CNBC POLL:

Which party would you prefer to control Congress:
44% - Republicans
34% - Democrats
 
🚨 “In the past 20 years, CNBC and NBC surveys have never registered a double-digit Republican advantage on congressional preference...”
https://cnb.cx/3pM2gNm

U.S. consumer price inflation jumps 6.8% year-over-year in November, the largest increase since 1982.

DeSantis "Freedom First" budget:

$1K bonuses for teachers & police
Cut gas tax $.25 for 5 mos
$1B for environment
No tuition hikes
$40M for home loans
$8M to fight illegal immigration
$2.4M on E-Verify
$6.8M for new Office of Election Crimes
$1M to combat organized retail theft

Look what arrived!

UPDATE:

In a statement on Friday, President Joe Biden says the inflation data does not reflect recent trends.

“But developments in the weeks after these data were collected last month show that price and cost increase are slowing, although not as quickly as we’d like," he said.

NEW: Lisa Hanson, a cafe owner in Minnesota, has been sentenced to 90 days in jail and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine after she continued operating her cafe in defiance of the governor’s 2020 lockdowns.

“You were a public risk because you kept your business open,” the judge said.

NEW - Facebook asserts "fact checks," created by third-party organizations and used to remove content or to suspend users, are nothing more than "protected opinions" in a court filing.

INBOX: Statement by Julian Assange's solicitors following the High Court's decision.

Despite 97 percent vaccination rate, NBA has already at least equaled last year’s total number of players/coaches entering COVID protocol. -- Sam Amico, Hoops Wire

NEWS

(Tallahassee, Fla.) -- Gov. Ron DeSantis pledges support to sign a bill to make Florida a Constitutional carry state. Eligible Floridians will not be required to seek a concealed carry permit once the bill is signed into law.

JUST IN: Justin Christopher Moore, the suspect accused of attempting to firebomb the Seattle Police Officers union in 2020, was arrested on Thursday after an extensive investigation by a multi-agency task force, police say.

WOW: New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern says her country has created a special account to fund journalists who will produce government-approved stories on Covid-19.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1469411730233176067/video/1

NEW: CDC MMWR released a report today detailing the first 43 confirmed Omicron cases in the U.S. Among these early cases, nearly 80% were vaccinated, there was one hospitalization & no deaths. The majority of patients had mild symptoms. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7050e1.htm?s_cid=mm7050e1_w

BREAKING: State Supreme Court rules mask mandate for Pennsylvania's schools, child care facilities isn't valid - AP