Sunday, January 23rd, 2022 

The UK Health Security Agency designates the recently discovered Omicron sub-lineage known as BA.2 as a “variant of investigation”. (Sky News) 

Russia reports a record for the third consecutive day of 63,205 new COVID-19 cases, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 11.1 million. (Anadolu Agency) 

Russia plans to install puppet regime in Ukraine, U.K. government claims The United Kingdom’s government announced Saturday that their latest intelligence assessments suggest Russia plans to overthrow Ukraine’s elected government and install a pro-Russian puppet regime. Britain’s foreign ministry identified former Ukrainian parliament member Yevheniy Murayev as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s top pick to lead the new government. U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss threatened “severe costs” if Russia attempts to invade Ukraine and install a friendly regime, while Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said Russia would face “very serious consequences.” Russia denied the allegations, calling them “disinformation.” REUTERS 

The British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office states that, according to the available information, the Russian government is planning to “install a pro-Russian leader in Kyiv as it considers whether to invade and occupy Ukraine.” (CNN) 

Vice Admiral Kay-Achim Schönbach resigns as Inspector of the German Navy following comments at a think tank in New Delhi, in which he called Russia’s intention to attack Ukraine “nonsense”, saying that Russian president Vladimir Putin “deserves respect”, and dismissing the prospects of Ukraine ever regaining Crimea and joining NATO. (The Guardian) 

German navy chief who said NATO should give Putin ‘the respect he demands’ resigns German naval chief Vice-admiral Kay-Achim Schönbach announced his resignation Saturday after his comments about the ongoing crisis on the Ukrainian border provoked outrage. At a think-tank discussion in India Friday, Schönbach said all Russian President Vladimir Putin really wants is “respect,” and that “giving him respect is low cost, even no cost. It is easy to give him the respect he demands, and probably deserves.” Ukraine’s foreign ministry said Schönbach’s remarks were “categorically unacceptable.” Germany has so far hesitated to provide weapons and other forms of “lethal aid” to Ukraine. THE GUARDIAN 

Families of U.S. Embassy personnel must evacuate Ukraine, State Department orders The State Department issued an order Saturday directing families of U.S. Embassy personnel in Ukraine to evacuate the country as soon as Monday. The State Department is also expected to issue guidance encouraging American civilians to begin leaving Ukraine on commercial flights. News of the evacuation order came only hours after the first shipment of a $200 million military aid package U.S. lawmakers approved last month arrived in Ukraine. Russia continues to move more troops to the Ukrainian border and refuses to back down from its demands that Ukraine be barred from NATO membership and that the alliance roll back its military presence in Eastern Europe. FOX NEWS 

Flights to and from Xi’an resume as China eases lockdown Seven planes took off from Xi’an Xianyang International Airport in China on Saturday, the first flights since Beijing imposed a strict COVID-19 lockdown on the city last month. The first inbound flights were expected to arrive at the airport Sunday. China locked Xi’an down on Dec. 22 after public health authorities recorded 52 new COVID cases in the city the previous day. Under the lockdown, residents were forbidden to leave their homes except in emergency situations. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian resigns on the grounds that the Constitution does not give him enough influence in the country’s decision-making process. (Reuters) 

Thousands to protest vaccine mandates in D.C. Sunday Organizers are reportedly expecting thousands of protesters for an anti-vaccine mandate rally in Washington, D.C., this weekend. The rally, largely organized in Facebook group “Defeat the Mandates DC” and on some internet forums, has raised at least $200,000 in crowdfunding. Leaders say they are expecting “tens of thousands of attendees” to begin protesting at the Washington Monument at 10:30 a.m. ET on Sunday. Though the rally has been marketed as anti-mandate — not explicitly anti-vaccine — “organizers on Facebook have been quick to promote their links with anti-vaccine organizations,” including Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Children’s Health Defense fund, who filed the permit for the event.NBC NEWS 

Taliban in desperate need of humanitarian aid meets with Western leaders in Norway Representatives of Afghanistan’s Taliban government opened three days of talks with Western government officials and Afghan women’s rights and human rights activists in Norway on Sunday. Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, who leads the Taliban delegation, said he hopes the trip will be “a gateway for a positive relationship with Europe.” He is also expected to press for Western countries to unfreeze nearly $10 billion of Afghan money. According to the United Nations, most of Afghanistan’s 38 million people live below the poverty line, and as many as one million children are in danger of starvation. POLITICO 

A French soldier is killed in a mortar attack on a military camp in Gao, northern Mali. (France 24) 

New Zealand prime minister cancels wedding as country locks down New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Sunday that she had canceled her wedding as a strict lockdown meant to control the spread of Omicron approaches. The new lockdown includes an indoor mask mandate, restrictions on gatherings, and social distancing requirements. “I am no different to, dare I say it, thousands of other New Zealanders who have had much more devastating impacts felt by the pandemic, the most gutting of which is the inability to be with a loved one sometimes when they are gravely ill,” Ardern said. She has been engaged to television host Clarke Gayford since 2019. In 2018, she gave birth to their daughter. BBC 

Sinema censured by Arizona Democrats over support for filibuster The Arizona Democratic Party (ADP) voted Saturday to censure Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) after she refused to support a Senate rule change to stop a filibuster of President Biden’s voting rights bill. The motion to censure the moderate Democrat passed unanimously. “I want to be clear, the Arizona Democratic Party is a diverse coalition with plenty of room for policy disagreements, however on the matter of the filibuster and the urgency to protect voting rights, we have been crystal clear. In the choice between an archaic legislative norm and protecting Arizonans’ right to vote, we choose the latter,” ADP Chair Raquel Terán said in a statement released after the vote to censure Sinema. ABC15 ARIZONA 

