U.S.The IndependentFlorida man arrested while attempting to go to Biden’s inauguration after ‘storming Capitol’
A Florida man who participated in the deadly pro-Trump mob attacks on the US Capitol was arrested after returning to Washington to attend President Joe Biden's inauguration ceremonies, prosecutors said at a Thursday bail hearing. Samuel Camargo, 26, was wanted by the FBI after one of his former classmates reportedly tipped the agency off to his involvement in the riots on 6 January, as Congress convened to certify former President Donald Trump's defeat in the 2020 elections. The apparent supporter of the former president posted several videos to his social media accounts that showed him “at one of the doorways to the U.S. Capitol Building, using his mobile phone to video tape his struggle with the U.S. Capitol Police over opening a door to the U.S. Capitol Building,” according to a criminal complaint.
PoliticsThe WeekBiden's team reportedly realized after inauguration that Trump really had no vaccine distribution plan
It's been more than a month since the first COVID-19 vaccine was approved for distribution, and nearly a year since it became clear the coronavirus pandemic would require a vaccine to fully end. But former President Donald Trump's administration still failed to arrange a usable plan for distributing COVID-19 vaccines to Americans, as President Biden's incoming administration reportedly just discovered. Biden's team expected to find major flaws in Trump's distribution plans when they arrived at the White House on Wednesday, sources with direct knowledge of the administration's COVID-19 work tell CNN.
U.S.The TelegraphRepublican congresswoman under fire for 'spreading Florida school shooting conspiracy theories'
A Republican congresswoman is facing calls to resign over reports that she helped to spread falsehoods about the Parkland school shooting. Marjorie Taylor Greene reportedly agreed with a conspiracy theory about the 2018 shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in which 17 people were killed. Facebook screenshots showed a discussion about why a police officer had not rushed into the building, and someone claimed that the mass shooting was a "false flag planned shooting."
- PoliticsFOX News Videos
Sen. Tom Cotton blasts Biden admin on proposed 5-year extension of nuclear treaty with Russia
Tom Cotton, R-Ark. tells 'The Story' that the Biden administration is making a strategic mistake regarding a proposed nuclear treaty extension with Russia.
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.
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 PressIran, pressured by blackouts and pollution, targets Bitcoin
Within days, as frustration spread among residents, the government launched a wide-ranging crackdown on Bitcoin processing centers, which require immense amounts of electricity to power their specialized computers and to keep them cool — a burden on Iran's power grid. Authorities shuttered 1,600 centers across the country, including, for the first time, those legally authorized to operate. As the latest in a series of conflicting government moves, the clampdown stirred confusion in the crypto industry — and suspicion that Bitcoin had become a useful scapegoat for the nation's deeper-rooted problems.
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
NewsNational ReviewWaPo Quietly Purges Unflattering Anecdote from 2019 Kamala Harris Profile
Editor's Note: Following backlash, the Post has restored the original version of the article. The Washington Post has quietly removed an unflattering anecdote from a June 2019 profile of Vice President Kamala Harris, explaining that the story was “repurposed and updated” ahead of the inauguration. As first noted by Reason, the Post's original profile of Harris — which was published on July 23, 2019 and highlighted the vice president's close relationship with her sister — began with an anecdote in which Harris “was explaining to her sister, Maya, that campaigns are like prisons.”
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.
PoliticsReutersSlim majority of Americans want Senate to convict Trump: Reuters/Ipsos poll
A slim majority of Americans say former President Donald Trump should be convicted by the Senate of inciting an insurrection and barred from holding public office, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, which showed a sharp partisan divide over the issue. The national public opinion poll, conducted on Wednesday and Thursday, found that 51% of Americans think Trump should be found guilty for inciting the deadly storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. His trial in the Senate is expected to begin in the coming weeks.
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.
BusinessAssociated PressExisting home sales rise in 2020 to highest in 14 years
Sales of existing homes rose 0.7% in December, pushing the entirety of 2020 to a pace not seen in 14 years and providing one of the few bright spots for a U.S. economy mired in a global pandemic. Rising sales in the final month of the year lifted activity to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.76 million units in December, the National Association of Realtors reported Friday. For all of 2020, sales rose to 6.48 million, the highest level since 2006 at the height of the housing boom.
