Today's Times
- More than 160 million Americans will probably see their tax bills jump after Jan. 1, regardless of who wins the election, Annie Lowrey reports. A tax break that the White House rallied for last winter now finds little support in Washington as Congress struggles with budget deficits.
- As President Obama continues to prepare for the debate against Mitt Romney on Wednesday, his aides have been left to battle criticism about the White House's handling of the September attack in Benghazi, Libya, Mark Landler writes.
- Though history shows that candidates have different ways to score in presidential debates and change voters' minds, only twice have the face-offs appeared to shift the election's outcome, John Harwood writes.
- Heidi Heitkamp, a Democratic Senate candidate in conservative North Dakota, has given the state its first competitive election since 1986 and p robably its nastiest in modern history, Jonathan Weisman reports. She is so well liked, even the National Republican Senatorial Committee conceded that Ms. Heitkamp is making real headway.
- One survivor of the movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colo. is trying to get the presidential candidates to address the touchy issue of guns and gun violence ahead of the November election, Erica Goode reports. Though both candidates once backed gun control measures, any discussion of how to prevent gun violence has been noticeably absent in the presidential campaign.
- The ABC show “Dancing With the Stars†draws a constituency that both Democrats and Republicans covet, with nearly every major player in the presidential campaign advertising during the commercials, Jeremy W. Peters reports.
Happenings in Washington
- The Supreme Court will begin its 2012-2013 term.
- For the anniversary of the Occupy Movement, protester s in Washington will begin a week of events in Freedom Plaza.
- Former Tuskegee airmen will host a discussion at the Ford's Theater.
