DML Morning Briefing, Nov. 4

Today is November 4. Below are some of the stories grabbing headlines this morning. I hope you share this briefing as doing so will make you the smartest person in the room.

1.Oprah Winfrey endorses John Fetterman over Dr. Mehmet Oz in high-stakes Pennsylvania Senate race
FoxNews–Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday that she was endorsing Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman over Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz in the Pennsylvania Senate race.

While Winfrey is a Democrat herself, it’s notable because Oz first came to prominence as a health expert on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” before he got his own talk show in 2009, which was produced her company Harpo. His show ended in January.

“I’ll tell you all this, if I lived in Pennsylvania, I would have already cast my vote for John Fetterman for many reasons,” Winfrey said during a virtual conversation with community leaders.

Fetterman’s campaign said Winfrey’s support for the Democrat over Oz “speaks volumes.”

Ryan Lynch: Winfrey actions does “speaks volume” and my dad said it best in his tweet today.

2.Twitter temporarily closes offices as layoffs begin
Reuters–Twitter Inc temporarily closed its offices on Friday after telling employees they will be informed by email later in the day whether they are being laid off.

The move follows a week of uncertainty about the company’s future under new owner Elon Musk.

The social media company said in an email to staff it would tell them by 9 a.m. Pacific time on Friday (12 p.m. EDT/1600 GMT) about staff cuts.

“In an effort to place Twitter on a healthy path, we will go through the difficult process of reducing our global workforce on Friday,” said the email sent on Thursday, seen by Reuters.

Ryan Lynch: Twitter is heading in the right direction. Elon Musk needs to create a new culture at the company. A culture that is based on the premise of free speech, not censorship.

3.House Republicans release 1,000-page report alleging politicization in the FBI, DOJ
FoxNews–House Republicans on Friday released a new report detailing whistleblower allegations of FBI misconduct and politicization at the highest levels of the Department of Justice.

“The Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the stewardship of Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland, is broken,” the GOP report states. “The problem lies not with the majority of front-line agents who serve our country, but with the FBI’s politicized bureaucracy.”

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee say this report is “the first comprehensive accounting of the FBI’s problems to date, which undermine the FBI’s fundamental law-enforcement mission.”

Ryan Lynch: We’re going to start seeing more whistleblowers come out, exposing what is really going on. The founding fathers would be ashamed at the current state of our democracy.

4.DOJ mulling potential special counsel if Trump runs in 2024
CNN–As Donald Trump inches closer to launching another presidential run after the midterm election, Justice Department officials have discussed whether a Trump candidacy would create the need for a special counsel to oversee two sprawling federal investigations related to the former president, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN.

The Justice Department is also staffing up its investigations with experienced prosecutors so it’s ready for any decisions after the midterms, including the potential unprecedented move of indicting a former president.

Ryan Lynch: They won’t stop going after Donald Trump and I don’t think they ever will. But America is waking up. What do you think is the reason for a “special counsel”?

5.Conservatives roast The View’s Hostin for calling Republican women ‘roaches:’ ‘Should be fired immediately’
FoxNews–Conservatives on Twitter were appalled at “The View” co-host Sunny Hostin for smearing “White Republican suburban women” as “roaches voting for Raid” during Thursday’s episode of the show.

Frustrated at the concept of suburban women choosing Republican candidates in the midterms rather than pro-abortion, progressive Democrats, Hostin launched into her tirade comparing women to cockroaches and the Republican Party to an insecticide spray that kills them.

She said, “What’s also surprising to me is the abortion issue. I read a poll just yesterday that White Republican suburban women are now going to vote Republican. It’s almost like roaches voting for Raid, right?”

Ryan Lynch: I couldn’t agree more with my dad.