Variety reports: LL Cool J is pulling out of this year’s “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2022″ after testing positive for COVID-19. The ABC special, which is marking its 50th anniversary this year, is still moving forward as planned with hosts Seacrest and Liza Koshy, but will have to make an adjustment due to the hip-hop …

The Washington Post reports: Lawyers for former president Donald Trump told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that a Washington Post interview with the chairman of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol shows the committee is trying to establish a criminal complaint against Trump, something the lawyers say is beyond the committee’s authority. The lawyers …

“The sick individuals spreading wild conspiracy theories about Congressman Cawthorn in the wake of his deeply personal divorce announcement are hateful and unwell. We’re not dignifying this baseless narrative with any further response.” – Cawthorn spox Luke Ball. Raleigh’s NBC News affiliate reports: North Carolina congressman Madison Cawthorn is back in the national spotlight for his story about a Russian …

The New York Daily News reports: Eric Adams, who earlier this month scrapped plans for an indoor Jan. 1 inauguration ceremony over concerns about the omicron variant of COVID-19, said Wednesday that he set his mind on the Times Square bash because it’s a safer but equally as bombastic alternative for getting sworn in. “Times Square has long been synonymous …

“He was a partisan guy. He changed the rules of the Senate for judges. I think that set in motion Trump getting three Supreme Court picks. But I want his family and friends to know that they’re in my prayers. He was a good man. He fought hard for his causes. And he will be missed, but I’m excited about …

USA Today reports: Jurors have reached a verdict in the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite charged with recruiting and grooming teenage girls to be sexually abused by the financier Jeffrey Epstein. The verdict is expected to be announced shortly in the New York City courtroom where Maxwell has been on trial since late November. Deliberations began Dec. 20, …

Law & Crime reports: A Venezuelan businessman has sued the Fox News for defamation, claiming the network falsely and “xenophobically” linked him to the 2020 U.S. presidential election and claims of voter fraud. In a complaint filed earlier this month, Majed Khalil says that former Fox Business host Lou Dobbs and guest Sidney Powell—both supporters of former President Donald Trump—linked …

New York City’s NBC News affiliate reports: The state reported a new single-day high of 67,090 cases on Wednesday, a 64.5% increase in just the last day, Gov. Kathy Hochul said. The unprecedented total came amid a recent high in the number of daily tests — 362,594 — for a positivity rate of 18.5%. Hospitalizations are escalating exponentially, too, rounding …

The Guardian reports: Confused anti-vaccine protesters entered a test and trace centre in Milton Keynes on Wednesday, appearing to believe it was a coronavirus vaccine centre, where they were filmed shouting abuse at staff and appearing to steal equipment. Video shared on social media showed the group of several dozen activists, led by former UKIP candidate Jeff Wyatt, walking through …

Newsweek reports: Thousands of Donald Trump supporters were in Washington D.C. on January 6, 2021 to attend a rally protesting the outcome of the 2020 election, which later led to a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Now, some of those attendees are running for state and local elected offices in the 2022 midterms. These candidates, all running on the …

The New York Times reports: As House ethics investigators were examining four cases this fall detailing a sweeping array of improper financial conduct by lawmakers, they ran into an obstacle: Two of the lawmakers under scrutiny refused to meet with them or provide documents. The investigators were not too surprised. Over the past decade, fewer and fewer House members have …

Media Matters reports: As the Biden administration kicked its COVID-19 vaccination campaign into full gear early this year, Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight ramped up its own countercampaign to undermine efforts to get people vaccinated. In the first 10 months of the Biden presidency, host Tucker Carlson and his guests pushed a claim that undermined vaccines in 113 of 114 …

The New York Times reports: During a recent marathon session in the House, two Republican lawmakers from Georgia sat in full view of television cameras. Neither was wearing a mask. It was the latest act of defiance by the pair, Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Andrew Clyde, against a rule requiring legislators to wear masks on the House floor. Most …

Mediaite reports: Fox News contributor Lisa Boothe has been getting quite a bit of attention lately after taking a vocal stand against Covid-19 vaccines. But she has appeared on Fox News a few times since bragging about being anti-vaxx during an appearance with Dan Bongino in October. And now, she has revealed in new tweets that she has contracted Covid-19. …

Newsweek reports: A Dutch economist who was a prominent skeptic of the COVID-19 vaccines and an anti-lockdown campaigner has died at the age of 53 after contracting the disease. Robin Fransman, a political economist, passed away due to the consequences of infection with the SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19, on December 28 at a hospital in Amsterdam, Dutch daily …

Phoenix’s NBC News affiliate reports: A woman late for her flight was arrested for trespassing at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport on Sunday, authorities said. Vickie Myers, 53, from St. Louis was booked into the Maricopa County Jail for running out onto the tarmac to stop a plane from leaving, the Phoenix Police Department said. The woman said she was late …

The Daily Beast reports: Ardently pro-Trump radio host Wayne Allyn Root wants to stage an “intervention” with Donald Trump over the ex-president’s support for the COVID-19 vaccine. “He needs an intervention from a friend,” Root explained this week on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ InfoWars program, adding that Trump is “in total delusion.” Root continued: “He’s been right on everything except …

Reuters reports: Greece is introducing new restrictions on the hospitality sector from Thursday, bringing forward measures planned for early January as coronavirus infections surge. Bars, nightclubs and restaurants will be forced to close at midnight, with no standing customers and no music, with the exception of New Year’s Eve when then can stay open until 2 a.m.. “These measures, if …

Florida Politics reports: Sen. Rick Scott continues to project optimism about the electoral climate for Republicans, forecasting an “unbelievable” shift in school boards in 2022. During an interview Wednesday morning on Fox News Radio’s Brian Kilmeade Show, the Senator said there would be an “unbelievable number of school board changes this next year.” Scott expects cultural backlash to prevail. “Because …

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: A Kentucky man is under federal investigation after he allegedly barged into a Jefferson Parish public school’s virtual classroom lesson, hurled violent and racist insults at fifth graders, and posted an online video of the intrusion last year. Fifth-grade students of Laureate Academy Charter School in Harvey were taking a virtual lesson via Zoom on …