Politics

The Washington Post reports: A day after Apple warned independent Indian journalists and opposition party politicians in October that government hackers may have tried to break into their iPhones, officials under Prime Minister Narendra Modi promptly took action — against Apple. Officials from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) publicly questioned whether the Silicon Valley company’s internal threat algorithms were …

Mediaite reports: Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley defended her curious comments about the cause of the Civil War at a town hall on Wednesday night, claiming in an interview the next morning the question came from a Democrat “plant” who was out to get her. “It was definitely a Democrat plant,” she said. “When asked him, he didn’t want …

The Daily Beast reports: A Russian lawmaker from Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party has been found dead under mysterious circumstances at the age of 46. Russian state media confirmed his death. Vladimir Yegorov, a deputy of the Tobolsk City Duma in the Tyumen region, was found lifeless Wednesday in a courtyard in Tobolsk, according to Baza. Bizarrely, Baza reported that …

Reuters reports: A federal judge in Georgia on Thursday upheld a Republican-drawn congressional map, rejecting arguments from voting rights groups and Democrats that the latest district lines illegally diluted the voting power of minority residents near Atlanta. The decision from U.S. District Judge Steve Jones likely ensures that Republicans will maintain their 9-5 advantage among the state’s 14 seats in …

Florida Politics reports: Naples Police responded to a false report of a shooting at U.S. Sen. Rick Scott’s home. Naples Police spokesman Lt. Bryan McGinn confirmed police dispatch received a 911 call Wednesday, Dec. 27, at 9:02 p.m. claiming a shooting occurred. Police confirmed the alleged incident occurred at home on the street where Scott lives. “Within 15 minutes, we …

CNN Business reports: Gas prices will fall in 2024 for the second year in a row, according to GasBuddy projections shared exclusively with CNN. GasBuddy, which had a forecast for 2023 that proved to be eerily accurate, expects US gas prices will average $3.38 a gallon in the key election year of 2024. That would represent a significant improvement from …

The Messenger reports: Nikki Haley is in cleanup mode after her comments at a New Hampshire town hall in which she failed to mention slavery as a reason for the Civil War.Speaking to The Pulse of NH on Thursday, Haley declared to Jack Heath that “of course” the Civil War was about slavery. “Of course the Civil War was about …

The Messenger reports: Former UN Ambassador and 2024 presidential candidate Nikki Haley is drawing criticism from her political opponents, including GOP White House hopeful and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s campaign after she made no mention of slavery as a cause of the Civil War at a town hall on Wednesday. “On today’s scoreboard, Donald Trump complained about his treatment in …

CNN reports: Chris Christie is directly pushing back on calls for him to drop out of the 2024 Republican presidential primary in a new seven-figure ad buy debuting in New Hampshire on Thursday, according to details shared exclusively with CNN. “Some people say I should drop out of this race. Really? I’m the only one saying Donald Trump is a …

“I think it always comes down to the role of government and what the rights of the people are. And we will always stand by the fact that I think the government was intended to secure the rights and freedoms of the people. “It was never meant to be all things to all people. Government doesn’t need to tell you …

The Denver Post reports: In a true Colorado political surprise, U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert announced Wednesday night that she will abandon the congressional district she has represented for nearly three years — and seek her party’s nomination in 2024 on the other end of the state. Boebert said she will run to represent Colorado’s 4th Congressional District, vying to succeed …

NBC News reports: The Democratic-aligned House Majority PAC is putting down $5.2 million in initial reservations for TV and digital ads to try to win the House special election to replace the expelled Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., the group told NBC News. The group said it will spend $3.7 million on TV and $1.5 million on digital platforms, along with …

Jacksonville’s NBC affiliate reports: Before first light on Wednesday, construction crews began the process of removing a Confederate statue in Springfield Park that has long been the subject of debate in Jacksonville. By 11 a.m., the monument had been taken down. Following a similar process undertaken in 2020 to remove a Confederate statue from what was then known as Hemming …

The Associated Press reports: A judge has ordered a woman who set fire to Wyoming’s only full-service abortion clinic to pay nearly $300,000 in restitution, the full amount sought by prosecutors. Lorna Green is serving five years in prison for burning Wellspring Health Access weeks before the clinic was set to open in Casper in 2022. The fire gutted the …

Real Clear Politics reports: “Let’s just be clear,” DeSantis said, “Trump is fine with weaponization if it’s against people he doesn’t like.” For proof, he points to a complaint filed with the Florida Ethics Commission. It was “bogus” and quickly dismissed, but he notes that when the complaint was filed by Trump allies, they explicitly called “to have me ejected …

“There’s a whole lifetime in politics between now and next November.  I’m not worried about that. And I’m very vocal about this, too, while there are Democrats that are being very critical about the president. “I’ll use this [as] another opportunity to tell James Carville to shut the fuck up. Like I said, my man hasn’t been relevant since grunge …

The Messenger reports: After Kevin McCarthy’s historic removal from the speakership in October, many of the California Republican’s allies vowed not to support a replacement speaker unless they agreed to defang the procedural tool used to oust him. They eventually rallied around Mike Johnson, a conservative Republican from Louisiana, without him committing to changing the motion to vacate. But two …

The Hill reports: Israel expects the war in Gaza will go on for “many more months,” Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi said. “The war will continue for many more months, and we will operate in various ways – so that the achievement will be preserved over time,” Halevi said in a press conference Tuesday. …

Axois reports: The Turkish Parliament’s foreign affairs committee approved Sweden’s bid to join NATO on Tuesday. The vote that brings Sweden closer to achieving NATO membership comes after a series of delays in its attempt to become part of the alliance, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s initial refusal to accept Sweden’s bid. A country’s admission into NATO must be …

The Insider reports: Lauren Boebert is facing a brutal and very expensive reelection fight in 2024. The lightning-rod Republican congresswoman from Colorado’s 3rd district’s main Democratic challenger, Adam Frisch, has been raking in jaw-dropping amounts of campaign cash. According to FEC data, Frisch’s campaign has raised over $7.7 million so far, making him one of the top fundraisers in the …