Surprise: George Santos might sort of be telling the truth about something  —  Congressman-elect George Santos, R-NY, who is accused of faking just about every single aspect of his biography, said on Twitter he had a “story to tell” and would clear things up “next week.”

Live updates: Jan. 6 report recommends Congress ban Trump from running again  —  Congress should consider barring former president Donald Trump and others from holding office again, according to the recommendations section of the committee's report.  —  The 14th Amendment allows barring people …

EXCLUSIVE: TikTok Spied On Forbes Journalists  —  ByteDance confirmed it used TikTok to monitor journalists' physical location using their IP addresses, as first reported by Forbes in October.  —  An internal investigation by ByteDance, the parent company of video-sharing platform TikTok …

Kathy Hochul Pushes New York's Highest Court to the Right  —  Fresh off her narrow re-election win in November, Governor Kathy Hochul had an opportunity this month to steer New York's highest court toward either ideological direction.  —  She chose to push it to the right on Thursday …

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried to be released on $250 million bail, will live with his parents  — FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried will be released on $250 million bail, a federal judge ruled, while he awaits trial for eight federal criminal charges related to alleged fraud at his collapsed crypto empire.

Senate passes $1.7 trillion government funding bill that overhauls U.S. election law  —  The bill now goes to the House before it can head to Biden's desk for his signature.  The legislation must be enacted by Saturday to avoid a government shutdown.  —  WASHINGTON — The Senate voted …

Sun Belt adds population while California, New York shrink  —  International migrants accounted for most of the increase.  —  The United States added more than 1.2 million residents over the course of the last year as population growth rebounded from pandemic-era lows …

Deep secrecy, high risk: How Zelensky's improbable D.C. visit came together  —  Plans were kept within a tiny group as the Ukrainian president prepared to leave his war-ravaged country for the whirlwind trip.  —  When a U.S. military aircraft landed on the tarmac in Rzeszow, Poland …

‘Get Rid of the Video!’:  Putin Crony Freaks Out in Live TV Flop Over Zelensky Clip  —  An on-air mishap over a video depicting Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington did not go over well with Moscow's top mouthpiece.  —  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky captured the world's attention with a historic trip to Washington this week.

Kamala Harris had a most excellent year  —  Vice President Harris walked into her ceremonial office at the White House with a broad smile and easy confidence when we sat down for an interview on the Monday before Christmas.  And why shouldn't she smile?  President Biden's electoral right-hand ma'am …

Biden's Surprise Challenger & Scalise's Speaker Weapon  —  News and notes around town as Washington prepares to enjoy the brief calm before the new Congress storm. … Since then, I learned that Marianne Williamson, the spiritual activist and 2020 candidate, has been actively making significant moves toward challenging Biden.

Biden fumed, dropped f-bombs as border crisis intensified, new book claims  —  ‘The Fight of His Life’ is due to be released next month  —  Migrants smuggled across US border from all over the world  —  President Biden was furious and cursed repeatedly about the border crisis …

Jan. 6 participant arrested after hours-long standoff with the FBI  —  A man who carried what appeared to be a hammer at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 got into a standoff Thursday with the FBI for hours before he was arrested by special agents for his role in the riot, law enforcement officials told NBC News.

Hate Leader Nick Fuentes Is Recruiting Incels  —  Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.  —  The former president of the United States wanted his guests to be seen.  His meeting with Ye, a.k.a. Kanye West …

Fashion Statement … Where do you stand on the momentous question of Volodymyr Zelensky's attire?  —  I'm okay with it. … But it's something of a tradition for foreign leaders trying to rally the free world against fascists bent on conquest.  —  I didn't expect to be writing about men's apparel today.

Venezuela opposition vote to remove Guaido's interim government  —  Venezuela's political opposition to the ruling Socialists voted on Thursday by a wide margin to remove the interim government led by Juan Guaido, as they seek a united front ahead of presidential elections tentatively scheduled for 2024.

Marines told to stop using ‘sir,’ 'ma'am' to avoid ‘misgendering’ superiors  —  No more “Yes, sir!”  —  The US Marines may ban recruits from respectfully addressing senior members as “sir” or “ma'am” to avoid “misgendering” and offending them.  —  The woke recommendation …

In rural Georgia, an unlikely rebel against Trumpism  —  Why didn't the Republican red wave materialize in the midterms?  The life of Cody Johnson offers one answer.  —  BEULAH, Ga. — As he pulled into the parking lot of Beulahland Baptist Church on Election Day last month …