Top Items:
Stephen Collinson / CNN:
Trump shocks with racist new ad days before midterms — (CNN)In the most racially charged national political ad in 30 years, President Donald Trump and the Republican Party accuse Democrats of plotting to help Central American invaders overrun the nation with cop killers.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Washington Monthly, National Review, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Political Wire, ThinkProgress, IJR, Breitbart, Shareblue Media, POLITICUSUSA, CBS Sacramento, Raw Story, Shakesville, Daily Kos, NTK Network, Hill Reporter, Conservative News Today, CBS San Francisco, KTLA, RealClearPolitics, KRTV-TV, The Gateway Pundit, Lawyers, Guns & Money and ImmigrationProf Blog
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Allyson Chiu / Washington Post:
Trump revives ‘Willie Horton’ tactic with ad linking illegal immigrant killer to Democrats — Pinned at the top of President Trump's Twitter feed Wednesday was a video. The man on the screen has a shaved head and a mustache and long chin hair. Smiling, he announces, “I killed fing cops.”
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Deadline, The Crime Report, The Week, IJR, HuffPost, Mediaite, New Republic and Althouse
Alicia Powe / The Gateway Pundit:
EXCLUSIVE... Jacob Wohl, Jack Burkman: Woman Accusing Mueller of Rape is ‘Credible,’ ‘Vetted,’ Media Protecting Special Counsel (VIDEO) — The woman accusing Robert Mueller of rape has nothing to financially gain from coming forward with her allegations against the special counsel and her testimony …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, YouTube and twitchy.com
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Jessica Kwong / Newsweek:
Donald Trump Jr. Says He's Worried Mueller Will ‘Totally Fabricate’ Charges Against Him
Ali Dukakis / ABC News:
Conspiracy theorist becomes key figure as Mueller builds case
Conspiracy theorist becomes key figure as Mueller builds case
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Political Wire, Politico, Townhall, Washington Post and The Crime Report
Axios:
Exclusive: Trump says supporters demand his red-hot rhetoric — President Trump, in an interview with Axios that will premiere Sunday on HBO, says railing against his enemies in the media helped him win — and that his supporters like him more when he cranks up the “enemy of the people” rhetoric.
Discussion:
National Review, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Times, CNBC, Raw Story and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
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Washington Post:
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 …
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Election Update: Democrats Need A Systematic Polling Error To Win The Senate — The divide between the House outlook and the Senate outlook continues to widen. Democrats' chances of winning a majority remain at or near their all-time highs in our House forecast — ranging between 78 percent …
Discussion:
Hullabaloo and Hot Air
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Jesse Hyde / Deseret News:
The last statesman: Can Jon Huntsman Jr. keep the art of diplomacy alive in the time of President Trump? — In a Deseret News exclusive, reporter Jesse Hyde and photojournalist Ravell Call went to Moscow to meet with U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman Jr. In a series of conversations …
Jeff Stein / Newsweek:
Riddle Resolved: Who Dimed Out American Traitor and Super-Spy, Robert Hanssen? — For over two decades, students of the spy wars between Russia and America have pondered one of the great remaining mysteries of the Cold War: Who finally dimed out Robert Hanssen, the FBI turncoat …
Nicole Gaouette / CNN:
Bolton says ‘excessive’ ethics checks discourage outsiders from joining government — Washington (CNN)A day after CNN reported that the Justice Department is investigating whether Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has broken the law by using his office to personally enrich himself …
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Will Sommer / The Daily Beast:
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 …
Discussion:
Mediaite, The Source, Conservative News Today, The Guardian and Raw Story
Asawin Suebsaeng / The Daily Beast:
Trump and Aides Getting ‘Spooked’ About a Coming GOP Midterms ‘Slaughter’ — Publicly, the talk is of retaining control of the House. Privately, they're getting ready for Democratic-led investigations. — Asawin Suebsaeng By Asawin Suebsaeng — In recent months, President Trump has insisted that a …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Steven Shepard / Politico:
Poll: Majority blames both Trump and media for dividing country — A new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll conducted over the past fractious, violent week shows a majority of voters think that President Donald Trump has done more to divide the country than unite it since he took office last year …
Discussion:
Political Wire, The Daily Caller and Axios
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:
New York Post, Politico, Axios, Splinter, Washington Post, Breitbart, The Week, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, VICE News US, HuffPost and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
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Meg Cunningham / ABC News:
Chris Christie: Republican messaging on health care too late and ‘ineffective’
Chris Christie: Republican messaging on health care too late and ‘ineffective’
Discussion:
Washington Monthly
WNCN:
Poll: More than 70% of parents plan to steal Halloween candy from their kids — SPARTANBURG, S.C. (WSPA) - If you plan on sneaking a “few” pieces from the Halloween candy stash, you're not alone. — The National Confectioners Association polled around 1,400 people and found that 72 percent …
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 …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Weekly Standard, Political Wire, Roll Call, Associated Press, Splinter, The Week, Daily Kos and Dallas Morning News
John Wagner / Washington Post:
Tree of Life rabbi says he saw a ‘warm and personal side’ to Trump that surprised him — Tree of Life Rabbi Jeffrey Myers said Thursday that he was “pleasantly surprised” to discover a “warm and personal side” to President Trump when he visited the Pittsburgh synagogue this week following the deadly shootings there over the weekend.
Discussion:
Breitbart
Associated Press:
The global lost: 56,800 migrants dead and missing in 4 years — JOHANNESBURG (AP) — One by one, five to a grave, the coffins are buried in the red earth of this ill-kept corner of a South African cemetery. The scrawl on the cheap wood attests to their anonymity: “Unknown B/Male.”
