Welcome back to News Bits, All the News That’s Fit to Hate the State With. This is going to be kind of a quick one! Here’s what’s happening. 

From the New York Times: Donald Trump had his first press conference yesterday. It didn’t go too well.

Also from the New York Times: Volkswagen pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to violate the Clean Air Act, customs violations and obstruction of justice, and six executives are being specifically named. And Eric Holder is leading a partisan redistricting committee designed to fight Republican gerrymandering.

From the Washington Post: Donald Trump said during his press conference that he has nothing to do with Russia. But it isn’t true.

Also from the Washington Post: The Senate is coming closer to being able to repeal Obamacare. Ben Carson’s HUD Secretary hearing is set to happen soon. Experts say that Amelia Earhart didn’t die in a plane crash. Which, I guess is good news, but where did she go?

From the Los Angeles Times: Two LAPD cops who shot and killed a 16-year-old in Boyle Heights, CA last year didn’t have their body cameras on. But hey, they’re great deterrents!

Also from the Los Angeles Times: California is REALLY getting wrecked by storms. And the produce industry has announced plans to eliminate abusive conditions for Mexican farm labor.

From the Chicago Tribune: Cory Booker went hard after Jeff Sessions, saying he should not be Attorney General.

Also from the Chicago Tribune: The Justice Department is set to announce that it has found major constitutional abuses from Chicago law enforcement. Major cellular providers are set to remove unlimited plans from existence once and for all.

From National Public Radio: Office of Governmental Ethics director Walter Schaub is asking Donald Trump to completely divest from his businesses.

Also from National Public Radio: Elaine Chao is coasting to her nomination as Secretary of Transportation. The Supreme Court is examining how schools deal with students with disabilities. And several states are considering raising gasoline taxes in an effort to fill up budget holes.

From Politico: Chuck Schumer is going to vote against Jeff Sessions’ nomination. Also, Mike Pompeo will be grilled over whether the CIA will remain independent, and Rex Tillerson didn’t have a super great time at his hearing for Secretary of State nomination.

From Slate: Alabama representative Mo Brooks calls criticisms of Jeff Sessions’ position on racial issues the result of a “war on whites.” Also, the ex-wife of one of Trump’s cabinet appointees, Andrew Pudzer, has allegedly appeared on Oprah to accuse him of physical abuse. And the law firm that Trump uses was named “Russia’s law firm of the year” in 2016.

From Salon: The Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, called Trump to let him know he condemned yesterday’s leaked report. Kellyanne Conway says Trump was “very happy” to receive that call. Also, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a Paris summit “rigged” against Israel.

From Mic.com: Black activists plan a week of actions from MLK day to the inauguration. Also, here’s how Wikileaks went from a government transparency outfit to a mouthpiece for the Trump administration.

From Antiwar News: 55 people were killed during heavy fighting in Yemen.

From The Anti-Media: The United States dropped three bombs per hour in 2016.

From The Intercept: Homeland Security nominee John Kelly didn’t disclose his links to a lobbying firm.

From It’s Going Down: Mapuche activists in Chile are still protesting for their freedom.

From The Guardian: Chelsea Manning is on Pres. Obama’s “shortlist” for commutation. Edward Snowden called on Obama to release her via Twitter, saying “only you can save her life.”

From Jacobin: “Who put Trump in the White House?” asks Kim Moody.

Thanks for reading News Bits, curated for C4SS by Trevor Hultner. You can submit news tips to trevor@c4ss.org, tweet at us either at @c4ssdotorg or @trevor_c4ss, or leave a comment below. Your continued support of the Center for a Stateless Society means we can continue to roll out new features like this.

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