Jeff Zucker's Downfall at CNN: Ethical Lapses and Falling Ratings  —  The network's top-rated host and its president were forced out following ethical lapses, an office romance and a letter from a lawyer for “Jane Doe.”  —  Late in the day on Nov. 30, Jeff Zucker, the president of CNN Worldwide …

Josh Hawley: ‘It Is Not A Pro-Riot Mug’  —  The Missouri Republican said he only saluted the peaceful protesters, and the others should go to jail.  —  WASHINGTON - Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) denied Tuesday that campaign merchandise depicting his infamous Jan. 6 salute celebrates the Capitol riot that day.

GOP culture war attacks ‘alarmingly potent,’ DCCC warns  —  The campaign committee has been showing House Democrats new polling about how to counter GOP attacks on police funding and other issues.  —  Democrats' own research shows that some battleground voters think the party is “preachy …

P.J. O'Rourke was America's greatest satirist and coolest conservative  —  P.J. O'Rourke, who has died at the age of 74, once hosted a small New Year's party at his apartment in Washington.  The year was 1990.  He'd just returned from Germany, where he had covered the fall of the Berlin Wall.

John Durham and the Right's Media Paranoia … The conservative movement is obsessed with the power of the mainstream media, yet it has no idea how it operates.  The tragic mismatch between obsessive and subject is currently on bright display through a furor over the latest missive from John Durham.

Sarah Palin's Libel Claim Against The Times Is Rejected by a Jury  —  The verdict came a day after the judge said that he planned to dismiss the case, ruling that Ms. Palin's legal team had failed to prove that the newspaper defamed her.  —  A jury returned a verdict against Sarah Palin …

US accuses financial website of spreading Russian propaganda  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. intelligence officials on Tuesday accused a conservative financial news website with a significant American readership of amplifying Kremlin propaganda and alleged five media outlets targeting Ukrainians have taken direction from Russian spies.

Democrats pushing for gas tax holiday slam into GOP roadblock  —  WASHINGTON — Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and a handful of other Democrats facing tough re-election bids are pitching a plan to suspend the federal gas tax through the end of the year.  —  But they ran into swift opposition Tuesday …

Biden is getting Ukraine and Russia right after Obama fell short and Trump was a disaster  —  Biden is sending Ukraine equipment and weapons and vows harsh sanctions if Russia invades.  But there will be blood and death before they're fully felt. … I don't usually lie awake at night thinking …

Sea level to rise one foot along U.S. coastlines by 2050, government report finds … The shorelines of the United States are projected to face an additional foot of rising seas over the next three decades, intensifying the threat of flooding and erosion to coastal communities across the country …

Inside a Massive Human Smuggling Ring Led by US Marines  —  The Marines were young, low-paid, and clean-cut, making them “ideal” recruits to smuggle migrants for cash.  —  EG  —  Byron Law knew what he was doing was illegal.  But the money was too good to pass up.

Man Who Stockpiled Arms for ‘Bloody’ Battle on Jan. 6 Insists He's No Danger to the Public  —  A new legal memo filed on behalf of Stewart Rhodes claims his actions were “not criminal, not extreme and not serious”  —  The legal team of Stewart Rhodes, founder of the right-wing Oath Keepers militia …

Sandy Hook families settle with Remington marking 1st time gun maker is held liable for mass shooting  —  Twenty first-graders and six staff members were killed in the 2012 massacre.  —  Remington Arms agreed Tuesday to settle liability claims from the families of five adults and four children killed …

Select Committee Demands Information on Efforts to Send False “Alternate Electors” to Congress and Otherwise Interfere with Election Certification  —  Bolton, MS—Chairman Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) today announced that, as part of its investigation into the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol …

Prince Andrew Settles Sexual Abuse Lawsuit With Virginia Giuffre  —  Financial terms of the settlement, which was announced in a federal court filing in Manhattan on Tuesday, were not revealed.  —  Prince Andrew, the disgraced second son of Queen Elizabeth II, has settled a lawsuit brought …

UT Faculty Council passes resolution supporting freedom to teach critical race theory  —  The Faculty Council at the University of Texas approved a nonbinding resolution Monday defending the academic freedom of faculty members to teach about race, gender justice and critical race theory.

Local activist arrested for attempted shooting of Louisville mayoral candidate  —  LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A local activist and columnist has been arrested in connection with firing a shot directly at a Louisville mayoral candidate.  —  On Monday night, Louisville Metro Police announced Quintez Brown …

U.S. corn-based ethanol worse for the climate than gasoline, study finds … Corn-based ethanol, which for years has been mixed in huge quantities into gasoline sold at U.S. pumps, is likely a much bigger contributor to global warming than straight gasoline, according to a study published Monday.

Doctor praised by GOP senator tells Alex Jones the pandemic could be ended via bombings and assassinations  —  Ben Marble, a medical doctor who recently spoke at a Capitol Hill event held by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), made a deranged appearance on far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' broadcast …

Federal Judge James Ho Surprises Georgetown Law with Speech Defending Ilya Shapiro  —  Guest speaker scraps original remarks in favor of unequivocal statement on freedom of speech and declares, ‘I stand with Ilya.’  —  ederal judge James C. Ho delivered a robust defense of Ilya Shapiro …

The mystery man being floated to D.C. reporters as Harris' next chief of staff  —  Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration.  —  Since at least Dec. 1, White House reporters from The New York Times, The Washington Post …

About 3 in 4 D.C. residents support vaccine rules Bowser just rescinded, poll finds  —  About three-quarters of D.C. residents support the city's vaccine requirement to enter certain businesses, a policy that Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) ended Tuesday.  —  The citywide Washington Post poll finds 74 percent …

DeSantis, Shapiro & Co. Want To Put My Kid in the Closet  —  Bringing Don't Ask, Don't Tell to schools?  The fear is the point.  —  Nineties fever is upon us.  Wide-legged jeans and bucket hats are everywhere.  Pam & Tommy's sextape is on the tube.  Death Row Records has schoolmarms squirming.

California Returns as Climate Leader, With Help From the White House  —  The Biden administration is restoring the state's power to set its own limits on tailpipe pollution and is largely adopting the state's rules regarding heavy trucks.  —  WASHINGTON — The Biden administration …