President Trump's longtime fixer Michael Cohen says he is writing a second book on Trump's presidency, Politico first reported.
The big picture: Cohen's first tell-all, "Disloyal," published last month, painted a devastating portrait of Trump. The next project will focus on the politicization of the Department of Justice under this administration.
First lady Melania Trump disclosed on Wednesday that her 14-year-old son, Barron Trump, also tested positive for COVID-19 in a statement detailing her experiences with the virus. Barron exhibited no symptoms and has since tested negative.
The big picture: President Trump revealed that he and the first lady tested positive for the coronavirus on Oct. 1. The president was admitted to Walter Reed Medical Center the following day.
Earlier today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin spoke yet again about the stalled federal stimulus plan, but don't appear too much closer on a deal to help American families or businesses.
Axios Re:Cap goes deeper with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), who talks about remaining obstacles, the White House, and why Democrats oppose stand-alone bills for consensus items like airline payroll support and small business loans.
The Lincoln Project, a group of anti-Trump Republicans that has produced a number of the election cycle's most viral political attack ads, raised $39.4 million from July through September, according to Federal Election Commission records filed Wednesday.
Why it matters: The group run by Republicans and ex-Republicans has been growing its fundraising exponentially, shattering the $16.8 million record it set in the second quarter of 2020. It has since won over many more Democratic donors with deep pockets, while still receiving a large percentage of its total fundraising from donations under $200.
Over two-thirds of Indian Americans say they will vote for Joe Biden for president, with about as many saying the U.S. is headed in the wrong direction, a survey out Wednesday indicates.
Why it matters: Indian Americans have seen increased influence as a voting bloc in recent years, as one of the fastest-growing, wealthiest and most educated demographics in the U.S. Still, the group's "political attitudes are woefully under-studied," the report's authors write.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) announced Tuesday his campaign raised $28 million in the third quarter — a quarterly fundraising record for Republican Senate candidates, but less than half of the staggering $57 million his Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison raised.
Why it matters: Graham, a close ally to President Trump and the chair of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee, is facing the toughest re-election battle of his Senate career.
Democrats have outvoted Republicans in Florida in vote-by-mail ballots by a margin of over 400,000 as of 11am on Wednesday, according to state election data.
Why it matters: This is the first time Democrats have led over Republicans during this stage of an election, though states are expecting an unprecedented number of mail-in ballots due to the pandemic. Typically, Republicans are ahead by a slight margin in absentee ballot returns, according to Politico.
President Trump told Newsmax in an interview Wednesday that "it's too early" to say whether he will ask Attorney General Bill Barr to return should he win a second term.
Why it matters: Barr quashed Trump allies' hopes that a sweeping review of the origins of the Russia investigation, led by U.S. Attorney John Durham, would be a pre-election bombshell containing revelations about what they allege were serious abuses by the Obama administration and intelligence officials.
82% of voters from both parties say it is at least somewhat important to know who won the presidential election within a day or two of Election Day, yet only half expressed confidence that this will happen, according to a Pew Research Center study.
Why it matters: The 2020 election is expected to set records for the number of mail-in ballots cast due to the pandemic. Depending on the margins in key swing states, it's possible that the winner of the election will not be known until mail-in ballots are counted.
A judge on Wednesday granted a request from civil rights groups to extend Virginia's voter registration deadline until Oct. 15 after the state's online system crashed on the final day of the registration period, according to Virginia's attorney general.
Driving the news: A mistakenly severed fiber-optic cable shut down much of Virginia's online portal overnight Monday and into the afternoon on Tuesday, according to a tweet from the state Department of Elections and the lawsuit filed by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and the Advancement Project National Office.
Joe Biden certainly isn't who the oil industry wants to win the presidential election — as their political spending shows — but he might be the leader the ailing sector needs.
Why it matters: Biden is vowing new emissions regulations and new restrictions on production as part of plans to hasten a transition away from fossil fuels — but what that means for the industry and markets isn't cut and dry, some analysts argue.
The NBA just completed a historic season that required the league to shutter its arenas. Now, it will help execute a historic election by re-opening them to voters.
Why it matters: The momentum created by the NBA has extended to other leagues, culminating in the largest political effort the sports world has ever seen.
NBC announced Wednesday that President Trump will take part in a socially-distanced Miami town hall this week after the president balked at a virtual second presidential debate following his positive coronavirus diagnosis.
Why it matters: The network said that, as part of an agreement for the event, the White House provided a statement from NIH clinical director Clifford Lane, saying that he and Anthony Fauci had reviewed a PCR test collected from the president on Tuesday and believe Trump is "not shedding infectious virus ... with a high degree of confidence."
The $200 prescription drug discount cards the Trump administration promised to Medicare recipients won't likely reach households by the Nov. 3 goal, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Why it matters: The cards, which Trump announced in late September with little detail, target voters over 65, a group that is crucial to the president's reelection bid.
Eight months ago, Joe Biden was in danger of losing the Democratic nomination. Now he's a prohibitive favorite for president — who got there with lots of luck and shockingly little scrutiny.
Why it matters: The media's obsession with Trump — and Trump's compulsion to dominate the news — allowed Biden to purposely and persistently minimize public appearances and tough questions.
Health care was by far the dominant issue in the Senate Judiciary Committee’s confirmation hearing yesterday for Judge Amy Coney Barrett.
The big picture: After promising for 10 years to get rid of the Affordable Care Act, and with a lawsuit pending at the Supreme Court that could do exactly that, Republicans are making a new argument: c’mon, nobody’s getting rid of the Affordable Care Act.
Former first lady Michelle Obama and NBA star LeBron James are teaming up their get-out-the-vote campaigns to encourage people to cast their ballots early for the general election.
Driving the news: Obama's When We All Vote and James' More Than a Vote campaigns are hosting a series of events across the U.S. Oct. 18–31, featuring celebrities, DJs and food, while also providing information on voting.
The Department of Justice on Tuesday sued a former aide to first lady Melania Trump, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, saying she violated a nondisclosure agreement when she published her tell-all book "Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship with the First Lady," Politico reports.
The big picture: This is not the first time the DOJ has sued in response to a revealing book about the Trump administration. The department filed suit against former national security adviser John Bolton in June to prevent the release of his memoir "The Room Where it Happened."
