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Jack Spear
From NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Speier. Congress has officially certified President elect Donald Trump's 2024 election victory. As NPR's Barbara Sprunt reports, it was a smooth and orderly process, a stark contrast to four years ago when throngs of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a violent attempt to overthrow the election results.
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Barbara Sprunt
As president of the Senate, it was the duty of Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost the election to Trump, to oversee the proceedings certifying his win and announce the final tally, 312 to 226. Unlike four years ago, there were no objections to any state's election results during the hour long joint session of Congress, a return to what's normally a mundane, mundane bureaucratic process of members fulfilling their constitutional duty to formally certify the final count of electoral votes. There was a standing ovation after Harris concluded the certification, the only time members on both sides of the aisle clapped together. Barbara Sprunt, NPR News, the Capitol.
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Jack Spear
A polar vortex continues to hold much of the nation in its icy grip. Snow and cold blasting a large part of the country from the Rocky Mountains to Maine, with wintery weather hitting a number of states from the Midwest to the Mid Atlantic. In Indiana, the National Guard was activated to help stranded motorists. Washington, D.C. maryland and Virginia were also hit hard with half a foot or more of snow falling in some spots. Hundreds of airline flights were canceled or delayed due to the weather. 6.4 inches of snow fell Sunday at Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport, with more expected today. Facebook parent company Meta is adding Dana White to its board of directors. He is the CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and an ally of President elect Donald Trump's NPR's Shannon Bond reports. Met and other tech companies are trying to improve their relationships with the incoming administration.
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Shannon Bond
Dana White is a longtime friend of the president elect. Trump's appearances at his UFC events have been credited with boosting Trump's appeal among young men. White even joined Trump on stage at his election night victory party. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who's trained as a mixed martial arts fighter, is also friendly with White. Trump and other Republicans have long accused tech companies, including Meta, of anti conservative bias. Since the election, Zuckerberg is among the tech executives who have visited Trump at Mar A Lago and Mehta donated a million dollars to the president elect's inauguration fund. Shannon Bond, NPR News.
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Jack Spear
President Biden has signed into law a measure that boosts Social Security benefits for current and former public employees. The change will affect nearly 3 million people who receive pensions from their time as teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public servants. Bill rescinds two provisions that limit Social Security benefits for recipients if they get retirement payments from other sour like public retirement programs from state and local governments. Biden signed the measure into law over the weekend. A mixed close on Wall street today. The Dow fell 25 points. The Nasdaq was up 243 points. This is NPR. One of the biggest electronics and technology gatherings of the year is about to kick off in Las Vegas. The multi day event known as ces, organized by the Consumer Technology association, starts this week. Like last year's show, AI is expected to be everywhere you look. One of the largest events of its kind in the world, CES last year drew more than 138,000 attendees and included more than 4,500 exhibitors spread across two and a half million square feet. It's Black Monday in the NFL, the day after the end of the regular season when underperforming teams often fire their head coaches. NPR's Becky Sullivan reports. Two coaches lost their jobs today, joining three others who were already released.
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Becky Sullivan
For Gerard Mayo of the New England Patriots, Black Monday came a day early. Team ownership let the first year head coach go about an hour after the Patriots Sunday afternoon game. New England was expected to be one of the worst teams in the league this season as they endure a complete rebuild after the departures of two future hall of Famers in quarterback Tom Brady and coach Bill belichick. But just 4 wins and 13 losses was evidently worse than anticipated. Then the Jacksonville Jaguars fired their head coach, Doug Peterson after they missed the playoffs for two years in a row despite a weak division and a solid quarterback in Trevor Lawrence. In total, that makes five head coaching vacancies. The others are the Chicago Bears, New York jets and New Orleans Saints. Becky Sullivan, NPR News.
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Jack Spear
The movie Mufasa, Walt Disney's prequel to the Lion King, took top honors at the weekend box office. According to studio estimates, the movie took in an estimated $23.8 million in its third weekend. Paramount Sonic the Hedgehog 3, which does dominated for the past two weekends, was not far behind. 2025 box office already starting off strong. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News, in Washington.
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