CBS News poll: Vaccine and economy fights driving tight Virginia governor's race  —  The Virginia governor's race is but one state contest, an entire year before the midterms.  So why are the nation's political eyes all watching it so intensely?  Because, as our poll finds …

The U.S. will open the Canada and Mexico borders for fully vaccinated travelers.  —  WASHINGTON — The Biden administration will lift travel restrictions at the land borders with Canada and Mexico starting in November for fully vaccinated travelers, reopening the door of the United States …

Supreme Court Focuses on Procedure in Kentucky Abortion Case  —  After the state's political landscape shifted in 2019, the Democratic governor and the Republican attorney general disagreed on defending the law.  —  WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court heard arguments in an abortion case on Tuesday …

White House: LA port going 24/7 to ease shipping backlog  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House said Wednesday it has helped broker an agreement for the Port of Los Angeles to become a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week operation, part of an effort to relieve supply chain bottlenecks …

Kyrie Irving and his vaccine stance clarified: Why the Nets star has made a decision that will sideline him  —  Kyrie Irving believes he is fighting for something bigger than basketball — and the unintended consequences are that his mission is conflicting with his career and his franchise, the Brooklyn Nets.

Marine who criticized U.S. handling of Afghanistan withdrawal will plead guilty, seek favorable discharge  —  A Marine officer whose viral videos criticizing senior officials for how they withdrew from Afghanistan created a political uproar will plead guilty to several charges and seek …

Southwest, American Airlines Say They Will Defy Texas Gov.'s Order Banning Covid Vaccine Mandates  —  Texas-based companies Southwest Airlines and American Airlines both said Tuesday they will keep in place Covid-19 vaccine requirements for their employees, defying an order from the Gov. Greg Abbott …

Walgreens closes five more San Francisco locations, citing ‘organized retail crime’  —  Walgreens is closing five more San Francisco locations as drug stores from the Bay Area to the Big Apple are besieged by rampant shoplifting and lax enforcement.  —  San Fran shoplifters have been emboldened …

Democrats need a win — now  —  In politics, success tends to beget success.  That truism apparently eluded leftwing Democrats on Sept. 30 when they refused to vote for President Biden's $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill.  —  Instead of basking in accolades for having passed …

Catholic Troops Can Refuse COVID Vaccine, Archbishop Declares  —  “No one should be forced to receive a COVID-19 vaccine if it would violate the sanctity of his or her conscience,” Broglio wrote.  —  Catholic U.S. troops should be allowed to refuse the COVID-19 vaccine based solely …

Orange County Public Schools board chair ejects parents, speakers from meeting  —  BOARD CHAIR HILLARY MACKENZIE EJECTED SPEAKERS FROM THE OCT. 11 BOARD MEETING FOR NOT SPEAKING ON TOPICS DICTATED BY THE AGENDA  —  RALEIGH — At the direction of the Orange County Public Schools board of education chair …

Peter Thiel lines up against Liz Cheney  —  Cheney outraised her primary challenger last quarter, but prominent Trump fundraisers are lining up against the impeachment backer.  —  Rep. Liz Cheney speaks during the House Armed Services Committee on Sept. 29 on Capitol Hill.  Rod Lamkey/Pool via AP

Council member Robert C. White Jr. will run for D.C. mayor  —  D.C. Council member Robert C. White Jr. plans to run for mayor of Washington, setting up a potential 2022 race pitting the popular at-large member against Mayor Muriel E. Bowser, who is expected to seek a third term.

Bashar Assad's Playboy Cousin Spotted Driving $300K Ferrari in Beverly Hills  —  Ali Makhlouf, whose one-time billionaire father is on multiple U.S. sanctions list for financing the Syrian regime, told “what do you do for a living” Instagram star Daniel Mac he was doing an internship.  —  MP

Gas prices hit a seven-year high, and Biden remains as clueless as ever  —  Under former President Donald Trump, the United States achieved effective energy independence.  It became a net exporter of petroleum products and, for a brief moment in time, crude oil.

Rubio hauls in $6M in fundraising as Florida GOP senator gears up for 2022 reelection  —  Likely Rubio-Demings 2022 Florida showdown could become most expensive Senate race ever  —  Fox News Flash top headlines for October 12  —  EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida is building …

Group close to McConnell to spend $10 million attacking vulnerable Democratic senators on domestic spending  —  A Republican group with close ties to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will launch a new front Wednesday in the ad wars over the Democratic domestic policy bill …

Trump-Era Pentagon Official Sues as Suspension Reaches 5 Months  — Katie Arrington says her due process rights were violated  — Official was ‘left dangling’ without explanation, lawsuit says  —  The Pentagon official who led a new cybersecurity initiative for defense contractors sued …

Democrats are playing a dangerous game: ‘Deal or End American Democracy’  —  Paul Begala, a Democratic strategist and CNN political commentator, was a political consultant for Bill Clinton's presidential campaign in 1992 and served as a counselor to Clinton in the White House.

Buses replace trains on 3 Blue Line stations as Metro investigates derailment  —  There will be no rail service between Rosslyn and Pentagon Metro stations on the Blue Line Wednesday, as Metro continues to investigate a derailment that left several riders stranded during the Tuesday afternoon rush.

Pro-Trump PAC fined over foreign money offer  —  A pro-Trump political group has agreed to pay $25,000 to settle allegations it illegally solicited $2 million from reporters posing as intermediaries for a Chinese national.  —  Why it matters: A key player in the scheme, a veteran Republican operative …

W.H.O. Will Announce New Team to Study Coronavirus Origins  —  “This new group can do all the fancy footwork it wants, but China's not going to cooperate,” one expert said.  —  The position is unpaid.  The world's scientists and internet sleuths will scrutinize every move.

Capitol rioter admits to two new felonies while representing himself in bond hearing  —  Brandon Fellows sought to have his bond status revoked, only to make the legal case against him stronger.  —  WASHINGTON — Before his bond hearing began Tuesday, a federal judge warned Brandon Fellows …

School officials covered up his daughter's rape.  Now NSBA wants to make him a ‘domestic terrorist’  —  As far as injustices in the world go, the story of a Loudon, Virginia, man who became the poster child for “domestic terrorism” after his daughter was raped is pretty high on the list.

Time Is Running Out to Indict Trump for His Sex Hush Money Payment to Stormy Daniels  —  Federal prosecutors were never able to erect a criminal case against Donald Trump for directing a scheme to keep Stormy Daniels quiet about their two-minute sex session.

GOP Lawmaker's Campaign Spent Thousands on Her Own Companies  —  Trump acolyte Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) paid her own firms for rent, printing, and utilities.  —  BEAST INSIDE … Swing-district Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) has styled herself as a small business booster in the image of Donald Trump …

What happened during the 2020 election must be investigated and discussed  —  The last time Democrats fully accepted the legitimacy of a presidential election they lost was in 1988  —  Mollie Hemingway calls for ‘accountability’ after the Afghanistan exit  —  Editor's note …