All Activity

FACT FOCUS: When it comes to Trump’s economy, these are the numbers that matter before Nov. 3 WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is trying to convince voters before the Nov. 3 midterm elections that the U.S. economy is rocketing upward. But voters say inflation remains a challenge because the Iran war has pushed up gasoline prices, grocery bills have remained expensive and high interest rates have made it harder to afford a home or a new car. https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-trump-economy-inflation-38c6e694edd13742244e23cff5f96446?

Voters want the next Congress to focus on costs and Iran, not Trump, a new AP-NORC poll shows About 8 in 10 registered voters, including a large majority of Republicans and Democrats, say lowering the cost of living should be one of the highest priorities for the session coming up, according to a new AP-NORC poll. Most voters also want Congress to prioritize ending the war with Iran, with roughly 7 in 10 saying this should be a top focus. Read more. What to know: Substantially fewer voters, about 4 in 10, want Congress to make investigating the Trump administration a high priority, and only about 2 in 10 want Congress to prioritize supporting Trump's agenda. But the poll also indicates that there are deep divisions within the parties on what to focus on. Most Democratic voters who identify as supporters of democratic socialism are hoping for a Congress that will investigate the Trump administration, and many want to end military aid to Israel, while MAGA Republicans are interested in Congress supporting Trump’s agenda. Moderates in both parties, meanwhile, are much likelier to want Democrats and Republicans to find common ground.

🏗️ Pic to go Photo: Mariam Zuhaib/AP Just over a year after demolition of the East Wing began, construction continues on President Trump's White House ballroom, seen yesterday from the Washington Monument.

⚡ Politico corrects after White House threat The White House counsel's office warned Politico in a Monday letter that it had 48 hours to retract or correct three recent stories about alleged staff drama, or it would suffer unspecified consequences, Axios' Marc Caputo writes. Last night, Politico posted a correction to one of the stories, originally posted last Friday: "An earlier version of this report, including its headline, mischaracterized the role White House chief of staff Susie Wiles played in then-press secretary Katie Zacharia's interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News. POLITICO's follow-up reporting indicates she did not play a direct role in setting up the interview." Last week's headline: "Susie Wiles helped set up Fox interview ahead of press secretary's exit." The new headline: "Susie Wiles 'offered positive reinforcement' for press secretary's Fox News interview ahead of her exit." Over the weekend, the New York Post reported that internal White House texts show five-day press secretary Katie Zacharia had personally pushed to go on TV ahead of the disastrous Sean Hannity interview. The Post reported that Zacharia texted a White House official: "I'd like to do news hits morning and evening." 📝 The big picture: The White House demand threatens to escalate already tense relations with Politico specifically and, more generally, the press corps that covers President Trump in Washington. Trump last month banned Politico, CNN and MS NOW from covering him in the Oval Office and on Air Force One. This week, CNN threatened further legal action to regain access to Air Force One. Trump also blocked all three outlets from the White House grounds, but a judge restored their access on Oct. 13. 🔮 What's next: White House Counsel Will Scharf didn't specify what consequences Politico faces. But a White House official said "all options are on the table" and described Trump's counsel as "uncharacteristically enraged." Trump is highly litigious with media organizations and, advisers say, his appetite for launching lawsuits hasn't diminished. Politico didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. More on the stories.

⚠️ Least popular in 80 years Graphic: The New York Times President Trump has the lowest approval rating for any president before a midterm since Harry Truman and the Democrats were routed in 1946, The New York Times' Nate Cohn writes. The final national Times-Siena poll before the election puts Trump's approval rating at 34% — down three points from last month. Graphic: The New York Times Likely voters preferred Democratic congressional candidates in their districts by 11 points. Keep reading (gift link). 🗳️ Sabato's Crystal Ball moved 28 House races toward Democrats, pushing the number of seats at least leaning their way to 223 — five more than the 218 needed for a majority. ❎ Turnout for early voting is soaring in many of the states that are expected to decide control of the Senate in next month's midterms, including Texas, Kansas, Maine, North Carolina and Ohio, AP reports.

