Exclusive: Billionaires back new media firm to combat disinformation  —  A new public benefit corporation backed by billionaires Reid Hoffman, George Soros, and others is launching Tuesday to fund new media companies and efforts that tackle disinformation.  —  Why it matters …

Five points for anger, one for a ‘like’: How Facebook's formula fostered rage and misinformation … Five years ago, Facebook gave its users five new ways to react to a post in their news feed beyond the iconic “like” thumbs-up: “love,” “haha,” “wow,” “sad” and “angry.”

McAuliffe and Youngkin are in a dead heat with one week to Virginia governor election, poll shows  —  Phillip M. Bailey David JacksonUSA TODAY  —  Virginia's bellwether race for governor remains close in the final stretch of a campaign that is testing President Joe Biden's sagging approval numbers going into the 2022 midterms.

Republican Leaders Could Still Stop Trump.  They Just Don't Want To.  Trump wants to take over.  Republicans just want party unity.  —  If Terry McAuliffe holds on to defeat Glenn Youngkin in the Virginia governor's race, a large number of Republicans will blame Donald Trump.

Democrats quietly scramble to include immigration provision in social spending bill  —  Democrats are scrambling intensely behind-the-scenes to address immigration in the framework they are crafting to expand the nation's social safety net, according to people with knowledge of the situation …

Covid Cases Keep Falling  —  Covid cases have been falling in every region of the U.S., offering hope.  —  It is time for one of The Morning's occasional updates on the state of the pandemic.  Today's is focused on the U.S. and organized around three main points.  —  1. Covid's retreat continues

In case at center of political firestorm, judge finds teen committed sexual assault in Virginia school bathroom  —  In a case that has generated a political firestorm, a Virginia juvenile court judge found sufficient evidence during a trial Monday to sustain charges that a teen sexually assaulted …

Texas governor signs bill banning transgender girls from female sports in schools  —  Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Monday signed into law a bill banning transgender girls from participating in female sports at public schools, joining a wave of similar measures emerging from Republican-controlled statehouses across the country.

Bainum unveils plans for new ‘Baltimore Banner’ news site — and hires Kimi Yoshino, a top L.A. Times editor, to run it  —  The Maryland hotel magnate tried but failed to buy the Baltimore Sun.  Now he's trying to demonstrate a new business model for local news.

Faster Buses on 5th Avenue?  Not if Business Leaders Get Their Way.  —  A busway in the heart of Manhattan is now uncertain after a major real estate developer expressed opposition to the plans to Mayor Bill de Blasio.  —  On the second Friday in October, Mayor Bill de Blasio met at City Hall …

Why ‘Evangelical’ Is Becoming Another Word for ‘Republican’  —  Mr. Burge, an assistant professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University and a Baptist pastor, has written extensively about the interaction of religion and politics.  —  The conventional wisdom about religion …

Arlington County Board candidate who said she was 52 is actually 72, records show  —  Arlington County Board candidate Audrey Clement, who previously told news outlets that she is in her early 50s, appears to be two decades older, according to government records.

Details of the money behind Jan. 6 protests continue to emerge  —  New details of how a top fundraiser for former President Donald Trump's campaign “parked” funds with groups that helped organize the Jan. 6 rally before the Capitol attack shine light on the coordination between seemingly independent groups …

Days away from its deadline, Tyson Foods reaches a 96 percent vaccination rate.  —  Nearly three months after Tyson Foods mandated coronavirus vaccines for all its 120,000 U.S. workers, more than 96 percent of them are vaccinated, the company's chief executive, Donnie King, said in an employee memo on Tuesday.

‘Woke Racism’—A Review  —  A review of Woke Racism: How a New Religion Has Betrayed Black America by John McWhorter.  Portfolio, 224 pages.  (October, 2021)  —  If you had told someone a decade ago—after the election of the first black president, and in anticipation …

Men accused of plotting ‘race war’ may be sentenced as domestic terrorists, judge rules  —  A federal judge decided Monday that he will consider adding a “terrorism enhancement” to the prison terms of two white supremacists who prosecutors said plotted to carry out deadly violence …

Biden picks his broadband vanguard at FCC and Commerce Department  —  President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced his plans to tap acting Federal Communications Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel as the agency's permanent chief, ending months of cliffhanger drama about the choice.

45% of Americans Don't Believe Humans Cause Climate Change, VICE News/Guardian Poll Shows  —  VICE News partnered with the Guardian and pollster YouGov to find out how people living in the US think and feel about climate change.  —  Natasha Grzincic  —  TORONTO, CA TORONTO, CA

Sanders draws red lines on Medicare expansion, drug pricing plan in spending bill  —  Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said on Tuesday that a deal on President Biden's spending bill must expand Medicare and include a plan to lower the cost of prescription drugs.

A Scottish Judge Could Expose Donald Trump's Shady Golf Finances  —  Donald Trump has long seemed to offer conflicting financial pictures to the U.S. and U.K. when it comes to his Scottish golf courses.  A judge might be able to offer new insight.  —  A judge in Scotland will hold …

Hate is on the rise: Antisemitism surges on America's far left and far right.  —  In May, as Hamas rockets exploded in Israeli cities and Israeli aircraft targeted terrorist infrastructure in Gaza, thousands of miles away, American Jews were under attack.  —  A young man wearing a kippah …

Rep. Espaillat Campaign Paid Thousands to Online Influencers Who Delivered Flattering Posts  —  The bloggers' videos and articles do not disclose their financial ties to the Bronx and Manhattan congressman — exploiting a legal gray area as paid social media influencers play a growing role in campaigns nationally.

Immigration arrests fell to lowest level in more than a decade during fiscal 2021, ICE data shows  —  Immigration arrests in the interior of the United States fell in fiscal 2021 to the lowest level in more than a decade — roughly half the annual totals recorded during the Trump administration …

NBC News Has Ambitious Streaming Plans For Election Night … Chuck Todd and Kristen Welker hope to learn a few things by anchoring an Election Night special in a year when there really isn't supposed to be a special Election Night.  —  Voters won't decide on November 2 who wins the White House …

Ohio Supreme Court case interviews detail how negotiations on Statehouse maps fell apart  —  Jessie Balmert Titus Wu Laura A. BischoffThe Columbus Dispatch  —  Members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission often worked at cross-purposes, leading to four-year Statehouse maps that maintained …