Sen. Bayh's Retirement Adds To Democrats' Woes (bloomberg)

“The U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday that a patient has been hospitalized with a severe case of H5N1 infection in Louisiana, marking the first known instance of a severe human illness linked to the bird flu virus in the United States,” Reuters reports.

“Senior Democrats aren’t ruling out Kamala Harris as a presidential candidate for 2028. But not all of them are fully endorsing the idea, either,” Politico reports. “For party leaders, it’s a delicate balancing act. Some want to show respect for the outgoing vice president — but also share a sense of skepticism about her future prospects.

Rep. Jennifer Wexton, a three-term Democratic lawmaker from northern Virginia, delivered her final speech on the House floor Tuesday after a severe neurological disease forced her to step away from Congress, the AP reports.

Just three states — Maine, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — have split Senate delegations, the Washington Post reports. That is the lowest number since Americans began directly electing senators more than a century ago.

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is defending what he says is “embarrassing, though not criminal” past behavior and taking a shot at the House Ethics Committee, following reports that the panel voted to release its findings about him, The Hill reports. Said Gaetz: “In my single days, I often sent funds to women I dated – even some I never dated but who asked.

“The Supreme Court agreed on Wednesday to hear TikTok’s challenge to a law that could ban its U. S. operations, putting the case on an exceptionally fast track, culminating in oral arguments at a special session on Jan. 10,” the New York Times reports.