Congressional Watchdog Report

Yesterday, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) – an independent, nonpartisan government watchdog – issued an 8-page report concluding the Trump Administration violated the law when the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) froze nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine in July. An OMB spokesperson said it disagrees with the GAO’s assessment.

Ukraine Opens Investigation

The Ukranian national police announced they have opened an investigation into whether former U.S. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch was under surveillance by Trump associates in Kyiv. The investigation is centered around documents provided by Lev Parnas, an associate of President Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.

Casualty Numbers Released

U.S. officials have confirmed that 11 American troops were treated for injury following last week’s Iranian missile strike on an Iraqi base housing U.S. servicemen. The Iranian attack was in response to the Jan. 3 death of General Qasem Soleimani in a U.S. airstrike.

Bose to Close

Bose has announced plans to close all retail stores in North America, Europe, Japan, and Australia. The company cited demand for e-commerce as the reason for the closings, which will likely result in hundreds of lay-offs (though official numbers have yet to be released).

T is for Trillion

Google parent company Alphabet on Thursday reached a market capitalization of $1 trillion, just the fourth U.S. company ever to do so. Apple was the first to reach a trillion dollars in 2018, closely followed by Microsoft and Amazon, who has since fallen below that mark.

Adsolutely Not

According to the WSJ ($), in recent months Facebook-owned WhatsApp disbanded a team of employees that had been directed to find the best way to integrate ads into the platform – an issue that caused both co-founders to quit the company. Facebook bought WhatsApp for $22 billion in 2014 but has struggled to monetize the messaging service after eliminating download and subscription fees.

Mother of the (Half)Century

Raising children takes a large helping of patience, strength, and love. 75-year-old Linda Herring possesses ample amounts of all three – the Iowa woman is being recognized for fostering more than 600 kids over the last 50 years! Linda’s life as a foster mom began in the 1970s, when she was working two jobs and volunteering as a first responder. Although incredibly busy, she was always able to make her children feel at home, providing them with clean clothes, hot meals, and a warm bed.

Linda made it a point to advocate for families and siblings staying together whenever possible, and was accustomed to caring for children with special needs. In October, she retired from foster parenthood for health reasons. This week, she was honored by the Johnson County Board of Supervisors for her years of care and service to foster children. Linda Herring’s life of giving to children has had a ripple effect, as her children and grandchildren are continuing her legacy of foster parenthood, something any mother would be proud of.

Koala-ty Contribution

It’s easy to get down when you feel like you can’t help other people in need. Six-year-old Owen Colley, however, found a way he could make a difference simply by creating and sharing what he loved. Owen spent the first three years of his life living in Australia and was devastated to learn of the hundreds of thousands of animals that have been lost in recent brush fires. So he and his family formulated a plan – Owen would create small koala bears made of silver clay to raise money for Wildlife Rescue South Coast, an animal rescue organization.

The idea is simple: every person who donates at least $50 receives a genuine Owen Colley original koala sculpture. Owen’s original goal was to raise $1,000, but as of today, he’s raised $57,000 to aid the animal rescue group. Together with his adorable koala sculptures, this kind and creative boy has found a way to take his love of home and animals and give back in his own way.