I'm not calling this race yet, but......

I'd rather be the Warnock campaign than the Walker campaign.

Cawthorn fined $15,000 for promoting 'Lets go Brandon' cryptocurrency

The House Ethics Committee has directed Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) to pay more than $15,000 in fines and fees for encouraging people to purchase a cryptocurrency in which he had a financial interest that was not properly disclosed.

According to the committee’s 81-page report released Tuesday, Cawthorn has until the end of the month to pay $14,237.49 — “reflecting the approximate value of the gift he received” — to “an appropriate charitable organization,” and an additional $1,000 in late filing fees to the Treasury Department within 14 days of the report’s release.

The congressman lost his primary in May and his term ends next month.

The House panel’s investigative subcommittee (ISC) “found substantial evidence that Representative Cawthorn promoted a cryptocurrency in which he had a financial interest in violation of rules protecting against conflicts of interest, and that he failed to file timely reports to the House disclosing his transactions relating to the cryptocurrency,” the report said.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/06/madison-cawthorn-cryptocurrency-house-ethics-fine/

'Focused on the Senate': Rick Scott rules out 2024 presidential run

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott would rather have six more years in the U.S. Senate than run for President.

That’s the takeaway from his comments on Tuesday’s Hugh Hewitt Show, during which the first-term Florida Senator repeatedly rebuffed the host’s questions about a potential bid for The White House by saying he was “focused on the Senate.”

“I have no plans to run for President and I have a 100% plan to run for the U.S. Senate,” Scott said.

“I’m running for re-election for Senator from the great state of Florida,” Scott said. “I will, you know, work my butt off for the next two years for my re-election.”

Scott, who is wrapping up a two-year term as head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee in which the GOP failed to flip the Senate, seems to have a rocky path there as well. He received just ten votes in a challenge to Mitch McConnell‘s leadership of the minority caucus last month. Nevertheless, he asserted his priority is remaining in the chamber.



https://floridapolitics.com/archives/574503-rick-scott-focused-senate/

NE-SEN: Nebraska governor running for Sasse's Senate seat

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) on Tuesday announced he’ll try for the appointment to replace outgoing Sen. Ben Sasse (R) and represent the state in the U.S. Senate, according to local outlets.

“For me, it came down to a single question: How can I best serve the people of Nebraska and advance our conservative values? In Congress, we’re in a fight for the future of our nation, and it’s a fight we have to win. We must cut taxes, strengthen public safety and our national security, and protect our most sacred freedoms,” Ricketts said in a statement shared with The Hill.

Ricketts was already set to leave the governor’s office in January, having not sought reelection due to term limits, and has long been eyed as a possible contender to fill the Sasse is stepping down from his Senate seat to become the next president of the University of Florida. He’s set to leave the upper chamber in January, well before his current term ends in 2027.

Sasse is stepping down from his Senate seat to become the next president of the University of Florida. He’s set to leave the upper chamber in January, well before his current term ends in 2027.




https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3763647-nebraska-governor-running-for-sasses-senate-seat/

Donald Trump's company found guilty of tax fraud in scheme hatched by top executives.

My state senator received another bomb threat this morning.

Senator Scott Wiener

@Scott_Wiener - 1h
This morning I was informed of the second bomb threat targeting me this year (+numerous other death threats), mostly related to our work for LGBTQ equality.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, Charlie Kirk & others in the MAGA conspiracy theory ecosystem are inciting violence. My statement:

Arizona Sec. of State Katie Hobbs gets recount process started for 3 races

PHOENIX — Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs got the state-mandated recount process started Monday by filing documents with the state court system.

Hobbs submitted the documents in Maricopa County Superior Court after certifying the election results at the statewide canvass earlier in the day. Gov. Doug Ducey, Attorney General Mark Brnovich and Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Brutinel also participated in the canvass.

Two statewide races and one legislative race, including for attorney general and superintendent of public instruction, fell within the threshold of one-half of a percentage point to trigger an automatic recount under state law.

