U.S.The TelegraphHeavily fortified statehouses around US see small protests
Small groups of right-wing protesters - some of them carrying rifles - gathered outside heavily fortified statehouses around the country on Sunday, outnumbered by National Guard troops and police brought in to prevent a repeat of the violence that erupted at the US Capitol. Crowds of only a dozen or two demonstrated at some boarded-up, cordoned-off statehouses, while the streets in many other capital cities remained empty. Some protesters said they were there to back President Donald Trump.
U.S.The IndependentCare worker charged in Capitol riots investigated by FBI for trying to ‘steal Pelosi’s laptop and sell it to Russia’
A care worker charged in connection with the Capitol riots has been accused of attempting to steal House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's laptop in order to sell it to Russia. Riley June Williams, 22, from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was accused of stealing the laptop by a former partner, who identified her to the FBI after footage emerged of Ms Williams inside the Capitol building. The alleged former partner “stated that Williams intended to send the computer device to a friend in Russia, who then planned to sell the device to SVR, Russia's foreign intelligence service,” according to an affidavit.
WorldAssociated Press'Extreme urgent need': Starvation haunts Ethiopia's Tigray
From “emaciated” refugees to crops burned on the brink of harvest, starvation threatens the survivors of more than two months of fighting in Ethiopia's Tigray region. The first humanitarian workers to arrive after pleading with the Ethiopian government for access describe weakened children dying from diarrhea after drinking from rivers. A local official told a Jan. 1 crisis meeting of government and aid workers that hungry people had asked for “a single biscuit.”
WorldReutersRussia says all Azeri captives returned under Karabakh deal
Armenia has returned all Azeri prisoners who were captured during last year's conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, but the process with Armenian prisoners has been held up, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday. The six-week conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh was brought to a halt in November by a Russian-brokered ceasefire agreement under which Azeri and ethnic Armenian forces were expected to exchange all captives. Armenia has said that many of its prisoners of war remain in Azerbaijan, a problem it has raised with the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk group.
PoliticsThe TelegraphTrump’s poll rating hits all-time low as he prepares to leave office
Donald Trump will leave office with his approval rating at an all-time low, according to a new poll. Mr Trump is now likely to complete his term in the White House with Mike Pence, the vice president, refusing to invoke the 25th amendment to remove him from office and an impeachment hearing due to begin after Joe Biden is inaugurated. The storming of Capitol Hill and Mr Trump's refusal to accept that Mr Biden won the election has caused considerable damage to his reputation, a poll by Pew Research has found.
WorldAssociated PressGuatemala forces stall migrant caravan with tear gas, batons
Guatemalan police and soldiers launched tear gas and wielded batons and shields against a group of Honduran migrants that tried to push through their roadblock early Sunday. The security forces beat them back and deployed tear gas. Later, hundreds of migrants sat down on the roadway, refusing to leave and insisting they be allowed through, appealing to the soldiers as fellow Central Americans.
WorldReutersIndependent pandemic review panel critical of China, WHO delays
An independent panel said on Monday that Chinese officials could have applied public health measures more forcefully in January to curb the initial COVID-19 outbreak, and criticised the World Health Organization (WHO) for not declaring an international emergency until Jan. 30. The experts reviewing the global handling of the pandemic, led by former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, called for reforms to the Geneva-based United Nations agency.Their interim report was published hours after the WHO's top emergency expert, Mike Ryan, said that global deaths from COVID-19 were expected to top 100,000 per week "very soon". "What is clear to the Panel is that public health measures could have been applied more forcefully by local and national health authorities in China in January," the report said, referring to the initial outbreak of the new disease in the central city of Wuhan, in Hubei province.
PoliticsReutersTwitter locks account of Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican who promoted QAnon
Twitter Inc, on Sunday, locked the account of Republican U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a political newcomer known for promoting the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory. The social media platform suspended her account after the newly elected Georgia congresswoman sparred with a state election official over baseless voter fraud allegations. Greene's account "has been temporarily locked out for multiple violations" of Twitter's 'civic integrity policy', a company representative said in an emailed statement.
U.S.TheGrioWoman who entered Capitol may have stolen Pelosi device to sell to Russians: FBI
The sale ultimately didn't happen, and agents reportedly think Riley June Williams still has or destroyed it. A woman who participated in the deadly insurrection at the Capitol Building is being investigated for allegedly stealing a laptop or hard drive from the office of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. An affidavit released to the public on Sunday night said Riley June Williams, 22, was seen on video near the speaker's office.
