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- Trudeau Quits, Trump Keeps Trolling
Good Tuesday morning. A giant bluefin tuna the size of a motorcycle sold for $1.3M at an auction in Japan. That's a lot of sushi. Have a great day!
In Today’s Brief
Blair: Winter storm
Brazil: Cake poisoning
Senate: Confirmation hearings
Berkshire Hathaway: CFPB lawsuit
Hollywood: Stars engaged
... and more
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Top Tips
1) Standing down
Embattled Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will resign.
The news: Trudeau suspended Canada's Parliament until March 24 so his Liberal Party can hold a leadership contest. The winner will then become the new PM when Trudeau steps aside. But the successor's stint could be short.
The tactics: Opposition parties cannot vote non-confidence in Trudeau's minority government -- and trigger a snap election -- while Parliament is prorogued. That almost certainly would have happened if Trudeau stayed put. The Liberals will try to stabilize around a new PM and keep the fall election as scheduled.
Big picture: The Conservative Party is projected to win in a landslide whenever the vote does happen, making its leader, Pierre Poilievre, the PM. The question now is whether the center-left New Democratic Party thinks its best shot to overtake the Liberals as the lead opposition party comes early or later. NDP previously blocked non-confidence votes, but was finally ready to let Trudeau fall.
Postcard from Mar-a-Lago: President-elect Donald Trump fired yet another "51st state" jab north of the border. He mused that Canada should merge with the U.S., claiming Trudeau resigned due to Trump's plans for trade between the countries.
2) Bitter drill
President Joe Biden may have kneecapped one of Trump's top campaign pledges.
The news: Biden signed an executive order banning all future offshore natural gas and oil drilling and leasing on the East and West coasts, the Eastern Gulf of Mexico and Alaska's North Bering Sea. The move contrasts with the president-elect's promises to scale up gas and oil production while rolling back green initiatives.
The catch: Biden's order invokes the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act -- a law that gives the sitting president broad authority but does not leave much room for future executives to reverse predecessors. Experts said Trump may need Congress to take action to tap into the 625M acres that Biden has put off-limits.
Big picture: Trump will take office with majorities in both chambers of Congress -- albeit a slim one in the House -- and having run on a "drill, baby, drill" policy. Where there's a will, there's a way. But Biden has definitely complicated things for him on this front.
3) Small miracle
A young child was found alive after apparently going missing amid wild animals for days.
The news: A member of Zimbabwe's parliament claimed a 7-year-old boy wandered from his remote community and ended up in Matusadona National Park. He allegedly spent five days in the jungle before being found by park rangers.
The conditions: Tinotenda Pudu is said to have survived on wild fruits after straying several dozen miles from home. Elephants, lions and other animals inhabit the park. The boy is said to have slept on a rocky perch.
The complications: Heavy rains slowed rescue efforts as they washed away the boy's footprints. Efforts to signal to the boy with drums also failed. Officials said the boy is physically OK, but is now receiving mental evaluations.
Quick Tips
U.S. News
Winter Storm Blair wreaked havoc in the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest. Some parts of the country set new snowfall records while over 2K flights were canceled and over 60M people were under weather alerts (More)
The nation's first human bird flu death was confirmed in Louisiana. Health officials had previously reported the severe case; the unnamed person was over 65, had underlying medical conditions and was exposed to dead and sick wild birds in a non-commercial setting (More)
Less than 0.1% of U.S. minors take gender-affirming medications, according to a new study. The JAMA Pediatrics-published report examined over 5M private insurance claims for patients ages 8-17 from 2018-22 (More)
World News
A Brazilian woman is accused of killing three family members with an arsenic-laced Christmas cake. Three other relatives were hospitalized; police have requested the suspect's late husband's body be exhumed after his death was attributed to food poisoning (More)
Austria could see its first far-right-led government since World War II. Freedom Party Leader Herbert Kickl will try to form a governing coalition after centrist efforts to bypass his parliamentary majority failed, leading to Chancellor Karl Nehammer's resignation (More)
French President Emmanuel Macron said Iran's push for nuclear weapons is approaching a "point of no return." He vowed to work with the Trump Administration to counter Tehran, which he said is Europe's top security challenge in the Middle East (More)
Political News
The Senate will begin confirmation hearings next week for President-elect Trump's Cabinet picks. Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi and and embattled Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth are expected to be among the initial group of hearings (More)
South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott has become the longest-serving Black member of the upper chamber. The Republican, appointed to his seat in 2013, has moved past late former Massachusetts Sen. Edward Brooke (More)
Trump's Electoral College victory was certified by Congress without incident, four years after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Vice President Kamala Harris presided over the proceedings (More)
Business & Markets
Major indexes closed mixed yesterday. The Nasdaq was up over 200 points while the Dow Jones took a slight dip (Dow-0.06%, Nasdaq +1.24%, S&P 500 +0.55%).
A Berkshire Hathaway mortgage unit is accused of making risky loans in a lawsuit. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau alleges Vanderbilt Mortgage & Finance ignored "clear and obvious red flags" with borrowers looking to purchase properties held by another BH-owned company (More)
President-elect Trump denied he plans to moderate previously-stated tariff policies. The Washington Post reported his incoming administration may limit the application of tariffs and only apply them to critical imports (More)
Entertainment & Sports
Tom Holland and Zendaya are reportedly engaged. The actress and singer was spotted wearing a diamond ring at Sunday's Golden Globe Awards; she has been dating Holland, her Spider-Man co-star, since 2021 (More)
Fubo and Hulu Live TV will merge, creating the second-largest pay-television streaming service behind YouTubeTV. Fubo will drop its antitrust lawsuit against the proposed Venu Sports platform as part of the agreement, receiving a $220M settlement payout (More)
The NFL's annual "Black Monday" was quiet. Only two sitting head coaches -- Jerod Mayo of the New England Patriots and the Jacksonville Jaguars' Doug Pederson -- have been fired so far following the end of the regular season (More)
Quick Hitters
Feel Good: A retired police dog in England was going for a walk. He ended up rescuing a lost man in the woods.
Take Note: Even the most seasoned cooks can go for long stretches without using a specific ingredient. Here is how to know when to throw out old spices in your kitchen.
Go Deep: Why don't new memories overwrite old ones? New research suggests sleep patterns allow the brain to retain data about past experiences while processing more recent ones.
History Lesson: An Austrian man who built and repaired medical devices was tasked with devising a cheap way to amplify light in hospital rooms. He accidentally invented the snow globe in the process.
Life Hack: Don't believe every so-called travel cost-cutting move you hear about. Or maybe any of them, as this rundown explains.
Watch This
What life would be like if you were an Orca whale.
Links
Kim Jong Un has banned hot dogs 🌭
Breaking down the bombshell Fox Sports lawsuit 📺
Facts to help you avoid a hangover 🤕
A man found his wrapped Christmas present 47 years later 🎁
Extreme flooding hit Mecca 🕋
Mark Zuckerberg is not building a doomsday bunker in Hawaii 🚇
Denmark makes its Greenland intentions pretty clear 🇬🇱
Travel trends to keep an eye on 🛫
Humans lived with mastodons and giant sloths for millennia 🦥
Looking back at the origins of pogs 🙇
Looking Ahead …
The Texas Supreme Court will rule whether Southern Methodist University can break away from the United Methodist Church. The Dallas-based school wants to formally dissociate itself and declare independence from church policies regarding LGBTQ rights.