Roger Stone Sold Himself to Trump's Campaign as a WikiLeaks Pipeline.  Was He?  —  WASHINGTON — When the WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, appeared on a video link from Europe a month before the 2016 presidential election and vaguely promised to release a flood of purloined documents related to the race …

Mueller Smear Pushed by Pro-Trump Activists Falls Apart at Press Conference  —  Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman struggled to explain even basic details of their allegations—like the spelling of the accuser's name.  —  A press conference intended to publicize sexual assault claims …

Luis Bracamontes, Cop-Killer in Trump's Twitter Video, Actually Came Back to U.S. Under Bush  —  Trump also failed to mention that Bracamontes used an AR-15, a weapon that Republicans, including the president, don't want to outlaw.  —  Michael Daly  —  President Trump tweeted out a video …

Mattis is walking the Trump tightrope.  It's agonizing to watch.  —  When President Trump issues an election-time order to send up to 15,000 troops to confront what many experts say is a nonexistent threat on the U.S.-Mexico border, what should Defense Secretary Jim Mattis do about it?

State Department Spokeswoman Expected to Be Nominated U.N. Ambassador  —  Heather Nauert joined Trump administration last year  —  WASHINGTON—President Trump is expected to nominate Heather Nauert as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, a senior administration official said.

Saudi crown prince described slain journalist as a dangerous Islamist in call with White House  —  Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman described slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi as a dangerous Islamist days after his disappearance in a phone call with President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner …

Fortenberry complains about Facebook reaction to vandalized sign; UNL professor says he's bullying  —  Thumbing through his Facebook feed, Ari Kohen came across the now widely shared photo of a defaced campaign sign for Rep. Jeff Fortenberry.  —  Shared on the social media platform by Seeing Red Nebraska …

White House concerned Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke violated federal rules  —  The White House is growing increasingly concerned about allegations of misconduct against Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, according to two senior administration officials, and President Trump has asked aides …

Yemen Girl Who Turned World's Eyes to Famine Is Dead  —  CAIRO — A haunted look in the eyes of Amal Hussain, an emaciated 7-year-old lying silently on a hospital bed in northern Yemen, seemed to sum up the dire circumstances of her war-torn country.  —  A searing portrait of the starving girl published …

Trump's Nationalism Is Breaking Point for Some Suburban Voters, Risking G.O.P. Coalition  —  Trump's Nationalism Is Breaking Point for Some Suburban Voters  —  Educated, prosperous white people repelled by Mr. Trump's strident language on race and gender are turning away from Republicans.

Sinema endorsed by Green Party Senate candidate  —  Green Party candidate Angela Green is getting out of the race.  Green may have been pulling support from Sinema in the toss-up race.  —  Author: Brahm Resnik  —  The Arizona Green Party's U.S. Senate candidate told 12 News Thursday …

Someone Paid Thousands Of Foreigners 20 Cents Each To Hide HuffPost's Negative Coverage Of A Democratic PAC  —  HuffPost's story about End Citizens United dropped to the second page of Google search results from right near the top.  —  A HuffPost article that critically covered …

“It's Our Job to Call Them Out”: Inside the Trump Gold Rush at CNN  —  Amid terrorist threats and vindictive tweets, the programming executive who taught the president all about reality TV continues to transform CNN into a 24/7 platform for our national psychosis.

North Dakota Democrats Promote Message Telling Hunters They May Lose Their Licenses if They Vote  —  A reader alerted me to this curious message on Facebook which tells voters they may lose their hunting licenses in other states if they vote:  —  Facebook keeps a searchable database of the political ads which run on their platform.

Unmarked Mailers Seek to Secretly Kneecap GOP Turnout  —  Glossy postcards targeting Montana Senate hopeful Matt Rosendale are the latest mystery mail pieces that don't include information about who is paying for them.  —  A series of last-minute direct-mail pieces are seeking …

Live updates: 'This ain't Hollywood.' Pence mocks Oprah as he touts Brian Kemp  —  Dalton - Vice President Mike Pence is headed to Georgia on Thursday for a trio of events in conservative areas for Brian Kemp.  Democrats are countering with a visit by Oprah Winfrey, who will appear with Stacey Abrams for a pair of town hall meetings.

