The Associated Press reports: At least 63 people are now dead from a Northern California wildfire, and officials say they have a missing persons list with 631 names on it in an ever-evolving accounting of the victims of the nation’s deadliest wildfire in a century. The high number of missing people probably includes some who fled the blaze and don’t …

“While we are watching millions of illegal immigrants cross our borders, and many of them voting in the past election that’s what, just a couple weeks ago, and having an immense impact. If there are, as Yale and MIT say, 20 to 30 million illegal immigrants already in this country, know what that means for the districts of the U.S. …

The Washington Post reports: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been charged under seal, prosecutors inadvertently revealed in a recently unsealed court filing — a development that could significantly advance the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election and have major implications for those who publish government secrets. The disclosure came in a filing in a case unrelated to Assange. …

Tallahassee’s ABC affiliate reports: A Florida man who was caught on camera allegedly putting a white bodily fluid into a co-worker’s water is facing new felony charges for poisoning. Robert Tyson, 62, is now charged with two counts of poisoning water with intent to kill or injure. He was booked into the Leon County Detention Center on Tuesday and freed …

The Associated Press reports: Democrat Katie Porter has seized a Republican-held U.S. House seat in the heart of Southern California’s Reagan country. Thursday’s vote count update in Orange County gave Porter, a law professor, the upset over Republican Rep. Mimi Walters in the 45th District. Porter has 51 percent and leads by 6,203 votes. Democrats now have won five GOP …

From Pat Robertson’s CBN News: As a battle wages for the soul of America, the D. James Kennedy Center for Christian Statesmanship is working to prepare Christians to serve as public policy shapers and decision makers. “It’s very interesting for me to be able to hear, ‘Well, if you come from a biblical worldview, you know, really that’s a ministry …

The Wall Street Journal reports: The Justice Department is preparing to prosecute WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and is increasingly optimistic it will be able to get him into a U.S. courtroom, according to people in Washington familiar with the matter. Over the past year, U.S. prosecutors have discussed several types of charges they could potentially bring against Mr. Assange, the …

The Miami Herald reports: An unprecedented statewide hand recount is now under way in the Sunshine State, further extending a high-stakes, partisan battle over every last vote in Florida’s crucial U.S. Senate race. Following a five-day machine recount of the more than 8.3 million votes cast in the Nov. 6 elections, Secretary of State Ken Detzner ordered hand recounts Thursday …

“Looking out the window, I saw that beyond the gates on Pennsylvania Avenue, a big crowd of people had gathered in the summer dusk to see the lights. The north drive was filled with government staff who’d stayed late to see the White House transformed in celebration of marriage equality. The decision had touched so many people. From where I …

CNN reports: Nancy Pelosi continued to express confidence on Thursday that she will become House Speaker in the next Congress, despite the fact that her detractors are growing more outspoken in their criticism of the long-time Democratic leader and Rep. Marcia Fudge publicly weighs a potential challenge against her. Pelosi downplayed the possibility that Fudge could enter the speakers’ race …

Politico reports: The Family Research Council’s “Washington D.C. Christian Heritage Tour & Summit” in March is the latest conservative confab scheduled to take place at the Trump International Hotel. The three-night jaunt includes accommodations at the hotel and the possibility of a briefing at the White House, plus a day at the Museum of the Bible and a private tour …

The Birmingham Herald reports: A former state trooper shot Greg Griggers, the district attorney for Alabama’s 17th Judicial Circuit, in the face Thursday afternoon, according to Michael Jackson, district attorney for Alabama’s 4th Judicial Circuit. After he shot Griggers, the former trooper – whose name has not been released – was shot to death, reportedly by a law enforcement officer. …

The Hill reports: The head of conservative outlet One America News Network (OANN) said Thursday that the organization will file an amicus brief in support of the White House as it faces a lawsuit from CNN over the revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press pass. OANN CEO Robert Herring wrote on Twitter that the organization backs the White House’s decision …

The New York Daily News reports: The man suspected of mailing 16 pipe bombs to critics of President Donald Trump in October pleaded not guilty in court on Thursday. Florida resident Cesar Sayoc, 56, faces life in prison after a federal grand jury in New York indicted him on 30 charges for mailing bombs to billionaire George Soros, former Secretary …

The Associated Press reports: A federal judge’s decision to allow a lawsuit to proceed against the publisher of a neo-Nazi website is “dangerous for free speech,” the publisher’s attorney said Thursday. Attorney Marc Randazza said he believes U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen made a legally flawed decision Wednesday in ruling the First Amendment does not shield Daily Stormer publisher Andrew …

Bloomberg reports: Democrat Jared Golden, a U.S. Marine veteran, has defeated two-term Republican Representative Bruce Poliquin in Maine’s Second District, AP projects, as the state’s first use of ranked-choice balloting in a congressional race proved consequential. Poliquin, the incumbent, led after ballots were initially tabulated, though no candidate had an absolute majority. However, under ranked-choice voting, the lowest-choice candidates were …

The Washington Post reports: Donald Trump Jr.’s lavish trip to India to sell his family’s luxury condominium projects cost U.S. taxpayers nearly $100,000, documents obtained by The Washington Post show. The Department of Homeland Security, responding to a Freedom of Information request, released 47 pages of purchase orders, requisition forms and planning work sheets showing Trump Jr.’s February trip cost …

Variety reports: Roy Clark, the legendary guitarist and singer, Country Music Hall of Fame and Grand Ole Opry member, Grammy, ACM and CMA award winner and co-host of the “Hee Haw” television series, died today at the age of 85 due to complications from pneumonia at home in Tulsa, Okla. His 24-year stint on the at times deliberately corny “Hee …

Yahoo News reports: It’s the most magical time of the year – or at least as far as television advertising goes – as the official John Lewis Christmas advert has been unveiled. And this year it’s gone in a completely new direction, by featuring a music icon. Elton John takes us on his musical career journey and reveals his most …

Deadline reports: President Donald Trump took a break from blaming GOP midterm losses on voter fraud perpetrated by hat-and-shirt-switching criminals, to rail about Robert Mueller’s Russia probe, reports his wife embarrassed him into dumping John Bolton’s Deputy National Security Adviser, and his plans to sack his Homeland Security chief. With midterm elections over, Mueller’s investigation has ramped back up. Trump, …