Top Items:
Sahil Kapur / Bloomberg:
Embattled Iowa Lawmaker King Says Ted Cruz Expressed His Support — GOP campaign leader renounced King after attack in Pittsburgh — Cruz is in a close race; his campaign says call was ‘personal’ — Representative Steve King of Iowa, who has been abandoned by Republican leaders …
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New York Times:
Inside What Even an Ally Calls Trump's ‘Reality Distortion Field’ — From nonexistent riots to conspiracy theories about migrants to false claims about his popularity and job-creating record, the president has offered a litany of falsehoods in the midterm campaign.
Discussion:
Florida Politics and HuffPost
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Scott Lemieux / Lawyers, Guns & Money:
Republicans Getting Borked on Healthcare — The greatest act of incivility in American politics, as is well known, is to accurately describe a Republicans publicly stated positions. And it's happening to Martha McSally: — McSally made the admission during a recent interview …
Discussion:
New York Magazine and Eschaton
Matthew Choi / Politico:
Biden: Republicans are either liars or ‘really stupid’ for claims about pre-existing conditions
Biden: Republicans are either liars or ‘really stupid’ for claims about pre-existing conditions
Discussion:
Political Wire
Dana Blanton / Fox News:
Fox News Poll: Trump approval remains high in Senate battleground states — A new round of Fox News battleground state polls proves we don't call them battlegrounds for nothing. With six days until the election, three of the five U.S. Senate races could go either way …
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA, Hot Air, The Daily Caller and LifeZette
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Ali Dukakis / ABC News:
Conspiracy theorist becomes key figure as Mueller builds case — Self-proclaimed conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi returned to Washington, D.C., again this week for more closed-door meetings with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigators, and on Friday is scheduled to make a second appearance …
Discussion:
Politico
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New York Times:
How Vilification of George Soros Moved From the Fringes to the Mainstream — WASHINGTON — Hours after he was informed last week that an explosive device had been delivered to his suburban New York home, George Soros, the billionaire investor and Democratic donor, got on a call with colleagues …
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Kansas City Star:
Out-of-state political consultants helped direct Josh Hawley's Missouri AG office — Josh Hawley pledged to Missouri voters in 2016 that he was not the kind of career politician who would use “one office to get to another.” — But within weeks of Hawley's swearing in as the state's top …
Discussion:
Political Wire
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Erik Wasson / Bloomberg:
Democrats More Hopeful About Unseating Montana's Body-Slamming Lawmaker
Democrats More Hopeful About Unseating Montana's Body-Slamming Lawmaker
Discussion:
Missoulian, Bob Hugin for SenateBob Hugin … and NBC News
Phil Drake / Great Falls Tribune:
Libertarian endorses Rosendale in Senate race
Libertarian endorses Rosendale in Senate race
Discussion:
Power Line, Talking Points Memo and Washington Free Beacon
The Daily Beast:
‘Homeland Security’ Ignores White Terror, DHS Veterans Say — As far-right terror attacks mount, DHS is concentrating on a migrant caravan 1000+ miles away—and some FBI veterans say the bureau isn't taking white supremacy seriously enough. — On Tuesday, just days after a white supremacist gunned …
Discussion:
The Crime Report, New Republic and Raw Story
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Laura Strickler / NBC News:
Trump admin will apparently not renew program to fight domestic terror
Trump admin will apparently not renew program to fight domestic terror
Discussion:
Daily Kos
Mark Hosenball / Reuters:
U.S. Senate panel investigates former Trump aide Bannon: sources — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee is pursuing a wide-ranging investigation into former White House adviser Steve Bannon's activities during the 2016 presidential campaign, three sources familiar with the inquiry told Reuters.
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, The Week, Talking Points Memo, Boing Boing, Splinter and Political Wire
David Crook / DCReport.org:
Human Rights Group Calls for Investigation of Giuliani, Trump Money-Laundering Scheme — Prosecutors Asked to Probe Dutch Middlemen Washing Billions in Dirty Kazahk Cash for Real Estate Deals in U.S. and Europe — A human rights organization has asked Dutch prosecutors to open …
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Los Angeles Times:
Veteran featured in GOP congressman's midterm election ad posted racist rants and violent threats on Facebook — On the home page of his campaign website, Rep. Steve Knight of Palmdale has posted a television ad showing a veteran praising the Republican congressman for helping him get a lung transplant.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Lawfare:
The Watergate Road Map Unsealed — The National Archive has released the famed—and long mysterious—Watergate “Road Map,” which Special Prosecutor sent to Congress in 1974. For background on the Road Map, and our litigation to get it released, see here and here.
