The Arizona Republic reports: Kari Lake is appealing her election challenge loss, asking the state Court of Appeals late Tuesday to reconsider all 10 counts she originally cited in her lawsuit, as well as a decision ordering her to pay $33,000 in fees to Katie Hobbs’ legal team. Lake also indicated she will ask the state Supreme Court for direct …

Semafor reports: As an example of his work, he said a client might want to sell a plane or a boat. “I’m not going to go list it and broker it,” he said. “What I will do is I will go look out there within my Rolodex and be like: ‘Hey, are you looking for a plane?’ ‘Are you looking …

The Moscow Times reports: Russian reservists called up to fight in Ukraine as part of Russia’s recent mobilization drive will be eligible for free sperm-freezing procedures, state-run media reported on Wednesday, citing a lawyers’ association that represents military families hoping to secure state funding for the procedure. More than 300,000 reservists have so far been called up to fight in Russia’s …

Florida Politics reports: The 2022 Florida debut of “A Drag Queen Christmas” in Fort Lauderdale has triggered a state investigation, according to a tweet from the account of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Press Secretary. According to the traveling production’s website, Dragfans.com, the show has been going on for eight years. But the site listing all the tour stops does say potential …

Talking Points Memo reports: The Florida Republican has reportedly been under investigation for potentially trafficking a 17-year-old girl since late 2020. We knew Gaetz sought a presidential pardon from White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to sidestep the whole ordeal. Tuesday’s transcript adds new details from Johnny McEntee. “He told me to ask Meadows for a pardon,” McEntee said. The …

Newsweek reports: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia is defending New York Congressman-elect George Santos while he faces backlash for fabricating details of his personal and professional life. Greene, of Georgia, praised her incoming GOP colleague for supposedly “being honest with his district now” in a series of tweets attacking Democrats on Tuesday. Misrepresentations of his heritage prompted the …

The Independent reports: A fresh batch of transcripts released by the committee investigating the Capitol riots on Tuesday revealed Ms Hutchinson’s testimony from May in which she had told the committee that she saw Mr Meadows burn documents in his office fireplace around a dozen times – about once or twice a week – between December 2020 and mid January …

The Associated Press reports: In a video that Southwest posted late Tuesday, CEO Robert Jordan said Southwest would operate a reduced schedule for several days but hoped to be “back on track before next week.” Jordan blamed the winter storm for snarling the airline’s “highly complex” network. He said Southwest’s tools for recovering from disruptions work “99% of the time, …

The far-right Washington Times reports: The Family Research Council said Tuesday that outgoing Rep. Jody Hice, Georgia Republican, will join the conservative Christian organization in January as a senior adviser to longtime President Tony Perkins. Mr. Hice, a former Southern Baptist pastor in Georgia before serving in Congress, said in an interview he was “extremely honored and excited to be …

The Washington Post reports: Pope Francis said his predecessor Benedict XVI was “very sick,” and the Vatican said the 95-year-old’s health had “worsened,” putting the Catholic Church on watch about one of its most towering conservative figures. “I ask to all of you for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict,” Francis told pilgrims at his general audience Wednesday, asking …

Mediaite has the transcript: TULSI GABBARD: What does the word integrity mean to you? What does it mean? Because the meaning of the word actually matters in practice. GEORGE SANTOS: It means to carry yourself in an honorable way. And I made a mistake. And I think humans are flawed and we all make mistakes, Tulsi. I think we can …

CNN reports:   A Maricopa County judge on Tuesday ordered Kari Lake to compensate Gov.-elect Katie Hobbs for some legal fees related to the election lawsuit Lake had brought challenging her loss, but he stopped short of sanctioning Lake for filing the lawsuit. Attorneys for Hobbs – the current secretary of state – had charged that Lake and her lawyers …

CNBC reports: The U.S. government is considering imposing new Covid rules for travelers from China, officials said, citing concerns over virus-related data released by the Chinese government. The U.S. officials’ comments come after Japan’s recent measures which require a negative Covid test for travelers arriving from mainland China from Dec. 30. Travelers from China without a valid vaccination certificate will …

Reuters reports: Former Republican President Donald Trump’s redacted tax returns will be made public on Friday, a spokesperson for the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee said on Tuesday. The documents to be released on Friday are expected to include Trump’s tax returns filed between 2015 and 2021, the years he ran for and served as president. A …

Deadline Hollywood reports: James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water is close on its way to the $1B global box office mark, having more than handily crossed $900M worldwide through its second Monday. This is the latest benchmark for the highly-anticipated sequel, and comes just 13 days after global rollout began. With $955.1M through Monday, The Way of Water has …

Gothamist reports: With little public attention, New York City has reversed how it polices prostitution, going from 20,000 annual arrests in 1985 to barely more than 100 this year. The plunge in arrests, gradual over the last decade, accelerated last year with decisions by borough district attorneys to stop prosecuting sex workers and dismiss thousands of open cases against those …

The Miami Herald reports: A top aide to Gov. Ron DeSantis used a private email address with the alias “Clarice Starling” — a reference to the Hannibal Lecter serial killer novels — to help his former client win a state contract to operate Florida’s controversial migrant flight program, recently released public records show. The records suggest that Larry Keefe, DeSantis’ …

USA Today reports: President Joe Biden said his administration will hold airlines accountable after nationwide flight cancellations following an extreme winter storm this past week. Thousands of flights were canceled this week, with many being from Southwest Airlines. “The Committee will be looking into the causes of these disruptions and its impact to consumers,” Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., chair of the …

Newsday reports: Two top Long Island Republicans called on the House Ethics Committee to investigate incoming Rep. George Santos a day after the embattled politician conceded in a series of interviews that he had lied about his background and work experience. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and incoming Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Bay Shore) each told Newsday that congressional investigators should …

ABC News reports: A Lufthansa flight from Los Angeles to Frankfurt, Germany, made an unscheduled landing at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport after a passenger’s laptop caught fire, the airline said. Monday night’s landing at O’Hare was a precautionary step after an overheated laptop caused a small fire in the passenger cabin, the airline said. None of the passengers were injured, …