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👋 Kindness to go! Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios Doing good can be refreshingly simple — like this example from reader Ray Cunningham of Issaquah, Wash., who turned a random act of kindness into a habit: "Whenever I'm out for a run, I give a wave to everyone whom I meet along the way, whether they are walking, running or cycling. Just a simple acknowledgment that we're in this together as a community. I've noticed over time that many of those who've seen me before start giving me waves back."

🐐 Trump's scapegoats Sen. John Cornyn at the U.S. Capitol in September. Photo: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images Trump is preemptively blaming Cornyn and Karl Rove for "doing everything possible to make it hard for Ken Paxton" to win the Texas Senate race. "If Ken Paxton loses, it will be because of WEAK and INEFFECTIVE Political Hacks like John Cornyn and Karl Rove," Trump posted on Truth Social. 🤠 Why it matters: That's a far cry from "clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose." Trump won Texas by 14 points just two years ago. What to watch: Trump's post comes the same day FEC campaign finance reports confirmed Elon Musk's efforts to help Paxton across the finish line. Musk gave $158 million to the Senate GOP's main super PAC in September over two transactions, as Axios reported this morning. The day after each Musk donation, SLF made an equal-sized transfer to a Texas PAC— a pop-up super PAC dedicated to electing Paxton. The big picture: A new poll this week in Texas showed Democratic candidate James Talarico with a narrow lead over Paxton, 50% to 47%. Republican leaders warned Trump for months that if Paxton won the primary against Cornyn, it would cost the party far more to keep the seat. Those predictions are proving true, with more than $500 million in ad spending already flowing into the Texas Senate race, according to AdImpact. The other side: Talarico is getting pummeled with some of that money, but he's far from defenseless. He was already on the air in August, when Paxton and Republicans were still figuring out their game plan — and who would foot the bill. Talarico raised $64 million in the third quarter off an army of small donors. His campaign said 97% of contributions were under $100. Talarico's fundraising prowess allowed him to raise hard dollars, which command lower ad rates. "Oh my god, holy crap, I saw Talarico," Moreno said today. "I don't even know how you raised $64 million in a quarter. I mean, that's a number that's mind-blowing." Paxton brought in $18 million. — Stef Kight and Hans Nichols ps:Of course lets just blame everyone else and not the person that's responsible for the mess that the republican/trumplican party is in!!!!!

🍗 Republican "Last Supper" Sen. Bernie Moreno wants his fellow Republicans to cancel their holiday plans and jam through "everything that we could possibly get" if they lose the majorities in November's midterms. Why it matters: Republicans couldn't muster the votes for a megabill this summer, and leadership is not confident they can now. 📞 But Moreno is calling for the GOP to make a bigger push in the event of losing power. "We will do a reconciliation bill, one way or the other," Moreno — who said it is "more likely" the GOP holds the Senate — told reporters outside the Capitol today. But if Republicans lose: "It'll be the Last Supper. So it'll be a giant reconciliation bill where we take all the Republican priorities that we can get done." "If we lose the House and the Senate, we should be here from Nov. 9 until Dec. 31 with no break at all," he said. "Like, we'll have turkeys here for Thanksgiving." Zoom in: Conversations have been ongoing in congressional offices about what a reconciliation package might look like in the lame-duck session between the election and the new Congress next year, a source familiar with the matter tells us. "We are working with the House and White House to develop what all is included to be able to sell to the public and our Republican colleagues when we return," Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chair of the Budget Committee, told us. Election outcomes won't substantively change much for frequent holdouts like Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) who are on their way out. That's not to mention Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), who are appropriators and known to break from the party. What to watch: Republicans face a long to-do list in the lame duck, including funding the government for the next fiscal year, passing emergency defense spending and raising the debt ceiling. Those could all be considered part of a massive reconciliation package that requires just a majority vote to pass. But not everything qualifies for the reconciliation process — and big bills can cause big headaches. Other to-do items include: Passing the National Defense Authorization Act Reinstating FISA Section 702, the warrantless wiretap authority Passing the farm bill Passing permitting reform Confirming nominations Between the lines: Some of the administration's top priorities are banking on the partisan-led funding maneuver of reconciliation, including President Trump's sprawling Golden Dome missile defense system, autonomous weapon advancement efforts and upgrades to the F-35 fighter jet. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told attendees at an Army conference yesterday the Pentagon needs "a minimum" of $350 billion to "rebuild the military." The intrigue: If Republicans lose the Senate majority, it will almost certainly be Moreno's job to try to win it back. He is running for National Republican Senatorial Committee chair — so far, unopposed. — Stef Kight, with contributions from Axios Defense reporter Thomas Novelly

