National News at a Glance

From North to South, California Does Battle With Furious Wildfires

Infernos raged at both ends of California on Friday, burning Malibu mansions, killing at least five people and forcing evacuations in the neighborhood in Thousand Oaks where a gunman had killed 12 people in a crowded bar earlier in the week. The fire-prone state was battling three major blazes: one in the northern Sierra and two west of Los Angeles. In the northern retirement community of Paradise, the ruins of houses and businesses smoldered throughout the day, while in Southern California, tens of thousands of residents fled their homes and jammed onto highways.

Judge’s Decision Blocks Work on Keystone XL in a Setback for Trump

A federal judge has issued a repudiation of one of President Donald Trump’s first acts as president, his decision to allow the disputed Keystone XL oil pipeline to proceed, saying that the administration failed to present a “reasoned explanation” for the move and “simply discarded” the effect the project would have on climate change. The ruling, by Judge Brian Morris of U.S. District Court for Montana, blocked construction on the 1,179-mile pipeline. The judge’s finding quickly drew fire from Trump: “It was a political decision made by a judge,” the president said Friday.

Campaigning Goes On for Georgia Democrats

The allies of Stacey Abrams, the Democratic candidate trailing in Georgia governor’s race, hit the streets and the phones Friday in a push to get anyone who cast a provisional ballot to ensure that their vote would count in the hopes of forcing a runoff. Brian Kemp, her Republican adversary, currently has 50.3 percent of the 3.9 million votes cast, leading Abrams by about 63,000 votes. President Donald Trump declared Kemp the winner on Twitter on Friday. Abrams needs to amass about 24,000 votes to prompt a recount and is just shy of 26,000 votes to pull Kemp below a bare majority and force a runoff next month.

Record Number of Migrants in Families Were Apprehended at Border Last Month

The number of migrants traveling in families who were apprehended at the southwest border surged past 20,000 last month, according to data released Friday. The 23,121 people traveling in families who either surrendered or were arrested by Border Patrol agents represent a record over a one-month period. In September, nearly 16,658 people in families were apprehended at the border, prompting the Trump administration to label the increase an unprecedented crisis and national security threat. In a proclamation issued earlier Friday, the administration said it would deny asylum to all migrants who tried to enter the U.S. at the southwest border, except through official ports of entry.

Trump Supporter Accused of Mailing Bombs Is Indicted in New York

A Florida man accused of mailing 16 pipe bombs to critics of President Donald Trump was indicted in Manhattan on Friday on charges that carry a potential sentence of life in prison. A federal grand jury returned the 30-count indictment against the man, Cesar A. Sayoc Jr., 56, a Trump supporter who was arrested Oct. 26. Authorities have said Sayoc sent homemade bombs to prominent Democrats as well as to CNN and private critics of the president. Though the bombs were mailed to targets across the country, the indictment charges Sayoc only in connection with five devices sent to victims in Manhattan and Westchester County, New York.

Justice Ginsburg Leaves Hospital After Treatment for Broken Ribs

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was discharged from the hospital Friday after treatment for three broken ribs sustained in a fall at her office Wednesday evening. If history is any guide, Ginsburg will be on the bench at the next sitting of the Supreme Court, which begins Nov. 26. In 2012, she broke two ribs without missing work. Two years later, she returned to work quickly after undergoing a heart procedure. Ginsburg, 85, is the senior member of the court’s four-member liberal wing. She has repeatedly vowed to stay on the court as long as her health holds and she stays mentally sharp.

It’s Déjà Vu in Florida, Land of Recounts and Contested Elections

The 2000 election came back to haunt Florida on Friday as a specter of competing lawsuits, rowdy protests and disputed ballots in Tuesday’s vote that inescapably hearkened back to the political drama 18 years ago. Lawyers and party activists raced to Broward and Palm Beach counties, where two of the most closely watched races in the country — for a Senate seat and for governor — still hang in the balance. Judges held emergency hearings, siding with Republicans who questioned the secrecy imposed on ballot counts by local elections officials. Democrats sued, challenging local processes that render thousands of ballots invalid.

MTA Chairman, Tasked to Fix New York’s Subway Problems, Resigns

As New York City continues to grapple with a subway crisis, Gov. Andrew Cuomo must now look for a new leader to turn around the system. Three days after Cuomo was elected to a third term, he announced that the chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority was stepping down. Joseph J. Lhota had returned to the agency just last year to help improve the subway amid rising delays and a series of derailments. The governor is confronting a challenge to transform the system and modernize its aging infrastructure — an undertaking that could cost more than $40 billion.