Good morning. It's Tuesday, Jan. 19, and we're covering inauguration preparation, the jailing of a Russian dissident, and more. Have feedback? Let us know at [email protected].

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NEED TO KNOW

Inauguration Eve

The Pentagon has authorized 750 active-duty troops to assist in security efforts surrounding President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration tomorrow. The move comes amid a number of reported threats in the nation's capital; many of the service members are said to have expertise in chemical, biological, and explosive weapons. 

The US National Park Service officially closed the National Mall for the event. Between 500,000 and 1 million people typically populate the 300-acre area between the US Capitol building and the Lincoln Memorial. Wide-ranging street closures and numerous checkpoints have left much of the city's downtown deserted (see photos). Despite the threats, in-person protests are likely to be small in magnitude, with many key groups from the Jan. 6 breach of the US Capitol building telling supporters to stay away from Inauguration Day demonstrations. Track protests here.

In related news, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris resigned from the US Senate yesterday, ahead of the inauguration. She will be replaced by California Secretary of State Alex Padilla (D). 

Navalny Sentenced

A Russian judge sentenced popular opposition leader Alexei Navalny to 30 days in prison yesterday for violating the terms of his probation. Navalny had been detained Sunday at the Moscow airport after returning from Germany, where he was recovering from an attempted assassination via poisoning. 

One of the most visible critics of President Vladimir Putin, Navalny fell ill Aug. 20 during a flight from the city of Tomsk to Moscow. Transported to Berlin, he remained in a coma until Sept. 7, eventually making a full recovery. German tests revealed the presence of Novichok—a Cold War-era nerve agent developed by the Soviet Union—in his system. An independent probe concluded the attack was carried out by Russian intelligence services (read the report). 

Officials indicated they would push to have Navalny serve a three-and-a-half-year sentence for alleged embezzlement that had been suspended in 2014.  

Keystone XL

President-elect Joe Biden is reportedly considering canceling a permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline as part of a slew of executive actions during his first few days in office. Crossing the US-Canada border, the construction requires presidential approval and a determination the project is in the nation's interest.

The proposed infrastructure would be the fourth phase of the larger Keystone pipeline, which is currently operational (see map) and carries roughly 600,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Alberta, Canada, to the US Midwest and Gulf Coast. The Keystone XL addition would increase capacity by roughly 800,000 barrels per day—a total equal to about 7% of US daily consumption. Proponents argue the pipeline helps diversify US energy supply and creates jobs. For opponents, in addition to environmental impacts along its corridor, it represents a physical proxy for the larger debate over climate change. See a timeline of the project here.

The decision is expected to be part of a larger series of executive actions in the next 10 days.

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IN THE KNOW

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> Garth Brooks to perform at President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration; Brooks joins Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez among artists performing (More) | Jon Schaffer, guitarist for heavy metal band Iced Earth, arrested for role in US Capitol riot (More)

> Disneyland Paris pushes back reopening date by two months to April 2; the theme park has been closed since October due to France’s second coronavirus wave (More)

> NFL officials say the 2021 scouting combine, where prospective NFL draftees showcase their talent, won't be held centrally in Indianapolis, among other major changes due to COVID-19 (More)

Science & Technology

> Trump administration to revoke the licenses of a number of US companies that supply electronic components to Chinese telecom giant Huawei; list reportedly includes Intel, which supplies computer chips to the company (More)

> Personalized brain stimulation via electric pulses shown to alleviate symptoms of severe depression in proof-of-concept study (More)

> Scientists observe electric eels hunting in groups for the first time; the behavior has only been noted in nine other species of fish (More, w/video)

Business & Markets

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> China sees 2.3% GDP growth in 2020, the only major world economy to grow last year; analysts expect China could overtake US as world’s largest economy as early as 2026 (More)

> Social media platform Parler partially returns online with message from CEO stating the company is working to be restored; app remains banned from Apple and Google app stores and was dropped by Amazon Web Services hosting (More)

> Shares of Samsung fall after its heir is sentenced to 30 months in jail for bribery and embezzlement (More)

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Politics & World Affairs

> US likely to pass 400,000 reported COVID-19 deaths today; track global map here (More) | US has distributed 31 million vaccine doses, with just over 13 million administered, as of this morning (More)

> President-elect Joe Biden to propose wide-ranging immigration bill on the first day of his administration, including a reported eight-year path to citizenship for current undocumented immigrants (More)

> Italian government on the brink of collapse; Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte wins confidence vote in lower chamber, now faces a Senate vote (More)

IN-DEPTH

What We Know About B.1.1.7

NYT | Jonathan Corum, Carl Zimmer. Everything we know (and what we don't) about the new coronavirus variant that emerged from the UK, with insights into what may make it more transmissible than other strains. (Read)

An Oral History of Wikipedia

OneZero | Tom Roston. Originally conceived as an offshoot of the expert-reviewed encyclopedia site Nupedia, Wikipedia embraced the imperfect strategy of using open-source editing to become one of the world's most-used knowledge repositories. (Read, $$)

What Parler Saw

ProPublica | Staff. Hundreds of videos downloaded from the social media platform Parler taken from in and around the US Capitol Jan. 6 have been stitched together, providing an on-the-ground view of the unrest from start to finish. (Watch, warning: some NSFW content)

JUST A SPLASH (OR TWO)

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ETCETERA

Ranking America's best places to retire.

Mapping the world's 50 richest women.

The top spots in the US for whale watching.

Meet Japan's 10-year-old sumo wrestler in training.

Woman declared dead in 2017 fights to be recognized as alive​.

Animals interrupting wildlife photographers.

Man hides in Chicago's O'Hare Airport for three months to avoid COVID-19.

This $20 bill is nearing $60K at auction.

Clickbait: These cocaine hippos have to go.

Historybook: Author Edgar Allan Poe born (1809); HBD musician Dolly Parton (1946); Indira Gandhi becomes first female Prime Minister of India (1966); RIP actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr (2000).

"The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain."

- Dolly Parton

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