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| Happy Friday, Daily Briefing readers! A year after the Jan. 6 insurrection, President Biden slammed his predecessor Donald Trump yesterday in a passionate speech that continues to reverberate around the nation. On today's agenda, SCOTUS will hear arguments in challenges to the president's COVID-19 vaccine-or-testing requirements. And Chicago leaders have canceled classes for a third day as a battle involving COVID-19 safety measures continues to rage. |
| It's Steve and Jane with Friday's news. |
| 🗣"A dagger at the throat of American democracy": Why Joe Biden's intense Jan. 6 speech was stunning TV. |
| 🕯"This horrific time": A family is mourning the deaths of children and grandchildren as they continue to learn more about the fire that killed 12 people in Philadelphia. |
 | | Family members gather by the Bache-Martin School for a vigil Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022 to honor the victims of a rowhouse fire in Philadelphia, Pa. | | JOE LAMBERTI/USA TODAY NETWORK ATLANTIC GROUP | |
| ✈️Canadian airlines are refusing to fly a group of passengers home from Mexico after they filmed themselves partying maskless aboard a chartered Sunwing flight. |
| 🥖A couple stuck on I-95 in Virginia saw a bakery truck and had an idea: "We didn't think it would actually work." |
| 🎥Peter Bogdanovich, the Oscar-nominated director and screenwriter of "The Last Picture Show" and "Paper Moon," has died. He was 82. |
 | | With a career in Hollywood spanning more than 50 years, Bogdanovich is best known for directing a beloved run of comedies and dramas in the late '60s and '70s. | | USA TODAY | |
| 💉Vaccinated Americans without risk factors are immune to the worst of COVID-19, a CDC study shows. |
| 🏈 Name, image and likeness: Oklahoma quarterback Caleb Williams got a $1 million NIL offer to play at Eastern Michigan from ex-NFL player and EMU alum Charlie Batch. |
| 📰 Did you pay attention this week? Take our news quiz! |
| 🎧On today's 5 Things podcast, health reporter Elizabeth Weise talks about the booster conundrum for Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine recipients. You can listen to the podcast every day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your smart speaker. |
| Here's what's happening today: |
Supreme Court to hear arguments in challenges to Biden vaccine mandates |
| At a time when the omicron variant is causing COVID-19 infections to soar, the Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments Friday in challenges to two federal vaccine requirements covering tens of millions of workers. President Joe Biden's administration unveiled a series of mandates in November, including for large employers, federal contractors and health care workers. All of those rules have been put on hold by courts as lawsuits challenging them are reviewed. The justices thus far have repeatedly turned away challenges to state and local COVID-19 vaccine mandates. But the court's conservatives, which now enjoy a 6-3 majority, have been much more skeptical about the power of federal agencies – all but guaranteeing the Biden administration a tough reception. |
Newsmakers in their own words: President Biden's Jan. 6 speech |
 | | President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2022. | | Pool photo by Michael Reynolds; USA TODAY graphic | |
| President Joe Biden marked one year since the Capitol attack of Jan. 6, 2021, with an intense speech at the U.S. Capitol Thursday. |
| Before a small crowd of congressional staff and journalists, Biden excoriated his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, and his false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election and vowed to protect democracy. |
| Biden has deliberately avoided criticizing his predecessor, rarely uttering Donald Trump's name and claiming he barely even thinks about the man he replaced. That ended on Thursday when Biden delivered his most forceful remarks yet about the Jan. 6 Capitol attack last year and pinned responsibility directly on Trump. It was a remarkably blunt, impassioned speech, marked by flashes of anger, from a president who, until now, had seemed determined not to let Trump overshadow his first year in office. |
More coverage from the anniversary of the Jan. 6 US Capitol riots |
| 🔵Biden goes after Trump, the Cheneys join remembrance: Takeaways from Congress marking 1-year since the Jan. 6 riots. |
| 🔵 Vice President Kamala Harris' speech: Jan. 6 will "echo" in U.S. history like Pearl Harbor and 9/11 does. |
| 🔵 One year after the attack, Sen. Mitch McConnell speaks out: The Senate Minority Leader said Democrats are trying to "exploit this anniversary." |
| ⚖ Surprise visit: Former Vice President Dick Cheney, once a villain to Democrats, was hailed in his visit with his daughter Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wy., to mark Jan. 6. |
 | | Former Vice President Dick Cheney walks with his daughter Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wy., in the Capitol Rotunda at the Capitol in Washington, on Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022. | | Manuel Balce Ceneta, AP | |
Chicago nixes school for Friday as union debate rages over virus |
| Leaders in Chicago, the nation's third-largest school district, canceled classes for a third consecutive day as heated negotiations continued with the Chicago Teachers Union over remote learning and other COVID-19 safety measures as the omicron variant has sent case numbers skyrocketing . In a Thursday message to parents, Chicago leaders said classes would be canceled Friday but "in-person learning and activities may be available at a small number of schools" based on how many employees report to work. The district said roughly 10% of about 21,620 teachers came to work Wednesday and by Thursday it was nearly 13%. The Chicago Teachers Union voted Tuesday to pause in-person learning and work remotely until Jan. 18, or until COVID-19 cases fall below a particular threshold. |
