Scoop: Christie applauded after bashing Trump at GOP governor meeting  —  Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie received huge applause at an annual meeting of Republican governors Tuesday morning after blaming former President Trump for GOP failures in the last three elections …

Rick Scott announces plan to unseat Mitch McConnell as the top Republican in the Senate  —  Sen. Rick Scott announced he is running against Mitch McConnell for Senate Republican leader  —  Democrats retain control of Senate after Nevada win  —  Sen. Rick Scott is running …

California wins leave GOP poised to seize US House control  —  Two threatened U.S. House Republicans in California triumphed over Democratic challengers Monday, helping move the GOP within a seat of seizing control of the chamber while a string of congressional races in the state remained in play.

Russia unleashes darkness on Ukraine with power grid attack  —  Russia pounded Ukraine's energy facilities Tuesday with its biggest barrage of missiles yet, striking targets across the country and causing widespread blackouts, and a U.S. official said missiles crossed into NATO member Poland, where two people were killed.

New York Does Not Have a Democratic Party  —  The long-running open secret among New York politicos is that there is no serious, functioning statewide Democratic organization.  This was as much true under Andrew Cuomo as it is under the newly elected governor, Kathy Hochul.

Kevin McCarthy Wins GOP Nomination for House Speaker  —  The challenge indicates a potentially rough fight ahead of him to secure the job at the start of the new Congress.  —  Representative Kevin McCarthy of California on Tuesday resoundingly won the Republican nomination for speaker …

CNN Exclusive: US intelligence suggests Russia put off announcing Kherson retreat until after midterm elections  —  The US has intelligence that Russia may have delayed announcing its withdrawal from the Ukrainian city of Kherson in part to avoid giving the Biden administration a political win ahead …

Dianne Feinstein could be third in line to the presidency as Senate president pro tempore.  She appears unaware that she's already declined the job.  — Dianne Feinstein's office has said the 89-year-old doesn't want to be president pro tempore of the Senate.

Gov. Gavin Newsom's wife breaks down describing Harvey Weinstein's ‘fish-like’ penis in court  —  MORE ON:  —  Jennifer Siebel Newsom — wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom — sobbed as she described Harvey Weinstein's “distorted” and “fish-like” genitals during her bombshell testimony …

Judge overturns Georgia's six-week abortion ban  —  A Fulton County judge has overturned Georgia's six-week abortion ban, ruling that two key parts of the law “were plainly unconstitutional when drafted, voted upon, and enacted” and writing that the law cannot be enforced.

Trans People Are Seeking Nonbinary Bottom Surgeries  —  Across the gender spectrum, some patients are looking for mixed sets of genitals, or none at all.  Actually receiving this affirming care isn't easy.  —  “How do you describe to someone else the process of becoming real?” asked Hyde Goltz …

FBI's Shireen Abu Akleh Probe Is a Watershed Moment in U.S.-Israel Ties  —  Regardless of the outcome of the investigation, the move is a harbinger of things to come concerning the Democratic Party's evolving relationship with Israel - particularly as it watches Netanyahu begin to form an unprecedentedly right-wing coalition

Inside the S.B.F. Blast Radius  —  The fate of Sam Bankman-Fried is being closely tracked at the highest levels of the Democratic Party, and by the dozens of allied political groups that are either racing to distance themselves from his surname or to find their next check.

RSV, covid and flu are keeping kids out of school — and parents out of work  —  Workplace absences for child-care reasons rose to an all-time high in October, according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics  —  This fall has been a blur of runny noses, body aches and lost paychecks for Jacob Terry.

Detained Immigrants Faced Invasive Medical Care, Senate Finds  —  Immigrants in a US detention facility endured excessive, unnecessary gynecological procedures, often without consent, according to a bipartisan Senate investigation that offers the starkest details yet of alleged mistreatment.

Federal judge blocks Title 42 rule that allowed expulsion of migrants at US-Mexico border, restoring access for some asylum seekers  —  A federal judge on Tuesday blocked Title 42 - a controversial rule that's allowed US authorities to expel more than 1 million migrants who crossed the US-Mexico border.

U.S. fines airlines $7.5 million and they must refund customers for canceled flights  —  The Department of Transportation is cracking down on airlines that refuse to give customers refunds for canceled flights.  —  Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg Monday announced that the department …