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☆ Pelosi says it would be 'very hard' to watch body camera video of husband's brutal attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Zoë Richards | Zoë Richards Is The Evening Politics Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday she's not sure whether she will watch soon-to-be released body camera video from an officer who responded to the brutal attack on her husband last year at their home in San Francisco. The police video is scheduled for release Friday, according to an advisory from San Francisco Superior Court following a judge's order. Asked whether she would watch the video, Pelosi, D-Calif., said she doesn’t know. Paul Pelosi and Nancy Pelosi at the 2018 White House Correspondents' Dinner. Pelosi, who was in Washington, D.C., at the time of the attack, said her husband's recovery is ongoing.

Twitter CEO Elon Musk visited Capitol Hill on Thursday and met with House leaders from both parties, saying the discussions focused on the social media platform he purchased in October. McCarthy, who turned 58 on Thursday, earlier told reporters that Musk "came by to wish me a happy birthday." Asked later if the meeting included a discussion about Twitter, a spokesperson for McCarthy referred back to the birthday wishes. Musk's visit comes amid ongoing GOP accusations that most social media platforms are suppressing conservative voices. Since taking over Twitter, Musk has restored hundreds of accounts of right-wing activists and QAnon followers, according to data reviewed by NBC News.

☆ Why buzzy cases like the $5 million Thinx settlement don't often result in customers getting much money back
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Thinx customers can now seek recoveries as part of a settlement by the period underwear brand. The news may have some customers wondering: Can I, too, recoup money spent on a product that let me down? Instead, these cases — which can take years — may recoup only a portion of customers' spending on the products in question. The Thinx settlement includes a $4 million pot to pay customers and legal fees, and as much as another $1 million for any required "valid claims," according to the settlement. Unilever agreed to the settlement while "denying wrongdoing of any nature and without admitting liability," according to the settlement agreement.

☆ Judge orders release of body camera footage and 911 call from Paul Pelosi attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Zoë Richards | Zoë Richards Is The Evening Politics Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

A coalition of news organizations will gain access Thursday to all courtroom evidence from last year's attack on then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband at their San Francisco home. San Francisco Superior Court Judge Stephen Murphy on Wednesday granted a motion filed by a group of 13 news organizations, including NBC News and The New York Times, requesting the release of evidence in the case against David DePape, Paul Pelosi's alleged assailant. The evidence consists of footage from a body camera worn by an officer who responded at the Pelosis' home on Oct. 28, a 911 call Paul Pelosi made to police, portions of a police interview with DePape, and security video taken during the break-in recorded by U.S. Capitol Police in Washington, D.C. The judge’s order comes after prosecutors had refused to release the evidence to news outlets. DePape, who allegedly demanded the whereabouts of Nancy Pelosi while in the house and attacked Paul Pelosi with a hammer, is facing a pair of federal assault and attempted kidnapping charges in the case, in addition to related state charges.

☆ FDA official overseeing food policy and response to resign in wake of baby formula shortage
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Zoë Richards | Zoë Richards Is The Evening Politics Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Frank Yiannas, a top official at the Food and Drug Administration in charge of the agency's food policy and response office, announced Wednesday that he is stepping down from his role as deputy commissioner. His resignation comes days after Abbott Laboratories confirmed that the Justice Department was investigating the company over its Michigan baby formula plant. "Today, I informed Commissioner [Robert] Califf that I will be resigning my position as Deputy Commissioner for the Office of Food Policy and Response effective February 24 ," Yiannas tweeted. Yiannas' resignation announcement comes weeks after an expert panel issued a scathing report on its investigation of the FDA's processes and organizational structure for its foods program. That investigation, was ordered by FDA Commissioner Robert Califf in July, following growing criticism that the agency had mishandled the formula crisis after illnesses were reported.

☆ AP African American Studies course rejected by Florida to be revised, College Board says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Zoë Richards | Zoë Richards Is The Evening Politics Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

The College Board said Tuesday it would release a new framework for the Advanced Placement course in African American Studies that the administration of Gov. “The official course framework incorporates this feedback and defines what students will encounter on the AP Exam for college credit and placement,” the College Board said Tuesday. "We are glad the College Board has recognized that the originally submitted course curriculum is problematic, and we are encouraged to see the College Board express a willingness to amend," Alex Lanfranconi, a spokesperson for the agency, said in a statement. Lanfranconi said he expected the removal of content about topics "that violate our laws," including critical race theory, Black queer studies and intersectionality. The White House last week criticized DeSantis' opposition to the AP course, calling it "incomprehensible."

