Новости за 24.01.2022

The congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 putsch has been most notable for its timidity and hesitation. It's been operating for nearly a year, and only recently has it started producing any juicy material. One reason, apparently, is fear of retribution — Hugo Lowell reports at The Guardian that the committee is hesitant to subpoena House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) because he will probably be speaker soon and may retaliate in kind.

The James Webb Space Telescope arrived at its intended position beyond the moon Monday and is now prepared to peer across far-flung galaxies and into the depths of time, CNN reported.

Twenty-seven members of the House of Representatives signed a letter dated Monday urging both House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to bring to the House floor legislation forbidding members of Congress from trading or owning stocks, Axios reports.

Russia's possible incursion into Ukraine will have repercussions here at home, not least in the intraconservative debate over foreign policy.

Three states and the District of Colombia sued Google on Monday, claiming the company "deceived consumers to gain access to their location data," The New York Times reports.

Republican Senate candidate J.D. Vance argued in a recent interview with Spectrum News that "our country's kind of a joke. And we should be able to tell jokes about it," the Ohio-based news network reported.

No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to ... make a wish! 

Skyfall co-stars stars Daniel Craig and Javier Bardem chatted as part of Variety's Actors on Actors series, and they dropped a hilarious revelation pretty early on, reminiscing about that time Bardem dressed in drag and jumped out of a cake on Craig's birthday. 

Bardem sings as Desi Arnaz in the new movie Being the Ricardos, and when Craig asked him how much musical experience he had beforehand, he joked, "Well, apart from coming out of birthday cakes dressed like a Bond girl... Читать дальше...

Whoopi Goldberg isn't laughing about Bill Maher's recent COVID-19 jokes. 

Seven Virginia school boards filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to block Gov. Glenn Youngkin's (R) executive order ending the commonwealth's public school mask mandate, Axios reported.

President Biden will speak with European leaders Monday afternoon regarding the ongoing situation between Ukraine and Russia, the White House announced Monday.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has too much to do and too much turnover among staff to do it properly. Congress last week heard testimony that the agency is suffering from a "mass exit" of employees that will make it more difficult to respond to the growing number of natural disasters afflicting the country. 

Sarah Palin's New York Times defamation trial isn't beginning on Monday after all, as the former Alaska governor has tested positive for COVID-19. 

Ukrainian athletes have been instructed by their government to shun their Russian competitors at the upcoming Winter Olympics, The Moscow Times reports.

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear challenges to affirmative action in college admissions, "a move that could eliminate campus practices that have widely benefited Black and Hispanic students," CNN reports.

Millionaire Republican candidates are already spending big on the hotly contested Pennsylvania Senate primary, a race that could determine whether Democrats can maintain their razor-thin majority, Politico reports.

Former Pope Benedict XVI admitted Monday to attending a 1980 meeting during which church officials discussed allegations of sexual abuse against a "predator" priest, contradicting a previous statement in which he claimed he was not there, The Washington Post reports.

Peloton just can't catch a break. 

For the second time within two months, the company is responding to a television scene in which a fictional character suffers a heart attack after riding one of its bikes. In this case, the latest episode of Showtime's Billions depicts a character exercising on a Peloton bike and having a heart attack, although it's not fatal. The company on social media said "we did *not* agree for our brand or IP to be used" on Billions, nor did it provide equipment to the show. Читать дальше...

NATO said Monday that it is putting forces on standby as member states bolster the alliance's "deterrence" presence in Eastern Europe. The military alliance is warily watching Russia's massive troop buildup along its border with Ukraine, which is not a NATO member but has aspirations to join. Denmark is sending a frigate and F-16 fighter jets to Lithuania while Spain is sending warships to Bulgaria, with fighter jets and French troops on standby. Russia insists it has no plans to invade Ukraine.

Evan Rachel Wood is detailing her sexual abuse allegations against rock star Marilyn Manson, alleging he "essentially raped" her during production of a music video. 

Roch Marc Christian Kabore, the president of Burkina Faso, is being held by mutinous soldiers, two of the soldiers told The Associated Press early Monday. Heavy gunfire was reported outside the presidential residence in Ouagadougou, the West African nation's capital, on Sunday night and early Monday. The state news broadcaster RTB was under heavy guard Monday morning.

There's nothing like recriminations to advance a political party's governing agenda. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) voted last week against breaking the Senate filibuster to pass voting rights legislation and now Democrats — a lot of them, anyway — want their pound of flesh.

Novelist Bernardine Evaristo is the author of Girl, Woman, Other, winner of the 2019 Booker Prize. Her ninth book, and nonfiction debut, is Manifesto, a memoir. Below, she recommends six other books that offer insights on being Black and British.

Former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin is getting her day in court Monday, when jury selection begins in her defamation lawsuit against The New York Times. Palin filed suit against the Times in 2017, accusing the newspaper and later former editorial page editor James Bennet of defaming her in an editorial that linked a 2011 mass shooting in Arizona to an ad by her PAC that took aim at one of the victims, then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D).

Michael Sharrow, the superintendent of Michigan's Midland Public Schools, informed parents last Thursday that there are no litter boxes on school grounds for students who identify as "cats" or "furries." "It is unconscionable that this afternoon I am sending this communication," he wrote. "However, our Midland PS stakeholders may be confused about a false message/accusation that has resurfaced this week and is gaining traction in the social media realm."

United Arab Emirates says it intercepted 2 ballistic missiles targeting Abu Dhabi