Twitter Said to Delay Changes to Check Mark Badges Until After Midterm Election  —  Users and employees had raised concerns that Elon Musk's plan to give check marks to those who paid a monthly fee could be misused to sow discord.  —  Twitter is delaying the rollout of verification check marks …

Senior White House Official Involved in Undisclosed Talks With Top Putin Aides  —  Jake Sullivan has had confidential discussions with Russian counterparts amid concerns over escalation and nuclear threats  —  WASHINGTON—President Biden's top national-security adviser has engaged …

Trump-DeSantis Rift Grows, With Dueling Rallies in Florida  —  The Republican Party's top two stars are campaigning, separately, in the midterms' last days.  —  SUN CITY CENTER, Fla. — Former President Donald J. Trump hasn't endorsed Gov. Ron DeSantis this year because, as he has explained, his fellow Floridian never asked.

After a Life of Struggle, Biden Faces One More Inflection Point  —  President Biden had hoped to preside over a moment of reconciliation after the turmoil of the Trump years.  But the fever of polarizing politics has not broken ahead of Tuesday's midterm elections.

Cotton passes on 2024 presidential run after considering campaign  —  Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton has decided that he won't run for president in 2024 — making him the first big-name Republican to step aside as former President Donald Trump and others make moves toward running.

Ronald Lauder: New York's Billionaire Political Disrupter  —  The cosmetics heir has pumped at least $11 million into efforts to elect Representative Lee Zeldin, a Republican, as governor of New York.  —  Ronald S. Lauder, a 78-year-old cosmetics heir, philanthropist and art collector …

Facebook Parent Meta Is Preparing to Notify Employees of Large-Scale Layoffs This Week  —  Social-media company's planned cuts expected to affect many thousands of its workforce  —  Meta Platforms Inc. META 2.11%increase; green up pointing triangle is planning to begin large-scale layoffs this week …

Iowa Poll: Voters prefer Republicans in all 4 Iowa congressional races  —  Iowa's likely voters and those who already have cast ballots prefer Republican candidates in all four of the state's congressional districts, a new Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll found.

Arizona Republicans encourage early voting after warning against it  —  Some in the party worry their assaults on early voting could ultimately suppress GOP turnout  —  PHOENIX — For years, the chair of Arizona's Republican Party has led attacks on this swing state's early voting system …

Trump May Pose a Test No Special Counsel Can Pass  —  Former President Donald J. Trump's apparent plan to soon announce his candidacy is challenging Attorney General Merrick B. Garland's desire to show that the Justice Dept. can operate above partisanship.  —  WASHINGTON — Attorney General …

‘Kill them’: Arizona election workers face midterm threats  —  Election workers in Arizona's most fiercely contested county faced more than 100 violent threats and intimidating communications in the run-up to Tuesday's midterms, most of them based on election conspiracy theories promoted by former President Donald Trump and his allies.

Trump ‘Apologizes’ to Matt Gaetz on Behalf of America.  America Rolls Its Eyes  —  At a Florida rally, the former president said the congressman deserved an apology for being under investigation for sex trafficking a minor  —  In his second rally of the weekend, Donald Trump spewed …

Crystal ball says Cortez Masto hangs on, Sisolak doesn't and Dems retain two of three House seats  —  Let me start this biennial venture into brave foolishness with a remembrance of things past.  —  I engage in this Proustian exercise to make myself feel better as I make election predictions …

The Week's Best Cartoons: The GOP Chooses Violence  —  My only message to you today is to please, please be sure you vote by Tuesday.  As this week's cartoons clearly demonstrate, the GOP is eager to continue to drag us down a dark, dark path.  We must keep them out of power at every level of government.

This Election Day, make every Democrat who harmed our kids' education pay  —  As the pandemic moves further into our rearview mirror, there are some voices that want everyone to simply move on.  —  We will.  But not quite yet.  —  Election Day Tuesday is the first real opportunity …

Salena Zito: Oz aims to complete transformation from television talker to practical politician  —  Had you just followed the Democratic U.S. Senate nominee John Fetterman's tweets — or the staffer the Fetterman campaign says does much of his tweeting — you would be led to believe voters …

Ron Johnson pushes racial divisions in his closing message to Wis. GOP voters  —  The senator is drawing sharp rebukes for how he invokes race when talking about his Black opponent  —  BLACK RIVER FALLS, Wis. — As he made his final pitch to voters in western Wisconsin last week …

Democrats, Don't Despair.  There Are Bright Spots for Our Party.  —  The Democratic Party and Senator Mitch McConnell rarely see eye to eye on anything.  But if Democrats hold the line in the elections on Tuesday and keep control of the Senate — and we still have a shot — it will come down to candidate quality.