🕶️ Zuck's deal to stay in California Meta's board struck a deal with Mark Zuckerberg to keep him living in California after the founder and CEO warned he was considering leaving the state that houses the company's headquarters if voters pass a wealth tax proposal next month, an SEC filing reveals. Under the deal, Zuckerberg will receive non-voting shares he can sell to potentially cover a multibillion-dollar tax bill. In return, he committed to remaining a resident of California, or wherever Meta is headquartered, for eight years, Reuters reports. Zuckerberg told Meta he was considering moving his primary residence outside California because Proposition 40, a ballot measure dubbed the "California wealth tax," could expose him to a massive tax liability. Proposition 40, which asks Californians whether to impose a one-time 5% tax on the state's billionaires, is far from certain to pass. The state is home to as many as 250 billionaires, collectively worth more than $2 trillion. 🔎 How it works: Meta will issue a new class of non-voting Class C common stock in January 2027, effectively creating a two-for-one split to fund acquisitions and retain top talent while maintaining Zuckerberg's control. Zuckerberg can immediately sell 20% of the Class C shares he receives, representing 10% of his overall economic stake in the company, allowing him to pay a potential tax bill without losing voting control. Keep reading ... Class C announcement.

🤖 Exclusive: Main Street's budget AI boom Data: Goldman Sachs. Chart: Erin Davis/Axios Small businesses across America are embracing AI, but usage and spending vary dramatically by state, Axios' Herb Scribner writes from an exclusive Goldman Sachs survey of 2,474 small business owners. Why it matters: Companies nationwide, big and small, are figuring out how best to incorporate AI into their workforces and what that means for productivity. 🧮 By the numbers: For all the talk about AI's explosive growth in the enterprise, the survey shows 73% of small businesses are spending $100 or less per month on AI. In Texas, most use AI for marketing copy. In Florida, it's mainly for productivity. More data.

💰 Scoop: AI agents slip into bank accounts Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images Major U.S. banks are detecting unauthorized third-party AI agents operating inside customer accounts — with some agents attempting to take actions that appear to be independent of user instructions, sources tell Axios' Madison Mills. Why it matters: AI agents are quickly becoming a nightmare for banks, slipping into their systems faster than they can respond. Because it's hard to distinguish a human from a bot, banks are blocking the technology and rapidly rewriting their terms of service. Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo are among the banks racing to contain agent risks. Some are aware of unauthorized access, people familiar with the issue said. 🔭 Zoom in: These are generally situations when an agent or AI assistant accesses a human's account with the user's permission and login credentials. That violates guidelines of most banks, which require humans to log in to their own accounts. Banking execs fear what agents with login access might do, especially if a user has granted purchase authority or the ability to shift funds. Some banks have tracked activity when agents — programmed to fulfill requests or complete tasks on a user's behalf — contact call centers or appear to take actions independent of user instructions, the people said. Keep reading.

Trump's war problems surge Traffic passes portraits of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Tehran yesterday. Photo: Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images Twelve days from midterms, President Trump can't escape the unpopular Iran war, which continues to dominate news coverage. Yesterday alone: The U.S. and Israeli militaries have drawn up specific plans for renewed strikes on Iran after Election Day, with targets that likely would include Iran's energy infrastructure, nuclear facilities and missile and drone arsenal, the N.Y. Times reports. Russian President Vladimir Putin told White House envoy Steve Witkoff he "agrees in principle" to resume trilateral peace talks with Ukraine and the U.S. to end the war, Russian and U.S. officials told Axios' Barak Ravid. The White House hopes Putin will show more willingness to compromise after Trump agreed to lift sanctions on Russian diesel sales and took other steps welcomed by Moscow. For now, it seems the only concession Putin agreed to is to negotiate. More from Barak. Putin has never been so close to his goal of normalizing relations with the U.S. "without having to make any compromises on Ukraine," as The Times puts it. The State Department said it ordered non-emergency U.S. government employees to depart Saudi Arabia, "following an uptick in attacks on the kingdom by Iran-backed Houthi militants. The U.S. military has also been quietly reducing its footprint at posts in the Middle East due to ongoing regional threats from the Houthis and direct threats from Iran," CBS News reports. 🛢️ The big picture: Oil prices are still high (the national average for a gallon of regular is $4.27 today) and stock market futures are shaky due partly to war fears.

