Welcome back after our absence last week due to Election Day!

…And the World:

We begin today in Britain, where the Labour party has been riled by anonymous criticism of its leader, Ed Miliband in the press, forcing frontbenchers to come to the party leader’s defense. Taking the form of a promise to back new leadership if, and only if, former Home Secretary Alan Johnson agrees to take the helm, the criticism has complicated Labour’s tenuous hopes of winning next year’s Parliamentary elections. Miliband’s top aides and party elders have defended the would-be Prime Minister, while Johnson himself disclaims any interest in becoming leader and also backs Miliband. But the damage may already be done, not that Brits are thrilled with either of the major parties.

Following Jewish demonstrations on the Temple Mount in violation of longstanding agreements about how holiest sites in Jerusalem are managed, riots, shootings and terrorism have gripped Israel. Some extreme ideas have bubbled up from the government and Knesset, even as the government tries to keep order. An interagency row over the summer war in Gaza has erupted within Israel and could the right-wing Foreign Minister Avigdor Leiberman be the what the doctor ordered for the wounded region?

Twenty-five years have passed since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The Catalonia region of Spain votes for independence, but Madrid does not recognize the results.

President Obama’s agenda in China is to improve relations with leadership.

Has the Islamic State’s ruler been wounded?

The Feds:

After Republican trounce Democrats in Senate and Governor’s races, Canadians are confused by Americans’ electoral choices.

Amid the wreckage of Democratic campaigns last week, a few surprises. Democrat Scott Peters prevailed over Carl DeMaio, who, had he been successful, would have been the GOP’s sole gay Republican congressman.

California Democrats are already looking past the midterms to potentially open US Senate seats in 2016 and 2018 as well as when re-reelected Governor Jerry Brown will be hemmed in by term limits. A rundown on the likeliest names to emerge. On a more local level, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee says he will seek a second term.

President Barack Obama strikes an important blow in favor of net neutrality.

New York doctor who was diagnosed with Ebola is expected to be released tomorrow.

Connecticut potpourri: The state budget shows some cracks. Amid leadership elections, the Republican House caucus elects its first woman leader. Jim Himes of southwestern Connecticut’s congressional district wants to lead House Democrats’ election arm.

election arm.

The State of Things:

Governor-elect Charlie Baker met with Democratic legislative leaders, all of whom promised cooperation with the new governor and vice-versa. Of course, Dems retain supermajorities limiting Baker’s movement.

Eric Lesser, who prevailed last week in his race, may be the youngest member of the Massachusetts Senate, but Ryan Fattman, a Republican alter-ego of sorts to Lesser, is not much older. Until unseating Richard Moore last week, Fattman was mostly known for remarks interpreted as insensitive and anti-immigrant—and licking his wife in a mailer.

WWLP’s In-focus talked to the incoming electeds, including Lesser, over the weekend.

City Slickers:

Stakeholders in the Forest Park areas of the city discuss improvements to the X intersection of Belmont Avenue, Dickinson Street and Sumner Avenue.

Springfield names its new Community Television studios after the late Theodore DiMauro, who served as mayor in the 1970’s and 1980’s.

Masslive rounds up the imbroglio brewing over Roman Catholic Bishop Mitchell Rozanski’s perceived wavering on the rebuilding of Cathedral High School.

Twitter Chatter:

We mostly backed the Democratic ticket last week, but in the spirit of moving on, we were looking to award the tweet prize to a certain successful Republican…but his tweets since last week have proven insufficient to judge. Maybe next time. Instead, we will recognize another transition. Massachusetts political scribe David Bernstein is leaving the Bay State to join his wife in Virginia. For now, we recognize a tweet that links to one of his last in-person appearances on WGBH’s the Scrum. The tweet even offer a bit of hope that he will appear in the studios again. Adam Reilly of WGBH is this week’s tweet prize winner for noting Bernstein’s departure and linking to the Scrum’s podcast, which, we hope, will not be Bernstein’s last.

It's @dbernstein's last in-person Scrum for a while, and it's a good one: http://t.co/esv562atLQ #mapoli

— Adam Reilly (@reillyadam) November 10, 2014