Warning Signs (Joe Raedle / Getty)   View in browser America just had its last major checkup on inflation ahead of the midterm elections, and the results aren’t looking good. Yesterday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released September’s update to the Consumer Price Index, one of the most important metrics for understanding how much Americans actually pay for goods and services. (Among them: cupcakes, dental care, sports equipment.) Overall, costs for consumers have been rising faster than economists expected. They’re up 3.7 percent over the past year, and September marked the largest monthly increase since April—much of which had to do with massive Iran-war-driven spikes in energy prices. That’s just the first half of the problem. At the same time, the BLS revealed yesterday that Americans now have less spending power than they did earlier this year. Real wages—the average amount, adjusted for inflation, that workers earn an hour—have tumbled back down to about where they were when Donald Trump retook the presidency last January. Prices are now rising so fast, across so many different industries, that they’ve overwritten nearly two years of wage gains. As the economist Jared Bernstein put it in his CPI postmortem today, “It’s one thing to cope with high prices when your earnings are at least keeping pace with inflation. But when they’re falling behind … well, that makes for a much tougher equation.” Kevin Hassett, the Trump-appointed director of the National Economic Council, said yesterday that he sees a “whole bunch of good news” in the CPI report—namely food prices (they’ve held relatively steady) and prescription-drug prices, which have gotten lower (something he credits to Trump’s online drugstore). The sheer scope of the data makes it easy to cherry-pick examples. The prices of both milk and cookies have gone down since August too, so at least Trump’s economy has been good to Santa. But as economists and Democratic politicians have been quick to point out, the overwhelming majority of the data don’t support that optimism. For example, the prices of other everyday goods, such as coffee, clothing, and hardware, have all gone up. Taken together, the BLS numbers offer a compelling explanation for Americans’ frustrations with the cost of living. Another recent report helps put those frustrations in context: People’s confidence in the economy is approaching a record low, per the preliminary October results of the University of Michigan’s consumer-sentiment survey. And according to today’s BLS data on wholesale prices, businesses are reckoning with higher costs too. The Producer Price Index is now at its highest level in four years. Not all of this is attributable to Trump. The price spikes are the result of a “perfect storm” of macroeconomic forces, Heather Long, the chief economist at the Navy Federal Credit Union, told me. The AI boom, for example, is clearly behind some of September’s computer-related increases. Bernstein told me over email that the breadth of last month’s price movement is part of what’s so concerning. Even when you strip away the volatile energy and food categories, what’s known as the “core” inflation rate is still up 2.6 percent year-over-year. Widespread hikes across these core categories—including housing, hotels, and recreational goods—suggest that the problem has to do with more than just foreign policy. Still, these new BLS reports carry dire warnings for the president and his party. When Trump began his second term, he claimed to have inherited the worst inflation in United States history. Today, inflation is rising faster than it was last January, and Trump’s own actions have undercut his claim that we’re living through an economic “Golden Age.” The tariffs that he implemented last year had a dramatic impact on all kinds of consumer goods. Without those duties, economists at the New York Fed estimate that prices would have declined into early 2026. “For every percentage point increase in average tariffs, consumer goods prices increase by about a quarter of a percent,” the report reads. The president’s decision to bring the country into a costly, protracted war with Iran has also made energy more expensive around the world. In America, gasoline alone is up 9.1 percent since last month and up 34.2 percent since last September, per the BLS. Trying to reclaim the narrative, Trump has recently been putting some of the blame on Ukraine. He said on Saturday that President Volodymyr Zelensky “wants to make problems for the world” by attacking Russian diesel refineries. (Rebuking Trump, Zelensky told the Financial Times today that Ukraine will keep attacking refineries anyway.) Although it’s true that the war in Eastern Europe has contributed to higher diesel prices, experts agree that the bigger culprit is the war in Iran. As a stopgap measure, Trump temporarily lifted some restrictions on tax-exempt diesel use, and he made a controversial deal with Russia over the weekend to import potentially millions of tons of diesel. The agreement has been widely denounced as a betrayal of a U.S. ally during wartime, and analysts are doubtful that it will be enough to get prices down. Trump has lately been urging voters to look away from the economic reality, even promising to hand out millions of $5,000 checks if Republicans hold on to their majority in the midterm elections. Judging by the forecasts for his party’s races, Americans aren’t listening. Inflation tends to speak for itself. Related: Everything Trump wants to do causes inflation. Trump campaigned on affordability. Now he’s calling the idea a “con job.”

Iraq parliament fills Cabinet posts, naming a US-sanctioned deputy prime minister Iraq's parliament voted Thursday to appoint ministers to previously vacant Cabinet posts and complete the country's government - including a deputy prime minister who is under U.S. sanctions. Read More.

Judge tosses ex-CIA head John Brennan's document preservation lawsuit against the Justice Department A federal judge on Thursday rejected a lawsuit from John Brennan that sought to force the Justice Department to preserve investigative records so that the former CIA director can challenge any eventual criminal case against him as a selective and malicious prosecution. Read More.

Average long-term US mortgage rate holds at 7.4%, remaining at highest level in nearly 3 years Mortgage rates held steady this week, keeping the average long-term U.S. home loan rate at its highest level in nearly three years. Read More.

Wisconsin's Republican candidate for governor keeps his distance from Trump in nail-biter campaign Democrats got the matchup they wanted for governor in Wisconsin. Read More.

