Mike Johnson concludes the 118th Congress as it began — in chaos  —  A historically unproductive Congress ends with the House speaker battling to keep his job amid an ungovernable majority.  —  The 118th Congress ended almost exactly as it began: with chaos in the House of Representatives …

Justice Thomas Did Not Disclose Additional Trips, Democrats Say  —  The revelation was included in a report by Democratic staff members on the Senate Judiciary Committee who had conducted a 20-month investigation into ethics practices at the Supreme Court.  —  Justice Clarence Thomas failed …

Biden secures 235th confirmed judicial appointee, one more than Trump  —  Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden secured his 235th appointment to the federal judiciary on Friday, narrowly surpassing President-elect Donald Trump's first-term tally by one with a record number of women and people of color named to the bench.

Private messages detail an alleged campaign to tarnish Blake Lively after she accused Justin Baldoni of misconduct on the set of “It Ends With Us.”  —  Last summer, as the release of “It Ends With Us” approached, Justin Baldoni, the director and a star of the film, and Jamey Heath …

Trump's ‘stunningly unqualified’ diplomatic team shapes up at breakneck speed  —  Trump is hardly the first US president to introduce miscast nominees, but he has nominated ambassadors at a rate not recalled in recent memory  —  They seem an unlikely, almost motley, crew of emissaries.

Outrage as Elon Musk claims ‘only AfD can save Germany’  —  German health minister calls US billionaire's intervention weeks before election ‘undignified and problematic’  —  Elon Musk has caused outrage in Berlin after appearing to endorse the far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative für Deutschland.

He's anti-democracy and pro-Trump: the obscure ‘dark enlightenment’ blogger influencing the next US administration  —  Key figures in the incoming administration follow Curtis Yarvin, who's pushing for an autocratic takeover of the US  —  Curtis Yarvin is hardly a household name in US politics.

Senate approves bill to expand Social Security to millions of Americans  —  Legislation to expand Social Security benefits to millions of Americans passed the U.S. Senate early Saturday and is now headed to the desk of President Biden, who is expected to sign the measure into law.

A Win for the Vibecession Story  —  Guess what?  Popular economic narratives aren't reliable  —  Still experimenting with this newsletter.  My original plan was to write most weekdays and take weekends off.  But there's so much to write about!  So I will sometimes put up relatively brief …

Scoop: Jeffries' plan to kill the debt ceiling forever … - Republicans have a significant bloc of debt and deficit hawks who will likely vote against raising the debt ceiling under any circumstances.  — That gives the Democratic leader considerable leverage to use the debt limit to force concessions.

Senile Biden's insult to families of Marines murdered in disastrous Afghan withdrawal  —  Joe Biden kept the grieving relatives of the Marines killed in Afghanistan waiting for three hours while he napped on Air Force One on the tarmac before a dignified transfer, multiple military families have told Daily Mail.