The Memo: Republicans find traction with ‘soft-on-crime’ attacks on Democrats
Republicans are returning to an old playbook in the final stretch of the midterms campaign — and it looks like it’s working. GOP attacks on Democratic candidates as being “soft on crime” look to be shifting two of this year’s marquee Senate races, in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, in Republicans’ favor. Republicans believe Democrats are vulnerable on crime nationally, too — and haunted by “Defund the Police,” a politically counterproductive slogan from which most Democrats have tried to distance themselves with limited success. “I mean, they are vulnerable because
Read MoreFive takeaways from the Kelly-Masters debate in Arizona
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Republican candidate Blake Masters offered viewers on Thursday night perhaps the only opportunity this fall to see both candidates side-by-side as they squared off in a televised debate hosted by Arizona PBS. Kelly emphasized his ability to work across the aisle with Republicans while also standing up to members of his own party. Meanwhile, Masters tried to position himself as a pragmatist on issues like border security while also invoking the culture wars and suggesting news outlets and Big Tech could have impacted how people voted in the last electi
Read MoreBiden: Putin 'not joking' about possible use of nuclear weapons
President Biden on Thursday said Russian President Vladimir Putin was "not joking" in his references to using nuclear weapons, warning that the world was facing its greatest nuclear threat since the Cuban Missile Crisis. "We have not faced the prospect of armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis," Biden said at a fundraiser in New York City, citing the 1962 standoff with the Soviet Union. “We’ve got a guy I know fairly well,” Biden continued, referencing Putin. “He’s not joking when he talks about potential use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or ch
Read MoreCalifornia offers to cut back Lake Mead water use amid drought
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Read MoreOPEC+ cuts prompt calls to reevaluate US-Saudi ties
The decision by OPEC+ nations to reduce oil production is a foreign policy black eye for President Biden after his July visit to Saudi Arabia. It’s also prompting calls from congressional Democrats to rethink the Washington-Riyadh alliance, particularly on the subject of weapons and defense technology sales. Human rights advocates have long criticized what is sometimes a rocky relationship between the U.S. and Saudi royals, particularly after the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. When Biden met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bi
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