Shit I Read Yesterday - Jan. 3, 2025
Good morning! Here is the free-to-read list of all the news I read yesterday in case you missed anything.
US/POLITICS
WTAF?! Come on, men...fucking do better.
AP - FBI agents search home of top NYPD official amid allegations he demanded sex for overtime pay
Federal agents on Thursday searched the home of a former top New York City police official who resigned late last month after he was accused of demanding sex from a subordinate in exchange for opportunities to earn extra pay.
CBS - Biden awards Presidential Citizens Medal to Liz Cheney, Bennie Thompson, who led Jan. 6 select committee
President Biden presented the awards to Thompson, Cheney and more than a dozen other recipients during a ceremony at the White House on Thursday.
Politico - Johnson doesn’t have the votes to remain speaker. But his allies insist it’s trending his way.
Donald Trump has restated his backing, and some holdouts have indicated they plan to back Johnson on Friday.
Fuckers
Reuters - US appeals court blocks Biden administration effort to restore net-neutrality rules
A three-judge panel of the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the FCC lacked authority to reinstate the rules initially implemented in 2015 by the agency under Democratic former President Barack Obama, but then repealed by the commission in 2017 under Republican former President Donald Trump.
OH NO!
ABC - 2 dead, 19 hurt after small plane crashes into furniture warehouse in Southern California
Fullerton, CA police said the two people who died are believed to have been inside the plane at the time of the crash. The people who were injured were working inside the building. Their injuries ranged from minor to very severe. Of the injured, 11 were taken to the hospital.
How in the fuck is this person still on the loose?! Makes you wonder if it was that dude, Brad Kenneth Spafford, who they just caught with all that shit in his house.
NPR - Still on the hunt, the FBI shares new details about pipe bombs placed ahead of Jan. 6
For the first time, they're sharing a height estimate about the person — who is approximately 5 feet 7 inches tall — and providing new footage of the person placing a bomb at the DNC.
Oh ferfucksake!
Reuters - US Supreme Court's Thomas will not be referred to Justice Department
A judicial policymaking body on Thursday rejected a request by Democratic lawmakers to refer conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to the Department of Justice to examine claims that he failed to disclose gifts and travel provided by a wealthy benefactor.
Bring it on!
Politico - Rudy Giuliani faces a month of legal reckoning
Two judges are separately about to weigh whether to punish the former New York City mayor for defying their orders.
CNN - NY judge says Trump will face no penalties in his criminal hush money case but upholds conviction
Judge Merchan set sentencing for January 10, but indicated the case is essentially over. The court hearing will be held 10 days before Trump is inaugurated for a second term – a reminder of the prominence that his legal issues have played in his return to power in Washington.
AP - Mike Johnson narrowly reelected House speaker on first ballot: How the news unfolded
Republican Mike Johnson won reelection to the House speakership on a first ballot, pushing past GOP hard-right holdouts and buoyed with a nod of support from President-elect Donald Trump.
Politico - Trump (err, reluctantly?) taps former critic as Middle East envoy
The president-elect gave a less-than-glowing endorsement for his new hire.
WORLD
BBC - Slovakia threatens to cut benefit for Ukrainians
Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico has threatened to cut financial support for more than 130,000 Ukrainian refugees as a dispute with Ukraine over Russian gas supplies escalates.
CBS - China targets dozens of U.S. companies ahead of anticipated Trump tariffs
China on Thursday said it was adding dozens of American companies to its export control list to "safeguard national security and interests."
NPR - Ukrainian soldiers and shopkeepers hold on as Russia's siege of Pokrovsk tightens
In public statements, Ukraine's general military staff says Russia's most intense ground assaults along the entire eastern front are currently taking place in the Pokrovsk region, with between 30 and 60 attacks each day, some within a mile of the city.
Give me a fucking break!
Guardian - Investigators abandon attempt to arrest South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol
Officials entered the presidential compound to find themselves blocked by troops under the control of the presidential security service.
Kyiv Independent - Russia has recruited up to 180,000 convicts for war against Ukraine, Foreign Intelligence Service says
Moscow has been recruiting convicts for its war since summer 2022, first under the auspices of the Wagner mercenary company and then directly under the Russian Defense Ministry.
SCIENCE
Salon - Migrating bats “surf” on storms, study finds
The Doors have nothing on these “Riders on the Storm”
AP - Surgeon General calls for new label on drinks to warn Americans of alcohol’s cancer risk
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy's advisory comes as research and evidence mounts about the bad effects that alcohol has on human health, but his proposal for a label would require a rare approval from the U.S. Congress.
TEXAS
Above The Law/Liz Dye - Texas AG Paxton Invents Scourge Of Trans Athletes For NCAA Trollsuit
Ken Paxton knows WHAT IS WOMAN.
RANDOM
Wired - Facebook and Instagram Ads Push Gun Silencers Disguised as Car Parts
A network of Facebook pages has been advertising “fuel filters” that are actually meant to be used as silencers, which are heavily regulated by US law. Even US military officials are concerned.
INDEPENDENT JOURNOS/OPINION
Guardian - OPINION: This play’s abortion scene made grown men faint – and I’m thrilled it’s about to get a bigger audience, By Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett
Annie Ernaux’s The Years is transferring to the West End. It’s about time the arts confront the way women’s bodies work.
AJC - 01/01 Mike Luckovich Cartoon: Entrance requirement
AJC - 01/02 Mike Luckovich Cartoon: VIP treatment
