Politics

The Chicago Sun-Times reports: Federal agents showed up unannounced at the City Hall office of Finance Committee Chairman Ed Burke, kicked everyone out and papered over the windows Thursday morning. The nature of their visit was not known, but Ald. Burke (14th) has dodged dozens of federal investigations over five decades in Chicago politics. Federal agents also showed up to …

The Hill reports: Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor claimed at a Tuesday concert in Texas that he told Republican Sen. Ted Cruz to “f— off” after he asked to be put on the guest list for the show. In video captured from the group’s concert in Dallas, Reznor can first be seen asking the crowd: “Who voted for Ted …

The Los Angeles Times reports: TJ Cox defeated three-term Republican Rep. David Valadao on Wednesday, giving Democrats a gain of seven House seats in California and 40 nationwide — the party’s strongest midterm showing since the Watergate era in the mid-1970s. Cox clinched his victory more than three weeks after election day, when updated results from Fresno and Kings counties …

The Daily Beast reports: Michael Avenatti sued Donald Trump for defaming Stormy Daniels against her wishes, Daniels told The Daily Beast in a statement on Wednesday. Avenatti also started a new fundraising site to raise money for her legal defense fund without telling her, Daniels said. She said she is not sure whether or not she will keep Avenatti on …

NBC News reports: Nancy Pelosi has been chosen by House Democrats to lead them in the new Congress, but she still faces a showdown vote for House speaker when lawmakers convene in January. Pelosi ran unopposed as the nominee for speaker in a closed-door Democratic caucus election Wednesday despite unrest from those clamoring for new leadership. The California Democrat faces …

The Guardian reports: The secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, has said that downgrading US ties with Saudi Arabia over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi would be a mistake for national security and would not push Saudis in a better direction at home. After repeated calls from members of Congress for a strong US response, Pompeo and the defense secretary, …

USA Today reports: The Senate again blocked an expedited vote on legislation that would protect special counsel Robert Mueller from being fired. Sens. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz.; Chris Coons, D-Del., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., urged brisk debate on the legislation in an effort to prevent President Donald Trump from firing Mueller. Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah objected to the request, …

Buzzfeed News reports: Author Margaret Atwood announced Wednesday that she is writing a sequel to her highly-acclaimed book The Handmaid’s Tale which was published in 1985. Atwood said the forthcoming book, titled The Testaments, will be published in September 2019. Atwood said the sequel will be set 15 years after the final scene in The Handmaid’s Tale featuring the book’s …

ABC News reports: Ivanka Trump, the eldest daughter and a senior adviser to President Donald Trump, defended her use of a private email account while transitioning to an administration job, insisting to ABC News in an exclusive interview on Tuesday “there’s no connection between” her situation and Hillary Clinton’s email scandal. “All of my emails are stored and preserved. There …

CNBC reports: Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith will win Mississippi’s Senate election, holding a GOP seat despite comments that stoked racial tensions in the state and sparked backlash from donors, NBC News projects. The GOP senator will defeat Democratic former Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy in the special election runoff, the final 2018 congressional race. Hyde-Smith will serve the remainder of GOP …

CNN reports: Democrat Xochitl Torres Small has defeated Republican Yvette Herrell in one of the nation’s last outstanding House races, New Mexico’s secretary of state certified Tuesday afternoon. The official result brings the total number of Democratic gains in the House to 39 seats, with one race outstanding, according to CNN’s count. Herrell claimed victory in New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional …

The Hill reports: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) on Tuesday ruled out a potential bid for the presidency in 2020, saying that he has a “full plate” in his current role. “I am ruling it out. I ran for governor. I have a full plate. I have many projects. I’m going to be here doing the job of governor. …

Boston’s NPR affiliate reports: Asked about news reports that President Donald Trump wanted the Justice Department to investigate him, Comey responded that he never disclosed classified information. “I am a little bit numb to the president’s threats and tweets because there is nothing there,” Comey said. “Then I stop myself, because it’s wrong for me or anybody else to become …

Politico reports: Counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway claimed Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s warnings of violent migrants making their way towards the U.S. were vindicated over the weekend by clashes at the Mexican border, even though no U.S. law enforcement officers were seriously injured amid efforts to block crowds of migrants attempting to cross the border into California. “Everything …

Reuters reports: Nancy Pelosi was expected on Wednesday to become the Democratic nominee for speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, giving her the inside track to reclaim the House’s top job in January, unless critics in her own party block her. The 78-year-old San Francisco liberal, a frequent target of Republicans on the campaign trail, faces a small faction …

The Washington Post reports: Rep. Beto O’Rourke, who built a national following and a deep fundraising base during his unsuccessful bid for the Senate, would not rule out a run for the presidency, telling constituents at an El Paso town hall that he and his wife were considering next steps. “Amy and I made a decision not to rule anything …

New York Magazine reports: He’s pretty certain he’s already the country’s second-most-important politician, and the logic for running in 2020 is obvious to him: His ideas are the best for the country, a majority of Americans will agree once they’re exposed to them, no other national politician has proved to be as uncompromised or effective a messenger of his platform …

Complex reports: It’s been a while since Donald Trump was handing out Stone Cold Stunners in a wrestling ring, but that doesn’t mean that violence is entirely off the table in the current White House. Trump’s former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski made that clear when he told TMZ that he would absolutely win in a fight with Chief of Staff …

Mediaite reports: Republican Rep. Mia Love targeted President Donald Trump in her concession speech on Monday, after losing the Utah congressional race to Democrat Ben McAdams. Love, whose loss was mocked by Trump earlier this month, said in her concession speech from Salt Lake City, Utah that, “When president Trump took a jab at me… I was surprised at first.” …

Courthouse News reports: Charged with assault and harassment after allegedly punching a man in the face over a parking space, the actor Alec Baldwin pleaded not guilty Monday at a New York arraignment. Police were told that a relative of Baldwin had been holding onto a parking space for the actor on East 10th Street when another driver swooped in, …