 Photo by Thomas Lin. The 118th U.S. Congress opens today with the swearing-in of its members. The opening of the country's two legislative chambers comes as Republican leader Kevin McCarthy struggles to secure political support to become House speaker. More: - McCarthy is seeking to replace Nancy Pelosi as House speaker after the GOP gained a majority in the chamber.
- Despite receiving an endorsement from former U.S. President Donald Trump, McCarthy continues to face Republican detractors to his right flank.
- Members of the conservative Freedom Caucus have openly criticized McCarthy even though the Republican leader has offered several concessions to win their support.
- McCarthy may become the first lawmaker in 100 years to be nominated for the role of House speaker despite failing to win initial support from his own colleagues.
Zoom Out: - If he wins, McCarthy may play a key role in helping Democratic U.S. president Joe Biden establish a viable bipartisan government.
- Republicans won a slim majority in the House during the midterms while Democrats kept control of the Senate with a 51-49 majority.
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 24-year-old NFL star Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field on Monday night. The Buffalo defensive back suffered a cardiac arrest during a primetime game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals. More: - Hamlin appeared to sustain an injury when he tackled Bengals receiver Tee Higgins during the game.
- He returned to his feet after the play but fell backward about three seconds later.
- Hamlin reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest but paramedics restored his heartbeat on the field, according to a statement by the Buffalo Bills.
- He was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and remains in critical condition.
- The game was suspended after the incident.
- “I’ve never seen anything like it,” said NFL executive Troy Vincent.
Zoom Out: - The Bengals were leading in the game's first quarter and its suspension will have implications for the playoffs as the NFL approaches the last week of its regular season.
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 A Ukrainian rocket strike killed dozens of Russian soldiers in the occupied Ukrainian city of Makiivka. The attack has sparked anger from Russian nationalists and lawmakers who blame Russian military leaders for the high death toll. More: - The strike destroyed a vocational college being used as a temporary barracks in Makiivka, a town located in Ukraine's Donetsk region.
- The facility was hit with U.S.-made HIMARS rockets, according to Russian-backed regional official Daniil Bezsonov.
- Russia said on Monday that the strike killed 63 soldiers while Ukrainian authorities claimed that it killed hundreds.
- Pro-war bloggers and lawmakers have criticized Russia's military leaders for failing to prevent the attack.
- Sergei Mironov, a lawmaker and former chairman of Russia's Senate, said that Russian officials who ordered troops to gather at the destroyed location should be held criminally liable.
Zoom Out: - The Ukrainian strike took place as Russian forces continued carrying out attacks on major Ukrainian cities.
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 Photo by Sushan116. GOOD NEWS: India's government accomplished its target of eliminating rhino poaching in 2022. The landmark achievement comes after Indian political parties included rhino poaching as a key issue in their election manifestos. More: - The Indian state of Assam is the largest habitat for one-horned rhinos in the world, hosting almost 2,900 of the 4,012 rhinos that remain in India, Nepal, and Bhutan.
- Poachers have killed at least 191 one-horned rhinos since 2000.
- After rising to power for a second term in 2021, India's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said it wanted to fight rhino poaching.
- A 22-member government task force deployed armed guards to protect the rhinos and used drones to track the movements of poachers.
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 The U.S. and South Korea have begun discussing ways to prevent North Korea from using nuclear weapons. The move comes after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un announced plans to boost Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal in 2023. More: - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said that his government wants to be more involved in handling U.S. nuclear weapons located on the Korean Peninsula.
- “While the nuclear weapons belong to the U.S., intel sharing, planning, and training should be done jointly,” Yoon told the Chosun Ilbo newspaper.
- However, U.S. President Joe Biden said on Monday that the U.S. will not hold joint nuclear exercises with South Korean forces because South Korea is not a nuclear power.
- Instead, the U.S. wants its military alliance with South Korea to focus on joint planning, improving information exchange, and tabletop exercises that would take place in the near future.
Zoom Out: - Yoon's government is seeking to develop "overwhelming" military superiority to oppose rising North Korean aggression.
- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for an "exponential increase" of the country's nuclear arsenal during a recent policy meeting of the North Korean Worker's Party.
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 Firefighters extinguish a coach that had been set on fire in Berlin, Germany. AP. German authorities have pledged to crack down on people responsible for violence during the weekend's New Year celebrations. The announcement comes after dozens of police officers and emergency workers were injured in attacks that included being targeted with fireworks. More: - 18 policemen were injured in Berlin during the weekend's New Year celebrations.
- 15 paramedics and firefighters required treatment for injuries sustained during the festivities.
- In one incident, around 200 people wearing masks attacked firefighters trying to extinguish burning garbage cans.
- “The state will not tolerate that people who are celebrating peacefully and personnel who are doing their duty are attacked in this way,” said Christiane Hoffmann, a spokeswoman for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
- Over 100 people were arrested in Berlin for charges including breach of the peace, assault of law enforcement officers, and arson.
Zoom Out: - There is no evidence that the recent attacks were politically motivated but German authorities have warned that political extremism is threatening Germany's democracy.
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- A Canadian law banning foreigners from purchasing residential property came into effect on Jan. 1. The legislation was passed after speculative investments were believed to have caused a spike in real-estate prices.
- 51-year-old Actor Jeremy Renner has undergone surgery after suffering blunt chest trauma and orthopedic injuries in a snow plow accident. The actor, who is best known for playing “Hawkeye” in several Marvel movies, is in critical but stable condition, a spokesperson said.
- Electric vehicle firm Tesla has made Tom Zhu, the head of its Chinese business, the company's second most powerful executive after CEO Elon Musk. Zhu will manage Tesla's assembly plants and sales in Europe and North America in addition to leading its Chinese operations.
- Brazilian prosecutors plan to revive an investigation into an allegation that U.S. representative-elect George Santos committed fraud with a stolen checkbook.
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UPCOMING EVENTS - January 05 - AMA with Gun.io - Building and managing software development teams w/ Deividi Silva (Watch On Demand)
- January 06 - AMA with LinearB - Improving workflow for developers w/ Ori Keren (Watch On Demand)
- January 10 - Inside Startups Coffee Break (Register Here)
- January 17 - Inside Marketing Coffee Break (Register Here)
- January 31 - Growth Summit 2023 (Register Here)
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 |  | Gregory Bridgman is a writer and researcher with an academic background in politics and the philosophy of science and technology. He holds a BA from the University of Cape Town, an MS from University College London, and a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge. He is interested in climate issues, technological changes, and the implications of the fourth industrial revolution. Please feel free to contact me at gregory@inside.com! | | | | Editor | Eduardo Garcia is a writer and editor based in New York. He is the author of "Things You Can Do," an illustrated book about climate action. Bylines in The New York Times, The Guardian, Slate, Scientific American, and others. In one of his previous lives, Eduardo worked as a Reuters correspondent in Latin America for nearly a decade. | |
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