Japan's Takaichi says chores and makeup add hours to her workday, sparking debate on gender roles Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ’s comments about the additional work she has to take on as a woman compared to her male predecessors have sparked a debate about gender roles in the country and have put her performance under the spotlight. Read More.

EU leaders push back on a major budget proposal, putting a deal by end of the year in doubt European Union leaders voiced strong opposition on Thursday to a new proposal for the bloc’s long-term budget, raising serious doubt about whether the key spending package will be agreed by the end of year. Read More.

Teen shooter kills 4 at Oregon elementary school before being shot by a witness A 16-year-old shot his way through locked doors to get into an elementary school in Bend, Oregon, on Thursday, killing three children and a teacher. He was then shot by a person at the scene who followed him inside, authorities said. https://apnews.com/article/oregon-school-shooting-silver-rail-elementary-b0642ec5cd3da0db24227a2798e2c6ce?

Worrisome trend Not all parents are outwardly anti-vaccination, but more and more of them are delaying their children’s shots. An expert says the consequences are just as dangerous.

The forecast is in A looming super El Niño will influence winter weather patterns across the US, bringing heavy rain or snow to some. See which areas could be hit hardest. 🌧️ Download the CNN Weather app

☀️ 1 for the road: New sunscreen hits shelves Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios The first sunscreens using bemotrizinol — sometimes called BEMT — are hitting store shelves after the FDA approved them in June. Bemotrizinol has long been the go-to sunscreen option in Europe and elsewhere. Dermatologists say it offers broad protection but without the downsides of other sunscreens, including white streaking. BEMT has decades of safety data behind it, including studies showing that it has minimal absorption into the skin. Go deeper ... Learn more.

🐶 Luna, a Jack Russell terrier that's been on the loose around Yellowstone National Park for over a month, was caught and reunited with her owners this week. Go deeper.

🤖 Apple and Meta, whose leaders have spent years trading barbs over privacy and the future of computing, are joining forces to bring one of America's most powerful open-weight AI models to Apple's high-end Macs. More from Ina Fried.

Trump, after bipartisan backlash, says Pentagon won’t livestream execution of Fort Hood shooter WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that the Pentagon will no longer livestream the firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan, after the announcement faced bipartisan criticism and Vice President JD Vance said he wouldn’t watch it. https://apnews.com/article/trump-fort-hood-execution-9b48781e88660064bf0f5aa020db8df7? FBI agents and analysts fired for roles in Trump classified files probe sue to get their jobs back WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI employees fired for their roles in the investigation of President Donald Trump’s retention of classified documents at his Florida estate sued Thursday to get their jobs back, calling their terminations unlawful acts of “political retribution.” https://apnews.com/article/fired-fbi-agents-lawsuit-trump-patel-maralago-69d3544a73ddcdb54f164807adde85ea?

ICE Raid on Ilhan Omar Shows How Dangerous Two Years of Flailing Trump Could Get In the mode of historic fascist regimes, President Donald Trump’s administration sent federal agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to raid the home of a political opponent, singled out for her race and religion, in a transparent effort to strip her of her citizenship. https://theintercept.com/2026/10/12/ilhan-omar-raid-ice-trump/? Trump Wanted Minnesota 15 Case to Be Another Prairieland. Instead, Twin Cities Rallied Behind Anti-ICE Activists. As the Trump administration unveiled an indictment earlier this year against 15 anti-ICE activists, many of whom identify as radicals, for purportedly tormenting federal agents last winter, a top U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official took the podium. https://theintercept.com/2026/10/12/minneapolis-15-ice-protesters-prairieland-unions/? Susan Collins-Aligned Super PAC Buys Attack Ads in Portland… Oregon A Republican-affiliated super PAC is having a little trouble finding Maine on a map. https://theintercept.com/2026/10/12/susan-collins-super-pac-portland-oregon-ads/? Don’t Stop at ICE, Says Progressive Dem: Abolish the Department of Homeland Security Rep. Delia Ramirez is expected to introduce a bill to abolish the Department of Homeland Security and eliminate all immigrant detention in the United States on Tuesday, the Illinois Democrat shared exclusively with The Intercept. https://theintercept.com/2026/10/13/abolish-ice-dhs-delia-ramirez-ilhan-omar/? ps:That doesn't make any sense! The US needs those departments!! It's the person running them that are the problem Pentagon Finally Counts an Iran War Death — Six Months Late The Pentagon quietly acknowledged additional Iran war deaths on Friday evening after The Intercept repeatedly demanded an explanation for inaccurate statistics on a War Department website tracking U.S. casualties from the conflict. https://theintercept.com/2026/10/12/iran-war-casualties-death-toll-accuracy/? An Arkansas Mom Obtained Public Records About a New Data Center. Then She Got Sued. Two wealthy lawfare warriors recently failed in their attempts to bury reporting on government-released documents. Both lawsuits — one in state court in California, the other in federal court in Arkansas — were frivolous strategic lawsuits against public participation, known as SLAPPs. Supreme Court precedent couldn’t be clearer that it’s not the journalists’ problem if the government accidentally shares information it’s not supposed to disclose. https://theintercept.com/2026/10/13/google-data-center-slapp-lawsuit/? Reflecting on the Trump Era U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes exploded at Trump administration attorneys on Monday after they admitted more than 400 trees had been cut down at a D.C. public golf course that President Donald Trump wants to turn into a championship-level course, like those of his personal properties. https://theintercept.com/2026/10/14/trump-dc-lincoln-memorial-pool/?

