Welcome to 2020  Happy New Year from all of us at Muck Rack! Get a glimpse of how the world rang in 2020 with New Year’s Eve 2020: Pictures From Around the World, compiled by Sarah Eckinger of The New York Times.
Laura J. Nelson and Diya Chacko of the Los Angeles Times have your Rose Parade 2020 - Live updates. If you’re already over the 2020s, the staff at Wired predicts, Here's What the World Will Look Like in 2030 ... Right? But before we move on, take one more look back, this time for a lesson and a warning. As Sarah Kaplan of The Washington Post writes, The 2010s were a lost decade for climate. We can’t afford a repeat, scientists warn. Tweets Andrew Freedman, “Important story from @sarahkaplan48 on why the 2020s are such a critical decade for climate action, featuring a diverse array of voices from science and activism.” Devastation in Australia On that note, in Australia, nine people are confirmed dead, with four still missing, and more than 200 properties have been lost since Christmas Day. Ben Smee, Calla Wahlquist and Helen Davidson of The Guardian report on the “terrible cost” of the catastrophic bushfires, which have sent smoke as far as New Zealand. Also at The Guardian, David Marr writes that Australia is becoming a nation of dread – and the world looks on with pity and scorn. Tweets Bill Hare, “David Marr has a really good piece on the catastrophic Australian fires. My experience in Madrid, and afterward is the world is watching with horror, concern and sympathy @Teresaribera and is aghast, bewildered at obstructive denialism of the Government.” In her piece for The Guardian, Lenore Taylor points out, We know this disaster is unprecedented – no amount of Scott Morrison spin can hide it. Dave Earley urges, “Read @lenoretaylor on Scott Morrison’s spin & false narrative as #AustraliaBurns — of a disaster in no way different from disasters Australians have faced before. But this #bushfirecrisis is different, it is unprecedented, we know it & the PM can't hide it.” “The rage in this @lenoretaylor piece is as blistering as the fires @ScottMorrisonMP wants to pretend aren’t happening,” tweets Clementine Ford. Meanwhile, Global Apathy Toward the Fires in Australia Is a Scary Portent for the Future, writes David Wallace-Wells for New York magazine, and Matt Karp says, “this story only seems to grow more and more terrifying.” Adds Richard Seymour, “Every time I look at this story, it gets worse. This is climate dystopia, literally happening in front of us, and it’s scarcely been reported, still less become the subject of a global emergency.” And Joan Walsh emphasizes “A terrifying kicker: ‘Ever smaller circles of empathy.’” Roberts weighs in In his annual report on the state of the judiciary, Chief Justice John Roberts says Americans may ‘take democracy for granted,’ and “He’s 100% right,” says Julia Ioffe. Writing about the report for CNN, Ariane de Vogue notes, “Although the report does not specifically cite President Donald Trump’s past attacks on the judiciary, his statement is a clear attempt to bolster federal judges across the country and shore up the reputation of the judicial branch as the other branches of government have dissolved into a bitter morass.” However...Chris Taylor thinks, “The dude who gutted the Voting Rights Act can take a seat.” Jonathan M. Katz paraphrases it this way: “‘So here, I’ll take some more of your democracy away,’ says John Roberts.” Why not both? 
“I can’t decide whether truly tiny Eddie is a hapless grifter or a profound douche.” Kara Swisher links to Dave Philipps’ reporting at The New York Times about Edward Gallagher’s latest moves, From the Brig to Mar-a-Lago, Former Navy SEAL Capitalizes on Newfound Fame. Philipps reveals that the new Insta-influencer is not only repping coffee beans, protein shakes and an apparel line described as a “coastal lifestyle brand with an edge,” he’s also making appearances at influential conservative gatherings and rubbing elbows with Trump’s inner circle at Mar-a-Lago. Michael Cohen points out, “A sociopathic murderer endorsing an apparel line, which includes a hoodie that allows one to carry a beer bottle in the front pocket, is the perfect metaphor for the Trump Era.” Also, tweets Philipps, “one of the brands he’s repping is owned by the guy who made the knife other SEALs say Gallagher used to murder a captive.” Oh, and there’s this: “Chief Gallagher has appeared regularly on Fox News and other outlets, but declined through his lawyer to speak with The New York Times about his current projects. In an email, his lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, said: ‘Chief Gallagher is happy to respond to inquiries by legitimate journalists looking to publish factual pieces, but has no time for propagandists who put out knowingly false statements masquerading as fact.’” High times in Illinois 
Well here’s a very happy — or at least very chill — place to spend New Year’s Day. Weed is now legal in Illinois, with recreational marijuana on sale in Chicago and across the state, as the Chicago Tribune reports. Brian Cassella noted that “The Fat Shallot food truck has arrived outside Sunnyside Lakeview where the lines to get inside are long and growing.” Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton got there early, though, and purchased edible gummies soon after Sunnyside Lakeview opened. Yesterday, Illinois’ governor JB Pritzker granted more than 11,000 pardons for low-level marijuana convictions. AP’s Kathleen Foody reports that the expungement process is a key part of the law, and state officials estimate that 116,000 convictions are eligible for pardons. Illinois is the 11th state to legalize recreational marijuana for people 21 or older. New Year’s Day round-up - Sheena McKenzie and Kareem Khader of CNN bring us the latest out of Iraq, reporting that US Embassy security personnel fired rubber bullets at Baghdad protesters in second day of unrest.
- Kim Jong-un said North Korea no longer feels bound by its self-imposed moratorium on testing nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missiles. Choe Sang-Hun has that story at The New York Times, and John T. Bennett wonders, “Does this mean he and Trump are still ‘in love,’ or are they taking a break? Hall pass for Kim?”
- Juliet Eilperin of The Washington Post explains how the EPA is pushing ahead with sweeping changes to roll back environmental regulations despite sharp criticism from a panel of scientific advisers, most of whom were appointed by President Trump.
- Also at The Post, new scoop from Joshua Partlow and David Fahrenthold reveals that the Trump Organization fired more undocumented workers — a year after its use of illegal labor was revealed. Catherine Rampell notices the “timing of winery firings, 11 mos. after purging undocumented workers at Trump golf courses, came during vineyard’s winter downtime. Workers had finished arduous annual grape harvest, which involved working 60-hr weeks and overnight shifts under floodlights.” As Adalia Woodbury tweets, “Gee what a guy. He let them work for him another year before firing them.”
- The IRS announced reforms to its Free File program, dropping the agreement not to compete with TurboTax. ProPublica’s Justin Elliott and Paul Kiel have the story on those changes, which come after ProPublica’s reporting showed how TurboTax maker Intuit tricked customers into paying for tax prep they could have gotten for free.
- Shelby Grad links to the “Latest jaw-dropper in powerful series by @PringleLATimes @adamelmahrek.” An investigation by Adam Elmahrek and Paul Pringle of the Los Angeles Times shows that two tribes have received $500 million in federal minority-business contracts, even though the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs determined there is no credible evidence they have Native American ancestry. As the tax dollars flow there, federally recognized Native American tribes and other racial and ethnic minorities lose out.
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