☆ Amazon warehouse workers walk out in first UK strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —Amazon workers at a warehouse in central England went on strike Wednesday, the first time employees of the US tech giant have walked out in the country. Workers are asking for £15 ($18.49) an hour, which the GMB union said would be in line with pay at Amazon in the United States. Starting pay for warehouse workers in the United States averages over $19 an hour after the company’s latest raise in September. The strike comes as employees in the United States continue to organize and push for collective bargaining rights. Amazon has refused to formally recognize or bargain with the Amazon Labor Union, which was recently certified by regulators.

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday defended the Justice Department's handling of separate special counsel investigations into classified documents linked to former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, saying it does not have different rules for Republicans and Democrats. In his first public remarks on the topic after even more classified documents were found at Biden's home in Delaware, Garland was asked whether he believed the Justice Department was handling the two probes fairly. Garland announced this month that Robert Hur, who was a Trump-appointed federal prosecutor, would serve as a special counsel in the Biden probe. Congressional Republicans have launched their own investigations into the Biden documents. Biden and Trump have had contrasting responses to the discovery of classified documents, which are supposed to be handed over to National Archives when presidents or vice presidents leave office.

An Arkansas man who was photographed during the Jan. 6 riot with his feet on a desk in then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office, was found guilty on all counts Monday after brief jury deliberations. Richard Barnett faced eight charges stemming from the insurrection, including theft of government property. He said repeatedly in court last week that he regretted what transpired at the Capitol that day but did not consider his actions illegal. Barnett appears in images from the riot reclining in a chair in the speaker's office, with his feet propped up, and what the government referred to as a “stun device” tucked in his pants. Before leaving Pelosi’s office, Barnett took an envelope that he later displayed for cameras outside the Capitol.

☆ Russian warship armed with hypersonic missiles to join drills with China, S.Africa
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 23 (Reuters) - A Russian warship armed with new-generation hypersonic cruise weapons will participate in joint exercises with the navies of China and South Africa in February, the Russian state agency, TASS, said on Monday. The missiles fly at nine times the speed of sound, with a range of more than 1,000 km (620 miles), Russia says. They form the centrepiece of its hypersonic arsenal, along with the Avangard glide vehicle that entered combat duty in 2019. On Thursday, the South African National Defense Force said the drills, to run from Feb. 17 to Feb. 27 near the port city of Durban and Richards Bay, aim "to strengthen the already flourishing relations between South Africa, Russia and China." The exercise will be the second involving the three countries in South Africa, after a drill in 2019, the defence force added in its statement.

☆ Jan. 6 rioter who put feet on desk in Pelosi’s office convicted on all counts
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Daniel Barnes | Zoë Richards | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A supporter of US President Donald Trump sits inside the office of US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi as he protest inside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, January 6, 2021. An Arkansas man who was photographed during the Jan. 6 riot with his feet on a desk in then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office, was found guilty on all counts Monday after brief jury deliberations. He said repeatedly in court last week that he regretted what transpired at the Capitol that day but did not consider his actions illegal. Before leaving Pelosi's office, Barnett took an envelope that he later displayed for cameras outside the Capitol. Barnett also admitted to telling an officer in the Capitol: "We're in a war.

A cyber criminal took hundreds of thousands of dollars from Sen. Jerry Moran's campaign coffers last year, according to a form filed with the Federal Election Commission by the Kansas Republican's campaign. In the filing, the treasurer at Moran For Kansas said post-election reporting revealed the senator's campaign was the victim of a “third-party cyber-criminal” that included a pair of fraudulent transactions. “Cybercriminals targeted the accounting firm employed by Moran For Kansas and money was wired to fraudulent bank accounts,” Moran for Kansas spokesperson Tom Brandt told NBC News. The campaign also consulted with the FEC on how to transparently report the unauthorized expenditures.”The campaign told the FEC in the December filing that $168,184 of the lost funds had been recovered. He also sits on a Senate Commerce subcommittee that deals with data security, along with other committees.

