What the Arab world needs most is free expression  —  I received this column from Jamal Khashoggi's translator and assistant the day after Jamal was reported missing in Istanbul.  The Post held off publishing it because we hoped Jamal would come back to us so that he and I could edit it together.

Rod Rosenstein Defends Mueller Probe as ‘Appropriate and Independent’  —  In interview, deputy attorney general says investigation has revealed widespread Russian effort to meddle in 2016 election  —  Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein defended the special counsel's investigation …

Dem operative for Soros-funded group arrested for ‘battery’ against Nevada GOP candidate's campaign manager  —  A Democratic operative for American Bridge 21st Century, a group founded by David Brock and funded by liberal billionaire George Soros, was arrested Tuesday after the female campaign manager …

Media Congratulates Trump for Spreading Lie About Elizabeth Warren  —  One of the innumerable ways in which Donald Trump has degraded American politics is his habit of relentlessly using belittling nicknames for his political opponents.  Seizing on a superficial or imagined characteristic …

A New Facebook Lawsuit Makes ‘Pivot to Video’ Seem Even More Shortsighted  —  Facebook acknowledged in 2016 that it had been overstating to advertisers the average time users spent watching videos on the platform.  But when exactly Facebook found out about that error—and how long the company kept …

Twitter Won't Suspend Louis Farrakhan For His Tweet Comparing Jews To Insects  —  Twitter will not suspend controversial Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan for a tweet comparing Jews to insects, the company said in a statement to BuzzFeed News.  —  Farrakhan, who has been dogged …

You Want 20% for Handing Me a Muffin?  The Awkward Etiquette of iPad Tipping  —  Countertop payment tablets turn gratuities into a public ordeal; ‘It guilts you into it’  —  Mina Dimyan frequents a Stamford, Conn., cafe, where he orders a cup of strong coffee for $3.  It comes with a splash of guilt.

Ryan Zinke Has Fired the DOI Inspector General … At last count, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke was the subject of 14 separate government investigations.  (A new record!)  But that number could soon be zero.  That's because Zinke just fired the Department of the Interior's acting inspector general.

Liberal Upper West Siders Get Their Revenge: Trump Place Sign Is Coming Down  —  Few places in the United States are more staunchly liberal than the Upper West Side of Manhattan.  And so few things are more galling to many residents of a residential complex there than the big letters that greet …

McConnell says Senate Republicans might revisit Obamacare repeal  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans could try again to repeal Obamacare if they win enough seats in U.S. elections next month, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said on Wednesday, calling a failed 2017 push to repeal the healthcare law a “disappointment.”

Blackburn backlash shocks Mt. Juliet restaurant owner  —  Courtney's Restaurant and Catering owner Tom Courtney said he's experienced a strong social media backlash because he rented the event room at his Mt. Juliet business to U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Marsha Blackburn on Saturday.

Forecasting the races for governor  —  Our forecast for every race for governor  —  What share of the national population Democrats and Republicans are expected to govern, based on the most likely winner in each of the 36 gubernatorial elections taking place in 2018 and who controls the 14 seats not up for election.

McCaskill demands Hawley's office investigate hidden-camera videos of her campaign  —  JEFFERSON CITY  —  U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill's campaign is demanding Attorney General Josh Hawley open a fraud investigation into hidden-camera videos released this week by a nonprofit run by conservative activist James O'Keefe.

Huge if True: The Archaeological Case for Goliath  —  Is the story of the Philistine champion Goliath a distant memory of an event that took place in the 11th century B.C.E. or a fable by priests conspiring in Jerusalem 400 years later?

Denver TV station pulls GOP ad attacking Jared Polis  —  Denver TV station KMGH-Denver7 decided Wednesday to pull a pro-Republican independent expenditure committee's TV ad attacking gubernatorial candidate Jared Polis.  The move came after the Colorado Democrat's attorneys demanded …

Steve King: America's Most Deplorable Congressman  —  He's an embarrassment to the GOP and to America.  —  Representative Steve King is an embarrassment to the Republican party.  He has been for some time.  On October 16, he endorsed white-nationalist Faith Goldy for mayor of Toronto.

Odds Are, Your Next Governor Will Be A Democrat  —  In the midterm elections for the House and Senate, Democrats are very likely to win the majority of votes, but they face structural barriers to winning the majority of seats.  In the House, for instance, we project that Democrats would need …

Where Has All the Tab Gone?  A Shortage Panics Fans  —  The plea for Tab came across in a message on Facebook.  —  It was Sept. 27, and Anne White saw a post from a neighbor telling her their local grocery store in Cincinnati had been stripped of the diet soda, last popular in the 1980s and now a cult favorite.

State Department provided ‘clearly false’ statements to derail requests for Clinton docs, ‘shocked’ federal judge says  —  In a combative exchange at a hearing Friday in Washington, D.C., a federal judge unabashedly accused career State Department officials of lying and signing “clearly false” …

Why does Ben Sasse want to be a US senator?  —  Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., who is out promoting his second book in as many years, has gotten into a flame war with Sean Hannity, who he identifies as one of the purveyors of rage on the airways and who he blames for contributing to the coarsening of our national discourse.

Manhattan DA: Lead Detective in Weinstein Case Told Witness to Delete Messages  —  “This is the age of technology,” the president of the detectives union fired back.  “People keep loads of personal info on their phones that they prefer remains confidential.”  —  DA Says Weinstein Cop Told Witness to Delete Texts

Why Are So Many People In San Jose Fighting Housing for Teachers?  —  Taylor Swenson doesn't want to leave San José.  She doesn't want to leave the teachers in the San José Unified School District she's been training for three years, or abandon the kids she's been supporting …