SCOOP: Manchin Tells Associates He's Considering Leaving the Democratic Party and Has an Exit Plan  —  In recent days, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) has told associates that he is considering leaving the Democratic Party if President Joe Biden and Democrats on Capitol Hill do not agree to his demand …

GOP Gains in Governor's Race  —  Enthusiasm gap and shift in voter priorities boost Youngkin  —  West Long Branch, NJ - With two weeks to go before Election Day, Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin are locked in a close battle for governor of Virginia.

Report: Sinema Bent on Destroying Biden Presidency to Keep Taxes on the Wealthy Low This sounds extremely bad.  —  News reports this week have portrayed Democrats in Congress as slowly converging on a deal to pass a shrunken version of President Biden's Build Back Better agenda.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Takes Additional Actions on the Use of a Booster Dose for COVID-19 Vaccines  —  For Immediate Release:  —  Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration took action to expand the use of a booster dose for COVID-19 vaccines in eligible populations.

Brian Laundrie's personal items found in Florida nature reserve, medical examiner called to scene  —  Personal belongings of Brian Laundrie — the fiancé of Gabby Petito who has been missing for over a month — have been found in a Florida nature preserve and a local medical examiner …

Rep. Jim Jordan tells House panel he can't recall how many times he spoke with Trump on Jan. 6  —  Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) on Wednesday struggled to answer questions about his communications with then-President Donald Trump during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, telling a House panel …

Leaked Oath Keepers Data Shows At Least 28 Elected Officials Have Ties To The Group  —  Over the past dozen years, at least 28 people who currently hold elected office joined or financially supported the Oath Keepers, the extremist group that figured prominently in the violent Jan. 6 storming …

Facebook is planning to rebrand the company with a new name  —  Mark Zuckerberg wants to be known for building the metaverse  —  Facebook is planning to change its company name next week to reflect its focus on building the metaverse, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter.

Trump Organization, Already Under Indictment, Faces New Criminal Inquiry  —  The investigation, by the Westchester County district attorney's office, increases the legal scrutiny of the former president and his family business.  —  Former President Donald J. Trump's family business …

‘Down the rabbit hole’: Arizona GOP goes full fringe  —  Just when it seemed Arizona Republicans couldn't make more of a spectacle, they found another way.  —  As the party hardens around its fealty to former President Donald Trump, the GOP is filling up its midterm ballot with a roster …

Billionaire investor Nelson Peltz says he talks every week to Sen. Joe Manchin, who is pushing to cut Biden agenda  — Billionaire Nelson Peltz told CNBC on Wednesday that he talks every week to Sen. Joe Manchin, a centrist Democrat who is pushing to shrink President Biden's agenda.

When M.I.T. Asked Dorian Abbot to Speak, It Invited Criticism  —  Dorian Abbot is a scientist who has opposed aspects of affirmative action.  He is now at the center of an argument over free speech and acceptable discourse.  —  CHICAGO — The Massachusetts Institute of Technology invited …

The $100 Million Plan to Completely Fix Washington  —  In 2017, a Wisconsin dairy scion wrote a Harvard Business School case study applying “industry competitive analysis” to party politics.  The result is a $100 million plan to transform election rules.  Reid Hoffman and one of the Bay …

Democratic Child Care Plan Will Spike Prices for the Middle Class by $13,000  —  Trying to run a child care system using market prices runs into three main problems.  —  For a government, solving these problems is pretty simple.  You can pass a law that mandates higher wages for child care workers …

Border arrests have soared to highest levels since 1986, new CBP data shows  —  U.S. authorities detained more than 1.7 million migrants along the Mexico border during the 2021 fiscal year that ended in September, and arrests by the Border Patrol soared to the highest levels since 1986 …

A worker in Florida applied to 60 entry-level jobs in September and got one interview  — Businesses across the US say they are struggling to find employees, especially for hourly work.  — Joey Holz decided to test their claims, submitting two applications a day in September.

Fox News hosts admit the network has a strict COVID-19 vaccine and testing policy — while they celebrate job walkouts over such mandates elsewhere  —  Fox News' utter hypocrisy on COVID-19 health policies was on full display Wednesday morning.  In a segment of Fox & Friends hyping the threat …

62% of Americans Say Politics, Not Law, Drives Supreme Court Decisions  —  50% Disapprove of Biden's Job Performance, Support From Independents Collapses  —  EQUAL JUSTICE UNDER LAW is the motto of the Supreme Court of the United States, but more than 60% of Americans today believe the decisions …

The tech billionaire aiding the Facebook whistleblower  —  The Facebook whistleblower whose disclosures have shaken the world's largest social network has drawn some powerful behind-the-scenes help from a big player in the online world: Pierre Omidyar, the billionaire tech critic who founded eBay.

Soldier with ‘Hitler mustache’ is first to be thrown out of military after Capitol riot charges  —  An Army reservist charged in the Justice Department's sweeping investigation of the U.S. Capitol riot was quietly demoted and discharged earlier this year, becoming the first known service member …

REVEALED: Accused rapist who ‘attacked’ woman on SEPTA train in Philadelphia as passengers ‘filmed it’ is an illegal Congolese immigrant with prior convictions for sex abuse and drugs who should have been deported in 2015  — Alleged rapist Fiston Ngoy, 35, has been present in the US illegally since 2015

POLITICO Playbook PM: The early winners and losers of the emerging BBB framework  —  It's early, and things are fluid, but here on Capitol Hill, a framework is emerging for Democrats' Build Back Better plan.  Here's a bit of a scorecard of the winners and losers at this point in time …