Wall Street Journal:
Vance Reaches Out to Iranian Hard-Liner in Bid to Restart Peace Talks  —  Vice president sent letter to Iran's security chief at Trump's direction  —  Vice President JD Vance is engaging one of Iran's most powerful hard-liners to revive peace negotiations even as President Trump threatens …

Barak Ravid / Axios:
Israel faces weeks of political wrangling after deadlocked election  —  TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's electoral coalition opened a sizable lead over Gadi Eisenkot's opposition bloc with 85 percent of the vote counted.  — But while Netanyahu outperformed exit polls …

Burgess Everett / Semafor:
Senate Dems put $500,000 into Mississippi  —  Senate Democrats' campaign arm is spending $500,000 with Mississippi Democratic Senate candidate Scott Colom in a coordinated ad buy, according to details first shared with Semafor.  —  The new ad from Colom and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign …

The Guardian:
Flávio Bolsonaro calls himself the ‘leader of Brazil’ after fleeing to Miami  —  Far-right senator and family land in US after crossing from Brazil into Argentina and then flying via Ecuador  —  Flávio Bolsonaro declared himself the “true president” of Brazil after losing …

Jenna Monnin / The Washington Sun:
Judge Issues Broader Block on Trump's Taxpayer Funded Ads  —  The new ruling is the second blow to the White House's campaign-style ads that began airing ahead of the midterms.  — Copy  —  A federal judge on Wednesday blocked the Trump administration from creating and airing ads using taxpayer dollars …

ABC News:
Peltola campaign under fire after report that it recruited second Dan Sullivan for Alaska Senate race  —  Alaskans for Mary said it “has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign.”  —  Alaska Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola's campaign is under fire after a New York Times report …

Alan Feuer / New York Times:
Justice Dept. Turns Civil Rights Group's Informant Against It  —  Lawyers for the Southern Poverty Law Center say that federal prosecutors capitalized on the informant's money problems and exposure to indictment to persuade him to assist the government.  —  When the Justice Department charged …

Dan Diamond / Washington Post:
Hegseth says Trump's arch will be ‘generational national defense opportunity’  —  Trump officials on Wednesday presented their case to build the towering arch as a federal judge weighs whether to halt the project.  —  SummaryLoading...  Two Cabinet officials on Wednesday told a federal judge …

Finya Swai / The Hill:
Trump reups calls to put Cruz on Supreme Court in vacancy scenario  —  President Trump joked Tuesday that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) would be his pick for the next Supreme Court vacancy, saying the senator could get unanimously confirmed because lawmakers in both parties would jump at the chance to get rid of him in Congress.

Associated Press:
Defeated Brazilian Presidential Candidate Flávio Bolsonaro And His Family Land In Miami  —  On Monday, the U.S. said that it would grant visas to Flávio Bolsonaro and his family.  —  Defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro and his family arrived in Miami on Wednesday …

Christina Jewett / New York Times:
Kennedy to Allow Broad Use of Unapproved Peptide Injections  —  In a unilateral declaration by the health secretary, several injections promoted by online influencers will become widely available.  The F.D.A. had advised against the move.  —  Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr …

Frank Andrews / CBS News:
Live Updates: Qatari mediators hand Iran new proposal to end the 8-month war, report says  —  What to know about the Iran war today:  — Iran's foreign minister said Wednesday the country “continues to give diplomacy a chance to succeed” after Reuters earlier reported Tehran rejected …

Reuters:
Trump expands hunt for noncitizen voters with broad subpoena campaign before midterms  —  The Trump administration has issued more than 100 subpoenas demanding records on tens of thousands of voters in at least 13 states, part of an escalating effort ahead of next week's midterm elections …

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System:
Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement  —  For release at 2:00 p.m. EDT  —  The Federal Open Market Committee approved the following statement for release by a 10 - 2 vote:  —  The Committee decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 3-3/4 to 4 percent, in support of the Federal Reserve's dual mandate.

The Washington Sun:
We Did the Math: Trump Really Is Talking More About Butts and Bodies  —  President Donald Trump can't stop talking about Sen. Jon Husted's butt.  —  In speech after speech ahead of the midterm elections, Trump has said he “looked him up and down,” said he “examined his ass” and referred to Husted's backside as “a pile of muscle.”

Doug Bock Clark / ProPublica:
How Cleta Mitchell Turned Trump's “Big Lie” Into a Movement  —  Reporting Highlights  — Hidden Hand: Conservative attorney Cleta Mitchell has shaped virtually every aspect of the Trump administration's norm-busting agenda on American elections.  — Movement Builder …

Irie Sentner / Politico:
Which attack ads are working  —  THE CATCH-UP  —  Americans aren't big fans of attack ads — unless they're about Jeffrey Epstein.  —  A majority of Democratic midterm voters (55%) say ads linking candidates to the late convicted sex offender are fair game, and 35% say it would make them think less …

Rebecca Shabad / NBC News:
Conservative influencer James O'Keefe charged with unlawful voting and identity theft in Minnesota  —  O'Keefe was charged alongside fellow influencer Cam Higby after they allegedly misrepresented themselves at polling places during Minnesota's primary in August.

Wired:
Massive Leak Exposes 41,000 Homeland Security Workers—Including Undercover ICE Agents  —  The leaked records include the locations of ICE and CBP facilities, workers' cellphone numbers, and the members of groups tied to wiretap programs, Palantir software, and xAI's Grok chatbot.

MS NOW:
White House actions spur worry among FBI agents about being called to polling places, sources say  —  Some agents have expressed fear that they may be ordered to take actions designed to disrupt elections.  —  As Election Day nears, recent events have prompted some FBI agents to express concern …