PoliticsThe IndependentJill Biden spent her first week as First Lady reshaping the role. Melania Trump spent hers isolated in a tower
Dr Biden tapped former US Ambassador to Uruguay Julissa Reynoso Pantaleon to serve as her chief of staff before Inauguration Day could even arrive. The political strategist and prominent attorney who previously worked under former President Barack Obama would help the new first lady roll out her agenda, which included the relaunch of Joining Forces, an initiative she co-founded with former First Lady Michelle Obama providing support for military families. Whereas the national gaze is typically cast on the new president during their first days in office, the first lady's presence could be felt in a recently unfamiliar way.
WorldAssociated PressExtradited teacher appears in Australia court on sex charges
A former teacher extradited from Israel after a six-year legal battle appeared in an Australian court Thursday to face child sex abuse charges. Malka Leifer, 54, appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court by video link from a police station where she is in COVID-19 quarantine. Wearing a headscarf, she sat with her head in her hands during the 20-minute hearing where the 74 charges against her were read in court for the first time.
WorldThe TelegraphGermany warns of 'ten tough weeks ahead' as Europe faces vaccine shortages
The European Union is facing severe shortages after vaccine companies were forced to cut planned deliveries because of production problems — an issue the manufacturers say was caused by the bloc ordering too late to allow them to ramp up production. Germany has been caught up in the shortages after Angela Merkel overruled an attempt by Mr Spahn to order sufficient stocks last summer and insisted the country entrust its vaccine orders to the European Commission. Making vaccines is very complex, and a lot of work is needed to increase capacity that leads to delays,” Mr Spahn told German radio.
LifestyleArchitectural DigestHere Are The Brightest Decor Buys of the Season
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PoliticsYahoo News 360Impeachment: Is there any chance the GOP will convict Trump?
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi delivered the article of impeachment to the Senate on Monday, setting the stage for a trial that could see former President Donald Trump convicted and potentially barred from running for office in the future. The House voted to impeach Trump for the second time earlier this month for “incitement of insurrection” after a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 in an effort to stop Congress from certifying President Biden's election win. The upcoming Senate trial, scheduled to begin Feb. 9, will follow the same procedures as the one held in early 2020, when senators considered whether to remove Trump from office for pressuring the president of Ukraine for politically advantageous information on Biden.
WorldReutersExclusive: EU should consider legal means to secure promised vaccines, Michel says
The European Union should explore legal means to secure supplies of COVID-19 vaccines it contracted to purchase if negotiations with companies over delayed deliveries prove unsuccessful, European Council President Charles Michel said in a letter. The EU, at odds with Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca over its failure to deliver shots, has asked if it could divert supplies from Britain, and it also plans to tighten oversight of vaccine exports from the bloc. Some of the EU's 27 member states have proposed legal action to force pharmaceutical companies to honour vaccine supply commitments, and the letter to four EU government leaders by Michel suggests that option is now under serious consideration.
U.S.USA TODAYReturn letter from Biden again shows Texas kindergarten students 'their voice matters,' teacher says
EL PASO, Texas – An El Paso teacher received a letter from President Joe Biden after her kindergarten class wrote to congratulate him for winning the 2020 election. Barron Elementary teacher Martha Tavarez and her class wrote to the then president-elect and Jill Biden after she gave a lesson to her students about the presidential election, including hosting a mock election, according to a news release on the El Paso Independent School District's website. The letter her class received in response bore the official seal of the Office of the President-Elect and some words of appreciation from the man elected as America's 46th president.
U.S.Associated PressFeds withheld info on virus cases following executions
At least two journalists tested positive for coronavirus after witnessing the Trump administration's final three federal executions, but the Bureau of Prisons knowingly withheld the diagnoses from other media witnesses and did not perform any contact tracing, The Associated Press has learned. The AP is not identifying the journalists, but has confirmed they both received positive coronavirus tests following the executions earlier this month at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana. The Bureau of Prisons just completed a record number of executions under former President Donald Trump, more than any previous administration.