☆ Judge sanctions Trump and his lawyer nearly $1 million for 'frivolous' lawsuit targeting Hillary Clinton
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Zoë Richards | Zoë Richards Is The Evening Politics Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A federal judge on Thursday sanctioned former President Donald Trump and one of his top attorneys nearly $1 million for filing a sprawling lawsuit against Hillary Clinton and other perceived political enemies "that should never have been filed." No reasonable lawyer would have filed it," Middlebrooks wrote, adding that the suit was intended "for a political purpose." He knew full well the impact of his actions,” Middlebrooks wrote. “As such, I find that sanctions should be imposed upon Mr. Trump and his lead counsel, Ms. Habba.”NBC News has asked Habba and a Trump spokesperson for comment. Such lawsuits, Middlebrooks said, undermined the rule of law, siphoned resources "from those who have suffered actual legal harm" and painted judges as partisans.

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☆ Trump mistook photo of E. Jean Carroll for ex-wife during deposition in rape allegation lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Zoë Richards | Zoë Richards Is The Evening Politics Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

Former President Donald Trump confused E. Jean Carroll, the writer who has accused him of rape, with ex-wife Marla Maples in a photo he was shown during a deposition, newly unsealed court documents show. "That's Marla, yeah. Trump lawyer Alina Habba corrected the mistake, saying, "No, that's Carroll." Trump, who has launched a 2024 presidential bid, asked a federal judge to dismiss Carroll's lawsuit last week. In the earlier excerpt, Trump denied the allegations and repeatedly insulted Carroll, calling her a “whack job” who’s “not my type."

☆ Lesion removed from Jill Biden's left eyelid was 'non-cancerous,' doctor says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Zoë Richards | Zoë Richards Is The Evening Politics Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

A lesion that was found and removed during first lady Jill Biden's outpatient surgery last week was a "non-cancerous growth," according to a medical memo her press secretary released Wednesday. The lesion, found on Biden's left eyelid, had been sent out for a traditional biopsy, said Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the physician to the president. Results from the biopsy were "consistent with seborrheic keratosis,” O'Connor said in Wednesday's memo. He described the biopsied lesion as a "very common, totally harmless non-cancerous growth" that did not require further treatment. O’Connor said at the time that the procedure was a success and that “all cancerous tissue was successfully removed.”

☆ GOP Rep. Steube sustains 'several injuries' after accident on his property
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Zoë Richards | Zoë Richards Is The Evening Politics Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., sustained "several injuries" Wednesday after he was involved in an accident at his property, his office said. The severity of the injuries and how they occurred were not immediately clear. "Congressman Steube was involved in an accident on his property late this afternoon and has sustained several injuries," his office tweeted. NBC News has asked Steube's office for details. Rep. Vern Buchanan, who represents the 16th District, tweeted that it was "horrible" to hear for Steube's accident and that he wished his fellow Republican a speedy recovery.

It’s horrendous that he could lie and steal and cheat his way through life,” Osthoff said. “Fake,” Santos told the news outlet. When the veterinarian treating Sapphire said she would need a different surgeon, Santos suggested using his vet, instead, Osthoff said. Asked whether he wanted the money, Osthoff said, “The money doesn’t mean anything.”“That dog was the thing that kept me alive,” he said. … We do stupid things in life.”The Hill reported last week that Santos told reporters, “I have done nothing unethical.”Santos has resisted calls from fellow members of Congress to resign.

☆ Capitol Police investigated more than 7,500 threats against lawmakers last year
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Zoë Richards | Zoë Richards Is The Evening Politics Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

U.S. Capitol Police investigated 7,501 threats against members of Congress last year, according to new figures released Tuesday. Last year's numbers marked the first decline in at least five years but remained "historically high," nearly double the 3,939 cases investigated in 2017, Capitol Police said. “The threats against Members of Congress are still too high,” U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said in a statement. Threats of political violence have also extended to the state and local levels. Solomon Pena, an unsuccessful GOP candidate for the New Mexico state House, was arrested Monday in connection with four shootings at the homes of two county commissioners and two state legislators.

☆ U.S.-China friction stokes concern among some top finance bosses
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Carmine Di Sibio, Global Chairman and CEO of EY, speaks at the 2022 Milken Institute Global Conference, in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 2, 2022. Anne Richards, CEO of the $610 billion money manager Fidelity International, put her level of worry about a potential decoupling of the two economies at 6 out of 10 when asked during a panel discussion. EY global chair and CEO Carmine Di Sibio put his own level of concern at 9 out of 10. EY's Di Sibio told the event U.S. administration officials were "extremely aggressive" about the extent of business with China particularly in technology, adding this was the case across much of the West. But the politics are really in the way and I am worried that they're not getting better," Di Sibio said.

