Tulsa World reports: Former state Sen. Ralph Shortey has agreed to plead guilty to a child sex trafficking offense for offering to pay a 17-year-old boy for sexual “stuff” last March. In exchange for his guilty plea, federal prosecutors have agreed to drop three child pornography counts against him. A jury trial for Shorty had been set to begin Dec. …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Saturday invited his former Democratic presidential rival to try again in 2020. He attacked Hillary Clinton as “the worst (and biggest) loser of all time” in a tweet. Trump has said that he wants Clinton to run against him again in 2020, but she claims that her career “as an active politician” is “over.” …

The Birmingham News reports: Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said today she plans to vote for Roy Moore in the Dec. 12 election for the U.S. Senate despite allegations of Moore’s sexual encounters with teenage girls about 40 years ago, which Moore has adamantly denied. “I believe in the Republican Party, what we stand for, and most important, we need to …

WHOA. The Washington Post reports: On a fall evening two years ago, donors gathered during a conference at a Ritz-Carlton hotel near Washington to raise funds for a 31-year-old candidate for the Ohio legislature who was a rising star in evangelical politics. Hours later, upstairs in a hotel guest room, an 18-year-old college student who had come to the event …

NBC News reports: The Roy Moore scandal has unleashed a torrent of online donations to Democrat Doug Jones, who was collecting around $250,000 per day in its immediate aftermath, according to two sources familiar with the matter who spoke to NBC News on condition of anonymity. Democrats may end up in the unlikely situation of dramatically outspending the GOP in …

Kyle Mantyla reports at Right Wing Watch: A weeping Jim Bakker brought one of his grandchildren on to his program today to beg people to stock up on his buckets of End Times survival food so that they can avoid taking the Mark of the Beast when all hell breaks loose if Democrats manage to kill President Trump and/or regain …

Talking Points Memo reports: White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Friday once again refused to say whether President Donald Trump believed the accusations against U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore. Asked about Moore, Sanders pointed to a statement the White House released last week, when revelations of sexual misconduct against Moore were first published in the Washington Post. When …

We thought the RWNJs already were boycotting. The New York Daily News reports: Another year, another stink over Starbucks holiday cups. This time the controversy comes from the festive containers’ “gay agenda.” The brew-ha-ha stems from the fact that the cup might show two clasped same-sex hands. The video promoting the coffee giant’s holiday cups features characters of various ages, …

Mediaite reports: White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders takes the podium for the daily briefing on Friday afternoon. And based upon the events of the past 24 hours, one can pretty well guess the dominant line of inquiry from the White House press corps. Late Thursday night, President Donald Trump — apparently unable to help himself — weighed in …

Cleveland.com reports: Ohio Supreme Court Justice Bill O’Neill, a Democratic candidate for governor, apparently trying to head off any criticisms from his opponents, revealed his sexual escapades over the years on a Facebook post. A post on O’Neill’s official Facebook said he was speaking up “on behalf of all heterosexual males” after allegations against Democratic U.S. Sen. Al Franken came …

NPR reports: The Rev. Jesse Jackson has announced that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, saying that he first noticed symptoms “about three years ago.” Jackson, 76, released the news in what he called an update “on my health and the future.” The longtime political and social activist, who was part of Martin Luther King Jr.’s inner circle in …

Kayla Moore appeared at a Women For Moore rally in Alabama just now to attack the media, the DNC, the Human Rights Campaign, and anybody else who objects to her husband’s hatred of “transgender bathrooms” and “transgenders in the military.” There was the usual blather about “God-given rights” and other Christianist tropes, but most are keying in on Kayla’s assertion …

Reuters reports: A tearful Menendez thanked God, his family and the jurors outside the courthouse in Newark, New Jersey, as well as two senators who testified on his behalf as character witnesses, Democrat Cory Booker and Republican Lindsey Graham. “The way this case started was wrong,” said Menendez, flanked by his grown children. “The way it was investigated was wrong. …

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is in the final flailing days of his term and Politico has published a lengthy exit interview of sorts. This might be the most interesting bit: Christie’s generous interpretation of Trump’s treatment of him even extends to his own ouster. Two days after Trump’s surprise win, Steve Bannon and Christie were seen arguing for several …

Seattle’s NBC affiliate reports: Officials with the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island said one of their aircraft was involved in the obscene skywritings spotted in Okanogan County. Photos sent to KREM 2 by multiple sources show skydrawings of what some people are saying is male genitalia. Some sources have even tweeted pictures of what they saw. A mother who lives …

“Al Franken was a new news story yesterday and the president weighs in as he does on the news of the day. The Roy Moore story is eight days old. The president put out a statement on his Asia trip and the press secretary says the people of Alabama will sort out what to do with Roy Moore.” – Propaganda …

The Hill reports: Investors and customers of the Trump Ocean Club International Hotel and Tower in Panama City carried deep ties to organized crime and drug trafficking, according to an NBC News and Reuters joint investigation. A Brazillian real estate salesman who partnered with the Trumps to attract condo buyers for the tower told NBC that the Trumps and others …

The Daily Beast reports: According to a knowledgeable Fox News source, Simmons showed up on the 14th floor to do a book-plugging interview with FoxNews.com’s entertainment section, but instead barged in on a staff meeting uninvited. “Hey chicks, sue me!” he shouted, and then pulled open his red velvet shirt to reveal his chest and belly, according to the source. …

The West Australian reports: Margaret Court says she is inclined to end her 50-year association with the Liberals over same-sex marriage, believing the major parties are presiding over the nation’s moral decline. The tennis legend and pastor, who is married to former WA Liberal president Barry Court, urged politicians who were personally opposed to same-sex marriage to follow their conscience …

CBS News reports: A shouting match erupted in the Senate Finance hearing over the Republican tax overhaul, with Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown and Utah Republican Orrin Hatch arguing Thursday night over who benefits from the GOP plan. At the heart of the argument is new analysis by congressional number crunchers that finds this plan cuts taxes at first but by …