The race for attorney general had Democrat Kris Mayes leading Republican Abe Hamadeh by 510 votes out of more than 2.5 million cast (.02 percentage points), while Republican Tom Horne for superintendent of public instruction was leading Democrat Kathy Hoffman by 8,967 votes (.35 percentage points).




https://ktar.com/story/5377570/arizona-sec-of-state-hobbs-requests-recount-of-3-election-races/

Georgia Sec. of State estimates 1.3 million votes to be cast today.

Michelle Yeoh is has been named 2022's Time Magazine Icon of the Year!

TIME Entertainer of the Year: BLACKPINK

When they officially debuted in 2016, it was as YG’s first girl group in seven years. To K-pop fans, this was a big deal: YG was known for creating stars, and Blackpink’s debut was widely anticipated. But the reception to their first singles, the dance-floor-ready, fast-paced “Whistle” and “Boombayah,” was tremendous. Blackpink has a specific brand of catchy, glittery, and bombastic hip-hop-tinged pop with high-impact aesthetics, often showing up in sparkly designer clothes; in their biggest hits, Jennie and Lisa rap while Rosé and Jisoo sing, each of them emanating a strong dose of cool-girl attitude. They quickly developed a loyal fandom, called Blinks, and a massive following on social media. They stood out to U.S. label Interscope, which partnered with YG in 2018 to manage Blackpink’s business outside Asia. Interscope CEO and chairman John Janick attributes their popularity to the “meticulous” approach they take to their music: “I think that really sets them apart.”

But the music alone does not account for Blackpink’s massive visibility, Janick says: “They’re all four stars in their own way.” For instance, Jennie’s early solo project “Solo” was an unflinching hip-hop banger, continuing to subvert expectations about what a female K-pop star could sound like. In 2023, the Chanel ambassador will appear in HBO’s The Idol, alongside the Weeknd. Lisa, who reps the luxury brand Celine, has released two solo songs that reflect her knack for hip-hop-influenced earworms. Jisoo made her acting debut on the drama Snowdrop, and with 66 million Instagram followers became the platform’s most-followed Korean actress. Rosé, whose 2021 singles “On the Ground” and “Gone” charted highly globally, made a splash at the Met Gala last year, in a dress by Saint Laurent, for whom she is a brand ambassador. All four have attended various Fashion Week shows this year: “Being able to go to Paris and see our fans in person for the first time since the pandemic—it was very memorable for me,” says Jisoo. (Influencer marketing platforms calculated that Jisoo topped celebrities like Kylie Jenner at the recent Paris shows, with an earned media value of over $22 million, boosting sales for her brand partner Dior by over $45 million.)

Side pursuits aren’t rare for K-pop groups—see the seven members of BTS now pursuing solo paths—but the scale of Blackpink’s successes, and the cohesion they maintain while regularly doing their own things, may very well be exceptional. As Minsuk Yang, chairman and CEO of YG, puts it, “Blackpink will continue to play its role as a trendsetting icon, not only in music, but also in beauty, fashion, and other industries.”

As the year closes, the group isn’t slowing down. It still has more than 20 dates on its tour with stops in from Berlin to Bangkok this winter alone. It’s an arduous undertaking, even for pros used to this kind of thing. When Blackpink first toured in the U.S. in 2019, the intensity of the calendar took its toll; in a hit Netflix documentary released in 2020, they can be seen struggling with the relentless schedule. This time they are better prepared. “Now we know how to take care of ourselves a little better,” says Jennie. “We try to be prepared in terms of our health and our mental health.” The pandemic not only offered a chance to rest and focus on solo projects, but also increased the fans’ desire to see them return to the stage. That excitement is clear in the euphoria of concert attendees who have waited years to see their favorites dance to “How You Like That” and “DDU-DU DDU-DU.” “Being able to come back with the team to tour and meet the fans worldwide has been a highlight,” Lisa says.

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https://time.com/entertainer-of-the-year-2022-blackpink/