At least two of the five people charged in the federal corruption scandal involving former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder were set to finalize plea deals with prosecutors Thursday.

The federal court docket in the case listed plea agreements for Juan Cespedes and Jeffrey Longstreth, though the documents were not yet accessible. Attorney Mark Collins, representing Juan Cespedes, said a court hearing for his client would take place today.

Hearings were set for 2 p.m.Thursday for Cespedes and 3 p.m. for Longstreth, with court docket entries noting plea intents for both. Both also filed waivers to appear via video or teleconference in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.

Other details were not yet available, though a source close to the investigation told The Dispatch that Longstreth and Cespedes would plead guilty to one count each of racketeering, punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Philadelphia has become the latest flashpoint in the national debate over police violence. Since the killing of William Wallace Jr. on Monday, the city has seen prayerful protests, as well as looting and attacks on police.

As it happens, Philadelphia residents already have one potential policy response on the docket. On Tuesday, citizens there will vote on whether to create a civilian review board. “We have the opportunity to create a Citizens Police Oversight Commission, with more authority to investigate citizens’ complaints — a question on the Nov. 3 ballot,” says Darrell Clarke, president of the Philadelphia city council.

Civilian review boards are not a new idea, but they’ve gained renewed currency since the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., in 2014. In addition to Philadelphia, measures to create or expand the power of civilian review boards are on the ballot in Pittsburgh, San Francisco, San Diego, Columbus, Ohio, Portland, Ore., and a number of smaller cities. Other types of oversight entities could be created or empowered in Oakland, San Jose and Sonoma County, Calif., and King County, Wash., which includes Seattle.

For civilian review boards to be effective, they have to be provided with staff and resources and true independence — not be overseen by former police chiefs, says Olugbenga Ajilore, an economist at the Center for American Progress who has studied civilian review boards.

On the eve of the final debate for US Senator from Maine, Democratic challenger Sara Gideon has a nominal 2-point, ever-so-slight advantage over lightning-rod incumbent Republican Susan Collins, 51% to 49%, using the state of Maine's new Ranked Choice Voting selection process to calculate voters' intentions. SurveyUSA's research was conducted exclusively for FairVote.

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Statewide, Biden defeats Trump 53% to 40% at this hour, 5 days until votes are counted. Because Biden is above 50% on 1st choice, no ranking needs to be done. Biden immediately receives 2 of the state's electoral votes.

Officials then look to see who won each of Maine's 2 US Congressional Districts, with an additional 1 electoral college vote awarded to the candidate who carries each district. Maine's 1st district (ME-01), is in the southern, densely populated part of the state, and typically is more left-leaning than Maine's 2nd district, which is much larger geographically because it is largely rural. In 2020, on 1st ballot, Biden carries ME-01, 59% to 35%. In 2016, although ME-01 voted for the Democrat Clinton, ME-02 voted for the Republican Trump. Can Trump count on an electoral vote from ME-02 in 2020?

http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=b3c59e14-b400-40ad-919c-1f42ca3ae8b6

PPP’s newest Georgia poll finds Jon Ossoff right on the cusp of avoiding a runoff in his race against David Perdue. Ossoff is at 47% to 44% for Perdue with Libertarian Shane Hazel at 3%. Ossoff’s 3 point lead represents an improvement from PPP’s last poll, which had him ahead 44-43. The main change in the dynamics of the race seems to be a decline in Perdue’s approval numbers in the wake of his racist comments about Kamala Harris at a recent rally- before that incident he had a 41/46 approval spread but that has now declined to 39/49.

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In Georgia’s other Senate race Raphael Warnock continues to grow his support and is now at 46% to 27% for Kelly Loeffler, 19% for Doug Collins, and 2% for Matt Lieberman. Warnock is a popular candidate with a net +21 favorability rating at 48/27. By contrast both the Republicans are unpopular- Loeffler has a 30/48 approval spread and Collins has a 26/40 favorability.

In the Presidential race Joe Biden is at 48% to 46% for Donald Trump. The generational divide in the Presidential race continues to suggest that this year may usher in Georgia being a key battleground state for years to come- Biden is up 53/39 with voters under 45 and 51/44 with voters between 46 and 65 and the only thing keeping Trump in the ballpark is a 60/36 advantage with seniors.

https://www.publicpolicypolling.com/polls/georgia-trending-well-for-democrats/

THE COUNTRY that elected Donald Trump in 2016 was unhappy and divided. The country he is asking to re-elect him is more unhappy and more divided. After almost four years of his leadership, politics is even angrier than it was and partisanship even less constrained. Daily life is consumed by a pandemic that has registered almost 230,000 deaths amid bickering, buck-passing and lies. Much of that is Mr Trump’s doing, and his victory on November 3rd would endorse it all.

Joe Biden is not a miracle cure for what ails America. But he is a good man who would restore steadiness and civility to the White House. He is equipped to begin the long, difficult task of putting a fractured country back together again. That is why, if we had a vote, it would go to Joe.

Mr Trump has fallen short less in his role as the head of America’s government than as the head of state. He and his administration can claim their share of political wins and losses, just like administrations before them. But as the guardian of America’s values, the conscience of the nation and America’s voice in the world, he has dismally failed to measure up to the task.

Without covid-19, Mr Trump’s policies could well have won him a second term. His record at home includes tax cuts, deregulation and the appointment of benchloads of conservative judges. Before the pandemic, wages among the poorest quarter of workers were growing by 4.7% a year. Small-business confidence was near a 30-year peak. By restricting immigration, he gave his voters what they wanted. Abroad, his disruptive approach has brought some welcome change. America has hammered Islamic State and brokered peace deals between Israel and a trio of Muslim countries. Some allies in NATO are at last spending more on defence. China’s government knows that the White House now recognises it as a formidable adversary.

Joe Biden's team is spending tens of millions of dollars on a national digital ad campaign in the final days before Election Day — but highlighting a plethora of voters from Pennsylvania in particular, underscoring how critically important the state is.

Why it matters: Biden's team is betting that COVID-19 is on the ballot, and amplifying the stories of those affected by the pandemic with an emphasis on persuading voters in key battlegrounds to support the former VP.

Driving the news: Through Friday, Biden's team will have three ads in rotation on the YouTube homepage masthead as a national component to their closing ad campaign.

In addition, they're trying to reach at least eight subsets of the electorate across 16 states: AZ, FL, MI, NC, PA, WI, MN, NV, CO, IA, GA, OH, NH, VA, TX, NE-2.