QUICK HITS

1 Business leaders urge Congress to certify win: Almost 200 of the country’s top business leaders urged Congress to certify the electoral results for President- elect Joe Biden in a letter Monday, arguing that “attempts to thwart or delay this process run counter to the essential tenets of our democracy.” The letter marked the business community’s most signifificant push yet to ensure President Donald Trump’s efffforts to overturn the November election are unsuccessful.

2 Banner stolen again: For the second time in a month, a historic Black D. C. church has seen its Black Lives Matter banner torn offff the building.

D. C. police are investigating the fifirst incident at Asbury United Methodist Church as a “potential hate crime.” Asbury United Methodist was one of four churches vandalized on the night of Dec. 12 when the Proud Boys and other groups marched through downtown after a rally by people who want to overturn the election President Donald Trump lost.

2 China moves to punish lawyers: Chinese legal authorities have threatened to revoke the licenses of two lawyers hired to help a group of Hong Kong protesters who were arrested last year while trying to flflee to Taiwan by speedboat. Ten of the activists were convicted last week by a court in the mainland Chinese city of Shenzhen of illegal boundary crossing and sentenced to prison terms ranging from seven months to three years.

4 Snow buries parts of Japan under 7 feet: Barely two weeks after a prolifific ocean- effffect snowstorm dropped 7feet of snow and stranded thousands of motorists, the New Year in Japan kicked offff with another severe snowstorm. Up to another 85 inches fell through Saturday amid strong winds and record cold temperatures.