Judge Beryl Howell issued a memorandum opinion on Monday.
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Political News Compilation - Weekend Updates - Nov. 16 & 17, 2024
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House elections produced a stalemate. Can Republicans figure out how to work with a thin majority?
By STEPHEN GROVESWASHINGTON (AP) — After one of the most chaotic and least productive sessions in modern history, voters made a surprising choice in elections for the U.S. House -- they overwhelmingly stuck with the status quo.
House Republicans will hold onto a thin majority, and while the chamber’s exact partisan divide is still to be determined as votes are tallied in a handful of states, the results of 435 House races nationwide have produced hardly any change to the makeup of the chamber.
In fact, it’s more like a stalemate: Republicans and Democrats have each flipped seven seats, while just eight incumbents nationwide have lost their races.
The results show just how entrenched the political dynamics have become in a legislative chamber that is meant to closely reflect the will of the people. Neither Donald Trump’s sweep of swing states nor a record of two years marked by infighting among GOP House members seemed to weigh much on House election results. Instead, the contest for control of the chamber boiled down to just a couple dozen politically divided districts and fewer truly close races even as House candidates nationwide spent a combined $1.5 billion, according to Open Secrets, which tracks political spending. ...
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Democratic jockeying for the 2028 presidential election is already underway
Nearly two dozen Democrats are seen as possible contenders ahead of an invisible primary that will be shaped partly by Trump and his second term.
www.nbcnews.comIn final talks, Biden to press China's Xi on North Korea's ties with Russia
President Joe Biden is expected to use his final meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping to urge him to dissuade North Korea from further deepening its backing of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
apnews.com
The 6 Republican senators who could sink a Trump nomination
President-elect Trump is rounding out his administration with Cabinet picks, but there are several GOP senators whose votes could prove decisive in rejecting some nominations.
Zelensky says Ukraine-Russia war will 'end sooner' with Trump as president
The Ukrainian president also said his country "must do everything" to ensure the war ends next year.
www.bbc.comSpeaker Johnson says Gaetz ethics report should not be released, rebuffing senators
House Speaker Mike Johnson says that he will “strongly request” that the House Ethics Committee not release the results of its investigation into ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz.
apnews.com
Exclusive: Woman told House Ethics panel she witnessed Gaetz having sex with minor, lawyer says
An attorney tells ABC News that one of his clients told the House Ethics Committee that she witnessed then-Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz having sex with a minor.
Inside the conservative hunt for partisans in the federal government before Trump takes over | CNN Politics
In mid-September, as tech billionaire Elon Musk intensified his efforts to elect Donald Trump as president, a wave of letters arrived at the Department of Transportation, asking the agency to turn over any emails and text messages that federal workers sent about the world’s wealthiest man and...
www.cnn.com
Thune 'adamant' about Trump support, driving MAGA agenda despite tense past relationship
Sen. John Thune of South Dakota insisted to Republican senators he intends to carry out Trump's agenda and support him as the Senate leader.
Trump’s defense pick Pete Hegseth defends himself from white supremacist accusations - Washington Examiner
President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has defended himself after facing repeated accusations that his tattoos were associated with white nationalism.
www.washingtonexaminer.comTrump Pentagon pick had been flagged by fellow service member as possible 'Insider Threat'
Pete Hegseth, the Army National Guard veteran and Fox News host nominated by Donald Trump to lead the Department of Defense, was flagged as a possible “Insider Threat” by a fellow service member.
apnews.com
Trump got a red trifecta in Washington. But will he face any Republican Party pushback?
Even amid a unified GOP government, Trump will have to face intra-party detractors when he begins his second term in January.
www.usatoday.com
Trump warns White House picks against getting too comfortable - Washington Examiner
Donald Trump has teased both Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Elon Musk about not overshadowing him in his second administration.
www.washingtonexaminer.com
Israel hits Beirut’s southern suburbs, attacks continue across Gaza
Gaza’s Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Rafah come under heavy Israeli attacks as Israel pounds Beirut for the fifth day.
Will Tulsi Gabbard bring a pro-Russian bias to intelligence reporting?
Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence rejects accusations that she has been an apologist for the Russian and Syrian regimes.
www.nbcnews.com
Woman told House Ethics Committee she saw Gaetz having sex with a minor
The House Ethics Committee hasn't decided if it will release its findings on allegations Matt Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct, illicit drug use and bribery.
www.cbsnews.com
United by loyalty but Trump's new team have competing agendas
This week has revealed much about Trump's ambition but also hinted at tests and headaches that may lie ahead.
www.bbc.comHere's how Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has promised to remake the nation's top health agencies
If confirmed as Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would control the world’s largest public health agency, and its $1.7 trillion budget.
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Pope rebukes Trump administration over migrant deportations
Pope Francis has issued a major rebuke to the Trump administration’s mass deportation of migrants
Continue reading...Another Republican senator goes against Trump's 'poorly conceived' NIH funding cuts
Collins said Kennedy “promised” that as soon as he was confirmed he would “re-examine this initiative” that he says was “implemented prior to his confirmation.”