PoliticsYahoo NewsQAnon-aligned Rep. Marjorie Greene's support for 'a bullet to the head' for Pelosi draws rebuke from House GOP leader
Newly uncovered Facebook posts by Georgia freshman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene expressing support for the murder of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were called “deeply disturbing” by the top Republican in the House, whose office said he planned to “have a conversation with her” about it. On Tuesday, CNN reported that Greene had shown support for executing prominent Democrats before she ran for Congress in 2020. Greene, a supporter of the QAnon conspiracy theory who has a long history of racist comments, was elected to the House in November after winning the Republican primary in a heavily conservative district.
WorldReutersAustralian state borders to reopen with zero local virus cases
Australia's most populous state of New South Wales recorded its 11th day of zero local coronavirus cases on Thursday, allowing neighbouring Queensland state to lift border restrictions while Victoria state also hinted at relaxing travel with Sydney. Australian states imposed quarantine or hard border restrictions for travellers from New South Wales (NSW) after an outbreak in Sydney in late December, throwing Christmas holiday plans of thousands of Australians into chaos. The Sydney clusters have now been curbed, giving other states the confidence to reopen borders.
HealthThe ConversationWhy it takes 2 shots to make mRNA vaccines do their antibody-creating best – and what the data shows on delaying the booster dose
With the U.S. facing vaccination delays because of worker shortages and distribution problems, federal health officials now say it's OK to push back the second dose of the two-part vaccine by as much as six weeks. As an infectious disease doctor, I've been fielding a lot of questions from my patients as well as my friends and family about whether the COVID-19 vaccine will still work if people are late receiving their second dose. Two doses, separated by three to four weeks, is the tried-and-true approach to generate an effective immune response through vaccination, not just for COVID but for hepatitis A and B and other diseases as well.
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Video resurfaces of Marjorie Taylor Greene harassing Parkland survivor
In a video that was recorded before she was a member of Congress, Marjorie Taylor Greene can be seen harassing David Hogg, a survivor of the Parkland school shooting.
WorldThe TelegraphJoe Biden presses Vladimir Putin on poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny
Joe Biden challenged Vladimir Putin over the poisoning of Alexei Navalny, and reports of Russian bounties on the heads of US soldiers in Afghanistan, in their first presidential phone call. Mr Biden also raised concerns about Russian "aggression" against Ukraine, and reaffirmed Washington's "strong support for Ukraine's sovereignty." Kremlin officials said documents had been exchanged to extend the pact.
PoliticsAssociated PressUS puts hold on foreign arms sales, including F-35s to UAE
The Biden administration has put a temporary hold on several major foreign arms sales initiated by former President Donald Trump. Officials say that among the deals being paused is a massive $23 billion transfer of stealth F-35 fighters to the United Arab Emirates. The new administration is reviewing the sales but has not made any determination about whether they will actually go through, the State Department said.
WorldReutersChina sharpens language, warns Taiwan that independence 'means war'
China toughened its language towards Taiwan on Thursday, warning after recent stepped up military activities near the island that "independence means war" and that its armed forces were acting in response to provocation and foreign interference. Taiwan, claimed by China as its own territory, reported multiple Chinese fighter jets and bombers entering its southwestern air defence identification zone last weekend, prompting Washington to urge Beijing to stop pressuring Taiwan. China believes that Taiwan's democratically-elected government is moving the island towards a declaration of formal independence, though Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has repeatedly said it is already an independent country called the Republic of China, its formal name.
WorldAssociated PressAuschwitz survivors mark anniversary online amid pandemic
A Jewish prayer for the souls of the people murdered in the Holocaust echoed Wednesday over where the Warsaw ghetto stood during World War II as a world paused by the coronavirus pandemic observed the 76th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Most International Holocaust Remembrance Day commemorations were being held online this year due to the virus, including the annual ceremony at the site of the former Auschwitz death camp, where Nazi German forces killed 1.1 million people in occupied Poland. The memorial site is closed to visitors because of the pandemic.
PoliticsReutersFactbox: What Biden plans to do next on refugees, separated families and regional migration
U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to issue executive orders on asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border, refugee resettlement and the reunification of migrant families, according to a Biden transition team memo shared with lawmakers and recent comments by an administration official. The orders had been planned for Friday, according to the memo and people familiar with discussions. But the White House has now pushed back the time line and it remains unclear when it will take place.
