National News at a Glance

Forced Out by Deadly California Fires, Then Trapped in Traffic

Thousands of residents in Paradise, California, did what they were told when an inferno raged across the hills: They got in their cars and fled. What happened next was the vehicular equivalent of a stampede, packing the roads to a standstill. Hours later Thursday morning, tree-lined streets became tunnels of fire. Of the 23 people known Sunday to have been killed by the fire, six died in their cars. Farther south near Los Angeles, where another vast fire continued, authorities said two bodies had been found inside a vehicle. In California’s battle with wildfires, roads have emerged as a vulnerability.

In the Campaign, Democrats Didn’t Let Trump Distract Them, But That Will Be Harder Now

Two days after midterm congressional elections that handed them control of the House, triumphant Democrats dialed in to their first conference call since winning the majority to strategize on the way forward. But the strategy session highlighted the central challenge that Democrats face as they prepare to assume control of the House in a new era of divided government that begins in January. Democrats, who remained remarkably focused during their campaigns, must now figure out how to put forward their own agenda even as they deal with the provocations of a president who relishes confrontation and disdains institutional norms.

El Chapo’s Trial Is Set to Expose a Drug Lord’s Epic Criminal Career

It was nearly two years ago that Joaquín Guzmán Loera, the drug lord known as El Chapo, was extradited from Mexico and flown across the border, ending one of the century’s most notorious criminal careers. This week, the kingpin will go on trial in a U.S. court. At the trial, which is scheduled to start Tuesday in U.S. District Court in New York City, the government will attempt to portray Guzmán as an underworld executive whose empire trafficked tons of heroin, cocaine and marijuana across four continents. Prosecutors plan to argue that during more than 20 years, Guzmán made $14 billion.

Confusion Swirls Around Florida’s Vote

The chaos that has swirled over the vote count in Florida following Tuesday’s midterm elections has revealed an imperfect voting system that normally goes unnoticed. This time, the world is watching, and South Florida election officials are being exposed for sloppy processes that in some cases, a judge found this week, violated both state law and the Constitution. On Sunday, Florida’s Republican governor, Rick Scott, filed emergency motions in court asking law enforcement agents to impound and secure voting machines when they are not in use. The latest legal maneuvering came amid growing doubts over the progress of the recounts.

Top Democrats Vow to Block Matthew Whitaker From Interfering in Russia Inquiry

Top congressional Democrats demanded Sunday that President Donald Trump’s acting attorney general, Matthew Whitaker, recuse himself from overseeing the special counsel investigation, and vowed to use their newfound powers as the incoming House majority to block him from interfering with it. The incoming chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, vowed to make Whitaker the panel’s first witness when the new Congress convenes in January — and subpoena him if necessary. The incoming chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Adam Schiff of California, said Democrats would investigate Whitaker, a Trump loyalist.

Democrats’ Sway Is Challenge for Pompeo

In May, just weeks after becoming secretary of state, Mike Pompeo returned to Capitol Hill for defiant and heated exchanges about diplomacy with his former Democratic colleagues. At the time, Pompeo could afford to dismiss minority Democrats who had little sway over the State Department. That will change in January, when Democrats will take over the House and have subpoena and budgetary powers on the Foreign Affairs and Appropriations Committees. The newly treacherous political environment comes as Pompeo’s honeymoon as the nation’s chief diplomat has ended within the State Department, and the administration’s foreign policy strategies are under strain around the world.

A White House Challenge: Balancing the Roles of the First Lady and First Daughter

When Melania Trump’s chief of staff announced that the first lady would be traveling to Africa for her first solo journey abroad, aides to Ivanka Trump, her stepdaughter, sent back a message: She was planning her own trip to Africa but just hadn’t announced it yet. Stepmother and stepdaughter have given different reasons for their interest in the continent. But the competing visits also suggest the delicate balance the White House staff faces in managing the activities of both the first lady and the senior adviser to the president who has embraced the title of first daughter.