Aid flights and relief ships reach tsunami-ravaged Tonga Planes carrying aid from Australia, New Zealand, and Japan reached Tonga during the weekend, providing food, water, medical supplies, and communication equipment to the tsunami-ravaged archipelago. The Royal New Zealand Navy’s largest ship, NMNZS Aotearoa, arrived Friday, carrying a load of fresh water and a desalination plant capable of purifying 70,000 liters per day. Tonga’s islands remain blanketed in ash and largely cut off from the outside world as a result of damage to their primary submarine cable. Tonga was struck by a tsunami and covered with ash after an undersea volcano erupted 40 miles south of the capital city on Jan. 15. At least three people were killed. ABC NEWS 

Aaron Rodgers may retire after stunning loss to 49ers The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Green Bay Packers 13-10 Saturday night, knocking the Packers out of the playoffs and potentially marking an ignominious end to Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ career. The Packers delivered one of the “worst special teams performances in postseason history,” allowing the 49ers to successfully block a field goal and a punt, the latter of which they returned for a touchdown. “I’m very proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish here, deeply thankful for so many years here and all the incredible teammates and coaches I’ve had. Man, so much gratitude for this city and this organization, such a long career here,” the 38-year-old Rodgers said after the game. THE NEW YORK POST 

‘Laura Ingraham’ pushes non-Islamic ‘chickpea mash’ in new SNL cold open In the latest Saturday Night Live cold open, Kate McKinnon played Fox News host Laura Ingraham. “Good evening. I’m Laura Ingraham, and as soon as I marry your dad, I’m sending you straight to boarding school,” McKinnon said before listing several drawbacks of living in Biden’s America, including the green M&M being “canceled.” Later, McKinnon-as-Ingraham paused to thank her sponsors, including “Paula Deen’s Chickpea Mash”: “It’s not radical Islamic hummus; it’s American chickpea mash!” Guests included Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz (Aidy Bryant), Novak Djokovic (Pete Davidson), Candace Owens (Ego Nwodim), and former President Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson). CNN 

Saturday, January 22nd, 2022 

Russia positions additional troops as U.S. military aid arrives in Ukraine The first shipment of a $200 million military aid package U.S. lawmakers approved last month arrived in Ukraine Saturday. As U.S. and Russian diplomats continue to pursue a peaceful solution, Russia has moved more troops to the Ukrainian border and has not backed down from any of its demands. Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced joint military drills on Ukraine’s border with close ally Belarus as well as new naval exercises in the Black Sea. Putin has also threatened to deploy Russian military assets to Cuba and Venezuela.REUTERS 

Stock market has worst week since pandemic started Between Tuesday and Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1,400 points, the worst week since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The S&P 500 fell by 5.1 percent and the Nasdaq by 6.2 percent during the same time period. “The biggest drive of the plunge” was reportedly “growing concerns that persistently high inflation will force the Federal Reserve … to aggressively raise interest rates this year.” After a crash at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, markets quickly bounced back and had been on an upward trajectory for almost two years. Some analysts say the market was overvalued and that this drop was a necessary correction.THE WASHINGTON POST 

Judge blocks Biden’s vaccine mandate for federal workers President Biden’s vaccination guidelines have hit another snag. A federal judge on Friday blocked the administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal workers, just one week after the Supreme Court struck down his vaccine-or-testing mandate for the nation’s large private employers. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey V. Brown in Texas said Biden did not have the power to mandate “that all federal employees consent to vaccination against COVID-19 or lose their job.” The Justice Department plans to appeal Brown’s decision.THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 

Studies show boosters keep Omicron patients out of hospitals Booster doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are 90 percent effective against hospitalization with the Omicron variant, according to new data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Friday. Booster shots were also found to have “reduced the likelihood of a visit to an emergency department or urgent care clinic,” and were shown most effective against infection and death in Americans aged 50 and older, the data revealed. “I think we have to redefine fully vaccinated as three doses,” Dr. William Schaffner, a CDC vaccine adviser who was not involved in the studies, said. “I think it’s the third dose that really gives you the solid, the very best protection.”CNN 

Japan reports a record for the fifth consecutive day of 54,576 new COVID-19 cases, including a record 11,227 new cases in Tokyo and a record 7,675 new cases in Osaka Prefecture. (Kyodo News) 

Poland reports a record for the second consecutive day of 40,876 new COVID-19 cases, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 4,484,095. (Polskie Radio) 

Romania surpasses two million cases of COVID-19. (Digi24) 

Biden orders $15 minimum wage for all federal employees Federal agencies were directed on Friday to raise the minimum wage for government employees to $15 an hour. The rule will take full effect on Jan. 30, and the new pay guidance will impact close to 70,000 federal employees. Just over 2 million federal workers are already earning at least $15 an hour. The pay bump excludes the U.S. Postal Service and Postal Regulatory Commission, both of which fall outside the purview of the Office of Personnel Management.AXIOS 

Air strike on Yemeni prison kills at least 70, Houthis claim Saudi-led coalition forces reportedly carried out an air strike against a detention center in Yemen Friday, killing at least 70 people, injuring over 100, and drawing condemnations from the United Nations. In a statement released Saturday, the coalition denied targeting the prison. “The target in question” lacked the “distinctive symbols and preventative measures” necessary to mark it as non-military and had “not been placed on the No Strike List (NSL) in accordance with the agreed upon mechanism,” the statement read. The Saudi-led coalition, supported by the U.S., intervened in Yemen’s civil war in 2015 after Iranian-backed Houthi rebels seized the nation’s capital.BBC 

McConnell says he misspoke when he contrasted ‘African-American voters’ with ‘Americans’ Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) attempted to set the record straight Friday after he drew criticism for saying Wednesday that “African American voters are voting in just as high a percentage as Americans.” McConnell and his staff have said he inadvertently omitted one word from the statement, a word they have identified as “all” and “other.” McConnell also defended his record on race relations, pointing to his presence in the audience at Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech and his role in organizing a civil rights march while a university student. CNN 

