Johnson weighs spending plan B as Elon Musk stokes opposition  —  Speaker Mike Johnson's leadership team is quietly discussing a plan B to fund the government amid conservative opposition and vocal criticism from incoming President Donald Trump's top ally Elon Musk.

In reversal, key House panel votes to release Matt Gaetz ethics report  —  The House Ethics Committee secretly voted earlier this month to release its report into the conduct of former Rep. Matt Gaetz before the end of this Congress, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the matter.

What Do Democrats Need to Do?  Act Like an Opposition Party.  —  Democrats may be in the minority, but they are not yet an opposition.  —  What's the difference?  —  An opposition would use every opportunity it had to demonstrate its resolute stance against the incoming administration.

California Declares an Emergency Over Bird Flu in Cattle  —  Officials have discovered the virus in 645 dairy herds, more than in any other state so far.  —  In a stark acknowledgment of the increasing seriousness of bird flu's spread, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California declared on Wednesday …

House Republicans Call for Liz Cheney to Be Investigated Over Jan. 6 Committee Role  —  Ms. Cheney defended her work on the select committee in a detailed statement, and called the report “a malicious and cowardly assault on the truth.”  —  House Republicans on Tuesday said their one-time colleague …

Health Insurance is a Racket  —  What value do these companies add, really?  —  It's not news that many Americans dislike health insurance companies.  In fact, Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare who was murdered two weeks ago, reportedly warned his colleagues months ago that the industry had a public relations problem.

Inside Disney's Decision to Settle a Trump Defamation Suit  —  Talks started and finished on the same day, after Disney decided that fighting the lawsuit could potentially hurt the company and protections for the press.  —  When Disney reached a settlement last week with President-elect Donald J. Trump …

What's in the CR for members — a pay raise, plus an Obamacare opt-out  —  Two provisions that directly impact lawmakers were quietly added to the CR: a pay raise and an Obamacare opt-out. … It's complicated, but Congress has proactively blocked lawmakers from getting a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) since 2009.

Transcript: Trump's Angry New Tirade on Truth Social Signals Dark 2025  —  The following is a lightly edited transcript of the December 17 episode of the  —  Daily Blast podcast.  Listen to it here.  —  Greg Sargent: This is The Daily Blast from The New Republic, produced and presented by the DSR network.

Sexism Is a Risk Factor for Memory Decline Among Women  — Share on X (formerly Twitter)  — Share by email  —  Women born in the most sexist U.S. states experienced faster memory decline in later years compared to women born in the least sexist states, a new study by researchers …

Trump planning to target progressive non-profits, US watchdog warns  —  Congressional Integrity Project creates initiative to counter growing ‘authoritarianism’ and defend progressives  —  Donald Trump and his Republican allies are planning to target progressive groups they perceive …

Georgia prosecutors urge appeals court not to toss Trump election interference case  —  The Fulton County district attorney's office said the president-elect had presented the court with an “underbaked” argument for dismissing the case.  —  ATLANTA — Georgia prosecutors are calling …