👋 Good morning! Let's have ourselves a day. In today's edition: Brewers take 3-0 lead, Gabby Williams has leveled up, NFL power rankings, Connor McDavid at 800 games, "Fill in the blank," and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports...   🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES 🏀 WNBA shatters records: The league set viewership and attendance records in 2026, drawing more than 91 million viewers (over twice last season's total) and 3.8 million attendees. 51 telecasts averaged at least 1 million viewers (up from 19 last season) and average attendance climbed to 11,474 fans, a 21% increase from the previous high. 🏈 MNF booth beef: There is reportedly some tension between Joe Buck and Troy Aikman over their ESPN contract situations, with Buck recently signing a new deal and Aikman yet to receive an offer. The two had an argument before Monday's game that ultimately de-escalated. ⚾️ MLB manager moves: Don Mattingly has been named the Phillies' full-time manager after turning their 2026 season around as interim skipper. Meanwhile, the Astros are parting ways with Joe Espada, who went 256-229 and made the playoffs twice in three seasons at the helm. ⚽️ Madrid's epic comeback: Wednesday's Champions League action was headlined by Real Madrid's late comeback win over Roma, scoring three goals in the final seven minutes for a 4-3 victory. Earlier in the game, Madrid's Kylian Mbappé scored his 72nd career Champions League goal, moving him into fifth on the all-time leaderboard. 🏎️ F1 returns to Africa: Formula 1 has entered a 10-year agreement to hold a Grand Prix in Rwanda beginning next decade, marking the sport's return to Africa for the first time since the 1993 South African Grand Prix. Here's a look at the new circuit they plan to build.   ⚾️ NLCS BREWERS TAKE COMMANDING 3-0 LEAD (Yahoo Sports) The Brewers are one win away from their first World Series appearance since 1982 following an emphatic 6-2 victory over the Dodgers on Wednesday behind homers from Jackson Chourio, Jake Bauers and Garrett Mitchell. Player of the game: After his 12-pitch walk changed Game 2, Bauers battled 10 pitches against former minor-league teammate Blake Snell before launching a two-run moonshot to take the lead in the 7th inning. Heck of a moment for a guy who nearly quit baseball in 2024. "The only thing that brought me back was that my wife got pregnant, and I was like, 'Well, we need health insurance,'" he said postgame. Game notes: So good, so young: Chourio went yard on the game's first pitch, giving him 18 career postseason RBIs (in 19 games). That passes Andruw Jones (17 RBIs in 45 games) for the most before age 23. Historically bad offense: 274 teams have played at least seven games in a single postseason since 1903. The Dodgers' .572 OPS in these playoffs ranks 268th. Another shocking stat? They're batting .094 (3-for-32) with runners in scoring position. Not great! Nice line, A-Rod: "It reminds me of the first time I saw Mike Tyson get knocked out: you can't believe what you're seeing," Alex Rodriguez said postgame. "The Brewers, they simply melt your soul away. And they did that again tonight." Can lightning strike twice? The Dodgers are the 43rd team in MLB history to face a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven postseason series. The only team that has ever crawled back was the 2004 Red Sox, who stunned the Yankees in the ALCS. That Dodgers manager Dave Roberts played on that legendary Boston team (and helped turn that legendary series around) is more coincidence of history than useful rallying cry, writes Yahoo Sports' Jake Mintz: "We've got to give them something to cheer about," Roberts said about the understandably unenthused home fans in Game 3. "Kind of play downhill for a little bit, where I think it's just this whole series, they've outslugged us, outhit us." By the ninth inning, even the overexuberant in-stadium hosts were struggling to keep up the spirits of the rapidly diminishing crowd. "If you're still here, that means you're a true Dodger fan," one hollered. In these parts, surrender is signaled not with white flags but with empty seats. There will likely be many of those here on Thursday, with the Dodgers playing for nothing but survival and a slim chance. It's a stunning place for this sporting colossus to be, one loss away from a long winter of regret.   🏀 WNBA FINALS GABBY WILLIAMS HAS LEVELED UP Williams reacts after making a three-pointer during Game 2 of the WNBA semifinals. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) While fans wait patiently for the WNBA Finals to begin this weekend, the Dream are likely strategizing ways to stop — or at least contain — Valkyries forward Gabby Williams, who has made the leap from excellent role player to bona fide superstar. Leveling up: The 2018 first-round pick out of UConn has long been a force on the court, especially on the defensive end. But in her first season with Golden State, she's transformed into a lethal all-around player. Williams, 30, finished sixth for DPOY as a rookie in Chicago and made two all-defensive teams with Seattle. But she didn't earn her first All-Star nod until last year and averaged just 8.3 points per game through her first seven seasons, topping out at 11.6 in 2025. This year with the Valkyries, she averaged a career-high 14.4 points, earned MVP votes and still played her usual lock-down defense, finishing second to Atlanta's own Angel Reese in the DPOY race. And then came the playoffs… Through six games this postseason, Williams is averaging 22.