Elon Musk has pulled more than 50 Tesla employees into his Twitter takeover  — Tesla CEO Elon Musk, now sole director and CEO of Twitter, is asking employees of the social network to redesign their subscription and verification systems within one week.  — Musk has authorized dozens …

GOP Prospects Rise Amid Economic Pessimism, WSJ Poll Finds  —  Survey shows Republicans with an edge in voting enthusiasm; inflation overshadows abortion as a key issue  —  Voters are giving Republicans a late boost in support just ahead of the midterm elections, as pessimism about the economy …

Biden hopes to use Florida's ‘extreme MAGA Republicans’ as foils for his closing midterm pitch  —  When President Joe Biden rallies Democrats in Florida on Tuesday for a final-stretch campaign stop, he will finally land in the state his advisers have long eyed as the ideal backdrop for his warnings against “mega-MAGA” Republicans.

Iran is preparing to send additional weapons including ballistic missiles to Russia to use in Ukraine, western officials say  —  Iran is preparing to send approximately 1,000 additional weapons, including surface-to-surface short range ballistic missiles and more attack drones …

Republicans Continue to Spread Baseless Claims About Pelosi Attack  —  Some of the conspiracy theories have already seeped into the Republican mainstream.  —  Donald Trump Jr., the former president's son, continues to post jokes about it.  —  Dinesh D'Souza, the creator of a discredited film …

TAKEOFF DEAD AT 28 ... SHOT IN HOUSTON  —  EXCLUSIVE DETAILS  —  Takeoff, one-third of Migos, is dead after an early morning shooting in Houston ... TMZ Hip Hop has confirmed.  —  Law enforcement sources, and multiple witnesses, tell us the fatal incident went down shortly after 2:30 AM …

Two leaders of True the Vote jailed by federal judge for contempt of court  —  Catherine Engelbrecht and Gregg Phillips were escorted away after refusing to disclose the name of a mystery man who supposedly helped them investigate election software company Konnech.

Libertarian Candidate Drops Out of Arizona Senate Race and Endorses Masters  —  “This is another major boost of momentum as we consolidate our support,” Blake Masters said.  —  The Libertarian candidate running for Senate in Arizona — who had threatened to play spoiler in the closely watched race …

Americans' Thought, Enthusiasm About Midterms Down From 2018  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — The 49% of Americans who say they have given “quite a lot” of thought to this year's congressional elections is essentially unchanged from the previous reading in June.  In addition, 2% volunteer …

Judge Blocks a Merger of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster  —  The government's case blocked the merger of two of the United States' largest publishers and reflected a more aggressive approach to curbing consolidation.  It was closely watched by the publishing industry.

The Supreme Court Has No Reason to End Affirmative Action.  They're Doing It Anyway.  —  Oral arguments in a pair of much-anticipated cases about the future of affirmative action sprawled over almost six hours on Monday, yet the outcome was obvious within the first 30 minutes …

An evangelical GOP House candidate in Texas wrote a novel about Anne Frank finding Jesus  —  (JTA) — The Republican nominee for Congress in Texas' 7th district is a self-proclaimed history buff, but his take on Anne Frank is not one that most historians would endorse.

Let's Declare a Pandemic Amnesty  —  In April 2020, with nothing else to do, my family took an enormous number of hikes.  We all wore cloth masks that I had made myself.  We had a family hand signal, which the person in the front would use if someone was approaching on the trail and we needed to put on our masks.

I helped run the ‘Fire Pelosi’ effort.  Our toxic politics goes too far.  —  Doug Heye is a former communications director of the Republican National Committee and founder of communications firm Douglas Media.  —  As communications director for the Republican National Committee in the 2010 election cycle …

Even the Sane Republicans Are Embracing Election Deniers  —  Chris Sununu is just the latest to put party before country.  —  Chris Sununu, the governor of New Hampshire, is one of the saner people in today's Republican party.  He concedes that the 2020 election was free and fair.

AIPAC's First Attack Ad in Midterms Hits Would-Be Squad Member Summer Lee … The flagship pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC is intervening in a race for a House seat that's growing uncomfortably close for Democrats in deep-blue Pittsburgh.  And, with its super PAC's first attack ads of the 2022 general election …

Man Charged with Assault and Attempted Kidnapping Following Breaking and Entering of Pelosi Residence  —  A California man was charged today with assault and attempted kidnapping in violation of federal law in connection with the break-in at the residence of Nancy and Paul Pelosi in San Francisco on Friday.

Mehmet Oz's medical research was rejected in 2003, resulting in 2-year ban  —  At issue were questions about the strength of the data used by Oz to reach an important medical conclusion, according to several of those who recalled the events  —  In May 2003, Mehmet Oz was the senior author …

The Right-Wing Mothers Fuelling the School-Board Wars  —  Moms for Liberty claims that teachers are indoctrinating students with dangerous ideologies.  But is the group's aim protecting kids—or scaring parents? … In August, 2020, Williamson County Schools, which serves …

After Defeat, Bolsonaro is Silent, and Brazil Braces for Turmoil  —  President Jair Bolsonaro has not yet recognized his election defeat after months of warning, without evidence, that opponents would rig the vote.  —  For months, President Jair Bolsonaro claimed the only way he would lose …

Trevor Noah, Samantha Bee, and the Future of Liberal Late Night T.V.  —  Trevor Noah recently surprised fans (and, according to some accounts, also Comedy Central management) when he announced plans to leave “The Daily Show.”  His departure is one of many notable personnel changes in late-night television …

Clinton wants Trump to pay her legal fees after tossed conspiracy lawsuit  —  Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is asking a federal court to order former President Trump to pay her legal fees over a suit he filed alleging she and others engaged in a conspiracy to undermine …

Justice Dept. says ballot drop box monitoring in Ariz. is likely illegal  —  Intimidation, threats and coercion violate federal Voting Rights Act, the department wrote in a brief filed Monday  —  PHOENIX — The Justice Department stepped in to an ongoing Arizona election lawsuit Monday …

Live Updates: Midterm Races Enter the Final Stretch  —  Jamie Kelter Davis for The New York Times  —  Here's the latest from the campaign trail.  —  It's Halloween, which is good practice for eight days from now, when candidates and voters alike will be up late stress-eating snacks.