Discussion:
Hullabaloo and Political Wire
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Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:
“There's Going to Be a Lot of Departures”: Fearing a House Wipeout, Trump Throws Hail Marys as Aides Brace for Staff Changes — White House insiders suggest that Kellyanne Conway and Steve Mnuchin are not long for this West Wing. — BY - GABRIEL SHERMANOctober 31, 2018,
Discussion:
Hot Air, No More Mister Nice Blog, Raw Story, IJR and Politico
Matt Zdun / The Texas Tribune:
Ted Cruz's lead over Beto O'Rourke narrows to 3.6, UT-Tyler poll says — The UT-Tyler poll follows a number of other polls which show Cruz's lead over O'Rourke diminishing. … Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz leads challenger U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso, by 3.6 percentage points among likely voters …
Discussion:
The Week and CBS Dallas
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Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
Shepard Smith can't redeem Fox News — A header on Brian Stelter's nightly media newsletter reads, “Fox under pressure,” a reference to the growing concerns that Fox News's rhetoric is driving conspiracy theories. “Modern Family” co-creator Steve Levitan has signaled that he won't …
Discussion:
New York Times, TVNewser, twitchy.com, Forbes and LifeZette, more at Mediagazer »
Jonathan Karl / ABC News:
‘We have to have a wall of people’: Trump defends military presence on border — President Donald Trump said that the increased military presence on the border is going to help stop the “invasion” that is coming in the migrant caravan. — “We have to have a wall of people,” Trump said …
Discussion:
Mediaite
Newsweek:
Migrant Caravan Troop Deployment Could Cost U.S. $50 Million Despite No Evidence of Terrorists, Major Criminal Gang Presence — The Trump administration is preparing for the most dangerous, and unlikely, scenario as it sends thousands of troops to the border to intercept a carvavan …
Discussion:
The Intercept
Peter Hasson / The Daily Caller:
'She's A Piece Of S***' — Claire McCaskill Ignites Feud With Missouri Democrat Just Days Before Election — Democratic Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill sparked a fierce backlash from a Democratic legislator in her home state after listing her as an example of a “crazy Democrat.”
Discussion:
RedState, Power Line, NTK Network, Washington Free Beacon, Breitbart and The Gateway Pundit
John Eastman / New York Post:
Revoking birthright citizenship would enforce the Constitution — President Trump's comments are not even set to air until this weekend, but already they have created a firestorm of commentary, most of it ill-informed. — It is not “within the president's power to change birthright citizenship …
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Martin Vassolo / miamiherald:
Miami GOP candidate Salazar says birthright citizenship should be “reviewed”
Miami GOP candidate Salazar says birthright citizenship should be “reviewed”
Discussion:
Washington Post, NBC News, Axios and USA Today
Washington Post:
Startling new research finds large buildup of heat in the oceans, suggesting a faster rate of global warming — The findings mean the world might have less time to curb carbon emissions. — The world's oceans have been soaking up far more excess heat in recent decades than scientists realized …
Brendan Morrow / The Week:
The Obamas might make a TV show about disorder in the Trump administration for Netflix — Is former President Barack Obama about to unleash one long subtweet against his successor in the form of a Netflix show? — Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama have acquired the rights …
Discussion:
EW.com, Deadline, Breitbart and The Gateway Pundit
Economist:
Identity politics are stronger on the right than the left — The Republican Party is increasingly unified around whiteness — IN THE popular imagination, identity politics is the stuff of queer-studies seminars and Hillary Clinton rallies. The excesses of intolerant university students raging …
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Sarah Sanders has a knack for lying — One can only marvel at the ease with which White House press secretary Sarah Sanders abuses the people in front of her, deflects blame and outright lies. At Monday's press briefing, her entire bag of tricks was on display.
New York Times:
Democrats in an All-Hands-on-Deck Scramble to Save Menendez in New Jersey — UNION BEACH, N.J. — It was a rare convergence of New Jersey's governor and its two senators for an official event meant to be about policy, not politics. — But as Gov. Philip D. Murphy announced new programs …
Discussion:
NJ Spotlight and The Daily Caller
Alexander Burns / New York Times:
With $30 Million, Obscure Democratic Group Floods the Zone in House Races — BRADENTON BEACH, Fla. — The billboard flickered from the side of a truck, displaying an image of Representative Vern Buchanan, Republican of Florida, wearing a yachtsman's cap. Keith Fitzgerald …
Discussion:
Politico
Nina Totenberg / NPR:
O'Connor, Rehnquist And A Supreme Marriage Proposal — Some personal secrets are so well-kept that even family and friends are oblivious. So it is with the story of the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist's marriage proposal to a Stanford Law School classmate in the early 1950s.
Discussion:
CNN, HuffPost, Jezebel, The Daily Caller, Above the Law, The Week, Political Wire and Talking Points Memo
PVA:
Gillum Makes Promises He Can't Keep, “that's not for [voters] to know” Says Campaign Staff in Undercover Video … Empty Promises Exposed: “Fairy tales in the modern day begin with ‘once I am elected.’” — Deceiving Voters: “None of the programs that people are hoping for would happen” but “That's not for [voters] to know.”
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit and Daily Wire
Avery Anapol / The Hill:
California synagogue targeted with anti-Semitic graffiti — A synagogue in Irvine, Calif., was defaced with anti-Semitic graffiti overnight on Tuesday. — In a message shared on Facebook by Orange County Jewish Life Magazine, Beth Jacob Congregation of Irvine synagogue leaders said the …
The Times of Israel:
TV report: Israel silent as Iran hit by computer virus more violent than Stuxnet — Tehran strategic networks attacked, Hadashot TV says, hours after Israel revealed it tipped off Denmark about Iran murder plot, and days after Rouhani's phone was found bugged
Discussion:
israpundit.org
UMD Office of the President:
Our Football Program — I am writing to inform you of actions I am taking that are in the best interest of the University of Maryland. — Yesterday, the University System of Maryland Board of Regents announced numerous recommendations, including employment decisions about specific personnel on our campus.
Discussion:
NPR, New York Times, WTOP, CBS Baltimore, AOL and WTKR-TV
Laura Vozzella / Washington Post:
Democrat says Project Veritas infiltrated her campaign in Va.'s tight 7th District — RICHMOND — A conservative group that creates undercover “sting” videos infiltrated the campaign of Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat in a tight race with Rep. Dave Brat in Virginia's 7th District.
Discussion:
Political Wire