The Boys of November: The Mets’ Michael Conforto, who started the season in the minor leagues, hit two home runs last night and would have been the hero if his team hadn’t fallen apart in the top of the 8th …

Permawar: The US is sending what is described as a small number of special operations troops to Syria to advise so-called “moderate” rebel forces. Administration officials say the troops are not supposed to get involved in front line combat, but …

Mr. Speaker: Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan was elected Speaker of the House yesterday, a job he didn’t really want, taking over for John Boehner who was hogtied and rolled out by the far right wing. Ryan is the 54th Speaker …

Entertainment Last Night: The World Series bumped up against the Republican debate last night in an evening of pitches, hits, strikes, attacks, and misses. Neither changes the fate of the world, so, in baseball, the Kansas City Royals routed the …

Nation: The Justice Department says it will investigate an incident in which a white sheriff’s deputy flipped and dragged an uncooperative black girl while other students captured the moment on video at a South Carolina high school. The girl at …

Budget Deal: Republican congressional leaders and President Obama have reached a tentative two-year budget agreement that would increase spending, trim some major social programs, and raise the federal borrowing limit. If it succeeds, it represents compromise and a break in …

World: Russian submarines and spy ships have been lurking near the undersea cables that carry world Internet traffic, making the US worry that Russia would attack fiber-optic lines in a time of outright conflict. The NY Times reports that the …

Testing One, Two: The Obama administration is reversing education policy of recent years, now saying there’s too much emphasis on testing in public schools. The Administration is calling upon Congress to “reduce over-testing” and have no more than 2 percent …

Weather Report: The category 5 Hurricane Patricia, described as the strongest storm ever to hit the Western Hemisphere, made landfall on Mexico’s southwest Pacific coast last night. Winds of 160 mph carrying heavy rain caused tree falls and landslides. The …

Truth: Republican inquisitors wore out their knuckles on Hillary Clinton yesterday during 11-hours of questioning about the 2012 attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Clinton remained smiling and calm throughout while Democrat and Republican committee members turned on …