Vox Sentences - A House divided

Kevin McCarthy fails to secure House leadership; Brazil reopens its fraud investigation into Rep. George Santos. 

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

Kevin McCarthy’s once-in-a-century House speakership failure

Alex Brandon/AP

• On Tuesday, Republican Kevin McCarthy lost two bids to become speaker of the House of Representatives as Congress convened a new session. [Associated Press / Lisa Mascaro, Farnoush Amiri, and Kevin Freking]
• McCarthy and his supporters are now working to convince 19 members who voted for other candidates to support the California lawmaker. [Olivia Beavers, Sarah Ferris, and Jordain Carney]
• A group of hardline Republicans oppose McCarthy’s leadership because they think he isn’t invested enough in investigating Democrats and fighting ongoing culture wars. [Reuters / David Morgan]
• They also want to change House rules to make it easier to oust a speaker. [Vox / Ben Jacobs]
• The House is unable to conduct legislative business until Republicans choose a leader. [NBC News / Scott Wong and Haley Talbot]

📍 If you read just one story

Vox explains 23 things we think will happen in 2023. [Vox]

Brazil charges George Santos

• Brazilian authorities are reopening fraud charges against newly sworn-in Rep. George Santos (R-NY). [New York Times / Grace Ashford and André Spigariol]
• Prosecutors say Santos used a stolen checkbook and a fake name to make purchases at a clothing store outside Rio in 2008. [CNN / Jack Forrest]
• Authorities attempted to charge Santos but were unable to locate him because he had moved to the US. He faces up to five years in prison and a fine if convicted in Brazil. [Guardian / Victoria Bekiempis]
• The latest report comes amid state and federal investigations into Santos and his finances after he admitted to making up much of his résumé. [The Hill / Jared Gans]
• Santos has denied any criminal wrongdoing in Brazil or elsewhere. [Washington Post / Gabriela Sá Pessoa, Niha Masih, and Claire Parker]

Economists are predicting three economic scenarios for 2023 as the Federal Reserve tries to tamp down persistent inflation. [Vox / Madeleine Ngo]

• The Japanese government is offering families 1 million yen ($7,500) per child to move from Tokyo to less desirable areas in a bid to reverse population decline. [Guardian / Justin McCurry]
• Fans donated millions to NFL star Damar Hamlin’s toy drive after the Buffalo Bills player collapsed on the field Monday night. He remains in critical condition. [CNN / Chris Boyette and Nouran Salahieh]
• Two adults and two children survived after their Tesla fell 250 feet from a California cliff on Monday. [NBC News / Marlene Lenthang]

“This is a lot more important than about one person. It’s about whether Republicans will be able to govern.”

[Doug Heye, a former Republican leadership senior aide / AP]

Let’s eat lab meat

Happy New Year! Maybe you’re interested in trying new things? Sean and his mom are. In today’s episode, they drive to Alameda, California, to try “hybrid meat” — a mixture of lab-grown meat and veggie meat substitute that could deliver a more sustainable (but still meaty) future.

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