Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida secured an endorsement from political heavyweights just moments before the GOP Senate conference is set to vote for a new leader. Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas joined GOP Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee in making a last-minute endorsement for Scott. Scott has also been endorsed by Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Marco Rubio of Florida, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama."This morning, I’ll be voting for Rick Scott for GOP Leader, as I did two years ago," Cruz said in an X post ahead of the vote. "In 2022, I helped lead the charge for Rick against McConnell & I’m proud to stand with him again. For 12 yrs, I’ve been unequivocal that we need to change GOP Leadership—and now we finally will."'Rick Scott’s approach is also the most closely aligned with and focused on helping President Trump enact his legislative agenda, which is supported by more than 75 million American voters.'Scott is running alongside Republican Sens. John Thune of South Dakota and John Cornyn of Texas in the race to replace retiring Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Of the three candidates, Scott has the most public endorsements. Lee hosted a forum Tuesday night ahead of the Wednesday morning leadership vote in order to give all three candidates the opportunity to make their final pitch to the Republican conference. "While I personally like all three leadership candidates and consider them friends—and while each offers a unique set of skills, experience, and plans that could prove useful to the Senate and the American people—Rick Scott stands out as the most aggressively reform-minded candidate," Lee said in an X post after the forum. "Rick Scott’s approach is also the most closely aligned with and focused on helping President Trump enact his legislative agenda, which is supported by more than 75 million American voters," Lee continued. Lee also praised Scott for standing up to McConnell in the past, contrasting with Thune and Cornyn, who better fit the leadership mold. "Rick Scott has consistently called out abuses of the Senate GOP leader position in the past—even when it was difficult and at times politically costly to him," Lee said after the forum. "This is yet another reason to support him."The votes are set to begin Wednesday morning and will be conducted via secret ballot.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The U.S. State Department held a therapy session for employees after Donald Trump won the presidential election last week, according to a report from the Washington Free Beacon, which cited four sources with knowledge of the meeting.The internal State Department email concerned "managing stress during change," the outlet said, adding that employees were encouraged to attend a one-hour session early Friday during which they could share feelings about the election results.One source described the meeting as a 'cry session' over Trump’s victory.The Free Beacon said sources described a copy of the email and that the department’s Employee Consultation Services in the Bureau of Medical Services hosted the session. "Change is a constant in our lives, but it can often bring about stress and uncertainty," the email said, according to the outlet. "Join us for an insightful webinar where we delve into effective stress management techniques to help you navigate these challenging times. This session will provide tips and practical strategies for managing stress and maintaining your well being." The outlet said a licensed clinical provider led the session — and that a second session was scheduled for Nov. 13.More from the Free Beacon:The State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, which oversees American diplomacy in the war-torn Middle East, also held a group discussion Friday with assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs Barbara Leaf and acting undersecretary for political affairs John Bass, according to three sources briefed on the matter. One source described the meeting as a "cry session" over Trump’s victory, which is likely to usher in wholesale change at Foggy Bottom. Officials in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs have been working for months to sanction the Jewish government and withhold critical arms shipments, alleging Israel is not doing enough to provide humanitarian aid in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. They are said to have discussed the difficulty of Trump’s victory and urged employees to share their feelings in private settings. "For four years, within the rank and file, there has been an overemphasis on people's feelings, often with a college campus-like fervor, rather than the work of advancing America's interests," according to one U.S. official with knowledge of the meetings who spoke to the outlet. "This meeting was hopefully the last gasp of that," the source told the outlet, adding that there's "lots to unf***" at the State Department. The Free Beacon said the State Department didn't respond to a request for comment on the matter.This wouldn't be the first time the State Department offered therapy to employees. In May 2023, the agency offered free counseling to employees upset by a new IT feature that accidentally "misgendered" some of them.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

