TV Ratings: Biden Leads Town Hall Duel With Trump in Early Numbers … Presidential candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump appeared in directly competing town halls on Thursday night, after the President dropped out of the second debate.  —  Trump's hourlong appearance on NBC …

White House was warned Giuliani was target of Russian intelligence operation to feed misinformation to Trump  —  U.S. intelligence agencies warned the White House last year that President Trump's personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani was the target of an influence operation by Russian intelligence …

He's 32.  He's Joe Biden's Press Secretary.  And He Has Stage 4 Cancer.  —  TJ Ducklo found out what it's like to work a presidential campaign while you're battling a devastating personal health crisis.  —  Everybody on the Biden campaign remembers the day that TJ Ducklo got back on the trail.

Scoop: Trump's advisers brace for loss, point fingers  —  Three senior Trump advisers who recently talked to campaign manager Bill Stepien walked away believing he thinks they will lose.  —  The big picture: The Trump campaign is filled with internal blaming and pre-spinning of a potential loss …

Twitter Shuts Down Entire Network To Slow Spread Of Negative Biden News … SAN FRANCISCO, CA—In a last-ditch effort to stop negative stories about Joe Biden and his family from spreading, Twitter shut down its entire social network Thursday.  —  After seeing account after account tweet …

Susan Collins Backs QAnon Believers for Maine Legislature  —  Candidates advocate “God-declared executions” for “traitorous” Jews, Catholics, Black Lives Matter and environmental activists  —  Sen. Susan Collins is financially supporting the state legislative campaigns of two fellow Maine Republicans …

Donald Trump Has At Least $1 Billion In Debt, More Than Twice The Amount He Suggested  —  The president's liabilities are spelled out in dozens of documents, published here.  —  No aspect of Donald Trump's business has been the subject of more speculation than his debt load.

Pennsylvania has rejected 372,000 mail ballot applications, bewildering voters and straining elections staff  —  This article is co-published with ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.  Sign up here to get their next investigation.

Trump Administration Rejects California's Request for Wildfire Relief  —  The state had asked last month for federal aid to help recover from six of this year's fires, including the Creek Fire, which is among the most destructive in state history.  —  The Trump administration …

What About the Rest of the Constitution?  —  Amy Coney Barrett's originalism ignores the significance of the second American Revolution.  —  On Tuesday, Judge Amy Coney Barrett took a few minutes during her confirmation hearing to discuss her judicial philosophy, best known as originalism.

Michigan bans open carry of guns inside and near polling places … Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson sent guidance to local election officials on Friday — 18 days before Election Day — to clarify that the open carry of firearms on Election Day in polling places, clerk's offices and absent voter counting boards is banned.

Turned off by Trump, Maryland's GOP governor casts write-in vote for Ronald Reagan  —  Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said he “voted for Ronald Reagan” in this year's election, writing in the name of the late president and conservative icon after concluding that he could support neither President Trump nor Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

Alaska Is More Competitive, but Republicans Still Lead  —  A fondness for minor-party candidates injects some uncertainty, making the state an unlikely late-stage battleground.  —  New York Times/Siena College poll of likely voters in Alaska  —  Trump  —  45%  —  Biden  —  39%  —  Jorgensen

Sex banned indoors for Tier 2 couples living apart, Number 10 confirms  — {{#singleComment}}{{value}} comment{{/singleComment}}{{^singleComme nt}}{{value}} comments{{/singleComment}}  —  ES News email  —  The latest headlines in your inbox twice a day Monday - Friday plus breaking news updates

First Lady Melania Trump: “Give Focus to Our Next Generation”  —  Over the last couple of weeks, I have had time to reflect on many things personal to me.  One of the most honorable and important roles I have ever undertaken has been serving you, the American people, as the First Lady of this country.

Trump Organization Considers Sale of Its Seven Springs Property  —  Westchester, N.Y., estate has been difficult to develop  —  The Trump Organization is considering selling its sprawling Westchester, N.Y., estate, according to people familiar with the matter, after years …

End Our National Crisis  —  whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values.  —  It is separate from the newsroom.  —  THE VERDICT  —  Donald Trump's re-election campaign poses the greatest threat to American democracy since World War II.

White House puts ‘politicals’ at CDC to try to control info  —  NEW YORK (AP) — The Trump White House has installed two political operatives at the nation's top public health agency to try to control the information it releases about the coronavirus pandemic as the administration seeks …

What George W. Bush Plans to Do About Trump  —  George W. Bush doesn't like Donald Trump.  He doesn't like how Trump is behaving as president.  He clearly doesn't like the division in the country Trump has fostered.  He knows American democracy is under threat.

Trump Is Scared  —  He seemed as if he might be delirious.  He blasted out bewildering tweets in all caps.  Sick and infectious, he circled the perimeter of the hospital in an armored SUV, waving to supporters.  He demanded the arrest of his opponents.  —  After doctors treated Donald …