PoliticsThe IndependentGiuliani election witness who went viral after testimony says she’s running for office
A conservative activist who was widely mocked after she was called to testify by Rudy Giuliani during a hearing on election fraud in December says she is running for office. Melissa Carone, who was an IT contractor for Dominion Voting Systems on election day, testified before a Michigan House panel in December 2020 that she had witnessed electoral fraud take place in favour of the Democrats on 3 November's presidential election. In testimony that went viral, Ms Carone claimed that tens of thousands of votes had been counted twice, but offered no proof to back up her claims.
WorldAssociated PressEXPLAINER: Why India's farmers are revolting against PM Modi
Most of the protesters are farmers from northern Punjab and Haryana states, the two biggest agricultural producers. They are demanding the repeal of laws passed by Parliament in September that they say will favor large corporate farms, devastate the earnings of many farmers and leave those who hold small plots behind as big corporations win out. Modi has billed the laws as necessary to modernize Indian farming.
PoliticsReutersBiden takes sweeping measures to curb climate change, vows job creation
President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed a new raft of executive actions to combat climate change, including pausing new oil and gas leases on federal land and cutting fossil fuel subsidies, as he pursues green policies he billed as a boon for job creation. The orders map out the direction for the Democratic president's climate change and environmental agenda and reverse the policies of his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump, who sought to maximize U.S. oil, gas and coal output by removing regulations and easing environmental reviews. "In my view, we've already waited too long to deal with this climate crisis," Biden told a White House ceremony, noting the threats the nation faces from intensifying storms, wildfires, floods and droughts linked to climate change as well as air pollution from burning fossil fuels.
WorldAssociated PressIndia says China ties at crossroads amid border standoff
India on Thursday said its relationship with China is at a crossroads with the months-old military standoff in mountainous border areas profoundly disturbing the ties. “Peace and tranquillity in the border areas is the basis for the development of relations in other domains,” External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said in a speech at a conference discussing India-China ties. Indian and Chinese soldiers brawled again last week in the Naku La area of northeastern Sikkim state.
WorldReutersIran says U.S., not Tehran, should act first to resolve nuclear deal row
The United States should act first by returning to world powers' 2015 nuclear deal with Iran that it ditched in 2018, the Iranian foreign minister tweeted on Thursday after Washington demanded Tehran reverse its breaches of the pact first. New U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed on Wednesday President Joe Biden's policy that Tehran must resume complying with curbs on its nuclear activity under the deal before the United States rejoins the pact abandoned by former president Donald Trump. The JCPOA is the nuclear deal's official acronym, and Zarif was again accusing Washington of having illegally barred humanitarian imports to Iran after Trump reimposed sanctions on Iran, while Tehran had breached limits on uranium enrichment activity only in response to Trump's repudiation of the accord.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderGOP group invests $700,000 into backing Sen. Josh Hawley after he was accused of helping to incite the Capitol riot
A PAC put $700,000 behind Sen. Josh Hawley after he was accused of inciting the Capitol riot, Axios reported. Hawley disputed the electoral votes even after Trump supporters breached the Capitol on January 6. The Senate Conservatives Fund has put $700,000 in total behind Sen. Josh Hawley after he was accused of helping to incite the mob that attacked the Capitol earlier this month, Axios reported.
WorldAssociated PressSyria group files for int'l probe of Greece migrant abuse
A Washington-based Syrian rights group filed a case with the International Criminal Court on Thursday, calling for an investigation into alleged crimes against humanity by Greece for its mistreatment of refugees. The Syria Justice and Accountability Center said witness testimony and video evidence back its claims of mistreatment and abuse of refugees at Greece's borders and inside overcrowded camps. Mohammad Al-Abdallah, the group's executive director, said this was the first legal challenge to the European Union over its treatment of refugees.
U.S.ReutersBiden's immigration changes too late for grandfather deported on Inauguration Day
As U.S. President Joe Biden took the oath of office last Wednesday, Felipe Ortega sat in a van handcuffed and chained at the waist and feet, headed toward Mexico and the end of his 30-year life in the United States. A day earlier, the 58-year-old grandfather of eight U.S. citizens was on his way to work when immigration agents surrounded his car in Midland, Texas, just blocks from his home. After one sleepless night in jail and a long ride to the border, Ortega, a Mexican national, was sent across the international bridge at El Paso in Texas around 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
“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.”