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Tuesday 12.14.21

Nominations for the 79th annual Golden Globe Awards, celebrating the best in television and film, were announced yesterday. But due to diversity issues within the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the group behind the event, the ceremony will not be televised next month. Here's what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On With Your Day.
 

By Andrew Torgan

Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.

Capitol riot

Donald Trump Jr., Fox News personalities and lawmakers unsuccessfully implored then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on January 6 to get President Donald Trump to stop the violence at the US Capitol, according to text messages relayed by the House committee investigating the attack. The committee released the explosive new details last night as it met to advance a referral of Meadows to the Justice Department on a criminal contempt of Congress charge. The messages illustrated the dismay of the former President's inner circle as the Capitol riot worsened, and they served as evidence of Trump's "supreme dereliction of duty," the committee's vice chairwoman, Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, said. Cheney made the motion for the committee to vote for the contempt resolution, which passed unanimously in the 9-member committee. The full House is expected to vote on the resolution later today.

Coronavirus

The Omicron variant of coronavirus is spreading quickly in several countries. It's killed at least one person in the UK and put 10 into the hospital -- most of them vaccinated, according to authorities. China says it detected its second case of Omicron, and it's expected to become the dominant coronavirus variant in Denmark this week. It's not clear how severe the new variant is, although most cases that have been diagnosed so far have been mild. That could be reassuring, but if Omicron spreads more easily than Delta and previous variants, evades the protection offered by vaccines and by previous infection, and ends up infecting more people, that could mean more people end up in the hospital and more die.

Build Back Better

Sen. Joe Manchin, the most pivotal swing vote in the Senate, indicated yesterday that a significant amount of work remains to be done to earn his support for President Joe Biden's sweeping social safety net expansion, potentially delivering a fatal blow to Democratic leaders' hopes of getting the bill passed in the Senate before Christmas. Manchin spoke with Biden on Monday afternoon as the President tried to secure his support for the plan. But the senator is raising serious concerns, citing issues with the proposal's reliance on temporary programs and renewing concerns over inflation.

Software flaw

Hundreds of millions of devices around the world could be exposed to a newly revealed software vulnerability, as a senior Biden administration cyber official warned executives from major US industries yesterday that they need to take action to address "one of the most serious" flaws she has seen in her career. It's the starkest warning yet from officials about the flaw since news broke late last week that hackers were using it to try to break into organizations' computer networks. The vulnerability is in software known as "Log4j" that large organizations, including some of the world's biggest tech firms, use to configure their applications.

Immigration

The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals last night ruled against the Biden administration's bid to end the Trump-era "remain in Mexico" policy, which requires non-Mexican migrants to stay in Mexico until their US immigration court dates. The administration relaunched the policy last week after a district court order required its revival. The Supreme Court had previously denied the administration's request that the program remain on hold while the case was appealed. Since the program was reinstated, 86 migrants have been returned to Mexico, according to the International Organization for Migration.

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Time magazine names Elon Musk as Person of the Year

Wait a minute! Are we positive he's human?

Kim Kardashian passes California's 'baby bar' law exam
The fourth time's the charm!

Doja Cat, positive for Covid-19, drops out of tour

This is the singer's second bout with Covid.

Dr. Oz's show will end in January

Oprah Winfrey's former medical expert is seeking a US Senate seat.

An electric pickup wins MotorTrend Truck of the Year Award

I'm shocked, shocked!

The parents of Ethan Crumbley, the 15-year-old charged in the deadly Michigan high school shooting last month, are expected to appear at a probable cause hearing later today. James and Jennifer Crumbley each face four counts of involuntary manslaughter and have pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors accused the pair of giving their son unfettered access to the gun he's accused of using in the shooting that left four dead and seven injured.

$800 million

That's the amount proposed by the Boy Scouts of America in a tentative settlement agreement with insurer Century Indemnity Company and other Chubb companies to contribute to a trust to compensate survivors of sex abuse, according to a news release from the organization. The BSA reached an $850 million settlement earlier this year with those claiming they were sexually abused by local Scout leaders around the country.

I saw a level of devastation that was only rivaled by the compassion and love of neighbors.

Kentucky Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman, after touring some of the damage and debris left by the tornado outbreak that ravaged her state.

Mind-bending sculptures

These sculptures are actually made out of paper, and they stretch and morph in surprising and beautiful ways. (Click here to view)