The Associated Press reports: The Container Store has filed for bankruptcy protection as the storage and organizational goods retailer with roots dating back to the 1970s grapples with mounting losses and cash flow shortages. The Texas company has faced increasing competition from retailers like Target and Walmart at the same time that demand for its goods is under strain in …

NBC News reports: Shane Lamond, the former head of the Metropolitan Police intelligence unit in Washington who was indicted last year for feeding information to a Proud Boys leader, was found guilty on Monday. Proud Boys chief Enrique Tarrio is serving 22 years after being convicted of seditious conspiracy in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. …

“I’m strongly urging Matt Gaetz to return to Congress and on its first day next year, take a page from that old song The Harper Valley PTA and expose all the hypocrites in the House who have used tax money to cover up their sexual depravity. “Screw their rules. Screw them. They have destroyed this country. And Gaetz has to …

Reuters reports: Starbucks workers have expanded their strike to four more U.S. cities, including New York, the union representing over 10,000 baristas said. The five-day strike, which began on Friday and initially closed Starbucks cafes in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle, has added locations in New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia and St. Louis, Workers United said in a statement. The …

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Sunday he sued the National Collegiate Athletic Association, accusing the organization of misleading college sports fans by allowing transgender women to participate in events marketed as women’s competitions. Paxton said the NCAA violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act by deceiving fans who want to support sporting events that only …

Mediaite reports: Giuliani has appeared in an ad for Rudy Coffee dressed as Santa. Flanked by two men dressed as elves, Giuliani asked a woman sitting on his lap what she wanted for Christmas. “Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!” Giuliani said. “What would you like for Christmas, darling?” “Rudy Coffee!” the woman responded. “Not diamonds? Not a necklace?” a stunned …

From the Justice Department: U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang sentenced Brian Patrick Werth, 40, of Beltsville, Maryland, to 37 years in federal prison, followed by 25 years of supervised release, for two counts of producing child sexual abuse material. Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence with Special Agent in Charge Michael S. …

The Hill reports: New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan said in an interview that aired Sunday that President-elect Trump “takes his Christian faith seriously.” “I’ve had talks with him before in the past where he’s pretty blunt about, you know, he can’t say that he was raised as a, as a very zealous Christian, but he takes his Christian faith seriously,” …

Tim Miller writes at The Bulwark: I was standing beside the step-and-repeat at James O’Keefe’s annual AmFest afterparty nursing a bourbon and coke when out of the corner-of-my-eye emerged a face that was mostly familiar, minus the signature sepia blur. The face was approaching fast. Wide TV-anchor smile. Caked-on makeup. Main-character energy. I quickly realized I was in its sights. …

“Once again, Democrats side with depraved criminals over their victims, public order, and common decency. Democrats can’t even defend Biden’s outrageous decision as some kind of principled, across-the-board opposition to the death penalty since he didn’t commute the three most politically toxic cases. Democrats are the party of politically convenient justice.” – Sen. Tom Cotton, after Biden commuted the death …

SF Gate reports: The California exodus that’s been declared over and over again isn’t real, according to new figures from the U.S. Census Bureau published this week. The Golden State’s population grew by 0.6% between July 1, 2023, and July 1, 2024. That’s an addition of almost a quarter of a million people, pushing the number of residents closer to …

The House Ethics Committee writes: On December 23, 2024, the Committee on Ethics (Committee) released the attached Report regarding allegations relating to Representative Matt Gaetz. The Committee previously noted that there has been a significant and unusual amount of reporting on its activities during its review of the matter of Representative Gaetz, and much of that reporting has been inaccurate. …

“With the exception of [Fox News reporter] Peter Doocy, I would ban everyone from the White House press room who has been there for the past four years because they are obviously of no use to the country. “They didn’t tell us the number one thing, which is that Biden is not competent. Why in the world would Trump let …

CNN reports: Trump has railed against birthright citizenship, which is protected by the 14th Amendment, for years and suggested he’d use executive action to ban it. In private, his allies have been crafting strategies to do that, including directing the State Department to not issue passports to children with undocumented parents and tighten requirements for tourist visas to crack down …

The Anchorage Daily News reports: Trump on Sunday said he wants to change the name of the highest mountain in North America from Denali back to Mount McKinley. Alaska’s two Republican U.S. senators, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, immediately pushed back, saying they support the Koyukon Athabascan place name for the mountain. Denali was long favored by many Alaskans and …

Bloomberg News reports: Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty to New York state murder charges Monday over the shooting of a top UnitedHealth Group Inc. executive, kicking off a high-profile case that will likely be the first to go to trial.  The 26-year-old Maryland native appeared with his lawyers in a Manhattan courtroom to be arraigned on multiple counts, including first- …

Mediaite reports: Matt Gaetz filed a suit against the House Ethics Committee on Monday seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent the public release of a scathing report resulting from an investigation into allegations of his sexual and drug misconduct. According to CBS congressional correspondent Scott MacFarlane, Gaetz’s argued in his bid for a restraining order to block the report’s …

The Telegraph reports: The Government has opened the door to blocking Elon Musk from donating millions of pounds to Reform UK with new laws. Lucy Powell, the Leader of the House of Commons, suggested the reforms could form part of government plans to tighten up rules around political donations. Nigel Farage, the Reform leader, recently revealed that Mr Musk, a …

Axios reports: Congress’ long-simmering debate over the age of its members has resurfaced over revelations that Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) has been living in an independent living facility in Texas. Granger’s son Brandon told the Dallas Morning News that she has been “having some dementia issues late in the year.” Brandon Granger pushed back on a report from the Dallas …

Yahoo News reports: On Sunday, President-Elect Donald Trump unveiled Bo Hines as his pick for the executive director of a presidential crypto council. In 2022, Trump endorsed Hines for a House seat representing North Carolina’s 13th District. Hines, however, lost his bid to Democrat Wiley Nickel. Hines, an ex-football player turned political figure, will take part in the Presidential Council …