A Los Angeles judge terminated Britney Spears' conservatorship on Friday, giving the pop star the right to manage her life and fortune for the first time in almost 14 years, the New York Times reports.
Why it matters: The #FreeBritney movement gained national attention this year after Spears accused her father, Jamie Spears, of abusing his power as conservator of her estate.
The Treasury Department on Friday imposed sanctions on Eritrea's military and ruling party over the ongoing crisis in neighboring Ethiopia.
Driving the news: The Treasury Department also signaled its willingness to impose sanctions on the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front if progress isn't made towards a ceasefire in the country's Tigray region.
A federal grand jury on Friday indicted former Trump adviser Steven Bannon on two counts of contempt of Congress for his failure to comply with a subpoena issued by the House Jan. 6 select committee.
Why it matters: It's the first such indictment to come out of the committee's investigation of the Capitol insurrection — and the first time the Justice Department has charged someone for contempt of Congress since 1983.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) announced Friday that she will run for re-election in 2022.
Why it matters: Noem has gained attention as a possible candidate in the 2024 presidential election through her lawsuits with the Biden administration and support from former President Trump, and a second term could further bolster her national profile before a competitive Republican nomination race.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyhas launched a Twitter campaign to get the U.S. Senate to back sanctions in a last-ditch effort to block the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
Why it matters: President Biden waived sanctions on the operator of the Kremlin-backed pipeline, which will bypass Ukraine and deliver Russian gas directly to Europe, in order to protect the U.S. relationship with Germany.
President Biden will hold a virtual summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday, marking the most public direct engagement between the two leaders since Biden took office, the White House announced Friday.
Why it matters: The Biden administration views the rise of China as the top geopolitical challenge that the U.S. will face in the 21st century, but has stressed the need for cooperation with the world's second-largest economy.
House Democrats on Friday introduced a resolution to censure Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) for posting a video to his Twitter account that depicts him attacking President Biden and appearing to kill Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).
Why it matters: Political violence has been a recurring problem for the 117th Congress, which was rocked by the Capitol riot just three days after its members were sworn in and has since faced further attacks, bomb threats and acrimonious encounters between lawmakers.
Why it matters: This is the panel's third threat of criminal prosecution made in recent weeks against noncooperative witnesses — a significant escalation by the panel as it tries to enforce subpoenas against Trump's closest aides.
President Biden said on Friday that he will nominate Obama-era Food and Drug Administration commissioner Robert Califf to again lead the agency.
Why it matters: The nomination comes after a search for the next commissioner spanned many months and as the new commissioner enters at a critical juncture in the Biden administration's COVID-19 vaccination campaign, Politico reports.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, one of seven Republicans who voted to convict former President Trump in his second impeachment trial, announced Friday that she will seek reelection in 2022.
Why it matters: Trump, who vowed to campaign against Murkowski, has already endorsed the senator's leading primary opponent, former Alaska Commissioner of Administration Kelly Tshibaka.
Former President Trump — in a taped interview with Jonathan Karl of ABC News that was shared with Axios — defended, quite extensively, supporters who threatened to "hang" former Vice President Mike Pence.
Why it matters: Well, it is unprecedented for a former president to openly say it was OK to threaten the life of his vice president.
A Myanmar military court sentenced American journalist Danny Fenster to 11 years in prison Friday, his employer Frontier Myanmar announced after a closed hearing in Yangon.
Details: The 37-year-old Frontier Myanmar managing editor was found guilty of "breaching immigration law, unlawful association and encouraging dissent against the military," per the BBC. He's also facing further charges of sedition and terrorism.
A Black police officer who received a Ku Klux Klan note from his white boss filed a discrimination complaint with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission on Thursday.
Why it matters: Sheffield Lake police officer Keith Pool alleged in the complaint against his employer that former chief Anthony Campo "harassed" him on an "ongoing basis" because he's Black and that other superior officers knew about it "but did not stop him."
The State Department on Thursday called on Iran-backed Houthi rebels to release Yemeni U.S. Embassy staff the fighters detained in the northern city of Sanaa after breaching the compound in the war-ravaged country.
Details: A State Department spokesperson in an emailed statement also called on the Houthis to "immediately vacate" the complex and "return all seized property." Most of those detained, who worked outside of the compound on duties including security, had been released, the spokesperson said.
The Jan 6. select committee investigating the deadly Capitol riot warned former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows Thursday that it may seek criminal contempt charges if he fails to show for his upcoming deposition.
Why it matters: This is the third contempt threat Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the Jan. 6 panel chair, has made in recent weeks to compel those subpoenaed to appear at depositions.
American Olympic gold medalist Sunisa "Suni" Lee revealed this week that she was pepper-sprayed in a racist attack in Los Angeles.
Details: Lee, the first Hmong American to compete at the Olympics, told PopSugar in an interview published Wednesday that a group in a car told the 18-year-old gymnast and her friends, all of Asian descent, to "go back to where they came from" and shouted other racist slurs at them as they waited for an Uber.
