-Trump Aide Jason Miller Hires Hulk Hogan's Lawyers to Sue Gizmodo Over Abortion Pill Story  —  In the latest twist in his battle with ex-lover A.J. Delgado, Miller has hired the same lawyers who helped Hulk Hogan take down Gawker.  —  Former Trump aide Jason Miller sued Gizmodo Media Group …

The Rich White Civil War  —  A smarter look at America's divide.  —  Every few years one research group or another produces a typology of the electorate.  The researchers conduct thousands of interviews and identify the different clusters American voters fall into.

Group sues Kemp, Gwinnett elections board over ballot rejections  —  Voting advocates and civil rights groups have honed in on Gwinnett County and what they deem to be its “excessive rejection of mail ballots because of voters' innocent errors and discrepancies.”

Liberal shock: Ralph Nader touts Bloomberg 2020  —  Political activist and Green Party Presidential candidate, Ralph Nader, who is known for being tough on Democrats tells Ari Melber it would be good for Mike Bloomberg to run against Trump as a Democrat in 2020, saying “Wall Street is his weakness” …