Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022
Breyer to retire, Ukraine latest, CDC Director says 'milder' doesn't necessarily mean 'mild,' senators demand answers on student loan debt and Neil Young off Spotify.
Good Thursday morning. Here’s what is happening:
NBC News: Justice Stephen Breyer will step down from The Supreme Court at the end of the current term.
Breyer is one of the three remaining liberal justices, and his decision to retire after more than 27 years on the court allows President Joe Biden to appoint a successor who could serve for decades and, in the short term, maintain the current 6-3 split between conservative and liberal justices.
At 83, Breyer is the court's oldest member. Liberal activists have urged him for months to retire while Democrats hold both the White House and the Senate — a position that could change after the midterm elections in November. They contended that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg stayed too long despite her history of health problems and should have stepped down during the Obama administration.
Ginsburg's death from cancer at 87 allowed then-President Donald Trump to appoint her successor, Amy Coney Barrett, moving the court further to the right. An appointment by Biden could keep Breyer's seat on the liberal side of the court for years or decades to come.
Biden said in brief remarks to the press on Wednesday that he will leave it to Breyer to formally announce the retirement.
"Let him make whatever statement he's going to make and I'll be happy to talk about it later," he said.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki had earlier tweeted a statement, saying, "It has always been the decision of any Supreme Court Justice if and when they decide to retire, and how they want to announce it, and that remains the case today." The White House had no additional details or information to share, she added.
Yahoo News: President Biden will stand by his campaign promise to nominate a black woman to the court, The White House said Wednesday.
The Associated Press: At least three judges are being eyed as President Joe Biden mulls a pick for The Supreme Court.
The Hill: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer signaled a Supreme Court nominee will be voted on quickly once nominated.
POLITICO: The U.S. has delivered a written response to Russian demands amid the ongoing Ukraine crisis, making no concessions.
The United States has delivered a written response to Russia addressing Moscow’s security demands, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Wednesday, as Washington continues to pursue diplomacy aimed at diverting a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine.
But it remains unclear whether the document will deescalate the tense security situation along the Russia-Ukraine border, as Washington has already ruled out Moscow’s major requests: that NATO pull back its presence in the Baltics and Eastern Europe, and that Ukraine and Georgia be permanently barred from joining the military alliance.
“Without going into the specifics of the document, I can tell you that it reiterates what we’ve said publicly for many weeks and, in a sense, for many years,” Blinken said at a news conference. “That we will uphold the principle of NATO’s ‘open door,’ and that’s … a commitment that we’re bound to.”
The written response, which U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan delivered to Moscow, was “fully coordinated” with Ukraine and European allies, Blinken said, and it “sets out a serious diplomatic path forward, should Russia choose it.”
The written response also has been shared with Congress, and Blinken is scheduled to brief congressional leaders on the document later Wednesday. It will not be released publicly, however, “because we think diplomacy has the best chance to succeed if we provide space for confidential talks,” Blinken said.
Blinken described President Joe Biden as “deeply involved” in producing the written response “from the get-go — reviewing various drafts of the proposal, making his own edits and, of course, blessing the final document that was delivered to Russia today.”
In addition, NATO plans to deliver its own document to Russia that “fully reinforces” the U.S. written response and outlines “ideas and concerns about collective security in Europe,” Blinken said.
Sullivan, the U.S. envoy, transferred the U.S. written response to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko in a roughly half-hour meeting, according to the Russian government-owned news agency TASS.
Deutsche Welle: Russia and Ukraine have agreed to uphold a 2014 ceasefire in talks with German and French officials, even as troops are prepared for war along the border.
Fox News: Russia threatened 'appropriate measures' if the West's responses to its demands aren't constructive.
NBC News: A flight with more than 30 Americans that were in Afghanistan took off from Kabul early Thursday, the first in months.
The passengers on the Qatar Airways charter include more than 30 Americans, one of the two people with knowledge of the matter said. The chartered flight, run by the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs and paid for by the U.S. State Department, is the first to leave Kabul since November.
The government official confirmed that the flight to Doha, Qatar, is carrying Americans but did not provide numbers.
The Taliban halted all flights of Afghan evacuees in a dispute about how the Kabul airport is run and who is allowed on the evacuation flights, a congressional source, two refugee advocates and a source familiar with the matter told NBC News in December.
At the time, a State Department official involved in relocation efforts confirmed that flights had stopped: “We are hopeful that flights will resume shortly, though as usual, winter weather conditions and airport operations remain additional factors to be aware of.”
