What everyone will be watching later this morning: President-elect Donald Trump will hold his first press conference since his election at 11 am EST. It’s set to take place less than a day after CNN reported on the briefing Trump, President Barack Obama, and top members of Congress received from intelligence officials on Russia possibly holding compromising business and personal information on the president elect. What’s known: Top government officials, including Trump, were briefed on the information; What’s not known: the details could not be verified by media outlets, and both Trump and the Kremlin have denied the accusations. (You've been warned: Some of the dossier’s more salacious details are, shall we say, not safe for work).
BuzzFeed backlash. Critics and fellow journalists lashed out at the website for publishing the documents in full with the caveat that it could not verify their contents. BuzzFeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith explained his rationale to staff on Tuesday night.
What else is happening today: Rex Tillerson, Trump’s pick for secretary of state, will face questions from senators during his confirmation hearing. He’s likely to be peppered about his business relationship with Russia and other countries.
Top Samsung exec to face special prosecutor. Samsung heir apparent Lee Jae-yong will be interviewed on Thursday by special prosecutors in South Korea. Authorities are treating him as a suspect in a corruption scandal involving the country’s impeached president.
The last speech. In his last address as president, Barack Obama urged supporters and citizens to continue the fight and stay engaged throughout the Trump presidency, as well as warning about threats to democracy. (And the internet wondered where Sasha was).
Two stories that will have your employees buzzing. Golin is making it easier for new interns to live in London by offering rent-free housing for their first month. Meanwhile, Beattie Group’s CEO said Kevin Roberts’ exit from Saatchi & Saatchi amid sexism allegations was "not something that concerned us" as the agency hired him.
Snapchat updates with advertisers in mind. The platform is trying out two Snap Ads features this month, according to Mashable: video ads inserted between stories or on the Discover feature and an auto-fill feature.
ICYMI on Tuesday: Former Obama campaign chief David Plouffe is joining the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative; Walmart is planning to cut 1,000 corporate jobs in the next month; Volkswagen is ready to plead guilty to criminal charges and pay more than $4 billion in fines.
Breakfast Briefing, 1.11.2017: Trump's press conference just got a lot more interesting
The internet is buzzing about the salacious details in an intelligence briefing received by top government officials last week as Donald Trump prepares to hold his first press conference as president-elect on Wednesday.
