CNN Wins Court Order – A federal judge on Friday ordered the White House to restore press access to banned CNN reporter Jim Acosta who had his press pass revoked following a verbal altercation with President Trump during a press conference last week. CNN had argued in a lawsuit that Acosta’s First Amendment and Fifth Amendment rights were being violated. US District Court Judge Timothy Kelly, who was appointed by President Trump, agreed with CNN, granting them a temporary restraining order while the lawsuit continues. Acosta, evidently jubilant by the court order, exclaimed “let’s go back to work!”. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said that a press pass would be returned to the reporter. Acosta has made national headlines with his open rebukes of the president and his administration, causing some to question whether he practices journalism or is a Democratic operative posing as a reporter.

North Korea Hidden Bases – The New York Times reported that North Koreas has 16 secret missile bases where the regime is moving ahead with it’s production of ballistic missiles. In negotiations with the Trump administration, North Korea had agreed to dismantle a key missile base, yet failed to disclose the other bases that satellite images now show to be fully operational. The disclosure refutes President Trump’s claims that North Korea’s missile program no longer poses a threat to the United States.

Deadly Wildfires – Two wildfires raging in California have killed at least 66 people, with over 600 people unaccounted for. The Camp Fire, burning north of Sacramento, has claimed the lives of 63 people, and has burned over 142,000 acres. The Woolsey Fire, located outside Los Angeles, has burned nearly 100,000 acres, and has killed 3 people. Entire neighborhoods have been ravaged by the fire, including the entire ironically named town of Paradise.

McCarthy Elected Minority Leader – Congressman Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has been elected Minority Leader in the House of Representatives by his Republican colleagues, beating Jim Jordan (R-OH) 159-43 to attain the powerful position. McCarthy will replace Paul Ryan as the top Republican in the House once Ryan retires at the end of the current Congress. In remarks he made after being chosen to lead the Republican delegation, McCarthy made his agenda for House Republicans clear, saying “We will work with anybody across that aisle if they work to move America forward. But let me be very clear: If their agenda is simply investigations, impeachment, and not focused on the hard-working American public, we will be there to defend the American public”.