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists while continuing to anchor the WNBA's best defense. What changed? Williams' move to Golden State unlocked what always lay dormant. Head coach Natalie Nakase's heavy reliance on the pick-and-roll created more space for Williams to operate, and her usage rate skyrocketed to 29%, sixth-highest in the league. She was also given the green light to let it fly from long range, where she shot a career-best 34.2% on a career-high five attempts per game. In the postseason, just as we've seen in previous years (see above), that's all been turned up to 11. Heck, she has nearly as many 20-point efforts in six playoff games (4) as she had in 39 regular-season games (6). One possible explanation for the "Gabby Playoff Bump" being bigger than ever this year? Four of the Valkyries' six games have been played at "Ballhalla," their electric home venue that will host Game 1 of the Finals on Saturday night. What she's saying: "This is our sixth man, honestly, on the floor. We feel it," Williams said after going up 2-0 at home against the defending champion Aces last round. "I feel like I got superpowers when I'm in here."   🏈 RISERS AND FALLERS NFL POWER RANKINGS: WEEK 5 (Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports) The undefeated 49ers held onto the top spot in our NFL power rankings this week after beating the defending champion Seahawks, who fell four spots to No. 6. Biggest risers: The Lions (No. 13) jumped six spots after another offensive explosion, the Steelers (No. 17) jumped four spots after Aaron Rodgers delivered his best performance of the season, the Packers (No. 18) jumped six spots after blowing out the Bears and the Buccaneers (No. 26) jumped four spots after finally winning. Biggest fallers: The Eagles (No. 19) dropped four spots after losing a stunner in London, the Cowboys (No. 20) dropped eight spots after another defensive disaster, the Falcons (No. 21) dropped five spots after losing their QB and falling to the Ravens, and the Saints (No. 28) dropped five spots after an ugly loss to the Vikings. Around the NFL: Read: Which coaches are already on the hot seat? Watch: Should Chargers consider drafting a QB in 2027? Listen: What fatal flaws could derail top contenders?   💯 STAT SHEET BIG NUMBERS Maryland's Malik Washington stiff arms Rutgers' Dariel Djabome during last year's matchup. (Ed Mulholland/Getty Images) 🏈 0-75 Maryland (2-4) and Rutgers (1-4), who play each other this weekend in College Park, are a combined 0-75 (!!!) against ranked Big Ten opponents since joining the conference together in 2014. That decision looks pretty brutal from a competitive standpoint, but it's unlikely either university has realignment regrets for one very obvious reason… Follow the money: Big Ten member schools received an average of $80 million in the most recently reported fiscal year (2024-25), compared to $47 million in the ACC (where Maryland came from) and just ~$10 million in the American (Rutgers). (Luke Hales/Getty Images) 🏒 800 games Oilers superstar Connor McDavid had four points (1 goal, 3 assists) on Tuesday in his 800th NHL game, bringing his career total to a whopping 1,237 points. That's the third-most by any player through 800 games, trailing only Wayne Gretzky (1,892) and Mario Lemieux (1,580). He's getting better: McDavid, already a three-time Hart Trophy (MVP) winner, scored more points in games 700-799 (176) than in any other "century" of games preceding it, and his league-leading 17 points this season (4 goals, 13 assists) are his most ever through six games. Things are not going great for the Red Devils. (Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images) ⚽️ 6 points Manchester United (1-3-2) have just six points through six Premier League matches, marking their worst start to a season in 40 years. And it's not as if they've played a difficult schedule, settling for consecutive 1-1 draws against Fulham and Tottenham, both of whom sat in dead last at kickoff. Man up, goals down: To properly illustrate the Red Devils' current form, consider that they have a -2 goal differential while playing with a man advantage. Needless to say, Michael Carrick is on the hot seat just a few months into his managerial tenure.   📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: THURSDAY, OCT. 15 Those are some good-looking jerseys. (Prime Video) 🏈 Seahawks at Broncos Denver hosts Seattle on "Thursday Night Football" (8:15pm ET, Prime) in a matchup of 3-2 teams that should perhaps feel lucky to be above .500 given their mostly underwhelming play on the field. Throwback Thursday: Level of play aside, both teams should look fantastic in their throwback uniforms, which harken back to their old AFC West battles when they shared a division (1977-2001). ⚾️ League Championship Series All four teams take the field today, starting with Rays (tied 1-1) at Guardians (1pm, TBS) in a game that was moved up to the afternoon due to potential inclement weather. Then it's off to Los Angeles (8pm, FS1), where the Brewers will try to sweep the two-time defending champs. Pitching matchups: In the ALCS, it's Tampa Bay's Griffin Jax vs. Cleveland's Gavin Williams, who's struck out 23 batters across his first two postseason games; in the NLCS, Los Angeles is going with Tyler Glasnow while Milwaukee is expected to deploy a bullpen game. Got plans tonight? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city.   🏀 LET'S PLAY FILL IN THE BLANK (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) The graphic above shows the NBA's 10 most valuable franchises, according to Sportico's annual rankings. Fill in the Blank: Which team is missing at No. 5? Answer at the bottom.   📸 THROUGH THE LENS PHOTO FINISH (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images for IRONMAN) 🇺🇸 Kailua Kona, Hawaii — Rhiannon Northeast of the United Kingdom competes in the run portion of the 2026 Ironman World Championship, which saw professional men and women race together on the same day for the first time in seven years. Winners: France's Vincent Luis (7:47:27) won the men's race in his Kona debut, while Taylor Knibb won the women's race (8:36:28) to become the first American to pair an Olympic medal (two silvers in the triathlon) with a Kona title.   Trivia answer: Chicago Bulls

