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RFK Jr. eases access to unproven peptides despite opposition from FDA scientists The Trump administration on Wednesday acted to ease access to unproven peptide drugs favored by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Food and Drug Administration scientific staffers had little input on the decision and opposed the changes, according to six people familiar with its development. Read More.

October 28, 2026 Mike McQuade By Melissa Kirsch This weekend brings the end of daylight saving time — or as my friend Leigh calls it, “License to hunker.” May you hunker in the most glorious fashion possible. On this week’s list: 1. Rosabelle, believe 2. Color stories 3. Make your life bigger 4. Return of the iPod 5. Back-seat rock 6. Blow bubbles from anywhere 1. Rosabelle, believe Bettmann/Getty Images Before the escape artist Harry Houdini died on Halloween in 1926, he and his wife, Bess, agreed that when he would try to communicate with her from the afterlife, he’d use the phrase “Rosabelle, believe” so she’d know it was really him. (“Rosabelle” was a song from Bess’ act at the time they met as performers at Coney Island.) For 10 years after Harry’s death, Bess performed annual seances in an attempt to contact him. At the 1928 event, there were strong signs, according to a report in The Times: The widow has seen many vague faces outlined in light, has heard many sepulchral voices booming “This is Harry,” has seen manuscript messages, which indicated that he had been sent to business college in his new habitat and trained in a copperplate. Copperplate was a penmanship technique. Houdini himself was a skeptic, and devoted the final years of his life to debunking the work of Spiritualist mediums. But if there’s any chance of contact, the centennial Halloween feels like an auspicious one. There are seances planned around the country for this Saturday. If you do happen to make contact with Houdini, be sure to ask for a sample of his handwriting. 2. Color stories A selection from the Storied Colors website. The paint color Baker-Miller Pink, also known as “drunk tank pink,” was mixed at a military prison in the 1970s to calm inmates. Viridian is the green that Monet used for some of his waterlily leaves. Kakishibu is an orange dye that comes from the juice of unripe persimmons. These are among the hundreds of specimens on Storied Colors, a repository of pigments and their back stories. It was created by a guy who was working in tech and wanted to find his way back to the painting he loved as a kid. Search by hue, search by time period, search by source (e.g., mineral, insect). Or just browse and discover, as I can’t seem to stop doing: Bistre is a transparent brown wash used by Rembrandt that came from beechwood fires. Scheele’s Green was made with arsenic and may have contributed to the death of the chemist who created it. Much more interesting than the staid numbers of Pantone paint chips. 3. Make your life bigger A few years ago, my friend Lori told me she was asking herself one question when making decisions: “Does this make my life bigger?” I’ve used this as a guiding principle ever since. It’s useful when choosing between two paths, but also when you find yourself defaulting to certain behaviors or ways of thinking. The question is premised on the assumption that you want to lead a “bigger” life, which is, of course, subjective. For me, a bigger life is one of more adventure, more connection with other people, more joy, more awe. These are lofty ideas, but the litmus test works for minor decisions too. This past weekend, I was tempted to cancel my evening plans — it was so cozy in the house, couldn’t I just stay here in my sweatpants reading a book? — but Lori’s question persisted. It’s not far off from Marie Kondo’s decluttering maxim, “Does this spark joy?” While I was contemplating how useful this framework has been for me, another friend texted that she was trying to do more things solo as a way to “increase her surface area.” That seemed like another way to make one’s life bigger: Expose more of yourself to more things. 4. Return of the iPod It’s hard, in this age of streaming services and their algorithms, to really remember how exciting the iPod was in its infancy. All those songs in your pocket, a nonstop mixtape that you never had to swap out. I remember sitting on the New York City subway and looking around at everyone with their matching white earbuds, feeling uncool for still rocking a Discman with its undistinguished black headphones. Looking back, it seems quaint that everyone was listening to music, but not staring at the screen. Only one sense was engaged; people were still relatively present. The iPod turns 25 this month, and Apple has hidden an Easter egg to honor it. Instead of a 404 error when you go to a nonexistent page on Apple Music’s website, you’ll see a facsimile of the first iPod, an operable device with the old scroll wheel and black-and-white screen. You can listen to clips of songs from the era, like “Survivor” by Destiny’s Child. Or go to the About page and hold the center button for five seconds to launch the old game Brick. On the iPod, a sort of muscle memory sets in and one knows exactly the correct amount of pressure to exert to turn up the volume. The click sounds activate something in me, an excitement at the way they speed up as my finger does. It may be a stunt, but revisiting the old iPod does serve as a reminder of how miraculous streaming media once seemed, and how, a quarter-century later, the miraculous becomes part of the scenery. 5. Back-seat rock Richard E. Aaron/Redferns, via Getty Images There are certain songs from the 1970s that I think of as “back-seat rock” because I first listened to them in the back seat of my parents’ car on road trips. My dad’s arm is stretched across the back of the bench seat as he drives, tapping his hand along to “Heartache Tonight” by the Eagles or “Lido Shuffle” by Boz Scaggs. The notes and lyrics are inscribed in me as the Music of Going Somewhere, highway music that makes the whole family sit back and sing along. A cornerstone of back-seat rock, “Night Moves,” by the raspy-voiced Bob Seger, turned 50 last week. The critic Alex McLevy makes a convincing call for the album’s reappraisal in Paste Magazine. How did Seger, whose success once rivaled Bruce Springsteen’s, come to be associated with “an antiquated era of music that removed him from anything resembling contemporary relevance”? McLevy attributes it to shifting tastes away from guitar-heavy blues-rock as well as the long-running Chevrolet truck ads featuring Seger’s “Like a Rock.” “Night Moves” is one of those albums I listen to a little bashfully now, embarrassed by its sentimentality but caught in its thrall nonetheless. When Seger sings about teenagers fumbling around in the dark, “young and restless and bored,” building from acoustic guitar to full-band instrumentation, my heart soars. I’m imbued with nostalgia for an idealized past, his as well as my own, for those uncomplicated adolescent days when I was just a passenger in the family car, nodding along to songs I didn’t yet understand. 6. Blow bubbles from anywhere Mladen Antonov/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images For Halloween in 2000, a couple in Florida set up a bubble machine in their backyard to bewitch trick-or-treaters. A few months later, they rigged up their machine to a computer and camera so people could operate it from the internet. Incredibly, more than two decades later, you can still go online, hit a button, and send a stream of bubbles blowing. The yard is decorated with witches on brooms who appear to be whirling and flying through the intermittent bubble bombardments. One more thing: Malcolm Flynn, a reader from Philadelphia, gets inspiration from an album that The Times called “ethereally and lustrously beautiful”: It’s around the 10-year anniversary of Bon Iver’s “22, A Million.” And the opening line of this album, repeated in a digital falsetto, cannot be forgotten: “It might be over soon.” It is a reminder for all things and all times. Is the “it” bad? Fear not — it’ll be over soon. Is the “it” good? Savor it — it might be over soon! Justin Vernon’s lyrics are often so impressionistic as to be inscrutable, hidden as they are in an ocean of electronic production. But here and there, his voice surfaces to remind you that he is one of the great poets of our time: It might be over soon! What decisions have you made that make your life bigger? Share them in the comments, or email me. And you can check out past editions of The Good List anytime. — Melissa The editor of The Good List is Jodi Rudoren. Eli Cohen handles the photos.

