Variety reports: Trevor Noah is nearing his last laugh on “The Daily Show.” The comedian, who came out of near anonymity to take over the program from Jon Stewart in 2015, plans to exit the flagship Comedy Central series after a seven-year tenure that saw him transform it for a new generation of viewers who are more at home on …

The Texas Tribune reports: Hours ahead of the only planned gubernatorial debate of the election cycle, the families of Uvalde school shooting victims threw their support behind Democrat Beto O’Rourke, saying in a news conference that incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, had not taken meaningful enough action on gun control measures following the deaths of 19 schoolchildren and two …

Mediaite reports: Rep. Bennie Thomson (D-MS) confirmed the House select committee investigating the Jan 6. Capitol attack will release its final report before the upcoming midterm elections. The committee’s final public hearing had been scheduled for Wednesday, but it was postponed as millions of Floridians braced for the landfall of Hurricane Ian. The storm made a second landfall in South …

Kristen Doerer reports at Right Wing Watch: So much for distancing himself from Nick Fuentes. On Friday, Rep. Paul Gosar promoted a film about Fuentes portraying the white nationalist and Christian fascist as the “most canceled man in America.” Gosar has rubbed soldiers with the 24-year-old Fuentes since he came onto the political scene, notably appearing at Fuentes’ America First …

Decatur’s NBC affiliate reports: A former church pastor accepted a plea agreement in court on Friday, pleading guilty to Count II Grooming, a Class 4 felony. Joseph Krol, 38, is accused of sending sexually inappropriate Snapchat messages to a 15-year-old minor from Oreana. A sworn affidavit said Krol asked the child to take part in a “true online confessions game” …

The Daily Beast reports: Disgraced former Fox News anchor Ed Henry’s motion to dismiss allegations that he violated New York’s so-called “revenge porn” statute against his sexual assault accuser was rejected by a federal judge this week. U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams also ruled that ex-Fox associate producer Jennifer Eckhart’s accusation of sex trafficking against Henry could continue. Weeks after …

CNN reports: Despite disavowing White nationalism last spring when one of its adherents endorsed him, a US House candidate in Washington subsequently gave a previously unreported interview in June to a Nazi sympathizer and White nationalist. While Republican Joe Kent touted his support for prominent far-right figures like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Green and Paul Gosar and supported MAGA policies, he …

Via email from hate group leader Mat Staver: Liberty Counsel will request a rehearing en banc from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of former Rowan County, Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis, regarding her qualified immunity defense under the First Amendment and religious freedom rights in the cases of Ermold v. Davis and Yates v. Davis. The Sixth Circuit …

The Telegraph reports: Bruce Willis has become the first Hollywood star to sell his rights to allow a “digital twin” of himself to be created for use on screen. Using deepfake technology, the actor appeared in a phone advert without ever being on set, after his face was digitally transplanted onto another performer. Willis allowed US firm Deepcake, which makes …

The Hill reports: Democrats lead Republicans in the generic congressional ballot by 4 points with Election Day less than six weeks away, according to a new poll. A Yahoo News-YouGov poll released Friday found 45 percent of respondents plan to vote for a Democrat in their congressional district, while 41 percent plan to support a Republican. Democrats’ lead is 1 …

Rolling Stone reports: For years, Fox News star Tucker Carlson has served as a vital voice in Donald Trump’s ear, including privately urging him not to bomb Iran, giving him ideas for crackdowns on immigrants and the homeless, and even gossiping with the former president about another man’s “fucking gross” sexual ongoings. During Trump’s fourth year in office, Carlson also …

Raw Story reports: “Well, the number one thing that everyone should do is vote day of,” Lindell said, adding that voters can defy “lying” pollsters by voting only on Election Day. “We can overrun the algorithms. Everybody has to get out and vote — everybody you know — and same day. Don’t vote two days early, don’t vote one day …

CBS News reports: Twelve Washington, D.C. residents have been selected out of a pool of dozens to serve as jurors on the highest-profile trial to date in the Justice Department’s sprawling investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The jury was selected by prosecutors and defense attorneys for the five defendants on trial; members of the …

The Guardian reports: According to a new book, Donald Trump came up with his famous excuse for not releasing his tax returns on the fly – literally, while riding his campaign plane during the 2016 Republican primary. Maggie Haberman writes: “Trump thought for a second about how to ‘get myself out of this’, as he said. He leaned back, before …

Via press release from the White House: The United States condemns Russia’s fraudulent attempt today to annex sovereign Ukrainian territory. Russia is violating international law, trampling on the United Nations Charter, and showing its contempt for peaceful nations everywhere. Make no mistake: these actions have no legitimacy. The United States will always honor Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders. We will continue …

The Greenville News reports: Hurricane Ian made its second U.S. landfall near Georgetown, South Carolina, 2:05 p.m. Friday as a Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph. Hurricane-force winds could be felt 70 miles from the center of the storm and tropical-storm-force winds could be felt as far as 275 miles from the center. Reports of damage …

The Washington Post reports: Ukraine is applying for “accelerated ascension” into NATO, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday, in an apparent answer to Russia’s move to illegally annex four of the country’s partially occupied regions. The remarks were more symbolic than practical: The speedy admittance of Ukraine to the alliance would require members to immediately send troops to fight Russia, under …

Changing America reports: California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Thursday signed into law a bill to make the state a refuge for transgender youth and their families. The measure, effective Jan. 1, is designed to shield families with transgender youth under 18 from being criminally prosecuted if they travel to California to obtain gender-affirming health care for their children from …

“We understand that the deep state, they have weather manipulation technology. They have DARPA. They know how to manipulate and create big storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, climate change, etc. “And these huge hurricanes always seem to target red states, red districts. And always at a convenient time, right before elections or in this case possibly because Ron DeSantis has been stepping …

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports: It’s been two years since Gaige Grosskreutz became linked to the deadly actions of one-time homicide suspect Kyle Rittenhouse, and he says he can’t shake them. This week, Grosskreutz filed a secret petition to change his legal name — that was quickly reported by a conservative news outlet, prompting his call for a leak investigation by …