The Taliban began demanding several seats on the flights for Taliban fighters and sympathizers to leave the country, so they can work in other countries and send desperately needed money back to Afghanistan, according to a congressional official and the source familiar with the matter. The country’s economy is in tatters, and millions of Afghans are short of food.
Before the Taliban suspended flights, about one or two chartered flights a week were heading to Qatar, refugee groups and U.S. officials said.
When the Qatari government declined to continue providing seats, the Taliban stopped the flights.
CBS News: A Department of Homeland Security memo says domestic extremists have been planning to try and disrupt the U.S. power grid and will probably keep doing so in the future.
Domestic violent extremists have been planning to try to disrupt the U.S. power grid and will probably keep doing so, according to a Department of Homeland Security intelligence bulletin shared with law enforcement agencies and utility operators Monday and obtained by CBS News.
"DVEs have developed credible, specific plans to attack electricity infrastructure since at least 2020, identifying the electric grid as a particularly attractive target given its interdependency with other infrastructure sectors," the bulletin reads.
It warns that extremists "adhering to a range of ideologies will likely continue to plot and encourage physical attacks against electrical infrastructure."
Still, the bulletin notes that, "Absent significant technical knowledge or insider assistance, small scale attacks are unlikely to cause widespread, multi-state power loss but may result in physical damage that poses risks to operations or personnel."
When asked for comment, a DHS spokesperson said to CBS News, "The Department of Homeland Security regularly shares information with federal, state, local, tribal, territorial, and private sector partners to ensure the safety and security of all communities across the country."
Word of the bulletin was first reported by The Daily Beast.
The Guardian: Police data in San Fransisco shows a 567 percent increase in hate crimes against Asian Americans.
USA Today: A 32-year-old Texas man has been was charged in connection with the sale of a gun used during a hostage standoff at a Texas synagogue earlier this month.
Henry "Michael" Williams made his initial appearance in federal court in Texas, charged as a felon in possession of a firearm.
Two days before the Jan. 15 standoff, prosecutors allege that Williams sold the semi-automatic Taurus G2C pistol to Malik Faisal Akram. Akram held the rabbi of Congregation Beth Israel synagogue and three others hostage before they made their escape as federal agents raided the building.
The FBI tied Williams to Akram through an analysis of the gunman's cellphone records, which showed the pair exchanged a series of calls from Jan. 11 through Jan. 13.
"Mr. Williams allegedly admitted to officers that Mr. Akram told him the gun was going to be used for 'intimidation' to get money from someone with an outstanding debt," according to a Justice Department statement.
WESH-TV: At least one body has been found in a frantic search for dozens of people missing after a boat capsized off the Florida coast.
Crews on at least four ships and five aircraft already scanned a vast area about the size of New Jersey.
The Coast Guard says the group of 40 left the island of Bimini in the Bahamas Saturday evening in what they suspect was a human smuggling operation.
The survivor told them none wore life jackets as they capsized in severe weather.
The Coast Guard said this is a "suspected human smuggling venture."
BBC News: Lawyers for Prince Andrew are demanding a jury trial in a civil lawsuit brought by a woman who has accused him of sexual assault.
Virginia Giuffre, 38, alleges that he sexually assaulted her when she was a teenager at the homes of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
The Duke of York has consistently denied all the allegations against him.
In the court documents, his legal team submitted several reasons why they believe the case should be dismissed.
The 11-page document filed on Wednesday states that Prince Andrew "admits that he met Epstein in or around 1999," but denies that he participated in any abuse with the late financier.
It also adds that the prince hopes for "further relieve as this court may deem just and proper".
The lawyers argue that Ms Giuffre has no legal basis to bring the case since she is a permanent resident of Australia.
They also refer to a 2009 settlement agreement between Ms Giuffre and Jeffrey Epstein, a longtime associate of Prince Andrew.
Epstein, a convicted sex offender, killed himself in prison in 2019 while awaiting a sex trafficking trial. British socialite Maxwell was found guilty last month of grooming underage girls to be abused by him.
Ms Giuffre is suing the Queen's son for allegedly sexually assaulting her in London, New York and the Virgin Islands when she was a teenager.
CBS News: A federal court has upheld a stay of execution for an Alabama death row inmate with an intellectual disability.
