PoliticsAssociated PressSupporters' words may haunt Trump at impeachment trial
The words of Donald Trump supporters who are accused of participating in the deadly U.S. Capitol riot may end up being used against him in his Senate impeachment trial as he faces the charge of inciting a violent insurrection. At least five supporters facing federal charges have suggested they were taking orders from the then-president when they marched on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6 to challenge the certification of Joe Biden's election win. Jacob Chansley, the Arizona man photographed on the dais in the Senate who was shirtless and wore face paint and a furry hat with horns, has similarly pointed a finger at Trump.
PoliticsMilitary.comUniformed Man Seen Kneeling at Iraq Vet Beau Biden's Grave During Inauguration
As President Joe Biden was addressing the nation Wednesday after swearing in as the 46th U.S. president, a quiet moment was captured 110 miles away from the nation's capital. A journalist with The News Journal in Delaware saw a lone person in a blue uniform kneeling over the grave of the president's late son, Beau Biden, who died in 2015 at the age of 46. "No one else was around on this cold, windy afternoon except for a few people doing outside work at the cemetery," Patricia Talorico, the News Journal reporter, wrote about the moment.
WorldReutersTurkish appeals court overturns acquittal in Gezi trial
A Turkish appeals court on Friday overturned the acquittal of nine people, including philanthropist Osman Kavala, in a case related to nationwide protests in 2013, according to court documents seen by Reuters. The case had ended with the surprise acquittal of nine defendants last February due to insufficient evidence. The trial was followed closely by Turkey's Western allies and rights groups, who said it was symbolic of what they saw as a crackdown on dissent under President Tayyip Erdogan.
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Biden’s putting American workers last, foreigners first with reversed policies: Sen. Tom Cotton
President Biden reverses Trump's policies after calling for unity; Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. reacts on 'The Faulkner Focus.
WorldThe TelegraphHong Kong ordered into city's first Covid lockdown after outbreak
Thousands of Hong Kongers were ordered to stay in their homes on Saturday for the city's first coronavirus lockdown as authorities battle an outbreak in one of its poorest and most densely packed districts. The order bans anyone inside multiple housing blocks within the neighbourhood of Jordan from leaving their apartment unless they can show a negative test. The South China Morning Post said the measures covered about 150 housing blocks and up to 9,000 people with hundreds of police on standby to enforce the lockdown.
WorldAssociated PressUN agency: Libyan navy intercepts over 80 EU-bound migrants
Libya's coast guard intercepted on Friday more than 80 Europe-bound migrants in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of the North African country, the U.N. migration agency said. The migrants were returned to Libyan soil, said the International Organization for Migration. They will most likely be held under dire conditions in detention centers that Libya has become notorious for.
U.S.The Independent‘We’re a National Guard family’: Jill Biden visits Capitol troops with cookies after some were forced to stay in garage
First Lady Jill Biden made a surprise trip to visit the National Guard troops stationed at the US Capitol on Friday so she could deliver them cookies made from the White House. The stop was not on Dr Biden's official schedule, but it was made in an effort to show her gratitude towards the troops for protecting Washington DC around Inauguration Day. I just wanted to come today to say thank you to all of you for keeping me and my family safe.
WorldReutersCanada's Trudeau presses Pfizer CEO on vaccine shortage, hints at travel crackdown
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday that Pfizer had reassured him it would meet Canada's vaccine order in full by end-March as, with a second COVID wave spreading across the country, he hinted at a clampdown on citizens leaving home. Pfizer, which is retooling a European manufacturing plant, told Canada on Tuesday it would receive no vaccine next week, promising more pain for provinces already complaining about a shortage of supplies. Pfizer also said it would cut supplies to the European Union.
WorldAssociated PressMexico looks to reopen schools in just one of its states
Mexico will start vaccinating teachers and other school personnel in one of the country's 32 states this weekend with an eye toward resuming in-person classes there as early as late next month, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Friday. Mexico would become the first country in Latin America to begin vaccinating teachers as a group. The announcement came one day after Mexico set new daily records for coronavirus infections and COVID-19 deaths.