Andrew Higgins / New York Times:
On a Tiny Finnish Island, a Helipad, 9 Piers — and the Russian Military? — SAKKILUOTO, Finland — Retired to a tiny island in an archipelago between Finland and Sweden, Leo Gastgivar awoke early one morning to visit the outhouse in his bathrobe, only to notice two black speedboats packed …
Discussion:
Balloon Juice
Politico:
CNN cools on hiring Trump alums — Network president Jeff Zucker has told people that he's not interested in hiring former officials he perceives as complicit in spreading falsehoods. — CNN is known for its big panels and endless parade of talking heads, but the network is signaling …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and Raw Story
Washington Post:
Democrats in prime position to take House, but battleground district poll shows wild cards remain — Democrats maintain a strong position to retake the U.S. House, but the party's base of less-frequent voters and concerns about illegal immigration stand out as wild cards in the final days …
Discussion:
Political Wire
Nicole Hong / Wall Street Journal:
Justice Department to Charge Former Goldman Bankers in Malaysia 1MDB Scandal — Charges will name former Goldman bankers Tim Leissner and Roger Ng, as well as Malaysian financier Jho Low — The U.S. Justice Department is planning to announce Thursday morning multiple criminal charges related …
Discussion:
Channel NewsAsia, KTVQ-TV and The Daily Beast
The Cut:
We're the Organizers of the Google Walkout. Here Are Our Demands — Last week, the New York Times published an article about Google's history of harassment, discrimination, support for abusers, and the people whose lives and careers become collateral damage in the process.
Discussion:
Motherboard, New York Times, Observer and The Daily Caller, more at Techmeme »
Mehdi Hasan / New Statesman:
Eight simple steps to fix American democracy — Democrats may soon be handed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fix America's ailing democratic institutions. Here's what they should do with it. — How democratic is the United States? According to a poll released by the bipartisan Democracy Project …
Eliot A. Cohen / The Atlantic:
The Saruman Trap — Conservatives in distress turn to ancient texts. In the current circumstance, those of us of a Hebraic cast reach for the prophet Isaiah in his darker moods, or the even fiercer denunciations of Amos. Devout Christians despairing of a society in full malodorous rot look to The Rule of St. Benedict.
Discussion:
The American Conservative
Sean McElwee / What the Hell Happened:
How Are The Early Voters Voting? — Yesterday we looked at who is voting early. Today we can take it a step further and look at how those voters are voting. For those not wanting to read, the takeaway is: Independents are breaking towards Democrats in the New York Times Upshot polls, and they are breaking heavily.
CNN:
Heather Nauert is Trump's top choice for UN ambassador — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump has told advisers that Heather Nauert, the State Department spokeswoman, is his leading choice to become US ambassador to the United Nations and he could offer the post as soon as this week, two sources familiar with his pick told CNN.
Caroline Orr / Shareblue Media:
Men convicted of hate crime blame Trump's violent rhetoric — Violent criminals are saying Trump's anti-Muslim rage should let them get away with shorter prison sentences. — Lawyers for three members of a Kansas militia group who were convicted of an anti-Muslim hate crime argued in court …
Discussion:
The Guardian, Bloomberg and The Root
Daniel Horowitz / Conservative Review:
Here's what the Supreme Court actually said about ‘birthright’ citizenship — Leftists concocted an ingenious game of judicial supremacism that creates a one-way ratchet for their policy outcomes - heads they win, tails they win. Yet the “conservative” legal community chooses to play this game.
Discussion:
The Mark Levin Show
Tom Kludt / CNN:
Coverage of migrants seen as Trump's pre-midterm trap — (CNN)For the first half of the month, there was little news coverage of the Central American migrants traveling through Mexico en route to the United States border. — Then, on October 16, came the tweets.
Bret Stephens / New York Times:
Trump, Terror, and the ‘No Guardrails’ Presidency — Yes, the president bears blame for the terror from the right. — Maybe we should refer to Saturday's massacre of 11 Jews in a Pittsburgh synagogue, along with the campaign of mail bombs that preceded it, as “man-caused disasters.”
Discussion:
The Daily Beast
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 …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Sputnik International and Gizmodo
Amy B Wang / Washington Post:
Nazi and KKK memorabilia were sold at a Kentucky gun show. Officials say it won't happen again. — Joe Gerth was strolling through the aisles of the National Gun Day show at the Kentucky Exposition Center on Saturday afternoon when he did a double take. — Gerth, a metro columnist …
Discussion:
Courier-Journal
Caitlyn Shelton / KMPH-TV:
Tennessee boy dresses as Waffle House hero James Shaw Jr. for school's ‘Hero Day’ — NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) - A boy from Gallatin traded in a superhero cape for medical tape Friday at his school's “Hero Day.” — During the Red Ribbon Week dress-up day, the rest of his classmates donned costumes …
Discussion:
IJR
Kris Maher / Wall Street Journal:
Pittsburgh Shooting Suspect Enters Plea of Not Guilty — Robert Bowers's public defender requests jury trial — PITTSBURGH—The man charged with killing 11 people in a synagogue entered a plea of not guilty and his lawyers asked for a jury trial in an arraignment in federal court Thursday.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
David Mack / BuzzFeed News:
The Little Girl Obsessed With Michelle Obama's Portrait Dressed As Her For Halloween — Remember Parker Curry? She was the little girl who went viral in March after she was photographed staring in awe at Michelle Obama's official portrait. — The original photo was taken by Ben Hines of North Carolina …