PoliticsThe IndependentKayleigh McEnany leaves White House after final two-minute press briefing following deadly Capitol riot
Donald Trump's press secretary Kayleigh McEnany has packed up her office at the White House, days before president-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office, though she is expected to remain in the role until the president's term ends on 20 January. The press secretary took no questions from the reporters in the room. Following a career in right-wing cable news commentary, Ms McEnany was named the Republican National Committee's national spokesperson in August 2017 before joining the Trump campaign as its national press secretary in 2019.
PoliticsAssociated PressDonor backlash fuels GOP alarm about Senate fundraising
Republicans are worried that a corporate backlash stirred by the deadly Capitol insurrection could crimp a vital stream of campaign cash, complicating the party's prospects of retaking the Senate in the next election. The GOP already faces a difficult Senate map in 2022, when 14 Democratic-held seats and 20 Republican ones will be on the ballot. Eight Republican senators voted to reject Electoral College votes for President-elect Joe Biden, even after the ransacking of the Capitol by a mob of Donald Trump supporters who were exhorted by the president to stop Congress from certifying Biden's victory.
WorldReutersVaccine shipments to EU slow as Turkey, China ramp up inoculations
Some EU nations are receiving fewer than expected doses of coronavirus vaccines as U.S. pharmaceutical firm Pfizer slows shipments, while Turkey and China race ahead with inoculations amid surging infections worldwide. Six EU countries described the delay as unacceptable and said it impacted the credibility of the whole vaccination process. But even when inoculations start en masse, pressure on health systems is not expected to lift for months, or until most people within a population get the shot.
U.S.The Independent‘It was my pleasure to crush a white nationalist insurrection’: DC officer injured in Capitol riot speaks out
A Washington DC police officer who was crushed by a far-right mob during the insurrection at the US Capitol earlier this month has said that he would do it all again to protect US democracy. “If it wasn't my job I would've done that for free,” Officer Daniel Hodges said in an interview with NBC. “It was absolutely my pleasure to crush a white nationalist insurrection … We'll do it as many times as it takes."
WorldThe TelegraphBeijing spying fears as it emerges airframes of new MoD spy planes were previously used by Chinese airlines
Ministers have been accused of risking national security by buying second hand Chinese 737 airliners to convert into new spy planes in a bid to save money. The five E-7 Wedgetail aircraft costing £1.5billion have been ordered from Boeing to deliver the UK's Airborne Early Warning and Control capability, from 2023 from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland. Information gathered by E-7s would be used by the Armed Forces to keep watch on fighter jets or warships by enemy powers.
PoliticsAssociated PressAfter Trump, Biden aims to reshape the presidency itself
When Joe Biden takes the oath of office Wednesday outside a wounded U.S. Capitol, he will begin reshaping the office of the presidency itself as he sets out to lead a bitterly divided nation struggling with a devastating pandemic and an insurrection meant to stop his ascension to power. Biden had campaigned as a rebuke to President Donald Trump, a singular figure whose political power was fueled by discord and grievance. The Democrat framed his election as one to “heal the soul” of the nation and repair the presidency, restoring the White House image as a symbol of stability and credibility.
WorldReuters'Go for it,' says first person vaccinated in India's massive COVID-19 campaign
Hospital cleaning worker Manish Kumar became the first person in India to be vaccinated against COVID-19 on Saturday, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched one of the world's largest immunisation campaigns to bring the pandemic under control. Kumar received his shot at Delhi's premier All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), one of 3,006 vaccination centres established around the country. "The vaccine will give me strength and motivation to serve my hospital which has been at the forefront of taking care of coronavirus patients," Kumar said.
PoliticsThe IndependentMitch McConnell tells senators impeachment trial is ‘vote of conscience’
Following Donald Trump's second impeachment in the House of Representatives, Mitch McConnell has told his senate colleagues it would be a “vote of conscience” as the Senate determines whether to convict the president for his role inciting a deadly insurrection at the Capitol, fuelled by false claims of voter fraud and a pervasive lie that the 2020 election was “stolen” from his supporters. The Senate Majority Leader, overseeing the remaining days of the GOP-controlled Senate as the balance of power shifts in a newly elected Congress, has not indicated how he expects his colleagues to vote, and an impeachment trial won't reach the Senate floor until Joe Biden is president.