PoliticsThe WeekNew financial disclosures show how hard Trump's hotels have been hit amid pandemic
Presidents routinely file financial disclosures when they leave office, and forms recently submitted by former President Donald Trump show that 47 of his hotels, resorts, and other properties lost more than $120 million in revenue in 2020, The Washington Post reports. The pandemic has hit the travel and hospitality industries hard, and two of Trump's most famous hotels struggled last year; the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., which has a $170 million loan outstanding, saw its revenue drop more than 60 percent, while the Doral in Miami saw its revenue decline 44 percent. Trump's private Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach fared better — its revenue went up 13 percent.
PoliticsThe Independent‘We’re not packing our bags at 100 million’: Biden press secretary hits back at complaints Covid vaccine plan not enough
The White House press secretary has responded to criticism from the public that Joe Biden's plan to administer 100 million vaccines in 100 days was not enough, at a time when Covid-19 surges through the US. “Our objective in setting that bold goal … is to set our own markers but also set markers for the American people,” Jen Psaki said on Good Morning America on Friday. Mr Biden unveiled his national Covid-19 plan on Thursday, which included how his administration intended to get 100 million vaccines into the arms of Americans within 100 days.
WorldReutersVenezuelan opposition says Maduro government violated COVID response agreement
Venezuela's opposition accused President Nicolas Maduro's government on Friday of unilaterally changing the destination of medication and equipment provided by the Pan American Health Organization, in a "clear violation" of an agreement to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Last June, Venezuela's health ministry and technical advisers to the then opposition-dominated National Assembly signed an agreement to implement a COVID-19 response supported by PAHO. The ministry and technical advisers had agreed the tests and machines would be sent to 27 hospitals, Miguel Pizarro, designated by opposition leader Juan Guaido as representative to the United Nations, said in a statement.
WorldAssociated PressChina law empowers coast guard to use force amid disputes
China has authorized its coast guard to fire on foreign vessels and destroy structures on features it claims, potentially raising the possibility of clashes with regional maritime rivals. The Coast Guard Law passed on Friday empowers the force to “take all necessary measures, including the use of weapons, when national sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction are being illegally infringed upon by foreign organizations or individuals at sea.” The law also authorizes the coast guard to demolish other countries' structures built on reefs and islands claimed by China and to seize or order foreign vessels illegally entering China's territorial waters to leave.
U.S.The IndependentTexas sues Biden administration claiming halt in deportations is ‘unlawful’
Texas attorney general Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against Department of Homeland Security in an attempt to halt the Biden administration's “unlawful” freeze on deportations. In a complaint filed with US District Court, Mr Paxton is seeking a restraining order against the new president's executive order rolling back immigration policies of the Trump administration. The suit alleges the directive from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) violates the Administrative Procedure Act, which requires that the department seek input from Texas.
U.S.The Daily BeastOath Keeper Charged in Capitol Riots Was ‘Preparing for Literal War,’ Feds Say
A member of the far-right paramilitary group the Oath Keepers who's been charged with conspiring to storm the Capitol was ready “for violence” during the deadly riot and had plans for a “further insurrection,” federal prosecutors said Friday. “The plan was never for peaceful protest,” a Virginia prosecutor said during a detention hearing for Donovan Crowl, a former U.S. Marine. Crowl, 50, is one of three members of the right-wing group who've been charged with conspiring to disrupt the congressional session to certify President-elect Joe Biden's electoral victory.
U.S.BBCIndonesia plane crash probe focuses on autothrottle
Investigators looking into the Sriwijaya Air crash in Indonesia say they are now focusing on the plane's autothrottle. Sixty-two people were on board the passenger plane when it plunged into the sea minutes after taking off from Jakarta on 9 January. A few days before the crash, a problem with the Boeing 737's autothrottle had been reported, officials said.