President-elect Donald Trump's vow to fire Jack Smith upon reassuming office has reportedly prompted the special counsel to consider an early exit to avoid the impending termination.According to the New York Times, sources have claimed that Smith plans to wrap up his work on the federal cases against Trump and retire before an administration change. 'The Office of Special Counsel is not immune from transparency or above accountability for its actions.'Last month, Trump pledged to terminate Smith "within two seconds" of taking office. "We got immunity at the Supreme Court. It's so easy," Trump said. "He'll be one of the first things addressed."Trump also revealed that he intends to file a lawsuit against Smith. The president-elect's legal team has repeatedly argued that United States Attorney General Merrick Garland unlawfully appointed Smith to the special counsel position by sidestepping Congress. Smith led two federal indictments against Trump. After Trump's re-election last week, Smith moved to vacate all deadlines in one of the federal cases, which accused Trump of attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The move does not entirely drop the case against Trump. The other federal case, which claimed Trump mishandled classified documents, was previously dismissed by Southern District of Florida Judge Aileen Cannon, who ruled that Smith was appointed unconstitutionally. Smith moved to appeal Cannon's decision.While neither of the federal cases made it to trial, Smith is still required to submit a report of his findings. It is unclear whether Garland will release Smith's report to the public.The Department of Justice has a long-standing policy that it cannot prosecute a sitting president because it "would impermissibly undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions," according to its website.The House Judiciary Committee has raised concerns that Smith will attempt to purge the investigation records to hinder oversight. Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) stated, "I assume there's going to be some report. But all we're saying is, 'preserve everything,' so we, the Congress, who have a constitutional duty to do oversight, can see everything."In a letter to Smith, Jordan and Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) instructed him to retain all records."With President Trump's decisive victory this week, we are concerned that the Office of Special Counsel may attempt to purge relevant records, communications, and documents responsive to our numerous requests for information. The Office of Special Counsel is not immune from transparency or above accountability for its actions," the congressmen wrote.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

While Halloween may have come and gone, there’s never a bad time to enjoy a horror game - especially when it's Amnesia: The Bunker, one of our all-time favorites. The horror series is already one of the genre's staples, but this installment is easily one of the most gripping. Continue reading Amnesia The Bunker, 2023’s finest horror game, is now under $10 MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best horror games, Best indie games, Best war games

On November 23, 2024, the World of Warcraft turns 20 years old. For two decades our heroes have fought off myriad evils like The Lich King and Sylvanas Windrunner, and seen Azeroth torn asunder - both literally and figuratively. Looking forward, we have two new expansions on the horizon with Midnight and The Last Titan, with The War Within paving the way for the next ten years of WoW. To celebrate its twentieth birthday, Diablo Immortal is hosting a WoW-themed crossover event, and I sat down with lead content designer Scott Burgess and senior game designer Nan Jiang to chat about what horrors lurk in the shadows. Continue reading New Diablo Immortal World of Warcraft collab adds its greatest threat yet MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Diablo Immortal tier list, Diablo Immortal system requirements, Best Diablo Immortal builds

Nvidia is back with another free game bundle for those looking to upgrade their PCs and laptops this holiday season. This time round, there’s a free copy of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle from MachineGames, which you can now get for free with certain Nvidia GeForce GPUs. Those looking to jump on this Nvidia deal will need to grab an RTX 4070 or above graphics card, or a laptop with the same specs. While the RTX 5000 lineup, including the anticipated RTX 5090, is just beyond the horizon, we’re coming into the holiday sale season making it an excellent time to treat yourself. Continue reading Get Indiana Jones and the Great Circle for free, thanks to Nvidia MORE FROM PCGAMESN: GeForce RTX 4070 Super review, DLSS explained, Best graphics cards

It feels like every day another videogame is gone forever. In the age of digital storefronts, old versions of games are delisted for remasters, struggling live-service releases are pulled offline, and it’s increasingly difficult to play myriad classics in the way that was originally intended. The history of games continues to slip through our fingers, and as technology marches on it gets harder and harder to keep hold of what we once had. This problem is exactly why GOG, the storefront owned by The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077 studio CD Projekt, has launched the Preservation Program. Now, classic PC games like Fallout, XCOM UFO Defense, Warcraft, Resident Evil, and more will run smoothly forever, and more are on the way. Continue reading Fallout, XCOM, and dozens of PC classics will run smoothly forever, GOG says MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best RPG games, Best old games, Fallout 5 release date

The latest Prime Warframe makes its debut in Digital Extremes’ stylish free-to-play co-op game, but there’s even more good news for players this week. Alongside the launch of Xaku Prime access comes the return of the much-loved Höllvania social hub. Originally introduced as a teaser for the upcoming Warframe 1999 questline, the fanbase quickly fell in love with this limited-time Relay, and has begged the developer to bring it back. Now, those prayers have been answered. Continue reading Warframe update unlocks Xaku Prime, as beloved social hub makes a return MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Warframe on Steam Deck, Warframe builds, Warframe codes

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye! The Guardian Will No Longer Post on 'Toxic' X

Politico Wants Us to Know Defense Industry Lobbyists Aren't Happy About Trump's SecDef Pick