Continue reading...Democrat lawmaker freezes on House floor after suffering adverse reaction to medication
Rep. John Larson, D-Ct., appeared to freeze mid-remarks on the House floor on Monday. In the middle of impassioned remarks aimed against President Donald Trump and his team, including Elon Musk, Larson took a long pause and when he resumed speaking his speed was noticeably slower. The lawmaker was also slurring his words.
Following the incident, Larson’s D.C. office put out a statement expressing the congressman’s gratitude to those who reached out and clarifying a possible reason for the lawmaker’s long pause.
"Congressman Larson appreciates the...
Continue reading...Following the incident, Larson’s D.C. office put out a statement expressing the congressman’s gratitude to those who reached out and clarifying a possible reason for the lawmaker’s long pause.
"Congressman Larson appreciates the...
Rubiales tells court Hermoso consented to kiss
The former Spanish football federation boss gives evidence at his trial on sexual assault and coercion charges.
Continue reading...Elderly hostage in Gaza was killed in 7 October attack, Israel says
The 86-year-old is one of the hostages meant to be freed by Hamas within the next three weeks.
Continue reading...Italian police arrest 181 in bid to stop Mafia rebuilding in Sicily
More than 1,2000 officers were involved in an operation aimed at "dismantling" the mob in the Palermo.
Continue reading...Teacher fatally stabs eight-year-old in South Korea
The country's acting president has ordered an investigation into the incident in the city of Daejeon.
Continue reading...Paul Adams: Why the Gaza ceasefire is under growing strain
The BBC's diplomatic correspondent looks at what is behind Hamas announcing a delay to new hostage releases.
Continue reading...Plughole-like whirlpool in California creates mesmerising water display
A rare and compelling drainage feature at a reservoir is triggered for the first time in years by high water levels.
Continue reading...Russia says US relations 'on the brink of a breakup,' won't confirm Trump-Putin talk
Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime suggested relations between Washington, D.C., and Moscow are on "the brink" of collapse this week.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov made the announcement during a Monday press conference. Ryabkov reiterated Putin's stance that there would be no peace in Ukraine unless the country dropped its ambitions to join NATO and ceded Russian-occupied regions.
"We simply imperatively need to get ... the new U.S. administration to understand and acknowledge that without resolving the problems that are the...
Continue reading...Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov made the announcement during a Monday press conference. Ryabkov reiterated Putin's stance that there would be no peace in Ukraine unless the country dropped its ambitions to join NATO and ceded Russian-occupied regions.
"We simply imperatively need to get ... the new U.S. administration to understand and acknowledge that without resolving the problems that are the...
Louisiana resumes executions after 15-year pause, approves use of nitrogen gas method
The Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections has finalized and implemented a protocol allowing sentences for death row inmates to be carried out using the nitrogen hypoxia method, Gov. Jeff Landry announced Monday.
The new protocol will allow for death sentences to be carried out again after a 15-year pause and builds on a constitutionally approved method already in place in Alabama.
A summary of Alabama’s protocol allows for the condemned person to communicate with a spiritual adviser. It also allows for "designated victim...
Continue reading...The new protocol will allow for death sentences to be carried out again after a 15-year pause and builds on a constitutionally approved method already in place in Alabama.
A summary of Alabama’s protocol allows for the condemned person to communicate with a spiritual adviser. It also allows for "designated victim...
Murkowski and Cassidy announce they'll vote to confirm Tulsi Gabbard to Trump cabinet post
Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Bill Cassidy, R-La., both announced that they would vote to confirm former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to serve as Director of National Intelligence.
In a party-line vote on Monday, Murkowski, Cassidy, and the other Republican senators who voted opted to move forward with the confirmation process by supporting cloture, while the members of the Senate Democratic caucus who voted opposed cloture.
"I will vote to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence," Murkowski declared in a post on X.
TRUMP NOMINEE...
Continue reading...In a party-line vote on Monday, Murkowski, Cassidy, and the other Republican senators who voted opted to move forward with the confirmation process by supporting cloture, while the members of the Senate Democratic caucus who voted opposed cloture.
"I will vote to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence," Murkowski declared in a post on X.
TRUMP NOMINEE...
Google changes Gulf of Mexico to ‘Gulf of America' in Maps app
Google on Monday changed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America in Google Maps.
The change comes after the Trump administration updated its "official government sources."
"We've received a few questions about naming within Google Maps," the company said in a previous X post. "We have a longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources."
Google, based in Mountain View, California, has said the name Gulf of Mexico will remain displayed for users in Mexico. Users in other countries will see...
Continue reading...The change comes after the Trump administration updated its "official government sources."
"We've received a few questions about naming within Google Maps," the company said in a previous X post. "We have a longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources."
Google, based in Mountain View, California, has said the name Gulf of Mexico will remain displayed for users in Mexico. Users in other countries will see...