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Scoop: Bibi begs Trump for more support Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opponent Gadi Eisenkot campaign ahead of tomorrow's Israeli elections. Photos: Getty Images Axios' Barak Ravid writes from Tel Aviv: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — fighting for political survival in tomorrow's elections — has pleaded with President Trump in recent days to show more public support for his campaign, according to a U.S. source with knowledge and an Israeli source briefed on the matter. Why it matters: The U.S. source said the White House sees Netanyahu's aggressive lobbying as a "sign of desperation" and an indication that the Israeli leader thinks he's trailing. 👀 Behind the scenes: The U.S. source said Netanyahu spoke with Trump twice in the last three days and asked him to double down on his Truth Social post last week endorsing him. The source said Netanyahu even suggested language for additional statements of support. An Israeli source briefed on Netanyahu's efforts said the Israeli prime minister proposed that Trump hold calls with Israeli reporters to express further support. Last night, Trump issued another statement endorsing Netanyahu and calling on Israelis to vote for him, mainly because of his hawkish position on Iran. 🧮 State of play: Three major Israeli television networks released their final pre-election polls Friday, all showing Netanyahu's coalition falling well short of a parliamentary majority.

🗳️ Early '28 contenders Chart: The New York Times Democrats' 2028 race is wide open: Kamala Harris leads with just 12% of primary voters, and 45% didn't name a favorite, a New York Times/Siena telephone poll of Democratic primary voters found. Republican primary voters are coalescing around either Vice President Vance (33%) or Secretary of State Marco Rubio (23%). 8% of Republicans named Trump himself, even though he's ineligible. Keep reading (gift link) ... Explore the data.

⚠️ Campaign collateral damage: Grieving families Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Stock: Getty Images The 2026 midterms have taken a deeply personal turn as campaigns use other people's family tragedies as political ammunition — sometimes over the objections of those families, Axios' Russell Contreras writes. Why it matters: Some attack ads feature photographs of murdered children and anguished 911 calls, forcing grieving families to relive their worst moments. Georgia governor's race: Republican gubernatorial nominee Rick Jackson used images of murdered 8-year-old Secoriea Turner and her mother's anguished 911 call to attack Democratic rival Keisha Lance Bottoms, Atlanta's former mayor. Turner's family demanded the ads come down, accusing the campaign of exploiting their grief without permission. Ohio governor's race: Ohio Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign is spending $4 million on an ad featuring the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton. In the ad, Donna Arthur calls her daughter a liar and disputes her account of childhood homelessness. Acton says her late stepfather — who was married to her mother until his death — sexually abused her as a child, and she hasn't spoken to her mother in decades. Ohio Senate race: A Republican attack ad against former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown featured images of a couple and their 1-year-old son killed in a highway crash to blame Brown's immigration policies. The victims' family demanded its removal. Keep reading.

🤖 Prepping for cyber doomsday First three items on the British government's National Resilience Checklist. Screenshot: GOV.UK The governments of the U.S. and Britain are suddenly making old-school preparations for the possibility of a cyber-triggered long-term blackout: The Pentagon is "preparing U.S. military bases to keep operating for at least 90 days without outside support as it prepares for the possibility of a major war that could cripple power grids, disrupt supply chains and threaten critical infrastructure on American soil," Fox News Digital reports. Under a broader military initiative called FORTRESS, "every major military installation in the continental United States would be expected to sustain essential operations independently for at least 90 days, including access to electricity, water, fuel and communications." The British government urged the public to keep three days of emergency supplies at home, including water and canned goods ("tinned" for the Brits). The "Be Ready" campaign was triggered by the PHP software vulnerability exposed last week, plus a record-setting summer of heat, drought and wildfires. 😬 Between the lines: If you marinate online, you're being barraged with warnings of a cyber-induced Black October. Mike Cernovich, an influential pro-Trump voice on X, posted yesterday: "Something is coming. You can sense it."