1 for the road: Another Sphere Rendering: Courtesy of Prince George's County The Sphere — a 6,000-seat, orb-shaped immersive entertainment venue — got final approval yesterday to be built at Maryland's National Harbor just outside D.C., Axios D.C.'s Cuneyt Dil reports. Local officials are betting that the $1.4 billion mini version of the Las Vegas Sphere will be a big draw. 🏟️ Maryland's Sphere will host immersive concerts and shows with vibrating seats, 4D effects and a 16,000-by-16,000 interior display that the creators say is the "world's highest-resolution LED screen." Go deeper.

🎢 Theme park visits slide Data: TEA Global Experience. Table: Alex Fitzpatrick/Axios Attendance at most of the country's 10 busiest theme parks fell between 2024 and 2025, per closely watched estimates. Traffic at Disney's Magic Kingdom and EPCOT in Florida fell 0.2%, while Universal Studios Hollywood visits fell by 8%, according to the annual TEA Global Experience Index. 🎡 Some theme park fans may have chosen to spend their money and time off last year at the new Universal Epic Universe, which opened in 2025 and drew 4 million visitors. TEA's report also points to a drop in Canadian visitors to the U.S. amid political tensions and a weaker Canadian dollar. 🎸 Stunning stat: Visits to Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., hit 3.4 million, up a whopping 8.1%. Explore the findings.

