POLITICO Playbook: Scoop: Manchin-Sinema split vexes the White House  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  So what's the state of negotiations between the White House and JOE MANCHIN and KYRSTEN SINEMA?  —  The talks have been shrouded in mystery, but we have some fresh details we can share this morning.

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 …

America Is Not Ready for Trump's Second Term  —  The United States was unprepared for the scope of President Donald Trump's attempt to steal the 2020 presidential election.  By Election Day, Trump had spent months calling the election “rigged,” and historians and democracy experts warned …

So, where's The Post's Pulitzer for Hunter Biden exposé?  —  Years ago, journalists unhappy that their ideas drew no interest from their bosses were known to complain that “news is what happens to an editor's wife.”  —  The view is outdated, but the fundamental point remains intact.

Social Security benefits to rise 5.9 percent for roughly 70 million people in 2022  —  Inflation pushes the cost-of-living increase to the highest one-year bump in almost four decades.  —  The Social Security Administration announced Wednesday that its beneficiaries will see a 5.9 percent increase …

Southwest and American Airlines Tell Texas Governor Who's Boss  —  Federal requirements for vaccine mandates supersede state orders against mandates.  Besides, the airlines care about health and safety.  —  Texas Governor Greg Abbott wouldn't want you to mistake his push to forbid private companies …

Jonah Goldberg's Narcissism of Small Differences  —  In a world of trouble, why snipe at allies?  —  Back in 2016, when formerly distinguished conservatives were suddenly lining up to issue glassy-eyed endorsements of a half-mad reality-TV figure, Jonah Goldberg wrote a brilliant column comparing …

US to reopen land borders in November for fully vaccinated  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. will reopen its land borders to nonessential travel next month, ending a 19-month freeze due to the COVID-19 pandemic as the country moves to require all international visitors to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

A Yale Law Student Sent a Lighthearted Email Inviting Classmates to His ‘Trap House.’ The School Is Now Calling Him To Account.  —  Administrators at Yale Law School spent weeks pressuring a student to apologize for a “triggering” email in which he referred to his apartment as a “trap house …

Toxic texts: Matt Gaetz's friends assume the FBI is reading their messages to the embattled congressman  — Matt Gaetz is facing a sex trafficking investigation.  — The Florida Republican's friends assume that feds are reading the congressman's texts.

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 …

CNN Poll: Most Democrats favor a bigger bill on social safety net and climate  —  (CNN)As congressional Democrats negotiate the size and scope of a budget bill that could significantly remake the social safety net in the United States, a new CNN Poll conducted by SSRS finds 75% of the party's rank …

How the GOP Will Try To Subvert Our Elections  —  We are one, maybe two, elections away from a constitutional crisis.  More than a year ago — before Election Day — Donald Trump made clear that he would not accept the results of free and fair elections if he did not win.

Peter Thiel lines up against Liz Cheney  —  Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney's primary challenger landed former President Donald Trump's endorsement before she even officially launched her campaign.  Now, she's cashing big checks from Trump's biggest donors — including tech billionaire Peter Thiel.

The Undignified Demise of Centrism  —  Centrist Democrats may force changes to the Build Back Better Act, but their rationale as a political orientation has disintegrated.  —  Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) arrives for a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee markup in Dirksen Building …

Val Demings pulls in $8.4M in ‘historic’ third quarter fundraising haul … Jacob Ogles  —  Jacob Ogles has covered politics in Florida since 2000 for regional outlets including SRQ Magazine in Sarasota, The News-Press in Fort Myers and The Daily Commercial in Leesburg.

Dave Chappelle's Rorschach Test  —  At the end of Dave Chappelle's latest Netflix stand-up special—after 72 brutal, bruised, combative minutes that conclude with the story of a suicide—my other half turned to me and said: “That wasn't very funny, was it?”  —  Was it even meant to be?

Record numbers of Americans are quitting their jobs.  There's no one reason.  —  Welcome to The Daily 202!  Tell your friends to sign up here.  On this day in 1960, Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy held their third presidential debate.  Apart from the content, what made it remarkable …

Leaked Border Patrol docs show mass release of illegal immigrants into US by Biden administration  —  The Biden administration is releasing enormous numbers of migrants into the U.S., often with little to no oversight  —  Graham: Border Patrol are being asked to do the impossible

NFL won't release more from WFT investigation despite anger over offensive emails  —  The NFL does not plan to release more materials from the investigation into the workplace of the Washington Football Team, a person familiar with the situation said Tuesday, despite calls for more transparency …

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.

Western Media Aren't Telling You the Truth About Iran  —  Reporters would rather tweet about the weather than investigate repression and torture by the regime.  —  Tehran  —  I am a blogger and Internet freedom activist in Iran, and I have a message that millions of Iranians are desperate for you to hear …

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.

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 …

Democrats Can't Just Give the People What They Want  —  Mr. Edsall contributes a weekly column from Washington, D.C. on politics, demographics and inequality.  —  Over the 20-year period from 1970 to 1990, whites, especially those without college degrees, defected en masse from the Democratic Party.

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.