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Daily Briefing: German Leopard 2 tanks are heading to Ukraine

Nicole Fallert   | Paste BN

Following in the steps of Washington, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced plans to send tanks to Ukraine. Also in the news: A batch of classified documents were located at former Vice President Mike Pence's Indiana home. Mourners gathered in Monterey Park, California, to remember the 11 people killed in a mass shooting.

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. A stunning come-from-behind win during a college women's relay race is a powerful reminder to never give up.

Now, here we go with Wednesday's news.

Germany's Scholz confirms Ukraine tank plan

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Wednesday that Germany was “acting in close coordination” with its allies in supplying battle tanks to Ukraine. In a statement, the German government confirmed it will initially provide Ukraine with one company of Leopard 2 A6 tanks, which comprises 14 vehicles, from its own stocks. The long-awaited decision by Germany comes after U.S. officials said Tuesday that a preliminary agreement had been struck for the United States to send M1 Abrams tanks to help Kyiv push back Russian forces entrenched in the east almost a year since the start of the war. Read more

Classified documents found at former VP Mike Pence's Indiana home

In the latest in a series of discoveries involving classified documents, a handful of materials were found at former Vice President Mike Pence's home in Indiana and the FBI retrieved them last week, a representative for Pence wrote to the National Archives in letters this month. The revelation came as the Department of Justice was already investigating the discovery of classified documents in President Joe Biden's home in Delaware and his former Washington office, as well as former President Donald Trump's Florida estate.

What security analysts say: The U.S. system of safeguarding classified presidential documents is in urgent need of improvement, especially during the critical period when one administration hands over the White House keys to another. 

  • A Jan. 18 letter from Pence’s lawyer said the former vice president  “understands the high importance of protecting sensitive and classified information and stands ready and willing to cooperate fully with the National Archives and any appropriate inquiry.”
  • Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed two special prosecutors to oversee the Biden and Trump document cases in order to shield his Department of Justice from politics, since he reports to the president. 
  • The difference with Trump: The Department of Justice executed a search warrant on Trump's home last year after a long back-and-forth over what documents the former president had at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Trump refused to cooperate with the DOJ in that case, a marked difference from Pence and Biden.

👉 Want more politics? Here's our look at the Republican National Convention's contentious fight for new leadership.

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Hundreds gather in California to remember mass shooting victims

Roughly a thousand people gathered Tuesday evening for a vigil honoring the 11 people killed on the eve of Lunar New Year, a time traditionally of family gathering and festivity. Many wept as they talked about the victims in Monterey Park. Many also expressed bewilderment at the nation's mass shooting problem, after two separate California attacks killed 18 people and left communities in shock. Vice President Kamala Harris is set to visit her home state Wednesday in the wake of the shootings as the Biden administration advances its plans for legislation to ban assault weapons. Read more

  • Police have drawn scrutiny taking five hours to alert public of threat in Monterey Park.
  • ''Only in America'': Gov. Newsom decries gun violence in visit to Half Moon Bay after 7 killed.
  • Opinion: California mass shootings show America is too focused on motive instead of solutions.

Winter storm could bring more than a foot of snow in Northeast

The winter storm that brought snow and ice to a large swath of the country as it barreled across the U.S. this week is forecast to reach the Northeast on Wednesday. The heaviest snowfall is expected to land in northern New York through Maine, where some residents can expect a foot of snow or more. Parts of the central Appalachians are also expecting snow by early morning on Wednesday, Accuweather said. Conditions will extend South, where a winter weather advisory also remains in effect from 5 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday in the northern Virginia Blue Ridge and central Virginia Blue Ridge. Read more

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'Everything Everywhere' leads with 11 Oscar nominations

We don't know how it plays elsewhere in the multiverse, but in this reality, the Oscars really love "Everything Everywhere All at Once." The genre-smashing sci-fi hit ruled Tuesday morning when nominations for the 95th Academy Awards were announced. The film scored 11 honors including best picture and screenplay, star Michelle Yeoh was nominated for best actress, Jamie Lee Curtis and Stephanie Hsu earned their first Oscar nominations and Cinderella story Ke Huy Quan garnered a nod for supporting actor. Read our recap of the nominations.

📷 Photo of the day: Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week 2023 📷

On the heels of Men's Fashion Week 2023, Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week 2023 has begun! Bigger is better and more is encouraged when it comes to this week in the fashion industry. Scroll through to see all the celebrities at Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week.

One more thing

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at Paste BN, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com or follow along with her musings on Twitter. Support journalism like this – subscribe to Paste BN here.

Associated Press contributed reporting.

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