Elon Musk Spoke to Putin Before Tweeting Ukraine Peace Plan: Report  —  The world's richest man spoke directly with Vladimir Putin, Eurasia Group's Ian Bremmer wrote.  —  MC  —  Elon Musk spoke directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin before tweeting a proposal to end the war …

POLITICO Playbook: New revelations about Kevin McCarthy and Jan. 6  —  Presented by With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  DON'T MISS — Jonathan Lemire on the sensitivities around JOE BIDEN becoming the first presidential octogenarian on Nov. 20: “Biden's about to turn 80.

Bennet Leads O'Dea in Colorado Senate Race... Polis with Double-Digit Lead Over Ganahl in Governor's Contest  —  In the race for U.S. Senate in Colorado, Democratic incumbent Michael Bennet has a 7-point advantage over his Republican challenger Joe O'Dea among registered voters statewide.

What does Madison Cawthorn do now?  —  The defeated congressman's next chapter may offer insight into how redemption works, or doesn't, for a scandal-plagued Republican who still loves Trump  —  Madison Cawthorn left his Capitol Hill office on a recent afternoon like a man with a purpose …

Republicans Plan Debt Crisis to Force Cuts to Medicare, Social Security … The November elections will likely give Republicans control of the House of Representatives as a platform from which to oppose the Democratic-controlled White House.  And one thing Republicans will do with this power …

G7 Statement on Ukraine, 11 October 2022  —  1. We, the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7), convened today with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.  Our meeting took place against the backdrop of the most recent missile attacks against civilian infrastructure and cities across Ukraine, leading to the death of innocent civilians.

Supreme Court declines to hear fetal personhood case  —  The Supreme Court declined on Tuesday to wade into the so-called fetal personhood debate, deciding not to take up a case out of Rhode Island over whether fetuses should have constitutional rights.  —  A Catholic group and two pregnant women wanted …

How Trump's legal expenses consumed GOP donor money  —  As some Republican candidates face a fundraising shortfall, the former president, the RNC and key state parties have all spent significant sums on legal fights  —  Donald Trump's political operation has spent more money since he left office …

The Herschel Walker Abortion Exceptions Policy  —  For today's GOP, abortion is acceptable when it is for the convenience of the father, politics, and personal interest.  —  GOP Georgia Senate nominee Herschel Walker makes a solemn promise to his audience as part of his stump speech …

U.K. Businessman Arrested For Sanctions Evasion Benefitting Russian Oligarch Oleg Deripaska  —  Deripaska's Property Manager Arrested in U.K. for Funding U.S. Properties for Deripaska's Benefit and for Attempting to Expatriate Deripaska's Artwork from U.S. through Deception

How Ron DeSantis Blew Up Black-Held Congressional Districts and May Have Broken Florida Law  —  A User's Guide to Democracy  —  Congress Works For You.  Here's How to Be a Better Boss.  —  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was incensed.  Late last year, the state's Republican legislature …

The Inevitable Indictment of Donald Trump  —  As an appellate judge, Merrick Garland was known for constructing narrow decisions that achieved consensus without creating extraneous controversy.  As a government attorney, he was known for his zealous adherence to the letter of the law.

How will Tommy Tuberville's corporate backers respond to his racist diatribe?  —  On Saturday, Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) appeared at a rally in Minden, Nevada, to support the Republican nominee for Senate, Adam Laxit.  During his speech at the event, which also featured Donald Trump …

Iranian journalist who broke news on Mahsa Amini pays heavy price  —  Niloofar Hamedi, an Iranian journalist specialising in women's rights, got away with hard-hitting stories for years - until the day she took a photo of Mahsa Amini's parents hugging each other in a Tehran hospital where their daughter was lying in a coma.

Montgomery County Schools Saw 582% Increase In Reported Gender Nonconforming Students Over Two Years, Data Shows  —  Maryland's largest public school district saw a 582% increase the number of students identifying as gender nonconforming in just two years, according to internal data posted to an educator's Twitter page.

Biden Proposal Could Lead to Employee Status for Gig Workers  —  A proposed rule, long awaited by labor activists, would make it harder for companies to classify workers as independent contractors.

Watch the Disturbing Kanye Interview Clips That Tucker Carlson Didn't Put on Air  —  Motherboard obtained footage of Ye making bigoted statements about Jewish people and bizarre claims about “fake children,” as well as describing visions of “kinetic energy” cities sent to him by God.  —  Anna Merlan

Secret Service agents were denied when they tried to learn what Jan. 6 info was seized from their personal cellphones  —  WASHINGTON — Secret Service agents asked the agency for a record of all of the communications seized from their personal cellphones as part of investigations into the events of Jan. 6 …

Newly Drawn OR-06 Moves from Lean Democrat to Toss Up  —  Last year, Democrats drew Oregon's 6th CD to be a safe blue, Biden +13 fortress in Salem and suburban Portland.  But winning the seat has proven a much trickier proposition: both parties' surveys continue to show Republican supply …

Joe Biden Just Crushed China's Semiconductor Industry  —  Dark Brandon strikes again.  —  1. Chips  —  There was some big, important news on Friday and no one really noticed: The Biden administration hit China, hard, with a series of export controls that are going to hurt.

Hand-counting ballots would cause “downright chaos” in an Arizona county, experts say  —  Cochise County officials consider plan for manually tallying votes in November — a method that produces inaccurate results and takes much longer, research shows.  —  Cochise County officials …