Anti-abortion protesters gather in D.C. as Supreme Court weighs curtailing abortion rights Pro-lifers from around the country gathered in Washington, D.C., Friday for the annual March for Life, a protest that has been held annually since the Supreme Court’s 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade. This decision, which gave American women the right to an abortion up until the point of fetal viability, could be weakened or overturned entirely this summer when the conservative-dominated court rules on a Mississippi law that bans abortions after 15 weeks. The theme of this year’s March for Life was “Equality Begins in the Womb.” NBC WASHINGTON 

Friday,  January 21st, 2022 

A Royal Saudi Air Force airstrike on a prison in Saada, Yemen, kills at least 100 people and injures more than 200 others. Médecins Sans Frontières reports over 200 casualties. The United Nations condemns the attack. (Dawn) (BBC News) 

ISIL militants attack Al-Sina’a prison in the city of Al-Hasakah, freeing prisoners and leading to clashes that kill 67 people. (SOHR) 

Japan reports a record for the fourth consecutive day of 49,854 new COVID-19 cases. (Jiji Press) 

Poland reports a record 36,665 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 4,443,217. (Polskie Radio) 

Australia reports a record 88 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, including a record 46 deaths in New South Wales, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 2,976. (SBS News) 

The World Health Organization recommends the usage of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children between the ages of 5 and 11 years. (Reuters) 

Argentina formally requests that Russia arrest Iranian minister Mohsen Rezai, who is on a trip to Russia, based on the accusation by Argentina of Rezai’s involvement in the 1994 AMIA bombing. Russia did not immediately respond to the request. (Infobae) 

The French Constitutional Council conditionally approves a new COVID-19 vaccine pass law that would require people over the age of 16 years to be fully vaccinated in order to enter public venues and use intra-regional public transport but rejects the mandatory use of the vaccine pass for political rallies. The new vaccine pass will take effect on January 24. (France 24) 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation announces it is officially investigating the standoff at a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, U.S., on Saturday as a “federal hate crime” and an “act of terrorism”. (WFAA-TV) 

Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra welcome 1st child via surrogate Surprise! Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra revealed Friday they have become parents. “We are overjoyed to confirm that we have welcomed a baby via surrogate,” they wrote on Instagram. According to TMZ, the baby girl was born on Saturday in California, though they haven’t revealed her name. Jonas and Chopra have been married since 2018, and they had previously said they hoped to have kids. “I do want children, as many as I can have,” Chopra told the Sunday Times, and in a Vanity Fair interview published just last week, she said kids were a “big part of our desire for the future.” Might their baby girl one day have some Jonas brothers of her own? TMZ 

Pete Davidson and Colin Jost drop $280,000 on a decommissioned Staten Island ferry Just call them the kings of Staten Island. Saturday Night Live stars Pete Davidson and Colin Jost have partnered with comedy club owner Paul Italia to buy a decommissioned Staten Island ferry boat. The three reportedly spent $280,000 on the boat at a city auction — and Italia told the New York Post they have “grand plans” for it. “The idea is to turn the space into a live entertainment event space, with comedy, music, art, et cetera,” Italia said. “We’re in the early stages, but everybody involved had the same ambition — not to see this thing go to the scrapyard.” The ferry was listed as being in “poor condition” and was decommissioned due to mechanical issues. It’s unclear when this possible ferry club might open, though when it does, Kanye West will presumably just happen to be in the area that same day for unrelated reasons. NEW YORK POST 

Adele ‘so upset’ to postpone Las Vegas residency at the last minute Adele won’t be saying hello to Las Vegas today after all. The singer took to social media on Thursday evening to emotionally announce that her Las Vegas residency dates are being postponed because “we’ve been absolutely destroyed by delivery delays and COVID,” adding, “Half my team are down with COVID.” The Vegas residency, “Weekends With Adele,” was set to begin today at the Caesars Palace Hotel and run through mid-April, with two shows each weekend. Adele cried as she told fans she’s tried “absolutely everything” to get the show ready in time and that she’s “gutted” to be postponing it at the last minute. “We’ve been awake for over 30 hours now trying to figure it out, and we’ve run out of time,” she said. “I’m so upset, and I’m really embarrassed, and I’m so sorry to everyone who’s traveled.” It’s disappointing news for fans who had tickets, but given the circumstances, hopefully they’ll go easy on her. VARIETY 

Next ‘Mission: Impossible’ delayed yet again Here’s a dispiriting thought: movies scheduled for release nearly three years after COVID began are still getting delayed over COVID. Paramount Pictures announced Friday that the next two films in the Mission: Impossible franchise starring Tom Cruise have been delayed yet again. Mission: Impossible 7 was scheduled to open on Sept. 30, 2022, but it now won’t be released until July 2023. The eighth film will then open in June 2024 instead of June 2023. The former sequel was previously expected to open in July 2021, only to be delayed to November 2021, May 2022, and then September 2022. It was a bit of a surprise after Spider-Man: No Way Home absolutely destroyed at the box office amid the Omicron surge and Paramount’s own Scream did pretty well last weekend, too. But clearly, releasing these next Mission: Impossible movies in theaters has turned out to be the most impossible mission of all.   THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 

Godzilla is heading to Apple TV+ Remember less than a year ago when the epic monster mash Godzilla vs. Kong was such a big screen spectacle it helped revive movie theaters? Well, the franchise is now set to continue … in a new TV show. Apple TV+ announced a new Godzilla streaming series in the “Monsterverse” is in the works. The show will be set in the aftermath of “the thunderous battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco and the shocking new reality that monsters are real,” centering around “one family’s journey to uncover its buried secrets and a legacy linking them to the secret organization known as Monarch,” Apple said. A new King Kong movie called Son of Kong was previously reported to be under consideration, presumably for theaters — perhaps answering the question of who really won that battle in the end. Anyway, we’ll look forward to Godzilla vs. Ted Lasso sometime in 2025 or so. DEADLINE 

