Free Republic

* House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy failed in a third vote to secure enough votes to be elected Speaker, throwing the party into into uncertainty. * After the first ballot resulted in votes for several Republicans, the latest round saw McCarthy’s opponents coalesce around a new contender: Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, a longtime McCarthy ally. * It is the first time in 100 years that the majority party has failed to coalesce around a candidate for Speaker, and it was uncertain what McCarthy’s next steps would be.

POINTS: President Joe Biden pardoned all those convicted on prior federal charges, or convicted in the District of Columbia, of simple marijuana possession. Biden called on governors to follow suit and pardon those convicted on similar state charges. He has also instructed Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra and Attorney General Merrick Garland to begin reviewing how marijuana is classified under federal drug laws.

Former Indiana Republican Rep. Stephen Buyer has been charged with insider trading, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced Monday. Buyer, who left Congress in 2011, is accused of buying more than $1.5 million worth of stock in Sprint and Navigant Consulting based on on non-public information he received as a consultant after he left office. Buyer allegedly used seven different accounts to hide the stock purchases. They included accounts he shared with his wife, his son, his cousin, and one that belonged to an unidentified woman who was romantically linked to Buyer. WASHINGTON -- Former Indiana Republican Rep. Stephen Buyer...

Journalists missed a reference to a Biden gaffe Monday after the Trump campaign launched a new website titled “Truth Over Facts.” President Donald Trump’s campaign launched what appears to be a joke website they described as “an investigative website aimed at uncovering the truth behind [former Vice President] Joe Biden’s never-ending, seemingly incomprehensible statements during his third, plodding campaign for president.” The “Truth Over Facts” title is, in fact, a reference to one of Biden’s public gaffes, where he made the comment during a 2019 campaign speech in Iowa. This seemed to go over many journalists’ heads as they attacked...

President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable discussion in August 2018. President Donald Trump on Friday announced that he had asked his secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, to cancel a planned trip to North Korea because there had not been enough progress in talks so far.

WASHINGTON -- For nearly a decade, the National Rifle Association successfully blocked a bill in Washington state that would have required alleged domestic abusers to surrender their firearms after being served with a protective order. Only those actually convicted of felony domestic violence, the nation's largest gun lobby argued, should be made to forfeit their gun rights. This past year, the NRA changed its tune. As the bill, HB 1840, once again moved through the state legislature, the gun lobby made a backroom deal with lawmakers, agreeing to drop its public opposition to it in exchange for a few minor...