LifestyleArchitectural DigestLucas Interior Embraces Color to Modernize Palm Springs Spanish Revival Home
The materials and colors took center stage,” said David Lucas when it came to the design of the home. Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
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Taiwan reports large incursion by Chinese air force
Eight Chinese bomber planes and four fighter jets entered the southwestern corner of Taiwan's air defence identification zone on Saturday, and Taiwan's air force deployed missiles to "monitor" the incursion, the island's Defence Ministry said. China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, has conducted almost daily flights over the waters between the southern part of Taiwan and the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands in the South China Sea in recent months. However they have generally consisted of just one or two reconnaissance aircraft.
PoliticsAssociated PressTrump shuns 'ex-presidents club' — and the feeling is mutual
It's a club Donald Trump was never really interested in joining and certainly not so soon: the cadre of former commanders in chief who revere the presidency enough to put aside often bitter political differences and even join together in common cause. Like so many other presidential traditions, however, this is one Trump seems likely to flout. Now that he's left office, it's hard to see him embracing the stately, exclusive club of living former presidents.
PoliticsThe Independent‘The stupidity is extraordinary’: Morning Joe host slams GOP lawmakers for taking guns to Congress
MSNBC host Joe Scarborough ripped into Republican lawmakers who have been stopped from entering the chamber of the House of Representatives carrying firearms just two weeks after the violent storming of the US Capitol led to five deaths. The former Republican congressman was incredulous in a segment of Friday's edition of Morning Joe, exclaiming: “Really, the stupidity is just extraordinary.” Mr Scarborough was reacting to a report that Republican lawmaker Andy Harris of Maryland was stopped by Capitol Police with a gun on his hip as he was entering the House to cast a vote.
U.S.TheGrioAlmost 200 National Guard troops contract COVID-19
Almost 200 hundred members of the National Guard have contracted COVID-19, according to defense officials. Approximately 26,000 troops were deployed to the nation's capital from all 50 states ahead of President Joe Biden's inauguration in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that the almost 7,000 troops sent to Biden's inauguration were screened for COVID, but not all were tested.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderThe Bidens were reportedly left waiting outside the White House on Inauguration Day because Trump sent the staff home
Joe and Jill Biden may have been waiting to enter the White House for longer than necessary on Inauguration Day because there was a lack of staff there to greet them. In a break from White House protocol, the new President and First Lady were left standing in front of closed doors as they took photos outside of their new residence for the first time on Wednesday. The Trumps "sent the butlers home when they left so there would be no-one to help the Bidens when they arrived," a well-placed official not associated with the Biden administration told The National Journal.
PoliticsINSIDERGiuliani admits his associate asked for a fee of $20,000 a day to help Trump overturn the election, but says he didn't know about it
After months of denial, Giuliani admitted his associate requested a daily $20,000 fee to help Trump. Giuliani said he represented Trump out of a sense of commitment and didn't expect to be paid. After months of denials, former President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, conceded that one of his associates asked campaign officials for a $20,000 daily fee to help Trump after his election loss, according to a New York Times report.
WorldBBCAfghan war: Biden administration to review Trump's Taliban deal
The Biden administration has said it will review a peace deal that ex-President Trump made with the Taliban. The White House wanted to make sure the Afghan militant group was "living up to its commitments", including reducing violence and cutting ties with terrorists, a spokeswoman said. Jake Sullivan, President Biden's top security adviser, has spoken with Afghan officials to confirm the review.
HealthBusiness InsiderThe pace of coronavirus vaccinations now may determine whether or not we'll need a perpetual cycle of new shots to combat variants
Scientists worry that vaccinations aren't proceeding fast enough to prevent new, perhaps deadlier coronavirus strains from emerging. New variants that can evade existing vaccines could create a cycle in which people need to keep getting new coronavirus shots for years. The global vaccine rollout is racing against the clock: New, more infectious variants of the coronavirus are spreading worldwide, and it's unclear how well existing vaccines work against these strains.
“By encouraging this act of terror on our capital, Trump’s legacy is destroyed.”
“Both backers and critics of Trump agreed that he remade the federal judiciary — a change that will impact America for decades.”
“He was largely responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans who did not need to die.”
“I do know what the future should hold for this country. That is to say, a policy of Trumpism without Trump.”
“It will be decades before the consequences of his tenure are fully known.”