PoliticsAssociated PressPompeo offers burst of actions, attacks before leaving State
In his final days as secretary of state, he's issuing orders that have caused international consternation and tweeting up a storm on his official and personal accounts to cement his legacy as a prime promoter of President Donald Trump's “America First” doctrine. With a potential eye on a 2024 presidential run, Pompeo has doubled down on his support for Trump, even as other Cabinet members have resigned or stayed out of sight in the aftermath of the Capitol violence. While the House debated Trump's role in encouraging the riot, Pompeo sent a tweet promoting Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.
ScienceReutersNASA's Boeing moon rocket cuts short 'once-in-a-generation' ground test
NASA's deep space exploration rocket built by Boeing briefly ignited all four engines of its behemoth core stage for the first time on Saturday, cutting short a crucial test to advance a years-delayed U.S. government program to return humans to the moon in the next few years. Mounted in a test facility at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, the Space Launch System's (SLS) 212-foot tall core stage roared to life at 4:27 p.m. local time (2227 GMT) for just over a minute — well short of the roughly four minutes engineers needed to stay on track for the rocket's first launch in November this year. The engine test, the last leg of NASA's nearly year-long “Green Run” test campaign, was a vital step for the space agency and its top SLS contractor Boeing before a debut unmanned launch later this year under NASA's Artemis program, the Trump administration's push to return U.S. astronauts to the moon by 2024.
WorldAssociated PressGermany: Merkel's party elects pragmatic Laschet as leader
Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right party on Saturday chose Armin Laschet, the pragmatic governor of Germany's most populous state, as its new leader — sending a signal of continuity months before an election in which voters will decide who becomes the new chancellor. Laschet will have to build unity in the Christian Democratic Union, Germany's strongest party, after beating more conservative rival Friedrich Merz. Saturday's vote isn't the final word on who will run as the center-right candidate for chancellor in Germany's Sept. 26 election, but Laschet will either run himself or have a big say in who does.
WorldReutersMajor European powers rebuke Iran over uranium metal plans
Three European powers on Saturday warned Iran against starting work on uranium metal-based fuel for a research reactor, saying it contravened the 2015 nuclear deal and had serious military implications. The U.N. nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, and Tehran said on Wednesday that Iran had started the work, the latest breach of its agreement with six major powers as it presses for a lifting of U.S. sanctions. "We strongly encourage Iran to end this activity, and return to full compliance with its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action without delay, if it is serious about preserving this agreement," France, Britain and Germany said in a joint statement.
WorldAssociated PressSpain rejects virus confinement as most of Europe stays home
While most of Europe kicked off 2021 with earlier curfews or stay-at-home orders, authorities in Spain insist the new coronavirus variant causing havoc elsewhere is not to blame for a sharp resurgence of cases and that the country can avoid a full lockdown even as its hospitals fill up. The government has been tirelessly fending off drastic home confinement like the one that paralyzed the economy for nearly three months in the spring of 2020, the last time Spain could claim victory over the stubborn rising curve of cases. Infection rates ebbed in October but never completely flattened the surge from summer.
PoliticsMiami HeraldFlorida Republicans issue litmus test on Cuba, Venezuela policies for Biden nominees
Three Republican lawmakers from Florida are asking the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to reject President-elect Joe Biden's nominees unless they agree to take a tough stance on Cuba and Venezuela, according to a letter obtained by McClatchy. Reps. Michael Waltz, Maria Salazar and former Miami-Dade mayor Carlos Gimenez drafted the letter to the Senate panel just days before it is scheduled to hold a confirmation hearing on Biden's nominee for secretary of State, Antony Blinken, on Tuesday.
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Peru's 'Paddington' bears spotted at Machu Picchu
A couple of spectacled bears, mother and cub, were seen wandering around the ruins of Machu Picchu on Wednesday (January 14), taking advantage of the ruins that are largely free from large tourist numbers. Video footage of the pair was taken by worker from Peru's Culture Ministry at the empty looking ruins. Spectacled bears, also known as the Andean bear, are the only surviving species of bear native to South America.
