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$400,000
Disgraced former Rep. George Santos (D-NY) made $400,000 selling personalized videos on Cameo, federal prosecutors said in a court hearing Tuesday, ABC News reports.
$200 million
“Since his victory in November, President-elect Donald Trump’s allies have raised well over $200 million for a constellation of groups that will fund his inauguration, his political operation and eventually his presidential library,“ the New York Times reports. “It is a staggering sum that underscores efforts by donors and corporate interests to curry favor with Mr. Trump ahead of a second presidential term after a number of business leaders denounced him following the violence by his supporters at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.”
$1 million
“Apple CEO Tim Cook will personally donate $1 million to President-elect Trump’s inaugural committee,” Axios reports. “The donation reflects a long, collaborative relationship between Trump and Cook that included many meetings during Trump’s first term, and dinner at Mar-a-Lago last month.”
>150
The 118th Congress passed just under 150 bills over the last two years, according to the Quorum data provided to Axios. That’s down from more than 350 passed in the previous Congress — in which Democrats held control of both chambers and the White House. The 17 congresses since the start of George H.W. Bush’s presidency in 1989 have passed an average of more than 380 laws.
36 million
Time: “Currently there are 3.6 million cases pending before immigration judges, the largest number of pending cases in the history of the American immigration system. That is a 44% increase from the 2.5 million cases pending the year before. And the problem is only getting bigger, as more people continue to be put into deportation proceedings.”
$1.5 trillion
The world’s 500 richest people gained $1.5 trillion in wealth last year, per Bloomberg. Collectively, their net worth reached $10 trillion for the first time.
46,610
“Unlawful border crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border have dropped to a four-year low, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, with 46,610 people stopped between ports of entry in November,” the Los Angeles Times reports. “The number of illegal crossings that month marked an 18% decrease from the previous month, and the lowest level since July 2020.”
24%
A new AP-NORC poll finds just 39% of Democrats approve of celebrities piping up on political issues — but only 11% of Republicans and 12% of independents (24% for the whole sample). It’s the same with pro athletes: 39% of Democrats approve of them speaking up — but just 16% of Republicans and 15% of independents (26% overall).
72%
Associated Press: “After election night through Dec. 13, the prime-time viewership of MSNBC was an average of 620,000, down 54% from the pre-election audience this year, the Nielsen company said. For the same time comparison, CNN’s average of 405,000 viewers was down 45%. … At Fox News Channel, a favorite news network for Trump fans, the post-election average of 2.68 million viewers is up 13%, Nielsen said. Since the election, 72% of the people watching one of those three cable networks in the evening were watching Fox News, compared to 53% prior to election day.”
19%
A new Gallup poll finds 19% of Americans say they are satisfied with the way things are going in the U.S., slightly lower than the 22% to 26% readings in recent months and the lowest since July.
