U.S.Associated PressUniversity of Michigan removes Schlissel as school president
Mark Schlissel has been removed as president of the University of Michigan due to an alleged "inappropriate relationship with a university employee," the school said Saturday on its website. The removal was effective “immediately,” the University of Michigan Board of Regents said, adding that members learned on Dec. 8, 2021, about the relationship from an anonymous complaint and that an investigation revealed that “over the years,” Schlissel used his university email account to “communicate with that subordinate in a manner inconsistent with the dignity and reputation of the university.” “As you know, the Regents received an anonymous complaint regarding an alleged sexual affair between you and a subordinate,” the board wrote in its letter to Schlissel informing him of his removal.
U.S.INSIDERA radio station fired two announcers who got caught calling high school girls playing basketball 'extremely overweight' on a hot mic
Two sports announcers were fired on earlier this week after disparaging high school girls. Jim Carter and Steve Shaw criticized girls on two basketball teams for their weight. A Maine radio station based fired two sports announcers for body-shaming high school girls during a livestream of their basketball game.
PoliticsThe Daily BeastTrump’s Arizona Speech Proves His Shock Comic Act Has Jumped the Shark
There was a time when Donald Trump made news with his rallies—when he said things that utterly shocked us. Who could forget the firestorm he started, for example, when he went after Colin Kaepernick and other NFL players who knelt during the national anthem in 2017, or earlier that year when he called Barack Obama “the founder of ISIS”? Trump's performance in Arizona on Saturday night—his first rally in months and his much-hyped chance to respond to the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot—was neither shocking nor terribly newsworthy.
PoliticsYahoo NewsJan. 6 hearings 'are going to blow the roof off the House,' Raskin says
On a Thursday Zoom call with progressive activists, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said that the upcoming hearings by the Jan. 6 select committee probing the riot at the U.S. Capitol staged by supporters of former President Donald Trump will “blow the roof off the House.” While former Trump administration figures and supporters have defied subpoenas for information and testimony, Raskin said the committee had spoken with more than 400 witnesses to date who have already laid the groundwork for explosive hearings. “I hope everybody will watch and I hope everybody will discuss it and then it will lead to a report that, I hope again, will be a game changer in terms of American history,” Raskin said.
U.S.ComplexBiden Administration to Start Mailing At-Home COVID-19 Tests for Free—Here's How to Get It
The Biden administration is sending at-home COVID-19 tests starting next week, and will allow Americans to redeem tests at no cost through their insurance, too. Starting Saturday, Jan. 15, Americans with private insurance will be able to purchase at-home testing kits online or in stores, and get them reimbursed through a simple claim with their insurer. In order to do so, a receipt must be provided, and tests will not be subject to deductibles.
U.S.INSIDERA 74-year-old woman was exonerated of the rape and murder of her niece after spending 27 years in prison
Joyce Watkins and her boyfriend at the time, Charlie Dunn, had been convicted of first-degree murder and aggravated rape in 1988 after the death of Watkins' 4-year-old niece Brandi, CNN reported. Watkins and Dunn in 1987 picked up Brandi from the home of her great aunt in Kentucky and found her unresponsive a day later. They took her to Nashville Memorial Hospital, where doctors examined her vaginal injuries and head trauma.
HealthReutersContagiousness may linger beyond five days; COVID-19 worse for vapers
After a five-day quarantine, about a third of people infected with SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, might still be infectious, according to new data. PCR tests detect virus particles but cannot tell whether they are infectious or merely inactive remnants. In sequential samples from 176 people with positive PCR tests, they looked for genetic material that the virus produces when it is actively making copies of itself and is still transmissible.
- ScienceWTTG
Winter storm: What to expect in the DC region today into tonight
Here's your FOX 5 Weather forecast for the snow this weekend.
U.S.INSIDERSurveillance footage shows a woman left distraught after police officer shot her dog 6 times while responding to a 'barking complaint'
A video shows a Florida police officer fatally shooting a dog while responding to a barking complaint. Miami-Dade police said the investigation is active and open, and the dog owners have retained an attorney. A Florida police officer fired a gun six times at a family's dog and killed him while responding to a barking complaint, said NBC 6 South Florida.