☆ David Kessler, top health official for Covid vaccines, to leave Biden administration
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Zoë Richards | Zoë Richards Is The Evening Politics Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

David Kessler, a key official in the Biden administration's Covid vaccine and treatment efforts, is stepping down from his role as chief science officer, the Department of Health and Human Services announced Friday. Since January 2021, Kessler has played a leading role in the development and roll out Covid vaccines. Kessler, 71, is the latest Covid response official to step down at President Joe Biden's two-year mark in office. The Biden administration and health officials have had to combat misinformation and conspiracy theories about Covid vaccines during their rollout. The latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that 78.8% of U.S. adults have completed their primary series of Covid vaccines.

☆ Democratic win in Virginia special election stymies Gov. Youngkin's push for 15-week abortion ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Zoë Richards | Zoë Richards Is The Evening Politics Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Democrat Aaron Rouse has won a special election for a state Senate seat in Virginia after his Republican opponent conceded in a race that was widely viewed as a proxy fight over abortion. Democrats will have a 22-18 majority in the state Senate, and Rouse is expected to provide a crucial vote against efforts by Gov. “Reproductive rights and freedom in Virginia have been hanging by a tenuous thread, especially in the wake of Roe being overturned, and the only thing standing in the way is a one-vote margin in the Virginia state Senate," Tarina Keene, the executive director of REPRO Rising Virginia, said Wednesday. During the campaign, Rouse said protecting access to abortion was a priority, vowing on his website that he would “not compromise” on abortion rights. In his State of the Commonwealth address Wednesday, Youngkin called on the General Assembly to pass a 15-week ban.

☆ White House says Biden doesn't support banning gas stoves
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Zoë Richards | Zoë Richards Is The Evening Politics Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

The White House is pushing back on Republicans who have accused the Biden administration of wanting to prohibit the use of gas stoves in U.S. households. “The president does not support banning gas stoves,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at Wednesday’s briefing. “And the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is independent, is not banning gas stoves. “When it comes to the question about safety or the effect of gas stoves, that is not something that we can speak to here at the White House,” Jean-Pierre said. Consumer Product Safety Commission Chair Alexander Hoehn-Saric also issued a statement saying that while research indicated emissions from gas stoves can be hazardous, he is “not looking to ban gas stoves and the CPSC has no proceeding to do so.”

☆ Safety official's remarks about possible gas stove ban fuel hot GOP takes about Biden
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Zoë Richards | Zoë Richards Is The Evening Politics Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Republicans are warning that the Biden administration is coming for your stove if it's fueled by gas. “Gas stoves are the next thing the Biden Administration is coming after,” he tweeted. “Washington bureaucrats should have no say in how Americans prepare their dinner.”Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., told Biden to "get your hands off our gas stoves!!!!" “There’s been a lot of gaslighting today about gas stoves,” Beyer tweeted Tuesday. “To be clear, I didn’t call for a ban on gas stoves.

☆ House Republican files articles of impeachment against DHS Secretary Mayorkas
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Zoë Richards | Zoë Richards Is The Evening Politics Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

In the first week of the new GOP-led House, a Texas Republican has filed articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Rep. Pat Fallon, in a document filed Monday night, accused Mayorkas of "high crimes and misdemeanors" in his role as Homeland Security chief. He has willfully abdicated his duties as Secretary of Homeland Security and actively misled Congress and the American people. To make any progress at our southern border, he must go.”Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, at the Capitol on March 18, 2022. Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., first filed articles of impeachment against Mayorkas in August 2021.

☆ Biden speaks with Brazilian president after Bolsonaro supporters storm government buildings
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Zoë Richards | Zoë Richards Is The Evening Politics Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

President Joe Biden extended U.S. support to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil in a phone call a day after supporters of the country's former far-right leader stormed government buildings in the country's capital. Lula accepted an invitation from Biden to visit Washington early next month to consult on a "wide-ranging shared agenda," the statement said. The call with Lula comes just a day after a group of former President Jair Bolsonaro’s supporters stormed Brazil’s Congress, Supreme Court and presidential palace, similar to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters. On Sunday, Lula vowed to prosecute rioters involved in the assault on government buildings. He pinned "responsibility" for the attack on Bolsonaro, suggesting that there were “several speeches by the former president encouraging this."

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