Top Twitter executives fired as Elon Musk takeover begins  —  Musk's $44 billion deal to acquire the social media company closed on Thursday night.  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Elon Musk took control of Twitter late Thursday as his $44 billion deal to takeover the company closed.

Pelosi Spokesperson Statement on Violent Assault on Paul Pelosi  —  Washington, D.C. — Drew Hammill, spokesman for Speaker Nancy Pelosi, issued this statement:  —  “Early this morning, an assailant broke into the Pelosi residence in San Francisco and violently assaulted Mr. Pelosi.

Russia's security service works to subvert Moldova's pro-Western government  —  A trove of sensitive materials obtained by Ukrainian intelligence and reviewed by The Washington Post illustrates how Moscow continues to try to manipulate countries in Eastern Europe

The 2022 Race for the House, in Four Districts, and Four Polls  —  Swing-district polls by The New York Times and Siena College show how the midterm races are being shaped by larger, surprising forces, beyond the traditional red and blue divide.  —  President Biden is unpopular everywhere.

James Bennet was right  —  Controversy over an op-ed by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) consumed the New York Times in June 2020 and claimed the job of then-editorial page editor James Bennet.  Two-and-a-half years later, Bennet has shared some thoughts about the episode — and, in particular, the role of Times Publisher A.G. Sulzberger.

Election deniers hope a hand count in Nevada offers a roadmap for the future  —  The GOP nominee for secretary of state has pushed to jettison voting machines.  One county is already experimenting with counting ballots manually.  —  PAHRUMP, Nev. — Jay Goldberg, a retired electrician …

‘Innuendos and baseless allegations’: Milwaukee claps back after Ron Johnson sows doubts about early voting in the city  —  As voters have already begun streaming to the polls, Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson this week raised doubts about early in-person absentee voting in Milwaukee and suggested …

More Americans than ever think crime is up in their neighborhood  —  Benjy is Semafor's Washington Bureau Chief, joining us from NBC News.  Sign up for the daily Principals newsletter to get our insider's guide to American power.  —  Dave is a Political Reporter for Semafor, joining us from the Washington Post.

What It Means to Be a Republican Today  —  Evan McMullin's lesson on what his former party now stands for—and what it can't stand.  —  The most interesting political race of 2022 isn't between a Democrat and a Republican.  It's in Utah, where incumbent Republican Sen. Mike Lee faces independent challenger Evan McMullin.

St. Louis school shooter bought gun from private seller after dealer sale was blocked, police say  —  The shooter who killed two people at a St. Louis high school this week bought the rifle used in the attack from a private seller after he was blocked from buying a gun at a licensed dealer, police said Thursday.

Many Military U.F.O. Reports Are Just Foreign Spying or Airborne Trash  —  Forget space aliens or hypersonic technology; classified assessments show that many episodes have ordinary explanations.  —  WASHINGTON — Government officials believe that surveillance operations by foreign powers …

So far, this flu season is more severe than it has been in 13 years  —  Influenza is hitting the United States unusually early and hard, already hospitalizing a record number of people at this point in the season in more than a decade and underscoring the potential for a perilous winter …

Scoop: John Kerry preparing to leave Biden administration  —  Special climate envoy John Kerry is actively considering leaving the Biden administration after next month's COP27 summit, soliciting advice from friends and colleagues on how to stay involved in climate efforts from the private sector …

How Talk Radio Unites Ron Johnson and His Wisconsin Voters  —  The Republican senator from Wisconsin practically lives on talk radio, with hundreds of appearances in 2022.  It keeps him in tune with base voters, and is helping him in his vital Senate race.  —  MILWAUKEE — Other senators …

Why Alito's defense of the Supreme Court's integrity falls short  —  Samuel Alito keeps saying the high court's critics have crossed an important line.  But if anyone's gone too far in an irresponsible direction, it's Alito.  —  When the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its ruling …