What's next for Axios Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios Axios CEO Jim VandeHei lays out his latest thinking on how media is changing — and how Axios is adapting: Media is changing at AI speed: the open web deteriorating, search shriveling, LLMs rising, hyper-personalization surging, old revenue models breaking. AI threatens to finish what the algorithms started: wholly upending journalism as we know it. The only certainty: What follows will be as different as the pre- and post-digital eras. After studying and experimenting with AI for the past two years, we're placing a series of big bets on how serious journalism can flourish in an AI world. 💡 The big idea: We believe the value of verified, reported, distinctive truth and curated human connection will spike. The yearning for human connection, and demand for human expertise, will only increase. 🖼️ The big picture: At Axios, we're doing what we did a decade ago when we launched, and two decades ago at Politico: building for the direction that technology and the world are headed. We're sharing our thesis — and our plans — to help spark deeper industrywide debate about preserving the best of media in what's to come. Some parts are controversial or based on our own assumptions. We welcome the pushback. What's next: We assume Einstein-level intelligence will be available on all topics to all people. We envision media consumption shifting to new AI platforms and devices that know us as intimately as we know ourselves. Our lives and minds will be curated beyond imagination. Our knowledge, habits, tastes and work will fully fuse into our screens, or pins, or bracelets. The biggest threat in this coming reality: Who needs "news" from journalists when their AI tells them what they need to know, when they want to know it? Indeed, we assume passive news consumers will find AI curation fully satiating, much like they did scrolling. So general, indistinctive news withers. But for serious news consumers — those who routinely seek out high-quality information about their world, passions and community — the demand for human-vetted and human-verified content will surge. This holds true for both the consumer and for businesses: They'll need insight beyond what everyone else gets from the machines alone, as well as verified news — and human audiences. They'll demand more than AI can give them. 🔎 What this looks like for Axios Harnessing AI to save local journalism and serve communities. Adding to the power of the 100+ Axios Local journalists coast to coast, we'll soon unveil an Axios Local "Super System" that uses AI to track government action, community data and coming events. This will give local reporters more time for local reporting. We hope the Super System will allow us to hire journalists in hundreds, even thousands, of communities and revitalize a dying industry. This will be among the most consequential examples of using AI to create journalism jobs and do public good at scale. It's as big as the original Axios, and a great example of AI's upside. Jumping ahead of AI curation. We're launching specific products based not just on topics but also job titles. We're starting at the top with new verticals for CEOs, CMOs, CCOs, COOs, CFOs and other C-suite executives. All jobs are changing faster than anyone can process. So understanding AI and news through this lens will be vital. Among the most common components of an AI prompt is stating what you do. So our products are designed for today and the coming LLM shift. We'll also keep expanding into new niches, like future-focused space defense, all written by journalists with deep subject matter expertise. Shifting beyond the open web. Search is dying and bots are polluting the web. So we've created a new business line, Axios Direct, to sell clean, real-time feeds of our vetted news and information to businesses and others. Companies are building their own LLMs and pay to ingest truly great reporting, opening a new revenue stream that incentivizes quality. We want to help clean up the information ecosystem: Third-party data shows the Axios format and expert-first approach help us overperform in AI results. And we're working with organizations to restructure their own content in more LLM-friendly ways to reduce misinformation about their work and products in AI. Accelerating human connection. We believe we're on the verge of a renaissance in human connection: The better AI gets, the more people will crave and pursue in-person connection. So we're vastly expanding our global, national and local events, and experimenting with hosting dinners and meet-ups in communities big and small. The Axios Social Club recently brought together more than 1,300 readers in 40 Axios Local markets for dinner with their neighbors. That's the power of Axios in real life. What won't change: Journalism is only valuable when it's trusted, useful and illuminating. Only reporters can get people to share or leak information, fully understand the nuance of sources and stories, demand accountability, and offer deep analysis based on both data and person-to-person interactions. We have a responsibility, even a moral obligation, to protect and expand this vital reporting. A world changing at AI speed demands this.

> Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado returns from exile; President Donald Trump does not indicate foreknowledge while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio credits US reconciliation talks (More) > Shooting near Florida A&M University's football stadium wounds at least 12 people, including six children; fight reportedly broke out prior to the shooting, police say (More) > France arrests more than 1,000 people amid confrontations between demonstrators and authorities in several cities over the weekend (More) | See photos (More)

> US stock markets close down (S&P 500 -0.5%, Dow -1.2%, Nasdaq -0.2%) as oil prices stay near five-month high | See gas prices in your state (More) > Audi will build first US factory in Georgia, President Donald Trump announces; $4.2B plant to produce 200,000 SUVs per year beginning in early 2030s (More) > Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates steady this week, analysts say, in final meeting before next week's midterm elections | The Fed 101 (More, w/video)

> Milwaukee Brewers score five unanswered runs in Game 2 of the World Series, lead Tampa Bay 2-0 (More) | UCF beats No. 2 BYU in double overtime; only three college football teams (No. 1 Miami, No. 6 Utah, No. 7 UCLA) remain undefeated, the fewest at this point in the season since 1977 (More) > Meghan Markle's estranged father under investigation in the Philippines for possession of child sexual abuse material; Markle's letter to her father says she was aware of prior allegations (More) > "Clayface" takes top spot at the weekend box office, pulling in $24M in North America; the origin story of a Batman supervillain, movie is the latest in the revamped DC Extended Universe

October 26, 2026 Of the Lord by the Prophet “And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.” (Matthew 2:15) What can this gospel writer’s phrase “spoken of the Lord by the prophet” teach us about how to read the Bible? We discover a clear pointer to interpreting Scripture and thus can have confidence that we can correctly understand what God is saying. The pointer comes from Matthew’s emphasis on the prophet’s words as expressing what the Lord spoke. In today’s text, Matthew did not say that the prophet (Hosea) invented the message or that it merely might have included some divine content. Who said those words—the Lord or Hosea? Apparently, both! Hosea and the rest of the prophets wrote down the exact words the Lord wanted to say. Fallible humans got to participate in the process of recording infallible words through this miracle of divine inspiration. “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:21). Matthew’s confidence that Hosea penned the speech of God Himself can give us the same assurance. Other Bible authors reinforce this. The prophet Daniel wrote, “In the first year of [Darius’s] reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem” (9:2). Here again we see complete confidence that a prophet—in this case Jeremiah—wrote down “the word of the LORD,” not words that any mere man made up. Rest assured that the prophets who penned their portions of Scripture wrote our Lord’s exact words. BDT

Selfies now cause more deaths than shark attacks. It is estimated that there are 28 selfie-related deaths per year, with the leading cause being heights. James

