Politicks: In a calm yet moving address before the House of Representatives yesterday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that she will not seek a leadership position with the Democratic minority when the Republicans take charge next year.

  The Speaker said, “While we will have our disagreements on policy, we must remain fully committed to our shared, fundamental mission: to hold strong to our most treasured Democratic ideals, to cherish the spark of divinity in each and every one of us, and to always put our Country first.”

  For the moment, New York Rep. Hakim Jeffries appears to be the leading candidate to take over Democratic leadership in the House. He would be the first Black member of Congress to do so.

  Pelosi’s #2, Steny Hoyer of Maryland, who’s 83, immediately said he would not try to succeed Pelosi. 

    Pelosi is 82 and been the Democratic leader for 19 years out of her career since being elected in 1988. “For me the hour has come for a new generation to lead the Democratic caucus that I so deeply respect,” she said. She went on,  “And I am grateful that so many are ready and willing to shoulder this awesome responsibility.”

The Long Count: Arizona’s gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake is putting up a fight, refusing so far to accept that she lost.

  Lake yesterday tweeted her first lengthy post-vote video statement, saying “Our election officials failed us miserably. What happened to Arizonans on election day is unforgiveable.” 

  She said that her opponent, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, had a conflict of interest being in the election and in charge of elections at the same time. She cited problems with voting and tabulation machines, which was well known on election day.

  A fervent denier that Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, Lake did not claim outright fraud, or that the voting problems last week in Arizona made any difference in the outcome. But she said, “Rest assured that I am assembling the best and brightest legal team, and we are exploring every legal avenue to correct the many wrongs that have been done this past week.” 

  In Colorado, Rep. Lauren Boebert, another election denier, is close to a win or a recount. Late yesterday she was ahead by only 1,100 votes out of 320,000 counted.

Tweet That: Faced with Elon Musk’s ultimatum to take a buyout or stay and work like dogs, hundreds of Twitter employees are taking the check … not the blue check, a check for money, … and Musk was immediately begging some considered “critical” to stay.

  This has added to the chaos at Twitter since Musk’s $44 billion purchase of the social media company and laying off half the 7,500 employees. Reporters have been unable to get an official response from the company because the entire public relations department also was sacked.

Change of Guard: Republican leaders are already announcing plans to investigate the business dealings of President Biden and his troubled son, Hunter.

  After refusing to cooperate with the investigation of a former president who tried to overthrow the government, the Republicans are gunning for revenge.

  Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, said the House Oversight Committee will try to link the President to his son’s business dealings, continuing an effort started in 2018 that never established the Joe Biden’s involvement in doing anything wrong.  Comer told reporters he intended “to show you this is an investigation of Joe Biden,” and not just his son.

  The committee under new management also plans to investigate a variety of other administration polices and figures.

Trump World: Former Trump Companies CFO Allen Weisselberg has been testifying in New York about how both he and the company benefited from a tax dodging scheme.

  Weisselberg, who pleaded guilty in exchange for his testimony, has told prosecutors about how he received a rent-free apartment, luxury cars, and school tuition for his children and grandchildren, none of it reported by him or the company for tax purposes.

  The test for prosecutors to convict the company of committing crimes, is to prove that the free perks benefitted the company as well as Weisselberg and other executives.

The War Room: Swedish investigators say they have found residue of explosives around the ruptured undersea Nordstream gas pipelines that carry Russian fuel, confirming that it was an act of sabotage. It was always assumed that explosives were used, but no one has admitted planting them.

  On the battle front, Ukrainian says it has been attacking  Russian supply routes and command centers across southern Ukraine. The Russians have lost more than half of the territory they took since invading Ukraine. Russian forces are consolidating their defenses in a smaller area to defend at the Ukrainians continue to advance. 

The Spin Rack: North Korea launched another missile, one of its most powerful yet, reaching an altitude of 3,700 miles. — Buffalo, NY is on alert for a potentially paralyzing early season snowstorm, up to three or four feet. There’s already a foot or more in some areas. — Former Theranos executive Elizabeth Holmes heads to court for sentencing today for her fraud conviction. Holmes claimed to have a miracle blood testing technology, sucking in investors who lost their money. Prosecutors want to send her away for 15 years. — Overwhelmed by demand, Ticketmaster has cancelled the public sale of tickets to Taylor Swift’s latest tour. 

Below the Fold: Qatar, a conservative Muslim country, has backed out of its agreement to allow the sale of beer at World Cup soccer events. Ticket holders were supposed to be able to buy Budweiser beer starting three hours before matches, and for an hour after the final whistle. Budweiser … that’s no loss.

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