This is TODAY

Your day starts here. The latest in news, pop culture, wellness and more.

The House Jan. 6 committee recommends criminal charges against former President Donald Trump, and Amber Heard and ex-husband Johnny Depp settle their contentious defamation case. Plus, how "kidults" are fueling the toy industry during the holidays, and why Walgreens and CVS are now limiting the purchase of children's medications. 

The Jan. 6 committee votes to recommend the Justice Department pursue criminal charges against Trump.

The House Jan. 6 committee voted in its final hearing yesterday to recommend that the Justice Department pursue criminal charges against former President Donald Trump for his role in the Capitol riot and trying to overturn the 2020 election. Trump is the first president in American history to be formally referred by Congress for potential prosecution. The criminal referrals do not carry any legal weight but represent a symbolic rebuke of Trump. "We’ve never had a president of the United States stir up a violent attempt to block the transfer of power,” Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said at the hearing. “If we are to survive as a nation of laws and democracy, this can never happen again.” The committee's full report is expected to be released tomorrow. 

Amber Heard settles her defamation case against Johnny Depp. 

One of the most polarizing cases of the year has reached a settlement, according to actor Amber Heard. She wrote on Instagram yesterday that she has settled her defamation case against ex-husband Johnny Depp, calling it "an opportunity to emancipate myself from something I attempted to leave over six years ago and on terms I can agree to." Depp's attorneys told NBC News that she is paying Depp $1 million as part of the settlement. A jury awarded Depp a total of $15 million in damages and Heard $2 million in compensatory damages in June after a weekslong trial. Heard appealed that verdict, leading to the settlement she announced yesterday. 

🎮 The growing group of 'kidults' has fueled toy sales this holiday season. 

One-fourth of all toy sales every year is coming from "kidults," or adults who buy toys for themselves, according to data from the NPD Group. Those kids at heart are fueling sales this holiday season and have become the biggest driver of growth in the toy industry by spending about $9 billion annually on items like action figures, Lego sets and dolls, per NPD. Toy manufacturers like Lego, Hasbro and Mattel are tapping into nostalgia as more adults embrace cartoons, superheroes and collectibles that remind them of their childhood. 

Walgreens and CVS are limiting sales of children's medications amid the 'tripledemic.' 

CVS and Walgreens announced yesterday that they are limiting the amount of children's pain relief medications that consumers can buy in the store and online due to increased demand amid the "tripledemic" of RSV, flu and Covid cases. CVS is limiting the number of medications to two, while Walgreens customers can buy six over-the-counter pediatric fever reducers. Doctors have seen a surge in respiratory illness in children, and several children’s hospitals also recently detected a severe and invasive form of strep.

Achieve your life goals with easy tips.

The trending Military diet has nothing to do with the armed forces and instead has you thinking about losing weight as a battle. You're meant to follow a structured diet that provides 1,100 to 1,400 calories per day for three days and then you can eat what you want the other four days. But does the low-calorie diet work? No studies support the Military diet’s claim that you can lose up to 10 pounds in a week, and we spoke with dietitians who said it's not effective for long-term weight loss. Here's what to know. 

Allow us to do the meal-planning for you.

Speaking of meal plans, we have heard the requests of hundreds of our Start TODAY members and we are rolling out a dietitian-approved meal plan for this week to keep you eating healthy during a hectic time. This dietitian-designed meal plan helps you save time with sheet-pan meals like sweet potato and harissa shakshuka (above), a tasty mix of eggs with tomatoes, onions, peppers and spices, and sheet pan pesto chicken. We also have a healthy, one-minute chicken soup for lunch, plus smoothies, more healthy dinner options, and quick and easy snacks. 

A little pick-me-up before you go.

When you think about it, a principal and an Elf on the Shelf aren't that different. They're always watching to see if kids are on their best behavior.  Beth Hoeing, the principal of Southwestern Elementary School in Indiana, has combined both roles during the holidays and dressed up as an Elf on the Shelf in different locations around the school to the delight of her students. You might find her greeting children beside a Christmas tree, duct-taped to a wall, or fake fishing off the roof of the school. TikTok videos of all her scenes have been viewed more than 12 million times. "Tell me you actually love your job without telling me you love your job," one TikTok fan commented. See all the videos here. 

Thanks for letting us in your inbox!
See you again tomorrow morning.

Written by Scott Stump | Edited by Shane Lou

Want to refer a friend? They can subscribe here.