After Russia released an American prisoner, President Trump’s special envoy praised President Vladimir V. Putin as “a humanitarian.” Our White House and national security correspondent, David E. Sanger, describes how the release comes amid Mr. Trump’s broader shift toward Russia and away from Ukraine.

Lisa Lerer, a national political correspondent, travels to a cattle auction in Calhan, Colo., to see if economic anxieties are affecting the loyalty of rural voters to the Republican Party.

This quarter’s campaign finance report shows that the world’s richest man is the top political donor of this midterm election. Our reporter Theodore Schleifer explains how Elon Musk came back from a brief rift with President Trump and Republicans to become a central player in the party’s campaign to hold Congress.

Many unaccompanied minors are facing deportation hearings without a lawyer because of the Trump administration’s dispute with an organization that helps provide legal representation to thousands of migrant children. Our national reporter Jazmine Ulloa explains. Read more: https://nyti.ms/3TJaBEB

The Supreme Court is starting its new term already mired in election disputes. Our reporter Ann E. Marimow explains why the court is likely to get pulled into even more of these cases.