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.

Peter Baker, our chief White House correspondent, reports from Oslo, where Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, met with President Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff.

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.

As the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran continues, it’s being felt in a wider region. Eric Schmitt, a national security correspondent at The New York Times, explains how the conflict is reaching U.S. bases and why the United States is pulling back its military presence in some locations.