Politics update

A number of Fox News hosts have openly expressed skepticism about the House Republican attempts to impeach President Joe Biden, or noted the lack of evidence to back up the corruption allegations.... While the conservative news network is still overwhelmingly negative and partisan in its coverage of Joe and Hunter Biden, one person who has also frequently talked down the impeachment probe of the president is Fox and Friends co-host Steve Doocy. In a recent episode of the morning show, Doocy noted House Republicans have "got a lot of ledgers and spreadsheets, but they have not connected the dots" to suggest wrongdoing by the president.

The House passed the annual defense policy bill yesterday. The $886 billion bill includes a 5.2% pay raise for military personnel and funding to counter threats from Russia and China.... It was stripped of hard-line Republicans’ demands targeting abortion, diversity and LGBTQ+ rights.A partial government shutdown is possible next month. Money for some key federal programs expires on Jan. 19.

The Senate planned to delay its holiday recess and stay in session next week as lawmakers signaled they could be close to a bipartisan border security deal that would clear a path for aid to Ukraine and Israel. Read more...