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Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Tuesday, December 14, 2021:
TORNADO VICTIMS
President Biden will travel to Kentucky tomorrow to survey the damage from the weekend’s tornado outbreak, now among the deadliest in U.S. history. The confirmed death toll from those twisters stands at 88 across five states, including 74 in Kentucky. The victims range in age from 5 months to 86 years old, and include a district judge, an Amazon warehouse dispatcher, and a corrections officer who died leading inmates to safety: READ THEIR STORIES
JAN. 6 INVESTIGATION
The House committee investigating the Capitol riot has voted unanimously to recommend former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows be held in contempt for refusing to comply with a subpoena. Meadows is the third former Trump official to face contempt charges for not cooperating with the Jan. 6 investigation. At a committee hearing, Rep. Liz Cheney read aloud from texts sent to Meadows from GOP lawmakers, Fox News hosts and Donald Trump Jr. in the midst of the riot, pleading with Meadows to get the president to stop the attack. AXIOS
COVID TOLL
The U.S. has crossed several pandemic milestones at once: there have now been at least 50 million confirmed Covid cases and 800,000 confirmed deaths. The first vaccines started shipping out exactly one year ago, and 60% of the population is vaccinated. About 300,000 of the country’s deaths occurred after the vaccine rollout. The virus has killed one out of 415 Americans, and one out of 100 people over the age of 65. CNN
NASSAR SETTLEMENT
Hundreds of female gymnasts who were sexually abused by Larry Nassar have reached a $380 million settlement with USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic Committee. The funds will compensate about 500 women – including well-known athletes like Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney – who were victimized by the former team doctor. The settlement is one of the biggest ever in a sex abuse case and ends a years-long legal battle that sent USA Gymnastics into bankruptcy. NPR
CUTTING RED TAPE
It will soon get at least a little bit easier to interface with the federal bureaucracy. President Biden signed an executive order meant to improve the customer service infrastructure that underlays 17 government agencies, which is supposed to have the effect of simplifying processes like filing taxes and claiming Social Security benefits. According to the White House, the order directs government offices to “account for the experiences of the public” by making several dozen changes to how they operate. Chief among those changes: it will finally be possible to renew a passport entirely online. FORBES
$3T CLUB
Apple is about to become the world’s first $3 trillion company. Apple shares are set to open today around $177, a few bucks away from the level that will give the iPhone maker a market cap of $3 trillion. It took Apple 42 years to hit the $1 trillion milestone, then just two more to get to $2 trillion. The stock is up about 35% this year on the back of sustained demand for the iPhone 13 and Apple’s recurring revenue streams from services like iCloud and the App Store. REUTERS
PARIS 2024
Organizers of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics have unveiled the venue for the opening ceremony: the River Seine. In a first-of-its-kind plan, the ceremony will ditch the usual stadium location and will instead take place around the famed river that cuts through the heart of the city – open and free to the public. The Parade of Nations will be on boats, and the closing ceremony will be held at the gardens surrounding the Eiffel Tower. The Paris organizing committee says its planning for the “most accessible” events in the history of the Games, coming after the Tokyo Olympics that were all but cut off to spectators. FRANCE24
GOLDEN GLOBE NOMS
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has announced the nominations for the 79th Annual Golden Globes, despite the award show being canceled by NBC in response to a series of scandals that tarnished the HFPA. The Power of the Dog and Belfast led the film nominations, with seven nods a piece. HBO’s Succession, which just aired its season finale, led the TV side with five nominations, followed by Apple’s Ted Lasso and The Morning Show with four each. The winners will be announced in some form or another on Jan. 9. DEADLINE
SPOTTED...
...Elon Musk, named TIME magazine's Person of the Year: SEE COVER
…Kim Kardashian, announcing that she’s passed California’s “baby bar” exam on her fourth try, and is now one step closer to becoming a practicing attorney: SEE TWEET
LEFTOVERS: SHIPPING DEADLINES
Procrastinators, this week is your time to shine. The deadlines for ensuring that a package sent through the mail gets to its recipient by Christmas are rapidly approaching. The cutoff for USPS and FedEx ground shipping is tomorrow and many e-commerce sites suggest placing orders by tomorrow or Thursday to ensure they arrive on time. Here’s a fairly comprehensive list of the holiday cut-offs by retailer: SEE IT
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