What's next for Israel Benjamin Netanyahu addresses supporters at an election night rally. Photo: Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's electoral coalition has opened a sizable lead over Gadi Eisenkot's opposition bloc with 85% of the vote counted, Axios' Barak Ravid reports from Tel Aviv. Still, neither bloc will clear a 61-seat majority. That sets the stage for weeks of wrangling over the country's next government. 🗳️ Netanyahu will emerge from the election down but not out. His bloc is on pace to secure 53 seats — 11 fewer than he currently commands. Eisenkot's bloc trails with 48 seats, leaving both men without a clear mandate to lead the government. Eisenkot could theoretically swear in a government with the support of Arab parties — which are on track to secure a record 19 seats — yet that's highly unlikely. Gadi Eisenkot waves an Israeli flag at an election night rally. Photo: Tomer Neuberg/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images 🤳 President Trump told Axios in a brief interview today that at first he received "horror reports" about Netanyahu's prospects. But, Trump added, "he's in pretty good shape now." Trump said: "I heard my endorsement made a big difference for Bibi." Asked whether he'll get involved in efforts to form a Netanyahu-led unity government, Trump said he hadn't thought about it. He said: "I will take a look." 🪖 What's next: There are 500,000 votes left to count, from soldiers, diplomats, prisoners and others who voted outside their designated area. They could slightly shift the blocs' seat totals, or the allotment of seats within each bloc. But they are unlikely to change the overall balance of power. Keep reading.

Federal Reserve keeps rates unchanged despite elevated inflation WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve kept its key rate unchanged Wednesday at about 3.9% despite stubbornly high inflation, as Chairman Kevin Warsh suggested its policies are already showing signs of having an impact. https://apnews.com/article/inflation-warsh-interest-rates-federal-reserve-c06793b0c50641444701d5d098ccc2c8?

nEWS! I sustained a major loss of vision over a recent 7-week period. Yesterday,l I saw the physician who is treating me for my ARRDSkl kand GA. Slhle informedmet hat iln her opion, that loss was s due to a 3rd condition that could be t reated by surgery. Howlelverl, it was uncertain as to how lmuch relief would vbe obtained. Butl, some could be expected. I am settilng tlhat process in motion. I will know much mor later. I do not know when the surgery wilol occur or anything about the recovery period. But, there is hope. I am thankful for your prayers.

Microsoft Is About to Mess With Your Most Important Keyboard Shortcut Decades of muscle memory are on the line as Microsoft weighs turning your Start menu shortcut into a streamlined search bar. https://www.pcmag.com/news/microsoft-is-about-to-mess-with-your-most-important-keyboard-shortcut?

Dolores Huerta, influential labor leader, feminist and civil rights icon, dies at 96 https://apnews.com/article/dolores-huerta-dies-255fd49a5346475dbace4a74994b2c62?

900+ women criminally charged for their conduct during pregnancies In the first three years after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to an abortion in June 2022, more than 900 women faced criminal charges for conduct related to their pregnancies, according to a new report. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/10/27/repub/900-women-criminally-charged-for-their-conduct-during-pregnancies/? Rhode Island is first state to sue Meta over alleged profits from scam ads A fake investment opportunity, a phony Social Security benefit or a dubious health product might seem like just another random ad on Meta’s platforms. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/10/27/repub/rhode-island-is-first-state-to-sue-meta-over-alleged-profits-from-scam-ads/?

‘Go to Canada’: Trump touted Americans’ access to cheaper drugs. A new rule threatens it. Days before it was to go into effect, the Trump administration pushed back a U.S. customs rule threatening the supply of vital prescription drugs imported by millions of Americans. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/10/27/repub/go-to-canada-trump-touted-americans-access-to-cheaper-drugs-a-new-rule-threatens-it/? Trump’s DOJ sends 1,000 election monitors to 50 states; locations not yet disclosed The U.S. Department of Justice plans to send election monitors to every state ahead of Election Day, expanding a long-standing practice that’s spurred concern this year among Democrats and voting rights advocates because of President Donald Trump’s push to influence elections. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/10/27/repub/trumps-doj-sends-1000-election-monitors-to-50-states-locations-not-yet-disclosed/? Defeated presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro and his family land in Miami after fleeing Brazil MIAMI (AP) — Defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro and his family arrived in Miami on Wednesday after he refused to concede the election to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and fled the country. https://apnews.com/article/brazil-election-flavio-bolsonaro-ecuador-argentina-9fc1f409ed993403736dbae07bd74bd8?

