Good morning, I’m Tim Walker with today’s headlines. If you’d like to receive this briefing by email, sign up here.
Top story: Republicans warn Trump against firing Mueller
Senior Republicans have added their voices to the widespread warnings that Robert Mueller must be left to complete his Russia investigation, after Donald Trump finally fired his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, on Wednesday, raising fears that Trump’s ultimate target is Mueller himself.
Sessions was among the most committed enablers of the Trump political project, but his perceived personal disloyalty to the president ultimately made his position untenable. And with Sessions gone, oversight of the Trump-Russia inquiry will fall to his acting replacement, Matt Whitaker, a longtime Mueller critic.
‘Vast scam’. Whitaker sat on the advisory board of World Patent Marketing, which was recently ordered to pay a $26m settlement after being accused of running a multimillion-dollar scam to dupe aspiring inventors.
Free press. The CNN reporter Jim Acosta had his White House press credentials revoked after his attempts to ask Trump about the Russia inquiry led to a fiery exchange at a press conference. The White House claimed he had “placed his hands” on an intern trying to take the microphone from him, something Acosta denied and video of the incident did not show.
Where next for Democrats after midterm gains?
With House Democrats at last wielding the legal firepower to investigate the Trump administration, the question is where, exactly, to begin: the tax returns, the alleged corruption, Russia? Whatever their line of attack, Trump has promised a “warlike” response.
Pundits are still reading the tea leaves left behind after the midterms: it was a good election for Democrats, but not one that produced an obvious presidential frontrunner for 2020. Speaking to the Guardian, Bernie Sanders said the results proved a progressive can win the White House.
Southern strategy. After disappointment for Democrats in Georgia and Florida, the party is hoping that final tallies in Georgia’s gubernatorial race and the possibility of a recount for Florida’s Senate seat might see them pluck victory from the jaws of defeat.
Twelve killed in shooting at southern California dance hall
Twelve people were shot and killed in a mass shooting at a country and western bar in southern California. A gunman threw smoke bombs and fired at least 30 shots in the incident at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, around 40 miles west of Los Angeles, late on Wednesday night.
Young people. Police said a sheriff’s sergeant was among those killed in the shooting, which reportedly took place during a college country music night attended by dozens of young people. The gunman is also dead.
Crib sheet
Donald Trump has said he expects to meet Kim Jong-Un again early next year, after senior North Korean officials cancelled this week’s planned talks with US secretary of state Mike Pompeo.
A medical school in Tokyo has offered places to dozens of women after admitting it had deliberately marked down their exam scores to limit the number of female students.
Jason Blum, the prolific horror producer behind such films as Get Out and Halloween, was booed off stage at the Israeli film festival in Beverly Hills after criticising Donald Trump in an acceptance speech.
Samsung has unveiled its much-anticipated new foldable smartphone as the company attempts to regain ground in its longstanding rivalry with Apple.
Listen to Today in Focus: Can you take on the EU and win?
On today’s podcast, the Guardian’s political correspondent Lauren Gambino reflects on the midterms. Plus: the former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis fought to strike a deal with the EU, and failed. He tells Anushka Asthana his experience holds lessons for the UK prime minister, Theresa May, as she enters the Brexit endgame.
Must-reads
How four novice climbers created a mountaineering mystery
In 1910, four Alaskan gold prospectors scaled the highest peak in North America in a single day, sustained by doughnuts and hot chocolate, without ropes and hefting a fourteen-foot flagpole. Or did they? Jon Waterman investigates.
No accident: the making of an opioid epidemic
America’s opioid crisis has been called “one of the biggest mistakes in modern medicine”, started by profiteering pharmaceutical companies and well-meaning doctors. Chris McGreal talks to the people who saw it coming, and tried to stop it.
Earthquakes, mudslides and a volcano: the world’s riskiest city
Residents of Manizales in central Colombia live with the daily risk of natural disaster: frequent major earthquakes, a tendency to torrential rain and mudslides – not to mention the volcano next door. But its innovative approach to prevention and response has made the city a global leader, as Mat Youkee reports.
The books that reveal how Russia influences the world
With Russian election meddling back under the spotlight on both sides of the Atlantic, the Guardian’s former Moscow correspondent Luke Harding selects the best books to help understand how the Kremlin exerts its influence on the west.
Opinion
The Blue Wave that brought the Democrats back to power in the House ought to have been a tsunami, writes Heather Cox Richardson. But despite a popular vote margin of more than 7%, the rigged system means Republicans still wield unwarranted power.
Republican leaders are acting precisely as Democratic slave owners did before the civil war, when they saw a growing majority turn against them.
Sport
Cristiano Ronaldo may have put in a classic Champions League performance for Juventus on Wednesday evening, but it was Manchester United who triumphed at last after two late goals, much to their embattled manager’s satisfaction.
In 45 years of boxing broadcasting, HBO has aired just two women’s bouts. But now female fighters, historically underpaid and underexposed, are gaining greater attention. Kristen Doerer reports.
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