Shortly after being reelected as House Speaker, Mike Johnson read a prayer that he claimed was from Thomas Jefferson, despite there being no evidence the third president ever said it. read more
President-elect Donald J. Trump's denunciation of a stopgap spending bill has left Republicans without a strategy to fund the government, and Speaker Mike Johnson is grasping for a way to avert a shutdown this weekend. Mr. Trump torpedoed the bipartisan deal Mr. Johnson had struck, leaving him caught between two seemingly untenable options: continue with a bill sapped of Republican support or try to implement Mr. Trump's demands, which will be a tough sell among Democrats, who still control the Senate, and some Republicans. Mr. Trump publicly turned against the deal after the billionaire Elon Musk, the world's richest man, spent much of Wednesday railing against the agreement.
President-elect Donald Trump's appointee to advise him on Middle East affairs, Massad Boulos, is reported to have significant discrepancies between his public profile and documented business background, casting doubt on the thoroughness of the former president's vetting process. read more
While these early European humans were long seen as a species which we successfully dominated after leaving Africa, new studies show that only humans who interbred with Neanderthals went on to thrive, while other bloodlines died out. In fact, Neanderthal genes may have been crucial to our success by protecting us from new diseases we hadn't previously encountered. read more
Scientists have for the first time seen orcas hunting whale sharks, the biggest fish on the planet, new research has revealed. read more
From "Elon Musk is going --ll Kanye West" by Caitlin Moran www.thetimes.com):
In the end money doesn't like weird " and it particularly doesn't like loud weird. I will be astonished if, in ten years' time, Musk is still regarded as a brilliant businessman. Even a genius can't run multiple businesses when his main gig is shouting "-- ------" at 7.30am on X. It's all starting to look less like "a big personality" and more like something ... diagnosable. The thing about disaster capitalism is you're supposed to take advantage of it " not be it.
New Mexico Magazine publishes a regular column for geographically ignorant folk like Trump and his MAGAts: "One of Our 50 is Missing" (www.newmexicomagazine.org).
"He [Musk] is a truly evil guy, a very bad guy. I made it my personal thing to take this guy down," Bannon said. "Before, because he put money in, I was prepared to tolerate it " I'm not prepared to tolerate it any more."
The MAGA (literal) marketplace of idea$.