Bodycam: Cop Was Not in Danger When He Fired Shots That Killed 1-Year-Old Kohen Wiley After the Mississippi attorney general cleared a white cop for firing into a car and killing a Black toddler in a Walmart parking lot, video footage released by the Mississippi Department of Public Safety has revealed the fullest picture to date of what happened. https://theintercept.com/2026/10/23/kohen-wiley-body-camera-police-shooting-justification/? The Stakes of Brazil’s Presidential Election Brazilians will head to the polls on Sunday in one of the most consequential presidential elections of the last decade. The run-off election will determine the future of the largest democracy in Latin America and the fate of the Amazon rainforest. https://theintercept.com/2026/10/23/brazil-president-election-lula-bolsonaro-meta/? Giant Crypto Super PAC Funnels Big Money to Former Trump Official’s Firm to Support… Democrats? The Fellowship PAC, a super PAC fueled by crypto industry cash that once lavished praise on Donald Trump, is making a surprising pivot. https://theintercept.com/2026/10/23/crypto-donations-democrats-elections-bo-hines/? The Spirit of “Party Unity, My Ass” Is Back and Coming for the DSA (and El-Sayed) The PUMA spirit is back. The 2008 Democratic Party protest movement, inflamed by what Hillary Clinton supporters viewed as Barack Obama stealing the nomination from their primary candidate, scorned his general election campaign and embraced the mantra “Party Unity, My Ass.” https://theintercept.com/2026/10/24/centrist-democrats-dsa-el-sayed/? Hegseth Built a New Pentagon Office for Religion. Military Religious Leaders Wish He Hadn’t. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has extended a line for the military’s religious leaders to reach him directly — and current and former military chaplains say they don’t want it. https://theintercept.com/2026/10/25/hegseth-military-christian-religion/? The Intercept Live in Conversation With Robert Reich Democrats may be ahead in the polls. But can they withstand billions in campaign spending by Elon Musk and other MAGA oligarchs? Will the election be safe from intimidation and interference? And even if they do prevail, what would a Democratic Congress actually do to obstruct Trump’s attacks on democracy? https://theintercept.com/2026/10/23/robert-reich-live-midterm-elections-democracy/? Mamdani’s High-Wire Balancing Act Between ICE and NYPD Can’t Last The October 8 shooting of Oscar Belgal by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in front of his 5-year-old son in Manhattan forced into the open a question that had been on many New Yorkers’ minds: What would the New York Police Department do when ICE broke the “rule of law” in the city, and how would Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the person who has the power to hire and fire the NYPD commissioner, respond? https://theintercept.com/2026/10/22/mamdani-tisch-ice-shooting-nypd/?

Starlink Slowdown Standoff Elon Musk accused Ukraine on Saturday of violating Starlink rules by using the technology for offensive drones. The remarks are Musk’s first acknowledgment of an active role in restricting Kyiv’s satellite communications system this month. Starlink is a civilian communications service, while its counterpart, Starshield, is a Pentagon-funded program. Ukraine relies on both systems in its war with Russia but denies the ability to use Starlink for offensive capabilities. When Ukraine first reported communications disruptions, Musk suggested the US government directed the slowdown. A Reuters report indicated the decision came from the White House amid tensions over Ukraine’s targeting of Russian oil infrastructure (see previous write-up). US officials denied the allegations. President Donald Trump reportedly called Musk last week requesting SpaceX restore Ukraine’s full access to Starlink and Starshield; Ukraine has confirmed both systems are functioning normally. Trilateral negotiations between the US, Russia, and Ukraine are due to resume next month. See war updates here. ps:I know who I believe and it ain't Musk!!!!! Ukraine disputes Elon Musk's claim that its military violated Starlink's terms of service Ukrainian officials have disputed claims by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk that the country’s military violated Starlink’s terms of service by using the civilian satellite internet network for offensive drone strikes. Read More. ps:Elon is getting the same rep as trump! Can't believe a word these guys have to say!!

Thousands protest in Prague as government advances public media funding overhaul Czechs rallied in big numbers in Prague on Sunday to renew protests against a plan by the government led by billionaire Andrej Babiš to overhaul funding for public broadcasters that many consider dangerous for their independence. Read More.