Appeals court lifts block on Florida law restricting social media access for teens A federal appeals court panel has ruled that Florida’s 2024 law restricting access to social media for teens is likely constitutional and can continued to be enforced while the legal challenge continues. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/10/14/appeals-court-lifts-block-on-florida-law-restricting-social-media-access-for-teens/? Byron Donalds says states must work with ICE, but a dozen of them aren’t Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds says that under the U.S. Constitution, states “have” to work with the federal government in enforcing immigration laws. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/10/14/byron-donalds-says-states-must-work-with-ice-but-a-dozen-of-them-arent/? New Florida stormwater rules don’t fix our pollution problem Do you have a favorite movie? Mine is “Singin’ in the Rain.” Maybe because I grew up in the rainiest city in Florida, Pensacola. I could identify with Gene Kelly splashing around in all those puddles. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/10/15/new-florida-stormwater-rules-dont-fix-our-pollution-problem/?

October 15, 2026 By Sam Sifton Good morning. Let’s start today in the Lone Star State. James Talarico and Ken Paxton Brandon Bell/Getty Images; Joel Angel Juarez/Reuters Choosin’ Texas There are a number of tight races in the coming midterm elections, but there isn’t a more expensive one than the Senate showdown in Texas. It pits James Talarico, the Democratic nominee, against Ken Paxton, the state’s conservative attorney general. More than half a billion dollars has been spent on advertising already, and the race could become the most costly nonpresidential contest in U.S. history. Democrats are hopeful, because Talarico has a tiny lead in the polls. But “such optimism stands in defiance of the political axiom that Texas is where idealistic Democrats go to be mugged by reality,” writes Robert Draper, a three-decade veteran of Texas political reporting. The party has not won a statewide race there for 32 years. The race may turn on who each man says he — and his opponent — is. Talarico has introduced himself to the state’s 32 million residents as a good Christian member of the Texas House, with a record of bipartisanship. At a town hall meeting last night, Talarico spoke about his faith and appealed to undecided voters. “I’m a proud Texas Democrat, but I already have a religion and I already have a sports team,” he said. “So, I have no problem sharing hard truths with my party if it’s what’s best for Texas.” His appeal is meant to be broad, with proposals to cap credit card rates, cut middle-class taxes, lower prices and assist people with their first down payment on a home. Talarico campaigning in August. Brandon Bell/Getty Images In return, Paxton and his supporters paint Talarico as a “weird” radical who believes that “God is nonbinary” and that there are more than two biological sexes. (Talarico did say those things but later renounced them.) Vice President JD Vance, stumping in Texas on Tuesday, mocked Talarico — whose girlfriend is a former aide — with a gay joke. “I love you too sir,” Vance told a man in the crowd. “In a totally platonic way, to be clear. I’m the vice president, not James Talarico.” It gets uglier. Recently, Talarico disappeared from the campaign trail for nine days. He and his aides said it was a bad case of the flu. His conservative opponents pounced, spreading a rumor that he had been at a mental health facility in Ohio, a state Talarico said he had never visited. That story proved false — The Times obtained time-stamped security camera images showing that Talarico spent a week at home — but the episode offered a lesson for the age of misinformation, my colleague Bayliss Wagner reported: “It is politically risky for a candidate, even one too ill to campaign, to disappear for nine days.” There’s a reason Paxton and his allies have clawed at every possible advantage. He’s got baggage to spare. During a quarter-century in Texas politics, he has never lost an election. But as attorney general, he was charged with felony fraud. He cut a deal to drop the charges in exchange for paying restitution and performing community service. Then, a group of his aides accused him of bribery and abuse of office. The Texas House impeached him in 2023. (The State Senate acquitted him.) And last year, his wife, Angela Paxton, a state senator, filed for divorce on “biblical grounds,” after his impeachment trial revealed that he’d used burner phones, a shared Uber account and secret email address to conduct an affair. No wonder her appearance in a new ad doesn’t mention Paxton’s name, but simply urges people to vote for the Republican ticket. And Trump, for his part? His endorsement was strangely backhanded: “He may not dress right. He may not talk exactly perfectly, and he may not be the best-looking guy I’ve ever seen,” Trump said last month. “But you know what he is? He’s the greatest attorney general in America.” Jess Bidgood, who writes our On Politics newsletter, had a good line about that: It’s never great when the two people most crucial to your political survival struggle to simply say nice things about you. It’s worse when one of those people is the president, and the other is your estranged wife. More on politics The Democratic candidate in a tight race for U.S. Senate in Kansas is also the leader of a megachurch. It’s been a big part of his campaign. More has been spent on election ads in this cycle than on ads by the N.F.L. last season: At more than $10 billion, it will soon eclipse the spending in the 2024 presidential election. At a rally in Arizona, Trump said that government “leakers should be shot.” Get the On Politics newsletter. We'll keep you updated on Texas — and all the crucial races. Get it in your inbox. COST PLUS Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics The New York Times If you live in a warm place, consider yourself lucky: The price of fuel oil, used to heat many homes during the winter, is up 74 percent over the past year. Yikes. New inflation data shows that Americans pay more for gas, clothes, doctors and almost everything else. Fruits and vegetables are nearly 4 percent pricier. It adds up. (See the whole list.) Close to half of Americans now have trouble paying for basic needs, according to a study by the Pew Research Center. More on inflation Social Security says retirees can expect the largest annual cost-of-living