Trump and Zelenskiy Signal Progress Toward Ukraine Peace Deal, Donbas Still Unresolved 
Kremlin Says Ukrainian Drone Attack Hardens Russia’s Stance on Peace Talks 
Ukraine Drone Attacks Target Moscow and Western Russia, Injure One Civilian 
U.S. Questions Russia’s Claim of Ukrainian Drone Attack on Putin Residence 
Jazz Ensemble Cancels Kennedy Center New Year’s Eve Shows After Trump Renaming Sparks Backlash 
Lockheed Martin Secures $92.8M AEGIS Sustainment Contract from U.S. Navy 
Trump–Netanyahu Talks Aim to Revive Gaza Ceasefire and Address Iran, Hezbollah Tensions 
Trump and Netanyahu Diverge on West Bank Policy Amid Rising Tensions 
Russia Accuses Ukraine of Drone Plot Against Putin as Peace Talks Face New Strain 
Trump Administration Audits Somali-Origin Citizenship Cases Amid Fraud Allegations 
Global Concern Grows as Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza Deepens Despite Ceasefire 
MSF Faces Possible Ban From Gaza as Israel Enforces New Aid Registration Rules 
China Conducts Largest-Ever Live-Fire War Games Around Taiwan Amid Rising Cross-Strait Tensions 
Peruvian Shamans’ New Year Ritual Predicts Illness for Trump, Fall of Maduro, and Global Political Shifts 
U.S. Lifts Sanctions on Three Intellexa-Linked Executives Amid Spyware Controversy 
Boeing Secures $8.6 Billion Pentagon Contract for F-15 Jets for Israel 
Republicans that are staunch allies of disgraced former President Donald Trump are lately blasting the ongoing probe by the bipartisan January 6 House committee. One of them, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy was blasted by the committee over his false claims of the former president’s involvement in the insurrection.
Over the weekend, CNN reported that McCarthy was shut down by the House select committee after it released a statement criticizing the House Minority Leader for telling a news outlet that the twice-impeached former president was cleared of all charges relating to the riots. Last week, during an interview with KGET, McCarthy suggested that the former president was cleared of wrongdoing, saying that the FBI had already investigated his involvement and that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s handling of the probe was political.
This prompted the House committee led by Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson and vice-chair Republican Rep. Liz Cheney to respond in a blunt statement.
“(McCarthy) has suggested, based on an anonymous report, that the Department of Justice has concluded that Donald Trump did not cause, incite, or provoke the violence on January 6th,” said the statement. “When this anonymous report was first published, the Select Committee queried the Executive Branch agencies and congressional committees involved in the investigation. We’ve received answers and briefings from the relevant entities, and it’s been made clear to us that reports of such a conclusion are baseless.”
McCarthy’s comments also come as the House panel is looking to obtain phone records of certain members of Congress over suspected involvement in the insurrection. McCarthy is one of them after the impeachment trials revealed that he was in contact with Trump during the siege that left five people dead and dozens of police officers injured.
The House Minority leader was also humiliated by a conservative accountability group, the Republican Accountability Project, in a new advertisement that featured comparisons between him and the late Senator Joseph McCarthy. The late Republican Senator was known for stoking fears over anti-communism in the 1950s.
The advertisement on the group’s Youtube channel, which is part of the anti-Trump Defending Democracy Together Organization, says that both McCarthys are not so different from one another despite coming from two different eras of the US government.
