Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp says he is passing on running for the U..S Senate in next year's midterm elections, a blow to Republicans who spent months courting him to challenge Democratic incumbent.

Six months after the election, a federal judge has ordered that a contest for the North Carolina should finally be over, in a case that targeted thousands of votes on technical grounds.

For the first time since his confirmation, Secretary of VA Doug Collins appeared before the Senate VA committee, after three months of controversial VA policy announcements.