Nineteen-year-old Belgian-British pilot Zara Rutherford returns to Kortrijk, Belgium, to complete her five-month circumnavigation, becoming the youngest female pilot to fly solo around the world. (CNN) 

9 million stay home from work due to COVID-19 Nearly 9 million Americans had to stay home from work because they or someone they were caring for had COVID-19 in early January, CBS News reported Thursday, citing data collected by the Census Bureau. The surge of workers calling in sick came as the highly contagious Omicron variant drove infections and hospitalizations to record levels. Vital businesses including hospitals and airlines faced staffing shortages in what has been called the “great American sickout.” The Census Bureau has been tracking workplace absences since the coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S. two years ago, and the January numbers marked a record of about 6 percent of the workforce staying home. “Time and time again, we see that this economic recovery is tied to the pandemic and public health measures,” noted Luke Pardue, an economist at payroll services company Gusto. CBS NEWS 

Biden says U.S. won’t accept ‘minor incursion’ in Ukraine  President Biden on Thursday sought to clarify remarks that critics said suggested the United States would accept a “minor incursion” by Russia into Ukraine. Biden warned that the U.S. would unleash a “severe and coordinated economic response” to any invasion. “I’ve been absolutely clear with President [Vladimir] Putin. He has no misunderstanding,” Biden told reporters, adding: “If Putin makes this choice, Russia will pay a heavy price.” At a news conference marking the end of his first year in office a day earlier, Biden had said the U.S. response if Putin decides to “move in” to Ukraine “depends on what it does.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to Biden’s earlier remarks by tweeting that “there are no minor incursions.”  THE WASHINGTON POST 

Blinken, Lavrov meet to discuss Ukraine U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are meeting in Geneva on Friday in high-stakes talks aiming to defuse escalating tensions over Ukraine. The U.S. is trying to avert a Russian invasion of neighboring Ukraine, but negotiations at a series of meetings in Europe last week failed to produce a breakthrough, largely due to Russia’s demand for a guarantee from NATO not to expand in Eastern Europe. Blinken on Thursday tried to douse expectations of a quick resolution in Geneva, saying a fix “won’t happen quickly.” The U.S. and its allies in Western Europe have threatened “severe” sanctions and other consequences short of military action if Russia, which has massed 100,000 troops near the Ukraine border, invades. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

U.S. imposes sanctions on 4 Ukrainians for role in Russian propaganda The Treasury Department on Thursday imposed sanctions against four Ukrainians for allegedly helping Russia create the pretext for another invasion. The targeted individuals included parliament members Taras Kozak and Oleh Voloshyn, and two former government officials. The Treasury said they had been deeply involved in a disinformation campaign by Russia’s FSB federal security service. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Kremlin started the effort in 2020 “to degrade the ability of the Ukrainian state to independently function.” “The United States is taking action to expose and counter Russia’s dangerous and threatening campaign of influence and disinformation in Ukraine,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in a statement. “We are committed to taking steps to hold Russia accountable for their destabilizing actions.” THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

The U.S. State Department approves the delivery of U.S.-made weapons systems from the Baltic states to Ukraine, including FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank guided missiles and FIM-92 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles. (Euractiv) 

Mortgage rates rise to highest in 22 months Mortgage rates this week jumped to their highest level in 22 months as Treasury yields rose. The rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage rose from 3.45 percent last week to 3.56 percent. Homebuyers rushed to lock in rates before they went any higher, with mortgage applications to purchase homes increasing by 8 percent last week. The changes followed recent increases in Treasury yields as investors factored in expectations that the Federal Reserve would raise its target interest rates faster and farther than previously predicted as the central bank tries to counter high inflation. The 10-year Treasury has risen to its highest point since December 2019.  YAHOO FINANCE 

Nasdaq falls deeper into correction territory U.S. stock indexes dropped sharply on Thursday, extending a sell-off that has dragged the tech-heavy Nasdaq into correction territory. Wall Street started out the day strong but the rally quickly fizzled, and the Nasdaq closed down by 1.3 percent, putting it nearly 12 percent below the record high it set in November. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 fell by 0.9 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively. Stock futures fell further early Friday. Futures tied to the Dow were down by 0.2 percent at 6:30 a.m. ET. S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were down by 0.5 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively. The Nasdaq has been struggling as concerns about rising interest rates have dragged down technology and other growth stocks. REUTERS 

Intel to invest $20 billion in Ohio chip-making complex Intel plans to spend $20 billion on a new chip-making complex in Ohio, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported Friday. The facility, to be built near Columbus, would boost Intel’s push to expand its chip-making business. The White House said early Friday that the company’s investment would help the United States meet its goal of increasing domestic production of computer chips as a shortage of semiconductors, largely manufactured in Taiwan, hampers production of automobiles and other products. “The COVID-19 pandemic shined a spotlight on the fragility in the global semiconductor supply chain,” the White House said. THE NEW YORK TIMES 

Netflix shares plummet on forecast of slower subscriber growth Netflix on Thursday predicted that its subscriber growth would slow far more than previously expected in early 2022, sending its shares plunging by nearly 20 percent in after-hours trading. The streaming video giant added more than 8 million subscribers in the holiday quarter, meeting analysts’ expectations. That brought its global total to 221.8 million subscribers at the end of 2021. But Netflix said a lack of new original programming in early 2022 and other factors would slow growth to just 2.5 million net new subscribers in the first quarter of 2022. Netflix saw a surge in new subscriptions early in the COVID-19 crisis as people spent more time at home, but growth waned as the pandemic dragged on. MARKETWATCH 

House Jan. 6 committee requests Ivanka Trump’s cooperation The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack on Thursday requested an interview with Ivanka Trump, former President Donald Trump’s daughter and ex-senior adviser. The committee’s chair, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), said in a letter to Ivanka Trump that it had collected evidence that she had twice urged her father to call off the mob of his supporters rioting at the Capitol in an attempt to block the certification of his election loss to President Biden. The request suggested the panel had stepped up efforts to determine what the former president said and did during the attack. In the letter, Thompson indicated that the committee already had substantial evidence about Trump’s refusal to condemn the violence. AXIOS 

