Morning Headlines - Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022 | Recent News

U.S. and World Headlines

Rep.-Elect George Santos Admits To Lying About Resume, Says He’s ‘Not A Criminal’

GOP Rep.-elect George Santos of New York admitted in two separate interviews on Monday to lying about parts of his resume but claimed that he hasn’t committed any crimes and intends to serve in Congress.

Santos has faced scrutiny over discrepancies in his employment and education history, as well as other public claims he has made about his biography. In interviews with WABC radio and the New York Post – the first times Santos has spoken publicly about the controversy – he acknowledged that he had fabricated some facts.

“I am not a criminal. Not here, not abroad, in any jurisdiction in the world have I ever committed any crimes,” Santos said in an interview with WABC radio host John Catsimatidis.

Time Is Running Short For McCarthy To Lock Up Speakership

It’s crunch time for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

Members of Congress departed Washington on Friday with the group of House Republicans voicing opposition to McCarthy for Speaker showing no signs of wavering, setting up a dramatic Jan. 3 Speaker’s vote — or series of votes — on the first day of the 118th Congress.

McCarthy brushed off a question on Friday asking how he plans to lock up support over the holidays, saying he plans to “go home; have a really nice Christmas.”

At least five House Republicans have explicitly said or strongly indicated they will not vote for McCarthy to be Speaker, and several others have withheld support for him as they push for commitments on governing priorities and rules changes that would empower individual members.

No Speaker vote has gone to a second ballot in a century.

2022's Gold, Silver, And Bronze Medals Of Woke Outrage Failures

As 2022 comes to a close the most recent Gallup polling shows 76 percent of Americans think the country is headed in the wrong direction. Taken another way, if Joe Biden was your UBER driver you might want a ride from Paul Pelosi instead. But I'm not here to bash Democrats or their driving records. Nor will I give them the business for the record levels of inflation crushing small businesses. Yes, a lot of us got poorer this year, but the silver lining for all Americans is the woke outrage mob truly went broke.

As always, there were plenty of big angry protests but unlike years past where social pressure campaigns ended TV shows like "Live PD" and eliminated the Aunt Jemima logo (and the royalties going to the model’s family) history will show that this year’s biggest backlashes fell flat.

For my money that's a cause everyone should celebrate because you’re never gonna find yourself at a party hoping for the guy who gets offended by everything to show up. And you're out of luck if you are because he doesn't get invited to parties.

2022 Is The Year We All Finally Got Tired Of Narcissists

It’s been a good run for the narcissists.

Over the past decade or so, a mix of shameless self-aggrandizement and self-confident charm has served certain people extraordinarily well, turning them into venture-capital darlings, licensed-merchandise magnates, Forbes& cover models, social media superstars, Oprah confessors, business-conference keynoters, new-money plutocrats and, in one case, president.

Elon Musk, Sam Bankman-Fried, Ye (né Kanye West), Elizabeth Holmes, Meghan Markle, Donald Trump: All of them used attention as currency and ego as fuel, and were rewarded, for a time, with what they craved. We’re drawn to people who love themselves.

But somewhere between the fifth and sixth hour of “Harry and Meghan,” the new Netflix documentary series produced by the former Duke and Duchess of Sussex and filmed at their California mansion — which suggests that there is no one more in love, no one more socially conscious, no one more aggrieved — my natural sympathy for the couple started turning to irritation, and it occurred to me that ego has its limits.

Mega Millions Tuesday Jackpot Surpasses Estimated $565M

The holiday shopping season — for Mega Millions lottery ticket buyers, at least — is ramping up as officials say the estimated jackpot for Tuesday night's drawing has surpassed half a billion dollars.

As of late Monday, lottery officials estimate Tuesday's prize at $565 million — or more than $293 million if delivered in cash — after there were no lucky winners holding a ticket that matched all six numbers in the last drawing held on Friday.

Tuesday's drawing will be held at 11 p.m. EST.

Wisconsin Republicans, Evers Clash Over Tax Cuts, Schools

Wisconsin Republicans who control the state Legislature are poised to clash with newly reelected Democratic Gov. Tony Evers over tax cuts, how to fund local governments and whether to expand the private school choice program to wealthier families.

But even though Evers and Republicans are on opposite sides of issues like abortion and pushing for a flat income tax rate, they also are talking about forging a better relationship in the coming years than they had during Evers’ first term, which saw the governor cast the highest number of vetoes in state history.

Agard Encouraging Dems To Boost Outreach In GOP Districts

Melissa Agard says there’s a simple key for Senate Dems to begin to climb out of the minority: show up.

Agard, selected minority leader by her colleagues last month after the November elections, noted Dems have been talking for a decade about district lines that aren’t representative of the state’s purple hue, are arbitrary and “wrong.”

But staying in their safe districts — most of them anchored by urban areas — isn’t going to change that, she said. Following the November elections, the northernmost member of the Senate Dem caucus is Jeff Smith, of Brunswick. That leaves the entire northern third of Wisconsin covered in red districts.

But Agard thinks issues are on the side of Dems, pointing to polls that show even a majority of Republicans back things such as gun reform, expanding health care, legalizing marijuana, abortion rights and other issues.

NASA Launches International Mission To Survey Earth's Water, Including The Great Lakes

Since the first moon landing, many children have gazed skyward and dreamed of becoming an astronaut or someday working for NASA. While astronauts get all the glory, the agency’s work spans so much more than space exploration.

For Sam Kelly, it’s his first time working on a project with NASA.

"It's a lot of fun working for NASA. A lot of the NASA science that makes the news is about things that are looking away from Earth," Kelly said. "But, they have a really great track record of measuring the Earth as well."

The researcher at the University of Minnesota in Duluth is among a team of several hundred scientists from nearly 20 countries that are taking part in the first ever global survey of almost all water on the Earth’s surface, including the Great Lakes.

Fond Du Lac Woman Named New Miss Wisconsin 2022

There is officially a new Miss Wisconsin 2022, the Miss Wisconsin Scholarship Organization announced Monday.

Kylene Spanbauer, who was named first runner-up at the Miss Wisconsin 2022 competition in June, will now hold the crown after the winner, Grace Stanke, was named Miss America 2023.

A Fond du Lac native, Spanbauer was previously Miss Harbor Cities 2022 and served as Miss Wisconsin’s Outstanding Teen in 2016. She attended the University of Iowa and was a “Golden Girl” baton twirler for the Hawkeyes Marching Band for five years.

Wisconsin Takes On Oklahoma State In Guaranteed Rate Bowl

The Luke Fickell era at Wisconsin will have a soft opening.

Fickell will be on the sideline against Oklahoma State on Tuesday night in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. Most of the major decisions, like naming a starting quarterback, will be made by interim coach Jim Leonhard and the other current Badgers coaches.

“There’s been a lot of things that these guys have gone through this entire season,” Fickell said. “The last thing they need in this three-week period of preparing for a bowl game is to have more change. Me being there enough is probably change for them, so we tried to keep everything intact as much as they have done.”