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How Hochul Became a Surprise Champion of the Subway

Gov. Kathy Hochul isn’t from New York City, but she could be its biggest mass transit defender in a generation. She has embraced that distinction in her re-election campaign.

© Jonah Markowitz for The New York Times

Gov. Kathy Hochul is leaning on her record of funding improvements to New York’s public transit system, including by approving a congestion pricing toll that was the first of its kind in the nation.
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2026 Midterm Election Ballot Measures: What Races We’re Watching

More than 140 statewide ballot measures will go before voters during the midterms. Here are the races we’re watching.

© John Tully for The New York Times

Voters casting their ballots in Franconia, N.H., in the state’s primary earlier this year.
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Third-Party Spoilers, Long Fueled by Both Parties, Could Matter This Year

The other Dan Sullivan in Alaska has drawn the most attention, but both parties are quietly trying to use little-known candidates in other battlegrounds to siphon votes, too.

© Becky Bohrer/Associated Press

Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher in Alaska, was recruited by Democratic operatives to join the race against Senator Dan S. Sullivan, a Republican, whose allies have been left worrying that voters will be confused.
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Four Scenarios for How the Midterms Could Go

Expectations are cresting for Democrats, and some kind of wave seems likely, but so much will depend on a few close Senate races.

© The New York Times

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Campaign for California’s Billionaire Tax Pins Its Hopes on Influencers and Social Media

Supporters of a California wealth tax are short on cash and are relying on cheaper campaign methods to get their word out.

© Minh Connors for The New York Times

Ifeanyi Ifediba usually creates videos about sports, anime and campus life. But he recently agreed to make a political ad to support the billionaire tax.
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Spain Crash Investigators Focus on Train Traffic Controllers’ Role

After the country’s second major rail disaster in a year, Spaniards were confronting questions about the safety of their once-vaunted rail system.

© Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images

Emergency workers were still searching for survivors and victims at the site of the crash on Thursday.
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The Red States That Could Decide the Senate

Democrats need to flip four Republican-held Senate seats to regain the majority, but some of their targets are in states President Trump won by double digits in 2024. Our election data reporter Evan Reynolds explains just how difficult that might be.
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Alaska Governor Orders Criminal Investigation Into Peltola Campaign

President Trump had lashed out at Mary Peltola after The New York Times reported that her campaign and national Democrats helped recruit spoiler candidates to the race. He offered no explanation of what crime may have been committed.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

President Trump campaigned this month for Senator Dan S. Sullivan of Alaska, a Republican running for re-election this year against Mary Peltola, a Democrat and former congresswoman.
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Is There a ‘Safest Seat’ in a Train Crash? Experts Say It’s Not So Simple.

After a high-speed collision near Toledo, Spain, killed at least 68 people, rail safety experts said the rough consensus that it is best to sit in the middle of a train has its limits.

© Oscar Del Pozo/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Emergency workers at the scene of a crash involving two trains near Toledo, Spain, on Wednesday.
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Judge Rejects Trump Officials’ Bid to Set Aside California Ballots

The judge ruled that no immediate action was necessary, dealing another setback to the administration as it moves to target voting by noncitizens.

© Mike Blake/Reuters

Election workers process mail-in ballots in San Diego.
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Vance Proposes Restarting Peace Talks in Outreach to Iranian Official

In his letter, the vice president suggested an immediate resumption of comprehensive talks, including about Iran’s nuclear program.

© Tierney L. Cross for The New York Times

Vice President JD Vance is said to have made the outreach in a letter sent last week via Qatari meditators and delivered Sunday to an Iranian official, Gen. Mohsen Rezaei.
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Cabinet Officials on the Campaign Trail? Ethics Experts Say Some Are Breaking the Law.

As Trump officials stump for Republican candidates facing difficult races, ethics experts say they are being lax about complying with the Hatch Act, a federal anti-corruption law.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

President Trump with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick at a campaign rally in North Carolina this month.
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As Trump Faces Down the Midterms, a Grim Mood Takes Over the White House

The White House has been rocked by turnover and anxiety over the midterms. The president, who is tightening his inner circle, has lashed out at critics, held meandering rallies and feasted on a diet of news clips and “A.I. slop,” as one aide put it.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

President Trump after a campaign rally in Mississippi on Monday.
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Atlanta’s Mayor Walked Away After Covid Chaos. Will Voters Make Her Georgia’s Governor?

Keisha Lance Bottoms, in her bid for Georgia governor, has faced pointed criticism of her leadership in Atlanta and disappointment in her decision to leave after one term.

© Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

Keisha Lance Bottoms’s campaign has been a test for what happens when a leader attempts a comeback.
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Fed Holds Rates Steady Despite Lack of Progress on Inflation

Kevin M. Warsh, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, said an “information-rich” period before the central bank’s gathering in December will help officials determine next steps for policy.

© Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters

Kevin Warsh, the Fed chairman last week said that more had to be done to tame inflation.
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