Who's giving us the receipts...The Jan 6 House committee. Yesterday, after an 18-month investigation, it released its full (800+ page) report. It's the final report before the committee will likely be forced to disband next year once the new Congress starts with a Republican majority in the House. It includes details from more than 1,000 witness interviews. And reviews of over one million pages of docs (including emails, texts, and phone records) stemming from subpoenas. We Skimm'd it so you don't have to: On Trump: The committee said that the president was part of a "multi-part conspiracy" to overturn the 2020 election results. And that the insurrection "put the lives of American lawmakers at risk" and threatened democracy. On other allies: The committee also detailed how key allies helped Trump submit fake electors to overturn the election. And released more than 30 witness testimony transcripts — but there could be more where that came from. Recommendations: The committee has already suggested Congress overhaul the Electoral Count Act to prevent any future president from trying to change election votes. It also called for subpoena power to raise the penalty for those who threaten election workers. And suggested that Trump be banned from holding public office ever again.
Why it's important to bundle up…The winter storm. About 300 million Americans are under winter weather alerts. And more than 100 daily cold temp records could be tied or broken over the next few days. Temps have already dropped significantly below freezing in Texas, Kansas, and Missouri. Governors in Kentucky, North Carolina, Georgia, and Oklahoma have already declared states of emergency. In Texas, there've been concerns about whether the power grid would hold up after last year's deadly malfunction. But officials are saying it will. As for travel, the bad weather has already pushed officials to close a stretch of nearly 200 miles of Interstate 90. Airlines have canceled or delayed more than 10,000 flights with airports in Denver and Chicago especially impacted. And today, a bomb cyclone could reach the Great Lakes. Officials are warning everyone to stay safe, stay home, and avoid unnecessary travel in affected areas.
What has some explaining to do…TikTok. Yesterday, ByteDance — which owns the viral social media platform — said it improperly got its hands on data from US TikTok users…including two journalists. The journalists reported for Financial Times and BuzzFeed. ByteDance employees were trying to piece together any connections between the two journalists and their own employees by tracking their IP addresses. Then, over the summer, the company's employees accessed the data to try to investigate leaks of ByteDance's info. Now, the employees involved in accessing the data have reportedly been fired. BuzzFeed has said it's "deeply disturbed" by the findings. ByteDance's CEO says the company takes data security "incredibly seriously." And that it will restructure its auditing dept and redesign its investigations process. But none of this helps build the company's case that it's a responsible player amid pressure from lawmakers over security concerns.
What people are talking about…Life expectancy. Yesterday, the CDC published two reports, collectively finding that life expectancy in the US is at its lowest level in two decades. It's the second year in a row it's dropped, with COVID and drug overdoses especially to blame for driving early deaths. Now, the expected lifespan for Americans fell from 77 years to 76.4 years. Meanwhile women, on average, are living until over 79 years old. The data puts the US at the lowest life expectancy compared to other wealthy countries — with Japan leading the pack at 84.5 years of life expectancy.
Who's pouring Salt Bae on the wound...FIFA, with its investigation.
Who's kicking off 2023 on a high note…Bad Bunny. |