✳️ The Shapiro asterisk Photo illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios. Photo: Mark Makela/Getty Images 💪 Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is an electoral juggernaut in America's biggest swing state — and he's widely seen as a likely contender for president in 2028. But strategists in both parties are questioning how tested he really is. Shapiro's success — he's cruised to victory in multiple statewide races — has come with an asterisk: He hasn't faced a well-financed opponent in recent contests, leading some political insiders to see him as more of a wildcard than his resume suggests. 🤔 Why it matters: Shapiro's unfamiliarity with intense, bruising campaigns could become a liability in the 2028 Democratic primary, where if he was a top candidate, he'd be confronted with a barrage of attack ads, opposition research and rivals with deep pockets. A plugged-in Democratic operative in Pennsylvania suggested that because of Shapiro's lack of being tested, "it is totally possible that he has an incredible glass jaw — and that he is the Scott Walker of 2028." Walker was the swing-state Wisconsin governor who looked good on paper as a potential presidential candidate but flopped after entering the 2016 GOP primary. Zoom in: In next week's election, Shapiro is running for a second four-year term as the Keystone State's governor. He's on pace to defeat Republican challenger Stacy Garrity by double digits, according to the latest polls. The money gap is gargantuan: Shapiro has dropped $42 million on campaign ads, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact. Garrity, the state's treasurer, has spent just $3 million on ads — a drop in the ocean in a state as large as Pennsylvania, with its expensive advertising markets. It's not that Garrity prefers, say, door-knocking to TV ads. She's just outmatched: Campaign finance reports show she's only raised about $11 million this cycle, compared with Shapiro's $64 million. Making matters worse for Garrity, the Republican Governors Association (RGA) has not come to her rescue on the airwaves. ⛸️ Christopher Nicholas, a longtime GOP strategist in Pennsylvania, said the dynamic has "allowed Shapiro to skate with essentially having a one-sided campaign." "A lot of people think he has a glass chin because he's never really had a million dollars of negative TV shoved down his throat in a week," Nicholas said. Zoom out: Shapiro caught a break when he first ran for governor in 2022 against Republican Doug Mastriano, a far-right state senator widely viewed as a historically weak candidate disliked even by the GOP establishment. Mastriano, who was strapped for cash, spent just $2 million on ads that year. Shapiro and his allies spent $55 million. A conservative outside group invested $8 million on advertising in the election but abandoned the race that September after Shapiro embraced school vouchers, a priority for many on the right. The RGA stayed out of the race. In both of his gubernatorial contests, Shapiro has run unopposed in the Democratic primaries, leaving him with little experience of intra-party electoral battles. It was a similar story when Shapiro twice was elected as Pennsylvania's attorney general. He vastly outspent his Republican opponents. 🗣️ What they're saying: Shapiro's allies argue that he's had token opposition precisely because he's a formidable candidate — that more talented Republicans don't want to waste their time and money running against such a hard-to-beat opponent with big fundraising chops. The governor has also sometimes cut off his GOP rivals' money spigots by courting Republican donors. "Sun Tzu was always about picking the battle you want to fight," said Doc Sweitzer, a Pennsylvania Democratic ad maker. "Josh has an incredible skill of picking the opponents." Asked for comment, Shapiro spokesperson Manuel Bonder said: "Winning elections in Pennsylvania and putting a check on Donald Trump is the only thing we're focused on — and believe it or not, it's harder than sitting at home giving unnamed quotes to Axios." Shapiro is far from the only potential Democratic presidential candidate who hasn't squared off against a top-notch statewide Republican candidate. Possible White House hopefuls from deep-blue territory — such as New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — or with little experience defeating Republicans statewide, like former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, have either never run in or never won remotely competitive general elections. Read more. — Holly Otterbein

Serbia’s Aleksandar Vucic concedes defeat to the student-led movement in a seismic political shift BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — The long-serving strongman leader of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, conceded defeat on Sunday in an election that pitted him and his right-wing party against a diverse student-led opposition movement that spent two years protesting his government. https://apnews.com/article/serbia-election-students-vucic-fdf5def8a20aebc8ae139fd719478775?

What to know about the Ebola outbreak that has spread from Congo to 4 other countries The Ebola outbreak in Congo, which began in May, is spreading rapidly across Africa. It has reached Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya and France, making it the deadliest outbreak in Congo's history. The Bundibugyo virus, responsible for the infections, has no approved vaccine or treatment. Poor surveillance at entry points is a recurring problem. The Africa CDC and WHO are calling for a coordinated response. Concerns have been raised over $700 million in unaccounted Ebola aid, highlighting issues of transparency and accountability. Read more. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ First Ebola patients in Nigeria and Kenya might have crossed paths at Uganda airport Inside the study for a remedy to fight Congo’s deadliest Ebola outbreak Congo’s Ebola outbreak leaves grieving families struggling with fear and stigma WATCH: Ebola's spread in Africa makes it the most widespread outbreak in history

