Las Notis is a daily news column that gets you up to speed on the political, media + other going ons in Latin America and the diaspora—all in one quick digest.
Here’s your glimpse at what’s going on today:
- Raphael Warnock will be the first Black senator from Georgia after winning the Senate runoff race against incumbent Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler. Meanwhile, in the state’s second race, Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff holds a marginal lead over Georgia Republican David Perdue, a win that would give Democrats a 50-50 tie in the Senate. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris would be the tie-breaking vote, giving Democrats control.
- Violent demonstrators have descended upon D.C. and engaged in confrontations with police, breaking into the Capitol and causing the building to go into lockdown while Congress debated certifying Biden’s victory. The riots are in response to Trump’s demands that his supporters back his conspiracy theories about the November election being stolen from him, despite evidence and dozens of rejected lawsuits from the courts. [WaPo]
- Congress will vote to certify president-elect Joe Biden’s victory today. About a dozen Republican Senators, including Ted Cruz of Texas and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, plan to object to the certification of electors in certain states. They don’t have the numbers to change the outcome of the certification, but their objections are expected to extend the proceedings for nine hours or more while also spreading conspiracy theories about voter fraud touted by Trump. [NYT]
- Protesters assembled for peaceful demonstrations in Kenosha, Wisconsin after a decision not to charge a white police officer for shooting Jacob Blake seven times in the back, paralyzing him from the waist down. Blake’s family has spoken out and called the prosecution’s decision “unjust.” [Guardian]
- According to two sources, Joe Biden has selected Judge Merrick Garland to serve as his attorney general. In 2016, Barack Obama nominated Garland to the Supreme Court, but the move was obstructed by a Republican-controlled Senate at the time. Eventually, the seat was filled by Trump appointee Neil Gorsuch. [Politico]
- “Diva,” a 108-foot concrete and resin sculpture of a vagina by artist Juliana Notari, has sparked a culture war in Brazil among progressive and far-right, pro-Bolsonaro conservatives. The sculpture went up in the northeastern region of the country, in a former sugar mill that has been turned into an open-air museum. [NBC Latino]
- Selena Gomez has announced a second season of Selena + Chef, her cooking show on HBO Max. “Season two is bringing so much more to the table: amazing chefs who I had a blast filming with, delicious new recipes and more of me accidentally setting things on fire,” she joked in a video. [Billboard]