Vance's whine-free zone Vice President Vance speaks at a rally yesterday in Sharonville, Ohio. Photo: Jacquelyn Martin-Pool/Getty Images Vice President Vance's call for fellow Republicans to "stop whining" about Vivek Ramaswamy's controversial attack ad in Ohio's race for governor showed a key part of his political mindset ahead of his expected run for president in 2028: Never back down. Why it matters: Channeling President Trump, Vance has shown contempt for what he sees as the old-guard GOP's reflex to cave under pressure from Democrats and the media, Axios' Alex Isenstadt writes. Vance thinks too many Republicans sacrifice allies to make controversies go away, and that giving critics a political scalp only encourages them to demand another, according to people familiar with his thinking. It's an approach with some risk — namely whether Vance, entering a critical period in his political career, has the political muscle to get away with Trump's no-apologies approach. 🔎 Zoom in: Vance defended Ramaswamy yesterday amid bipartisan outrage over an ad featuring the estranged mother of Ramaswamy's Democratic opponent, Amy Acton. In the deeply personal ad, Acton's mother calls her daughter a liar, and says Ohioans shouldn't vote for her for governor. Not mentioned in the ad: Acton and her brother were removed from the mother's care as children after Acton accused her stepfather of sexual abuse. Her mother sided with the stepfather, leading to an estrangement that has lasted nearly 50 years. Vance said he was "disgusted" by fellow Republicans criticizing it, telling them to "stop whining." Asked whether the ad was appropriate, Vance said it was "not really my concern," and that politics is tough. The other side: Republicans and Democrats have criticized the ad, saying it crossed a moral line. "I would not have run that ad," U.S. Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio), who appeared alongside Vance and Ramaswamy at the rally, told AP. ps:Once again this administration shows just how pathetic it is!!!!!

The Glendale City church had an openly gay man on the pastoral staff for years. He was married to another man. His denominational service has been celebrated in certain circles. Somehow I doubt that he was celibate. He may well have been, never asked. I assume that two men married to each other, poster boys of a sort for gay clergy, are homosexuals. An acquaintance of mine took LSD and attended church one Sabbath. She described seeing the pastor preaching from the pulpit. One side of his face was satanic, the other side angelic. He spoke out of both sides of his mouth, one speaking truth, the other speaking lies. That illustrates the SDA position on homosexuality, at least in one case. Policy wise, indulgent homosexuals are not allowed. In practice they are. People sexually attracted to members of the same gender are bent. They don't belong in clergical work. There are plenty of other lines of work they can go into. ~30 years ago, the Glendale City church had a guest Sabbath school teacher. I wondered why they would import a non-SDA clergy to teach Sabbath school. After her introduction, a person in the class announced that the woman in question was a lesbian. That made sense, even though I had/have no way of verifying the charge. Considering that congregations recent history, it wouldn't surprise me. Pastoral staff introducing homosexuals to congregants as spiritual guides? Can't make this stuff up

THIS DAY IN HISTORY October 22 1962 JFK’s address on Cuban Missile Crisis shocks the nation During the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962, U.S. and Soviet leaders engaged in a tense, 13-day standoff over the presence of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles from Florida. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 1920s 1926 Harry Houdini is punched nine days before his death Arts & Entertainment 1964 Jean-Paul Sartre wins—and declines—Nobel Prize in Literature Crime 1934 FBI agents kill fugitive “Pretty Boy” Floyd Inventions & Science 1797 First parachute jump is made over Paris U.S. Presidents 1965 President Lyndon Johnson signs the Highway Beautification Act Sports 2012 Cyclist Lance Armstrong is stripped of his seven Tour de France titles Vietnam War 1965 173rd Airborne trooper dives onto live grenade, saving comrades 1972 South Vietnamese President Thieu turns down peace proposal 1957 American forces suffer first casualties in Vietnam

