Politics

The Washington Post reports: Facebook plans to tell lawmakers on Tuesday that 126 million of its users may have seen content produced and circulated by Russian operatives, many times more than what the company previously disclosed about the reach of the disinformation campaign during the 2016 presidential election, according to documents obtained by the Washington Post. Google on Monday acknowledged …

The New York Times reports: The Spanish attorney general said on Monday that Carles Puigdemont, the former Catalan leader, and other top regional officials would be prosecuted for rebellion after illegally declaring independence from Spain. The attorney general, José Manuel Maza, stopped short of ordering the immediate arrest of Mr. Puigdemont and other separatist leaders in Catalonia, instead ordering them …

Trick-or-treat: An ex-speechwriter for former President Barack Obama apparently dressed as Jared Kushner for Halloween, and handcuffed himself to his wife, who dressed as Ivanka Trump. Jon Favreau tweeted out a photo of the costume, which shows him mimicking Kushner when the president’s son-in-law and White House senior advisor wore a flak jacket over his blazer and khakis during a …

The Hill reports: Fox News host Jeanine Pirro late Saturday said “it’s time” to put former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in jail. “It’s time, folks. It’s time to shut it down, turn the tables, and lock her up. That’s what I said. I actually said it. Lock her up,” Pirro said during her show, “Justice with Jeanine.” Pirro’s declaration …

The Hill reports: President Trump traveled to his Virginia golf club on Saturday for the fourth consecutive weekend. Trump left the White House shortly after 10 a.m. Saturday wearing a white hat, a dark jacket, a white shirt and golf shoes, according to pool reports. Trump’s motorcade arrived at Trump National Golf Club in Virginia shortly after 10:50 a.m. One …

The Guardian reports: Madrid has taken direct control of Catalonia for the first time in nearly four decades, firing the regional government and dismissing the head of the local police force, after the Catalan parliament made a unilateral declaration of independence. Carles Puigdemont and his cabinet were formally removed from their posts, and their powers and responsibilities taken over by …

Talking Points Memo reports: Alarmed by President Trump and the shrinking faction of Republicans willing and able to stand up to him, Mitt Romney is seriously considering one more run for public office. Sources close to Romney tell TPM that he’s leaning toward a run if Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) decides to retire, a move that sources close to Hatch …

CNN reports: A federal grand jury in Washington on Friday approved the first charges in the investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller, according to sources briefed on the matter. The charges are still sealed under orders from a federal judge. Plans were prepared Friday for anyone charged to be taken into custody as soon as Monday, the sources said. …

The Palm Beach Post reports: President Donald Trump’s fan club is throwing a party in January to celebrate his first year as president — and to support Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, which saw an exodus of private charity events booked for galas this winter season. The Trumpettes will host a Red, White and Blue Celebration for the first anniversary of Trump’s presidency, …

According to a worker at a Kremlin-backed troll factory, last year they put together a fake sex tape starring a black man and a Hillary lookalike. The tape was apparently never posted because the trolls decided that even the craziest far-right Americans wouldn’t believe it. The Daily Beast reports: Alan Baskaev worked for the troll factory, also known as the …

The Hill reports: A deal reached between the government and a small Montana energy company located in Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s hometown prohibits the government from reviewing labor costs or profits related to the company’s relief efforts in Puerto Rico, according to a leaked copy of the contract. A copy of the deal obtained by reporter Ken Klippenstein reveals that …

Politico reports: President Donald Trump blasted Tom Steyer on Friday, calling the Democratic megadonor “wacky” and “totally unhinged.” Steyer, a California billionaire activist, is launching a $10 million national ad campaign calling for the president’s impeachment. The 60-second TV spot began running last week, according to Forbes. The ad played Friday morning on “Fox & Friends,” likely catching the president’s …

The Independent reports: Russia has preemptively denied ties to any plot to assassinate late President John F Kennedy ahead of the expected release of thousands of archived records. The National Archives was due to release a trove of documents related to the 22 November 1963 assassination on Thursday. One of several conspiracy theories about Mr Kennedy’s killer Lee Harvey Oswald …

The Daily Caller reports: Florida Sen. Marco Rubio denied Thursday that he was the anonymous Republican who paid Fusion GPS for opposition research on Donald Trump during the presidential primary race. Reporting has revealed that a GOP donor was paying Fusion GPS for opposition research before the firm ended up contracting with former British agent Christopher Steele and producing the …

The New York Times reports: President Trump on Thursday will announce he is directing his Department of Health and Human Services to declare the opioid crisis a public health emergency, senior administration officials said, taking long-anticipated action to address a rapidly escalating epidemic of drug use in the United States. The move falls short of Mr. Trump’s sweeping promise to …

Politico reports: Twitter said Thursday it’s dropping all ads from Kremlin-funded English-language media outlets RT and Sputnik, as the company prepares to face lawmakers next week over Russian use of social media to interfere with the 2016 election. “This decision was based on the retrospective work we’ve been doing around the 2016 U.S. election and the U.S. intelligence community’s conclusion …

The Associated Press reports: A computer server crucial to a lawsuit against Georgia election officials was quietly wiped clean by its custodians just after the suit was filed, The Associated Press has learned. The server’s data was destroyed July 7 by technicians at the Center for Elections Systems at Kennesaw State University, which runs the state’s election system. The data …

CNBC reports: The House on Thursday narrowly approved a Senate version of the 2018 federal budget, clearing the way for the GOP-controlled Senate to pass a massive set of tax cuts later this year. By passing the Senate version of the budget, House Republicans kick-started the reconciliation process, a window during which the Senate can pass legislation with only a …

NBC News reports: The Donald Trump administration is spending $1.75 million on furniture for the executive office, according to government procurement records. That includes $17,000 for custom rugs, $7,000 for “furniture pedestals,” and $5,000 for wallpaper. There’s also $12,800 for a custom conference table from a company that made one for former President Richard Nixon in 1969 (“Nixon paid for …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Thursday again weighed into the Virginia governor’s race, arguing Republican nominee Ed Gillespie “will be a great governor” and slamming Gillespie’s Democratic opponent. Trump has previously tweeted support for Gillespie, who is running against Lt. Gov. Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam (D) in the Nov. 7 election. Northam quickly fired back, pointing to service in …