Trump's act is ‘old and tired’, says his own former national security adviser  —  John Bolton is latest ex-White House official to condemn former boss and says Republicans are ready for a ‘fresh face’  —  John Bolton, former national security adviser to Donald Trump, has described …

Deadly Xinjiang fire stokes discontent over China's covid restrictions  —  The delayed emergency response to a deadly fire has sparked protests calling for an end to months of lockdowns in Xinjiang, the tightly controlled region of northwestern China, and fueled a nationwide outcry …

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen quits as party chair after local elections  —  Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen has resigned as head of the governing Democratic People's Party (DPP) after its poor showing in local elections.  —  The opposition Kuomintang (KMT) won several major races on Saturday, including in the capital Taipei.

U.S. grants Chevron license to pump oil in Venezuela  —  Sanctions were eased following a government-opposition agreement on humanitarian aid and further discussions on elections.  —  The Biden administration said on Saturday it would lift a key oil sanction against Venezuela …

9 Democrats and 8 Republicans form bipartisan majority in Alaska Senate  —  All nine Democrats and eight of the 11 Republicans elected to the Alaska Senate are forming a bipartisan majority coalition, they said Friday, just two days after the deadline for Alaska election officials to receive ballots …

Newsom Told the White House He Won't Challenge Biden  —  SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom has won three elections in five years in America's largest state, is apoplectic about his party's messaging defects and follows Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the right-wing media ecosystem with a zeal …

Early voters in Georgia head to the polls Saturday for Senate runoff  —  CARTERSVILLE, Ga. — Georgia voters flocked to the polls Saturday to cast their ballots in the Senate runoff, taking advantage of an extra day of voting brought about by a lawsuit filed by Sen. Raphael G. Warnock (D) …

The Week's Best Cartoons 11/26  —  As a heavy Twitter user for the past 6+ years, forgive me for all the cartoons about Twitter.  It has been an important place to share news and opinions, and it's hard to watch it overrun with trolls, especially its CEO.  But there was other political news, which you'll find covered below.

New state voter fraud units finding few cases from midterms  —  State-level law enforcement units created after the 2020 presidential election to investigate voter fraud are looking into scattered complaints more than two weeks after the midterms but have provided no indication of systemic problems.

At Protests, Guns Are Doing the Talking  —  Armed Americans, often pushing a right-wing agenda, are increasingly using open-carry laws to intimidate opponents and shut down debate.  —  Across the country, openly carrying a gun in public is no longer just an exercise in self-defense …