> US women's gymnastics team earns silver at World Championships, ending a winning streak dating back to 2011 as China takes gold by 0.233 points (More, w/video) | See schedule and how to watch individual all-around, event finals (More) > "Glee" will return with a reboot on Hulu and Disney+, reviving the Emmy-winning musical dramedy that ran for six seasons from 2009-15; star Lea Michele reportedly returning to reprise her role as Rachel Berry (More) > Maryland fires football coach Mike Locksley after a 2-5 start to the season; his tenure included a 39-54 record and three bowl game berths across seven and a half seasons (More) | Who are the top candidates to replace him? (More)

One lkpoint: The SDA Chlurch does alow a celebate homosexual to be a SDA pastor. klkIF that person can not remain celebate, that person will lno longer be SDA Clergy. A SDA pastor who is not married is expected to remain celebate. If not celebate, klthe person will not remain a SDA pastor.

Internet Insecurities Federal cybersecurity agencies around the world yesterday urged web administrators to patch vulnerabilities in PHP, a programming language that powers roughly 70% of websites globally, including Wikipedia. The warning comes after researchers uncovered bugs hackers could exploit to take control of any server running PHP. A researcher using artificial intelligence discovered the flaws in August, opening the door to cyberattacks if hackers used available ChatGPT models to compromise websites. PHP’s security team rated the issue a 9.2 out of 10 in terms of danger and worked covertly to develop a solution before announcing emergency updates yesterday. Engineers did not publicize the issue to avoid highlighting vulnerabilities hackers could exploit. Germany, Finland, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, and France temporarily shut down or disconnected several official websites to prevent attacks while applying security patches. The PHP bugs will not directly impact your phone or browser, but you can still take steps to protect yourself from hackers with these tips.

US-Russia Relations Thaw Russia has released American Stephen James Hubbard after nearly five years in prison on charges of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine. The deal, announced during a top US envoy's visit yesterday, appears to signal warming ties between Washington and Moscow. The news follows President Donald Trump's decisions this month to import Russian diesel and pause new sanctions (read previous write-up). Unlike previous prisoner releases, the US did not have to free anyone in exchange for Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired teacher who was the last American in Russia considered wrongfully detained by the State Department (what's his full story?). Putin also agreed yesterday to resume US-mediated peace talks with Ukraine as soon as next month. The last round took place in February, shortly before the US and Israel launched the Iran war. Separately, Ukraine says the US has resumed sharing early-warning intelligence on Russian ballistic missile attacks after reportedly restricting it last week in response to Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure.

The first service animals were established in Germany during World War I, but references to service animals date back to the mid-16th Century. James

🛶 Parting shot! Photo: Richard Chu Reader Richard Chu wowed us with this shot of a canal in Trieste, Italy, taken during his travels earlier this month.

😏 Scoop: Dems quietly boost spoilers Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios House Democrats' campaign arm is instructing allied super PACs to promote minor candidates in several key House races, we have learned. Why it matters: This allows Democrats to steer outside groups toward siphoning votes from Republicans without violating laws against direct coordination. Zoom in: An Axios review of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's "redboxes" — publicly available webpages laying out what PACs should say in ads and which voters to target — found references to minor candidates in five races. The DCCC included language on four of those pages — for CO-5, VA-2, VA-5 and NV-2 — promoting a third-party or independent candidate by touting their conservative, pro-gun or anti-government bona fides. The intrigue: In several cases, the redboxes urge super PACs to steer Democratic and left-leaning voters away from minor candidates who could siphon votes from the DCCC's recruit. Between the lines: In the post-Citizens United era, redboxes have emerged as a way for campaigns to give messaging guidance to cash-rich outside groups that often have less localized knowledge of their turf. The practice is so named because the websites often put a red box around the instructions. The NRCC has its own publicly available redboxes, though it shies away from encouraging PACs to boost spoiler candidates. The big picture: There have been several other examples this year of both parties allegedly boosting spoiler candidates, including with redboxes. Democrats successfully sued last month to get a Green Party candidate who they alleged was a GOP plant booted off the ballot in Pennsylvania's 7th District. Republicans in Alaska tried and failed to do the same with unaffiliated candidate Dan J. Sullivan, who they allege is a spoiler for Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan in his race against Democrat Mary Peltola. It's even happened in party primaries: The campaign of Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) put language on its redbox promoting Republican Zachariah Wooden in the hopes of keeping progressive challenger Mai Vang out of the general election. — Andrew Solender

