🐤 A trail of broken lives

FCC vs. TikTok: The social media platform that has become a sensation among kids and young adults might not be available on the top U.S. app stores for much longer. In a strongly worded letter earlier this week, a Federal Communications Commission representative called on Apple and Google to remove the app from their respective stores because of lingering security concerns about its parent company, China-based ByteDance.

More Putin Denials: Russian President Vladimir Putin is once again denying reports that his troops carried out a deadly attack on civilians in neighboring Ukraine. This time, a strike in Kremenchuk leveled a shopping mall, killing at least 18 and leaving scores of other civilians injured. Several victims remained unaccounted for when Putin addressed the matter by claiming that the Russian military “does not attack any civilian site.”

“Predator Priests”: New Orleans was the site of the latest development in an ongoing saga related to a pattern of child sex abuse within the Catholic Church. According to breaking reports on Wednesday, federal investigators have launched a massive probe into allegations in the Louisiana city that date back several decades. For the latest in this developing story, check out Early Chirp’s coverage here.

A long fall from grace continued this week for one-time superstar R. Kelly. Appearing in court on Wednesday for a sentencing hearing, the disgraced R&B singer learned that he will be spending decades in prison.

Kelly was convicted last year on a slew of charges related to sex trafficking and racketeering in connection with a disturbing pattern of grooming and sexually abusing minors. Some of his victims appeared in court to witness his sentencing. U.S. District Court Judge Ann Donnelly spoke on their behalf when admonishing Kelly and sending him away to serve his 30-year sentence.

“You left in your wake a trail of broken lives,” the judge asserted.

The sentence fell in line with the request of prosecutors, who wanted to see Kelly locked up for more than 25 years. On the other hand, his defense team petitioned for a sentence of less than a decade.

Although Donnelly acknowledged that Kelly experienced childhood abuse of his own, she said that fact was in no way a justification for his horrendous behavior.

She concluded: “It may explain, at least in part, what led to your behavior. It most surely is not an excuse.”

As the House Jan. 6 committee continues its work following the damning testimony of a one-time aide to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, its members have another witness in their sights.

On Wednesday, the panel issued a subpoena for Pat Cipollone, who served as White House counsel at the time of the 2021 riot on Capitol Hill. He has been lauded by a number of former Trump administration insiders for his role in preventing even more chaos in the weeks following the 2020 presidential election.

After agreeing to an interview with the committee in April, Cipollone has avoided answering any further questions. Since lawmakers believe he still has some important information to provide, they have decided to issue a subpoena to compel his appearance before the committee.

In a statement this week, Chairperson Bennie Thompson (D-MI) and Co-Chair Liz Cheney (R-WY) explained their rationale for the bold move.

“While the Select Committee appreciates Mr. Cipollone's earlier informal engagement with our investigation, the committee needs to hear from him on the record, as other former White House counsels have done in other congressional investigations,” they wrote.

Several years ago, fans of actress Cameron Diaz were disappointed to learn that they might not be seeing her in any new films. Her last major film role was in “Annie,” which premiered in 2014, and she confirmed four years later that she planned to retire from acting so that she could dedicate more time to her family and other pursuits.

Eight years later, however, one of her “Annie” co-stars has convinced her to get back in front of the camera. Diaz and Jamie Foxx are scheduled to begin working on a forthcoming film to be released by Netflix.

In an Instagram post, she credited Foxx with being the only one who could make her reconsider her retirement, predicting that it is “gonna be a blast” to work with him again. Production on the film, “Back in Action,” is set to begin later this year and Netflix hasn’t yet indicated when it is expected to premiere.

For his part, Foxx invited NFL quarterback Tom Brady to record a message of support for Diaz.

“I was talking to Jamie and he said you need a few tips on how to un-retire,” Brady said. “I’m relatively successful at un-retiring.”