WorldAssociated PressPakistan PM angry over reports TV anchor knew about strike
Pakistan's prime minister reacted angrily Monday to media reports of a text exchange between an Indian TV anchor and a former media industry executive that suggests a 2019 Indian airstrike inside Pakistan was designed to boost Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's chances for re-election. Imran Khan took to Twitter to respond to Indian media reports of an exchange on the WhatsApp messaging service between popular Indian TV anchor Arnab Goswami and Partho Dasgupta, the former head of a TV rating company.
WorldThe IndependentFears of ‘inside attack’ at Biden’s inauguration, defence officials warn
US defence officials on Sunday warned of a looming threat to security allegedly from the people tasked with securing president-elect Joe Biden's inauguration ceremony on 20 January, and said they are in the process of vetting the troops deployed for the event. FBI is bracing for multiple armed protests in Washington DC, amid continuing calls of voters' fraud in the 2020 elections by Donald Trump supporters. Security concerns have gripped law enforcement agencies in the wake of the violent 6 January insurrection at the US Capitol by pro-Trump rioters, and fears of an “inside attack” has prompted them to deploy 25,000 troops in the city.
WorldAssociated PressWHO raises 'concerns' about Mideast vaccine inequity
The World Health Organization has raised "concerns" about the unequal distribution of coronavirus vaccines in Israel, which has given shots to more than 20% of its population, and the occupied territories, where Palestinians have yet to receive any, an official said Monday. Rights groups say Israel has the responsibility as an occupying power to provide vaccines to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. Israel says it has no such obligation and that its own population — including Arab citizens — is the priority, but that at some point it might consider sharing its supplies.
HealthBusiness InsiderFauci predicts that people will be able to go back to singing in church by mid-fall, when an 'overwhelming proportion' of the US has been vaccinated
Church services that resemble pre-coronavirus worship should resume in mid-fall, Dr. Anthony Fauci predicted Monday. Churches have been the sites of super-spreader events, since the virus spreads easily indoors when people are speaking loudly or singing in close quarters. Dr. Anthony Fauci predicts church services - with hugging, praising, and music-making - will be able to resume safely in mid-fall, if the US vaccinates people "appropriately, effectively, and efficiently."
WorldAssociated PressMoon urges Biden to learn from Trump's N. Korea diplomacy
North Korea has a history of staging weapons tests and other provocations to test new U.S. presidents, and Kim vowed to strengthen his nuclear weapons program in recent political speeches that were seen as aimed at pressuring the incoming Biden administration. The South Korean leader has been desperate to keep alive a positive atmosphere for dialogue in the face of Kim's vows to further expand a nuclear and missile program that threatens Asian U.S. allies and the American homeland. And while Moon acknowledged that Biden is likely to try a different approach than Trump, he stressed that Biden could still learn from Trump's successes and failures in dealing with North Korea.
- NewsReuters Videos
Russia detains Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny
The couple was returning from a five-month stay in Germany, where Navalny, one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's most outspoken domestic critics, had been recovering after he'd been poisoned with what German tests showed was the deadly Novichok nerve agent. Navalny says Putin was behind his poisoning, a charge the Kremlin denies. As he boarded the plane in Berlin, he thanked Germany and said he wasn't afraid of being arrested.
CelebrityThe Daily BeastFarewell, Ivanka Trump? No, Ivanka Doesn’t Want to Say Farewell.
Ivanka Trump's time in the White House has been horrible for America. Watch: Where do Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner go from here? Call it classic rich kid brattiness or a more complicated kind of delusion, but for Ivanka the future is still bright, or it is in her determination to just carry on regardless.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderTed Cruz's former staffers say they are 'disgusted' by his role in the US Capitol insurrection and his unflinching support of Trump, report says
At least six of Sen. Ted Cruz's former aides have expressed their disgust at the recent actions of their former boss, according to New York Magazine's Intelligencer. Ted Cruz is under fire for spreading election misinformation, objecting to the results of the 2020 election being certified, and having fundraised during the US Capitol insurrection. Democratic lawmakers have called for Cruz to resign or to be removed from office.
PoliticsThe WeekHow 'bewildered' Trump campaign aides would reportedly discreetly escape election challenge meetings
In the immediate aftermath of President-elect Joe Biden's victory in November, the leaders of President Trump's re-election campaign told him he had about a five to 10 percent chance of picking up enough outstanding votes in Georgia and Arizona and win a legal challenge against election practices in Wisconsin, which would overturn the results, Axios' Jonathan Swan reports in part of his series on the final two months of Trump's presidency. Trump initially told his campaign aides — including campaign manager Bill Stepien, senior adviser Jason Miller, and deputy campaign manager Justin Clark — that it was worth a shot, but he was simultaneously listening to another plan presented by attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell that was steeped in conspiracy theories.
