Politico reports: As the Democratic Party fields its first serious presidential contender who is openly gay, half of American voters say that they personally are ready for a gay or lesbian president, but are split about whether the country as a whole is ready. According to a POLITICO/Morning Consult poll of registered voters, 50 percent of respondents said they were …

NBC News reports: Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney first learned about the U.S. military raid against ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi after the operation was already underway, according to five current and former senior administration officials. Mulvaney was at home in South Carolina when President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter Saturday night that “Something very big has …

ABC News reports: The growing impeachment probe of President Donald Trump will mark a rare day Wednesday when House investigators are expected to hold two closed-door depositions. Catherine Croft is a Ukraine specialist who worked under Ambassador Kurt Volker, the former U.S. special envoy to Ukraine who has become a key player in the impeachment inquiry. According to a prepared …

The New York Times reports: Lt. Col. Alexander S. Vindman, the top Ukraine expert on the National Security Council, told House impeachment investigators on Tuesday that the White House transcript of a July call between President Trump and Ukraine’s president omitted crucial words and phrases, and that his attempts to include them failed, according to three people familiar with the …

Playbill reports: In honor of the launch of the West End production of Dear Evan Hansen—the fourth staging of the Tony Award-winning musical—the four actors who lead or have led as Evan Hansen on Broadway, on tour, in Toronto, and in London gathered for a special quartet version of “For Forever.” Written by Tony-, Grammy-, and Oscar-winning songwriters Benj Pasek …

Reuters reports: Britain will hold its first December election in almost a century after Prime Minister Boris Johnson won approval from parliament on Tuesday for an early ballot aimed at breaking the Brexit deadlock. After the European Union granted a third delay to the divorce that was originally supposed to take place on March 29, the United Kingdom, its parliament …

Raw Story reports: Convicted former Donald Trump advisor George Papadopoulos has filed paperwork to run for Congress in California as a Republican. Papadopoulos is running for the state’s 25th congressional district, which will be an open seat following the announcement by Rep. Katie Hill (D-CA) that she will not run for re-election after being targeted with revenge porn. Los Angeles …

Just in via White House Press release: The resolution put forward by Speaker Pelosi confirms that House Democrats’ impeachment has been an illegitimate sham from the start as it lacked any proper authorization by a House vote. It continues this scam by allowing Chairman Schiff, who repeatedly lies to the American people, to hold a new round of hearings, still …

Vox reports: A new complaint in a lawsuit filed by the National Rifle Association against its former advertising agency, Ackerman McQueen, alleges that the firm engaged in “a stunning pattern of corruption, fraud, and retaliation” that nearly topped the organization’s CEO. The complaint filing from October 25 first reported by the Daily Beast, also claims the gun rights organization’s infamous …

The Hill reports: Arizona Democrat Mark Kelly and incumbent Sen. Martha McSally (R) are virtually tied in the Grand Canyon State’s 2020 Senate race, according to a new Emerson College poll released Tuesday. Kelly, a famous former astronaut and gun control activist who’s married to former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), has the support of 46 percent of registered voters, while …

CNN reports: A San Francisco man is going to extreme lengths to call out Facebook’s controversial policy of allowing politicians to run false ads on its platform. On Monday morning, he registered as a candidate in California’s 2022 gubernatorial election — not with the primary goal of becoming governor, but so he can run false Facebook ads of his own. …

Law & Crimes reports: One of the complaints you’ll hear the most from Republican lawmakers is that the Democrats’ impeachment inquiry is behind closed doors and not accessible to all of them (recall the storming of the SCIF). But one of the GOP lawmakers who actually is eligible to be in the room for depositions, as he is a Foreign …

“This woman is not going to make it past Christmas without being in handcuffs. I don’t think God created her to be president. I have no doubts that her god had plans for her to be president, but my God has no plans for her being president. “There is a god of this earth called the devil. I don’t say …

NBC News reports: House Democrats released on Tuesday text of the resolution that will detail their procedures as they move forward with the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. The House is expected to vote Thursday on the resolution. The expected vote and release of the resolution language comes as pressure grows on Democrats to make the impeachment inquiry more …

Time Magazine reports: While handing out Halloween candy to trick-or-treaters at the White House on Monday, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were approached by a child wearing a minion costume from the Despicable Me movies. But instead of placing a treat in the minion’s trick-or-treat bag, a video recorded by Sky News shows Trump patting the kid …

Kansas City’s NPR affiliate reports: Former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach agreed to legal sanctions to resolve a disciplinary complaint about his conduct in a voting rights case he lost last year. As part of the resulting diversion agreement made public Monday, Kobach admitted that he did not properly supervise lawyers and others while contesting a lawsuit that challenged …

The Daily Beast reports: Bernie Sanders said he will not release a plan to pay for his Medicare for All proposal. In an interview broadcast Tuesday, CNBC’s John Harwood noted that Sen. Elizabeth Warren is “producing plans,” including one to pay for Medicare for All. “You’ve identified revenue sources for about half of it,” Harwood said to the Vermont senator. …

This is a fascinating turn of events: Republicans may quibble with the substance of Lt. Colonel Alexander Vindman’s testimony as they try to protect President Donald Trump from the fast-moving impeachment inquiry. But congressional GOP leaders say it’s out of bounds to attack Vindman’s patriotism and allegiance to the United States, as some conservative pundits did on Monday night. “That …

CBS News reports: CBS News has learned former Attorney General Jeff Sessions is “seriously considering” a campaign to win back his former U.S. Senate seat, according to multiple people familiar with his thinking. A spokeswoman for Sessions declined to comment early Tuesday. His Washington-based attorney did not immediately return requests for comment. “He is seriously considering a campaign,” said a …

Fox News reports: A federal judge issued a ruling Tuesday blocking an Alabama law that would make abortion a felony in nearly all situations, regardless of the stage of the pregnancy. U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson granted a motion for a preliminary injunction, temporarily preventing the law from being enforced as a lawsuit over the law brought by abortion providers …