Good morning.
In what is being described as “the most humiliating day of his political career”, the House Republican leader, Kevin McCarthy, is facing a protracted battle to secure the speaker’s gavel after failing to win the first three votes on the opening day of the new Congress yesterday.
A fourth vote – and perhaps more, into the night – was avoided when the House adjourned, by voice vote, until noon today. In the first two ballots to decide the next speaker, 19 Republicans opposed McCarthy, leaving him 15 votes short of the 218 needed to win. In the third vote, McCarthy lost one more supporter, intensifying concerns that he would fail to unite his caucus.
In another demoralizing sign for the new Republican majority, the Democrat Hakeem Jeffries received more votes than McCarthy on the first three ballots.
McCarthy is the first nominee for speaker in 100 years to fail to win the first vote for the gavel. He had acknowledged he was unlikely to win on the first ballot, setting the stage for a potentially lengthy delay before new members of the House could be sworn in.
Why do some Republicans oppose McCarthy? The Republican opposition to McCarthy has been led by members of the House Freedom Caucus, a hard-right group that has pushed for changes to chamber rules. Scott Perry, the Freedom Caucus chair, reiterated his opposition yesterday and accused McCarthy of failing to work in good faith with his group. “At nearly every turn, we’ve been sidelined or resisted by McCarthy,” Perry said.
George Santos scandal: Democratic predecessor calls him a ‘con man’
The Democrat who vacated the US House seat won by the controversial Republican George Santos said yesterday that Congress was letting in “a con man”. Tom Suozzi won New York’s third district in 2016, which covers parts of Long Island and Queens, but stepped down in 2022 to run for governor. Santos lost to Suozzi in 2020 but beat Robert Zimmerman for the vacant seat.
Since Santos’s victory, almost every part of his campaign biography has been called into question. Intense scrutiny has been applied to his claims about his education and career in business and to elements of his personal story, including his supposed descent from Holocaust survivors and a claim that his mother died as a result of the 9/11 attacks. Santos has admitted to some inaccuracies.
But even after prosecutors in Brazil reactivated a criminal fraud investigation regarding the use of a stolen chequebook, and amid reports that federal prosecutors in New York are examining Santos’s background and financial dealings, Republicans in Congress have not acted.
On Tuesday, as the new Congress gathered, Suozzi pointed out in a column for the New York Times that on being sworn in, Santos would take “an oath to ‘bear true faith’ to the constitution and [to] take this obligation without any ‘purpose of evasion’”.
What else did Suozzi say? “It saddens me that after 30 years of public service rooted in hard work and service to the people of this area, I’m being succeeded by a con man.”
How Lucien Greaves and his Satanic Temple are fighting the religious right
Last year the overturning of Roe v Wade opened the door for more than half of US states to in effect ban abortion or restrict access to it, horrifying supporters of reproductive rights. Now a minority religion is fighting for the right to abortion.
The Satanic Temple – and many other observers – believe the decision of the supreme court was made on the basis of religion: specifically the extreme form of Christianity that has come to dominate Republican politics in the US. The group, which is acknowledged as a religion by the US government, has seven fundamental tenets, one of which states: “One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone.”
This, it believes, offers a way around these draconian new laws. It is arguing that its members are exempt from bans or restrictions on abortion due to their religion. With lawsuits filed in Indiana, Idaho, Texas and Missouri, the Satanic Temple is about to find out whether US courts agree.
Legal battles are long-running, expensive and frustrating for people desperate for immediate change. But Lucien Greaves, who co-founded the Satanic Temple in 2012, points to the success the Republican party has had in overturning Roe v Wade – a decision brought before the court through decades of lobbying and legislating.
Does The Satanic Temple actually believe in Satan? Not in a literal, demonic sense, Greaves explains, but rather as a symbol of rebellion and opposition to authoritarianism.
In other news …
The two leads from the 1968 adaptation of Romeo and Juliet are suing Paramount for child abuse over a nude scene in the film. According to Variety, Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting, who were teenagers when making the movie, filed a lawsuit on 30 December accusing the studio of sexual exploitation.
