Politics: Democratic hopes of winning Senate fade as Trump proves less toxic for Republicans

Casino lobby braces for life without Harry Reid; 5 things to watch at the presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump; House conservatives offer measure to extend spending bill into 2017; Stronger protections for VA whistleblowers included in bill to keep government open; ‘Contraception deserts’ are what you get when you cut off this little-known federal program; Sanders to join Clinton in N.H. for joint pitch of a college plan aimed at millennials; Trump, Clinton meet separately with Netanyahu in New York; Trump's reference to Bill Clinton affair underscores his own history of infidelity; Hillary Clinton’s aides studied Trump’s personality to prepare her for the debate; A huge moment for Clinton and Trump at first of three debates; Rep. Marsha Blackburn: A ‘thin blue line’ is all that stands between us, order and anarchy; Kellyanne Conway just criticized Obama’s response to Trump claims about black Americans; Kaine, Pence testify to running mates’ character on eve of general-election debate; Poll: Clinton, Trump in virtual dead heat on eve of first debate;   The most important politics stories today   Democratic hopes of winning Senate fade as Trump proves less toxic for Republicans The significant shift in the Senate battlefield appears to be the result of voters separating Trump from Republicans running on the same ballot with him. By Mike DeBonis  •  PowerPost  •  Read more » Casino lobby braces for life without Harry Reid "We've had a gift in Harry Reid," said Jan Jones Blackhurst, executive vice president of government relations at Caesars. By Catherine Ho  •  PowerPost  •  Read more »   CONTENT FROM BP Oil's new safety tools Robots and drones could keep an eye out for oil workers. 5 things to watch at the presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump By Robert Costa and Philip Rucker  •  Post Politics  •  Read more »   House conservatives offer measure to extend spending bill into 2017 They plan to introduce an amendment that would automatically extend the stop-gap spending bill to Jan. 18 if negotiators fail to reach an agreement by the December deadline, according to a copy of the amendment obtained by The Post. By Kelsey Snell  •  PowerPost  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Stronger protections for VA whistleblowers included in bill to keep government open The bill to head off a partial government shutdown seeks to better shield those who disclose misconduct, punish those who retaliate against them. By Eric Yoder  •  PowerPost  •  Read more »   ‘Contraception deserts’ are what you get when you cut off this little-known federal program State politics can restrict reproductive health care in more ways than we may realize. By Rebecca Kreitzer and Candis Watts Smith  •  Monkey Cage  •  Read more »   Sanders to join Clinton in N.H. for joint pitch of a college plan aimed at millennials The runner-up in the primaries is trying to boost the nominee's support among young voters. By John Wagner  •  Post Politics  •  Read more »   Trump, Clinton meet separately with Netanyahu in New York The press was not granted access to either meeting. By Jose A. DelReal and Anne Gearan  •  Post Politics  •  Read more »   Trump's reference to Bill Clinton affair underscores his own history of infidelity Some say suggesting Hillary Clinton is somehow to blame will hurt Trump with women. By Mary Jordan  •  Read more »   Hillary Clinton’s aides studied Trump’s personality to prepare her for the debate By Abby Phillip  •  Post Politics  •  Read more » A huge moment for Clinton and Trump at first of three debates A record audience is expected to tune in, amid great uncertainty about what they'll see. By John Wagner, Jose A. DelReal and Abby Phillip  •  Read more »   Rep. Marsha Blackburn: A ‘thin blue line’ is all that stands between us, order and anarchy The Trump surrogate also believes "stop-and-frisk" is essential to public safety. By Janell Ross  •  Post Politics  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Kellyanne Conway just criticized Obama’s response to Trump claims about black Americans Trump had said last week that "our African American communities are absolutely in the worst shape they've ever been in before. Ever, ever, ever." By Janell Ross  •  Post Politics  •  Read more »   Kaine, Pence testify to running mates’ character on eve of general-election debate But lots of voters do not believe them. By Janell Ross  •  Post Politics  •  Read more »   Poll: Clinton, Trump in virtual dead heat on eve of first debate Clinton's August advantage has been erased, but doubts about Trump's readiness remain. By Dan Balz and Scott Clement  •  Read more »   Recommended for you   5-Minute Fix Keeping up with politics is easy now, three days a week. Sign Up »         Share Politics:       Twitter      Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you are signed up for Politics PM. For additional free newsletters or to manage your newsletters, click here. We respect your privacy. If you believe that this email has been sent to you in error or you no longer wish to receive email from The Washington Post, click here. 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