Surprise: George Santos might sort of be telling the truth about something  —  Congressman-elect George Santos, R-NY, who is accused of faking just about every single aspect of his biography, said on Twitter he had a “story to tell” and would clear things up “next week.”

Live updates: Jan. 6 report recommends Congress ban Trump from running again  —  Congress should consider barring former president Donald Trump and others from holding office again, according to the recommendations section of the committee's report.  —  The 14th Amendment allows barring people …

EXCLUSIVE: TikTok Spied On Forbes Journalists  —  ByteDance confirmed it used TikTok to monitor journalists' physical location using their IP addresses, as first reported by Forbes in October.  —  An internal investigation by ByteDance, the parent company of video-sharing platform TikTok …

Kathy Hochul Pushes New York's Highest Court to the Right  —  Fresh off her narrow re-election win in November, Governor Kathy Hochul had an opportunity this month to steer New York's highest court toward either ideological direction.  —  She chose to push it to the right on Thursday …

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried to be released on $250 million bail, will live with his parents  — FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried will be released on $250 million bail, a federal judge ruled, while he awaits trial for eight federal criminal charges related to alleged fraud at his collapsed crypto empire.

Senate passes $1.7 trillion government funding bill that overhauls U.S. election law  —  The bill now goes to the House before it can head to Biden's desk for his signature.  The legislation must be enacted by Saturday to avoid a government shutdown.  —  WASHINGTON — The Senate voted …

Deep secrecy, high risk: How Zelensky's improbable D.C. visit came together  —  Plans were kept within a tiny group as the Ukrainian president prepared to leave his war-ravaged country for the whirlwind trip.  —  When a U.S. military aircraft landed on the tarmac in Rzeszow, Poland …

‘Get Rid of the Video!’:  Putin Crony Freaks Out in Live TV Flop Over Zelensky Clip  —  An on-air mishap over a video depicting Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington did not go over well with Moscow's top mouthpiece.  —  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky captured the world's attention with a historic trip to Washington this week.

Kamala Harris had a most excellent year  —  Vice President Harris walked into her ceremonial office at the White House with a broad smile and easy confidence when we sat down for an interview on the Monday before Christmas.  And why shouldn't she smile?  President Biden's electoral right-hand ma'am …

Biden's Surprise Challenger & Scalise's Speaker Weapon  —  News and notes around town as Washington prepares to enjoy the brief calm before the new Congress storm. … Since then, I learned that Marianne Williamson, the spiritual activist and 2020 candidate, has been actively making significant moves toward challenging Biden.

US accuses North Korea of arming Kremlin-linked Wagner Group  —  Russian mercenaries in Ukraine led by Putin ally have received missiles from Pyongyang, says White House  —  The White House has accused North Korea of arming the Kremlin-linked private military company Wagner Group …

Biden fumed, dropped f-bombs as border crisis intensified, new book claims  —  ‘The Fight of His Life’ is due to be released next month  —  Migrants smuggled across US border from all over the world  —  President Biden was furious and cursed repeatedly about the border crisis …

Jan. 6 participant arrested after hours-long standoff with the FBI  —  A man who carried what appeared to be a hammer at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 got into a standoff Thursday with the FBI for hours before he was arrested by special agents for his role in the riot, law enforcement officials told NBC News.

Fashion Statement … Where do you stand on the momentous question of Volodymyr Zelensky's attire?  —  I'm okay with it. … But it's something of a tradition for foreign leaders trying to rally the free world against fascists bent on conquest.  —  I didn't expect to be writing about men's apparel today.

Hate Leader Nick Fuentes Is Recruiting Incels  —  Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.  —  The former president of the United States wanted his guests to be seen.  His meeting with Ye, a.k.a. Kanye West …

Venezuela opposition vote to remove Guaido's interim government  —  Venezuela's political opposition to the ruling Socialists voted on Thursday by a wide margin to remove the interim government led by Juan Guaido, as they seek a united front ahead of presidential elections tentatively scheduled for 2024.

Marines told to stop using ‘sir,’ 'ma'am' to avoid ‘misgendering’ superiors  —  No more “Yes, sir!”  —  The US Marines may ban recruits from respectfully addressing senior members as “sir” or “ma'am” to avoid “misgendering” and offending them.  —  The woke recommendation …

In rural Georgia, an unlikely rebel against Trumpism  —  Why didn't the Republican red wave materialize in the midterms?  The life of Cody Johnson offers one answer.  —  BEULAH, Ga. — As he pulled into the parking lot of Beulahland Baptist Church on Election Day last month …