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.
Discussion:
Roll Call, The Hill, Plain Dealer, New York Times, Breitbart, HuffPost, Sacramento Bee, The Hill, Washington Examiner, Fox News, Just The News, Deadline, Raw Story, RedState, The Guardian, UPI, Washington Times, Misinformation … and Mediaite
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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:
RedState, Fox News 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 …
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, New York Post and Virginia Mercury
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:
RedState, The Week, The Daily Beast, Bloomberg, Sacramento Bee, Washington Post, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Breitbart and Vox
Justin Baragona / The Daily Beast:
The ‘Never Kevin’ Chaos Is Tearing Fox News Apart
The ‘Never Kevin’ Chaos Is Tearing Fox News Apart
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, IJR, Forbes, Media Matters for America, Louder With Crowder, BizPac Review, Press Enterprise, Insider and Raw Story
Peter Kasperowicz / Fox News:
McCarthy loses by one vote in shocking 14th attempt, furious floor lobbying failed to sway opponents
McCarthy loses by one vote in shocking 14th attempt, furious floor lobbying failed to sway opponents
Discussion:
NBC News, The Guardian, New York Post, Bloomberg, The Gateway Pundit, Misinformation …, Press Enterprise, Sacramento Bee, Rolling Stone, New York Times, The Daily Caller, Washington Examiner, National Review, Twitchy, Political Wire, Al Jazeera, HuffPost, PIX11, CBS News, Roll Call and Arizona Mirror
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.
Discussion:
WTKR-TV, WAVY-TV, Hampton Roads Daily Press, One America News Network, The Daily Caller, PennLive, Insider, New York Post, UPI, The Hill, The Post Millennial and Raw Story
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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 …
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
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:
Washington Times, BizPac Review, New York Magazine, HotAir, Twitchy, RedState and New York Post
Matt Laslo / Raw Story:
Some Democrats fear a mass shooting on House floor — by a QAnon-Republican — WASHINGTON—Surprise quickly morphed into alarm for some at the Capitol this week as a post-Jan. 6 security measure vanished without warning just before Republicans reclaimed control of the House.
Discussion:
Fox News, The Daily Caller, Mother Jones and The Guardian
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Alayna Treene / Axios:
House Democrats connect Jan. 6 to GOP's speakership fight
House Democrats connect Jan. 6 to GOP's speakership fight
Discussion:
The Hill, NBC News, CNBC, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Daily Caller, CBS News and Bloomberg
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:
Raw Story
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:
The Reload, Breitbart and Just The News
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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:
Fox News
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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 …
Tracie Canada / Scientific American:
Damar Hamlin's Collapse Highlights the Violence Black Men Experience in Football — The “terrifyingly ordinary” nature of football's violence disproportionately affects Black men — Millions of people watched as Damar Hamlin, a 24-year-old player in the National Football League (NFL) …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal
Caitlin Byrd / Post and Courier:
Federal judges strike down SC's 1st Congressional District as racial gerrymandering — South Carolina lawmakers drew the coastal 1st Congressional District held by Republican Nancy Mace in such a way that it discriminates against Black voters and must be recrafted by the end of March, a panel of federal judges has concluded.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, UPI and Election Law Blog
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Politico:
Katie Porter weighs Senate bid launch as Feinstein stays mum — Rep. Katie Porter is weighing a campaign launch for Sen. Dianne Feinstein's seat — potentially even before her veteran Democratic colleague announces her plans for 2024. — Fresh off a bruising battleground reelection win …
Discussion:
Political Wire
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, NPR, The Guardian, Source New Mexico, The Hill, The Post Millennial, Wall Street Journal, Al Jazeera, Raw Story, UPI, NBC News, Associated Press, KRQE-TV, CBS News and WFLA-TV
Jonathan Allen / NBC News:
Conservative leader Matt Schlapp is accused of fondling a male campaign staffer in Georgia — WASHINGTON — Matt Schlapp, one of the nation's most prominent conservative leaders and a top ally of former President Donald Trump, is being accused of sexually groping a male aide …
Discussion:
PoliticusUSA, Rolling Stone, New York Post, The Signorile Report, Jezebel, Insider, Raw Story, Vanity Fair, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Talking Points Memo and Eschaton
Sam Mellins / New York Focus:
‘Highly Unlikely’ Hector LaSalle Gets a Floor Vote, Say Senate Democrats … GOVERNOR KATHY HOCHUL'S nominee for Chief Judge of the state's highest court is “highly unlikely” to get a confirmation vote from the full state Senate, Senate Democratic spokesperson Mike Murphy told New York Focus.
Discussion:
New York Post, New York Daily News, City & State New York and Queens News