Munich report accuses Pope Benedict of mishandling abuse cases  A report commissioned by the Catholic Church in Germany accused Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI of “wrongdoing” in his handling of at least four sexual abuse cases when he ran the Munich Archdiocese from 1977 to 1982. In one case, Benedict, then known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, knew that a priest had been convicted of sexual abuse in a criminal court, but accepted him into his archdiocese, anyway, the law firm that conducted the investigation said Thursday at a news conference where it unveiled its 1,900-page report. Matthias Katsch, a spokesman for the Eckiger Tisch victims’ group, reacted to the report by saying “the building of lies to protect Pope Benedict has just collapsed with a crash.” Benedict’s personal secretary made no immediate comment, but the Vatican said it would pay “appropriate attention” to the findings. THE WASHINGTON POST 

China limits Winter Olympics torch relay in latest anti-COVID change China is limiting the Winter Olympics torch relay to three days in the latest change in response to the coronavirus pandemic, organizers of the Games said Friday. The flame will only be displayed in “safe and controllable” enclosed venues, and no public transit routes will be disrupted by the Feb. 2-4 relay, officials said. China also said recently that it was halting ticket sales and allowing only selected and vetted spectators to attend events. Athletes, officials, staff, and journalists are required to remain within a bubble. ESPN said Thursday it would not send news personnel to the Winter Olympics, and would instead “focus on covering the Games remotely.” NBC will anchor its coverage from the U.S. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Singer Meat Loaf is dead at 74 Meat Loaf, the singer and actor best known for his 1977 album Bat Out of Hell and his role in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, died Thursday night, according to a statement on his official Facebook page. He was 74. No cause of death was given. Meat Loaf, born Marvin Lee Aday, and composer Jim Steinman released Bat Out of Hell, which included the hit singles “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad” and “Paradise by the Dashboard Light,” in 1977, then came together again in 1993 with Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell. That album included “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That),” which reached No. 1 in 28 countries and won Meat Loaf a Grammy Award for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance. CNN 

Thursday, January 20th, 2022 

Get ready for the longest Batman movie ever Holy strained bladders, Batman! The runtime for Matt Reeves’ upcoming The Batman, which stars Robert Pattinson, has been revealed: an eye-popping 2 hours and 55 minutes, or 2 hours and 47 minutes without credits. That will make it one of the longest superhero movies ever made, not to mention the longest solo Batman movie, surpassing The Dark Knight Rises’ 2 hours and 45 minutes. (Zack Snyder’s Justice League came out to an absurd four hours, but that debuted on HBO Max). Pattinson’s first outing as Batman will continue the trend of blockbusters that strengthen the case for bringing back intermissions, from the 2 hour and 43 minute No Time to Die to the 2 hour and 37 minute Eternals and 3 hour Avengers: Endgame. Those editors who manage to trim films down to a cool 100 minutes are the heroes we deserve, but not the ones Hollywood needs right now.  VARIETY 

Anna Kendrick and Bill Hader have reportedly been dating for more than a year It was a Christmas miracle for Anna Kendrick and Bill Hader. On Thursday, People revealed that Kendrick and Hader have been dating “quietly for over a year,” according to a source. “They met years ago,” the source told People. “She’s hosted Saturday Night Live and they’ve done a movie together, but they got together well after the movie.” That movie would be Noelle, the 2019 Disney+ Christmas film you’ve almost certainly forgotten about where they play siblings. For those wondering how we’ve never heard about this until now, People‘s source said, “They are both very private people, and with the pandemic it was easy to keep it quiet.” Presumably, Hader’s relationship with the Scott Pilgrim vs. the World star began only after an epic battle against Edgar Wright and the rest of Kendrick’s evil exes.  PEOPLE 

Johnny Knoxville broke into Eric Andre’s house on Christmas Eve Hi, I’m Johnny Knoxville, and this is “giving Eric Andre a Christmas Eve heart attack”! Andre chatted with Jimmy Kimmel about the upcoming Jackass Forever, revealing co-star Johnny Knoxville “broke into my house” over the holidays. Apparently, Knoxville wanted to cheer his buddy up while Andre was at home with a case of COVID-19, so he naturally showed up on Christmas Eve and “started toilet-papering my house.” Andre was not only sick but also stoned, and he recalls yelling out the window “I have a gun!” and calling the police as his security alarms went off. Knoxville’s reaction, according to Andre? “Dude, how good publicity would it have been if you had gotten me arrested and shot me right before Jackass comes out?” Knoxville was evidently filming, so might we have a last-minute post-credits scene on our hands here?   COMPLEX 

Charisma Carpenter blasts ‘tyrannical narcissist’ Joss Whedon Charisma Carpenter won’t abide by Joss Whedon’s efforts to get un-canceled. The Buffy the Vampire Slayer star described him as her “former tyrannical narcissistic boss who is still unable to be accountable and just apologize,” after a recent New York magazine profile about him. Carpenter previously alleged Whedon has a “history of being casually cruel” and “abused his power,” alleging he called her fat and fired her after she got pregnant. In the profile, Whedon admitted he was “not mannerly” while speaking to Carpenter after she got pregnant but denied calling her fat (immediately followed up by New York reporting, “But he did call other pregnant women fat”). Carpenter also slammed Whedon over his claim that Gal Gadot mistakenly thought he threatened her because English isn’t her first language. “I believe Gal Gadot not only understands career threats in English but also in Hebrew and Arabic,” Carpenter wrote. “Possibly French, Spanish, and Italian too.”  DEADLINE 