Trump administration awards Florida $193.7M for rural healthcare Florida has been awarded $193.7 million in federal funds to support telemedicine, remote patient monitoring, pharmacy services, diagnostic kiosks, and community paramedicine for rural areas in Florida, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/10/27/republicans-laud-feds-for-awarding-florida-193-7m-for-rural-healthcare/?

Bracing for El Niño A potentially record-setting El Niño could bring a stormy winter to parts of the US, and a new CNN Weather analysis offers clues about what to expect for snowfall. Meanwhile, erosion is already taking a toll along California’s coastline. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on Tuesday to protect the iconic Pacific Coast Highway from the impacts of El Niño-related storms. + Latest: New maps show who could see more snow during this year’s super El Niño + Newsom signs order protecting PCH + Video: Beach erosion leaves buildings perched on California coast + Download CNN Weather: Go beyond the forecast with stunning stories and visuals

Exit polls show deadlock Israel’s elections produced no clear winner Tuesday night, exit polls showed, with neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his main rival Gadi Eisenkot within reach of the 61 seats needed for a governing majority in the 120-seat parliament, the Knesset. The final vote count is expected to take a few days. + Video: No clear winner emerges in crucial Israel election + Analysis: Netanyahu defiant despite falling short of clear victory

White House hunts for voter fraud Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter stands next to a display showing photos of people charged with illegally registering to vote. (Jae C. Hong/AP) The Trump administration has sent several states lists of voters it claims are noncitizens, stepping up its controversial push to keep them from casting ballots in the midterm elections. In California, the administration alleges 20,000 possible noncitizens are on voter rolls. In Washington state, it says that 400 possible noncitizens cast 1,500 votes in past elections. The Justice Department demanded both states set aside their ballots and sued California after it refused. While the legal battle plays out, judges and state officials are questioning how the lists were compiled, where the information came from and how they could be used before and after Election Day. Looming over it all is President Donald Trump’s reluctance to commit to accepting the midterm results. On Tuesday, he was asked whether he would accept the outcome, even if Republicans had a tough night. “I will, if they are honest elections, yeah,” Trump said, once again leaving himself room to reject an outcome he doesn’t like. + For subscribers: Trump’s election-denying strategy is back for the midterms + Read more: Inside the controversial lists of alleged noncitizen voters

🤖 AI's Y2K moment Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images The AI-discovered software flaws that sent the cybersecurity world into a panic last week have so far led to surprisingly few successful attacks, Axios' Sam Sabin writes. Why it matters: Hackers have made millions of attempts to exploit bugs that OpenAI agents found in PHP, software used by roughly 70% of websites. The flaws have proven unusually hard to weaponize, and companies' rush to patch them appears to have helped. The past week has unfolded in ways that remind some researchers of Y2K, a feared software crisis in 1999. Warnings of Armageddon helped rally companies to engineer a solution. Keep reading.

🛰️ Musk-proofing modern warfare Two men set up a Starlink terminal in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. Photo: Dmytro Smolienko/Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images Axios' Thomas Novelly and Colin Demarest, authors of our twice-weekly Future of Defense newsletter, write: Rival satellite companies are jockeying to loosen Elon Musk's grip on battlefield communications after his company's restrictions on Ukraine's Starlink service shook officials in Europe and the U.S. Why it matters: The episode, which temporarily disrupted Ukraine's drone usage, shows how vulnerable a military can be to the whims of a single company or market dominator. 🌌 The big picture: Musk's SpaceX, which is the parent company of Starlink, is by far the world's leader in space-based connectivity with more than 11,000 satellites. Eutelsat, a French firm, is behind them with more than 600 satellites. SpaceX's massive lead has made it difficult for European countries that want to establish independence from the Musk-led company. 🔭 Zoom in: Now, non-U.S. firms seeking to compete with SpaceX are pitching their services with more urgency. Last week, Finnish firms ICEYE and Nokia announced an agreement with Ukraine's defense ministry to explore "sovereign satellite communications."