🚨"The wall has broken" Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios The Senate map once looked impregnable for Republicans. Now they're worried about losing Mississippi. Senate Republicans are weighing a last-ditch cash infusion for Mississippi and even more money for South Carolina and Kansas, we scooped today. Why it matters: It's been 44 years since Mississippi elected a Democratic senator, 94 years for Kansas and 28 for South Carolina. But panic is spreading through the Republican Party. "The wall has broken. The enemy is inside the fort," one national Republican political operative told us. "We are now fighting hand to hand." Democratic challengers are polling within the margin of error in more than half a dozen deep-red states, according to internal GOP polls. This is a grim reversal for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who had plenty of reasons to feel good about keeping the majority even earlier this year. Zoom in: Two weeks ago, when Senate Leadership Fund decided to take out a $5 million "insurance policy" in South Carolina, operatives took a hard look at Idaho, South Dakota and Mississippi. At the time, they concluded they didn't need to spend any money in those states, according to a person familiar with the matter. But Senate Republicans are now reviewing the Mississippi race and may need to spend there to protect Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith from a surprisingly competitive bid by Democratic district attorney Scott Colom. President Trump is scheduled to hold a rally in Corinth, Mississippi, on Monday. Senate Majority PAC, the main super PAC for Senate Democrats, announced a $1.2 million investment in the race yesterday. Zoom out: In early June, SLF started to reinforce a Midwestern red wall to protect the GOP majority, reserving $28 million in TV advertising in Ohio and $11 million in Iowa. Those investments have ballooned to $93 million in Ohio and $53 million in Iowa. After an initial $5 million buy in South Carolina, SLF's spending has increased to $8.5 million, according to AdImpact. And a super PAC linked to Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) is spending another $500,000 in South Carolina. SLF, which is linked to Senate GOP leadership, has earmarked $14 million for Kansas and has spent nearly $12 million there so far. What we're hearing: "We're nervous about Alaska. We're nervous about Michigan. We're still going to hold the Senate at the end," said another operative. Republicans aren't overly concerned about Sens. Ashley Moody in Florida or Mike Rounds in South Dakota. The intrigue: The National Republican Senatorial Committee raised $31.4 million last month, but its coffers appear to be drained. — Hans Nichols, Marc Caputo and Stef Kight

