Louisville’s NBC News affiliate reports: Gov. Andy Beshear told WLKY during a live interview that at least 50 people were likely killed in western Kentucky after a long and significant tornado ripped through the area overnight. “This is going to be some of the worst tornado damage that we’ve seen in a long time,” Beshear said early Saturday. “This is …

Variety reports: Shares of Peloton, the fitness equipment company, fell 11.3% Thursday — tumbling to a 19-month low — after a key character in HBO Max’s “Sex and the City” revival, “And Just Like That,” was shown dying of a heart attack after a 45-minute workout on one of the company’s exercise bikes. The stock continued its slide Friday, down …

An open letter to Rubio from the New York Times: Dear Senator Rubio, Your most recent letter again misrepresented our work and the courageous efforts of our sources and our reporters to make this tragic story known to the world. And we want to make clear that your demands are not just antithetical to a free press, they may actually …

The Associated Press reports: Tighter restrictions to curb the coronavirus came into force in Britain on Friday, as the government faced new allegations that officials flouted rules they had imposed on the nation with lockdown-breaking parties last Christmas. Face masks are once again compulsory in indoor public spaces in England under the measures British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced this …

The Washington Post reports: A slim majority of American adults support religious exemptions to coronavirus vaccine mandates, but most also say that too many people are using their faith as an excuse to avoid immunization, a new survey found. The poll by the Public Religion Research Institute and the Interfaith Youth Core found that 51 percent of adults favor letting …

Law & Crime reports: An Oklahoma man who swiped a beer from Nancy Pelosi’s office refrigerator while inside the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6 has been sentenced to intermittent incarceration and two years of probation. Andrew Ericson, 24, posted two pictures of himself inside the Capitol to Snapchat, according to prosecutors, including a picture of him seated in a …

Religion News Service reports: A new book by former President Donald Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows offers a detailed account of the then-commander in chief’s infamous Bible photo-op at St. John’s Church in June 2020, during the height of the summer’s racial justice protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer. …

TMZ reports: Josh Duggar isn’t the only person in the family experiencing legal issues, his sister, Jana, has been charged as well … TMZ has learned. Jana’s been charged with endangering the welfare of a minor, a court clerk confirms to TMZ. The circumstances surrounding the charge are still unknown, but we’re told Jana — the oldest daughter of Jim …

Politico reports: A Donald Trump campaign lawyer wrote two legal memos in the week before the Jan. 6 Capitol attack that claimed then-Vice President Mike Pence had the authority to refuse to count presidential electors from states that delivered Joe Biden the White House. The memos from then-Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis, which contain widely disputed legal theories about Pence’s ability …

Portland’s NBC News affiliate reports: Proud Boys member Alan Swinney has been sentenced by Judge Heidi Moawad to 10 years in prison with three years post-prison supervision, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt announced on Friday. Swinney injured a man’s eye by shooting him in the face with a paintball gun, sprayed people directly in the face with bear mace …

Mediaite reports: On Thursday’s Fox News Primetime, Fox News host Tammy Bruce slammed Biden for updating the words of the Declaration of  Independence, and accused him attempting to recondition the document so that it adheres to modern guidelines for inclusivity. “Alrighty, notice how he added ‘women and men are created equal,’ and not just men,” Bruce said. “It matters, right? …

The Washington Post reports: The House select committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob issued subpoenas Friday to six individuals involved in the planning of the rally on the Ellipse that preceded the insurrection. Among those subpoenaed was Max Miller, a former Trump aide and current Ohio congressional candidate that the committee says …

The New York Daily News reports: Gov. Hochul issued a statewide mask mandate on Friday, ordering the use of face coverings in all New York businesses that do not require proof of vaccination, as the state grapples with a winter wave of coronavirus cases that continues to stretch hospitals thin. The directive will enter force on Monday and last for …

The Associated Press reports: Days after announcing his candidacy for governor, Republican David Perdue further embraced debunked claims of electoral fraud in Georgia’s 2020 presidential race by joining a lawsuit seeking to prove he and former President Donald Trump were cheated out of election victories. The suit claims that fraudulent or counterfeit ballots were counted in Fulton County, the state’s …

The Orange County Register reports: A former Orange County police chief turned yoga instructor and conservative protester is seeking to have the Capitol insurrection-related criminal charges he is facing tossed out by arguing he was the target of a FBI counter-intelligence operation and accusing his former allies of being government informants. Alan Hostetter, who is serving as his own attorney, …

Via email from hate group leader Monica Cole: Sephora, a company that sells cosmetics, beauty products, and fragrances, has really crossed the line by featuring two gay men in its newest commercial. The Sephora Holiday Gifting 2021 ad shows various friends and family members smiling while giving each other Christmas gifts, but the homosexual couple is the only romantic couple …

San Diego’s Fox News affiliate reports: Donning a red and white Santa cap, the woman, who identified herself as “Bridgette,” stepped to the mic during Tuesday’s public comments portion of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors meeting. Her “All I Want For Christmas Is You” variation has a little bit of everything. It namechecks the antiparasitic drug Ivermectin and …

Variety reports: Michael Nesmith, who attained TV and pop stardom in the Monkees and later became a prophetic figure on the Los Angeles country-rock scene and then a multimedia entrepreneur, died Friday of natural causes. He was 78. “With Infinite Love we announce that Michael Nesmith has passed away this morning in his home, surrounded by family, peacefully and of …

Florida Politics reports: New polling shows Gov. Ron DeSantis would lose the popular vote to either President Joe Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris if they squared off in 2024. A Harvard/Harris Poll asked: “If the 2024 election for President were held today and it was between Ron DeSantis, the Republican, and Joe Biden, the Democrat, who would you vote …

ABC News reports: Kentucky’s governor declared the state’s chronic nursing shortage to be an emergency Thursday, taking executive actions amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic to boost enrollment in nurse-training programs. Kentucky is projected to need more than 16,000 additional nurses by 2024, to help fill gaps caused by retirements and people leaving the profession, Gov. Andy Beshear said. Health leaders …