📰 The Front Page

🏛️ Capitol Conspiracy Charges

Federal prosecutors filed the first conspiracy charges related to the mob of pro-Trump supporters that stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6.

• The complaint filed yesterday charges three rioters – including an apparent leader of the paramilitary group Oath Keepers – with conspiracy to commit an offense and obstruction of an official proceeding.
• A video cited in the complaint shows a group of eight to ten people wearing military gear and Oath Keeper paraphernalia “aggressively approaching” an entrance to the Capitol.

During the breach, one of the members allegedly communicated, “We have a good group. We have about 30-40 of us. We are sticking together and sticking to the plan.”

More: In his first public comments after the Senate returned to session Tuesday, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) said: “The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people.”

Even More: The Department of Defense removed 12 National Guard members from inauguration duties yesterday “out of an abundance of caution.” Dig deeper.

🇺🇸 🇨🇳 U.S. Accuses China of Genocide

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in a statement issued on his last day in office, formally accused China of genocide and crimes against humanity for its treatment of Uighur Muslims and other minorities in the Xinjiang region. Pompeo’s move is the culmination of years of debate within the Trump administration over how to hold Beijing accountable for its actions in Xinjiang, and follows a series of sanctions imposed on Chinese officials and companies last summer.

More: The State Department’s accusation is the strongest condemnation so far by any international government against China’s policies in Xinjiang.

🇹🇭 Record Thai Prison Sentence

A 63-year-old Thai woman was sentenced to 43 years in prison for criticising the royal family, the country’s harshest-ever sentence handed down under its lèse-majesté law forbidding insults against the monarchy. Thailand revived the controversial law late last year (after a three-year hiatus) in an attempt to curb months of anti-government protests and demonstrations.

More: The woman, known only as Anchan, said she simply shared audio clips from a podcast on social media and had not commented on the content.

🍩 DONUT Holes:

📝 The College Board announced plans to eliminate SAT subject tests, saying the widespread availability of Advanced Placement (AP) courses made them irrelevant. The decision does not affect the main SAT.

🔒 A U.S. Army soldier was arrested yesterday on terrorism charges after he spoke online about plots to blow up NYC’s 9/11 memorial and kill U.S. soldiers in the Middle East on behalf of ISIS.

🔏 Trump pardoned 73 people last night, including Lil Wayne and Steve Bannon. He also granted clemency to 70 others, including Kodak Black and former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. The full list. (From the Left | From the Right)

🤝 Deals, Deals, and More Deals

• Microsoft announced its participation in a $2B investment and long-term strategic relationship with GM and Cruise, GM’s majority-owned autonomous car arm.
• Office Depot rebuffed an unsolicited takeover offer from Staples, per the WSJ. It was Staples’ third attempt to buy Office Depot in the past five years, despite regulatory scrutiny over the acquisition.
• Rivian, an Amazon-backed EV startup, raised $2.65B in funding at a $27.6B post-money valuation (the company’s perceived value after the cash infusion).

📈 💪 Net-Flex

Netflix has surpassed the 200M global subscriber mark, adding another 8.5M subscribers last quarter. Shares of Netflix rose ~12% in after-hours trading after the company reported Q4 earnings.

More: In a letter to shareholders accompanying the earnings report, Netflix said it is close to being free cash flow positive and will consider returning cash to shareholders through buybacks.

📺 Plus One

ViacomCBS announced Paramount+ yesterday, an expanded version of its CBS All Access streaming service, will launch on March 4. Paramount+ will replace its predecessor, boasting an expanded lineup of content that takes advantage of the 2019 CBS-Viacom merger in addition to new original content.

🍩 DONUT Holes:

🏀 The average NBA team is now worth $2.4B, according to sports business publication Sportico (for reference, the average NFL franchise value surpassed $3B in 2020).

🚀 SpaceX purchased two oil rigs the company reportedly plans to use as floating spaceports for its Starship operations.

🐈 Cat’s Out of the Bag

Image via @Charlietrypsin on Twitter.

“I forgot the best bit of my walk today: this cat whose owners are fed up,” tweeted @Charlietrypsin of London last week, along with the photo above.

• The note reads: “Please don’t ring or knock on behalf of the cat. She has her own entrance in the side door and knows this very well.”

The viral tweet has encouraged other Twitter users to share similar messages left by frustrated cat owners in their own communities, including such gems as:

• “The big one will act like he isn’t interested in going outside and then he WILL run out!!”
• “Please note that if we let the cat in and out every time he cries, we would have to employ a door person to open it every five minutes.”

And if you’re feline up for some more…

• Through his nonprofit, Depher LTD, James Anderson of Lancashire, England has provided plumbing and heating services to more than 10,000 elderly residents in his community since 2017 – and spent $78,000 of his own money to bring them food and PPE during the pandemic.
• After his beloved mountain bike was stolen last September, Pastor Robbie Pruitt of Leesburg, VA, responded by forming a repair program at his church. He’s now refurbished more than 140 bicycles for donation and those in need.

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