House Speaker Mike Johnson Visits Trump at Mar-a-Lago  —  It was the speaker's first trip to see the former president since he won his post, and it came as he faced anger from right-wing lawmakers for moving to fund the government.  —  Speaker Mike Johnson on Monday night visited former …

Texas attorney general opens probe into Media Matters over report on X ads  —  Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) said Monday that his office is opening an investigation into Media Matters for America over its recent reports accusing X, the platform formerly known as Twitter …

Ron DeSantis' team was going after Nikki Haley.  They turned on each other instead.  —  Haley's rise has posed an existential threat to DeSantis' candidacy, and his team has struggled in how to counter it.  —  Leaders of Ron DeSantis' Never Back Down super PAC met privately last Tuesday …

UK Museum Determines Roman Emperor Was Trans, Changes Pronouns to She/Her  —  Elagabalus only ruled for 4 years before being assassinated  —  A UK museum has reclassified a Roman emperor as a transgender woman after doing research.  —  The North Hertfordshire Museum will use her and she when referring to Elagabalus.

‘Scream VII’ Star Axed Over Pro-Palestine Posts  —  Melissa Barrera wrote on Instagram that “Western media only shows the [Israeli] side.  Why do they do that, I will let you deduce for yourself.”  —  Scream VII actress Melissa Barrera has been “quietly” dropped by Spyglass Studios …

WOKE ALERT: BEST BUY, ACTIVISION, TARGET, NORDSTROM, & HOME DEPOT  —  FIVE WOKE COMPANIES TO WATCH THIS BLACK FRIDAY AND CYBER MONDAY  —  These five companies went Woke, and now they're vying for your business on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  Keep these companies' woke antics in mind when you're shopping for deals.

The ‘Anti-Defeat’ Candidate  —  Like many politicians, Representative Dean Phillips likes to look people in the eye.  And because he's a politician, Phillips can glean things, just as President George W. Bush did when he peered into Vladimir Putin's eyes and saw his soul.

Federal appeals court strikes Maryland handgun rule  —  A federal appeals court struck down part of Maryland's laws regulating handguns Tuesday, overturning a requirement to obtain a handgun license before purchasing a firearm.  —  In a 2-1 ruling, a panel of the Virginia-based 4th Circuit Court …

How a Maine Businessman Made the AR-15 Into America's Best-Selling Rifle  —  Neither a gun enthusiast nor a right-wing ideologue, Richard Dyke used political connections and lobster giveaways to build Bushmaster, the company that popularized assault-style rifles.  —  Under the Gun: How Gun Violence Is Impacting the Nation

The D.C. Circuit Court Revealed the Huge Flaw in Trump's Gag Order Claim  —  Monday's oral argument in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on the validity of Judge Tanya Chutkan's limited ban of defendant Donald Trump's pretrial free speech rights underscores …

House GOP subpoenas DOJ prosecutor who allegedly tried to shield Biden during federal probe into son Hunter  —  Whistleblower testimony said Assistant US Attorney Lesley Wolf was worried about ‘optics’ of probe  —  Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee have issued a subpoena …

Israel-Hamas deal on hostage release and ceasefire is imminent, sources say  —  A deal between Israel and Hamas to free dozens of hostages and declare a multi-day ceasefire is imminent and could be announced by the Qatari mediators as soon as Tuesday, two sources with direct knowledge of the issue told Axios.

Binance Founder Changpeng Zhao Agrees to Step Down, Plead Guilty  —  Zhao's crypto exchange will also admit wrongdoing and agree to pay $4.3 billion in fines  —  The chief executive of Binance, the largest global cryptocurrency exchange, plans to step down and plead guilty …

Mike Johnson's America: Revisit landmark SCOTUS decisions and use government to ‘restrain evil’  —  Mike Johnson, the new speaker of the House, voiced support for revisiting Supreme Court decisions that struck down restrictions on the use of contraception, barred bans on gay sex …

Democrats nearly double Republicans in October fundraising  —  The Democratic National Committee (DNC) far outperformed its Republican National Committee (RNC) counterpart in fundraising in October.  —  The latest Federal Election Commission (FEC) campaign filings show the DNC …

Cuomo weighs run for NYC mayor amid Adams' woes  —  Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo wouldn't try to compete in a primary against Eric Adams  —  NEW YORK — Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo is indicating to allies he may want to run for New York City mayor if fellow Democrat Eric Adams sinks under the weight of a federal investigation.

Poll: Gun ownership reaches record high with American electorate  —  A record share of voters in NBC News' latest poll say that they or someone in their household owns a gun.  —  More than half of American voters — 52% — say they or someone in their household owns a gun, per the latest NBC News national poll.

The twentysomething mayor-elect making history in Indiana  —  With help from Brakkton Booker, Ella Creamer, Rishika Dugyala and Teresa Wiltz  —  Hi, Recasters!  The U.S. is reportedly brokering a deal between Israel and Hamas to exchange some hostages, New York City's mayor blames …

US hits Iran-backed militants with fourth round of retaliatory airstrikes  —  Iran-backed groups have attacked US forces more than 60 times since mid-Oct.  —  United States fighter jets struck two sites in Iraq used by Iran-linked militants on Wednesday morning local time, according to U.S. Central Command and defense officials.

Billionaires are lining up to fund Donald Trump's anti-democratic agenda  —  The more disturbing Trump's public proclamations become, the more US plutocrats seem to want him to win  —  As an ever-greater portion of the nation's total wealth goes to the top, it's hardly surprising that ever …

Donald Trump has worst day yet in NY civil fraud trial as underling's scribbled note ties him to conspiracy  — The Trump civil fraud trial is now in its eighth week in New York.  — The defense called Trump's former spreadsheet czar, Jeffrey McConney, to testify.