Top Items:
Semafor:
Kevin McCarthy finally became Speaker of the House after one last shocking meltdown. Here's how it all happened. — It took four days and fifteen ballots, but Kevin McCarthy was elected Speaker of the House after securing a truce with conservative holdouts who had threatened to tank his nomination.
RELATED:
Rolling Stone:
Sex Trafficking Row Helped Fuel Gaetz's Hatred for McCarthy — The Florida congressman's opposition to the House Speaker hopeful's bid for the gavel is indeed personal, sources tell Rolling Stone … What he was not privately predicting was that the beatings would continue for an entire week.
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money, RedState, Fox News, Althouse and BizPac Review
Sahil Kapur / NBC News:
How Kevin McCarthy got the votes for speaker — and why it could haunt him — After a chaotic floor fight, the California Republican won by making a series of concessions to far-right rebels. Democrats say they will make the House ungovernable. — WASHINGTON — After four days of deadlock …
Discussion:
Insider, Barbados Today, Lawyers, Guns & Money, RedState, Bloomberg and Fox News
Bob Good / New York Times:
I'm One of the Last Holdouts Against Kevin McCarthy — and I Won't Back Down
I'm One of the Last Holdouts Against Kevin McCarthy — and I Won't Back Down
Discussion:
Roll Call and New York Post
Wall Street Journal:
Speaker Fight Could Preview Months of Turmoil in Congress
Speaker Fight Could Preview Months of Turmoil in Congress
Discussion:
The Liberty Loft, Bloomberg, Vox and USA Today
Luke Broadwater / New York Times:
Speaker Quest Reveals McCarthy's Tenuous Grip on an Unruly Majority
Speaker Quest Reveals McCarthy's Tenuous Grip on an Unruly Majority
Discussion:
Washington Post, Vox, RedState, The Daily Beast, Bloomberg, Sacramento Bee and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Associated Press:
Police: 6-year-old shoots teacher in Virginia classroom — A 6-year-old student shot and wounded a teacher at his school in Virginia during an altercation inside a first-grade classroom Friday, police and school officials in the city of Newport News said. Experts said a school shooting involving …
RELATED:
Alex Sundby / CBS News:
6-year-old shot teacher at Newport News, Virginia, elementary school, police say — A 6-year-old student shot a teacher during an altercation at a Virginia elementary school on Friday, police said. No students were injured in the incident at Richneck Elementary School, Newport News police said in a statement.
Tom Nichols / The Atlantic:
The January 6 Attack Is Not Over — America still needs accountability at every level. … On the second anniversary of the January 6 insurrection, Joe Biden decorated Americans for courage during the unrest, while on Capitol Hill, the House of Representatives remained in limbo …
Discussion:
NPR, The White House, NOQ Report, Fox News, Roll Call, The Hill, CNBC, Washington Post, The Guardian, USA Today, ABC News and UPI
RELATED:
Matt Laslo / Raw Story:
Some Democrats fear a mass shooting on House floor — by a QAnon-Republican
Some Democrats fear a mass shooting on House floor — by a QAnon-Republican
Discussion:
Fox News, The Daily Caller, Mother Jones and The Guardian
NBC News:
On Musk's Twitter, users looking to sell and trade child sex abuse material are still easily found — Twitter accounts that offer to trade or sell child sexual abuse material under thinly veiled terms and hashtags have remained online for months, even after CEO Elon Musk said he would combat child exploitation on the platform.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Veronika Melkozerova / Politico:
A very special Christmas mass for Orthodox Church of Ukraine — KYIV — On a frosty Saturday morning, several altar boys posed for group selfies next to the Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Monastery complex in the Ukrainian capital. — “It is for history!
Discussion:
Reuters
JONATHAN TURLEY:
“We Don't Do This”: Adam Schiff and the Underbelly of American Censorship — Below is my column in the Hill on the recent disclosure of efforts by Rep. Adam Schiff (D., Cal.) to pressure Twitter to censor critics, including a columnist. This effort occurred shortly after Schiff's office objected …
Discussion:
New York Post and RedState
Jack Newman / Daily Mail:
John Bolton announces he WILL run for the White House in 2024 against former boss Donald Trump as he blasts the ex-president's ‘terminal decline’ — Bolton served as Donald Trump's national security adviser from 2018 to 2019 — He has announced he will run against the former president in the 2024 election
Discussion:
BizPac Review, Washington Times, New York Magazine, HotAir, Twitchy, RedState, Instapundit and New York Post
Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:
“Donald Trump Will Be in the Lead of His Obituary”: Ex-Rudy Giuliani Aide Dishes on Sweeping New CNN Doc — From 9/11 hero to Trump toady, a four-part CNN series will chronicle the epic fall of “America's Mayor.” Consulting producer Ken Frydman, “dismayed” by his former boss's antics, hopes he'll “start caring about his legacy.”
Discussion:
CNN, CNN Creative Marketing and Raw Story
Christine Hauser / New York Times:
Shootings Reported at Homes and Offices of 5 New Mexico Democrats — No one was injured in the shootings, which occurred in Albuquerque between Dec. 4 and Thursday. The authorities are investigating whether they were related and politically motivated. — Federal and local authorities …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Digby's Hullabaloo, NPR, The Guardian, Source New Mexico, The Hill, The Post Millennial, Wall Street Journal, Al Jazeera, Raw Story, UPI, NBC News, Associated Press, CBS News, WFLA-TV and KRQE-TV
Kevin Mcgill / Associated Press:
US appeals court blocks ban on rapid-fire ‘bump stocks’ — A Trump administration ban on bump stocks — devices that enable a shooter to rapidly fire multiple rounds from semi-automatic weapons after an initial trigger pull — was struck down Friday by a federal appeals court in New Orleans.
Discussion:
Fox News, The Reload, Just The News and Breitbart
RELATED:
Ryan King / Washington Examiner:
Trump-era ban on bump stocks struck down by court
Trump-era ban on bump stocks struck down by court
Discussion:
Reuters, National Review, The Hill and CNN
NBC News:
George Santos sworn into Congress as investigations mount — WASHINGTON — George Santos, the 34-year-old New York Republican who's confessed to lying about part of his background, was sworn into the House early Saturday amid several investigations into his campaign and calls for him to resign.
Discussion:
New York Post and Fox News
RELATED:
David Wright / CNN:
Federal Election Commission flags issues with contributions to Santos campaign
Federal Election Commission flags issues with contributions to Santos campaign
Discussion:
IJR and Political Wire
Mack Lamoureux / VICE:
2 Men Accidentally Set Themselves on Fire Trying to Burn Down an Immigration Center — Video shows both the men running away from the fire they set with their clothing in flames. — Mack Lamoureux — Two men set themselves on fire after dumping an accelerant on a California immigration services building …
Zach Schonfeld / The Hill:
South Carolina must redraw congressional maps after racial gerrymander, federal court rules — A panel of federal judges on Friday ruled that South Carolina lawmakers racially gerrymandered the state's 1st Congressional District specifically to dilute the power of Black voters.
RELATED:
Caitlin Byrd / Post and Courier:
Federal judges strike down SC's 1st Congressional District as racial gerrymandering
Federal judges strike down SC's 1st Congressional District as racial gerrymandering
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, UPI and Election Law Blog