Tuesday, February 23rd, 2021
Capitol Riot Hearing, El Chapo’s Wife Arrested & Daft Punk Breakup
All the news in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by Ritual.com/newsworthy and Rothys.com/newsworthy
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...
Senate Inquiry Into Capitol Riot
Today, Senators are going to start scrutinizing security at the U.S. Capitol. It’s the first Senate hearing to take a close look at what led to last month’s riot and how to prevent anything like that from happening again. Lawmakers will question the two people who were top security officials for the Capitol at the time as well as the former Capitol Police chief and the current chief of Washington D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department. They’re all showing up voluntarily to testify. This is the first in a series of hearings organized by both Democrats and Republicans.
Read More: NY Times, WaPo, WUSA, Axios
SCOTUS Rules on Trump Taxes
It looks like former President Trump will have to hand over his tax records to prosecutors. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Trump’s efforts to avoid it. This seems to be the end of a lengthy legal battle. New York City prosecutors have been looking into how the former president spent his money in the run-up to the 2016 election as well as accusations of possible bank and tax fraud. They say they want to see Trump’s financial records as part of their investigation. Trump has called it part of the “greatest witch hunt in the history of our country.”
Read More: WSJ, NY Times, AP, Supreme Court
El Chapo’s Wife Arrested
She’s married to the infamous drug lord known as El Chapo and today, she’s the one who will be facing a judge. U.S. authorities have been investigating Emma Coronel Aispuro for two years and arrested her this week. The Justice Department says she’s been helping her husband run his multi-billion-dollar cartel. Investigators also say she helped plan El Chapo’s escape from a Mexican prison back in 2015. She’s expected in federal court today, but so far, she hasn’t said anything about these new charges.
Read More: AP, NBC News, AJC, Justice Dept.
Biden Addresses 500K Deaths
President Biden called for national unity and healing in an emotional speech to the nation marking half a million American deaths from COVID-19. Biden talked about the importance of remembering those who died, but added, “This nation will know sunny days again. This nation will know joy again.” He also called on the country to press forward with COVID-19 precautions to prevent even more deaths. Earlier, Biden issued an order for all American flags on federal property to be flown at half-staff for five days.
Read More: NPR, Politico, CBS News, USA Today, Axios
TX Tax Deadline Extended
People and businesses in the second-most populous state in the U.S. will have a little more time to file their taxes this year. This has to do with the recent winter storms in Texas that left millions of people without power or water. The IRS bumped the Texas tax deadline back to June 15th, rather than the usual April 15th. For now, this only applies to Texas, but that could change. The IRS is reportedly thinking about whether to include other states dealing with the aftermath of extreme weather.
Read More: WSJ, USA Today, IRS
FCC Proposes Emergency Broadband Plan
There’s a new effort to try and close the so-called digital divide. A reported 14.5 million American homes don’t have access to high-speed internet. Congress approved $3.2 billion for this in the last COVID-19 relief bill. Now, the federal government has laid out a plan to use the money to help people pay for internet service. The emergency funds should give families in need at least $50 a month in discount. It would be for people who are near the poverty line, qualify for free and reduced lunch, or have lost substantial income due to the pandemic.
Read More: TechCrunch, NY Times, Axios, FCC
NY Theaters to Reopen Soon
For the first time in nearly a year, New York City is set to reopen its movie theaters. The state’s governor says they can get back to business next Friday, March 5th. That’s a big deal for the film industry since New York City is a key hub for movie ticket sales. Theaters will only be allowed to operate at 25% capacity. Also, attendees will have to wear masks and sit in assigned, socially distanced seating. Still, the fact they’re opening could mean studios may be less likely to postpone major releases.
Read More: CNBC, The Verge, Deadline, Gov. Cuomo
Six Flags Reopening Plan
Six Flags is planning to open all 26 of its amusement and water parks for the 2021 spring season. That includes five that were not able to open last year because of local COVID-19 restrictions. Six Flags says it’s going to be limiting attendance and requiring masks and temperature checks. Many of the parks open in the next few weeks. Six Flags is hiring thousands of workers now.
Read More: CNN, The Hill, Six Flags
2nd Crew Member of All-Civilian Flight
A childhood cancer survivor is set to become the youngest American in space and the first person in space with a prosthesis. 29-year-old Hayley Arceneaux was selected for SpaceX’s all-civilian mission later this year. It will take four people into space without a professional astronaut on board. Billionaire Jared Isaacman is funding the trip. He’s going himself and choosing a few strangers to join. Arceneaux is his first pick. She works with children fighting cancer like she once did. SpaceX is hoping to launch the crew later this year.
Read More: Axios, AP, NY Times, Inspiration4
Daft Punk Breaks Up
After nearly three decades together, the electronic music duo Daft Punk is calling it quits. Variety calls Daft Punk one of the most influential and popular groups to emerge in the last 30 years. Even though they hid their faces under gold and silver robot masks, they’re widely recognized for making EDM music popular and bringing “festival culture” to the U.S. Together, Daft Punk won six Grammy awards, including album of the year in 2014. However, the group announced their retirement with a music video titled Epilogue on YouTube.
Read More: Variety, NY Times, FOX News, Epilogue Video
Trivia Tuesday
Q: Which American city is known as the city of brotherly love?
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 year did New Orleans hold its first Mardi Gras parade?
A: 1857
Read More: Mardi Gras New Orleans, Good Housekeeping