A Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday showed Ernst with a narrow 2 percent lead over Greenfield, 48 percent to 46 percent. Another 4 percent did not answer, while 1 percent said they would vote for someone else. The poll was conducted among 1,225 likely Iowa voters between October 23 and October 27, with Ernst’s lead coming within a 2.8 percent margin of error. “Iowans know there’s only one candidate in this race they can trust,” Republican Party of Iowa spokesman Aaron Britt told Newsweek in a statement....

On Thursday, Toomey threatened to blow up coronavirus stimulus legislation by demanding that the bill remove authorization for the Federal Reserve programs designed to provide low interest loans to small businesses and governments. Toomey criticized the programs for moving the central bank from a lender of “last resort” to a lender of “first resort”—and he is pushing for proposed language in the final bill that would compel the Fed to wind down programs designed to help struggling small businesses, states and municipalities....

Graham announced the new federal legislation proposal on Tuesday, which would allow no abortion “on demand” after 15 weeks except in the cases of rape, incest, or if the mother’s life is at risk. In an interview on CNN’s State of the Union, host Jake Tapper asked Rounds whether he supports Graham’s bill. “No, I think right now we should allow the states to explore the different possibilities about the appropriate way,” he said....

The Republican senator lived up to his strict law and order reputation in social media posts Monday demanding “zero tolerance” for demonstrations that have caused destruction and brought violence in cities across the country. The Army veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts is commonly characterized as hawkish even among members of his own party. On Monday, he called on President Donald Trump to use the Insurrection Act to help local police quell street protests....

Cupp’s criticism came during her Saturday evening show S.E. Cupp Unfiltered, during which she referred to the GOP’s strategy for defending the president as simply “see no evil, hear no evil.” Describing their defense as “pretty damn corrupt,” Cupp, who identifies as a Republican, argued that the lawmakers were ignoring “their constitutional duties.” “But it’s also pretty damn cowardly. Imagine being this afraid,” she argued. “Afraid of witnesses who may further implicate the president in crimes....

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to impose the no-fly zone over Ukraine amid the continuing Russian invasion. However, NATO countries have resisted over concerns that engaging directly with Russia would escalate tensions, potentially leading to a more large-scale conflict. Ernst, an Iowa Republican, acknowledged she is “thankful” that Zelensky is making the request, as “that’s what he should do” as the president of Ukraine—but said the U....

You would be wrong. Through sheer stupidity, the GOP has repeatedly squandered opportunities to fight the righteous cause of left-wing overreach with sensible and popular counterproposals. Instead, Republicans have doubled down on culture war issues and their own extremism, mirroring rather than fighting the Left’s overreach. In case after case, Republicans seem to be working overtime to alienate potential constituencies in the service of their most aggrieved and even unhinged base....

Mollie Hemingway, editor-in-chief of the conservative online magazine The Federalist, called Utah Republican Senator Mitt Romney’s support for the allegedly “soft-on-pedos” Jackson “super interesting” in a Monday tweet. The comment came as Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, claimed that Romney and other GOP senators backing Jackson were “pro-pedophile.” “The only new info since he voted against her a few months ago was increased awareness of her ‘soft-on-pedos’ approach, which makes this new Romney position super interesting,” Hemingway wrote on Twitter in response to Romney’s tweet announcing he would vote to confirm Jackson, noting that the senator had not voted to confirm the judge to the U....

Gordon, the last of the 43 cars to go out in qualifying for the Saturday night race, posted a lap of 194.308 mph to claim the top spot for the fifth race of the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup. The 42-year-old four-time Cup champion, who has not won a championship since 2001, sits fourth in the Cup standings, 32 points behind leader Matt Kenseth and 29 points behind second-place Jimmie Johnson....

Gordon, fresh off a victory Sunday at Martinsville Speedway—his first of the season—is third in the standings, 27 points behind leaders Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson with three races left in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. The four-time Cup champion admits that it would take something extraordinary for him to win the title with three races remaining at Texas, Phoenix and Homestead—all good tracks for both Kenseth and Johnson....

