Democrats and Republicans each have one big advantage in close Virginia race  —  WASHINGTON — The latest poll in Virginia — from the Wason Center at Christopher Newport University — confirms what we already know about next week's race for governor: It's neck and neck.

Corporate Minimum Tax Resurfaces as Democrats Hunt for Money  —  Senators offer updated plan to impose minimum levies on profitable corporations; key moderate lawmaker Kyrsten Sinema endorses proposal  —  WASHINGTON—Senate Democrats announced a 15% minimum tax on large companies' income on Tuesday …

Issuance of the First U.S. Passport with an X Gender Marker  —  The Department of State continues the process of updating its policies regarding gender markers on U.S. passports and Consular Reports of Birth Abroad (CRBAs) to better serve all U.S. citizens, regardless of their gender identity.

New cases down nearly 60 percent since delta variant surge … New coronavirus infections in the United States have dropped nearly 60 percent since a September spike brought on by the more contagious delta variant, according to data compiled by The Washington Post.

Longtime Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin describes sexual assault by US senator  —  Revelation of incident ‘buried’ by Abedin contained in new memoir Both/And, to be published next week  —  Huma Abedin, a longtime close aide to Hillary Clinton, has written in a new book that she was sexually assaulted …

Jan. 6 committee expected to subpoena lawyer who advised Trump, Pence on how to overturn election  —  The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol is expected to subpoena John Eastman, the pro-Trump legal scholar who outlined scenarios for denying Joe Biden the presidency, according to the panel's chairman.

A fear grows in Trumpworld: Have we gone too conspiratorial?  —  For months, conspiracies about the 2020 election being stolen from Donald Trump have fueled Republican efforts nationwide to rewrite election laws.  But now, some GOP operatives and Trumpworld luminaries are worried …

Mort Sahl, Whose Biting Commentary Redefined Stand-Up, Dies at 94  —  A self-appointed warrior against hypocrisy, he revolutionized comedy in the 1950s by addressing political and social issues.  —  Mort Sahl, who confronted Eisenhower-era cultural complacency with acid stage monologues …

Herschel Walker gets McConnell's blessing  —  Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker has won the endorsement of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, cementing his support from the Republican Party establishment in a race that could determine which party controls the chamber.

Moldova: Russia threatens gas supply in Europe's poorest state  —  His country is immersed in a gas crisis.  But Nicu Popescu is trying to remain positive.  —  “On Monday our country made history,” Moldova's foreign minister tells me.  “For the first time Moldova bought gas from a source that was not Russia's Gazprom.”

Bidenomics Is Working  —  Consumer prices are high and rising, and so is disapproval of Joe Biden.  In recent days, the president's net-favorability rating has hit new lows in FiveThirtyEight's aggregation of polls.  Meanwhile, America's headlines are full of testaments to economic discontent.

The Moral Chasm That Has Opened Up Between Left and Right Is Widening  —  Mr. Edsall contributes a weekly column from Washington, D.C. on politics, demographics and inequality.  —  There has been a remarkable erosion in public tolerance of “offensive expression about race, gender and religion …

Biden heads abroad with most of his ambassadorial picks stranded in the Senate, stunting U.S. diplomatic efforts  —  President Biden — who has made renewed international engagement a hallmark of his foreign policy ethos — is headed to a pair of global summits in Europe this week with just a handful …

An Excerpt from The Long Red Thread  —  Dear Readers: Crystal Ball Managing Editor Kyle Kondik's new book, The Long Red Thread: How Democratic Dominance Gave Way to Republican Advantage in US House Elections, was published by Ohio University Press this week.

Federal Trade Commission Scrutinizing Facebook Disclosures  —  Lawmakers want agency to determine if Facebook engaged in deceptive conduct; company says internal research is mischaracterized  —  WASHINGTON—Federal Trade Commission staffers have begun looking into disclosures …

'We're being pressured into sex by some trans women'  —  Is a lesbian transphobic if she does not want to have sex with trans women?  Some lesbians say they are increasingly being pressured and coerced into accepting trans women as partners - then shunned and even threatened for speaking out.

U.S. Gen. Mark Milley Likens China's Hypersonic Weapon Test to ‘Sputnik Moment’  — Top U.S. general says suspected test is ‘very concerning’  — Afghan war a failure as the ‘regime that we supported lost’  —  The U.S.'s top uniformed military officer called China's suspected test …

How to tax Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos  —  Secretary Yellen: How new billionaire tax would work  —  Edward J. McCaffery is Robert C. Packard trustee chair in law and a professor of law, economics and political science at the University of Southern California.

Harvard's modern-day Darwin warns against humanity's downward slope  —  The Harvard University scientist who has called for setting aside half the planet as a nature preserve says the slope of human history will always be downward unless there is global cooperation to save existing species.

Final New York Mayoral Debate Descends Into Exchange of Personal Insults  —  The televised confrontation between Eric Adams and Curtis Sliwa a week before Election Day seemed unlikely to change the dynamics of the race.  —  There was talk of schmoozing with murderous gang members …