The U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a stay of execution for an Alabama death row inmate who said his intellectual disability was not accommodated by the Alabama Department of Corrections when he was asked to choose the manner of his execution. Matthew Reeves, who was sentenced to death for the 1996 murder of Willie Johnson, was originally scheduled to die Thursday.
The state attorney's general office said after Wednesday's ruling that it will appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, CBS affiliate WIAT-TV reports. If the Supreme Court overturns the lower court rulings, Reeves will be executed as scheduled by lethal injection.
In his claim asking for a stay of execution, Reeves argued that the DOC violated his rights under the Americans with Disability Act because he was not given an adequate chance to choose an alternate method of execution to lethal injection.
"Notably, this is not a case where a defendant has asked a district court to enjoin a state from executing him altogether, regardless of the method of execution," the opinion from the circut court's three-judge panel read. "Mr. Reeves requested only that the court prevent the ADOC from executing him by any method other than the one he would have chosen but for the defendants' alleged violation of the ADA, pending resolution of his ADA claim."
New York Post: The White House said Wednesday that the COVID-19 vaccine regime for kids younger than 4 years old will likely be three doses when it’s approved.
Two clinical trials of the Pfizer vaccine on children ages 6 months to 2 years old, and ages 2 to 4 are underway, but the older group hasn’t yet met standards, White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said at a press conference.
“Dose and regimen for children 6 months to 24 months worked well, but it turned out the other group from 24 months to 4 years did not yet reach the level of non-inferiority, so the studies are continued,” Fauci said, referencing effectiveness standard comparison to adults.
“It looks like it will be a three-dose regimen. I don’t think we can predict when we will see it [approved],” he said — adding he can’t speak for the Food and Drug Administration.
“We need to be patient,” he said. “That’s why the system works. The FDA is very scrupulous in their ability and in their effort to make sure that, before something gets approved for any age, and especially with children … that they will be safe, and that they will be effective.”
Meanwhile, White House officials promised to release millions more Pfizer antiviral pills by June, amid reports that the medicine has been difficult to find in recent weeks.
Reuters: Moderna has begun trials for an omicron-specific booster shot.
CNN: A study shows that antibodies from the Moderna booster remain durable despite six-fold drop over six months.
The Associated Press: The vaccine mandate for the first round of health workers kicks in Thursday.
CNBC: CDC Director Rochelle Walensky Wednesday warned against easing up on COVID-19 safety measures: ‘milder doesn’t mean mild.’
UPI: YouTube has permanently banned conservative commentator Dan Bongino over COVID-19 ‘misinformation.’
The Wall Street Journal: Spotify is removing Neil Young’s music amid objections to Joe Rogan’s podcast.
The “Heart of Gold” and “Harvest Moon” singer earlier this week penned an open letter to his manager and label asking them to remove his music from the service, saying it is spreading fake information about Covid-19 vaccines through Mr. Rogan’s show. “They can have Rogan or Young. Not both,” he wrote.
Mr. Young’s record label, Warner Music Group Corp.’s Warner Records, formally requested Spotify remove the music Wednesday, which could take several hours to take effect across Spotify’s service across the world.
“We want all the world’s music and audio content to be available to Spotify users. With that comes great responsibility in balancing both safety for listeners and freedom for creators,” a Spotify spokesman said Wednesday. The company has detailed content policies in place and has removed over 20,000 Covid-19-related podcast episodes since the start of the pandemic, he added.
“We regret Neil’s decision to remove his music from Spotify, but hope to welcome him back soon,” he said.
Yahoo News: A New York couple is facing felony charges after using fake COVID-19 vaccine cards to attend a Bills playoff game.
Michael Naab, 34 and Amber Naab, 37 of West Seneca are charged with one count each of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree. The Erie County District Attorney's Office filed the felony charges in Orchard Park Town Court on Wednesday, Buffalo's WKBW reports.
District Attorney John J. Flynn told reporters that the Bills learned of the couple's alleged plan via their social media posts, which were flagged by an anonymous tipster. According to Flynn, they posted about using forged cards to attend previous Bills games. Law enforcement officials questioned them during the third quarter of the Jan. 15 game.
Fans 12 and older are required to be fully vaccinated to attend Buffalo Bills home games in compliance with a statewide mandate. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill into law in December making the forgery of COVID-19 vaccine cards a crime. Use of forged vaccine cards is also a violation of federal law.
The Bills' web page explaining the team's vaccine policy issues a bold, all-caps warning against using forged vaccine cards:
"PLEASE NOTE THAT FORGERY OF A VACCINATION CARD IS A FELONY AND PUNISHABLE BY LAW."
