House progressives retract Russia-diplomacy letter amid Dem firestorm  —  House progressives on Tuesday retracted a letter calling on President Joe Biden to engage in direct diplomacy with Russia, less than 24 hours after it sparked intense backlash from other Democrats.

Adidas Finally Ends Ye Partnership After String of Controversies  —  Adidas AG is ending its partnership with Ye following a rash of offensive behavior from the rapper and designer that turned a once-thriving shoe brand into a lightning rod for criticism.  —  The German sports company …

Biden Debt-Ceiling Gaffe Could Destroy His Presidency … Last week, a reporter asked President Biden if he would support a repeal of the debt ceiling.  “A permanent repeal of the debt ceiling? ...  Just say we don't have a debt limit?” he asked with a laugh, as if the notion were fantastical.

CBS News Battleground Tracker poll: Pennsylvania Senate contest narrows  —  The party bases are consolidating around their candidates in the Pennsylvania Senate race, now a toss-up contest with Lt. Gov. John Fetterman ahead by two points heading into their debate Tuesday night.  He led by five points a month ago.

Ash Carter, defense chief who opened jobs to women, dies  —  WASHINGTON — Ash Carter, who served as secretary of defense in the final two years of the Obama administration and opened military combat jobs to women and ended a ban on transgender people serving in the military, has died at age 68.

Mercenary chief vented to Putin over Ukraine war bungling  —  Yevgeniy Prigozhin, the Russian tycoon behind the mercenary group Wagner, personally told Putin that his military chiefs are mismanaging the war, U.S. officials said  —  The confidant who vented to Russian President Vladimir Putin recently …

Trump eyes longtime Virginia operative for senior 2024 campaign role  —  Chris LaCivita is widely known for running the Swift Vets and POWs for Truth campaign against 2004 Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry  —  Former president Donald Trump and his team are eyeing a longtime Virginia operative …

You're Not Imagining It: There Are Fewer Polls This Cycle  —  And a larger share come from partisan sources.  —  By Geoffrey Skelley  —  Oct. 25, 2022, at 6:00 AM  —  “The polls are in crisis.  Polling is dead.”  We heard variations on this theme after somewhat larger-than-average polling errors …

J.D. Vance Has a Burnt Monkey Testicle Problem  —  The GOP Ohio Senate nominee's investment in a biotech firm that does testing on live animals is raising questions about his true values  —  WHAT KIND OF man profits from scalded monkey junk?  —  On the campaign trail …

Penn State Cancels Event by Proud Boys Founder, Citing Threat of Violence  —  The university's president said that the event had been canceled in the interests of public safety, after a peaceful protest against it turned violent.  —  Pennsylvania State University canceled a planned comedy event …

New York's Governor's Race Is Suddenly Too Close for Democrats' Comfort  —  Tightening polls, fears about crime and apathy in their base are driving a wave of Democratic hand-wringing and a pivot by Gov. Kathy Hochul.  —  For months, Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York has trusted …

A Desecration of the Christian Faith  —  A prayer at a “ReAwaken America” event in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, a few days ago, at which Michael Flynn appeared, captured the sensibilities of this moment: “Father God, we come to you in the name of Jesus.  We're asking you to open the eyes …

Alaska GOP votes to censure McConnell over his support for Murkowski  —  The Alaska Republican Party voted Monday to censure Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), a gesture with no practical consequence but one that is intended to send a strong signal to conservative voters in the state …

No, ‘Russiagate’ Wasn't the Hoax That Team Trump Claims It Was  —  It looks like John Durham's investigation is going out with a whimper.  —  The acquittal last week of think tank analyst Igor Danchenko is a fitting final chapter in the “Russiagate” saga, as John Durham's three-year-old probe judders to a halt.

The country is asleep to the threat it is facing  —  PBS Frontline's “Michael Flynn's Holy War” is an epic piece of TV journalism  —  The United States faces a grave threat from an extremist movement that was unleashed by Donald Trump and inflamed by his defeat.  It is a growing threat — not a diminishing one.

Yeah, Ted Cruz's book doesn't show any voter fraud  —  This does not come as a surprise.  —  For a guy looking to sell a book to a right-wing audience, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) couldn't have landed a much better spot than his interview with Fox News's Mark Levin on Sunday.

Secret Service received shooting threat against Chuck Schumer on January 6 … The Secret Service received notice of a shooting threat against then-Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer as the Capitol was under attack on January 6, but did not pass it along to Capitol Police for more than an hour …

Jon Stewart Confronts Arizona AG on Trump's ‘Stolen’ Election Claims  —  “Why can't you say that the election in 2020 was not stolen or fraudulent?”  Stewart asks Mark Brnovich in this exclusive clip from his Apple TV+ show.  —  Earlier this month, Jon Stewart went unexpectedly viral …

Meadows resisting Atlanta-area subpoena in Trump election probe  —  Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows is resisting a subpoena from Atlanta-area prosecutors investigating efforts by Donald Trump to subvert the 2020 election in Georgia, according to newly filed court records.

Bad Reputation  —  Moira Donegan created the “Shitty Media Men” list to address a moral injustice.  Stephen Elliott says he's suing her for the same reason.  —  Five years ago, on a Wednesday morning in October, an editor and writer at The New Republic named Moira Donegan sent a handful …