Nightly Brief

Your Wednesday night briefing from the staff of Courthouse News

Top CNS stories for today including Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigning Wednesday saying in his resignation letter to President Donald Trump that he was doing so at “your request”; Georgia’s hotly contested and potentially historic governor’s race still not over yet; Surprise, surprise, another election ends with a Florida recount; hopes of laying a foundation for strong Democratic opposition to President Trump stumbled in California; giving Democrats little time to savor their election night wins, Republican leadership in the Senate tout a focus on confirming conservative judges; California residents reject a Republican-led attempt to repeal Brown’s recently enacted $52 billion transportation plan; New York’s League of Women Voters sues the state on Election Day, calling out its registration cutoff as an “arbitrary and unnecessary” barrier to the ballot, and more.

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National

1.) Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigned Wednesday as the country’s chief law enforcement officer, saying in his resignation letter to President Donald Trump that he was doing so at “your request.”

**2.) ** Georgia’s hotly contested and potentially historic governor’s race may not be over yet. Democrat Stacy Abrams refuses to concede, saying there are enough ballots uncounted in heavily Democratic metro Atlanta counties to bring the frontrunning Republican Brian Kemp below the majority threshold required for victory.

3.) Sen. Bill Nelson’s campaign announced Wednesday morning that his race against Florida Governor Rick Scott is headed to a recount

4.) U.S. Supreme Court justices appeared divided Wednesday over an effort by Sudan to avoid paying more than $314 million in damages to American sailors injured in a 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, a Navy destroyer.

Regional

5.) Hopes of laying a foundation for strong Democratic opposition to President Trump stumbled in California on Tuesday, as several key races eyed for quelling the Republican stranglehold on Congress ended up remaining red.

6.) Giving Democrats little time to savor their election night wins, Republican leadership in the Senate touted a focus Wednesday morning on confirming conservative judges.

7.) Delivering a parting gift to outgoing Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, California voters rejected a Republican-led attempt to repeal Brown’s recently enacted $52 billion transportation plan known as the gas tax.

8.) Wisconsin’s 1st District, held for 20 years by House Speaker Paul Ryan, remains red after Tuesday’s midterm election with Republican candidate Bryan Steil beating out Democratic challenger Randy Bryce.

9.) In the Northeast and mid-Atlantic states, New Hampshire was on its way to electing its first openly gay candidate to a U.S. House seat, a Latino Rhodes scholar took a contested house seat in New York, Elizabeth Warren easily held her Senate seat, Robert Menendez was also re-elected and Maine voted into office its first female governor – all as part of blue tide in the region.

10.) In the historical home of the suffragette movement, New York’s League of Women Voters sued the state on Election Day, calling out its registration cutoff as an “arbitrary and unnecessary” barrier to the ballot.

11.) Given the antipathy toward members of the media these days, I was anxious as I headed into Williamson County, Texas, to talk to voters in that deeply conservative area just north of Austin. I’d also never actually reported from a polling place before. How would voters react to me?

International

12.) With opening statements still a week a way, attorneys ironed out a jury Wednesday for the New York trial of Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

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