The execution  —  He sat in the wired chair as prison staff placed a wet sponge that had been soaked in saline solution, and metal helmet on his freshly shaved head.  He continued smiling, but grimaced each time drops ran down his face.  —  Zagorski raised his eyebrows, appearing to be communicating to his attorney, Kelley Henry.

Stefanowski is ahead in new Hearst/SHU Poll  —  Republican Bob Stefanowski has inched ahead of Democrat Ned Lamont by 2.4 percent in the governor's race, which remains a statistical tie heading into the final weekend before Election Day, the latest Hearst Connecticut Media Group/Sacred Heart University Poll finds.

I'm an independent.  But I'm casting a party-line vote in the midterm election  —  Voters who declare themselves independent of partisan affiliation are ascendant in the American electorate.  —  In 2016, the Pew Research Center found that 34% described themselves as politically independent …

Man shot during attempted home invasion in Anderson, deputies say  —  ANDERSON Co., S.C. (WSPA) — Deputies are investigating a shooting in Anderson County where the homeowner shot a man attempting to break into her home.  —  The Anderson County Sheriff's Office is continuing to investigate …

Pro-Trump Activists Blame Charlie Kirk and Candace Owens for Losing Kanye West  —  ‘They really over-grifted that situation.’  —  Pro-Trump activists are fuming after Kanye West's announcement that he's “distancing” himself from politics, with the blame falling on two right-wing personalities …

VA: Fatal dog experiments moving ahead despite criticism from Congress, veterans groups  —  WASHINGTON - The Department of Veterans Affairs is pushing forward with invasive and ultimately fatal experiments on dogs as part of the VA's medical research program, according to documents obtained by USA TODAY.

Black Caucus chairman wants one of their own as speaker or majority leader  —  In a move that could set off a nasty internal fight, the leader of the Congressional Black Caucus — a key voting bloc among House Democrats — is demanding that an African-American lawmaker hold one of the top …

Nine days, $12.5 million: Rick Scott pumps his fortune into Florida's Senate race in last-minute push  —  With a week left, the Republican governor has spent more than $63 million to defeat Sen. Bill Nelson  —  Gov. Rick Scott gave his campaign $1.2 million on Tuesday and he has funneled …

“Nobody needs to know” Beto Campaign Appears to Illegally Spend Funds on Supplies for Caravan Aliens, Campaign Manager Says “Don't Worry”  —  [This post contains video, click to play]  —  “I just hope nobody that's the wrong person finds out about this.”  —  “It's f***ing happening.”

ST. LOUIS COUNTY  • Claims that the son of a Ferguson protester was murdered by lynching in his backyard in north St. Louis County have gone around the world on social media, but police said Wednesday they think the death was a suicide.  —  Melissa McKinnies' family found Danye Jones, 24, early in the morning on Oct. 17.

GOP super PAC scales back spending in West Virginia's Senate race  —  A leading Republican super PAC has retreated from the airwaves in West Virginia, as GOP hopes of ousting a Democratic senator in the most pro-Trump state of the 2016 election have faded in the final days of the midterm campaign.

Fed's Powell Says Reduced Immigration Could Slow U.S. Economy  — Chairman points to economy's reliance on immigrant labor force  — Powell's comments in written response to Senator Cortez Masto  —  Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, in written responses to a Democratic senator …

Final Week Fundamentals  —  The last week of a campaign is the longest week.  Most of the polls have been completed.  The final ads have been placed.  The last lawn signs have been put into the ground (or pulled out by mischievous opponents).  Cable TV is filled with inane chatter.

What a Republican Hold in the House Might Look Like  —  As we move toward the close of this election cycle, impending control of the House of Representatives remains up in the air.  The general consensus among analysts is that Democrats are the favorites, perhaps by a substantial margin, but that Republicans remain in the game.