The House Jan. 6 Committee yesterday unanimously voted to refer former President Donald Trump to the Justice Department for four criminal charges as it wrapped its final hearing on the 2021 storming of the US Capitol. The charges consist of defrauding the government, obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to make a false statement, and aiding an insurrection. The referrals are not binding and carry no legal weight, but act as a recommendation for the Justice Department.
The Democratic-led panel, which is expected to dissolve Jan. 3 when the new Congress begins, also voted to approve its final report on its investigation, which is expected to be released tomorrow. See an executive summary of its findings here.
The panel also voted to refer former Trump legal adviser John Eastman to the Justice Department and voted to refer House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R, CA-23), along with Reps. Jim Jordan (R, OH-4), Scott Perry (R, PA-10), and Andy Biggs (R, AZ-5), to the House Ethics Committee for refusing to comply with subpoenas. |
A majority of the 17.5 million Twitter users who responded to an informal poll voted in favor of CEO Elon Musk stepping down, according to results posted yesterday. The billionaire initially stated he would abide by the results, but it is unclear if he will do so as of this writing. See potential candidates here.
The poll comes after widespread backlash following a recent move banning users from posting links to other social media sites and a change to the company’s “doxxing” policy. Several prominent journalists were suspended from the platform, some of which have been restored, due to the policy changes. Musk has since announced that users will have the opportunity to vote on all major policy changes going forward. A poll over the policy to block social media competitors shows more than 87% of users oppose the plan.
Musk said in November his leadership of Twitter was likely temporary, as several investors at Tesla have questioned his commitment to the electric vehicle company. |
Epic Games Inc., the maker of the popular video game "Fortnite," agreed to pay over half a billion dollars yesterday to resolve allegations from the Federal Trade Commission. The amount is one of the largest FTC settlements ever (see list).
"Fortnite" debuted in 2017 to immense popularity among children, particularly its so-called Battle Royale mode, where 100 players fight to be the last player alive (see game trailer). The FTC alleged Epic violated the Children\'s Online Privacy Protection Act by collecting personal information from children under 13 without parental consent, for which Epic agreed to pay $275M. In a separate case, Epic will pay $245M in customer returns after the FTC found it had tricked consumers into making unintended purchases. The company has also agreed to adopt several privacy measures and allow regular independent audits.
Epic was last valued at $32B in April, with recent reports claiming "Fortnite" had over 400 million registered users. |
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