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In a Sunday, January 7 editorial, The Philadelphia Inquirer urges voters to consider ousting three longtime lawmakers this year over their Donald Trump-influenced lack of "integrity."

The newspaper's editorial board calls out the "disgraced" actions of U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), and Pennsylvania's own — US Rep Scott Perry (R), as well as State Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-Franklin), noting "all three" public officials "are up for reelection this year."

Over the past few days multiple news reports paint a picture of GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis in massive trouble, as the January 15, 2024 "first in the nation" Iowa Caucuses quickly approach. But it's not just the DeSantis campaign that's appearing to crumble. It's DeSantis' legacy.

"Florida voters are starting to turn on Gov. Ron DeSantis, according to new polling from Progress Florida and Florida Watch," Florida Politics reports Tuesday. The two groups, together known as the Florida Communications and Research Hub, "found Florida voters weary of the presidential candidate's agenda." They also "found him underwater 52%-45%. DeSantis’ favorability rating is also in the negative, 50%-45%."

U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) is being mocked for repeatedly promoting the conspiracy theory that the January 6, 2021 insurrection was a Federal Bureau of Investigation operation, at least in part.

“Do you know what a ghost vehicle is? You’re the director of the FBI, you certainly should,” Congressman Higgins said to FBI Director Chris Wray during a November 15 House committee hearing. “Do you know what a ghost bus is? It’s pretty common in law enforcement. It’s a vehicle that’s used for secret purposes. It’s painted over.”

As House Republicans race to cobble together legislation to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, Democrats are pointing to ex-President Donald Trump — who appears to have engaged in the same activity the GOP is accusing the current president of.

Republicans, who are pushing to hold an impeachment inquiry vote, claim that Biden took money from foreign countries via his son Hunter’s business dealings. They have, as some Republicans admit, found no direct proof of their allegations.

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear a case challenging the state of Washington's law banning anti-LGBTQ conversion therapy for minors, but in the 6-3 decision Justices Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, and Clarence Thomas said they would have taken the case. Justice Thomas vehemently objected to the Court's decision, using his dissent to declare the practice – denounced as dangerous by major medical organizations and as torture by organizations and some who have been subjected to it – a First Amendment issue.

NBC News reports, "the court left in place a state law that bars therapists from counseling minors to change sexual orientation or gender identity, a practice favored by some conservatives."

Republican House Oversight Committee Chairman Jim Comer is now threatening Hunter Biden with "contempt" of Congress if he refuses to testify behind closed doors. The President's son has repeatedly offered to testify in public.

Abbe Lowell, the attorney with "close ties inside the Trump White House" who is now representing Hunter Biden, Wednesday morning again reiterated his demand that any testimony before the House Oversight Committee be in a public hearing, and he used Chairman Comer's own words to make his point.

Republican House Oversight Committee Chair Jim Comer melted down in an interview with NBC News Capitol Hill correspondent Ryan Nobles on Tuesday as he once again appeared unable to prove President Joe Biden engaged in money laundering or other illicit acts.

"So sir, there were the two checks," Nobles told Comer (video below), "the $40,000 check and the $200,000 check that came from the president's son and into the President's bank account. There was also subsequent bank records, which were provided through the [Oversight] Committee, that demonstrate that there were also subsequent pieces of information that went from the President to the president's son."

U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz is urging his fellow Florida Republicans to wait to "render judgment" on Christian Ziegler, the Trump-endorsed state Republican Party chairman accused of rape by a woman he and his wife allegedly had a consensual sexual relationship with.

“Given my experience I tend to wait for the facts to come out before rendering judgment,” Gaetz told Florida Politics. The far-right Florida GOP lawmaker has faced both DOJ and House Ethics Committee investigations into a variety of possible crimes, among them, alleged sex trafficking, alleged sex with an under-aged girl, illicit drug use, and public corruption.

Donald Trump's questionable usage of his presidential pardon power before he left office is paying dividends for his 2024 presidential campaign as grateful recipients are showering his campaign with cash and, in some cases, using the media platforms to boost his chances of returning to the Oval Office.

According to a deep dive from the Washington Post, the former president and his campaign have taken in nearly $1.8 million from appreciative recipients and their families with more expected to come.

It's being called a "revamp," an "overhaul," and a "shakeup," but media critics, journalists, and journalism experts are expressing outrage at MSNBC for its decision to cancel the weekend show anchored by Medhi Hasan, who many see as an important voice against authoritarianism and the far-right.

Calling Hasan an "outspoken opinion host," and "a cult favorite online for his tough interview style and impassioned monologues," Semafor's Max Tani reported MSNBC "privately announced" the cancellation of Hasan's show Thursday morning. Hasan "will become an on-camera analyst and fill-in host. The network plans to expand host Ayman Mohyeldin’s weekend program to two hours to replace Hasan’s show."

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) took his role after weeks of chaos following the revolt that ousted Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from the post — with Johnson, a longtime election denier and avowed Christian nationalist, being the choice of the far-right of the party. But now, according to Politico, some of those members are already growing angry.

His detractors are reporting feeling betrayed and shortchanged by the lack of much meaningful policy difference from the McCarthy days and follows a speech Johnson gave to Republicans in the Senate, assuring them that he would secure funding to avert a shutdown through the end of the fiscal year — apparently taking that off the table as a bargaining chip for right-wing policy.

Overnight, amid a flurry of social media posts, Donald Trump demanded President Joe Biden weaponize the federal government to "come down hard" on a news media outlet to benefit the indicted ex-president's 2024 political campaign. While attacking the press is part of Trump's regular tactics, this time he's getting widely criticized for his thinly-veiled threat he will do what he's demanding of Biden if he retakes the White House.

The First Amendment is clear, and numerous rulings have shown the federal government cannot censor or dictate how or what the free press reports. It can, and has, asked for coverage of a story, and can direct a news outlet's attention to an issue, but it cannot stop the media from reporting on a presidential candidate.