Kansas? Montana? Mississippi? Democrats have reason to spend in states that seemed impossible to win just two months ago. washingtonmonthly.com/2026/1…

Britain is weighing a problem the U.S. must address: The gap between school and work. Apprenticeship degrees are one solution. washingtonmonthly.com/2026/1…

Senate candidates Abdul El-Sayed and James Talarico have taken opposite approaches to fending off Republican attacks. @Billscher examines how their strategies are playing out. washingtonmonthly.com/2026/1…

Every election produces its share of crooks and crackpots. But the 2026 midterms have delivered an especially astonishing crop, and plenty have a real shot at winning. washingtonmonthly.com/2026/1…

“If you’re busting your butt, you should be able to get ahead.” On our podcast, @ThirdWayTweet's Jim Kessler (@ThirdWayKessler) discusses the think tank’s new policy agenda for middle-class America. washingtonmonthly.com/2026/1…

Trump’s Midterm rally blitz is likely doomed. Presidents who hit the campaign trail in midterm election years have a poor track record, especially when their job approval is underwater, @billscher reports. washingtonmonthly.com/2026/1…

French student protesters are animated by more than their legitimate concerns about deteriorating schools, @gillenTmartin reports from Paris. washingtonmonthly.com/2026/1…

Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko was in Brussels on September 28 when a Russian drone flew into the National Academy of Sciences, one of the country’s leading research institutes and a symbol of Ukrainian identity. “Moscow’s new strategy of round-the-clock bombardment of civilian targets was already more than a month old, but the strike, which killed two academy employees, still came as a shock,” Kyiv-based Monthly contributor Tamar Jacoby writes. “The elegant 19th-century building in the center of Kyiv burst into flames, and a huge cloud of black smoke billowed from the open roof as terrified researchers inched out onto window ledges before climbing down ladders to the street.” “War is longer, war is harder,” Marchenko explained to his audience in Belgium. “Russian jet drones are destroying our logistics, our retail storage, our refueling stations, our data centers.” Tax and customs revenues are falling short of expectations, and Kyiv will need more help than anticipated to get through the winter, not to mention the year ahead. “For many in the minister’s audience in Brussels, it isn’t a question of whether to help, but how—where to find the money,” Jacoby continues. Unlike President Donald Trump, who moved last week to lift sanctions on Russian diesel exports, Europe is determined to stand with Ukraine and keep the pressure on Moscow. But after nearly five years of fighting, Europeans are running out of options, which is why the debate is circling back again to an idea proposed and rejected several times in the past—leveraging the Russian Central Bank assets held in European financial institutions. Read online: tinyurl.com/356uwcp3

The bipartisan permitting reform bill would lower electricity costs and speed the green energy transition by targeting recalcitrant utilities, @klowmn writes. washingtonmonthly.com/2026/1…