The Stranger's morning news roundup. by Nathalie Graham Science Rules: Seattle's second biggest celebrity, Bill Nye the Science Guy, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom over the weekend. Nye started his career as a Boeing engineer, but made a huge pivot to star in Seattle's sketch comedy Almost Live! and developed the "Science Guy" brand. He became a household name and a classroom favorite as the star of the children's science show. Now, Nye advocates for climate and environmental policy. He was one of 19 people who Biden bestowed the award upon on Saturday. Ugh, it's January 6 again. It’s been four years since President Donald Trump tried to incite an insurrection at the Capitol. This time around, on January 6, Donald Trump's election win will be certified by Congress. Yep, he won the election despite allegedly inciting a riot the last time Congress US presidential election and the winner wasn't him. Officials don’t expect any disruptions to the process. Vice President Kamala Harris will oversee the certification. New Year, New Rules: After the attempted insurrection, Congress updated the Electoral Count Act, the antiquated law that Trump tried to exploit to overturn the 2020 election results four years ago. Today’s proceedings will be governed by the new law, which raises the threshold for objections to states’ electoral votes and—after turning Mike Pence into a target for the mob—clarifies that the vice president cannot unilaterally overrule count. The law calls the VP’s role “solely ministerial.” Still, Security Is Up: From the New York Times: “The U.S. Capitol Police has enlisted help from at least 18 other law enforcement agencies, including the New York and Baltimore Police Departments, to secure the Capitol grounds for today’s certification. The winter weather has rendered the Capitol eerily quiet, without the usual buzz of staff and reporters running around. Instead, bundled-up police officers are standing guard in the snow over vacant streets while inside the Capitol, the halls are nearly empty.” Never Forget: In a letter published in the Washington Post, Biden urged the country to not let Trump and his supporters rewrite history. “An unrelenting effort has been underway to rewrite—even erase—the history of that day. To tell us we didn’t see what we all saw with our own eyes. To dismiss concerns about it as some kind of partisan obsession. To explain it away as a protest that just got out of hand,” he wrote. “This is not what happened.” Now is a good time to remind you that eight people who cast electoral votes for Trump in 2024 are still facing criminal charges after serving as fake electors for him in 2020—six from Michigan and two from Nevada. The Weather: Hey, no rain today! Sun could even be in the cards. Real Weather: Nationally, the weather is a bit more interesting. Freezing air coming down from Canada combined with moist air from the Gulf of Mexico have birthed a big, girthy winter storm across swaths of the United States. In just 24 hours, the storm deposited record-breaking piles of snow, froze roads, and unleashed freezing rain across the Great Plains, the Mississippi and Ohio Valley, and the east coast—including DC (despite shutting down much of the city, it’s not expected to affect the election certification). Seven states—"Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, Arkansas, and parts of New Jersey"—have declared states of emergency. A massive winter storm is impacting tens of millions of Americans from the Midwest to the East Coast.At least eight states have declared states of emergency, as temperatures drop and snow pummels the regions. pic.twitter.com/4t1QKvApSW — CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) January 6, 2025 It's okay to feel left out. You're probably asking, "Seattle snow when???" And I don't know what to tell you. The Seattle Weather Blog seems pretty hopeful our time will come. Nary a single flake of snow has fallen on Seattle so far this winter. The same was true at this point in the winter of 2018-19. One month later, Seattle was buried in 20 inches of snow. Just sayin’! — Seattle Weather Blog (@KSeattleWeather) January 5, 2025 Skiers Speak Out: Around 300 slope shredders frequenting Stevens Pass have signed a petition asking the ski resort to help ameliorate equipment theft. The petitioners say they've lost equipment when they leave their skis and boards and whatever else on equipment racks. Representatives for Stevens Pass said reports of equipment theft were actually down so far this year. Girl Boss Alert: Pope Francis appointed Italian nun Sister Simona Brambilla to be the prefect of the Dicastery for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life—the department responsible for all the Catholic Church’s religious orders. Brambilla is the first woman to run a major Vatican office. Her appointment is part of the pope's plan to give women more positions of power in the church. He probably watched "Conclave" and realized it didn't pass the Bechdel test. Justin Trudeau to Resign: The Canadian prime minister is expected to announce that he will step down from head of his party's leadership after nine years. He'll remain prime minister until a new leader is chosen. The change comes after Trudeau's popularity took a nosedive in the wake of increasing inflation, high cost of living, and a housing crisis. His party, the Liberal party, fears a devastating defeat in the upcoming election. Too Many Marathons: A 55-year-old Belgian woman ran a marathon every day in 2024. Because last year was a leap year, she ran 366 marathons. Her Strava account must be crazy. Dead Dolphins: A storm struck two oil tankers near southern Russia around three weeks ago. The ensuing oil spill killed 32 dolphins. Biden, meanwhile, banned future offshore drilling in 625 million acres of US oceans under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. Congestion Pricing Comes to New York: Hell yeah. After decades of discussions and legal battles, congestion pricing officially hit the streets of the Big Apple. Many drivers will now be charged $9 to enter central Manhattan between 60th Street and the Battery (for those of us who don't know New York that well, this includes neighborhoods such as the theater district, Times Square, Hell's Kitchen, Chelsea, and SoHo). The new fees should reduce traffic, help diminish pedestrian deaths, and incentivize other modes of transportation—modes much greener than single-occupancy vehicles. The funds raised from the fees will also help out New York's transportation system. This whole thing is a big deal for New York, but also for other American cities. The news spread quickly. unbelievable pic.twitter.com/qxf0n70SXi — maya kosoff (@mekosoff) January 5, 2025 New Orleans Attacker Visited the Site Twice: Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the man responsible for killing 14 people in New Orleans on New Year's Day, reportedly visited the scene of the attack twice in the months before the attack, once in October and again in November. Police say Jabbar also wore Meta smart glasses while casing the French Quarter, using them to record footage. He wore the same glasses during the attack, though he did not activate them. Here’s a song for your Monday.