Politics

Yahoo News reports: While campaigning in New Hampshire, Nikki Haley refused to reject the idea of becoming former President Donald Trump’s running mate in 2024. During a town hall in Lebanon on Dec. 28, an attendee asked the former South Carolina governor, “Would you be able to say categorically that you will not accept being Trump’s vice president?” “I could …

“Well, obviously, to have one executive branch official unilaterally striking someone off the ballot is not an appropriate interpretation of the 14th Amendment. We could have in Florida, what are we going to have Biden struck off the ballot because he’s allowed an invasion of eight million people, including enemy nations, have sent people in. This could just end up …

The Miami Herald reports: The Herald investigated Suarez’s role in planning a March 2023 trade summit put on by the Saudi kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund. A review of city emails and the summit’s promotional materials show Suarez and a handful of city staffers helped make the event, at an exhibition hall in Miami Beach, happen. The …

The Albany Times-Union reports: A state Supreme Court justice has rejected a request from U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik and the Republican Party to temporarily suspend a new state law that allows any registered voter in New York to cast their ballot early by mail. Republicans immediately appealed the ruling state Supreme Court Justice Christina L. Ryba. The case, in which …

The Hill reports: Michael Cohen, former President Trump’s ex-fixer and personal lawyer, said in newly unsealed court filings that he accidentally gave his lawyer fake legal citations concocted by the artificial intelligence program Google Bard. U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman called three case citations into question earlier this month after they were used in a motion to end Cohen’s supervised …

The Messenger reports: GOP presidential hopeful and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Thursday he would fire Special Counsel Jack Smith “on day one” is elected president in 2024. DeSantis accused Smith, who indicted Trump twice over his mishandling of classified documents and his attempt to overturn the 2020 elections, of “weaponizing the legal system.” “After you win the election, …

“From a party perspective, we certainly don’t think it was the best move. We felt that she was best suited for Congressional District 3 and that she was in the best position to win reelection and retain that for Republicans. “Time will tell whether or not we’re right, but I think she’s got a serious challenge on her hands, trying …

“I’m opposed to taking down statues. The idea that we’re going to just erase history is wrong. You’ve seen it now where they tried to take down Thomas Jefferson, they tried to take down George Washington off schools. It just gets so out of hand. So I don’t support taking down statues, particularly if you don’t have legal authority to …

The Insider reports: GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley says she’d pardon Donald Trump if she wins in 2024. “I would pardon Trump if he is found guilty,” Haley said at a campaign event in New Hampshire on Thursday, per NBC News. “A leader needs to think about what’s in the best interest of the country,” Haley continued. “What’s in the …

The New York Times reports: Former President Donald J. Trump’s rivals in the Republican race for president again lined up in his defense on Thursday after Maine barred him from its primary election ballot, the second state to do so. When the Colorado Supreme Court barred Mr. Trump from the primary ballot there last week, all of Mr. Trump’s opponents …

The Texan reports: The Republican Party of Texas (RPT) rejected a petition to place the question of Texas secession on the 2024 primary ballot — and the group behind the effort has promised a lawsuit. The Texas Nationalist Movement (TNM) — the foremost supporters of the idea referred to as “TEXIT” — turned in over 139,000 signatures earlier this month …

The Hill reports: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Thursday he tested positive for COVID-19, amid a nationwide spike in infections. The 82-year-old Sanders, said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, he was experiencing “minimal” symptoms and will continue to isolate while working from his home in Vermont. The U.S. is seeing elevated levels of respiratory illness this …

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 …