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 …

How Democrats Mishandled Crime  —  The most effective issue for Republicans in this midterm is a result of Democratic elites failing to understand what their diverse base of working-class voters wants.  —  Culpeper County sheriff's deputies are seen at an early-vote rally for Yesli Vega …

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 …

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 …

The Secret Court Battle That Threatens Trump After Election Day  —  Prosecutors are obtaining potentially crucial testimony about January 6.  —  As the midterm campaigns draw to a close, so too may an informal détente between Donald Trump and federal prosecutors since the search of Mar-a-Lago in August.

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 …

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.

North Korea keeps up its missile barrage with launch of ICBM  —  North Korea added to its barrage of recent weapons tests on Thursday, firing at least three missiles including an intercontinental ballistic missile that forced the Japanese government to issue evacuation alerts and temporarily halt trains.

‘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.

IAEA Inspectors Complete In-Field Verification Activities at Three Ukraine locations, No Indications of Undeclared Nuclear Activities and Materials  —  Inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have completed their in-field verification activities at three locations in Ukraine …

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.)

CREW to pursue disqualification if Trump runs  —  Should Donald Trump seek reelection to the presidency or any other office, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington will pursue his disqualification under the Fourteenth Amendment for engaging in the January 6th insurrection.

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 …

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,” …

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.

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.

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 …

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 …