1. DNC restores Bernie Sanders' access to voter data
The Democratic National Committee restored voter data access to Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign late Friday night. The campaign "complied with the DNC's request to provide the information that we have requested of them," DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz said in a statement. The Sanders campaign, however, credited the agreement to the lawsuit filed against the committee hours earlier. The Vermont senator's crew had been suspended from the database after several staffers accessed Hillary Clinton's private campaign data Wednesday.
The Hill
2. Congress passes $1.1 trillion spending bill
President Obama signed a $1.1 trillion spending plan into law Friday that will keep the government funded through September 2016. The bill marks the first major congressionally approved change to ObamaCare with the suspension of the health-care plan's "Cadillac" tax on high-cost insurance plans. The fiscal package, which easily passed the House 316-113 and the Senate 65-33, also includes $620 billion in tax breaks for businesses and low-income workers.
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3. U.N. Security Council calls for cease-fire, peace talks to end Syrian civil war
The United Nations Security Council unanimously approved a road map toward peace in Syria, the first time any formal resolution has been passed in the roughly five years since the conflict began. The resolution, which calls for a cease-fire and peace talks, marks the first time the U.S. and Russia have agreed to work together to stabilize the region, as the two countries have been at odds over the legitimacy of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The New York Times
4. Martin Shkreli resigns from Turing after arrest for securities fraud
Martin Shkreli, 32, resigned as CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals on Friday following his arrest Thursday on charges of securities fraud. He was freed on a $5 million bond. Federal prosecutors accuse him of plundering Retrophin, a biopharmaceutical company that he once ran, and using it to "enrich himself" and pay off other investors. Shkreli was also recently vilified for hiking the price of a drug used to treat a life-threatening infection by 4,000 percent.
Bloomberg NBC News
5. Obama meets with families of San Bernardino victims
President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama met privately with the families of all 14 people killed in the Dec. 2 mass shooting in San Bernardino, California. "As difficult as this time is for them and for the entire community, they're also representative of the strength and the unity and the love that exists in this community and in this country," Obama told reporters. The trip marks the ninth time the president has visited a city to offer his condolences after a mass shooting.
The New York Times The Washington Post
6. Pentagon: U.S. airstrike in Iraq may have been 'mistake'
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Saturday that a U.S. airstrike in Iraq on Friday may have been "a mistake that involved both sides." The Iraqi government initially said 10 of its soldiers were killed in the incident. The airstrike, which occurred near the Islamic State-controlled city of Fallujah, is under investigation, Carter said.
The Associated Press The Washington Post
7. Obama commutes 95 drug offenders
President Obama commuted the sentences of 95 drug offenders on Friday, surpassing the 88 commutations given by the past four presidents combined. Obama also granted clemency to 22 drug offenders in March and 46 in July as a part of his effort to reduce prison crowding and amend harsh sentences against non-violent drug offenders.
The Washington Post
8. Democratic presidential hopefuls gear up for third debate
Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Martin O'Malley are set to face off Saturday night in the third Democratic presidential debate. In New Hampshire, which holds its primary Feb. 9, much of the focus will likely be on Sanders' spat with the Democratic National Committee and Clinton's response to it. David Muir and Martha Raddatz will moderate. Follow the action starting at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
Politico
9. Beijing initiates second smog red alert this month
Beijing restricted factory production and ordered half of all cars off the road Saturday under the city's second smog red alert this December. The Chinese capital enforces red alerts when high pollution levels are expected to last more than 72 hours. In this case, the levels of the most deadly airborne particle, PM2.5, may soon exceed 20 times the threshold the World Health Organization considers safe.
The Associated Press
10. FDA proposes banning minors from using tanning beds
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed regulations Friday that would prohibit minors from using tanning beds. "Today's action is intended to help protect young people from a known and preventable cause of skin cancer and other harms," acting FDA Commissioner Stephen Ostroff said in a statement. The agency also proposed restrictions on tanning beds for adults and several safety requirements for manufacturers.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration Gizmodo
