Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Friday, January 8, 2021:
CAPITOL RIOTS
THE LATEST: President Trump has conceded that he has lost the election, after a violent mob of his supporters sacked the Capitol. Education Sec. Betsy DeVos and Transportation Sec. Elaine Chao are the latest and highest-level administration officials to quit. Congress has adjourned for at least a week, though House Democrats say they are considering coming back to impeach President Trump -- again -- if he doesn’t leave office. The Wall Street Journal editorial board, among the most conservative in the country, is urging the president to resign to avoid impeachment: READ THE EDITORIAL
THE DEAD: A U.S. Capitol Police officer who was hit in the head with a fire extinguisher by a rioter has died of his injuries, the fifth confirmed fatality in Wednesday’s violence. The woman who was shot and killed by police as she tried to break through an interior door of the House chamber has been identified as Ashli Babbitt, an Air Force veteran from San Diego who tweeted “nothing will stop us” and “the storm is here,” a reference to the QAnon conspiracy cult, as she joined the Capitol mob. NPR
LAW ENFORCEMENT IN FOCUS
The chief of the Capitol Police will resign later this month after the department’s union said they lost faith in him. The Senate sergeant-at-arms is out, too. The lead federal prosecutor in Washington has not ruled out charging President Trump in connection with inciting the riots. Federal investigators are combing through photos posted to social media to identify the rioters, vandals and looters and have vowed that more charges are coming. They’re also asking for the public’s help to identify a suspect who planted live pipe bombs that didn’t go off. WASH POST
TRUMP DEPLATFORMED
President Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts have been suspended “indefinitely” and at least through the end of his term. Snapchat and Twitch have taken similar action. The e-commerce platform Shopify has closed sites that sell Trump merchandise, including those run by his business and campaign. The president’s Twitter suspension has been lifted for the time being; he used it to tweet out the video of his concession. CHEDDAR
COVID-19: 4,000 DEAD EVERY DAY
The U.S. has topped 4,000 daily deaths for the first time. Dr. Fauci is warning of more pain ahead and urging patience with the vaccine rollout, which appears to be finally picking up steam. More than 700,000 doses were administered between Wed. and Thurs. for the biggest one-day increase yet. Experts say the Capitol riots will almost certainly turn out to be a superspreader event, given the current rate of spread combined with the crowd size. If you want to keep track of the vaccination rate where you live, the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker is the best source: BOOKMARK IT
MUSK ON TOP
Elon Musk is now the richest person in the world. The Tesla CEO is worth $185 billion thanks to that company’s surging stock price. Jeff Bezos, who held the title since 2017, is now in second place with a paltry $184 billion. This time last year, Musk was worth “just” $27 billion. His rise to the top of the list is the fastest in history. CNBC
AMAZON SHUTS PANTRY
Amazon has shut down Prime Pantry, its service for bulk goods and household essentials that preceded the company’s foray into groceries. Products that were part of Pantry are being folded into the main Amazon site. Customers can still order fresh food for delivery via Amazon Fresh or Whole Foods. BLOOMBERG
WILD CARD WEEKEND
What better way to try and put this week in the rearview than with some playoff football? For the first time, there are six wild-card games on the NFL schedule, starting with Colts-Bills tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET and ending with Browns-Steelers Sunday night in primetime. (The Browns will likely go without their head coach due to COVID protocols, which could impact other games, too.) Here’s the 538 guide, complete with forecasts, for each game: READ IT
SPOTTED...
...Britney Spears’ former husband -- the one who she married in Vegas in 2004 before getting it annulled two days later -- among the crowd in the pro-Trump protests. It’s not clear whether he was part of the mob that breached the Capitol: SEE PIC
... Selena Gomez, calling out social-media executives by name and saying they “failed the American people” in the aftermath of the Capitol riots: SEE TWEET
END OF AN ERA
“And now, here is the HOST of Jeopardy...AAAAlex Tre-BEK!” After more than 36 years, that announcement will be broadcast for the final time tonight, when the last episode of Jeopardy! with Alex Trebek as host airs. Next week, the game show is handed over to a revolving list of guest hosts, including Katie Couric and Ken Jennings, until a permanent host is named. LA TIMES
LEFTOVERS: HERO NURSE
A nurse in Arizona is being hailed as a hero after she saved her neighbors when their house caught fire. Carolyn Palisch sprung into action when she saw flames coming from next door, running over and pounding on the front door until the residents -- a family of six -- woke up and got out. Firefighters say the roof would have collapsed had Palisch not acted. The harrowing moment was caught on the house’s Ring doorbell: WATCH
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