Wednesday's Headlines: Signs of a ‘difficult fight’ ahead for ISIS-held Mosul

Poll: Clear advantage for Clinton in battleground states; FBI official at center of alleged Clinton email 'quid pro quo' speaks out; Rubio, once a shoo-in for reelection, fights anti-Trump tide; First lady shimmers in Versace at the Obamas' final state dinner; Will driverless cars really save millions of lives? Lack of data makes it hard to know.;   The morning's most important stories, selected by Post editors   Top Stories Signs of a 'difficult fight' ahead for ISIS-held Mosul The Islamic State seemed to spare no effort to defend its territory, arming its fighters with explosives or crude mortar launchers as Kurdish forces advanced in northern Iraq. The arsenal ultimately failed to protect the militants but tied up Iraqi soldiers for the better part of the day. By Kareem Fahim and Loveday Morris  •  Read more » Poll: Clear advantage for Clinton in battleground states Hillary Clinton holds a decisive advantage over Donald Trump in the race for votes in the electoral college, leading in enough states to put her comfortably over the 270 majority needed to win in November, according to a new SurveyMonkey poll of 15 battleground states conducted with The Washington Post. By Dan Balz and Scott Clement  •  Read more »   FBI official at center of alleged Clinton email 'quid pro quo' speaks out Brian McCauley, who acknowledged he offered to do a favor in exchange for another, said once he realized a State Department official wanted him to change the classification of an email about Benghazi, he immediately said no. By Matt Zapotosky  •  Read more »   Rubio, once a shoo-in for reelection, fights anti-Trump tide Had the primaries gone another way, Marco Rubio might be the GOP nominee for president. Instead, he is running for the Senate again in Florida — and trying to protect a lead as Donald Trump brings rubble down around him. By David Weigel  •  Read more »   First lady shimmers in Versace at the Obamas' final state dinner Michelle Obama wore a custom rose-gold, slinky chain-mail gown from Atelier Versace that oozed pure Hollywood glamour. The choice, of course, pays homage to Italy, one of the world capitals of fashion at a time when that country's industry is ascendant. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi was the dinner's guest of honor. By Robin Givhan  •  Read more »   Will driverless cars really save millions of lives? Lack of data makes it hard to know. The U.S. government doesn't keep a comprehensive database of crashes, so it is difficult to figure out which vehicles are more likely to crash — human-driven ones or those run by software and sensors. By Michael Laris and Ashley Halsey III  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Opinions   Elizabeth Warren: Trump didn't invent the 'rigged election' myth. Republicans did. By Elizabeth Warren  •  Read more »   Trump supporters are talking about civil war. Could a loss provide the spark? By Dana Milbank  •  Read more »   How Trump could still win By Kathleen Parker  •  Read more »   Trump is rigging the election: No matter who wins, America loses By Editorial Board  •  Read more »   America's election is giving the world some serious anxiety By David Ignatius  •  Read more »   The biggest disruption to journalism since the printing press By Jonathan Capehart  •  Read more » ADVERTISEMENT   More News   Ecuador cuts off Internet access for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange Ecuadorian officials said it had made a "sovereign decision" to unplug Assange temporarily, given that his organization's recent document releases have had a 'major impact' on the U.S. presidential election. By Nick Miroff  •  Read more » Police van in the Philippines rams protesters in front of U.S. Embassy The violence happened as hundreds of protesters gathered to demand an end to the presence of U.S. troops in the country and to back a call for an independent foreign policy by President Rodrigo Duterte. By Bullit Marquez and Bogie Calupitan | AP  •  Read more » Fear of an imminent terrorist attack runs deep around the world A multinational poll found a majority of people think governments aren't doing enough to tackle extremism. By Carol Morello  •  Read more » Can you rig a U.S. presidential election? Experts say it's basically impossible. Donald Trump has claimed that the election will be stolen from him because it is "rigged." But ensuring a particular outcome would require the two major parties to collude at every level. By Sari Horwitz  •  Read more » Fact Checker: Trump's claim of 'collusion' by the FBI and State Department Trump alleges collusion but a review of the FBI documents shows there is much less than meets the eye. By Glenn Kessler  •  Read more » Trump's debate guests: Estranged Obama relative, mom of slain Benghazi official A senior campaign staffer confirmed that the two would attend the debate, and more surprise guests may be disclosed on the day of the debate. By Jose A. DelReal  •  Read more » What they said, what they meant Sign up to have The Fix's Aaron Blake text you the highlights of the final debate as it unfolds Wednesday night. Read more » From building wells to building armies: What's in the U.S. foreign assistance budget? The State and Defense departments and a slew of other agencies will hand out $42 billion in 2017. But where does it all go? By Max Bearak and Lazaro Gamio  •  Read more » Escaping North Korea for a life of online sex acts Thousands of North Korean women who have been sold to Chinese husbands are forced to try to make money behind closed doors, only to hope they can someday flee to Thailand or South Korea. By Anna Fifield  •  Read more » Pentagon's massive new telescope is designed to track space junk and watch out for killer asteroids The Space Surveillance Telescope will help the Air Force track bits of debris as small as a softball in an environment that has become "contested, congested and competitive." By Christian Davenport  •  Read more » The Raiders may love Las Vegas. It's less clear if the NFL feels the same. Public funding for a Vegas stadium is in place, and the team's owner is eager for such a move. But it would need to be ratified by the rest of the league's owners, and there are concerns about gambling and the size of the market. By Mark Maske  •  Read more »         Share Today's Headlines:       Twitter      Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you are signed up for Headlines. For additional free newsletters or to manage your newsletters, click here. We respect your privacy. If you believe that this email has been sent to you in error or you no longer wish to receive email from The Washington Post, click here. Contact us for help. ©2016 The Washington Post, 1301 K St NW, Washington DC 20071