 | | Adan Meza, 29, a teacher at Benito Juarez High School, protests with other members of the Chicago Teachers Union and supporters while the union stages a car caravan protest outside City Hall in the Loop on Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. | | Ashlee Rezin, Chicago Sun-Times via AP | |
Just for subscribers: |
| 🔵'There's a chance I could die here': Here's what 27 members of Congress told us about Jan. 6, 2021. |
| 💦 As a drought-stricken Western state prays for rain, the U.S. Forest Service allows users to divert water from forests, but the quantity is a mystery. |
| 🦠Finding it hard to get tested for COVID-19 and wondering who's to blame? We've got answers. |
| 🔵 "Dad bods" have been acceptable for years. Are mom bods next? |
| These articles are for USA TODAY subscribers. You can sign up here. Here is all of our subscriber content. |
East Coast braces for first bomb cyclone of 2022 |
| The East Coast braces for the second major winter storm in five days as a bomb cyclone prepares to strike on Friday. A bomb cyclone is defined as a storm whose central pressure plummets 24 millibars in 24 hours. In and around Washington, D.C., where more than a foot of snow fell in some places Monday, up to 3 inches more snow was forecast for Friday morning. "These back-to-back storms will generate landmark winter weather that requires extra flexibility, particularly as many continue to deal with power outages," said Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam. Up to a foot of snow could sweep across parts of Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, if the storm strengthens fast enough, AccuWeather said. |
Jobs report: Pre-omicron surge, hiring may have rebounded in December |
| Inflation continues to surge and new omicron infections are spiking, but America's employers are thought to have kept right on hiring in December on the strength of solid consumer spending. One reason for optimism about the jobs data the government will issue Friday morning is that it wasn't likely affected much by the omicron wave. The hiring figures will reflect the state of the job market before omicron viral cases spiked. Economists have forecast that employers added 400,000 jobs in December, according to data provider FactSet via the Associated Press. That would mark an increase from just 210,000 jobs in November. The unemployment rate is expected to have fallen from 4.2% to 4.1%. Friday's employment report will conclude one of the best years for American workers in decades, though it was one that followed 2020 — the job market's worst year since records began in 1939, a consequence of the pandemic recession. |
ICYMI: Some of our top stories yesterday |
| 💉 Call them the Johnson & Johnson 16 million: The J&J vaccine recipients are "questioning our protection" against COVID – and are stuck waiting for a third shot. |
| 🛍Macy's is closing more stores in 2022. Will your location close? See the list. |
| 😷Most people are still wearing cloth masks. Here's why that's a problem with omicron. |
| 🛁Is your Bed Bath & Beyond store closing? See the stores slated to close by the end of February. |
US Figure Skating Championships continue with women's free skate |
| On Friday, the nation's best figure skaters will continue to compete in the 2022 U.S. Figure Skating Championships – a final, pivotal competition before the Beijing Winter Olympics next month . The women's free skate will air at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. Unlike in many other Olympic sports, U.S. Figure Skating selects its Olympians based on their performances over the past two years. So, a top-two or top-three finish this week does not guarantee a spot on Team USA in Beijing. The competition to earn one of the three women's spots on the U.S. Olympic team, which includes two-time national champion Alysa Liu, has been fierce. |
 | | Alysa Liu skates during the championship ladies short program. | | John David Mercer, USA TODAY Sports | |
Also on Friday: |
| ✈ UK eases travel restrictions despite omicron surge: The United Kingdom will scrap their pre-departure coronavirus testing mandate for fully vaccinated travelers. The new rules will apply to travelers entering England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland who are fully vaccinated or under 18 years old. |
| ⚖ Court date for Andrew Cuomo: The former New York governor was set to make a virtual appearance before an Albany judge as prosecutors moved to dismiss the only criminal charge filed against the Democrat in connection with the sexual harassment allegations that drove him from office. |
📸 Photo of the day: Solemn events, one year after the Jan. 6 insurrection 📸 |
 | | House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer along with other members of Congress and staff take part in a vigil marking one year since the attack on the U.S. Capitol that happened on January 6, 2021. | | Jack Gruber, USA TODAY | |
| Lawmakers somberly marked the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol with prayers and testimonials Thursday. |
| The day ended with a candlelight prayer vigil led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who called on Americans to "prayerfully" mark one year "since the insurrection," as lawmakers remembered those who died and the dozens of police officers injured as a result of the attack. |
| Head here to see more images from the events in Washington on the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. |
| Contributing: The Associated Press |
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