Friday, January 8th, 2021
More Capitol Siege Fallout, Airlines Boost Security & World’s Richest Person
All the news you need in around 10 min:
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Story Summaries
All the news stories mentioned in today's episode are listed with links below, so you can spend as much -- or as little -- time as you want reading the latest happenings...
Authorities Investigate Rioters
Federal investigators are promising to find and punish the people responsible for storming the U.S. Capitol. Dozens have already been charged, mostly for assault and firearms offenses. Now, The FBI says it’s determined to bring even more people to justice. Agents have already received thousands of tips from people identifying rioters. Authorities have also been combing social media and cellphone records. The FBI is also offering $50,000 for information that leads them to who left two pipe bombs near the RNC and DNC headquarters.
Read More: WaPo, WSJ, CNN
Trump Releases New Video
The top federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C. said his office is looking into everyone involved, including President Trump. That’s because just before the mob invaded the Capitol, Trump spoke to protesters in a way that some say incited violence. However, he’s since changed his tone. The president released another recorded video yesterday, in which he called the Capitol violence a “heinous attack.” Trump also defended his role at the rally. He said, “My only goal was to ensure the integrity of the vote.” He also committed to a peaceful transfer of power.
Read More: Trump Tweet, Axios, CNBC
Calls for Trump’s Removal
Top Democrats and at least one Republican say President Trump needs to go now. They have called on Vice President Mike Pence to “immediately” remove President Trump from office by invoking the 25th amendment. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says if Pence doesn’t act soon, Congress will start considering impeachment again. However, it’s not clear how far that effort will go since it can be a long process and President Trump is set to leave the White House in 12 days anyway.
Read More: WSJ, AP, NY Times, Bloomberg, FOX News
More WH Resignations
Some senior Trump administration officials are calling it quits early. Both Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and Education Secretary Betsy Devos said they’re leaving their posts immediately. Former White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, who is now the U.S. Special Envoy for Northern Ireland, also resigned yesterday. All three gave the same reason for leaving: the riots and President Trump’s role in inciting violence. Several news outlets say we can expect even more high-level resignations in the next few days.
Read More: CNBC, CBS News, FOX News, Bloomberg
Top Security Officials Resign
Some of the top security officials in Congress have lost their jobs over the U.S. Capitol invasion. Congressional leaders called for the House sergeant-at-arms and the Senate sergeant-at-arms to resign. Now, they’ve both done that. Their main jobs are to keep the Capitol building secure and protect members of Congress. However, in the wake of this week’s violence, they’re both leaving. The Capitol Police chief also resigned shortly after their union called for a “change at the top.”
Read More: NBC News, Politico, Reuters
Capitol Police Rejected Help
The AP reports Capitol Police had the option to call in the National Guard ahead of time, as well as FBI agents in place, as soon as the mob entered the building. However, two people familiar with the matter told the AP that police turned down both officers. Eventually, agents were called in from several federal agencies like the National Guard, Secret Service, FBI, and more. However, by then, there were already thousands of rioters roaming around the halls of Congress. It took four hours to get them out of the Capitol complex.
Read More: AP, NY Times, WSJ
Deadliest Day in U.S. Pandemic
For the second time this week, the U.S. hit a record for the highest daily death toll from COVID-19. More than 4,000 people died from the new coronavirus yesterday. At last count, there were more than 132,000 people battling COVID-19 in American hospitals. The situation is especially dire in the South and West. Arizona, California, and Nevada are now considered hotspots. More than 30% of all the hospital beds in each state are filled with COVID-19 patients.
Read More: WaPo, AP, Johns Hopkins, COVID Tracking
Fauci on New Virus Strains
That new strain of COVID-19 that was first reported in Britain has since been found in at least eight states here in the U.S. It’s considered more contagious, but no more deadly, than the original strain. The nation’s top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci spoke to Axios about it recently. He said there’s concern some antibody treatments won’t work to treat the new variant of COVID-19. On the other hand, he says the vaccines being given to Americans now should work to prevent any strain.
Read More: Axios, Time, CNBC
Trump Facebook Ban Extended
Facebook locked President Trump out of his account for at least the rest of his time in the White House. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the decision to ban him across all platforms. He said the president’s claims about voter fraud and a “rigged” election helped incite violence at the U.S. Capitol Wednesday. So now, the social network is cracking down more than ever before.
Read More: NY Times, WaPo, WSJ, Facebook
More Trump Accounts Disabled
The streaming platform Twitch disabled President Trump’s account this week, as did the social network Snapchat. Ecommerce platform Shopify also removed two online stores affiliated with Trump. However, Twitter is taking a different approach. It lifted its ban on President Trump yesterday after locking his account for 12 hours Wednesday. Twitter says the president is now free to tweet, but if he breaks the rules again, he could face permanent suspension.
Read More: AP, The Verge, Axios, NY Times
Airlines Boost Security
Also in response to this week’s riots, airlines are beefing up security on flights to and from Washington, D.C. Both American and United say they have increased staff at D.C. area airports. Meanwhile, the FAA is reminding people that unruly behavior on a plane can violate federal law. This new warning follows a couple of tense flights earlier this week. One flight had passengers screaming at each other over politics. On another, Trump supporters heckled Republican Sen. Mitt Romney as he flew to the nation’s capital.
Read More: CBS News, USA Today, Axios
Boeing Settles Criminal Charges
Boeing is again paying for its role in a pair of deadly crashes two years ago. The 737 Max-maker agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle a criminal charge. The Justice Department charged the company with defrauding the FAA because a couple of Boeing employees never told the FAA the plane’s software had been changed. There were issues with that software that contributed to two crashes. As part of Boeing’s settlement, it will have to establish a fund to compensate airlines and the families of those who died in the crashes.
Read More: CNBC, NY Times, Axios, DOJ
New World’s Richest Person
SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk is now the richest person in the world. He reportedly overtook Amazon’s Jeff Bezos yesterday to move into the top spot. He’s worth a whopping $185 billion. His wealth is mostly thanks to Tesla. The electric car company has seen its stock price increase more than nine-fold over the past year. Every time it does, Musk gets richer. It’s not clear how long Musk will hold onto the top spot though. At this point, he’s barely beating Bezos, who is worth $184 billion.
Read More: CNBC, WSJ, The Verge, Musk Tweet
NFL Playoffs Begin Saturday
The NFL playoffs begin tomorrow. 14 teams made the cut, including the reigning Super Bowl champions the Kansas City Chiefs. Other frontrunners in the postseason include the Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks, New Orleans Saints, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Buffalo Bills. The first three playoff games are set for tomorrow, followed by another three on Sunday. Then, there are more matchups over the next two weekends. The final two teams standing at the end of this will play in the Super Bowl on February 7th.
Read More: NY Times, WaPo
Feel Good Friday- Marvel Makes Frontline Workers Comic
A new Marvel comic book series honors frontline workers. It’s called The Vitals: True Nurse Stories. All the characters are based on real-life nurses who are on the frontlines of the pandemic. It details their heroic actions that have saved lives. Marvel coordinated with the Allegheny Health Network in Pennsylvania to tell their stories. The nurses featured call it surprisingly realistic. For now, the comic books are being distributed at certain hospitals and recruiting events. You can also read a digital version on Marvel’s website.
Read More: Inside Edition, Yahoo!
Read Digital Version of Comic: Marvel