- BusinessReuters
DirecTV loss could cripple rightwing One America News
The largest satellite provider in the United States said late Friday it will drop One America News, a move that could financially cripple the rightwing TV network known for fueling conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. The announcement by DirecTV, which is 70% owned by AT&T, comes three months after a Reuters investigation revealed that OAN's founder testified that AT&T inspired him to create the network. Court testimony also showed that OAN receives nearly all of its revenue from DirecTV.
WorldBusiness InsiderDramatic footage of tsunami hitting the Pacific island of Tonga after a giant underwater volcano erupted
An underwater volcanic eruption has led to tsunami warnings being issued to the people of Tonga. Tonga's capital, Nukuʻalofa, lies 40 miles north of the volcano. The Pacific nation of Tonga has issued a tsunami warning after a massive undersea volcanic eruption.
WorldCharlotte ObserverAmericans reinvented MLK after his assassination. Let’s remember what he really stood for
Each year, we publish this 2018 editorial from the Charlotte Observer. Its message is as relevant as ever: Martin Luther King Jr. was not a well-liked man. He was one of the most polarizing figures in the United States during his final few years of life.
HealthAssociated PressExpect more worrisome variants after omicron, scientists say
Scientists warn that omicron's whirlwind advance practically ensures it won't be the last version of the coronavirus to worry the world. Every infection provides a chance for the virus to mutate, and omicron has an edge over its predecessors: It spreads way faster despite emerging on a planet with a stronger patchwork of immunity from vaccines and prior illness. Experts don't know what the next variants will look like or how they might shape the pandemic, but they say there's no guarantee the sequels of omicron will cause milder illness or that existing vaccines will work against them.
U.S.Fox NewsVirginia's new AG Jason Miyares announces major investigations within hours of taking office
Virginia's newly sworn-in Attorney General Jason Miyares announced investigations into the Virginia Parole Board and Loudoun County Public Schools within hours of taking office. In a statement released on Saturday just hours after Miyares and Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin were sworn in, Miyares explained why he has launched an investigation into the commonwealth's parole board as well as Loudoun County Public Schools. "One of the reasons Virginians get so fed up with government is the lack of transparency - and that's a big issue here," Miyares wrote.
PoliticsINSIDERTrump claims he couldn't have lost the 2020 presidential election because his Arizona rally boasted thousands of attendees and 'had cars that stretch out for 25 miles'
Former President Trump on Saturday continued to raise doubt on his election loss to President Biden. During an Arizona rally, Trump pointed to the crowd size and heavy traffic to justify his opinion. Former President Donald Trump on Saturday bragged about the crowd size of an Arizona rally and pointed to heavy traffic leading into the event venue as evidence that he — and not President Joe Biden — won the 2020 election.
WorldAssociated PressTyphoons, wildfires, missiles: Teen flies solo round world
As teenage pilot Zara Rutherford flew ever onward in a record-challenging global odyssey, she met little as strange or scary as when she tried to squeeze in between North Korean airspace and a massive cloud threatening to cut off passage for her ultralight plane. “Well, they test missiles once in a while without warning,” Rutherford said. “Straight away they said: 'Whatever you do, do not go into North Korean airspace!'” Fortunately the clouds cooperated enough and she didn't have to continue the crash course in applied geopolitics.
U.S.The Fayetteville ObserverLetter: Pro-gun Fayetteville reader asks if a windshield wiper is a deadly threat
I've read the current reporting regarding Jason Walker and Lt. (Jeffrey) Hash and as much detail as has been released in The Fayetteville Observer. As a gun enthusiast and a CCW permit holder who has voluntarily undergone almost 200 hours of self-paid training, I have one question. Walker was beating on a windshield with a wiper.
U.S.TheGrioSouth Carolina road sign changed to display racist message, officials say
Police are on a search in South Carolina for the person who tampered with an electronic road sign, changing its text to display a racial slur. The text on the sign, set up in the city of Sumter, was altered to display an offensive command that included the n-word. Sumter has a population of roughly 43,000 with a racial divide of roughly 49% Black and 44% white, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
U.S.Associated PressNew Texas voting law snags US citizens, mail ballot requests
A sweeping new Texas voting law that Republicans muscled through the Legislature last year over dramatic protests is drawing fire again, even before some of the most contentious restrictions and changes kick in ahead of the state's first-in-the nation primary. Thousands of Texans — including some U.S. citizens — have received letters saying they have been flagged as potential noncitizens who could be kicked off voting rolls. “It's just a bad situation on a number of levels," said James Slattery, an attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project, one of several voting rights groups that has sued the state over the new law.