The new ‘Scream’ snuck in some hidden cameos from the original cast What’s your favorite scary movie? If it’s Scream, you’ll get a kick out of this. Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett chatted with Fandom and Bloody Disgusting about their confusingly-titled Scream sequel Scream, revealing it features multiple sneaky voice cameos from the original stars. Drew Barrymore, who was killed off in the opening minutes of the original Scream, is apparently in there voicing a high school principal delivering an announcement, while Jamie Kennedy, who played Randy (R.I.P.), and Henry Winkler voice attendees during the party scene. Plus, after fans were convinced Matthew Lillard would return as Stu Macher despite having a TV dropped on his head in the first movie, it turns out they were sort of right — Lillard voices Ghostface in the movie-within-the-movie, Stab 8, and also can be heard as another anonymous partygoer. Make of that what you will, #StuLives conspiracy theorists. BLOODY DISGUSTING 

Rioters injure a police officer with live ammunition on the sidelines of unauthorized demonstrations. The administrative building of the Basse-Terre hospital is invaded by about forty people.(Le Figaro) 

A truck carrying explosives to a gold mine explodes after crashing into a motorcycle in Apiate, Western Region, Ghana; the explosion destroyed nearby buildings and vehicles, killing 17 people and injuring 59 others. (Reuters) 

The Austrian National Council votes 137–13 to approve a bill requiring people over 18 years to receive the COVID-19 vaccine beginning on 1 February, becoming the first country in the European Union to do so. (Reuters) 

French Prime Minister Jean Castex announces that a new COVID-19 vaccine pass will go into effect on January 24 pending approval from the Constitutional Council. The new pass will ban unvaccinated people from entering most public venues and travelling on domestic flights and inter-regional trains. Additionally, the mandate to work from home for more than 3 days per week will be lifted on February 2 and children between the ages of 12 and 17 years will be eligible to receive a booster dose beginning on Monday. (ABC News) 

Western Australia indefinitely suspends the reopening of its borders to fully vaccinated international and inter-state travellers in order to allow people to recieve a booster dose due to the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. (The Guardian) 

The Medicines Patent Pool signs an agreement with 27 pharmaceutical companies in 11 countries to produce both raw ingredients and finished products of Merck & Co.’s Molnupiravir COVID-19 drug, which will be used in 105 low- and middle-income developing countries. (France 24) 

Two men are arrested in Manchester and Birmingham, England, as part of an investigation into the standoff that occurred at a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, United States, on Saturday. (The Guardian) 

The International Committee of the Red Cross appeals to hackers who stole personal data from the organisation to come forwards. (TheJournal.ie) 

The End Friday 

Thursday, January 20th, 2022 

The U.S. State Department approves the delivery of U.S.-made weapons systems from the Baltic states to Ukraine, including FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank guided missiles and FIM-92 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to deter Russian military aggression. (Euractiv) 

Two people are killed and 26 more injured during a bomb attack at a busy shopping district in Lahore, Pakistan. (Al Jazeera) 

Supreme Court rejects Trump bid to block documents from Jan. 6 committee The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected former President Donald Trump’s request to block the release of some of his White House records to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. Trump tried to use executive privilege to keep his White House records secret. But President Biden has signed off on letting the National Archives give more than 700 documents to lawmakers to help shine light on what Trump and his aides did before, during, and after the riot. The Supreme Court, with only Justice Clarence Thomas publicly dissenting, let stand an appeals court ruling that said providing a full accounting of the attempt to overturn the election result was more important than Trump’s desire to keep his White House communications secret. CNN 

Biden defends record and blasts Republicans as 1st year ends President Biden marked the end of his first year in office by holding his first news conference in 10 months, highlighting his accomplishments, acknowledging COVID-19 frustrations, and accusing Republicans of stalling his agenda with obstructionism. Biden said Republican lawmakers are afraid to do anything former President Donald Trump doesn’t like, saying they were intimidated by him. The criticism contrasted with his tone a year ago, when he came into office predicting that partisan gridlock would ease during his presidency. Biden vowed to pursue a scaled-down version of the $2 trillion proposal to expand the social safety net and fight climate change, saying it will be split into smaller bills, and predicted Russian President Vladimir Putin would “move in” to Ukraine but regret it. THE WASHINGTON POST 

GOP blocks voter protections as Democrats fail to change filibuster Democrats on Wednesday failed to push their voting rights legislation through the Senate, lacking the votes to overcome a Republican filibuster. Moderate Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) blocked an effort by their party to change Senate rules to let the measure pass with a simple majority in the evenly divided chamber, instead of the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster. That effectively killed the voter protections that President Biden and leading Democratic lawmakers saw as a top priority. Democrats say that beefing up federal voting rights protections is necessary to counter voting restrictions passed by Republican-controlled state legislatures. Republicans say Democrats are misrepresenting the state laws to grab more power. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 

Biden administration offering free N95 masks The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it was making highly efficient N95 masks available to the public — three per person, free of charge — as part of its stepped-up efforts to fight the record-breaking COVID-19 surge driven by the fast-spreading Omicron variant. The government will send 400 million nonsurgical N95 masks to community health centers and pharmacies across the country in what officials described as the “largest deployment of personal protective equipment in U.S. history.” N95 respirators, when used correctly, filter 95 percent of airborne particles. The announcement came on the day the Biden administration officially launched a website it is using to let every American family order four free at-home COVID-19 tests to be delivered by the United States Postal Service. THE NEW YORK TIMES 

University of Michigan agrees to $490 million sexual abuse settlement The University of Michigan has agreed to pay $490 million to settle lawsuits by 1,050 former athletes and other students who say they were sexually assaulted by the former football team doctor, the late Dr. Robert Anderson, lawyers for the plaintiffs and the university announced Wednesday. The suits accused the university’s administration of failing to act after learning of alleged sexual assaults by Anderson, who worked at the school from 1968 to 2003, and died in 2008. The university said $460 million of the settlement money will go to the initial claimants, and $30 million will be set aside for other victims who might decide to participate in the settlement before the end of July 2023. DETROIT FREE PRESS 