According to the Erie County district attorney's office, this is the first time they've prosecuted the new law since Hochul signed it.
The charge carries a maximum of seven years in prison. Flynn said that he doesn't intend to pursue a prison sentence if the Naabs are convicted, WIVB reports. The Bills have not publicly addressed the incident, and WIVB reports that the Naabs declined requests for comment through their lawyer.
CNN: Ben Williamson, a top aide to Mark Meadows, met with January 6 committee on Tuesday.
Williamson was in the West Wing of the White House while the attack on the US Capitol was underway. One source says his meeting with the select committee was conducted virtually and lasted between six and seven hours.
His cooperation with the committee is significant, given that his boss, Meadows, is currently facing possible criminal contempt of Congress charges because of his lack of cooperation with the committee.
A spokesman for the committee declined to comment on Williamson's appearance.
The Hill: A judge has denied bond for an ‘Oath Keepers’ leader charged with sedition.
Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the Oath Keepers militia charged with seditious conspiracy in connection with the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 last year, was denied bail on Wednesday by a federal judge in Texas.The Huffington Post: New York’s attorney general has filed a motion attempting to have former President Donald Trump’s suit against an ongoing fruad investigation.
CNN: A Florida radio host is cooperating with the DOJ’S investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz after pleading guilty in a separate bribery scheme.
Florida radio host Joseph "Big Joe" Ellicott is cooperating with the US Justice Department's investigation into Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida after pleading guilty in a separate bribery scheme, Ellicott's attorney tells CNN.
Ellicott agreed on Monday to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to distribution of a controlled substance. His plea hearing is scheduled for February 9 in Orlando, according to the case's docket.
The US Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida, which filed the plea agreement with Ellicott, declined to comment on the case.
Ellicott's attorney, Joe Zwick, said his client has met with federal investigators to share what he knows about allegations against Gaetz, including sexual contact with a minor, sex trafficking and obstruction of justice.
"He was able to shed light on all of those issues," Zwick said.
Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged with a crime.
Axios: President Joe Biden Wednesday signed an order making sexual harassment in the military a crime.
President Biden on Wednesday signed an executive order making sexual harassment an offense under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
The order will also strengthen the military’s response to domestic violence and the wrongful broadcast or distribution of intimate visual images, the White House said.
There's been growing criticism on Capitol Hill over the military's ineffectiveness at preventing incidences of sexual assault and harassment in the ranks, which has more than doubled in the past decade, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Lawmakers last month reached an agreement to reform how military sexual misconduct crimes were prosecuted, according to the New York Times.
Under the new agreement, independent military prosecutors would replace commanders in determining whether those accused of sexual assault, rape, murder and domestic violence would be prosecuted, a move that was resisted by lawmakers and Pentagon leaders for decades, per the Times.
Biden had last year expressed support for the U.S. military removing sexual harassment and assault cases from the chain of command.
The Guardian: 55 senators are asking President Joe Biden to stick to his promise to reduce the U.S. reliance on nuclear weapons.
The letter, signed by 55 senators and representatives, was sent on Wednesday while the White House was making final decisions on the US nuclear posture review (NPR), amid reports that Biden will make only minor adjustments to the vast nuclear modernisation plans inherited from his predecessors.
“Your NPR represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to ensure that US nuclear doctrine reflects your recognition that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought,” the letter said.
During the election campaign, Biden said the US “does not need new nuclear weapons” and pledged that his administration would “work to maintain a strong, credible deterrent while reducing our reliance and excessive expenditure on nuclear weapons”.
The campaign also said it would make deterring and responding to a nuclear attack the sole purpose of the US nuclear arsenal. The current nuclear posture envisages its potential use against a range of threats, including an overwhelming cyber-attack.
Despite Biden’s campaign rhetoric, an advocate for restraint in nuclear weapon modernisation and arms control was removed last year from her Pentagon post overseeing the drafting of the NPR, after a campaign against her by hawks in the defence department and in Congress.
The draft NPR produced by the Pentagon is believed to be a conservative document, endorsing the existing modernisation plans, expected to cost well over $1tn.
CNBC: A group of over 80 lawmakers are asking President Joe Biden to publicly release the memo outlining his legal authority to cancel student debt.
The president requested the department to prepare that report last year.
The lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., also called on the president to immediately forgive $50,000 per borrower. The price tag on such a move would be around $1 trillion and 80% of student loan borrowers, or 36 million people, would have their debt cleared entirely.
