Speaker Mike Johnson willing to ‘lead’ push for sexual misconduct overhauls

WASHINGTON — As revelations of sexual misconduct continue to ripple through Congress, calls for change are dominating the halls — so much so that Speaker Mike Johnson said he’d lead the cause himself.

“We are looking at every potential avenue to tighten up the rules and make sure that women have an avenue to report,” Johnson, R-La., said at a press conference Tuesday. “So if there are ways to tighten the rules, or suggestions, we’re seeking that from all members, we’re open to that ... And I will lead that myself.”

A report released Tuesday from the National Women’s Defense League, a nonprofit dedicated to preventing sexual harassment, found that 30 members of Congress since 2006 specifically have been publicly accused of sexual harassment in the workplace, with at least 53 accusations.

That number jumps when you include accusations outside of the workplace and instances that took place prior to serving in Congress — at least 137 accusations against 49 members of Congress, the report found.

—CQ-Roll Call

FBI probes missing or dead scientists, including four from the LA area

WASHINGTON — Amid growing national security concerns, the FBI said Tuesday it has launched a broad investigation in the deaths or disappearances of at least 10 scientists and staff connected to highly sensitive research, including four from the Los Angeles area.

"The FBI is spearheading the effort to look for connections into the missing and deceased scientists. We are working with the Department of Energy, Department of War, and with our state and state and local law enforcement partners to find answers," the agency said in a statement.

The FBI's announcement comes after the House Oversight Committee announced that it would probe reports of the disappearance and deaths of the scientists, sending letters seeking information from the agencies involved in the federal probe as well as NASA, which owns the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge, where three of the missing or dead scientists worked.

"If the reports are accurate, these deaths and disappearances may represent a grave threat to U.S. national security and to U.S. personnel with access to scientific secrets," James Comer, R-Ky., chairman of the committee, and Eric Burlison, R-Mo., wrote in the letters.

—Los Angeles Times

Nick Fuentes made nearly $1 million in livestreaming donations since 2025, report says

Antisemitic influencer Nick Fuentes reportedly collected around $900,000 in donations by livestreaming to his right-wing audience.

Using AI tools, the Washington Post analyzed more than 1,400 hours of Fuentes’ livestreams and videos on Rumble and tallied all of the contributions made in “super chats” displayed on screen. The sum is believed to be at least 99% accurate.

Fuentes, who has 1.3 million followers on X, attracts a formidable audience on social media despite being his podcast being banned from mainstream platforms YouTube and Apple. He was previously kicked off Twitter, though his account was reinstated in March 2024 when Elon Musk purchased that company and rebranded it as X.

The 27-year-old pundit from Chicagoland is a former MAGA loyalist who infamously dined with President Donald Trump and the rapper formerly known as Kanye West at Mar-a-Lago in November 2022 between Trump’s two terms in office. He has since broken from that movement for myriad reasons, including Trump’s friendly relationship with Israel and the rate at which the administration is deporting immigrants from the U.S. Fuentes reportedly believes the process is moving too slowly.

—New York Daily News

Attacks on Ukraine draft officers soar as war fatigue deepens

When Ukrainian military draft officers stopped two men to check their identity documents, a passing group of youths suddenly attacked them, enabling one of the detainees to flee.

The confrontation in the western city of Lutsk last week was among a growing number of incidents involving officers attempting to catch draft dodgers, as an unpopular mobilization deepens tensions among Ukrainians wearied by the war with Russia.

Assaults on military recruiters almost tripled to 341 last year compared with 2024, and more than 100 have been recorded so far this year, the Interfax-Ukraine news service reported earlier this month, citing police data. Some attacks involved knives, leading to serious injuries and at least one fatality, according to public reports.

“The emergence of an aggressive stance among parts of society, which can lead to conflicts, is a serious issue,” said Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Penta Research Institute in Kyiv. “There are indirect indications that these sentiments are being fueled by Russia, and that a firm response is needed. In this way, a line of division — a fault line of conflict — is being provoked within our society.”

—Bloomberg News