Boris Johnson says U.K. will ease COVID restrictions British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Wednesday that his government would ease coronavirus restrictions in England. The so-called Plan B rules were put into place to curb the COVID-19 wave driven by the fast-spreading Omicron coronavirus variant and included mask requirements, guidance for working from home, and vaccination passports. “Our scientists believe that the Omicron wave has now peaked nationally,” Johnson said, explaining the new policy. The announcement of the lifting of the tighter restrictions came as Johnson faces calls to resign and broad criticism over a series of parties at his office during lockdowns. THE WASHINGTON POST 

CIA doubts ‘Havana Syndrome’ caused by hostile foreign actor The CIA has determined it’s unlikely that “Havana Syndrome,” a mysterious set of symptoms first detected among U.S. diplomats in Cuba, is the result of a sustained global campaign by a hostile foreign actor, NBC News and The New York Times reported late Wednesday, citing CIA officials familiar with a new intelligence assessment. Most of the 1,000 cases reported by U.S. diplomats and spies have plausible, alternate explanations, like undiagnosed medical conditions, environmental causes, or stress. But the agency could not rule out foreign involvement in two dozen cases, including many of those affecting people at the U.S. embassy in Havana starting in 2016, NBC News reported. A group of victims said in a statement that the interim findings “must not be the final word on the matter.” NBC NEWS 

French actor Gaspard Ulliel, 37, dies in ski accident Award-winning French actor Gaspard Ulliel, who played Hannibal Lecter and stars in Marvel’s upcoming show Moon Knight, died Wednesday in a ski accident in the Alps. He was 37. Ulliel collided with another skier at the intersection of two runs, and suffered brain trauma. He was taken to a hospital by helicopter but died of his injuries. Ulliel starred as Hannibal Lecter in 2007’s Hannibal Rising, and in 2017, he won the César Award for Best Actor for his role in It’s Only the End of the World. He was previously nominated for the award for playing fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent in 2014’s Saint Laurent, and was awarded Most Promising Actor for 2004’s A Very Long Engagement. He was also the face of Bleu de Chanel, the Chanel fragrance. Ulliel is survived by his girlfriend, Gaëlle Pietri, and their 6-year-old son. FRANCE24 

Vaccination and prior infection both protected against COVID, CDC study says Coronavirus vaccination and natural immunity from prior infection both protect people against new COVID-19 cases, but vaccinations are more effective at keeping people out of hospitals, according to a study released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The researchers looked at infections and hospitalizations among 1.1 million vaccinated and unvaccinated people, with and without prior infection. COVID-19 cases and hospitalization rates were highest among unvaccinated people with no prior infection. Unvaccinated people who had already survived COVID-19 had higher hospitalization rates than vaccinated people initially, although that shifted months later as vaccine effectiveness waned and the Delta variant surged, before most Americans were eligible for booster shots. CNN 

Lusia Harris, the ‘Queen of Basketball,’ dies at 66 Lusia Harris, the only woman ever drafted by an NBA team, has died at age 66, her family confirmed in a statement Wednesday. The family noted in a statement that Harris died unexpectedly, not long after receiving an “outpouring of recognition” due to the short 2021 documentary The Queen of Basketball, which told her story. Harris led Delta State to three consecutive AIAW national collegiate championships from 1975 to 1977. A 6-foot-3 center who averaged 25.9 points and 14.5 rebounds per game, she was named an All-American three times. She was drafted by the New Orleans Jazz in the seventh round of the 1977 NBA draft, but didn’t try out for the team because she was pregnant. She also played on the inaugural U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team, which won a silver medal in Montreal. YAHOO SPORTS 

Airlines cancel some flights but avoid major 5G disruption Airlines canceled about 320 flights into and from the United States on Wednesday as AT&T and Verizon rolled out high-speed 5G service, but an agreement by the wireless carriers to scale back around airports helped prevent the widespread disruptions airline CEOs feared. International carriers that use wide-body Boeing 777s and other Boeing aircraft switched to different planes or canceled flights after the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing warned that 5G could interfere with equipment that measures altitude. The reduced rollout around airports was a temporary fix to provide time for the industry and the government to negotiate a lasting solution. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Starbucks drops vaccination requirement after Supreme Court decision Starbucks has scrapped its coronavirus vaccine mandate following the Supreme Court’s rejection last week of President Biden’s vaccinate-or-test requirement for big companies. The coffee company told workers in a Jan. 4 letter that they would have to get vaccinated by Feb. 9 or submit to weekly COVID-19 testing to comply with guidance from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. After the Supreme Court decision, the company said it still encouraged employees to get vaccinated but was dropping the mandate, although it would continue to follow local coronavirus regulations. “We respect the Court’s ruling and will comply,” John Culver, chief operating officer and group president for North America at Starbucks, told workers in a Tuesday message. CNN 

U.S., U.K. to begin talks on lifting Trump steel, aluminum tariffs The United States and the United Kingdom said in a joint statement Wednesday that they had agreed to start negotiations on lifting tariffs imposed by former President Donald Trump on British steel and aluminum. U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, and U.K. Trade Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said the two countries were aiming for a quick deal that “strengthens their democratic alliance” and benefits their steel and aluminum industries. Trump in 2018 imposed the tariffs — 25 percent on foreign steel, and 10 percent on aluminum — citing national security concerns. Britain and other U.S. allies called the move outrageous. President Biden last year made a deal with the European Union that dropped tariffs on EU metals up to import quotas, keeping taxes on anything exceeding them. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Wednesday, January 19th, 2022 

