| | | The Supreme Court will lose a justice and gain an opportunity: Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement opens the way for President Joe Biden to elect a minority judge. The Federal Reserve announced it would begin raising interest rates as soon as early March, sparking speculation about the future of inflation. The U.S. issued a formal proposal to Russia in the ongoing Ukrainian border crisis, while the world waits to see if Russia will accept a diplomatic path forward. And San Jose, California, became the first American city to take a bold stand against gun violence. All this and more in today’s PDB. | | |
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| IMPORTANT | | | 1 - Breyer Retires U.S. Supreme Court Justice retires, opening speculation on Biden’s choice Justice Stephen Breyer, who has served on the high court since 1994, announced Wednesday that he will retire, giving President Joe Biden a Supreme Court pick. Breyer, one of the court’s few remaining liberals, has a strong record of building consensus for centrist decisions on a court that has leaned conservative for years. During his campaign, Biden promised to appoint a Black woman to the court should a justice step down. Top picks are likely to be federal Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson and California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger. Both judges are relatively young and well qualified. (Source: NPR) |
| 2 - Reign It In The Federal Reserve announced it will raise interest rates “soon” Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell outlined his vision for the near future in a press conference yesterday, without offering any hard timelines. Throughout the pandemic, the Fed has kept interest rates low to fuel economic growth and hiring. Now in the face of rising inflation, many worry any corrections the Fed makes could endanger jobs. Addressing those fears, Powell said he believes, “there is quite a bit of room to raise interest rates without threatening the labor market.” The central bank’s decision will make it more expensive to borrow for big purchases, but should bring down prices in general. (Source: AP) |
| 3 - Gauntlet Down The US issues formal response to Russia’s stance in Ukraine border crisis The U.S. rejected Russia’s demand to exclude Ukraine from NATO yesterday, countering with a diplomatic proposal that Secretary of State Antony Blinken described as offering “a serious diplomatic path forward.” Blinken confirmed that the U.S. is actively bolstering Ukraine’s defenses and once again urged Americans in Ukraine to “seriously consider” leaving the country. He also emphasized that the NATO military alliance has prepared its own set of proposals that “fully reinforce” those of the United States, though the American document will not be made public. Presenting a united front with NATO is key to the U.S. response to Russia. (Source: BBC) |
| 4 - Let Sanity Prevail San Jose to become the first US city to enforce gun-ownership ordinance Under new measures voted in on Tuesday night, gun owners will be required to pay a fee and carry liability insurance to compel them to use gun safes, install trigger locks, take gun safety classes and engage in other safety measures. Mayor Sam Liccardo first proposed the new limits back in June after the city was rocked by a shooting that killed nine people. Revenues from the fees will fund “evidence-based initiatives to reduce gun violence and gun harm,” said the mayor. The organization Gun Owners of California has promised to sue the town, saying the limits are unconstitutional. (Source: NBCNews) |
| 5 - Briefly Here are some things you should know about today: President-elect Xiomara Castro takes office today in Honduras. The country’s first female president will take the reins during a legislative split that threatens to destabilize her government. (Source: AlJazeera) Chinese hackers target German tech and pharma companies. The hacker group, APT 27, long suspected of attacking Western government agencies, has turned its sights on German companies. (Source: Reuters) Hundreds of antisemitic fliers found in several Florida cities. The fliers blame a “COVID agenda” on the Jewish community. Similar fliers have been seen in Colorado, Wisconsin, Texas, California and Maryland. Their origin is being investigated. (Source: TheHill) |
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| | | Watch Ta-Nehisi Coates "How To Reset America"
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| INTRIGUING | | | 1 - Fusion Futures Scientists are one step closer to copying the sun Our sun shines so brightly because it is busy aggressively squishing hydrogen atoms together to form helium in a process called fusion. Now scientists at the National Ignition Facility in Livermore, California, have made a jump forward in creating fusion power here on earth. Using 192 lasers and generating temperatures three-times hotter than the center of the sun, researchers were able to create a fusion reaction that, for a fraction of a second, sustained itself. If the process can be perfected, it could lead to limitless clean energy. But don’t get too excited — scientists say that moment is likely decades away. (Source: AP) |
| 2 - Snow White, Sit Tight Acclaimed actor Peter Dinklage had strong words for ‘Snow White' reboot Dinklage, widely known for his appearance on Game of Thrones and who stars in the forthcoming movie Cyrano, called Disney’s planned live-action adaptation of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves “backward” in an interview with podcaster Marc Maron. Dinklage took issue with the narrative’s reliance on harmful stereotypes about dwarfism, and questioned why the movie was being revisited in the first place. Disney responded to the criticism yesterday, saying the remake would “avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film.” The studio also said it has been “consulting with members of the dwarfism community” for guidance on the production. (Source: BBC) |
| 3 - Two Steps Back Florida’s legislature looks set to pass controversial “Don’t Say Gay” bill A Florida bill to limit what teachers can say in class about sexual orientation and gender identity is moving quickly through the state House and Senate. The bill would ban school districts from encouraging classroom discussion on such topics at the primary grade levels. Activists fear that should the bill pass, school curriculums would be prohibited from teaching essential LGBTQ history. For elementary school children this could send the harmful message that one’s gender or sexuality are taboo or a source of shame. Chasten Buttigieg, the husband of U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, tweeted strong opposition to the bill. (Source: ABCNews) |
| 4 - Fly Me to the Moon SpaceX rocket will collide with the moon after a long, meandering flight Launched in 2015, the booster rocket was part of a mission to send a space weather satellite millions of miles on an interplanetary journey. But the rocket failed to move beyond the gravity of the Earth-Moon system before its engines failed, sending it into a chaotic orbit for years. Astronomers predict the wayward booster will finally smash into the moon on March 4 after a close call on Jan. 5. Tracking scientists say the rocket … essentially four metric tons of space trash … is the first unintentional case of space junk hitting the moon. (Source: TheGuardian) |
| 5 - Sportsman-Like Conduct Fans of the Kansas City Chiefs come together to honor ‘Bills Mafia’ tradition On Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs gave the Buffalo Bills a last-minute heartbreak in overtime when they scored a touchdown on a 13-second drive. But Kansas City fans are a classy bunch: They have donated $255,017 in profits from the game to a Buffalo children’s hospital inspired by the Bills Mafia tradition of organizing donations and fundraisers for charities important to the teams they beat. The Bills Mafia — coined for the trio of team, city and fans — has raised money for scores of charitable foundations over the years, and Chiefs fans are smart to take a page from their playbook. (Source: ESPN) |
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