On Friday, December 1, 2017, the Senate garnered sufficient votes to pass their version of tax reform legislation. Previously, the House had already passed their plan for tax reform.

At this point, the two plans will need to be reconciled before a final bill goes to President Trump for approval.

Critics of the legislation claim that it has been rushed already without consideration for the long-term consequences the bills could bring. Regardless of what happens during the reconciliation process, millions of American lives will be impacted.

A new mailer is gradually making its rounds on social media allegedly from the Doug Jones for Senate Committee, in the special US Senate election in Alabama.

The focus is on current sexual assault allegations against Republican Roy Moore, but does the mailer go too far?

Per source in AL, here’s the new Doug Jones mailer. Ostensibly, it’s meant to up black turnout. pic.twitter.com/tyX1fppj5h

Independent businessman Greg Orman looks like he may be taking another shot at defeating two-party politics in Kansas -- this time for governor. Orman’s campaign announced he has formed an exploratory committee and has just launched a new website.

US Rep Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) released a video over her social media channels raising awareness on the issue of net neutrality and the fundamental reasons why she believes reversing Obama-era regulations would be devastating to the industry and consumers.

"Without net neutrality, internet providers will be able to throttle internet speeds, block websites behind paywalls, unfairly favor some content over others, and charge you extra fees for high-quality streaming," Gabbard says.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5watZ8UMqU

US Rep. John Conyers announced Tuesday that he is "retiring today" amidst a sexual harassment scandal and growing calls for him to step down. The announcement comes the same day NBC News published new allegations against the congressman by a former staffer who says Conyers "inappropriately touched" her.

This week, T.J. O’Hara is joined by Lenny Mendonca on the IVN podcast, A Civil Assessment.

Lenny Mendonca is a Senior Partner Emeritus from the Washington D.C. and San Francisco offices of McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm. He is a Lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and co-chair of California Forward. He is also an advisor to several entrepreneurs. Over the course of his career he helped dozens of government, corporate, and nonprofit clients solve their most difficult management challenges.

Atlanta City Councilor Mary Norwood could be well on her way to becoming the city’s first independent mayor and one of the most prominent independent elected officials in the country on Tuesday.

According to a survey of likely Atlanta voters released by WSB-TV Friday, independent Councilwoman Mary Norwood held a 6-point lead over her opponent, Councilor Keisha Lance Bottoms, heading into the December 5 runoff.

As the tax reform bill goes to conference and congressional leaders look for revenue to solidify the coalition of Republicans supporting tax reform, the Democrats are fully engaged in their decades-old attack on the GOP for “cutting taxes for the rich.”

An extraordinary move by giant chip maker Broadcom to take control of San Diego based Qualcomm.

In a story first reported in the New York Times, Broadcom officially announced a hostile takeover bid for Qualcomm Monday.The move sets the stage for a proxy battle over Broadcom's$105 billion bid for largest maker of smartphone chips.

Read our centrist recap for the week below. We shine a light on the spin and useless stories from the Left and Right and detail what you should focus on, before people can pull wool over your eyes.