Republicans

The Washington Post reports: Azerbaijan demanded Sunday that Russia admit responsibility for the incident that led to the crash of a passenger plane on Christmas Day, killing 38 people, and pay compensation to the government and affected families. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in televised remarks that the national carrier’s plane, which was supposed to land in Grozny, the capital …

“The guy’s worth $450 billion as of today. So I don’t think he’s doing it for the money. He’s doing it for the bigger project and the bigger vision of America. He doesn’t need the dollars. He really doesn’t. So it’s not about, ‘If I get involved in this, I’ll get another little contract here or there.’ That’s nothing to …

“We know the movement that we have in Arizona, and I will never take that for granted. But there is a corrupt machine here that is hellbent on making sure I never hold office. So, I won’t put my family (and myself) through the torture of running again. I will go to Washington, D.C., return VOA News to its glory …

The Florida Phoenix reports: The Fifth District Court of Appeal ruled Thursday that although 83% of voters in Titusville approved a 2022 initiative establishing the right to clean water, the city in Brevard County couldn’t enact it because of a 2020 state law preventing local government from giving rights to bodies of water, plants, and animals. The City of Titusville …

Politico reports: Rep. Scott Perry said that he’s not committing to voting for Mike Johnson for speaker, adding a former Freedom Caucus chair to the conservative crowd sowing doubt over Johnson’s prospects to retake the gavel. “I think that Mike has done an admirable job under tough conditions, but I’m going to keep my options open,” Perry (R-Pa.) said today …

“You know, Congress has paid over $17 million in hush money for sexual misconduct inside of the offices in these buildings. And what’s more is that was taxpayer money. There may be some on this dais, I mean, I’m for turning loose all of these records. “Who in here has had the taxpayer pay for their misconduct charges, the hush …

The Hill reports: Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) were named the most active posters on the social platform X this year among all lawmakers in Congress. The Dec. 17 report by Quorum, a Washington-based public affairs firm, found that Roy was the most active member of Congress on X in 2024, authoring 9,799 posts. Cruz was …

Politico reports: House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris told Fox Business on Thursday that the chamber’s Republicans need to consider if current leadership “is what we need” going into unified GOP government next year. “Before the last couple of weeks, I was in his corner, but now we should consider what’s the best path forward,” Harris (R-Md.) said of Speaker …

Billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy writes on X: The reason top tech companies often hire foreign-born & first-generation engineers over “native” Americans isn’t because of an innate American IQ deficit (a lazy & wrong explanation). A key part of it comes down to the c-word: culture. Tough questions demand tough answers & if we’re really serious about fixing the problem, we have …

Orlando’s CBS affiliate reports: Members of the former Reedy Creek Improvement District board of supervisors broke no criminal laws prior to Gov. Ron DeSantis appointing a new board to oversee Walt Disney World’s special taxing district, newly-released government records reveal. At the time, DeSantis expressed concern about a last-minute development agreement and restrictive covenants between Disney and the former RCID …

The Independent reports: GOP senator Tommy Tuberville has been mocked for claiming that Donald Trump has brought Christmas “back in America.” The Trump loyalist posted the festive message on social media platform X on Christmas Eve. “Thanks to President Trump, Christmas is back in America,” Tuberville said. But the former football coach was widely mocked in the responses. People were …

ABC News reports: Officials in Lincoln County, Oregon have received an anonymous letter urging people to report “brown folks” they suspect are undocumented immigrants, according to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. “The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office recently learned about a letter being circulated throughout Lincoln County which encourages community members to track and report information regarding people of color, specifically …

Tyler, Texas’s ABC affiliate reports: Senator Bob Hall of Canton has introduced Senate Bill 80, allowing Texas to declare federal actions unconstitutional. Hall has dubbed it the Texas Sovereignty Act. “We are an independent state, except for where the constitution gives the federal government specific authority to do something,” said Hall. The bill would create a bi-partisan joint committee to …

Newsmax reports: Former Rep. Matt Gaetz has a future in Florida politics, despite the release of an explicit Ethics Committee report accusing him of drug use and paying for sex, Evan Power, the chair of the Florida Republican Party, told Newsmax on Tuesday. “I think Americans love a second act,” Power said. “I think he can overcome. He should double …

ProPublica reports: As Donald Trump’s nominee to run the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Scott Turner may soon oversee the nation’s efforts to build affordable apartments, protect poor tenants and aid the homeless. As a lawmaker in the Texas House of Representatives, Turner voted against those very initiatives. Turner supported a bill ensuring landlords could refuse apartments to …

The Florida Phoenix reports: DeSantis administration officials haven’t said whether the state will again reject a federal program that gives low-income families money for groceries during the summer. More than 2 million kids in the state could again miss out on the SUN Bucks program, or summer EBT, if the Florida Department of Children and Families doesn’t tell the federal …

“The American people have given President Trump a mandate. They are tired of our nation not putting Americans first. And we have seen the Biden administration have an America-last policy. “So, when it comes to dealing with the Panama Canal and making certain that China is not being advantaged in this, and America disadvantaged, of course. Let’s put this issue …

The Daily Beast reports: A slew of damning texts was included in the House Ethics probe into Matt Gaetz that was made public Monday. Gaetz, who stands accused of paying women and a 17-year-old high schooler for sex, allegedly messaged about his sordid encounters and went as far as criticizing one woman for giving him only a brief “drive-by” meeting …

The Associated Press reports: A federal judge on Monday struck down key parts of an Arkansas law that would have allowed criminal charges against librarians and booksellers for providing “harmful” materials to minors. U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks found that elements of the law are unconstitutional. “I respect the court’s ruling and will appeal,” Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said …

Ars Technica reports: Flu season is ramping up across the US, but Louisiana—the state that has reportedly barred its health department from promoting flu shots, as well as COVID-19 and mpox vaccines—is leading the country with an early and strong surge. Louisiana’s flu activity has reached the “Very High” category set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according …