PoliticsBBCWhat next for Trump - and Trumpism?
Then Trump spent two months trafficking in unsubstantiated allegations of electoral fraud, feuded with party officials in battleground states, unsuccessfully campaigned for two Republican incumbent senators in Georgia's run-off elections and instigated a crowd of supporters that would turn into a mob that attacked the US Capitol. He's been impeached (again) by a bipartisan vote in the House of Representatives and could, if convicted in the Senate, be permanently banned from running for public office. Over his five-year career in politics, Trump has wriggled free from political predicaments that would sink most others.
PoliticsThe IndependentBiden: Why everyone is talking about the new president’s watch
Joe Biden's inauguration watch caused a stir online after it was pointed out the new president wore a $7,000 Rolex to get sworn in. Mr Biden picked a stainless steel Rolex Datejust with a blue dial to wear on his first day in the White House on Wednesday. The watch was a departure from some previous presidents, such as Bill Clinton, George W Bush and Barack Obama, who chose less expensive timepieces, according to the New York Times.
WorldAssociated PressRelatives of plane's victims cast flowers into Indonesia sea
Relatives of crash victims on Friday prayed and threw flowers into the Java Sea where a Sriwijaya Air jet plunged into the water almost two weeks ago, killing all 62 people on board. An Indonesian navy vessel took dozens of grieving relatives to the site. Many people wept as they prayed and cast flower petals into the water, and officials from the navy, search and rescue agency, and Sriwijaya Air employees threw wreaths into the sea.
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.
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.
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.
PoliticsReutersBiden administration to discuss stimulus with lawmakers Sunday
The Biden administration plans to discuss the need for economic stimulus with a group of senators on Sunday, White House national economic council director Brian Deese said on Friday, as it seeks to build support for what it sees as a critical round of new coronavirus relief. "We're at a precarious moment for the virus and the economy. Without decisive action, we risk falling into a very serious economic hole, even more serious than the crisis we find ourselves," Deese told reporters at a White House briefing.
PoliticsThe IndependentLincoln Project co-founder says committee will go after Cruz now Trump has left office
The Lincoln Project co-founder Rick Wilson has suggested that the political action committee will turn its attention to Texas senator Ted Cruz and other Republicans now that Donald Trump has left office. The Republican super PAC that was set up in 2019 to prevent the reelection of Mr Trump, released several videos on social media during the 2020 presidential campaign relentlessly criticising the then president and his administration. Mr Trump left the White House on Wednesday after losing November's presidential election to President Joe Biden, who was then inaugurated shortly after.
WorldAssociated PressGerman virus death toll tops 50,000 even as infections sink
The death toll from the coronavirus in Germany has passed 50,000, a number that has risen swiftly over recent weeks even as infection figures are finally declining. The country's disease control center, the Robert Koch Institute, said Friday that another 859 deaths were reported over the past 24 hours, taking the total so far to 50,642. Germany had a comparatively small number of deaths in the pandemic's first phase and was able to lift many restrictions quickly.
PoliticsLA TimesYes, Bernie Sanders is laughing at those viral inauguration memes too
Sen. Bernie Sanders is feeling the Bern — and the love — after a photo of him sitting alone in his face mask, winter coat and patchwork mittens at Wednesday's presidential inauguration went viral. On Thursday's episode of "Late Night With Seth Meyers," Sanders said he was amused by the now-ubiquitous image, which has Twitter hailing the Vermont senator for his commitment to social distancing and utilitarian fashion choices. Sanders couldn't help but laugh when Meyers produced one of his favorite takes on the meme, placing Inauguration Bernie on a couch with the women of "Sex and the City," and asked if Sanders had been tracking his social media fame.
WorldINSIDERDrone footage purports to show Vladimir Putin's secret $1.4 billion palace on Russia's Black Sea
A video uploaded to YouTube on Tuesday purports to show a secret $1.4 billion palace on Russia's Black Sea that allegedly belongs to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Alexei Navalny, the Russian politician and Putin critic behind the video, alleges Putin and his billionaire friends secretly built the mansion using illicit funds. The Kremlin denies Putin has any connection the property.
“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.”