Stakeouts, a Missing Scarf, and a Dying Dog: Inside the George Santos Media Circus

Sinema’s Davos Drop-In • California’s Climate Chaos • DeSantis’s War on Education

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Stakeouts, a Missing Scarf, and a Dying Dog: Inside the George Santos Media Circus

Good morning from the Hive newsroom! To start us off, Joe Pompeo welcomes readers to the media circus around freshman fabulist George Santos, whose fallacious resume continues to serve up scoops that grow more damning by the day. “Santos finds himself at the center of this salacious smorgasbord,” as Pompeo writes, “his own story falling somewhere between a rollicking black comedy and a tragic psychodrama about a potentially troubled individual.” Remarkably, the feeding frenzy has done nothing to stop Santos from clinching committee seats in Congress, which, as Molly Jong-Fast argues, sends a clear message that “lying to Americans is acceptable if it’s in the pursuit of power.”

Elsewhere, Abigail Tracy finds that Arizona representative Ruben Gallego has a lot to say about Kyrsten Sinema’s appearance this week at Davos, where she was pictured hobnobbing with Paul Ryan and Anthony Scaramucci. For the latest episode of Inside the Hive, Joe Hagan and Emily Jane Fox sit down with California’s Environmental Protection Agency head to discuss the Golden State’s recovery from weeks of torrential flooding. Plus, Eric Lutz has the latest on Florida governor Ron DeSantis’s rejection of a new Advanced Placement course on African American studies.

Stakeouts, a Missing Scarf, and a Dying Dog: Inside the George Santos Media Circus

A Long Island Patch reporter is racking up scoops while congressional correspondents chase down the fabulist freshman rep, who may just be leaning into the press frenzy. Says one member of the scrum, “He’s an idiot, but he’s not an idiot.”

The Not Particularly Talented Mr. Santos

With Kevin McCarthy and co. giving government oversight power to election deniers, it’s perhaps fitting that the comically dishonest New York representative is also landing a couple committee seats. As Rep. Ritchie Torres put it, “House Republicans have sunk to the level of self-parody.”

“She Is Absolutely Separated From Reality”: Kyrsten Sinema’s Davos Appearance Emboldens Detractors Eyeing Her Senate Seat

Arizona congressman Ruben Gallego, a possible contender for Sinema’s seat in 2024, called the senator’s decision to pal around with the rich and powerful at the World Economic Forum a “tacky” piece of “performance art.”

“The New Normal”: California’s Environmental Protection Head Explains How the State Is Trying to Combat Apocalyptic Weather

After weeks of torrential rain storms that have flooded communities, toppled trees, and brought on huge economic devastation, Yana Garcia joins Inside the Hive to share how environmental justice will play a role in recovery.

Next on Ron DeSantis’s Agenda: Going After African American Studies and Records of Health Care for Trans Students

His administration rejected a new Advanced Placement course and requested information on how many students are receiving gender affirming care.