Letter to President Trump from Pittsburgh Jewish Leaders  —  We are the Pittsburgh affiliate of Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice.  —  President Trump:  —  Yesterday, a gunman slaughtered 11 Americans during Shabbat morning services.  We mourn with the victims' families and pray for the wounded.

Full text of Carter's letter to Georgia secretary of state  —  Former President Jimmy Carter, a Georgia resident, wrote on his official letterhead to his state's Republican nominee for governor, Brian Kemp, asking him to resign as Georgia secretary of state.  The secretary of state oversees elections.

Trump's hate and lies are inciting extremists.  Just ask the analyst who warned us.  —  President Trump and Republicans are lashing out at the notion that they bear primary responsibility for the climate of rage and hate that has consumed our politics, now that a man has allegedly gunned …

Military to Deploy 5,000 Troops to Southern Border, U.S. Officials Say  —  The U.S. military is deploying 5,000 troops to the southern border, U.S. officials say, an increase from the initial estimate of 800.

Republican Party headquarters vandalized by gunfire in Volusia  —  SOUTH DAYTONA — The windows of Volusia County's Republican Party headquarters were found shot out Monday morning and four bullet holes were discovered inside the offices.  —  Police were investigating shattered glass …

9 hours of ‘Executive Time’: Trump's unstructured days define his presidency  —  President Donald Trump had about three times as much free time planned for last Tuesday as work time, according to his private schedule.  The president was slated for more than nine hours of “Executive Time,” …

Enough platitudes: Let's name names  —  President Trump's defenders and even some of his tepid critics on the right seem determined to keep their moral blinders firmly affixed so as to narrow the discussion about the horrible incidents such as the mass murder at Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.

Twitter to remove ‘like’ tool in a bid to improve the quality of debate  —  Twitter is planning to remove the ability to “like” tweets in a radical move that aims to improve the quality of debate on the social network.  —  Founder Jack Dorsey last week admitted at a Twitter event …

Trump Persuaded Struggling People to Invest in Scams, Lawsuit Says  —  A new lawsuit accuses President Trump, his company and three of his children of using the Trump name to entice vulnerable people to invest in sham business opportunities.  —  Filed in federal court in Manhattan on Monday …

We Can't Go Back … Things are getting better - we can't go back!  Learn how to vote now at: https://vote.donaldjtrump.com/  —  This dramatic, high-quality ad depicts the new optimism of a working mom and the very real way that the future of her family is at stake in this election.

Iranian official says president's cellphone was tapped  —  TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian officials say President Hassan Rouhani's mobile phone was tapped, without providing details on who was behind it or what information they might have gleaned.  —  The semi-official ISNA news agency …

Beto O'Rourke Once Supported an El Paso Real Estate Deal.  Barrio Residents Remember.  —  EL PASO — At a special City Council meeting in 2006, a billionaire real estate investor unveiled his vision for redeveloping downtown El Paso.  To replace tenements and boarded-up buildings …

American ISIS Suspect Is Freed After Being Held More Than a Year  —  WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has freed an American citizen whom the military imprisoned without trial for more than 13 months as a suspected Islamic State member, United States officials said on Monday.

This Cop Was Accused Of Putting An 11-Year-Old Girl In A Chokehold And Lying About It.  He Kept His Job.  —  Confidential department documents show that then-NYPD commissioner Bill Bratton shut down disciplinary proceedings.  The officer has also shared Facebook posts that denigrate black people and Muslims.

‘Nothing to Gain,’ Kavanaugh Accuser Raises Nearly $1 Million  —  During the crucible of Brett Kavanaugh's Senate confirmation hearings, Democrats repeatedly asserted that Christine Blasey Ford had “nothing to gain” by coming forward with her explosive accusation of attempted rape against the Supreme Court nominee.

Bolsonaro's politics of nationalist redemption  —  Capping off an electoral campaign marked by passionate anti-establishment sentiment, the jailing of a former president and rising political violence, Brazil took a collective leap of faith and elected right-wing nationalist strongman Jair Bolsonaro to a four-year term.

Choke it down, and vote for Menendez |  Editorial  —  Gallery: U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez Speaks in Newark  —  By Star-Ledger Editorial Board eletters@starledger.com  —  This year's U.S. Senate race presents the most depressing choice for New Jersey voters in a generation …

Hillary Clinton leaves door open for 2020 run: 'I'd like to be president'  —  Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton during an event over the weekend left the door open to a possible 2020 run, saying that even though she doesn't want to run, “I'd like to be president.”

Merkel Steps Down as Party Leader as Election Setbacks Take Toll  — German leader makes dramatic concession to her party critics  — Power waning after leading Christian Democrats for 18 years  —  Germany's Angela Merkel will quit as head of her Christian Democratic party and won't run …

Inside a Trump rally: Stelter's view from the press pen  —  (CNN)The first thing you see at a Trump campaign rally is the line.  —  There was a long line in the pouring rain ahead of the October 26 rally in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Some devotees had started lining up the night before.

Suspicious package headed to CNN's Atlanta headquarters intercepted  —  (CNN)For the third time in a week, a suspicious package has been addressed to CNN.  This time, on Monday morning, the package was intercepted in Atlanta, the home to CNN's worldwide headquarters.

However the Midterms Go, the Republican Party Is Going to Get More Extreme  —  Politics since Donald Trump's election has felt like a static state of misery, as the president's approval ratings have been surprisingly stable and the only apparent variable has been each party's chances of gaining or consolidating power in the midterms.

Devin Nunes' Re-Election Tests Whether All Politics Are Now National  —  In 2016, Rep. Devin Nunes coasted to re-election by a double-digit margin.  Now the eight-term Republican is in for the tightest race of his political life — all thanks to his views on the Russia investigations.

Democrats Blaming Normal Americans for Nuts Will Blow Up In Their Faces at the Ballot Box  —  You know, there's nothing that Normal Americans can identify with more than a guy living in a Ford panel van covered with Trump memes and soccer manifestoes who sends bombs that don't work to Democrats who support policies that don't work.

Lena Dunham Tapped by Steven Spielberg and J.J. Abrams to Adapt Syrian Refugee Story  —  The “Girls” creator will adapt non-fiction novel “A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea” by Melissa Fleming  —  Lena Dunham has been tapped to adapt a Syrian refugee story for the big screen …

The Skimm Brains 7 million people wake up to their newsletter, and their voice, every morning.  —  In early September, the whole staff of the Skimm, a current-events newsletter aimed at millennial women, gathered on gray couches for an all-hands meeting.  Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisberg …

Republican Brat and Democrat Spanberger in dead heat as Virginia's GOP-leaning 7th District race hits final week; Trump disapproval and voter enthusiasm lift Spanberger  —  Summary of Key Findings  —  1. In our likely voter model, Democrat Abigail Spanberger and Republican incumbent Dave Brat …