Las Notis is a daily news column that gets you up to speed on the political, media + other goings-on in the United States, Latin America, and the diaspora—all in one quick digest.
Here’s your glimpse at what’s going on today:
- President-elect Joe Biden has picked California’s attorney general Xavier Becerra to be his nominee for secretary of health and human services, which would make him the first Latino to run the department. If confirmed, Becerra would lead the department amid a pandemic that has killed more than 281,000 people in the United States. [NYT]
- A source tells CNN that Attorney General William Barr is reportedly considering quitting his post before Trump leaves office at the beginning of next year. The source says Barr “is not someone who takes bullying and turns the other cheek!” and has been unhappy after Trump grew frustrated when Barr publicly explained that the Justice Department found no evidence of widespread election fraud, despite the President’s false claims. [CNN]
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigators issued a subpoena this week demanding that BuzzFeed News identify sources. The subpoena seems to concern emails sent to ICE attorneys on a fast-track deportation program and plans to fine certain undocumented immigrants. “BuzzFeed News emphatically rejects any requests for information about possible sources and methods of our reporting,” said BuzzFeed News Editor-in-Chief Mark Schoofs. [Buzzfeed]
- Uruguay’s former President Tabare Vázquez, who was an oncologist, died of lung cancer on Sunday (Dec. 6). He served two terms in office. Thousands of people joined his funeral service this weekend. [BBC]
- Gloria Estefan honored the life of Ron “Bear” Jones, her longtime tour bus driver, who died due to complications of COVID-19. Estefan wrote him a tribute on Instagram. She shared that she herself contracted the virus earlier this year. [Billboard]
- People began criticizing Cardi B this week for tweeting about how much she wanted an $88,000 Birkin bag, telling her instead she should donate to good causes. Cardi, who pointed out she’s donated more than $2 million to Coronavirus relief, then turned the criticism into a prompt for good when she told followers that if they donated to different organizations, she’d match their efforts.[Remezcla]
- Bad Bunny’s third full-length album El Último Tour del Mundo is officially the number one album in America, becoming the first Spanish-language album in the Billboard album chart’s 62-year history to hit the top of the list. Miley Cyrus’ Plastic Hearts debuted at number two. [Remezcla]