Jeff Daniels honored to have a parasitic worm named after him What an honor! Jeff Daniels says he’s finally made it now that scientists have named a species of parasitic worm after him. Researchers from the University of California, Riverside, discovered a worm that kills tarantulas, and they went ahead and named it “tarantobelus jeffdanielsi” after Daniels, according to Variety. It’s a reference to his role in Arachnophobia, the 1990 movie about a town being attacked by spiders. His character in the movie was a “spider killer, which is exactly what these nematodes are,” parasitologist Adler Dillman said. Daniels joked that when he heard the worm would be named after him, he wondered, “Why? Is there a resemblance?” But, he added, “I was honored by their homage to me and Arachnophobia. Made me smile. And of course, in Hollywood, you haven’t really made it until you’ve been recognized by those in the field of parasitology.” Emmys, Shemmys, right?  VARIETY 

Amazon reveals the title of its insanely expensive ‘Lord of the Rings’ show How many times can Amazon squeeze the words “the” and “rings” into the name of its new Lord of the Rings show? Prime Video revealed its upcoming The Lord of the Rings streaming series will be titled: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The showrunners teased that “until now, audiences have only seen on-screen the story of the One Ring — but before there was one, there were many … and we’re excited to share the epic story of them all.” Prime Video’s dramatic teaser video slowly reveals the title graphic, and the company said it actually “physically forge[d] the title in a blacksmith foundry, pouring fiery molten metal into hand-carved wooden ravines shaped to the letterforms.” Okay, now they’re just boasting about how expensive this endeavor is. One season will reportedly cost over $450 million, and Jeff Bezos himself posed with the wooden title. We’ll find out whether his quest for the next Game of Thrones flops when the show debuts on Sept. 2.   VANITY FAIR 

Brian Cox says Jeremy Strong ‘got hoisted’ by that ‘New Yorker’ profile Good news: the Jeremy Strong New Yorker profile discourse is back! Succession star Brian Cox weighed in on the December profile of Strong, which prompted some colleagues to jump to the actor’s defense. “It was Jeremy’s idea, the whole article,” Cox told Variety. “He pushed for it, and you know, and people kept warning him about it. In a sense, he got hoisted by it, and I think it was unfortunate.” The profile of Strong drew some pushback from people like Jessica Chastain and Aaron Sorkin, who suggested it made his acting process look ridiculous and unreasonable, while others defended the piece as fair. Cox argued Strong put himself in a “very, very vulnerable position” with the profile, and when asked if Cox might be putting himself in a similarly vulnerable position with the release of his brutally honest new book, he shot back, “No, no. Listen, I’m too old, too tired and too talented for any of that sh–.”  DEADLINE 

The Rock clarifies the massive T-Rex skull in his office is just a replica The Rock says … no, he didn’t drop over $30 million on an actual T-Rex skull. When Dwayne Johnson recently appeared on Monday Night Football, viewers couldn’t help but notice the massive T-Rex skull that was just casually sitting in the background of his shot. After a T-Rex skull known as “Stan” was anonymously purchased at an auction for $31.8 million in October 2020, some speculated this buyer was, in fact, Johnson. But the Rock took to Instagram to clarify, “I am not the mystery buyer,” explaining that he actually has a “REPLICA CAST of STAN” in his home office that he “had made and purchased.” He added that considering the real fossil is “considered to be the most perfectly preserved skull ever found,” if he did own it, “I sure as hell wouldn’t keep him in my office.” And to think all we’ve got going on in the background of our Zoom shots is piles of dirty laundry.  CNN 

Jason Mantzoukas will voice Tommy Lee’s penis It sounds like the new series about Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee may just leave us asking, How did this get made? Lily James and Sebastian Stan play Anderson and Lee in the new Hulu show Pam & Tommy, and Variety revealed it features what the outlet dubbed a “penis tête-à-tête.” One scene reportedly involves Lee wondering “whether he’s falling in love” with Anderson, and he “discusses it in a heart-to-heart talk with his penis,” Variety writes. Providing the voice of Lee’s penis will be Jason Mantzoukas. Director Craig Gillespie said shooting the scene was “just awkward” because “you’ve got four puppeteers working with an animatronic penis,” while Stan declared, “I treated it like it was an intimate buddy conversation that one might have when they’re falling in love.” Writer Robert Siegel also said Hulu was supportive of the idea, although there was some “gentle pushback” because “you’ve got to push back a little when a talking penis is presented to you.” Yes, we’re always saying that!  VARIETY 

US President Joe Biden states that a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine will result in a more severe penalty than a “minor incursion” as he predicts that Russian President Vladimir Putin “will move in [on Ukraine]; he has to do something.” (Reuters) 

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in Kyiv, Ukraine, in a show of support for Ukraine. During a one-day visit, Blinken will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said yesterday that “Russia could at any point launch an attack on Ukraine” and that “No option is off the table.” (France 24) 

Lithuanian Defence Minister Arvydas Anušauskas warns that the presence of Russian troops in Belarus poses a “direct threat” to Lithuania. (Politico.eu) 

The United Kingdom‘s Royal Air Force continues flights to Ukraine delivering “thousands” of MBT LAW anti-tank missiles to the Ukrainian military. Russia accuses Britain of “fuelling the crisis” by sending lethal weapons to Ukraine. (UK Defence Journal) (The Times) 

Twenty-nine people are killed during a stampede at an open-air Pentacostal church in Monrovia, Liberia, triggered by panic erupted after gangsters entered the prayer ground after a collection. (BBC) 

The Japanese government announces that it will place Tokyo and 12 other prefectures under a quasi-state of emergency from January 21 to February 13 amid an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases due to the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, with the country reporting a record for the second consecutive day of 41,487 new cases of COVID-19. (Kyodo News) 

The Czech government suspends plans to make COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for key workers and people over the age of 60, which was expected to come into effect in March. (ABC News) 

Mexico reports a record for the second consecutive day of 60,552 new cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 4,495,310. (Bloomberg) 

Conservative Party MP Christian Wakeford crosses the floor to the opposition Labour Party, stating that Prime Minister Boris Johnson‘s behaviour has been “disgraceful”. There are growing calls within the ruling Conservative Party for Johnson to resign amid public outrage over “Partygate”. (Reuters) 

The End