Outstanding student loan debt in the U.S. has exceeded $1.7 trillion and poses a larger burden to households than credit card or auto debt. Roughly 10 million borrowers are likely in delinquency or default.
Since March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S., the Education Department has paused student loan payments. That relief has since been extended five times and is set to end in May.
The lawmakers said Americans shouldn’t be forced to resume the payments.
“In light of high Covid-19 case counts and corresponding economic disruptions, restarting student loan payments without this broad cancellation would be disastrous for millions of borrowers and their families,” they wrote.
Gothamist: President Joe Biden will travel to New York City next week to discuss gun violence with the city’s mayor.
The visit comes after Adams had been pressing the federal government for help in battling gun violence, specifically since the fatal shooting of two NYPD officers last week.
A spokesperson for the mayor’s office confirmed the visit that’s slated for February 3rd and its subject matter. This marks the first time Biden will meet with Adams as mayor. The two met last July to discuss the very same topic, before the mayor took office.
“Public safety is my administration’s highest priority, and we welcome the opportunity to display to President Biden how federal and local governments can coordinate and support each other in this fight to keep New Yorkers safe,” Adams said in a statement.
The Duluth News Tribune: The Biden administration has cancelled two mining leases near Minnesota’s Boundary Waters.
The Biden administration has canceled two federal mineral leases for Twin Metals, dealing another blow to the proposed underground copper-nickel mine near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
The leases, first issued in 1966, were rescinded in the final days of the Obama administration in 2016 over concern the mine would pollute the BWCAW if it were to ever open in the same watershed. The Trump administration then reinstated the leases in 2017 , and moved to renew the leases in 2018 . The 10-year leases were then formally renewed in May 2019 .
Ann Marie Bledsoe Downes, acting deputy solicitor of Indian affairs for the Department of Interior, wrote in a memorandum Wednesdaythat the 2019 lease renewal by the Trump administration violated Bureau of Land Management regulations and that the agency prepared an "inadequate (National Environmental Policy Act) analysis of the renewal decision."
Twin Metals, which has submitted plans for an underground mine, processing plant and dry-stacked tailings storage facility on the edge of Birch Lake near Ely, said the decision was "disappointing, but not surprising given the series of actions the administration has taken to try and shut the door on copper-nickel mining in northeast Minnesota" and vowed to challenge the decision.
"This is not about law; this is a political action intended to stop the Twin Metals project without conducting the environmental review prescribed in law," Twin Metals spokesperson Kathy Graul said in a statement.
Environmental groups celebrated the administration's decision.
"Today is a major win for Boundary Waters protection," Becky Rom, national chair of the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters, said in a news release.
Reuters: Sen. Dick Durban Wednesday said he wants the government and automakers to address an 'alarming' jump in carjackings.
A senior U.S. senator on Wednesday called on major automakers and the Transportation Department to take action to address an "alarming" rise in carjackings in some major cities.
Senate Judiciary chair Dick Durbin, a Democrat, asked the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents nearly all major automakers, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to develop "uniform standards for swift law enforcement access to vehicle location tracking data in carjacking incidents."
Durbin said accessing vehicle tracking information from cars that are stolen from owners "can take law enforcement hours or even weeks."
A number of U.S. cities including New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington have reported big jumps in carjackings in recent years, including many involving teenagers and thefts at gunpoint.
Buttigieg's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Alliance for Automotive Innovation spokesman Don Stewart said the group would continue to work with Durbin "on this important issue. We’ve had good conversations with stakeholders in Illinois and elsewhere on this topic and those will continue.”
The last two years have seen a surge in carjackings in Chicago and across the nation. This alarming increase underscores the need for industry coordination and public-private partnership to help prevent and swiftly respond to these crimes. This must be a priority.NEWS: In letters to the Department of Transportation and the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, Chair Durbin is pressing vehicle manufacturers and law enforcement groups to work together to prevent and respond to the recent surge in carjackings. https://t.co/w7iJ27ZIGgSenate Judiciary Committee @JudiciaryDems
CNBC: The Dow fell more than 100 points Wednesday in another day of wild swings.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell in volatile trading Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell suggested the central bank has plenty of room to raise interest rates before it would harm the economy.
The blue-chip average fell 129.64 points, or 0.4%, to 34,168.09. The Dow was up more than 500 points at one point, but rolled over after the Fed’s update. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% to 4,349.93. The Nasdaq Composite finished little changed at 13,542.12, buoyed by Microsoft’s post-earnings gain.
