THE HEADLINES
PRIMETIME BIDEN: President Biden will address the nation Thursday, warning that America’s “rights and freedoms are still under attack,” and that the “rule of law” is threatened by an “extreme MAGA agenda,” a White House official told NBC News. Read more.
TRUMP SECRET SERVICE AGENT CALLS IT QUITS: Tony Ornato, the top Secret Service official who served as Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff for operations, is resigning to take a position in the private sector, a spokesperson for the agency confirmed yesterday. The resignation comes two days before Ornato is expected to meet with investigators from the January 6 Committee for an interview about Secret Service actions during the Capitol riot. Read more.
CLASHES IN BAGHDAD: Iraqi rioters looted the presidential palace and attacked the U.S. embassy in Baghdad after Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al Sadr announced that he would retire from politics yesterday, prompting concerns about renewed sectarian violence and political instability in the Middle Eastern country. Read more.
SELF-DEFENSE?: Amazon Ring doorbell camera footage released yesterday by a local news outlet captured an Ohio homeowner last month shooting and killing his daughter’s 20-year-old ex-boyfriend, who was allegedly trying to break into the home. The video was shared widely on social media and ignited a debate over whether the shooting was justified. Read more.
TRUMP APPARENTLY HAD THE GOODS ON MACRON: Donald Trump has for years bragged to associates about possessing “intelligence” on the sex life of French President Emmanuel Macron, Rolling Stone reported yesterday, citing two unnamed individuals “with knowledge of the matter.” The report has ignited speculation that the document, if it exists, may be among the materials seized by the FBI in a raid on the former president’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Read more.