With NASCAR and IndyCar as his anchor events at TMS, Gossage said Saturday morning he would have a big problem if either of those series decide to hold events at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, which is about 200 miles from TMS, located just north of Fort Worth. COTA, a 3.4-mile road course opened in 2012, was built to host an F1 race, which it is doing this weekend for the third consecutive year....

Pfizer and BioNTech asked the FDA on Thursday to approve emergency use of their COVID-19 vaccines for kids between the ages of 5 and 11. The federal regulators have pledged to prioritize the request and a decision could be made by Halloween, following a scheduled meeting on October 26 to consider the recommendation. “Assuming that they authorize the use of the vaccine, CDC’s Advisory Committee is going to meet on November 2 and 3 and make a final decision about who should be eligible for the vaccine,” Gottlieb said on CBS News’ Face the Nation....

The Wylie Independent School District (Wylie ISD) has already apologized and confirmed the online assignment has been pulled after it was criticized by the national vice president for the Fraternal Order of Police. The cartoon in question shows a white police officer kneeling on a black male’s neck—similar to the move used by officer Derek Chauvin on Minneapolis man George Floyd—alongside similar cartoons showing a slave owner on a Black man in shackles and a Klansman holding a noose around a Black man’s neck....

Hochul’s statement contradicts the actions of the state’s previous governor, Andrew Cuomo, who stepped down in August following sexual harassment allegations. Cuomo had been re-elected to a third four-year term in 2018. Hochul did not mention Cuomo in her statement. Hochul said she would propose an amendment to the state’s constitution that would implement a limit of two terms for governors, lieutenant governors, attorneys general and comptrollers. The amendment would also stop allowing those officials to make money outside of their government salaries, though there would be an exception for academic jobs that would have to be approved by an ethics board....

The stopgap measure will be separate from discussions about the fifth coronavirus stimulus package. However, other programs may be extended under the act, those familiar with the agreement told the Associated Press. Pelosi spokesperson Drew Hammill said, “House Democrats are for a clean continuing resolution” on Thursday. White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said during a Thursday press conference that the White House believed they would get the necessary funding to keep the government running....

Mothers Against Greg Abbott PAC is made up of Democrats, moderate Republicans and independents who share the goal of getting a new governor elected. Turning the “MAGA” acronym on its head, the group has churned out several viral ads highly critical of Abbott’s uber-conservative policies, and now, it has Linklater on its side. Linklater hopes the series of 31 ads will help motivate voter turnout. Set to air each day until the November 8 election, the videos are part of what the anti-Abbott group has dubbed a “Vote Abbott Out Advent Calendar....

Perhaps the most glaring hole in these plans—which allow limited sectors of the economy to reopen against U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines—is a complete lack of accounting for child care. The limited exemptions provided by some governors puts the onus of prematurely returning to work disproportionately on women. Our analysis at National Women’s Law Center shows, for example, that two-thirds or more of the hair stylists, massage therapists and fitness instructors at businesses allowed to reopen in Georgia are women....

The 12 aircrew members from Henstridge in Somerset, England, teamed up to complete the world’s first-ever GPS portrait to be drawn by multiple aircraft. Followers of FlightRadar24 may have spotted a few strange recent goings-on with aircraft across the county as flight paths generated some very unusual shapes over the course of several months. Code-named “Art Force 1,” six individual club aircraft belonging to the Light Aircraft Association’s Wessex Strut and 12 crew members were handed a secret GPS plotted path from team leader, Amy Whitewick....

And nearly every one of those times, Roach finds a way to emerge as one of the finest players on the floor. which leads to the inescapable conclusion that although Roach’s name will not be called on the night in the future when he is eligible for the NBA draft, he is going to make a team. He is going to play in the league. He might even turn out to be damn good, perhaps even to the level of a T....