adjustment since 2023 next year, driven mainly by high inflation. Read what Trump voters are saying about high grocery prices. FREE TO READ The New York Times Disappearing women: In Trump’s second term, those officials heading for the exits, voluntarily or involuntarily, are mostly female. Kelly Clarkson: See the security-camera footage from her visit to a Brooklyn store. She and the shop had an online feud over a bespoke toy bird. Is there a serial killer in Lansing, Mich.? On a popular trail for walkers and cyclists, five people have died in separate attacks. Literary scandal: An acclaimed Haitian Canadian writer admitted to plagiarizing opinion articles and a short story but denied using A.I. to help write his new novel. Your pick: The most clicked link in The Morning yesterday was about people living rent-free on boats near San Francisco. Ginormous gourd: A farmer in Rhode Island raised a 3,156-pound pumpkin this year, smashing previous records. See it here. THE LATEST NEWS Trump Administration Trump called his new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, an attorney. Is she? The Pentagon is sending hundreds of soldiers to train local forces in Latin America as it expands its fight against drug trafficking. Ukraine Ukraine’s access to the Pentagon’s version of Starlink, which transmits battlefield communications, appeared to be restricted without warning. At the same time, a Russian attack on Kyiv cut off power to 600,000 people. American officials have said that the United States has not cut back intelligence sharing with Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelensky told The Financial Times that Ukraine would resume striking Russian oil refineries, in defiance of U.S. demands. In the video below, David Sanger explains why Trump made an unusual diesel deal with Vladimir Putin. Click to watch. The New York Times More International News At least 20 children and one teacher died in Pakistan when the roof of a school collapsed during classes. The authorities in Turkey raided the last big TV news channel critical of the president and replaced its leadership. North Korea and China opened a new bridge connecting them. The countries are expanding trade despite international sanctions on North Korea. The New Yalu River Bridge between North Korea and China. Iori Sagisawa/Kyodo News, via Associated Press Science Treatments for lung cancer have improved significantly in recent years. It could be a good sign for Pope Leo. Some bleached corals rebounded just by touching healthy ones, scientists found. OPINIONS The New York Times Gerrymandering could shrink Black representation in Congress by one-third. Click the video to hear Black lawmakers warn about what America will lose. Hollywood has found a new villain: the tech oligarch. It feels almost like a vendetta, an entertainment writer argues. The Anniversary Sale ends soon: Morning readers, enjoy our best offer. Don’t miss this opportunity to expand your interests with expert coverage of news, culture, business and more. Save now: $1/week for your first year. TODAY’S NUMBER 14 — That is the number of artificial intelligence agents a group of tech founders and investors gathered for a virtual dinner party recently. We monitored their small talk. SPORTS M.L.B.: The Los Angeles Dodgers lost to the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series. The team’s hopes of a third straight World Series win are on life support. Game 4 is tonight. High school football: A coach in Oregon was fired after his team ran up the score for a 63-0 win in a game that was called at halftime. RECIPE OF THE DAY David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Florence Fabricant, who has written about food for The Times for more than 50 years, has a memoir out, “Salty, Not Sweet.” The other night, during a Q&A at the New York City Wine & Food Festival, I asked her if she had any advice for throwing a dinner party in 2026. “Take your coats out of the closet and put them on your bed,” she said. “Then put your guests’ coats in the closet instead of on your bed.” I like that — the effort to appear effortless. And to eat? I had my own advice: Chicken Provençal, of course. THE FIREMAN Steve Buscemi Gus Van Sant for The New York Times You can’t typecast Steve Buscemi. For more than 40 years, he’s been uncompromisingly himself. Next month he stars in a new film, “Wild Horse Nine,” playing a C.I.A. station chief. Ahead of its release, he talked to The Times about his life and art. I liked his take on this new role: “The character’s not a gangster — well, he’s like a government-sanctioned gangster. I just felt that had complexity to it.” Read the interview. More on culture Hydrocal is a specialty plaster used by sculptors and in architectural restoration projects, dental molds and orthopedic molds. The mine and factory that supplies most of it in the United States will cease production this fall — it’s too expensive to make. “Artists are freaking out,” a professor told The Times. “The Assassin(s)” is a new movie about the 1974 attempt on the life of South Korea’s iron-fisted president Park Chung-hee. The shooting is the source of conspiracy theories, similar to the Kennedy assassination. Some people are protesting the movie. Others are rushing to see it. Sally Rooney, the best-selling Irish writer, withdrew her novels from stores in Britain. She could no longer receive royalties from British sales because she pledged to donate book revenues to Palestine Action, which is banned in Britain, she and her publisher said. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS Watch “The Diplomat.” Season 4 gets underway on Netflix today. (Or watch something else. We’ve got suggestions!) Cut your risk of stroke, dementia and depression. We’ve found 17 ways to do that. Invest in a hand-held vacuum and you can be that person who both eats in the car and has a clean car. The tidy testers at Wirecutter looked at more than 180 of them to find the best one. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was boxlike. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections, Crossplay and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times and me. See you tomorrow. — Sam Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Host: Sam Sifton Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti News Staff: Evan Gorelick, Brent Lewis, Lara McCoy, Karl Russell Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Editorial Director, Newsletters: Jodi Rudoren Deputy Editorial Director: Lauren Jackson

