State legislative races don't usually draw a lot of national attention – but Virginia's House District 13 race is: it pits a Republican incumbent known for unsuccessfully sponsoring a so-called "bathroom bill" against a transgender woman.

Actress Gabrielle Union started off playing teenagers on TV in the 1990s. Now, she stars in the BET show Being Mary Jane, as a powerful cable news anchor who's equally fierce in her personal life. She's also an advocate for rape survivors and an outspoken voice on many issues. And she's just written her first book, a collection of essays called We're Going to Need More Wine.

Rose Crumb can't even count the number of people she's helped die.

The former nurse, 91, who retired in her mid-80s, considers the question and then shakes her head, her blue eyes sharp above oval spectacles.

"Oh, hundreds," estimates Crumb, the woman who almost single-handedly brought hospice care to the remote Pacific Northwest city of Port Angeles, Wash., nearly 40 years ago.

Some jobs are just not a good fit. That seems to have been the case for a certain canine trainee named Lulu at the Central Intelligence Agency.

The black Labrador was in an intensive course of study to learn how to sniff out bombs. But Lulu just wasn't that interested.

"[It's] imperative that the dogs enjoy the job they're doing," the CIA writes in a news release on Wednesday announcing Lulu's reassignment to her handler's living room.

The CIA on Thursday was forced to walk back an assertion by Director Mike Pompeo, who incorrectly said that U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russian efforts to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election were unsuccessful.

Asked at a security conference in Washington, D.C., on Thursday whether he could say with absolute certainty that the November vote was not skewed by Russia, Pompeo replied: "Yes. Intelligence community's assessment is that the Russian meddling that took place did not affect the outcome of the election."

Senate Republicans passed a $4 trillion budget blueprint late Thursday by a narrow 51-49 vote, with Kentucky's Sen. Rand Paul joining Democrats in opposing the measure considered a key step in forward on President Trump's promises of a tax overhaul.

The White House praised the bill, saying it "creates a pathway to unleash the potential of the American economy through tax reform and tax cuts."

The Los Angeles Dodgers nailed down the National League championship and a trip to the World Series Thursday by beating the Chicago Cubs 11-1 to take the series four games to one. Left fielder Enrique Hernandez was on fire for the Dodgers, hitting three home runs and driving in seven runs at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

Former President Obama returned to the campaign trail for the first time since leaving office Thursday campaigning for the Democratic candidates for governor in New Jersey and Virginia.

He put the Virginia race, where he was campaigning for Ralph Northam, in the starkest terms.

"We need you to take this seriously, because our democracy is at stake," Obama told a crowd of 7,500 at a packed convention center, "and it's at stake right here in Virginia."