Politics

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 …

“I’m going to tell you that I think it was one of the most pathetic Christmas greetings I’ve heard when a former president of the United States who wants to return tells people on Christmas Day that they can rot in hell.  “After he went after me, quite frankly, there were men outside of my house with assault weapons and …

Politico reports: Republicans are desperate to avoid nasty primaries next year. But the architect of Kevin McCarthy’s ouster from the speakership has other plans. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) is continuing to buck party leadership, which has tried to coalesce early this cycle behind candidates in key races. Gaetz has instead thrown his support to other congressional hopefuls. Gaetz, a prominent …

The Telegraph reports: Javier Milei, the president of Argentina, has warned those celebrating Christmas to “be careful not to become a communist” in a bizarre seasonal message to his followers. Mr Milei, who took office earlier this month after winning the October elections on a promise to take a chainsaw to public spending. The Libertarian former rock singer appears brandishing …

Axios reports: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday vowed to continue waging war against Hamas in Gaza, despite a growing number of international calls for a ceasefire. While visiting Israeli troops in northern Gaza, Netanyahu said: “Whoever talks about stopping, there is no such thing.” He also posted a video to X on Monday with the comment: “With our …