Daily Briefing: A new Trump era begins

Amid heavy winter weather in the capital, Congress prepares to officially declare President-elect Donald Trump the winner of the presidential election on Monday. This year's Golden Globe Awards recognized numerous first-time winners. It may be a snow day for you.

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. Wishing you invested in some snow removal tech?!

Congress readies a no-drama certification of Trump's win

Congress will usher in a new era on Monday when it gathers to count each state’s electoral votes and officially declare Donald Trump the winner of last year’s presidential contest.

No one expects an angry mob to show up this time. The count occurs four years to the day that supporters of Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol and tried to halt the certification of the 2020 election. Four people died that day and more than 140 police officers were injured.

• The difference between then and now is Trump. Four years ago, the Republican refused to acknowledge he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. Though Trump had again warned of the possibility of election fraud in 2024, he went suddenly silent about those dire predictions after his victory.
• A "day when our democracy was put to the test and prevailed": President Joe Biden, who leaves office in two weeks, said on Sunday that while he is committed to a peaceful transfer of power, Americans cannot pretend the attack four years ago didn’t happen.
• Where are they now? More than a thousand defendants have been charged and sentenced in relation to the Capitol insurrection. 

'Emilia Pérez' highlights Golden Globes

A potent showing for "Emilia Pérez" highlighted the 82^nd annual Golden Globe Awards, which aired live Sunday from Beverly Hills, California. "Pérez," an unconventional Netflix film, directed by Jacques Audiard, maintained its momentum with four wins including best movie comedy or musical, best non-English language film and a best supporting actress victory for Zoe Saldaña among its wins. Here's the full list of Globe winners.

Don't miss any of the Golden Globe buzz:

• Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner packed on the PDA (again).
• Colman Domingo breaks down his look and more: Paste BN was on the red carpet talking with the stars.
• "Popcorn actress" Demi Moore won the first major acting award of her career for "The Substance."
• Adam Sandler talks with Nicole Kidman: See all the best photos from the night.
• Host Nikki Glaser sidestepped controversial jokes, but that didn't stop her from skewering, well, everyone else.

More news to know now

• Should drinkers pay more for health insurance? 
• A top Senate Republican questioned Trump's mass deportation promises.
• United Airlines will roll out Elon Musk's Starlink Wi-Fi.
• House Speaker Mike Johnson's victory came with a warning from hardline Republicans.

What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here.

'Mom, is it a snow day?'

Hundreds of schools from the Midwest to the East Coast that were planning to reopen Monday after a two-week winter holiday break were faced with delaying restarts for a day or more amid winter weather and storm advisories. Families across the country prepared for the possibility of an extra day at home as a swath of the Midwest and East, already gripped by bitterly cold temperatures, braced for a historic storm Sunday night. And further rounds of heavy snow are possible late Monday for some regions. Here's what to know for your region and what to do if your flight is cancelled this morning.

New Orleans Mardi Gras celebrations still scheduled 

Parades are set to commence in New Orleans Monday, less than a week after a deadly truck attack killed 14 people and injured dozens in what FBI officials have called an "act of terror." At least six parades kicking off the Mardi Gras season known as "Carnival" remain scheduled Monday, including two in the French Quarter neighborhood, where the attack occurred on bustling Bourbon Street. Here's everything to know about the events.

Today's talkers

• Here's how to organize your reading in 2025.
• It's a great time for some new cookware.
• We've got tips for scoring college football tickets.
• Ralph Lauren become the first fashion designer to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
• A book tracker app is embroiled in controversy over offensive AI reader summaries.

Georgia honors Jimmy Carter

The nation will honor former President Jimmy Carter over six days of funeral events. A funeral motorcade started in the morning near Carter's farming hometown of Plains, Georgia on Saturday. Then, his remains were taken to the state capital in Atlanta, where he was honored in a moment of silence at the Capitol before a service at the Carter Center. Mourners can come and pay their respects as his body lies in repose until Tuesday. Then, the late president and his family will travel to Washington, D.C. Here's what locals said about the remembrance events.

Photo of the day: SEC overflows college basketball victories

SEC fans, are you feeling bummed about how the football season played out? Don't worry, because the league has decided to completely take over men's college basketball. Two undefeated teams went down this weekend − Florida losing to Kentucky and Alabama dominating Oklahoma. Here's Paste BN Sports' recap of college basketball.

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.