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Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas will not face a Justice Department investigation over his improper acceptance of extensive gifts and other favors from right-wing billionaires, which he failed to disclose on financial disclosure forms, according to media reports.

Citing questions of legal uncertainty, the body that governs federal courts – the Judicial Conference of the United States – refused to take up a request from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA), who last year urged the organization to refer Thomas for a special counsel investigation.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) is raising alarms over what actions Donald Trump will be urged to take in the aftermath of the New Orleans attack that left 14 dead and dozens injured as the country continues to grapple for answers.

The warning came Thursday as Republicans – led by Trump – continued to falsely claim that President Joe Biden’s “open border policy” is to blame for authorities missing signs that could have thwarted the attack. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) suggested that diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, initiatives also played a role.

Two people reportedly died and 18 more were injured when a small plane crashed into a commercial building in southern California minutes after taking off, according to reports.

The plane struck a building near Fullerton Municipal Airport on Thursday afternoon, The New York Times reported. The airport is about 25 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) created another explanation for why authorities were unable to thwart the New Year’s Day carnage in New Orleans: diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, initiatives.

In the wake of the bloody attack on New Orleans’ Bourbon Street, Republicans have suggested that “wide open borders” are somehow responsible for the carnage despite authorities identifying a 42-year-old, U.S.-born military veteran from Texas as responsible for the massacre.

One of Vice President Kamala Harris' final acts in office will be to swear in multiple Republican senators who refuse to pronounce her first name correctly, reported Time Magazine on Thursday.

This comes after many of them stumped for President-elect Donald Trump and did their utmost to make sure she would lose the 2024 election.

A Kentucky Republican made an extreme vow Thursday night during an appearance with disgraced former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) on Gaetz's debut show on a far-right news network.

Gaetz interviewed outspoken Rep. Thomas Massie, who has clashed with his MAGA colleagues in the past.

Authorities are investigating the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck at Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas as a terrorist attack, believed to have been triggered by explosive materials stashed in the vehicle and not due to any malfunction of the vehicle itself. But tech billionaire Elon Musk is so adamant reporters communicate this fact, he is threatening to sue anyone who implies otherwise, Politico reported Thursday.

According to the report, Musk was responding to a right-wing influencer on his X platform, Robby Starbuck, who wrote, “These headlines are sabotaging @Tesla’s brand by making people think it caught on fire. There’s about 1 Tesla fire for every 130 million miles traveled. Other cars have 1 every 18 million miles.”

Former Florida Gov. Buddy MacKay, whose brief stint in office lasted just 23 days after the sudden passing of Gov. Lawton Chiles, died on New Year’s Eve. He was 91.

MacKay’s family confirmed the death of the longtime public servant to The Associated Press on Thursday. MacKay, whose political career spanned decades and included roles as a state legislator, congressman and diplomat, took a nap at his Florida home on Tuesday and didn't wake up, the publication said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) faces a massive difficulty in tomorrow's vote to keep him in the gavel. And according to Axios, the more moderate faction of House Republicans warned him not to repeat the folly of his predecessor, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).

Specifically, they told him not to give the far-right flank rule changes that benefit them at the expense of the rest of the caucus, simply as a condition of getting their votes — something that ultimately destroyed McCarthy's speakership as he gave a renegade band of lawmakers, led by former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), the ability to vote to remove him the second he made compromises on spending they hated.

MAGA allies melted down Thursday after former Wyoming Republican Rep. Liz Cheney received the Presidential Citizens Medal.

President Joe Biden awarded Cheney the honor, along with Rep. Bennie Thompson and 18 others, who received the accolade during a ceremony at the White House. Cheney received a standing ovation as she received the award, which is the second-highest civilian honor in the country.

Members of Congress are long overdue for a pay raise – and lawmakers should do just that for themselves when they reconvene Friday, according to the editorial board of the Washington Post.

And that includes even the members you don’t like, the editorial board wrote Thursday in an opinion piece that makes the case in favor of a pay boost, which the publication noted hasn’t happened since 2009.

As more details have leaked about the man believed to have set off the Cybertruck explosion just outside Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, disgraced former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) seems to be impressed by him, despite the suspect having committed what may be an act of terrorism.

"The Vegas dude seems like a real CHAD??" said Gaetz, using common internet slang for a person admirable for their traditional masculinity. "So bizarre."

Vice President-elect JD Vance, the Republican Senator from Ohio, is facing criticism both domestically and internationally for endorsing and seemingly defending an op-ed by Elon Musk that is supportive of a far-right German political party reportedly linked to neo-Nazis.

The New York Times late last month described the Alternative for Germany, or AfD, as “a group with ties to neo-Nazis whose youth wing has been classified as ‘confirmed extremist’ by German domestic intelligence.” The paper of record also noted that AfD has been “called a threat to German democracy” by Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz and others.