5 Biggest Election 2016 Stories in Today's Early Dem Debate Coverage

We are bombarded with a torrent of "election 2016" news coverage every day now...

A Google search of that very term, "election 2016," yielded more than 296 million news results today. That's four million more searches than the term rendered two days ago. That may not be such a surprising uptick considering this week's highly lauded FOX Business GOP debate and the upcoming CBS Democratic debate, which airs Saturday evening.

We at Money Morning have gathered the latest, most relevant 2016 election news to keep you updated on what's happening in the bubbling world of politics.

Here's everything you need to know right now...

Today's Biggest Election 2016 News

• For nearly nine minutes of a 95-minute speech to a Fort Dodge, Iowa, audience on Thursday evening, GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump attacked his closest rival, fellow Republican presidential hopeful Dr. Ben Carson. Trump brought up key components of Carson's autobiography of personal redemption. "I don't understand it. I really don't understand it," Trump said of Carson's rise in the polls, according to a Politico article posted this morning. Trump went on to explain that the neurosurgeon had said "terrible things about himself" in his book, "Gifted Hands." In it, Carson described himself as "pathological" and that he had a "pathological disease." Trump jumped on that aspect: "And I don't want a person that's got pathological disease, I don't want it. Now, I'm not saying he's got it. He said it," he clarified. "This isn't something I'm saying - he's a pathological liar, I'm not saying it. He said he's got pathological disease. He actually said 'pathological temper,' and then he defined it as 'disease,' so he said he has 'pathological disease.' Now if you're pathological, there's no cure for that, folks. OK? There's no cure for that."

• Several companies that worked on Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton's private server are now refusing to cooperate with congressional investigators, even the FBI. Platte River Networks, the Denver-based tech company that housed Clinton's server after she left the U.S. State Department in 2013, has declined requests by the Senate Homeland Committee to interview five employees about the security of the system. While the firm has voluntarily produced some information for congressional Republicans in the past, reported FOX News Thursday, now it seems Platte River is not willing to go beyond its legal obligations when it comes to responding to committee inquiries.
• Former Ohio state senator and minority whip Nina Turner (D-OH) is throwing her support behind Democratic presidential hopeful and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. The move is a surprise, considering how involved Turner has been with the Clintons. The former secretary of state met with Turner in October before her appearance at the Women's Leadership Forum. While she never formally endorsed Clinton, Turner was also involved in the Ready for Hillary super PAC, appeared at a Clinton organizing event, and served on the pro-Clinton super PAC Correct the Record until recently.

• GOP presidential hopeful and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has thrust himself into the spotlight this week. He gave a standout performance in the "undercard" debate on FOX Business on Tuesday. Then on Wednesday, he said he had no interest in meeting with Black Lives Matter activitists, reported CNN. Christie said he blamed the group for the murder of police officers. And on Thursday, Christie said that under President Barack Obama, America's racial divide has worsened. He claimed he didn't think anyone could look objectively at where we sit now as a nation and openly say things are better than before Obama's election.
• The second Democratic debate slated for the election 2016 cycle is on Saturday, Nov. 14. It will be the first since the Democratic field narrowed to three candidates: former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley. John Dickerson, the host of CBS News' "Face the Nation," will moderate. He'll be assisted by Nancy Cordes, CBS' congressional correspondent; Kevin Cooney, anchor for KCCI-TV, the local CBS affiliate; and Des Moines Register political columnist Kathie Obradovich. The debate will air on CBS at 9 p.m. ET.

 So You Want to Be a Hillionaire: Recent history suggests Hillary Clinton could rise to the top and, in the process, make savvy investors millions. We hope so. What we have to tell you is a story based as much on rhetoric as reality. It's built on an opportunity that cuts deeply and, to be perfectly blunt, may be offensive depending on your personal views...