Damar Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills safety, needed to have his heart restarted twice – once on the field, and again after he arrived at the hospital, Dorrian Glenn, Hamlin’s uncle, told CNN in a televised interview outside the hospital yesterday. He remains in critical condition with his family by his side.
Jeremy Renner has issued his first statement since he was hit by his own snow plow, with authorities revealing that the 6,500kg vehicle had run over the star of The Avengers when it began to unexpectedly roll. Renner, who remains in intensive care, shared a photo of himself in a hospital bed to his Instagram account.
Mourners have expressed grief and anger at a rare public commemoration in Russia for the scores of soldiers killed on New Year’s Eve. Admitting its worst military losses from a single Ukrainian attack, Russia said 89 servicemen were killed when a temporary deployment point was struck in Makiivka.
A former Colorado funeral home owner was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison yesterday for defrauding relatives of the dead by dissecting 560 corpses and selling body parts without permission. Megan Hess, 46, pleaded guilty to fraud in July.
Stat of the day: Twitter sued over $136,260 in unpaid rent after Elon Musk takeover
Elon Musk is trying to slash expenses at Twitter as close to zero as possible while his personal wealth shrinks – and this apparently has included falling behind on rent payments at the company’s offices. Twitter owes $136,260 in overdue rent for its offices on the 30th floor of a building in downtown San Francisco, according to a lawsuit filed last week. The landlord at 650 California Street, which is not Twitter’s main San Francisco headquarters, served a notice to Twitter on 16 December informing it that it would be in default if it did not pay within five days. The period elapsed without payment, according to the lawsuit.
Don’t miss this: ‘Eight hours’ sleep! And you must eat breakfast!’ The truth behind 10 of the biggest health beliefs
It is easy to think science is constantly changing its mind on all things dietary and health-based – if you have never suffered headline whiplash from trying to keep up with whether or not wine is good for you, you probably are not paying attention, writes Joel Snape. In fact, our collective understanding is getting more nuanced, with ever-emerging longitudinal studies and meta-reviews getting us closer and closer to the truth about what is good for our bodies. Here are some widely held beliefs and what science says now – so you can start making informed health decisions this year.
… or this: ‘Sunlight streams in at 2am’ – life inside New Zealand’s Antarctica base
I spend an average of two and a half months in Antarctica every year, writes Matthew Jordan. But my next trip will be eight months over the winter. I thought the weather was going to be brutal all the time – I didn’t think there would be days where I could walk out in a T-shirt and a hoodie. In summer, the strangest thing to get used to is the 24 hours of sun. You drink a lot of water in Antarctica because it is so dry, which means going to the toilet in the middle of the night and getting out of bed to walk through a corridor with the sunlight streaming in at 2am. You can lose track of time.
Climate check: Rich countries must respond to developing world anger, says John Kerry
People in developing countries are feeling increasingly angry and “victimized” by the climate crisis, the US climate envoy has warned, and rich countries must respond urgently. John Kerry said he had been chronicling the “increased frustration and anger” of island states, vulnerable countries, small African nations and others around the world “that feel victimised by the fact that they are a minuscule component of emissions”. These places are paying a very high price, he said. “Seventeen of the 20 most affected countries in the world by the climate crisis are in Africa, and yet 48 sub-Saharan countries total 0.55% of all emissions,” he said.
Last thing: Potato-shaped stones are better for skimming, say experts
Scientists have identified particular types of stone that can produce “almighty” leaps out of the water when skimmed across the surface. While aficionados of the pursuit favour thin, flat stones for long-distance skimming, the researchers’ mathematical model reveals that heavier, potato-shaped stones can achieve more dramatic results, which blast the rock into the air. “Try some wacky stones and see what happens,” said Dr Ryan Palmer, an applied mathematician at the University of Bristol. “Throw a stone that looks like a potato. You can get some fun things happening with heavier stones.”
Sign up
First Thing is delivered to thousands of inboxes every weekday. If you’re not already signed up, subscribe now.
Get in touch
If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email newsletters@theguardian.com