Buckeye Bushwa View in browser If you don’t live in Ohio, you’ve probably been blissfully free from thinking about Vivek Ramaswamy since the 2024 Republican presidential primary, which he left after arousing the visceral dislike of pretty much all of his rivals, as well as many voters. Ramaswamy, who’s now running for Ohio governor, is back in the national spotlight this week, once again in extremely unflattering fashion, because of a campaign ad targeting the Democratic candidate Amy Acton. Acton, a first-time candidate, has leaned heavily on her inspiring biography: She has spoken about experiencing homelessness as well as being raped by her stepfather as a child; she later waited tables and delivered newspapers to put herself through medical school, eventually becoming the director of the Ohio Department of Health. Most recent polls have shown Acton with a small advantage over Ramaswamy, which may be why his campaign resorted to the appalling commercial. The spot features Acton’s estranged mother, Donna Arthur, accusing her of being an inveterate liar. “She’s lied her entire life,” Arthur says. “My daughter needs help, and she can’t help you if she needs help herself.” The ad immediately drew both outrage and debunkings. “It’s not surprising that Vivek Ramaswamy has stooped to such a despicable low as to attempt to turn the sexual abuse Amy endured at 12 years old from our birth mother’s husband into a political talking point,” Acton’s brother said in a statement. National Review, the conservative magazine, pointed out that court documents provide extensive backup for Acton’s claims, as does contemporary press coverage. She was removed from her mother’s custody at the time; her mother’s husband, Cledith Arthur, whom she accused, left the state after being indicted for sexual assault. He pleaded not guilty and died in 2004. For a campaign to cast doubt on a rival’s account of childhood sexual abuse is shocking; to do so despite such evidence is despicable. For years, influential MAGA figures insisted that a conspiracy of pedophiles was running the government and other influential institutions. Now some of them treat pedophilia as no big deal. The Trump administration has tried to downplay the case of Jeffrey Epstein, the late sexual predator who was at one time a close friend of the president’s and maintained ties to other administration officials as well. Ramaswamy is opting to dismiss allegations of pedophilia and use them to smear an opponent. At an event earlier this year, he said that Acton has no vision “other than to complain about what someone else did to her.” Despite his previous willingness to mock Acton’s abuse, Ramaswamy’s campaign didn’t initially claim the ad. It first became public on Monday via the colorful Buckeye State political blogger D. J. Byrnes, known as the Rooster. The version he posted, received from a tipster, didn’t feature any explanation of who had paid for it. But Ramaswamy has since gone all-in. “It is an ad from our campaign,” Ramaswamy said at an event last night. “I would love for this race and this election to be about the substantive issues that impact Ohioans. And unfortunately, Amy Acton has been hiding from those issues.” Axios reports that Ramaswamy (who recently loaned his own campaign $5 million) will spend $4 million airing it. “This is a campaign-ending moment for Amy Acton,” his campaign manager, Jonathan Ewing, said. “The people who know her best keep warning Ohioans about her.” This is bold, if not wise: The ad has generated widespread condemnation. Even some right-wing influencers who initially spread it, such as Jackie Chea, have had second thoughts: “I have no idea if Amy’s abuse allegations are true, but if they are, then her mother is the monster … I regret framing the post as if Amy was lying about her mother when I can’t be sure about that.” Another, Dan Bostic, wrote, “I’ve never in my life seen someone do something so stupid. It’s hard to even wrap my brain around how someone could possess such horrible political instinct.” (Laura Loomer continues to endorse it, which is telling in its own way. Vice President Vance, meanwhile, was “disgusted”—but by Republican doubters, not by the commercial. He suggested that anything is justified in the name of winning elections. “Whether the ad was appropriate or not is not really my concern,” he said in Cincinnati today, telling his “fellow elected Republicans” to “stop whining about an advertisement.”) On the other side of the aisle, liberals see the ad as suicidal. “I am very confident that this ad will backfire and blow up in Ramaswamy’s face,” Dan Pfeiffer, a former aide to Barack Obama, wrote. Any predictions now are premature: Knowing how convincing the ad will be, compared with the backlash, is impossible. But the ad is another example of how Ramaswamy’s obnoxious personality has turned a race that should have been a safe GOP win into a toss-up. The candidate’s favorability rating is deeply negative. His fellow Republicans continue to dislike him. The outgoing governor, Mike DeWine, whose occasional pangs of conscience make him a profile in near-courage, clearly dreaded endorsing his fellow Republican. And although the national environment is friendly to Democratic candidates this year, no Democrat has won a governor’s race in Ohio since 2006; Donald Trump won the state three times. Acton is a first-time candidate most famous for her association with COVID public-health measures, neither of which is an obvious asset. If Ramaswamy loses, there will be no question about who was responsible. Related: The 2026 midterms must-watch list Vivek Ramaswamy’s truth (From 2023)

Many states deciding control of the Senate are seeing a big boost in early voting, AP analysis shows WASHINGTON (AP) — Voter turnout is soaring compared with the last midterm election in many of the states that are expected to decide control of the U.S. Senate, according to an Associated Press analysis of early voting two weeks before Election Day. https://apnews.com/article/election-2026-midterms-voting-early-turnout-44df2c18b387d28022dbb480e99feaba?

Cryptocurrency companies can keep paying interest-like rewards, say federal bank regulators Cryptocurrency companies can continue to pay interest-like rewards to customers, federal regulators said Wednesday, despite warnings from banks that such programs could drain trillions of dollars in deposits from the banking system. Read More.

Malaysia bans civil servants from using navigation app Waze, citing data risks over Israeli links Malaysia on Wednesday banned civil servants from using the navigation application Waze, citing data security concerns due to its Israeli links. Read More.