Tuesday, January 12th, 2021
FBI Warns All 50 States, Belichick Rejects Award & Quibi Shows Comeback
All the news in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by BlueNile.com and Apostrophe.com/Newsworthy (Listen for the discount code)
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 to read the latest happenings...
FBI Braces for State Capitol Violence
Law enforcement agencies in every state are now preparing for a potential “uprising” by some of President Trump’s supporters who believe the election was stolen from him. ABC News got hold of a memo the FBI sent to state and local law enforcement agencies. It was meant to warn them about possible armed protests at all 50 state capitols. It also told them to boost security. The FBI believes threats are being organized and promoted by far-right extremist groups. They’re set to start this Saturday and will likely continue through at least Inauguration Day, January 20th.
Read More: ABC News, NBC News, CNN
Inauguration Security Plans
The secret service agent leading security at President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration ceremony is calling the event a “zero fail mission.” He says there’s going to be a network of fencing and vehicle checkpoints around the Capitol. Also, the Pentagon authorized up to 15,000 national guard members for the event. For comparison, there were 340 D.C. national guard members activated before the riot last Wednesday. President-elect Biden says he’s “not afraid” to take his oath of office outside.
Read More: WaPo, Politico, The Hill, USA Today
House Introduces Impeachment
House Democrats introduced an impeachment article yesterday, charging President Trump with “incitement of insurrection.” The House will vote on impeaching him tomorrow. So far, it’s clear at least most Democrats are voting for impeachment. However, Republican support is tepid. Many Republicans are calling it a partisan effort that will only make the country more tense and divided. Still, Democrats are expected to have enough votes to impeach. The tougher task would be convicting Trump in the Senate. A conviction requires a two-thirds majority vote.
Read More: NY Times, Reuters, The Hill, WSJ
Trump Visiting Border Wall
As of this morning, President Trump hasn’t said anything publicly about the efforts to remove him from office or the calls for him to resign. However, he’s shifting gears today. He’ll be talking about immigration instead. The White House says he’s traveling to Texas to highlight the work on the U.S.-Mexico border wall. President-elect Joe Biden has signaled he will stop future construction of the border wall after taking office on Jan. 20th.
Read More: AP, Texas Tribune, ABC News
Two Capitol PD Officers Suspended
At least two U.S. Capitol Police officers are now suspended for their actions during last week’s Capitol invasion. Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan told reporters one of the suspended officers took a selfie with rioters. He says another put on a “Make America Great Again” hat and directed people into the building. Authorities say at least 10 more Capitol Police officers are under investigation over how they handled the mob.
Read More: CNN, NPR, NBC News, USCP, WaPo
DHS Secretary Steps Down
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf resigned yesterday. Last week, Wolf asked Trump and all elected officials to “strongly condemn the violence” at the Capitol. However, in his resignation message to staff, he didn’t mention the attack. Instead, Wolf said his stepping down is “warranted by recent events,” including certain court rulings. The DHS has faced legal scrutiny lately over whether Wolf had the authority to carry out some strict immigration policies. The current FEMA administrator will take over for now.
Read More: NPR, CNBC, FOX News, Chad Wolf
NBA Cancels More Games
The NBA is trying to figure out the safest way to move forward with this basketball season. Two more games were postponed yesterday, making that four games so far this season that had to be rescheduled due to COVID-19. The season just started three weeks ago. The teams’ general managers all met with the National Basketball Players Association yesterday. They reportedly talked about tightening rules around mask-wearing and restaurant dining. They’re also thinking about adjusting the length of practice and changing rules about socializing on the court.
Read More: CBS News, AP, NBA, ESPN
Bill Belichick Declines Medal of Freedom
The coach of the NFL’s New England Patriots turned down the nation’s highest civilian honor. Bill Belichick announced he won’t be accepting the Presidential Medal of Freedom. His decision had to do with riots at the Capitol last week. In a statement, Belichick said, “Above all, I am an American citizen with great reverence for our nation’s values, freedom, and democracy.” He continued, “Remaining true to the people, team, and country I love outweigh the benefits of any individual award.”
Read More: USA Today, AP, ESPN
Facebook Banning “Stop the Steal”
Social networks are cracking down on misinformation they say could spark more violent protests ahead of the inauguration. Facebook banned the phrase “stop the steal.” People have been using it to suggest the election was stolen from President Trump. However, since election officials, the Justice Department, and more have said there’s no evidence of widespread voter fraud, Facebook is no longer letting users talk about it on their platform.
Read More: The Verge, WSJ, NBC News, Facebook
Twitter Removes QAnon Accounts
Company leaders at Twitter say they removed more than 70,000 accounts since Friday that spread the QAnon conspiracy theory. Many rioters at the Capitol last week were wearing shirts or holding signs with the QAnon logo on them. That’s why Twitter said it needed to do another sweep. Amazon also started removing QAnon products from its platform yesterday. The company says it will likely take a few days.
Read More: NY Times, WaPo, Twitter
Parler Sues Amazon
Parler is now suing Amazon for cutting off its web presence. Parler is the social media company that calls itself “less restrictive” and all about allowing “free speech.” However, both Google and Apple took it off their app stores and Amazon took it off its web hosting service because they said Parler allows too many posts that encourage violence and crime. Now, Parler argues Amazon’s decision was all about politics. It says in the lawsuit that the company broke its contract when it took Parler offline.
Read More: NPR, WSJ, Politico
Roku Buys Quibi Content
The streaming company Roku is about to get a ton of new content, thanks to the failed Quibi app. Quibi went belly-up last year, only six months after it launched. As a result, it’s star-studded content was left without a home. Not anymore though. Roku reportedly bought most of Quibi’s library for less than $100 million. That’s less than 6% of the $1.75 billion Quibi raised to get started. Now, Roku is getting a slate of shows and documentaries that are set to go live later this year. They’ll reportedly be free to watch with ads.
Read More: Ars Technica, USA Today, The Verge, Variety
Trivia Tuesday
Q: What is the oldest active volcano on Earth?
Play along on today’s Instagram Stories Quiz. We’ll also have the answer right here next week.
Last Week’s Trivia Tuesday Answer
Q: In what cartoon did Mickey Mouse make his public debut?
A: Steamboat Willie in 1928
Read More: CNN, 10News