🇧🇷 Trump opens door for Bolsonaro The U.S. government is granting visas to Flávio Bolsonaro and his family following his defeat in Brazil's presidential election, a senior Trump administration official tells Axios' Marc Caputo and Rebecca Falconer. Why it matters: The move comes days after Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defeated Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Following the election, Brazil's Supreme Court ordered Bolsonaro to surrender his passports and barred him from leaving the country. The order stems from an ongoing investigation into alleged money laundering. Bolsonaro has denied wrongdoing. 🔭 Zoom out: President Trump and his administration have repeatedly backed the Bolsonaro family, with the president denouncing the prosecution of the elder Bolsonaro as a "witch hunt." Trump suggested Brazil's election was "rigged." Keep reading.

📈 Charted: AI's price plunge Data: Ramp. Chart: Axios/Matt Phillips The price companies pay for AI tokens has plunged roughly 35% since the end of June, Axios' Matt Phillips writes from Ramp's AI price index. Why it matters: Falling prices for tokens — a basic unit of AI usage — raise questions about the strength of demand for AI and how much revenue the data center boom will ultimately generate for investors.

🗳️ Election security blind spots Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Stock: Getty Images Some of the biggest vulnerabilities in election security are lying in plain sight, Axios' Brittany Gibson writes. Why it matters: There's no credible evidence that voting-system vulnerabilities have been exploited to change election results. But researchers have found isolated flaws that threaten ballot secrecy, accurate vote recording and independent verification of results. 🔎 Election security experts interviewed by Axios found these vulnerabilities in parts of the U.S.: 1. Paperless voting: Louisiana is the last remaining state to use paperless voting machines statewide on Election Day. Voters press buttons to select their candidates, and the machines record their votes electronically without producing a paper ballot. That leaves no independent record to check whether votes were counted correctly. 2. Ballot-marking devices (BMDs) let voters select candidates on a touchscreen before printing a paper ballot. Researchers warn the machines are vulnerable to hacking and errors, and studies show voters often miss mistakes on the printout. Roughly 23% of U.S. registered voters live in jurisdictions that exclusively use BMDs for in-person voting, according to the nonprofit Verified Voting. 3. A software flaw in Georgia's vote-counting system could be used to expose how individual voters cast their ballots, according to research from Princeton University. Researcher Max Springer used public voter records and roughly $20 in AI credits to reconstruct the order in which nearly all in-person ballots were cast in the Georgia counties he studied. With an additional public record, Springer matched individual voters to their ballots, as he showed with two counties and 2,200 votes in his study. Keep reading.

Twin victory speeches Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party, waves an Israeli flag onstage following the release of the first exit poll in Israel's general election in Tel Aviv last night. Photo: Ariel Schalit/AP Axios' Barak Ravid reports from Tel Aviv: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right coalition was running nearly even with Gadi Eisenkot's opposition bloc as vote counting continued today — but both are short of a 61-seat majority. Why it matters: Political stalemate is the most likely outcome of yesterday's historic election, with Netanyahu weakened but neither side having a clear path to forming a coalition government. Weeks of negotiating could lie ahead. Arab parties are poised to win 18 to 19 seats in what would be an unprecedented electoral achievement. Theoretically, Eisenkot's bloc could try to swear in a minority government supported by the two Arab parties. But that looks unlikely. 📊 State of play: A close outcome could leave the country in a state of limbo, with Netanyahu likely staying on as a caretaker prime minister at the helm of the executive branch and the opposition led by Eisenkot controlling the Knesset. That scenario could last until new elections, possibly as early as April. The two sides could try to break the deadlock by forming a unity government between Netanyahu and Eisenkot. But that's improbable, since none of the opposition parties will agree to sit in a Netanyahu-led government. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at an election-night rally in Jerusalem. Photo: Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images 🔎 Zoom in: Eisenkot claimed victory in a speech after midnight Israeli time. He said if Netanyahu was a "decent leader," he'd leave the political stage after the public voted for change. Eisenkot alluded to the possibility that the prime minister would launch military action before a new government is seated. "Netanyahu, don't dare use Israel's security for your political needs," Eisenkot said. After 3 a.m. Israeli time, Netanyahu took the stage and also claimed victory: "We are still waiting for the official election results. Likud is the largest party in Israel. The right-wing bloc has a clear, decisive majority among the Zionist public and among the Jewish population as a whole."

🏕️ Parting shot! Photo: Bill Rapai This photo of mule deer at Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park in Washington was taken by reader Bill Rapai of Grosse Pointe, Mich., a couple weeks ago. He writes: "That's the Olympic Mountain Range in the background. We had just completed hiking one trail when these guys showed up near the parking lot. I followed them for a while, keeping a respectful distance, to get an image where the background was not full of cars and asphalt. I got my chance when they headed up this incline and fell into single file — just for me!"