U.S.The New York Times'Superload' Lumbers Across Pennsylvania, Two Lanes Wide and as Heavy as Two Whales
It is called a superload, and for good reason: The highway behemoth is longer than five firetrucks and weighs as much as two blue whales. This week and next week, the mammoth tractor-trailer, hauling a tank from a decommissioned nuclear training site, will lumber across Pennsylvania on a 400-mile route that would test the skills of even the most seasoned trucker. As it rolls across the state on what is expected to be a nine-day journey, the rig with several flatbeds and escort vehicles must cross 16 counties, navigating exit ramps, country roads, two-lane highways, unusual traffic patterns and a potential snowstorm.
HealthMen's HealthA Physique Coach Explains How He Walks to Get Shredded
Bodybuilder and coach Paul Revelia has made several videos breaking down his tactics for getting lean ahead of a physique competition, and how he uses walking as his main form of cardio during a cut. In a new YouTube post, Revelia explains why he opts for this low-impact approach, over something like running, and why sustainability is important. If he then finds that he is not losing weight with this routine, he doesn't add time onto his sessions, but rather intensity, by increasing the incline and speed on the treadmill so that he is still only walking for 30 minutes at a time.
WorldAssociated PressMicrosoft discloses malware attack on Ukraine govt networks
Microsoft said late Saturday that dozens of computer systems at an unspecified number of Ukrainian government agencies have been infected with destructive malware disguised as ransomware, a disclosure suggesting an attention-grabbing defacement attack on official websites was a diversion. The attack comes as the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine looms and diplomatic talks to resolve the tense stand-off appear stalled. Microsoft said in a short blog post that amounted to the clanging of an industry alarm that it first detected the malware on Thursday.
U.S.INSIDERGhislaine Maxwell ends fight to keep the names of 8 'John Does' a secret after Virginia Giuffre demands they be made public
It follows efforts by Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Giuffre's legal team to get the "John Does" identified. Ghislaine Maxwell will no longer fight to keep the names of eight "John Does" a secret. Lawyers for Virginia Giuffre, who have accused Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein of sex trafficking, have asked a judge to unseal material from an earlier civil lawsuit she filed against Maxwell.
U.S.MarketWatchRepublican Glenn Youngkin takes flurry of executive actions after swearing-in as Virginia’s governor
Virginia's new governor, Republican Glenn Youngkin, pledged to “restore trust in government and to restore power to the people” as he was sworn into office Saturday in Richmond. “No matter who you voted for, I pledge to be your advocate, your voice, your governor,” said Youngkin, a former private-equity executive with the Carlyle Group (CG) and a newcomer to electoral politics who neither welcomed nor disavowed the backing of former president Donald Trump. The incumbent Trump lost the state to Democrat Joe Biden by 10.1 percentage points in November 2020, and Democrats have carried the state in every presidential election dating to President Barack Obama's first campaign.
WorldReutersUAE regulator investigating aborted Emirates take-off at Dubai airport
The United Arab Emirates' civil aviation regulator has opened an investigation into an aborted take-off by an Emirates airline passenger jet this month at Dubai airport, the carrier said on Saturday. It is the second inquiry launched into the airline in less than a month, after another passenger jet in December did not immediately increase its ascent after take-off. An Emirates spokesperson said that safety is its top priority and there was no aircraft damage or any injuries as a result of the aborted take off from Dubai on Jan. 9.
“Air travel is a funnel point through which millions of Americans pass each week. Requiring vaccinations would save lives.”
“Get ready for a snarled mess at airports around the country if airlines are forced to verify that passengers are vaccinated.”
“The only way to protect our industries, our work and our economy is to mandate vaccines on airplanes and schools, etc.”
“Of course airplanes, thanks to their ventilation systems, are the opposite of superspreader sites.”
“At the very least, Biden should extend that 24-hour testing requirement to all domestic air travel.”