The Headlines - Harris to Certify Trump’s Victory, and Driving in Manhattan Gets Pricier

Episode Date: January 6, 2025

Plus, you probably haven’t seen the Golden Globe winners.  On Today’s Episode:Congress to Certify Trump’s Election, With Memories of Riot Looming Large, by Annie KarniPotent Storm Blasts Parts of U.S. With Sleet, Snow and Freezing Rain, by Amy GraffJudge Upholds Trump’s Conviction but Signals No Jail Time, by Ben Protess and Kate ChristobekCongestion Pricing’s True Test Comes During First Rush Hour, by Ana Ley and Winnie HuGolden Globes Highlights: ‘The Brutalist’ and ‘Emilia Pérez’ Win Top Film Awards, by Brooks Barnes Tune in every weekday morning. To get our full audio journalism and storytelling experience, download the New York Times Audio app — available to Times news subscribers on iOS — and sign up for our weekly newsletter.Tell us what you think at: [e-mail]. 

From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Monday, January 6th. Here's what we're covering. Today at 1 p.m., a joint session of Congress is set to convene at the Capitol to certify the results of the presidential election. The process is largely ceremonial and was for the most part uneventful until last time, January 6th, 2021, when rioters fueled by Donald Trump's lies about a stolen election broke into the building and disrupted the event. The rioting led to the deaths of seven people, including three police officers. And there are reminders of that violence all over today. The Capitol will be on heavy lockdown, with tall black metal fencing surrounding the building. But

there's no hint of violence breaking out this year. Kamala Harris has not disputed her loss to Trump. Today, she will be the one presiding over the certification, in her role as president of the Senate. Congress has also overhauled the process to make clear that what Trump pushed his vice president, Mike Pence, to do to unilaterally throw out a state's electoral votes is not allowed. Democratic representative Jamie Raskin said today's process will, quote, be a lot more like what we've seen

for the rest of American history. Meanwhile, more than 1,600 people have been prosecuted in connection with the riot at the Capitol that day. Some faced felonies like assault or seditious conspiracy. Hundreds were charged with lesser crimes. And Trump has said that he plans to pardon those who were convicted.

The promise of pardons is part of Trump's effort to rewrite the violent history of that day. You might remember that immediately after the attack, Donald Trump called January 6th, and I'm quoting, a heinous attack on the United States Capitol. And he promised that all the lawbreakers that day would pay. But as I followed this story, not only has Trump changed that narrative, changed his position on it, but he's come up with an alternate reality. Today on The Daily, my colleague Alan Foyer looks at the whitewashing of January 6th. As lawmakers gather in Washington today, they're facing a freezing winter storm that is barreled

across the country from the plains to the East Coast. This weekend, snow, sleet, and freezing rain led to hundreds of flights being cancelled or delayed in Kansas, Missouri, and Indiana. Tens of thousands of people have lost power along the storm's path, and highways have been blanketed in ice. The storm is now pushed east towards the mid-Atlantic states. D.C.'s mayor declared a snow emergency, and the area could see as much as nine inches of snow. The bad weather is supposed to move offshore later today, but meteorologists say brutally cold air will settle behind it.

As Donald Trump moves closer to the White House, his legal team has been trying to fight one of the last remaining criminal cases against him, his New York felony conviction in the Hush Money case. After multiple legal challenges, the judge in that case announced sentencing will move forward. It's set for this Friday. Trump's conviction on 34 counts could have meant up to four years in prison. But the judge has indicated that he will likely give Trump what's known as an unconditional discharge. It's a rarely used alternative to jail or probation that will let Trump go free with no punishment.

Trump's team is still expected to appeal his conviction and try to get it thrown out altogether. This weekend in New York, a bold and controversial effort to reduce traffic and boost public transportation went into effect. The city became the first in the country to launch a congestion pricing program. Most cars entering the southern half of Manhattan now have to pay a $9 toll. City officials have said it will cut down on pollution and gridlock and generate billions of dollars for upgrading the subway, trains, and buses, including making them more accessible for riders with disabilities.

But legal challenges almost doomed the effort, and polls have shown that congestion pricing is largely unpopular in the city. I'm so sorry to bother you. My name's Olivia. I'm a reporter. I'm here for the New York Times talking to people about congestion pricing. It sucks. It sucks.

Tell me more about that. Olivia Ben-Symon, other Times reporters, were out getting reactions on the streets yesterday. They hope that it's going to get people to use public transportation, which is fine, but the problem is public transportation is appearing to be more and more dangerous. Some people raise concerns about safety on public transit. There have been a number of violent attacks on the subway recently, including when a woman was set on fire last month. Others are worried about the cost of the program. It's a tax on the working class. I want to take my kids to Jersey. You know, it's going to be impossible for someone like me that has three kids to be able to take them out

and to do anything with them anymore. Officials said the rollout of the new system went smoothly, but the first major test of its impact on traffic in the city will come this morning during rush hour. And finally, Are you guysbes were last night, the traditional glitzy start to award season. This year's ceremony was hosted by the comedian Nikki Glaser. I like did not know much about wicked going into this year because I had friends in high school, but I loved it. And while the absolutely inescapable Wicked got some love, the awards veered way more towards movies that very few Americans have had a chance to see. And the Golden Globe goes to The Brutalist.

Best drama went to The Brutalist, a historic epic about an architect after World War II, which isn't even in wide release yet. The film is long enough that it has an intermission. No one was asking for a three and a half hour film about a mid-century designer, but it works. Director Brady Corbett acknowledged how much of a long shot his film was when he accepted the award.

And Best Comedy or Musical then went to Amelia Perez, a Spanish-language musical about a cartel boss who's transgender. The film is on Netflix and in just a few theaters. The Globes are usually seen as a preview of what could win big at the Oscars. But these big wins for little-seen movies don't offer a clear picture. Oscar nominations come out January 17th. Those are the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.