Homeschool is increasingly a choice for kids with disabilities and autism America’s public education system offers some of the world’s best services and protections for students with disabilities, guaranteed by federal law. But more parents are abandoning their rights to those services. They say public schools are failing their kids and they’re better off trying to educate them at home. In many states, they’re receiving thousands of dollars from taxpayers to do it. Read more. Why this matters: Increasingly, politicians — most of them conservative — say parents of kids with disabilities should receive financial support if they choose private or homeschool options. Thirty states, plus the District of Columbia, have taxpayer-funded scholarships for private school or homeschooling, and many give priority or more money to students with special needs. The special education rate is 15%, boosted in part by the inclusion of autism-spectrum disorders. But disability screenings are also on the rise — both in schools and in medicine — with less stigma associated with diagnoses. It’s also possible that simply more Americans have disabilities: Advances in medicine mean more premature babies are surviving, and they often have developmental delays or medical conditions. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Americans with disabilities worry about proposed changes to major national health survey

Frustrated with Trump, voters overwhelmingly want change in Washington, AP-NORC poll finds A strong majority of voters believe that President Donald Trump is falling short at home and abroad, and they want major change in the upcoming midterm elections, according to a new AP-NORC poll that raises serious warning signs for the Republican Party at a critical moment. Read more. What to know: One thing is crystal clear on the eve of the 2026 midterms: Voters want change. About half of voters say they want “substantial change” and roughly 3 in 10 want “complete and total upheaval” in the way the country is run. Democrats and independents are much likelier than Republicans to want a full overhaul of the country’s direction. But even Republican voters are still looking for something different. Slightly fewer than half, 45%, want substantial change, while 13% want upheaval. About 8 in 10 voters overall say the economy or the cost of living is among their top issues for the upcoming election, while about two-thirds say this about health care and the war in Iran. Other issues that are stronger for Trump — like immigration or crime — are lower priorities. ps:Seems to many forgot his first term and all the chaos!!

Trump’s new press secretary faces scrutiny over claims she’s a lawyer The new White House press secretary, Katie Zacharia, is facing mounting questions about her background and resume as she transitions into her role as the public face of the Trump administration. Read more. What to know: She has long described herself as a lawyer as she has worked to establish herself as a commentator for conservative outlets like Fox News and Newsmax. But so far, neither she nor the White House has offered any evidence that she passed the bar exam in any state or in China, where she worked for a large law firm years ago. China’s notoriously difficult National Unified Legal Professional Qualification Examination can only be taken by Chinese citizens. The questions add to the confusion surrounding President Donald Trump’s decision to hire Zacharia, who had worked for his social media company for only a few months when he announced her appointment. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Rep. Ilhan Omar’s phone seized and relatives subpoenaed in criminal probe, AP source says Blockbuster-era law governing privacy of video rentals gets a fresh look from the Supreme Court ICE rejects suggestion that its officers wear body cameras that automatically activate Ex-fiance of US Rep. Nancy Mace and 2 others charged with sex crimes she detailed in a House speech

FBI investigates suspicious mail sent to election offices Election offices in multiple states received suspicious letters containing a powdery white substance this week, prompting an investigation by the FBI and the US Postal Inspection Service. Officials in Louisiana and Oklahoma confirmed receipt of such letters on Tuesday and said they evacuated their election offices. The incidents echo a similar scare in 2024, when election officials in at least six states received packages containing suspicious powder just weeks before the presidential election. + Read more: Suspicious letters with white powder sent to election offices in multiple states + Meanwhile: A new clash over voter rolls is escalating in California