George Santos also lied about his grandparents fleeing anti-Jewish persecution during WWII  —  Congressman-elect George Santos' emotional narrative of having Jewish grandparents who fled Europe during World War II appears to be untrue, like much of the rest of his campaign biography …

She was an ABC News producer.  She also was a corporate operative  —  NPR's David Folkenflik reported this story with Mario Ariza and Miranda Green of Floodlight, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates the powerful interests stalling climate action.  —  Television news producer Kristen Hentschel …

If Republicans Want To Get Things Done, There's Only One Choice For House Speaker  —  Editor's note: Big Tent Ideas always aims to provide balancing perspectives on the hottest issues of the day.  Below is a column arguing that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy should be elected Speaker when Republicans take the gavel in January.

Ronna Romney McDaniel Might Be in Trouble  —  The RNC isn't reversing course after the midterms—it's going further to the right.  —  Hey fam: JVL here.  I'm turning today's newsletter over to my new Bulwark colleague, Joe Perticone, who has a fantastic story on the cray-cray at the RNC.

In Testimony, Hannity and Other Fox Employees Said They Doubted Trump's Fraud Claims  —  On Wednesday, lawyers for Dominion Voting Systems shared some of the strongest evidence yet that some Fox employees knew what they broadcast about the claims was false.  —  On Nov. 30, 2020 …

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's unexpected visit to the US, explained  —  Why Zelenskyy made the surprising trip this week.  —  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, wearing fatigues, has made a wartime visit to the United States.  This afternoon, he met with US President Joe Biden …

Netanyahu tells Israeli president he's formed a new government  —  Incoming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu notified President Isaac Herzog late Wednesday that he has managed to form a government after 38 days of coalition negotiations. … Instead, they demanded detailed agreements …

Release of Select Committee Materials  —  Washington—Today, the Select Committee made public 34 transcripts of witness testimony that was gathered over the course of the Select Committee's investigation into the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Informant warned FBI weeks before Jan. 6 that the far-right saw Trump tweet as ‘a call to arms’  —  WASHINGTON — On Dec. 19, 2020, the day that then-President Donald Trump sent a tweet summoning his supporters to a “wild” protest in the nation's capital on Jan. 6, one of the FBI's own …

I've Seen Trump's Tax Returns and Now You Can, Too  —  Sometime soon — possibly within the next few days — a congressional committee led by Democrats will begin doling out former President Donald Trump's income tax returns to the public.  The disclosure marks the end of a bitter, multi-year battle to keep the returns under wraps.

If Twitter Fails, They'll Be Free  —  For some of Twitter's most prolific users, the platform was often a “hellsite.”  Now they contemplate a life without it.  —  The literary critic Fredric Jameson once said it was easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.  But what about Twitter?

Afghanistan's Taliban Ban All Education for Girls  —  Afghan girls and women have been squeezed out of public and professional life since the Taliban takeover last year  —  The Taliban banned girls from attending elementary school, effectively instituting a total ban on the education of girls …

Sotomayor and Kagan need to think about retiring  —  The US Senate is a fundamentally broken institution.  Democratic judges need to account for that in their retirement decisions.  —  We have now lived with the consequences of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's late-life arrogance for more than two years.

Trump lawyers target Adult Survivors Act in attempt to invalidate rape lawsuit  —  NEW YORK — A lawyer for Donald Trump said Wednesday he will try to dismiss a lawsuit by a woman alleging the former president raped her in the 1990s by arguing New York's Adult Survivors Act is unconstitutional …

No conclusive evidence Russia is behind Nord Stream attack  —  World leaders were quick to blame Moscow for explosions along the undersea natural gas pipelines.  But some Western officials now doubt the Kremlin was responsible.  —  After explosions in late September severely damaged undersea pipelines built …

Board Finds Loophole for South Dakota Guv in ‘No Exceptions’ Law  —  An ethics panel has ruled it can't take action against Kristi Noem for using a state plane to travel to a wedding because it has no authority to determine what state business is. … In dismissing a complaint against South Dakota …

‘We will find you:’ Russians hunt down Ukrainians on lists  —  Three days after the first Russian bombs struck Ukraine, Andrii Kuprash, the head of a village north of Kyiv, walked into a forest near his home and began to dig.  He didn't stop until he had carved out a shallow pit, big enough for a man like him.

US Rep. Ferguson voted in Georgia county where he no longer lives, records show  —  Election laws require voters to use their current address  —  U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson, a Republican from west Georgia who has raised concerns in the past about election fraud, voted three times this year in Troup County.

Georgetown Hires Adnan Syed To Support Prisons and Justice Initiative  —  On a sunny, brisk morning in December, Adnan Syed walked up to the front gates of Georgetown University for the first time.  —  Syed, the subject of the hit investigative podcast Serial, wore a Georgetown T-shirt under …

Ticketmaster's Dark History  —  A 40-year saga of kickbacks, threats, political maneuvering, and the humiliation of Pearl Jam  —  Just over 28 years ago, Taylor Swift was a precocious Montessori preschooler growing up on a Pennsylvania Christmas tree farm, and Eddie Vedder was the Most Important Musician …

Powerful Democratic Consultants Split With Kyrsten Sinema  —  The newly independent Arizona senator is set to lose access to Democratic voter data, complicating her path to reelection.  —  If Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) decides to run for reelection next year, she'll do so without the help …

DeSantis appoints anti-abortion Hillsborough County judge Jared Smith to appeals court  —  Hillsborough County voters removed the judge from his seat in August. … Hillsborough County voted Jared Smith off the bench this year after his controversial behavior gained national headlines.