She voted for Trump every time. Then came cancer and the bills Cindy Banda faces mounting medical bills after battling breast cancer. Despite the single mother's positive outlook, the financial strain combined with the high cost of living is overwhelming. And it's made the Texan who's a three-time supporter of President Donald Trump rethink her politics. Rising healthcare costs are a major concern for many in the United States heading into the Nov. 3 election. Polling shows that registered voters tend to trust Democrats more than Republicans to handle healthcare. Banda knows how that feels. And for the first time in her life she's voted Democratic, casting an early ballot for James Talarico, in the U.S. Senate race. Read more. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Medi-Cal cuts could push seniors and people with disabilities off of coverage Trump at South Florida rally revives the idea of military intervention in Cuba after Iran Trump, seeking to help Maine Sen. Collins, exempts some Canadian imports from 50% tariffs Obama, in Midwest, assails ‘cruelty’ and indecency from Trump and his allies AOC can draw a crowd. The midterms will test whether her politics can win before 2028 Massachusetts and Idaho put guns on the ballot. One restricts them, the other honors them

⚾ 1 fast thing: Brew Crew pitcher sets record Jacob Misiorowski of the Milwaukee Brewers strikes out Victor Mesa Jr. of the Tampa Bay Rays in the second inning of Game 1. Photo: Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images The very first pitch of this year's World Series made history. Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob "Miz" Misiorowski threw a 103.5 mph fastball against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday — setting a new record for the fastest World Series pitch. The Chicago Cubs' Aroldis Chapman held the previous mark for the fastest Series pitch: 103.2 mph in the ninth inning of Game 2 in 2016. 🍻 The relentless Brew Crew was down four runs last night but stunned the Rays with a 5-4 comeback for a 2-0 World Series lead. The Rays host the Brewers in Tampa Bay for Game 3 tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET. More on the record ... More on last night ... More on Miz.

🎃 Candy slump Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios Halloween candy sales are off to a slow start this year as U.S. consumers grapple with high living costs and eye-popping chocolate prices. Sales fell 6.7% in the month ending Oct. 17 compared with the same period last year, according to NielsenIQ, a market research firm. Sales were down 11.7% in September, erasing preseason gains Halloween candy enjoyed the previous two years, AP reports. Go deeper.

📊 Poll du jour Graphic: CBS News

🛒 Data du jour: What's cheaper Data: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Chart: Jim Sergent/Axios Food prices are up 2.5% since last September, but some grocery essentials are moving in the opposite direction, Axios' Jim Sergent reports from Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The average price of a dozen large eggs ($2.27) is down $4 since peaking at $6.23 in March 2025.

