10 things you need to know today: February 16, 2021

Pelosi says commission will investigate Capitol riot, extreme cold leaves millions without power in Texas, and more

Pedestrians in Austin, Texas
(Image credit: Montinique Monroe/Getty Images)

1. Pelosi: '9/11-type commission' will investigate Capitol attack

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Monday that Congress would establish an independent commission to investigate the "facts and causes" of the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by a "terrorist mob" of former President Donald Trump's supporters. Pelosi said in a letter to lawmakers that the commission would be like the one that looked into the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on Washington and New York. Senators from both parties called for a bipartisan, 9/11-style commission following the Senate's Saturday acquittal of Trump on the charge that he incited the insurrection by falsely claiming that fraud cost him the November election and urging supporters to go to the Capitol to fight to overturn the result. Pelosi said that after Trump's impeachment trial and a review of Capitol security, it is clear "we must get to the truth of how this happened."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.