People Magazine reports: Paul Reubens is sharing his truth from beyond the grave. In a posthumous documentary, Pee-wee as Himself, which premiered Thursday, Jan. 23 at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, the legendary comedian came out as gay after concealing his sexuality for the entirety of his career. Before he became known for playing Pee-wee Herman, Reubens revealed he was …

Law & Crime reports: Noelle Dunphy sued Giuliani and his business in Manhattan Supreme Court on Thursday. She claims that what seemed like a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” role as Giuliani’s director of business development at $1 million per year quickly took a sordid turn after she was hired in January 2019. “Giuliani began abusing Ms. Dunphy almost immediately after she started …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Friday said he wanted to see two actions taken in California before he offered federal support for Los Angeles as it grapples with wildfires. “I want to see two things in Los Angeles. Voter ID, so that the people have a chance to vote, and I want to see the water be released and …

“The trees are loaded with water. They suck that water out of the ground. But when I was in Paradise, I noticed that the trees, they were dark on the bottom. But they were absolutely living and they lived. Because they’re soaking wet. “But the trees that were on the ground, within 12-18 months you have to cut them up …

The Washington Post reports: The White House late Friday fired the independent inspectors general of at least 12 major federal agencies in a purge that could clear the way for President Donald Trump to install loyalists in the crucial role of identifying fraud, waste and abuse in the government. The inspectors general were notified by emails from the White House …

Boise’s NPR affiliate reports: The House State Affairs Committee overwhelmingly passed a resolution asking the Supreme Court to overturn its 2015 Obergefell vs. Hodges decision, which gave same-sex couples the right to marry nationwide. The resolution was passed 13 to 2 and now goes to the full House for further debate. Rep. Heather Scott [photo above] defended the measure saying …

Via press release from Sen. Mitch McConnell: “Mere desire to be a ‘change agent’ is not enough to fill these shoes. And ‘dust on boots’ fails even to distinguish this nominee from multiple predecessors of the last decade. Nor is it a precondition for success. Secretaries with distinguished combat experience and time in the trenches have failed at the job. …

CNN reports: The Senate narrowly voted to confirm embattled Pete Hegseth as secretary of the Department of Defense, in a major win for President Donald Trump and his new administration. Vice President JD Vance cast the 51-50 tie-breaking vote after former GOP Leader Mitch McConnell and GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine joined Democrats to …

Variety reports: Here comes a plot twist: As Skydance Media and RedBird Capital Partners work to close the Larry Ellison-backed takeover of Paramount Global this spring, a consortium of investors who previously bid on the storied media conglomerate is mounting an eleventh-hour $13.5 billion offer. Variety has obtained a legal letter that is being sent to Paramount’s board Friday, Jan. …

CBS News reports: The Senate is poised to hold a vote to confirm Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as secretary of defense, late Friday evening. Hegseth lost the support of two Senate Republicans during that Thursday vote. Those two Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, are once again expected to cast votes against Hegseth during a …

From my June 2024 report: A Houston doctor has been indicted for obtaining the records of pediatric patients at Texas Children’s Hospital who were not under his care and without authorization, according to U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. The indictment alleges Ethan Haim, 34, illegally accessed patient names, treatment codes and attending physicians “under false pretenses and with intent to …

NBC News reports: Mexico denied a U.S. military plane access to land Thursday, at least temporarily frustrating the Trump administration’s plans to deport immigrants to the country, according to two U.S. defense officials and a third person familiar with the situation. Two Guatemala-bound Air Force C-17s, carrying about 80 people apiece, flew deportees out of the U.S. Thursday night, the …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Banks are getting ready to sell billions of dollars in debt borrowed by Elon Musk’s X, bringing Wall Street a step closer to exiting the nerve-racking deal that financed the social-media company’s buyout. Morgan Stanley bankers have reached out to investors ahead of a planned sale next week of up to $3 billion of debt …

“Lisa Murkowski’s state in Alaska. They have something called rank choice voting there, which is this deeply confusing model of voting that is intended to actually sabotage Republican and populist candidates by mudding the water. “Lisa Murkowski is a nepo baby. She’s probably IQ of 50. She’s a vengeful witch. She’s a nasty person like most low IQ people are. …

Florida Politics reports: In front of a national stage at the March for Life rally, Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has framed himself as a champion for the pro-life movement, was inconsistent on his own history regarding abortion legislation. DeSantis told the crowd he ran for re-election on the Heartbeat Protection Act and was proof that Republicans could get elected after …

The Associated Press reports: The Supreme Court agreed Friday to take on a new culture war dispute: whether the nation’s first publicly funded religious charter school should be allowed to open in Oklahoma. The justices said they would review an Oklahoma Supreme Court decision that invalidated a state board’s approval of an application by the Catholic Church in Oklahoma to …

CNBC reports: Target on Friday said it’s rolling back diversity, equity and inclusion programs — including some that aim to make its workforce and merchandise better reflect its customers. In a memo sent to its employees, the Minneapolis-based retailer said it will end its three-year DEI goals, stop reports to external diversity-focused groups like the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality …

NBC News reports: Trump’s administration is testing a new capability that would allow officials to email the entire federal government workforce from a single email address, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) said in a statement Friday. The new capability could allow Trump to communicate directly with millions of federal workers across dozens of agencies simultaneously, with a single click …

“We are going to order 40 Coast Guard — big ice breakers, big ones, and all of a sudden Canada wants a piece of the deal. I said why are we doing that? I like doing that if they are a state, but I don’t like doing that if they are a nation. “And they’re very nasty to us on …

The Independent reports: The State Department on Friday froze new funding for almost all U.S. foreign assistance, making exceptions to allow humanitarian food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt to continue. The sweeping order threatened a quick halt to countless projects globally aiding health, education, development, job training and other efforts by the United States, the largest provider …