💪 "Bloc" plots first moves Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios Anything short of a landslide victory for House Democrats next Tuesday will open the door for a faction of left-wing insurgents known informally as "The Bloc" to complicate Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' plans. Why it matters: Jeffries would push to restore Affordable Care Act tax credits, vote against the Iran war and tariffs, and reverse cuts to Medicaid if Democrats take the majority. But that's not nearly enough for the left. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) told us: "We have to have a vision that is much more than just 'restore the subsidies.'" Zoom in: The Bloc is coordinating with progressive incumbents on Capitol Hill to use the House speaker election, subsequent procedural votes and any other leverage points they can find to shift the Democratic Party to the left. Group members have been strategizing about demands they could make if Jeffries needs their votes to secure the speaker's gavel, sources familiar with the discussions told us. Possible concessions that have been privately floated include prime committee assignments, resources for their districts, changes to House rules to "democratize" the chamber and votes on progressive legislation, sources said. These sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the group's discussions are in the preliminary stage and no plans have been finalized. State of play: The Bloc is an informal grouping of candidates who won House primaries this year with support from left-wing groups such as the Justice Democrats and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), often by unseating incumbents. They include Melat Kiros of Colorado; Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez of New York; Adam Hamawy of New Jersey; Chris Rabb of Pennsylvania; and Donavan McKinney of Michigan. All are running in safely Democratic seats. Other progressives facing competitive general elections — including William Lawrence of Michigan and Mai Vang, Angela Gonzales-Torres and Randy Villegas of California — could also end up aligning with the group. So could a broader group of Bloc-adjacent progressives such as Brad Lander of New York, who is not a DSA member but won his primary by unseating more establishment-aligned Rep. Dan Goldman. The bottom line: Most of these candidates have declined to commit to voting for Jeffries as speaker, with some making it clear they won't give away their votes for nothing. "We're focused on pushing for a bold House agenda with priorities that reflect what the voters want to see us fighting for," one person involved with the Bloc told us. — Andrew Solender

😱 Red scream Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios Senate Republicans see Iowa moving their way and Ohio slipping, with pessimism growing over Alaska and Kansas. Why it matters: Even when they squint, top Republicans struggle to see a majority beyond 51 seats, according to half a dozen senior operatives. ✈️ A combination of paid media and Air Force One visits has bolstered GOP confidence that they'll hold South Carolina and Mississippi. But across the map, the outlook looks bleak, with only a few bright spots. Zoom out: Republicans are fighting a two-front war: unprecedented Democratic enthusiasm and undeniable Republican apathy. 🏈 President Trump's strategy is to whip up the MAGA faithful with rallies in the reddest parts of red states. 😱 "The Red Scream is my biggest concern, not the blue wave," said Alex Castellanos, a veteran Republican consultant who has worked to help Trump get elected. ‼️ "Republicans and independents are going to be screaming for attention, and many of them, including those who voted for Trump, may show their frustration by not showing up." Zoom in: Texas is starting to look like a late-season football showdown against an SEC rival: The GOP is still in the game, but defeat seems like a real possibility. 🌾 In Kansas, Sen. Roger Marshall (R) has stopped the bleeding, but it's unclear whether there's enough time left to save his seat. 🛥️ Republicans are quietly bullish on Michigan, but they recognize that the demographics have to break heavily in their favor, especially among Black voters. By the numbers: The math hasn't changed, but Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer sees multiple paths to 51 seats. No one disputes that North Carolina is going to have a Democratic senator. It seems like another lifetime ago that Republicans were talking seriously about flipping Georgia. If just two of the next tier of Ohio, Kansas and Alaska flip, the Senate would be split 50-50 before factoring in other competitive races, like Michigan, Iowa and Maine. 🦞 In Maine, Republicans and Democrats are consumed by competing fears. Republicans are terrified that a national wave will be big enough to wash away Sen. Susan Collins. Democrats, burned by her unforeseen survival six years ago, refuse to trust even the polls showing them ahead. 🎣 Between the lines: Maine and Alaska may be separated by more than 3,000 miles, but they pose a similar challenge for pollsters: small, overfished electorates where voters are increasingly unwilling to pick up the phone and bite on yet another survey. Both could also see delays in their final results — potentially keeping the majority in limbo for days or weeks, as we told you last night. — Hans Nichols and Stef Kight