U.S.Associated PressInauguration rehearsal evacuated after fire in homeless camp
The U.S. Capitol complex temporarily locked down Monday during a rehearsal for President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration after a fire in a homeless encampment roughly a mile away sent a plume of smoke into the air and caused security concerns in an already jittery city. The false alarm briefly interrupted the rehearsal for Wednesday's inauguration ceremony, a quadrennial exercise in which stand-ins take the roles of Biden and other VIPs and the U.S. Marine Corps Band goes through its paces, including practicing “The Star-Spangled Banner” for Wednesday's performance by Lady Gaga. Rehearsal resumed not long afterward, accompanied by frequent passes by a helicopter patrolling the skies over the Capitol.
WorldBusiness InsiderA Princeton professor warned students not to take his class while in China amid the country's tightening grip on dissent
Rory Truex, an assistant professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University, told students not to take his course on Chinese politics if they currently reside in China. Truex told the Daily Princetonian the course covers subjects the Chinese government may consider sensitive and could endanger students. American academics fear for their Chinese students in the wake of China's increasingly bold crackdown on political dissent at home and abroad.
U.S.The Daily BeastCapitol Rioter May Have Stolen Pelosi’s Laptop and Tried to Sell It to Russia, Says FBI
One of the Trumpist rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol earlier this month may have stolen House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's laptop and then tried to sell it to Russian intelligence, according to a criminal complaint. The extraordinary claim—which is now under investigation by the FBI—comes from an affidavit describing the criminal case against Pennsylvania woman Riley June Williams. According to the complaint, the footage shows Williams “directing crowds inside the U.S. Capitol Building up a staircase,” and she can be heard repeatedly yelling: “Upstairs, upstairs, upstairs.”
PoliticsUSA TODAYRunning on empty: Senate Republicans ponder barring Donald Trump from seeking office again
Several senators, including Republicans, have noted that if they vote to convict Trump of inciting last week's attack on Congress, they could then vote to bar him from future public office, effectively nixing another presidential campaign. "If the president is convicted, there will be a vote on barring him from running again," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., soon to be the new Senate majority leader. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the chamber's top Republican, made clear he is considering conviction, opening the door to an effective ban on Trump within the Republican Party.
SportsAssociated PressU.S. team sure of continuing in America's Cup after capsize
U.S. challenger American Magic is assessing the extent of damage to its racing yacht Patriot, which capsized and came close to sinking during racing Sunday in the America's Cup challenger series. Skipper Terry Hutchinson said American Magic is confident of making repairs and being able to continue in the Prada Cup series, which resumes in Auckland on Friday. Patriot, which lost its first three races in the challengers series, was leading Italian challenger Luna Rossa when it capsized rounding the final mark.
PoliticsThe Independent‘We’re filled with hope’: Bidens open inauguration events with message of positivity after Capitol violence
President-elect Joe Biden and his wife Dr Jill Biden opened Sunday night's “We The People” concert – and 2021 Inauguration Week – with a message of hope and unity, telling their audience how they were “filled with hope” at the days, months, and years ahead. Acknowledging the “difficult transition process” faced by the incoming Biden administration, Dr Biden expressed compassion for Americans who ”have experienced loss over the last year", which has been strained by the deadly coronavirus pandemic. “To those who have experienced loss over the last year, know that Joe and I carry you in our thoughts and prayers each day,” said Dr Biden.
WorldBusiness InsiderNorwegian health officials have adjusted their advice on who gets a COVID-19 vaccine as 29 frail elderly people die
Watch: Norway adjusts advice for elderly and frail people after COVID-19 vaccine deaths Norwegian health officials have changed their advice on who gets a COVID-19 vaccine after more than 25 elderly people with underlying health conditions died. According to the agency, "all deaths" are linked to the Pfizer vaccine, which was the only one available in the country until Friday. However, Norwegian officials maintain they are not alarmed and have advised individual doctors to decide who should receive a vaccine.
“If you’re looking to win elections, it is probably best not to urge your supporters not to vote.”
“Warnock’s portrayal of himself as a dog lover, a means of overcoming white suspicions of Black men, smacked of pure genius.”
“Trump has done damage to the Republican brand among suburban voters that goes well beyond just races where he is on the ballot.”
“Once more, Democrats must profusely thank activist Stacey Abrams.”
“Overall, demographic trends show that the state’s electorate is becoming younger and more diverse each year.”