💥 Trump's DOJ barrels into midterms Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Stock: Getty Images With just nine days until the midterms, the Trump administration is escalating its assault on two of the Justice Department's most sacred guardrails, Axios' Zachary Basu writes: Independence from the White House. Restraint before elections. Why it matters: President Trump's DOJ has shattered the traditional calm of a pre-election period with a barrage of politically sensitive investigations, prosecutions and eleventh-hour efforts to influence the vote. 🏔️ Zoom in: The Justice Department's most aggressive election intervention yet came this week in Alaska, where a preemptive lawsuit seeks to delay certification of the state's U.S. Senate results — if the Democrat wins. DOJ argues that a second candidate, Dan J. Sullivan Jr., could confuse voters and siphon support from the Republican incumbent, Sen. Dan S. Sullivan. Legal experts question the DOJ's authority to block certification of a state-run election, or how officials could determine voters' intentions without compromising ballot secrecy. Zoom out: Alaska is just one front in an October offensive aimed at rooting out alleged election fraud, investigating prominent Democrats and re-litigating Trump's oldest political grievances. On Oct. 7, Trump established a White House committee to investigate alleged mortgage fraud by Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, authorizing DOJ personnel to participate in proceedings that could lead to her removal. Cook denies wrongdoing. On Oct. 12, federal agents searched Rep. Ilhan Omar's (D-Minn.) home and seized her cellphone as part of an investigation into possible immigration fraud. The Wall Street Journal reports that the administration is building a case to try to strip the Somali-born lawmaker of her citizenship, and ultimately deport her. On Oct. 15, DOJ sued California to block ballots from more than 20,000 suspected noncitizens. On Friday, prosecutors demanded that county officials segregate flagged ballots within 48 hours, warning of potential criminal liability. On Oct. 22, prosecutors unveiled an eight-count indictment against Virginia state Sen. Louise Lucas — a key figure in Democrats' redistricting efforts in that state — alleging she helped operate an illegal marijuana enterprise. Lucas denies wrongdoing. On Oct. 23, two former senior FBI officials were charged with lying to Congress about their roles in the Hunter Biden investigation. 👀 The big picture: The October blitz is unfolding alongside efforts to investigate or revive cases involving longtime Trump adversaries, including former CIA Director John Brennan, former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. ⚖️ In a statement to Axios, DOJ defended its election-related interventions, arguing that the California cases concern alleged misconduct in previous elections. The department called linking the Lucas and former FBI officials' cases to the midterms "a smear," noting that none of the defendants are on November ballots. Go deeper. ps:What a pathetic administration!!!!!

What to know as Brazilians choose between Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro on Sunday Brazil is on the cusp of granting leftist incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva a fourth presidential term or pivoting to the far right again by electing Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump. Read More. Lula is declared winner of Brazil’s election as Bolsonaro rejects results RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a vocal critic of U.S. President Donald Trump, was reelected Sunday in a result that provides relief to critics of widening U.S. influence in Latin America. https://apnews.com/article/brazil-election-lula-bolsonaro-runoff-vote-president-e2c9fe8fc4aa3e3675b9a8ec15405d93? Lula Wins in Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won Brazil’s presidential runoff yesterday, edging out conservative populist Flávio Bolsonaro. Known by shorthand as “Lula,” the leftist incumbent overcame a two-point deficit to Bolsonaro after the first round of voting earlier this month. The victory secures the 80-year-old Lula’s fourth presidential term. First elected in 2002, he left office at the end of 2010 due to constitutional limits on consecutive terms. He was jailed in 2018 on corruption charges linked to “Operation Car Wash”—a multibillion-dollar probe that began with a single small business. His convictions were nullified in 2021, allowing him to run against (and beat) Bolsonaro’s father, Jair, in 2022. Lula will have to contend with surging federal debt (about $1.8T) and frustration over public services and rising cost of living. The race kicks off a string of major elections, including Benjamin Netanyahu seeking to maintain control in Israel (tomorrow, see polls) and US midterms next Tuesday.

Trump casts his midterm ballot early in Florida President Donald Trump cast his ballot in the midterm elections Saturday, saying he voted for all Republicans in Florida before speaking at a Georgia rally. Read More. ps:Imagine that he voted early!! I thought that was a no no????? How pathetic!!!!! To make AI morally good, tech companies are turning to religion. But some say it isn’t that simple As tech companies race to build the most powerful artificial intelligence, some are also asking how to teach a chatbot right from wrong. Their answer? Religion. Amid this much-discussed turn to faith, there has been little public scrutiny surrounding what exactly these technology companies think religion is — and what they hope to get out of it. Read more. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ As the US and China form AI blocs, countries are increasingly torn between them US designates helium as a critical material, citing its importance for semiconductors California cities pull the plug on data centers after state regulations don’t scale up fast enough Zuckerberg makes deal with Meta to help him pay billionaire tax if it passes Stick it to them: Before social media, bumper stickers were the Twitter of the roads