Deadline reports: ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill is being remembered by friends, musical colleagues, and even the governor of Texas paying tribute. Hill’s death was announced today by bandmates Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard. The bassist was 72. “Rock and roll has been stopped in its tracks,” tweeted Martha Quinn, one of MTV’s original veejays whose tenure at the channel …

The Wrap reports: Ron Popeil, the prolific infomercial spokesman behind “as seen on TV” products like the Showtime Rotisserie and Hair in a Can, has died. He was 86. Popeil died early Wednesday morning at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center following a “severe medical emergency” on Tuesday, Popeil’s family told TMZ. Popeil was best known for the “Set it and forget it” …

Yahoo News reports:  The Justice Department on Wednesday issued a second warning to states that so-called audits of the 2020 election could violate federal laws, emphasizing the agency’s intent to protect voting rights. Several counties and states across the U.S. have completed or considered audits amid former President Trump’s baseless claims of widespread election fraud. Arizona’s GOP-led audit triggered a …

Axios reports: Donald Trump’s advisers are angry at David McIntosh, president of the conservative Club for Growth, for persuading the former president to endorse a losing candidate in the special election for Texas’ 6th District. “I think this is the only race we’ve lost together,” Trump said of McIntosh and the Club for Growth, before catching himself mid-sentence on the …

Law & Crime reports: The Turkish government is not immune from a lawsuit brought by protesters suing strongman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s security detail for allegedly assaulting them on the streets of Washington, a federal appeals court has ruled. Issued on Tuesday, the D.C. Circuit’s ruling reanimates one of the most highly publicized scandals in U.S.-Turkish relations during the Donald Trump …

Michigan Business reports: Campaign finance reports filed on Monday show the Lansing-based Michigan Catholic Conference, which bills itself as “the official voice of the Catholic Church in Michigan on matters of public policy,” has made $238,874.80 in direct and in-kind contributions to Citizens for Equality, Fairness and Justice, an organization formed in April that has actively opposed the LGBTQ initiative. …

The Arizona Republic reports: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema does not support Democrats’ $3.5 trillion budget plan that aims to deliver major components of President Joe Biden’s economic agenda that Democrats hope to pass after moving a separate bipartisan infrastructure deal that Sinema negotiated. Sinema, D-Ariz., told The Arizona Republic on Wednesday she had reviewed the Senate Budget Committee’s spending framework and …

The Verge reports: Apple will be requiring customers and staff at most of its more than 270 US retail stores to wear masks even if they are vaccinated, according to a new Bloomberg report, bringing back a requirement that had been removed starting in June. The change goes into effect Thursday. “After carefully reviewing the latest CDC recommendations, and analyzing …

Via press release from the Justice Department: A Virginia man and self-proclaimed member of the Proud Boys was arrested today for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, which disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress that was in the process of ascertaining and counting the electoral votes related to the presidential election. James …

Politico reports: Max Miller, 32, is the poster child of Trump’s post-impeachment retribution tour. In his mounting efforts to punish Republican apostates in next year’s midterms and to bolster his political sway for a potential run of his own in 2024, Trump has endorsed an array of supportive candidates in House, Senate and state-level races—but there’s nobody on the list …

The New York Daily News reports: A Brooklyn plumber with a short-lived political career was busted Wednesday for climbing though a U.S. Capitol building window to join fellow rioters in the Jan. 6 insurrection — with photos showing the bearded suspect amidst the crazed crowd inside the federal landmark. Daniel Christmann, 38, was arrested at his home on federal charges …

Reuters reports: Jared Kushner, a top adviser to former President Donald Trump, plans to launch an investment firm in coming months, a move that will take him away from politics for the foreseeable future, sources familiar with the plan said on Wednesday. Kushner, the former chief executive of Kushner Companies, who served as the Republican president’s senior adviser in the …

Law & Crime reports: Former president Donald Trump, his prized family business, the Trump Organization, and three of his adult children, Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Eric Trump, all suffered a significant legal setback in a federal appeals court opinion issued Wednesday morning. For years the Trump family and its namesake entity have fought to keep a potentially ugly …

Politico reports: Donald Trump tried and failed to pass an infrastructure bill so many times over the course of his presidency that his attempts were reduced to a punchline. Now out of office, Trump is trying to ensure that his successor, Joe Biden, suffers the indignity of the “infrastructure week” jokes as well. The former president has sounded off repeatedly …

The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports: A planned fundraiser at a Guerneville winery by a conservative social media figure charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot is raising eyebrows for some and angering others. Brandon Straka, a conservative media darling, plans to hold the event Saturday at Rio Crest Winery and charge guests $100 to $150 for admission, according to …

Via press release from hate group leader Mat Staver: Yesterday, we received many emails from employees of the VA—the largest health care group in America. At the end of one email, the person wrote: “HELP … Stop this please. Lord help us all.” We are being inundated by requests for legal assistance from people who are being forced to take …

Via email from hate group leader Tony Perkins: The silver lining of the coronavirus pandemic is that parents were forced to spend more time at home with their children and saw firsthand the radical indoctrination being pushed on them. Despite Leftist mockery, the pushback against critical race theory, explicit LGBT curriculum, social justice activism, and other offensive material is coming …

The New York Daily News reports: Mayor de Blasio’s putting his money where his mouth is. Hizzoner announced Wednesday that his administration will pay New Yorkers $100 to get vaccinated against COVID-19 at any city-run immunization sites as the virus continues to surge in the Big Apple. The cash incentive will start Friday and is aimed at turning the tide …

The Associated Press reports: CLAIM: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blocked the National Guard from coming to the Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection. AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. As Speaker of the House, Pelosi does not direct the National Guard. Further, as the Capitol came under attack, she and the Senate Majority leader called for military assistance, including the National Guard. The …

The Gloucester Advocate reports: Far-right extremist Neil Erikson walked into a queer-friendly church and hurled homophobic abuse at its attendees before live-streaming the aftermath, a Victorian court has been told. Erikson on Wednesday faced an online contest mention at Melbourne Magistrates Court, seated in front of an Australian flag draped on the wall of his room. The 36-year-old has been …