Politics

NPR reports: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is blocking a bipartisan effort to protect special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of the Russia attack on the 2016 presidential election — prompting retiring Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., to pledge he will block progress on confirming judicial nominees. “Why are we so sanguine about this?” Flake said in a speech on the …

The Daily Beast reports: Facebook reportedly used a Republican opposition-research firm and its connections to a Jewish civil-rights group to link the anti-Facebook movement to prominent liberal donor George Soros and claim that some criticism against the tech giant was anti-Semitic, The New York Times reports. Facing negative press, Facebook reportedly expanded its use of Definers Public Affairs, a firm …

TMZ reports: Michael Avenatti, who became famous for representing Stormy Daniels in her battle with President Trump, has been arrested for felony domestic violence, law enforcement sources tell TMZ. Our law enforcement sources say Avenatti was arrested Wednesday after his estranged wife filed a felony DV report. We’re told her face was “swollen and bruised.” Our sources say the alleged …

MarketWatch reports: Special Counsel Robert Mueller is probing whether former Trump adviser Roger Stone tried to intimidate a witness who contradicted Stone’s account of his relationship with Wikileaks, the Wall Street Journal reported. Stone had previously said he was in contact with Wikileaks during the 2016 presidential campaign, but he has since claimed he was exaggerating. He has also said …

The Associated Press reports: Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.) lost his seat to Democratic challenger Andy Kim on Wednesday, resulting in a near-wipeout for the GOP in the state. With MacArthur’s loss, Democrats successfully flipped four Republican seats in New Jersey in the midterm elections this year, some of which had been held by the GOP for decades. Kim, a former …

The Christian Post reports: Michael Hiskey, Liberty University’s senior director of academic planning and operations who also serves as a business professor at the popular evangelical Christian University in Lynchburg, Virginia, remained in jail Wednesday on charges of attempted murder, abduction and kidnapping as well as assault and battery of his wife. Hiskey, 27, was booked into the Blue Ridge …

Roll Call reports: House Republicans on Wednesday elected Rep. Kevin McCarthy as their minority leader over Rep. Jim Jordan, a decision that improves the chances that one day the California Republican might be speaker. McCarthy has vowed to lead Republicans back into the majority over the next two years. If he succeeds, the chances that he’ll be elected speaker are …

“If you’re the Democrats, you have a simple principle: In a close election, you want every vote counted that you can manufacture. And anybody who doesn’t want phony votes counted is either racist or anti-popular will, and you literally don’t care what the law is. The people in Broward County are breaking the law. It’s not that the law is …

The Tampa Bay Times reports: Gov. Rick Scott will not participate in the Elections Canvassing Commission on Tuesday, relieving him from the chance that he could certify — or not — the results of his U.S. Senate race. Scott had been silent about his participation on the canvassing commission, a relatively obscure board that signs off on the results of …

From the far-right Daily Caller: Republican Florida Gov. Rick Scott is in Washington, D.C., Wednesday for the start of the Senate’s freshman orientation although no winner has been officially declared in his race against Democratic incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson. Scott stood beside Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for a photo op along with incoming Republican freshman senators including Tennessee’s Marsha …

Courthouse News reports: Despite a court order voiding efforts to delay Obama-era student borrower protections, the U.S. government continues to collect money from borrowers who are entitled to automatic debt relief, a consumer advocacy group claims in a new lawsuit. In September, a federal judge in Washington D.C. found the Education Department’s delays in implementing the rule unlawful. One month …

Apparently, counting every vote is against Jesus: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Wednesday tweeted a Bible verse amid his criticism of the Florida recounts, writing, “You cannot count what is not there.” Rubio, who frequently posts Bible passages, posted the quote as he continues to accuse Democrats of attempting to “steal” elections in Florida as the races for governor and …

The Hill reports: George Conway, the husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, has organized a group with the goal of urging fellow conservative lawyers to speak out against the Trump administration’s actions. “We believe in the rule of law, the power of truth, the independence of the criminal justice system, the imperative of individual rights and the necessity of …

Politico reports: Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) said Tuesday that he hasn’t decided how long he’ll serve as the late John McCain’s appointed replacement and kept the door open to suggesting that Rep. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) — who lost her Senate bid last week — serve out the remainder of his term. When Kyl agreed to step into the Senate seat …

The Miami Herald reports: Palm Beach County’s race to recount votes is heating up — literally. The county’s decade-old ballot-counting machines overheated and gave incorrect totals, forcing the county to restart its recount of about 175,000 early votes, supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher said Tuesday night. The department has flown in mechanics to repair the machines. “We’re disappointed by the …

The Tampa Bay Times reports: A St. Petersburg police officer was investigating a Nov. 6 break-in at The Chattaway restaurant, reviewing surveillance video that shows the burglar devouring a plate of chicken wings and enjoying a beer inside the kitchen. But then the officer stumbled across another incident from the night before. The video shows a man riding his bike …

Politico reports: Julián Castro convened a group of supporters in San Antonio Monday in preparation for a 2020 presidential campaign, sources familiar with the gathering told POLITICO. Castro and his twin brother, Rep. Joaquin Castro, brought together about 20 of their loyal donors and bundlers in San Antonio to begin to sketch out a national bid, according to one person …

The Associated Press reports: Having spent a fortune to help elect Democrats this fall, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg declared lifetime allegiance to the Democratic Party on Tuesday and outlined an aggressive timeline for deciding whether to run for president. “I think January, February would be about as late as you can do it and as early as …

The Palm Beach Post reports: A Leon County circuit judge issued an order today extending the deadline for recounts in Palm Beach County on state races in question to Nov. 20, about five days after the original 3 p.m. Thursday deadline. The order include extending the recounting of votes in the U.S. Senate race between incumbent Bill Nelson and Gov. …

The Birmingham Herald reports: A Jefferson County grand jury has indicted the Southeast regional administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and a former Alabama Environmental Management Commissioner for violating state ethics laws. Charges include multiple violations of Alabama’s Ethics Act, including soliciting a thing of value from a principal, lobbyist or subordinate, and receiving money in addition that received in …