EntertainmentArchitectural DigestMore Inside Artist Jorge Pardo's Transformed Bushwick Carriage House
When it came to the lighting in his home, Pardo drew inspiration from the insides of fruits, nuts, and seeds, as well as sea creatures and machine parts. Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
WorldAssociated PressChina builds hospital in 5 days after surge in virus cases
China on Saturday finished building a 1,500-room hospital for COVID-19 patients to fight a surge in infections the government said are harder to contain and that it blamed on infected people or goods from abroad. The hospital is one of six with a total of 6,500 rooms being built in Nangong, south of Beijing in Hebei province, the official Xinhua News Agency said. China had largely contained the coronavirus that first was detected in the central city of Wuhan in late 2019 but has suffered a surge of cases since December.
PoliticsReutersOn guns, abortion and voting rights, Trump leaves lasting mark on U.S. judiciary
When a U.S. appeals court declared that Florida could make it harder for convicted felons to vote - a ruling decried by civil rights activists - the impact of President Donald Trump's conservative judicial appointments was plain to see. The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was divided 6-4 in the September ruling, with five Trump appointees in the majority. They ruled that the Republican-governed state could require felons to pay fines, restitution and legal fees after serving time and before casting ballots.
WorldAssociated PressUN says breakthrough achieved in Libya transition talks
The top U.N. official for Libya said Saturday that an advisory committee for representatives of Libya's different regions has proposed a way forward for choosing a transitional government that would lead the war-torn country to elections late this year. The talks in Geneva, structured around the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, have been taking place amid a heavy international push to reach a peaceful settlement to Libya's civil war. U.N. acting envoy for Libya Stephanie Williams told a news conference in Geneva that the advisory committee's members “have met their responsibility with a constructive spirit, cooperative efforts, and a great deal of patriotism.”
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NJ gym owner says bank account wiped out in state asset seizure amid battle over COVID fines
Atilis Gym co-owner Ian Smith joins Sandra Smith on 'America's Newsroom.
U.S.INSIDERA Virginia man arrested at a DC checkpoint with guns and ammo says he was just lost and made an 'honest mistake'
A Virginia man was taken into custody after trying to enter a security checkpoint by the Capitol building on Friday, CNN first reported. The man, Wesley Allen Beeler, attempted to use fraudulent inauguration credentials and also equipped with a loaded gun in his pick-up truck, a law enforcement source told CNN. US Capitol Police arrested a Virginia man at a checkpoint on Friday, alleging he had an unregistered gun and more than 500 rounds of ammunition amid heightened security for President-elect Joe Biden's upcoming inauguration.
PoliticsBBCIn Trump’s final days, a rush of federal executions
As President Donald Trump's days in the White House wane, his administration has been racing through a string of federal executions. Five people have been executed in the run-up to President-elect Joe Biden's 20 January inauguration - breaking with an 130-year-old precedent of pausing executions amid a presidential transition. The five executions began with convicted killer 40-year-old Brandon Bernard who was put to death at a penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana.
WorldAssociated PressRare conviction of South Sudan soldiers for rape raises hope
What sets these assaults in South Sudan apart from many other rapes by soldiers in the troubled country is this: The women brought the men to court and won. Ten years after South Sudan gained its independence and two years after its own deadly civil war ended, large-scale fighting has subsided but clashes continue between communities and between the government and groups that did not sign the peace deal — and the use of rape as a weapon remains rampant. Justice is exceedingly rare, but the September conviction has raised hopes that such crimes will increasingly be prosecuted.
WorldBusiness InsiderTurkey is accused of extraditing Uighur Muslims to China in exchange for COVID-19 vaccines
The Turkish government has been accused of agreeing to deport Uighur Muslims to China to access COVID-19 vaccines. In recent years, China has forcefully cracked down on Uighurs around the world, using their religion to cite a national security threat. Turkey is home to the largest number of diasporic Uighurs in the world.
U.S.The IndependentCapitol police officer who wore MAGA hat at riot says it was a ruse to rescue his colleagues
A Capitol Police officer who was suspended after images from the US Capitol insurrection showed him wearing a red Donald Trump hat said he was using the hat as a way to rescue his colleagues. The Wall Street Journal reported that the officer, Lt Tarik Khalid Johnson, wore the red MAGA hat popular among Trump supporters during the insurrection. He told the Wall Street Journal that he wore the hat as a way to win the trust of protesters in an effort to reach his besieged colleagues inside the US Capitol.
“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.”