Stocks came off their highs and Treasury yields surged after Powell said at a press conference there was “quite a bit of room” to raise interest rates before it would hurt the labor market. Powell also said prices could continue to run higher as “inflation risks are still to the upside.”
“After hearing Fed Chair Powell talk, it became clear the risk of more rate hikes was elevated and the earlier Wall Street rally fizzled,” OANDA’s Edward Moya said in a note.
CNBC: The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged for now but points to a rate hike coming in March.
Axios: Stephanie Ruhle will replace Brian Williams on MSNBC.
MSNBC will soon announce plans to move morning anchor Stephanie Ruhle to the 11 pm ET hour that Brian Williams turned into an elite destination, two sources familiar with the move tell Axios.
The 9 am ET hour, currently hosted by Ruhle, will become part of MSNBC's flagship morning show, "Morning Joe," which currently runs from 6 am to 9 am ET.
Ruhle, who is also a senior business correspondent for NBC News, joined the network in 2016.
MSNBC declined to comment.
Williams announced in November that he would be leaving the network, and officially signed off in December.
He had been a mainstay of the network's coverage for over two decades.
NBC News: Amy Schneider's historic 'Jeopardy!' win streak comes to an end after 40 episodes.
Long-running “Jeopardy!” champion Amy Schneiderlost in an episode that aired Wednesday, ending the second-longest winning streak in the quiz show's history.
Schneider, an engineering manager from Oakland, California, was defeated by Rhone Talsma, a librarian from Chicago, who raked in $29,600 in the latest game, besting Schneider, at $19,600.
Almost all of Schneider's wins had been in 2-to-1 blowouts going into Final Jeopardy, meaning the final questions figured only in how much prize money she would score.
But Wednesday's game was unusually close. Schneider led Talsma by $27,600 to $17,600 heading into the last question, under the category "Countries of the World."
The show wanted to know which is the only nation that ends its English spelling with an "h" and is also among the world's top 10 most populous countries.
Talsma correctly asked, “What is Bangladesh?” while Schneider came up blank. His winning bet of $12,000 and her losing wager of $8,000 meant a new champion was suddenly crowned.
“It’s really been an honor,” Schneider said. “To know that I’m one of the most successful people at a game I’ve loved since I was a kid and to know that I’m a part of its history now, I just don’t know how to process it.”
This day in history: A day after her husband denied having “sexual relations” with White House Intern Monica Lewinsky, First Lady Hillary Clinton appeared on The Today Show this day in 1998 to call the attacks against her husband part of a ‘vast right-wing conspiracy.’
It was this day in 1984 that Michael Jackson's hair catches on fire during the filming of a Pepsi commercial. The Los Angeles Times reported it came up as a subject the wrongful death trial:
A vintage video of Michael Jackson’s hair catching on fire during the third take of a 1983 Pepsi commercial was played for jurors Thursday as a makeup artist testified about the devastating migraine headaches the pop singer endured because of the injuries.
“I never saw anything like that in my life,” Karen Faye testified. “This was someone I knew and he was on fire.”
Faye, who worked with Jackson for 27 years as both a makeup and hair artist, took the stand in the second week of a wrongful death suit the singer’s mother and children filed against concert promoter AEG, which was bankrolling what was to be his comeback tour when the entertainer died in 2009 of a drug overdose.
Her testimony sometimes growing emotional, Faye recalled that when Jackson’s hair caught on fire, he continued dancing down the stairs, having no idea he was burning. Finally, a friend of his ran onto the stage and wrestled him to the ground to put it out.
“All his hair was gone and there was smoke coming out of his head.”
Jackson, she said, suffered intense migraines while the burns were healing, Faye said.
Like our flashbacks in history? We have an entire newsletter dedicated to rewinding you to the events on this day in history. Subscribe to Rewind and receive a weekly flashback in your inbox each Monday evening. We will continue to bring you one or two events from Rewind here in our daily Bulletin email.
One more thing. A Los Angeles sculptor is honoring Kobe and Gigi Bryant by placing a temporary statue of the two where their helicopter crashed in Calabasas, California. From Reuters:
Los Angeles sculptor Dan Medina has honored the anniversary of the deaths of Kobe and Gigi Bryant along with seven other passengers by placing a temporary statue of the two where their helicopter crashed two years ago today in Calabasas, California. 📷 @SwansonPhotog
