Politics

CNBC reports: Controversial lawyer Michael Avenatti announced Tuesday he will not run for president in 2020. Avenatti, who first gained fame and infamy for his representation of porn star Stormy Daniels in multiple legal cases involving President Donald Trump, said, “I do not make this decision lightly — I make it out of respect for my family.” “But for their …

Politico reports: The federal government and large portions of the country’s financial sector will be closed on Wednesday for a day of mourning following the death of President George H. W. Bush. It will be the first day of mourning for a former president since 2007 following Gerald Ford’s death. The U.S. Postal Service: Some package services will still be …

Reuters reports: U.S. President Donald Trump is building a new world order upheld by American leadership and democracy, his secretary of state told diplomats at an event in Brussels on Tuesday, blaming Iran and China for instability in the world. “In the finest traditions of our great democracy, we are rallying the noble nations to build a new liberal order …

Mediaite reports: George Conway’s criticism of President Donald Trump (also known in the Conway household as wife Kellyanne Conway’s boss) continues unabated. The most recent example is his apparent re-tweeting of a remarkably harsh defense of his behavior after criticism by Trump’s son Eric. Mr. Conway has become a more vocal critic of the White House, going so far to …

“I’ll be as straight with you as I can. I think I’m the most qualified person in the country to be president. The issues that we face as a country today are the issues that have been in my wheelhouse, that I’ve worked on my whole life. No one should run for the job unless they believe that they would …

Agence France-Presse reports: The French government plans to announce Tuesday the suspension of fuel tax increases slated for January in a bid to quell the fierce protests which have ballooned into the deepest crisis of Emmanuel Macron’s presidency, sources said. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe will also unveil other measures to help boost the living standards of low-income households, the government …

The Washington Post reports: The family of former president George H.W. Bush has planned a state funeral that will steer clear of the kind of anti-Trump sentiment evident at the recent funeral of Sen. John McCain, according to people familiar with the funeral planning. The Bush family contacted the White House this past summer to say that President Trump would …

Charlotte’s ABC affiliate reports: Channel 9 was back in Bladen County, North Carolina Monday, tracking down people involved in the controversy surrounding mail-in-absentee ballots in the U.S. House District 9 election. The state refused to officially declare Republican Mark Harris the winner over Democrat Dan McCready, looking into potential wrongdoing in the election. What Channel 9 found appears to be …

The Los Angeles Times reports: Zero Republicans hold statewide office. Democrats enjoy a supermajority in the California Assembly and the state Senate. In races for the U.S. Senate, Republican candidates can’t even make it to the general election, now that the top two vote-getters in primary contests advance regardless of party. And when the House of Representatives reconvenes, the California …

Roll Call reports: Republicans in North Carolina are pressuring the state elections board there to certify the 9th District results, even as officials continue to investigate irregularities in absentee voting. Officials are collecting sworn statements from voters in Bladen and Robeson Counties about people who went door to door collecting absentee ballots, even if they were not complete. It is …

Reuters reports: Former President George H.W. Bush will be eulogized by his son, former President George W. Bush, along with a mix of family and friends on Wednesday at the Washington National Cathedral, the most high-profile event in a week of proceedings that will remember the remarkable life of the president who died on Friday at 94. Along with his …

The Asbury Park Press reports: Donald Trump voters, the Boss feels your pain. Bruce Springsteen credited, or blamed, the rise in popularity of populist Trump that resulted in his becoming president on the loss of jobs, technical innovations and a rapid pace of change in the country that’s been unaddressed by both Democrats and Republicans. “I think that there are …

The Associated Press reports: An insurgent underdog no more, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is laying the groundwork to launch a bigger presidential campaign than his first, as advisers predict he would open the 2020 Democratic presidential primary season as a political powerhouse. A final decision has not been made, but those closest to the 77-year-old self-described democratic socialist suggest that …

CNN reports: The late former president George H.W. Bush’s final flights on Air Force One will be called “Special Mission 41,” Bush’s spokesman said Sunday. By tradition, the plane is only called Air Force One when the president is on board. President Donald Trump will not be traveling on the aircraft, so the plane has been redesignated and renamed to …

The Tampa Bay Times reports: Newly elected congressman Ross Spano has acknowledged that his campaign financing “may have been in violation” of federal law. In a filing with the Federal Elections Commission which Spano released publicly Saturday afternoon, he acknowledged borrowing $180,000 from two people he has described as personal friends from June through October this year, and then lending …

The San Francisco Chronicle reports: California Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris has long been rumored to be considering running a presidential campaign in 2020, but on Sunday, the first-term senator finally gave a timeline as to when she’ll make her decision. Harris took part in the Know Your Value conference in San Francisco, and in an onstage talk with “Morning Joe” …

Politico reports: President Donald Trump and congressional leaders are getting ready to punt on a major shutdown fight over Trump’s border wall for at least a week. The president said he would back a two-week delay of a government shutdown battle after the death of former President George H.W. Bush. Government funding expires on Dec. 7 for several departments, including …

Axios reports: Former FBI Director James Comey tweeted Sunday that he had reached a deal to take part in a hearing with House Republicans behind closed doors but with the ability to release a transcript the next day, stating the deal was ” the closest I can get to public testimony.” Comey had been subpoenaed by House Republicans to discuss …

ABC News reports: The leading Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said Sunday on “This Week” that there is now a witness in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, President Donald Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen, who he said confirms that “the president and his business are compromised.” “There is now testimony, there is now a witness, who confirms that in …

The Associated Press reports: France’s most violent urban riot in more than a decade engulfed some of central Paris on Saturday as “yellow jacket” activists torched cars, smashed windows, looted stores and tagged the Arc de Triomphe with multi-colored graffiti. Protesters angry about rising taxes and the high cost of living clashed with French riot police, who closed off some …