Brand Logo
Gaetz's ethics mess, Biden's capital clemency and Nordstrom's buyback

 
Today's politics story

House report on Gaetz finds regular paid sex, drugs

What happened
The House Ethics Committee released its report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) yesterday, saying its yearslong investigation found "substantial evidence" he "violated House rules, state and federal laws, and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, acceptance of impermissible gifts" and other violations. Gaetz resigned from Congress last month as the committee was preparing to release its report and President-elect Donald Trump tapped him for attorney general. He withdrew from consideration when it became clear he did not have enough Senate support for confirmation.

Who said what
Gaetz "regularly paid women for engaging in sexual activity with him" from 2017 to 2020 and possessed illegal drugs, including cocaine and ecstasy, the House investigators said. Their "most egregious allegation," however, involved Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old, Politico said. Gaetz likely "did not learn" the high schooler's age until "after their first sexual encounters," the committee said, but "statutory rape is a strict liability crime" and he "met up with her again for commercial sex" soon after she turned 18.

There was not "sufficient evidence" Gaetz took the minor across state lines, which would be a federal crime, the report said, and the Florida statute of limitations for statutory rape has expired.

Gaetz, who has denied all the allegations, said the Ethics Committee unfairly targeted him in a "Christmas Eve-Eve report and not in a courtroom" where he could "present evidence and challenge witnesses." He had sued to stop the report's release. The committee said Gaetz was "uncooperative" throughout and had "pointed to evidence that would 'exonerate' him yet failed to produce any such materials."

What next?
Gaetz is "set to join the right-wing One America News Network as an anchor in January," CNN said.

 
 
Today's CRIMINAL JUSTICE story

Biden commutes most federal death sentences

What happened
President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of 37 of 40 prisoners on federal death row yesterday, downgrading their punishment to life in prison without possibility of parole. He left intact the death sentences of the men convicted of "terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder" in the 2015 Charleston church shooting, 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and 2018 massacre at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life Synagogue.

Who said what
"I condemn these murderers" and "ache" for the families of their victims, but "I am more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level," Biden said. "In good conscience, I cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted."

Biden pledged to end federal capital punishment during his 2020 run and imposed a moratorium on most federal executions once in office, but he was a "strong proponent of the death penalty" for "much of his political career," The Washington Post said. "Nearly all of those who were on death row were there" because of Biden's 1994 crime bill.

The commutations elicited a "range of emotions," from "relief to anger," The Associated Press said, depending largely on party affiliation and views on capital punishment.

What next?
Donald Trump, who oversaw 13 executions in his final six months in office — versus three from 1976 to 2019 — has pledged to restart and expand the death penalty in January.

 
 
Today's BUSINESS Story

Nordstrom family, investor to take retail chain private

What happened
Members of the Nordstrom family said yesterday they reached agreement to take their namesake department store chain private in a deal with Mexican retail group El Puerto de Liverpool that values the 123-year-old U.S. company at $6.25 billion. Nordstrom's board unanimously approved the deal, with CEO Erik Nordstrom and president Pete Nordstrom recusing themselves from the vote.

Who said what
The deal will leave the Nordstroms with majority ownership of the company, which began as a shoe store in Seattle in 1901. Traditional department stores "have suffered in the face of withering competition from giants like Walmart and Target" plus Amazon and "a host of fast-fashion brands," The Associated Press said. Private ownership may give the family "more leeway in reviving" the company.

Nordstrom has "faced challenges" but "fared better than its competitors, in part because of its favorable real estate and higher income clientele," The New York Times said. Macy's said it is closing 150 stores over the next three years and Saks Fifth Avenue is looking to merge with Neiman Marcus. The Container Store filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy over the weekend while Party City and Big Lots are heading toward liquidation.

What next?
The Nordstrom deal is expected to close in the first half of 2025.

 
 

It's not all bad

Pakistan and the Bahamas have joined a coalition of 16 nations backing a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty to equitably phase out coal, oil and gas. The pact envisions wealthier nations transitioning from fossil fuels first. Pakistan, the first South Asian country to engage with the expanding coalition, emphasized the need for financial and technical support for vulnerable nations. "Momentum is growing," The Guardian said, and formal treaty negotiations are expected next year, marking a step toward addressing the climate crisis.

 
 
Under the radar

In Florida, environmental factors have become a constant challenge in the march toward vertical construction. Nearly three dozen structures along Florida's southern coast sank an "unexpected" amount between 2016 and 2023, according to a report released this month by researchers at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric and Earth Science

All told, "35 buildings along the Miami Beach to Sunny Isles Beach coastline are experiencing subsidence, a process where the ground sinks or settles," said the researchers. Although buildings regularly experience subsidence "during and immediately after construction," this study shows the process can "persist for many years." 

The study is "not so much about the safety of the occupants" of the affected buildings, co-author Esber Andiroglu said to NBC Miami. Instead, the research is meant to highlight the "preservation of resources and containing costly repairs to more manageable maintenance expenses." Still, the study has raised questions about the need for further monitoring. Possible explanations include building weight, climate change and the location of the structures vis-a-vis underground wells, according to the Miami Herald.

For now, elected officials, experts and even the study's authors are urging patience and caution. "Subsidence happens slowly; these buildings are not just going to tip over tomorrow," said the Miami New Times. However, "left unchecked, uneven sinking can cause cracks, misaligned doors and other structural problems."

"We didn't want to alarm anybody," study co-author Professor Gregor Eberli said to NBC Miami. "We just wanted to put out the fact that yes, there is a bit of subsidence going on and we wanted to quantify that." Still, this report comes shortly after a separate study found structures along the East Coast were "sinking more than the rate of seawater rise," said The Associated Press.

 
 
On this day

December 24, 1814

The U.S. and Great Britain signed the Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812. The war was an attempt by the British to defend their North American colonies like Canada from additional U.S. invasions, and it notably saw the burning and sacking of the young U.S. capital, Washington, D.C.

 
 
TODAY'S newspaperS

Some parts of the U.S. are getting a white Christmas, but "2024 to set record as hottest on Earth," topping 2023, the Arizona Republic said on Tuesday's front page. "Motorists spending less at pump on holiday trips," The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says. "Financiers bet cleanup of air can turn profit," The New York Times says. "Honda, Nissan to unite as No. 3 carmaker," The Wall Street Journal says. "Living in dire fear, Syrians communicated in code" during Bashar al-Assad's rule, The Washington Post says, and after his fall "Syrian Christians mark a festive season." 

► See the newspaper front pages

 
 
Tall tale

Circular thinking

A famous "Flat Earther" finally saw the light. Jeran Campanella, a conspiracy theorist and YouTuber, traveled to Antarctica as part of a filmed trip dubbed "The Final Experiment" and saw that the sun didn't set during the Southern Hemisphere's summer, "debunking" a core tenet of the Flat Earth theory, said the MailOnline. "Sometimes you are wrong in life," Campanella said on camera. "And it's a fact — the sun does circle you in the south."

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Theara Coleman, Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Scott Hocker, Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, Justin Klawans, Devika Rao, Rafi Schwartz and Peter Weber, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images; Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images; Kevin Carter / Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images