It's Tuesday morning, what do we know?
Street battles in Ukraine & the Jan 6th committee prepares for primetime
What do we know in Ukraine?
The fight for the small industrial city of Sievierodonetsk is now a pitched street battle between Russian and Ukrainian forces. The two armies are battling block by block for control of the eastern city, the last in Luhansk not fully controlled by Russia
If Russia manages to capture Sievierodonetsk, it will have achieved one of its stated goals on the way to taking full control of Donbas, a region of eastern Ukraine comprised of Donetsk and Luhansk
In areas already occupied by Russian forces in the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine, Russia is considering whether to have those regions declare independence from Ukraine or simply be fold them into Russia
Despite putting up stiff resistance, including some successful counter-offensives, Ukrainian troops remain outgunned and outmanned against Russian forces, who have massed in Donbas
What else do we know?
Fox announced it will not cover the January 6th committee hearing scheduled for Thursday in primetime on its flagship news channel, though it will cover the hearing live on Fox Business Channel. Fox News will run its regular programming, including Tucker Carlson’s show. The host teased on Monday that he would counterprogram the live hearings with a version of his ‘documentary’ Patriot Purge. Patriot Purge, a brazenly false and dangerous piece of misinformation, was the impetus for Fox Sunday host Chris Wallace, and Fox News contributors and Dispatch founders Stephen Hayes and Jonah Goldberg, decamping to CNN
Former leader of the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, and four others were charged with seditious conspiracy by the Justice Department in connection to their roles in the January 6th Insurrection. Prosecutors say the five men plotted to disrupt the vote certification by systematically encouraging Trump supporters to storm the Capitol by forceÂ
Boris Johnson survived a no-confidence vote by his Conservative Party, 211-148, stemming from revelations of Covid parties at No. 10 Downing during the peak of the pandemic. Johnson declared the victory a ‘decisive result’ but the fact a vote was taken at all indicates the precariousness of the British PM’s position. About 60% of Britons say they would like to see Johnson ousted as PM
On Monday, New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a law raising the legal age to purchase a semiautomatic gun in New York from 18 to 21. Hochul signed another gun related bill strengthening New York’s ‘red flag’ law. The new bill allows courts to temporarily confiscate guns from people suspected of being a threat to themselves or others
We live in humorless, intolerant and incandescently stupid times. The folks over at ‘Democracy Dies in Darkness’ suspended their political reporter, Dave Weigel, a month without pay for retweeting a harmless joke after another employee mounted an outrage campaign against the respected journalist. Weigel was suspended despite removing the retweet and apologizing just hours after he posted it