A Last Word on Virginia  —  Dear Readers: Join us Thursday, Nov. 4 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. for our annual American Democracy Conference.  The virtual event will begin with a presentation by Project Home Fire's Larry Schack and Mick McWilliams on our ongoing polling and data analytics project.

POLITICO Playbook: Youngkin's crowds dwarf McAuliffe's on election eve  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  TERRY MCAULIFFE wanted GLENN YOUNGKIN and DONALD TRUMP to campaign together so badly that when it didn't happen, McAuliffe simply invented a Youngkin-Trump event that didn't exist.

Senate candidate Sean Parnell's wife testified that he tried to choke her and hit their children  —  BUTLER, Pa. — The estranged wife of Sean Parnell — the candidate endorsed by former President Donald Trump to be the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate from Pennsylvania …

Here's how many NYPD cops are on unpaid leave over vax mandate  —  Only a few a dozen NYPD members were placed on unpaid leave Monday after refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine — but thousands of unvaccinated employees remain on the job with pending exemption requests, the city's top cop said.

Gun dealers sell parts, ammo using anti-Biden meme 'Let's go, Brandon'  —  It arose from a crowd chant at the NASCAR racetrack in Talladega, Ala.  —  Gun dealers are marketing weapon parts and ammunition using a right-wing slogan widely understood as code for profanity directed at President Joe Biden.

Loudoun Official Claimed He Might Not Have Seen Email Informing Him Of Sex Assault — Despite Responding To It  —  Internal Loudoun County School Board emails show a shifting explanation about how much school board members knew about a bathroom sex assault, with one member writing …

Questioning the climate science orthodoxy in Glasgow  —  Signing an executive order in his first week in office, Joe Biden declared, “We have a narrow moment to pursue action at home and abroad in order to avoid the most catastrophic impacts of that [climate] crisis.”

NBC News Poll: 50 percent of Republicans doubt their vote will be counted accurately  —  WASHINGTON — There's been a significant decline over the past year in voters who think their vote will be counted accurately, a trend driven mainly by Republicans — most of whom still believe false claims …

Brad Raffensperger, GOP target of Trump ire in Georgia, warns of potential for more election violence  —  David Jackson Phillip M. BaileyUSA TODAY  —  WASHINGTON - The Georgia election official who defied pressure by Donald Trump to “find” votes and overturn his 2020 election loss in the state …

Scoop: FEC lets foreigners finance U.S. ballot fights  —  The Federal Election Commission has ruled foreign donors can finance U.S. referendum campaigns, opening the door to foreign spending on fights over high-profile policy issues, Axios has learned.  —  Why it matters: Foreign nationals …

Biden Administration Moves to Limit Methane, a Potent Greenhouse Gas  —  A new rule will be announced at a U.N. summit where the United States is facing skepticism about its commitment to climate change, aides said.  —  GLASGOW — The Biden administration planned to announce on Tuesday …

An unusual alliance appears likely to fracture Texas's abortion ban  —  Most Supreme Court justices seem to understand that SB 8 is a direct attack on the Constitution.  —  The abortion providers suing to block SB 8, Texas's aggressive anti-abortion law, came into Monday's Supreme Court argument with four votes on their side.

BIPOC or POC?  Equity or Equality?  The Debate Over Language on the Left.  —  For those pushing for changes in society on race and other issues, words matter.  They can also muddle.  —  In California, a Black college freshman from the South is telling a story about his Latino friends …

Immigrant Rights Advocates Grapple With Senate Parliamentarian's Past as INS Prosecutor  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — In 2012, when Elizabeth MacDonough became the first woman to be named Senate Parliamentarian, a POLITICO profile noted that MacDonough “was a Justice Department trial attorney …

America Has Lost the Plot on COVID  —  We know how this ends: The coronavirus becomes endemic, and we live with it forever.  But what we don't know—and what the U.S. seems to have no coherent plan for—is how we are supposed to get there.  We've avoided the hard questions whose answers …

The Facebook attention gap  —  The Facebook Papers and whistleblower accounts were a public relations nightmare for Facebook, but so far, the company's core stakeholders — advertisers, users and investors — seem unfazed.  —  The big picture: For now, this controversy is mainly of interest to the media and lawmakers.

Just 42% say Biden is “mentally sharp” and the share of independents who say so is even lower  —  I can't imagine why. … Before you throw stones at him over that clip, ask yourself: Could you stay awake during a conference on climate change?  At any age?

In Iowa and elsewhere, Republicans push bills granting some legal immunity to motorists who hit protesters.  —  DES MOINES — A large crowd that included fist-raising activists stood on the front steps of Iowa's five-domed Capitol building in June 2020 and repeatedly chanted “Black lives matter!”

Even as Biden Pushes Clean Energy, He Seeks More Oil Production  —  President Biden acknowledged “it seems like an irony” that he is asking energy-rich nations to boost oil production as he implores the world to tackle climate change.  —  GLASGOW — President Biden told a global climate summit …

Stone says he'll run for Florida governor if DeSantis doesn't do audit  —  Former Trump adviser Roger Stone said he “may be forced” for Florida governor if Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) does not audit votes cast in Florida during the 2020 election.  —  “If Gov. Ron DeSantis does not order a full audit …

Former Google Activist Whittaker Expected to Join FTC as AI Adviser  —  Meredith Whittaker, a former employee activist and artificial intelligence researcher at Google, is expected to be hired full time at the Federal Trade Commission as a policy adviser on AI, according to a person with knowledge of her pending hire.

Greene accrues at least $48K in fines for ignoring House mask mandate  —  Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has been reprimanded by the House sergeant-at-arms at least 20 times this year for refusing to wear a mask in the chamber, which has added up to $48,000 worth of associated fines.