It’s Wednesday, October 28.
asserted
It → ’ → ?
Haviv Rettig Gur and Maya Sulkin make sense of Israel’s election results, live.
asserted
Gur → make → results
Ani Chkhikvadze reports from the riots in Rome.
asserted
Chkhikvadze → report → Rome
Josh Kaplan attends rapper Macklemore’s “Free Palestine” tour.
asserted
Kaplan → attend → tour
But first: Do Americans think the country is headed in the right direction?
asserted
country → think → direction
Can a Democratic pastor win in deep-red Kansas?
asserted
pastor → win → Kansas
And why won’t Abdul El-Sayed denounce an absurd, offensive new ad?
asserted
Sayed → denounce → ad
The midterm elections are just six days away, and the vote is set to be a referendum on Donald Trump and the state of the country under his leadership.
asserted
vote → set → leadership
So, how do Americans really think things are going?
asserted
things → think → ?
That’s the question we set out to answer with the latest installment of our polling series, The Honesty Project, a partnership between The Free Press and opinion-research think tank Populace.
asserted
we → ’ → Press
We asked Americans a simple question: Where is the country headed?
asserted
country → ask → question
Read today’s first offering on the looming election to find out how Americans answered that question—and what new divides are emerging as the midterms approach.
asserted
midterms → read → question
Up next, River Page reports from Kansas.
asserted
Page → report → Kansas
He was there to cover a peculiar trend that has emerged this cycle: current and former Christian clergy running as Democrats.
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that → cover → Democrats
One is, of course, James Talarico, who is running for Senate in Texas.
asserted
who → run → Texas
But maybe the most interesting is megachurch pastor turned Kansas Senate candidate Adam Hamilton.
asserted
interesting → turn → ?
Republicans have long campaigned on their Christian faith, but they’re also eager to discredit Democrats who do the same.
asserted
who → campaign → same
River went to the Sunflower State to report not just on Hamilton’s surprisingly competitive Senate bid but also on a bigger question: Can openly professing Christian faith help Democrats win back red-state voters?
asserted
professing → go → voters
Then, over the weekend, an independent PAC supporting Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed depicted a couple lamenting that they couldn’t afford bananas and eggs because they had to set aside money for U.S. aid to Israel—or, as they put it, “for killing Palestinians.”
asserted
they → support → Palestinians
Prominent Democrats have denounced the ad, but El-Sayed’s campaign has not.
asserted
campaign → denounce → ad
Eli Lake examines the campaign’s silence—and what it reveals about the man at its helm.
asserted
it → examine → helm
Polls are closed in Israel’s first national elections since before the October 7 attacks.
asserted
Polls → close → attacks
Now, the question on everyone’s minds in Israel is this: In the race between Benjamin Netanyahu and Gadi Eisenkot, who can actually put together the 61 seats required to wield power in the Knesset?
asserted
who → put → Knesset
The negotiations are complicated, and could take weeks.
uncertain
negotiations → take → weeks
In the meantime, with 70% of the vote counted, Netanyahu’s bloc at approximately 54 seats, Eisenkot’s bloc at 47, and the Arab parties at 19.
asserted
% → count → 19
What will happen next, and what does this all mean for Israel?
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this → happen → Israel
Maya Sulkin and Free Press Middle East analyst Haviv Rettig Gur will offer some answers today at 10 a.m. ET, live on X and Substack.
asserted
Sulkin → offer → X
Watch the livestream here, and if you have burning questions for Haviv, post them in the Free Press Forum.
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you → watch → Forum
Brazilian politician Flávio Bolsonaro has fled to the United States after he lost Sunday’s presidential election and his country’s Supreme Court ordered the seizure of his passport.
asserted
Court → flee → passport
The White House has granted asylum to Bolsonaro and his family, likely on the grounds of risk of judicial persecution, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
asserted
Reuters → grant → Tuesday
The U.S. Federal Election Commission’s website has been hacked, causing disruptions to its electronic filings system, Reuters reported yesterday.
asserted
Reuters → hack → system
The FEC, which collects data on spending by candidates and political action committees, said its IT staff were “actively working to restore service” as of Tuesday evening.
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staff → collect → evening
Three luxury real estate mogul brothers were convicted on Tuesday of drugging and raping dozens of women and sentenced to 30 years in prison each.
asserted
brothers → convict → prison
“Your conduct was monstrous,” U.S. District judge Valerie E. Caproni said during sentencing.
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Caproni → say → sentencing
The defendants’ insistence that getting married and having children has led to changes in behavior
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insistence → marry → behavior
“rings hollow,” Caproni said.
asserted
Caproni → say → ?
DNA evidence has linked serial killer Ted Bundy to the death of another Utah teenager, authorities said on Tuesday—52 years after her body was first discovered.
asserted
body → link → teenager
Though Bundy has been dead since 1989, his confirmed victim count—now at least 30—continues to rise thanks to advances in DNA testing.
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count → confirm → testing
Crime victims have lost out on at least $119 million in restitution as a direct result of Trump’s pardons, a CBS News investigation found on Tuesday.
asserted
investigation → lose → Tuesday
Pardons during the Biden administration erased $14,000, according to Justice Department records.
uncertain
Pardons → erase → records
…and 6 more, not listed.
The Aporia
