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House Republican leaders ditch vote on ACA funding, all but ensuring premiums will rise

(NBC News) It's official: House Speaker Mike Johnson says he won't call a vote to extend enhanced subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, effectively guaranteeing they will expire at the end of this month. That means higher insurance premiums will go into effect for millions of Americans who get coverage through Obamacare next year. The speaker made the announcement Tuesday after a closed-door Republican caucus meeting.

Trump's Top Aide Acknowledges 'Score Settling' Behind Prosecutions

(NY Times) President Trump's chief of staff said she tried to get him to end his "score settling" against political enemies after 90 days in office, but acknowledged that the administration's still ongoing push for prosecutions has been fueled in part by the president's desire for retribution. Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, told an interviewer that she forged a "loose agreement" with Mr. Trump to stop focusing after three months on punishing antagonists, an effort that evidently did not succeed.

Evangelical Leader Says Trump's Rob Reiner Post Represents 'The Shame of our Generation'

(Mediaite) Christian Today editor in chief Russell Moore pulled no punches in blasting President Donald Trump’s comments Monday on the murder of legendary director Rob Reiner and his wife. Moore, who is also an evangelical preacher and former top official at the Southern Baptist Convention, shared Trump’s message and added, “How this vile, disgusting, and immoral behavior has become normalized in the United States is something our descendants will study in school, to the shame of our generation.”

'Gaslighting of Lyme patients is over': RFK Jr. promises renewed focus

(USA Today) Heath Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. promised a renewed focus on the “diagnostic efforts” for tick-borne Lyme disease, describing it on Dec. 15 as an “invisible” illness that he claims has been ignored by previous White House administrations. Kennedy made the comments as he convened a roundtable of patients and medical providers. Just one year ago before he was confirmed as the health secretary in February, Kennedy promoted a conspiracy theory that Lyme disease is a militarily engineered bioweapon.

Kushner Scraps Trump Tower Belgrade After Officials Indicted

(Bloomberg) Jared Kushner’s private equity firm, Affinity Partners, dropped its plans for a hotel in Serbia, after tensions around the project culminated in the indictment of a government official who helped clear a path for its development. The decision caps months of controversy over Affinity’s bid to construct a Trump-branded luxury hotel on the remains of a former government building in Belgrade.

Tuesday's Condensed News Cartoons

FBI sources: Kash Patel, Dan Bongino likely out soon

(Salon) Kash Patel’s troubled tenure as Donald Trump’s FBI director may be “at its end,” according to multiple sources, in the wake of the recent mass shooting at Brown University along with a series of other perceived mishaps. Meanwhile, staffers also say that Deputy Director Dan Bongino is already “out the door,” signaling a larger shakeup at the agency.

Mark Kelly's legal team hits back at Pentagon with stern threat

(Raw Story) An attorney representing Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) fired off a warning letter to the Department of Defense on Monday, saying the senator is prepared to take whatever legal action is necessary to stop what they regard as an illegal and politically motivated investigation into him. Kelly has been singled out for investigation under military law, after he and five other Democratic lawmakers with a military background published a video reminding servicemembers they have a duty to refuse illegal orders.

More redistricting bad news for Republicans: Texas may not net five GOP seats like they planned

(CNN) The Republican plans to pick off five Democratic-held congressional seats in Texas once seemed like a sure thing. Not anymore. President Donald Trump’s flagging approval ratings, particularly among Latinos, and strong Democratic performance in this year’s special elections have changed both parties’ assumptions. Now, the cushion the Texas GOP drew into its new map – Trump won every Republican-favored district by 10 points or more a year ago – seems like it might be too small.

BBC vows to defend itself in $10bn Donald Trump lawsuit

(The Guardian) The BBC has vowed to defend itself against the $10bn lawsuit that the US president, Donald Trump filed against it. In a complaint filed on Monday evening, Trump sought $5bn in damages each on two counts, alleging that the BBC defamed him, and that it violated Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.