Impeachment Hearing Recap

The House Judiciary Committee’s first impeachment hearing took place yesterday and featured testimony from four law school professors regarding the constitutional grounds for impeachment. You can watch the hearing in its entirety here.

New Food Stamp Requirements

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has formalized new work requirements for recipients of food stamps, a move the USDA said will cause around 700,000 people to lose access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Germany Expels Diplomats

Germany has expelled two Russian diplomats from the country, accusing Russia of refusing to cooperate in the investigation of a murdered Chechen rebel, whose death prosecutors say was ordered by the Kremlin. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia plans to retaliate to the expulsions.

Hold the app-lause

Classified ad website Craigslist has officially launched an app, currently available on iOS and in beta for Android. No account is required for the anonymous marketplace, whose app design mimics its website in both style and function.

Double Booked

Expedia’s CEO Mark Okerstrom and CFO Alan Pickerill were both forced to resign on Wednesday at the behest of Chairman Barry Diller and the board of directors. Diller and Vice Chairman Peter Kern will oversee day-to-day operations following the departure of the two executives, while chief strategy officer Eric Hart will serve as acting CFO.

Ad nauseum

Fitness equipment maker Peloton has come under fire on Twitter in recent days over a new holiday ad featuring a woman given a Peloton exercise bike by her husband. A spokesperson for Peloton said in an email to CNBC that the company was disappointed by the criticism it has received, but provided examples of an “outpouring of support” in the form of PDF documents of positive emails.

Here Comes The Sony

Sony Music Entertainment (through its Thread Shop division) has signed a deal to become the new exclusive North American provider of Beatles memorabilia. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed - Sony replaces merchandise company Bravado, who has held the Beatles’ North American license since 2013.

You’ve Got Mail

This time of year can be lonely for those who are separated from loved ones. American soldiers in particular sacrifice time spent at home with family to fight overseas for the security of the nation - something that didn’t sit right with Laura Landerman-Garber. That’s why one Thanksgiving 17 years ago, she decided to do something about it.

Laura and her family began by simply writing holiday cards to deployed soldiers, but the goodwill quickly grew - soon she was collecting letters by the thousands in her basement. This year, her non-profit Holiday Cards for Our Military will be sending out more than 160,000 personalized greeting cards to U.S. troops across the globe.

She’s received letters from adults and children in 32 states, Guam, and Canada. Laura says that even high-profile political figures are writing to soldiers, including Mark Sanford, Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, and Elizabeth Warren. But Laura seems the most touched by the thought put into each card by everyday Americans, saying that she hopes this act helps soldiers feel the warmth of home during the holiday season. “The holidays are all about gathering together,” she told CNN. “For me, I wanted to be able to reach out and just maybe give a little bit of a bridge so that person who is far away feels a little tiny bit closer to home.”

Gold Diggers

Sometimes, all it takes is a helpful stranger to turn a bad day around. That’s exactly what happened to Bill Giguere, who lost his wedding ring while on a hike. Giguere had just finished trekking up and down a 4,000-foot tall mountain covered in snow, when he realized that the gold band he’d been wearing for three years was missing.

Knowing it was a long shot, Giguere put out a plea in a Facebook hiking group to anyone who might come across the ring. Hiker Tom Gately was skeptical. “I instantly thought, 'There’s no way, it’s a 10-mile loop trail,'” he told WMUR. Still, Gately and his friend Brendan Cheever headed out, armed with a metal detector, ready to find the proverbial needle in the haystack. To their astonishment, the detector began beeping, and a little digging revealed Giguere’s gold band buried beneath inches of white, icy powder.

Giguere is grateful to the hikers who took a chance on a long-shot endeavor to help him recover one of his most precious personal items. He was able to thank Gately and Cheever in person, when the group convened in their shared home state of Massachusetts. As the saying goes, “Ask and you shall receive” - in Giguere’s case, thanks to the instrumental help of two complete strangers.

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