1. President Obama rejects Keystone XL pipeline
Citing climate change concerns, President Obama rejected the Keystone XL pipeline Friday, ending seven years of speculation about its fate and marking a major victory for environmental groups who have pressured his administration. The pipeline would have carried oil from Alberta, Canada, through the Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico. Supporters of the project championed its ability to create jobs and curb U.S. dependence on foreign oil.
The Wall Street Journal Mashable
2. Ben Carson's campaign rumbles with Politico over West Point story
Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson claimed in his book Gifted Hands he was offered "full scholarship" admission to West Point Military Academy, an offer he turned down. After the story's validity came into question, Carson's campaign said Friday that Carson never applied to the school. A campaign spokesman later called Politico's story on those revelations "an outright lie," maintaining Carson never claimed he had applied or been admitted to the school.
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Politico The New York Times
3. Supreme Court will hear challenge to ObamaCare's contraception mandate
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge from religious nonprofit groups to ObamaCare's contraception mandate. The suit applies to nonprofit religious organizations like religiously affiliated schools and charities who say requiring them to offer birth control on their health plans violates their religious beliefs. The court ruled last year that for-profit organizations can already refuse on religious grounds to offer contraceptive coverage to employees on their insurance plans.
Politico NBC News
4. The U.S. economy created 271,000 jobs in October
The American economy gained 271,000 jobs in October, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. It also revised estimates from the last two months upward by 12,000, making for an overall uptick in the jobs outlook. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate remained effectively unchanged at 5 percent. The strong report is the lastest indicator the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates in December.
Bureau of Labor Statistics USA Today
5. Clinton, Sanders clash at Democratic forum
Democratic presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Martin O'Malley butted heads Friday night at a candidate forum — not technically a debate — in South Carolina. Both of Clinton's opponents criticized her for being slow to oppose the Keystone XL pipeline, which President Obama rejected Friday. "Unlike some other unnamed candidates, the issue of Keystone was kind of a no-brainer," Sanders said. Clinton focused on criticizing police brutality against black people and contrasting herself with Sanders on gun control.
The Washington Post The New York Times
6. Kentucky governor-elect vows to remove clerk names from marriage licenses
Kentucky Governor-elect Matt Bevin (R) vowed Friday to remove the names of clerks from the state's marriage licenses when he takes office in December. The announcement comes after Rowan County clerk Kim Davis was jailed in September for refusing to issue licenses to same-sex couples. Outgoing Gov. Steve Beshear (D) has said a change to the licenses would have to come from the legislature, but Bevin said he plans to use an executive order. "The argument that that can not be done is baloney," he said.
USA Today Reuters
7. Putin suspends all flights from Russia to Egypt in wake of crash
Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended all flights from Russia to Egypt on Friday amid security concerns following the fatal crash of a Russian jet over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. Though Russia has so far denied the U.S. and Britain's suspicions that a bomb planted by ISIS was responsible for the crash that killed all 224 people on board, Putin ordered that measures be taken to ensure the safe return of Russian tourists already in Egypt.
The New York Times
8. Judge grants Serial's Adnan Syed new hearing
A Baltimore judge ordered a new hearing Friday for Adnan Syed, whose conviction in the murder of his ex-girlfriend became the focus of NPR's Serial podcast in 2014. The court will consider an affidavit from Syed's alibi witness as well as the reliability of cell phone evidence that the state used in his 2000 trial to help place Syed at one crime scene. Syed is serving a life sentence. His attorney is ultimately pushing for a new trial altogether.
The Baltimore Sun The Washington Post
9. Kobe Bryant says he'll never play for another NBA team
After scoring 18 points against the Brooklyn Nets in the Los Angeles Lakers' first win of the season Friday night, Kobe Bryant said he'd never play for another team. "It's just not going to happen," he said. "I bleed purple and gold, and that's just how it's going to be." Former coach Phil Jackson, now president of the New York Knicks, had suggested otherwise. Bryant has not said whether he'll retire after this season, the last in his deal with the Lakers.
ESPN
10. Donald Trump to host SNL
Republican presidential contender Donald Trump is set to host Saturday Night Live. It'll be his second such gig in Studio 8H, following his 2004 debut. Trump will join a very small group of politicians to play host while formally campaigning for the presidency. At least one anti-Trump group plans to protest the live appearance, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The real estate mogul will be joined at Saturday's show by musical guest Sia.
The Hollywood Reporter NBC
