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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

Trump-Russia Figure Carter Page Will Host a TV Show on Conservative Network One America News  —  The former Trump campaign adviser and lightning rod for controversy is now hosting a talk show in the Trump era.  —  Asawin Suebsaeng By Asawin Suebsaeng  —  Carter Page, the former low-tier …

In Florida Rally, Trump Calls Constitutional Citizenship Protections ‘a Crazy Policy’  —  ESTERO, Fla. — With a somber trip to Pittsburgh to visit victims of a synagogue shooting behind him, President Trump flew to one of his favorite places in the world — Florida — on Wednesday to host another …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.”

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.”

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 …

‘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 …

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.

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 …

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.

Fox News tops CNN and MSNBC combined in October cable news ratings  —  Fox News topped MSNBC and CNN combined in the cable news ratings race for the month of October, according to Nielsen Media Research.  —  Overall, Fox averaged 2.8 million total viewers in prime time, up 25 percent from October 2017.

Corker on migrant caravan: Republicans ‘using fear to stimulate’ midterm voter turnout  —  President Donald Trump says the number of military troops deployed to the U.S.-Mexican border could go as high as 15,000.  Trump said that the move would be aimed at preventing the entry of a caravan of migrants traveling from Central America.

The Many Faces of Jew-Hatred  —  Anti-Semitism is a politics of misdirected blame.  Today its most frequent target is the state of Israel.  —  In the wake of the shooting in Pittsburgh, a volley of voices called for more of this or that—armed guards or gun control, barring the doors of synagogues …

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

“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,

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 …

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.”

Debate canceled: Candidates unable to agree on alternative after Kemp pulls out of Sunday showdown  —  The second and final televised Georgia gubernatorial debate was canceled Wednesday after Republican Brian Kemp pulled out of the initial Sunday event and he and Democrat Stacey Abrams couldn't agree on an alternative.

Florida mayor solicited sex for speed bumps, ethics panel finds  —  David Stewart has been the mayor of Lantana, Florida, since 2000.  —  A Florida mayor is accused of soliciting sex from a constituent in exchange for speed bumps, according to the Florida Commission on Ethics and local reports.

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 …