Small-D Delusional  —  Why Can't We Just Say What's True?  —  Yesterday, centrist pundit Josh Barro put out a newsletter entitled “The Problem With ‘Pro-Democracy’ Rhetoric,” which was enthusiastically greeted by right-wing New York Times columnist Ross Douthat, who tweeted out “Yes, yes …

Who Failed Paul Pelosi?  —  On the menu today: Last night, President Biden offered this closing message: In order to preserve your right to vote for the candidate of your choice, you have no other option but to vote for the candidate of his choice.  Biden's speech began by focusing …

Trump Aide, Granted Immunity, Set to Testify at Grand Jury Probing Mar-a-Lago Documents  —  Kash Patel, who has said Trump declassified documents as president, previously declined to testify, citing right against self-incrimination  —  WASHINGTON—Kash Patel, a close associate …

Republican Opposition to Helping Ukraine Grows, WSJ Poll Finds  —  Parties are split over whether to provide Kyiv more aid as it faces prolonged war with Russia  —  WASHINGTON—The majority of Americans support continuing aid to Ukraine in what will likely be a prolonged war with Russia …

GOP Insiders Are Starting to Doubt Ron DeSantis Would Actually Take On Trump  —  The Florida governor is expected to cruise to reelection next week—yet might hold back on a 2024 bid.  One source tells Vanity Fair that DeSantis has led donors “to believe he will not run if Trump does,” …

What effect did the Oz-Fetterman debate have on the Senate race?  Here's what three new polls show  —  For all the attention last week's debate between John Fetterman and Mehmet Oz received, the race appears virtually unchanged — and extremely close — in its aftermath.Separate polls …

Musk Plans to Eliminate Half of Twitter Jobs to Cut Costs  —  Elon Musk plans to eliminate about 3,700 jobs at Twitter Inc., or half of the social media company's workforce, in a bid to drive down costs following his $44 billion acquisition, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan shot in foot in reported assassination attempt in Pakistan  —  Video shows rally where Imran Khan was shot Video shows crowd doing what appears to be Nazi salute to Brazilian anthem Cleaning up one of the world's most polluted waterways Restoring Hong Kong's oyster reefs …

‘Hand-to-hand combat with the Left’: Recordings show Trump-funded lawyer Cleta Mitchell readying for midterm elections  —  Mitchell participated in a meeting of “election integrity” groups this fall.  —  Cleta Mitchell speaks at the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference in Camp Hill, Pa., April 1, 2022.

The British ambassador brings her unique style to Washington  —  Dame Karen Pierce, the first female envoy from the United Kingdom, makes a colorful splash on Embassy Row: ‘Diplomacy is a contact sport’  —  Last month's Meridian Ball was a playful, black-tie take on a county fair …

‘Judges gone wild’: Trump-appointed judge says too many write for Twitter  —  A federal appeals court judge on Wednesday argued his judicial peers too often succumb to a “judges gone wild” mentality of writing “show off” opinions that may trend on Twitter but risk alienating the public instead of being persuasive.

Scoop: McCarthy privately floats replacing Chamber leadership  —  House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy is telling U.S. Chamber of Commerce board members and state leaders the organization must undertake a complete leadership change and replace current president and CEO Suzanne Clark, Axios has learned.

Election officials are bracing for conspiracy-fueled threats — while still hoping for the best  —  Election officials in some of the most closely watched jurisdictions across the country say they are bracing for a new wave of conspiracy-fueled threats — even as they remain confident …

Vote for Tony Evers and Mandela Barnes to defend our democracy.  Here's why.  —  USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin Editorial Board  —  Democracy is on the ballot Nov. 8.  —  And we believe that means a vote for Democrats Mandela Barnes for U.S. Senate and Tony Evers for governor.

They Were Trying to Help Run Elections.  Then They Got Criminally Investigated.  —  Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton hasn't just been pursuing supposed voter fraud.  His office has also criminally investigated at least 10 election workers, in a harbinger of potential post-midterm turmoil.

The Hollywood Power Brokers Mugged by Reality  —  L.A.'s mayoral race pits a black congresswoman endorsed by Obama against a billionaire developer.  “I can't tell you the number of people who tell me, 'I'm voting for him, but I'm not telling anyone.”  —  “This is like a breaking point,” …

CNN's Jake Tapper moving back to old time slot following ratings struggle in primetime  —  New CNN boss Chris Licht reportedly wanted Tapper to be the ‘new face’ of the network  —  Jake Tapper goes anti-GOP in CNN primetime  —  Liberal CNN anchor Jake Tapper is being tapped out of primetime …

EXCLUSIVE 'Everyone knows McConnell won't own me': Arizona Senate candidate Blake Masters says he'll be to Senate Republicans what Kyrsten Sinema is to Democrats - and promises to block legislation until the border is secure  — GOP hopeful Blake Masters said party leaders underestimated his Senate run

Justice Department Announces Takedown of Nationwide Catalytic Converter Theft Ring  —  The United States is seeking forfeiture of over $545 million in connection with this case  —  Federal, state, and local law enforcement partners from across the United States executed a nationwide …

Send in the Clowns  —  The lying about Tom Cotton's “Black Lives Matter” op-ed continues: Jonathan Chait enters the chat  —  Before we get into it, here's a piece I wrote for Foreign Policy about what's behind the calls for U.S. or U.S.-backed military intervention in Haiti.  (Spoiler: I think it's a bad idea.)