Nation: Brittany Maynard, the terminally ill 29-year-old woman who moved to Oregon to be legally able to end her life, died Saturday. Her announcement that she would kill herself to end her suffering Nov. 1, just two days after her husband’s birthday, made her fodder for morning television and tabloid news. Struggling with an aggressive malignant brain tumor, Maynard had become an advocate for the right to die with dignity.

In a final posting on Facebook she wrote, “Goodbye to all my dear friends and family that I love. Today is the day I have chosen to pass away with dignity in the face of my terminal illness, this terrible brain cancer that has taken so much from me … but would have taken so much more.”

Elections: President Obama’s unpopularity may be creating a fatal drag for Congressional Democrats.One day before midterm elections, the FiveThirtyEight blog says the question may no longer be whether Republicans take the Senate, but how much of a majority they gain. The blog says Republicans are on track to win the minimum six seats for a majority, but they might end up winning eight. Georgia and Louisiana appear to be headed to runoffs, which could leave things undecided until early next year.

Private Space: Investigators are looking at a combination of possible pilot error and structural failure that caused the crash of SpaceShipTwo into the Mojave desert. A little too early in the flight, pilot Michael Alsbury unlocked the feathering tail booms that create drag, bringing the plane gently back to earth. The booms deployed before Alsbury moved a second handle and smoments later the spacecraft broke up. The crash is an enormous setback for billionaire Richard Branson’s effort to establish space tourism.

World: A gate at the Dachau death camp outside Munich bearing the infamous slogan “Arbeit Macht Frei” (Work Makes You Free) has been stolen. As many as 40,000 people were worked and put to death in Dachau during World War II. A similar sign was stolen from Auschwitz-Birkenau in 2009 and later found cut into three pieces.

> At least 24 people are dead and many more missing after the sinking of a migrant boat in the Bosphorus where it meets the Black Sea. The refugees may have been trying to reach Romania.

The Sports Page: Kenyan runners Wilson Kipsang and Mary Keitany took first place yesterday on a chilly and windy day in the New York City Marathon. In a fight to the finish, Keitany’s time was just three seconds faster than fellow Kenyan Jemima Jelagat Sumgong. In the men’s race, after a little bit of arm contact with Ethiopian Lelisa Desisa, Kipsang sprinted to the finish to win his first New York, and third major marathon victory in two years.

The Sports Politics Page: An estimated 3,200 protesters gathered at the Minnesota Vikings’ stadium yesterday demanding that Washington’s NFL team drop the name “Redskins.” Many of the demonstrators were American Indians, some of whom chanted, “We are not mascots!” The Redskins’ owner Daniel Snyder has vowed he will not change the name.

Mail Early: Retailers and shipping companies say they are preparing for a deluge of online shopping this Christmas; $89 billion worth, up 13 percent from last year. Just hearing it fills you with Christmas spirit.

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