Jan 12, 2021

Axios PM

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Mike Allen

Today's PM — edited by Justin Green — is 470 words, a 2-minute read.

🚨Situational awareness: New House rules require face masks on the floor, and members will have to clear a magnetometer to enter the chamber.

  • Members will vote on a resolution that would fine members $500 for first offenses and $2,500 for second offenses, a senior House Democratic aide tells me.
  • An email to lawmakers from the House sergeant-at-arms says: "Members not wearing a mask will not be admitted to the Floor and Members who fail to wear a mask will be removed from the Floor."
1 big thing ... FBI: "Mind-blowing" range of Capitol crimes

Capitol Police install a metal detector outside the House chamber today. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

At the biggest briefing by federal officials since the Capitol siege, D.C.'s acting U.S. attorney, Michael Sherwin, detailed the FBI's "mind-blowing" range of investigations.

  • The FBI has opened files on over 170 people and filed charges in over 70 cases, Sherwin told reporters. Cases are expected to run into the hundreds.

The big picture: The offenses being investigated range from trespass to murder, plus theft of mail, theft of digital devices, civil disorder, cases "tied to sedition and conspiracy," possession of destructive devices, possession of semiautomatic weapons, assault on local officers, assault on federal officers (inside and outside the Capitol), theft of national security or national defense information, and civil-rights charges involving excessive force.

Between the lines: Sherwin said the pipe bombs found outside the RNC and DNC offices — which did not go off — "were real devices" with explosive igniters and timers, Axios' Orion Rummler reports.

  • Prosecutors have formed task forces to investigate attacks against the media, assault and battery on police officers, and to "build seditious and conspiracy charges related to the most heinous acts," Sherwin said.
2. Good news du jour
Cancer incidence and mortality. Graphic: American Cancer Society

The U.S. is making progress against cancer, largely because of falling lung cancer deaths.

The big picture: The overall cancer death rate has been falling since 1991, AP reports.

  • From 2017 to 2018, it fell 2.4%, according to an American Cancer Society report, topping the record 2.2% drop reported the year before.

The bottom line: Decades of declining smoking rates have led to falling lung cancer rates, along with improvements in treatment.

3. Catch up quick

President Trump signs a plaque placed at the U.S.-Mexico border wall during his visit today to Alamo, Texas. Photo: Carlos Barria/Reuters

  1. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer urged the FBI to bar all rioters identified in the pro-Trump mob that breached the Capitol from boarding commercial flights, AP reports.
  2. GM is launching a unit devoted to electrifying the goods delivery market. FedEx will be the first customer. Go deeper.
  3. Univision is entering the streaming wars, launching PrendeTV to serve free, ad-supported Spanish-language programming. Go deeper.
  4. Sheldon Adelson died at age 87 from complications related to treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Go deeper.
4. 1 smile to go: The "fake commute"

People walk by St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Cabin fever writ large: Many Americans are actively working to re-create the feeling of a commute, with new routines to put mental separation between at home and at work, The Wall Street Journal reports.

  • "I never thought there would come a time when I would miss my downtime from sitting in traffic," said Eddie Fairchild.
  • "I go for a walk around the block to psychologically trick myself," said Kyle Ashley.

The bottom line: People are calling it a "fake commute," while University College London professor Anna Cox suggests calling it "a pretend commute."

Mike Allen