PoliticsYahoo NewsBiden's emerging Cabinet signals a return to diplomacy and process
As the names of members of President-elect Joe Biden's diverse Cabinet have begun to emerge, the U.S. is poised to make a sharp departure from the Trump administration's confrontational approach to foreign policy. In selecting veteran, tight-knit officials who prize diplomacy and process over the disruptive brinksmanship of the last four years, Biden is looking to return the U.S. to a leadership role in world affairs. “These individuals are equally as experienced and crisis-tested as they are innovative and imaginative,” Biden said in a Monday statement about his selections.
U.S.INSIDERNYC sheriffs broke up a sex party with 80 people, a room full of mattresses, and boxes of condoms
Video: Virtual sex worker demand skyrocketing in quarantine The New York City Sheriff's Office broke up an illegal sex party of over 80, mask-less attendees in Astoria, Queens for violating state COVID-19 regulations on Sunday. Officials walked into the venue to find a crowd of people at the event hosted by self-described swinger's club Caligula New York. The New York City Sheriff's Office told Insider that deeper in the party, officers found three couples having sex in a back room with multiple mattresses set up covering the floor, which was scattered with condoms.
PoliticsNational ReviewPennsylvania Republicans File Emergency Lawsuit to Block Certification of Election Results
A group of Pennsylvania Republicans filed a lawsuit over the weekend to block certification of the state's election results in an eleventh-hour attempt to overturn Joe Biden's victory in the key battleground state. The emergency petition, filed in state court, takes issue with a voting reform bill that passed Pennsylvania's Republican-held legislature in October last year. The lawsuit claims that the law's allowance of no excuse mail-in voting is “unconstitutional” and seeks to block Pennsylvania counties from certifying their vote results ahead of the deadline on Monday to do so and invalidate millions of mail-in ballots cast in the 2020 election.
- WorldAssociated Press
Kurdish and Turkey-backed fighters clash in Syria, 11 killed
Clashes between Kurdish fighters and Turkey-backed opposition gunmen in northern Syria left at least 11 fighters dead in some of the most intense fighting in weeks between the two sides, an opposition war monitor and a Kurdish spokesman said Tuesday. Exchange of fire and shelling between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and Turkey-backed opposition gunmen who identify as the Syrian National Army have not been uncommon since Turkish troops invaded parts of northern Syria in October of last year. The Monday night clashes near the town of Ein Issa were triggered by an attack by Turkey-backed gunmen on SDF positions, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor.
PoliticsThe IndependentMelania welcomes White House tree after being caught on tape saying ‘who gives a f***’ about Christmas
Melania Trump was all smiles as she welcomed her family's final Christmas tree to the White House. The maskless first lady appeared in the festive spirit despite being caught on tape earlier this year complaining “who gives a f*** about Christmas stuff. Decorating the historic mansion will be her final major job as first lady before Dr Jill Biden takes over the role in January.
EntertainmentArchitectural DigestClever’s 2020 Gift Guide Is Here and It Just Wants You to Have a Nice Time
We rounded up a mix of gifts that help others, keep folks healthy, and add a little something-something to the home Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
PoliticsYahoo NewsBiden family-reunification task force caught up in delayed transition
Nearly a month after Joe Biden announced plans to create a federal task force to track down the parents of more than 600 immigrant children who remain separated from them as a result of the Trump administration's zero tolerance policy, attorneys working on the issue say they have yet to be consulted by the campaign. Reunifying families separated at the border was among the long list of executive actions the president-elect has promised to issue on his first day in office. Biden's announcement of a federal task force was welcome news to attorneys who've been saddled with the grueling task of tracking down these parents, many of whom have already been deported to their home countries while their children remain in the United States.
U.S.NBC NewsAlleged mafia members 'Joey Electric,' 'Tony Meatballs,' 13 others indicted
Fifteen alleged members of a crime family based in Philadelphia face federal racketeering and related charges, prosecutors said. A superseding indictment revealed on Monday that the fifteen alleged crime associates of the crime family La Cosa Nostra were accused of racketeering conspiracy, illegal gambling, loansharking, and drug trafficking, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Philadelphia. Among the 15 defendants are 60-year-old Joseph Servidio, or “Joey Electric,” and Anthony Gifoli, 73 — better known as “Tony Meatballs.”
U.S.National ReviewOregon Gov. Kate Brown Encourages Residents to Call Police on Neighbors Violating COVID Rules
Oregon Governor Kate Brown is encouraging residents to call the police on any neighbors who flout state COVID-19 restrictions, which include limiting in-home gatherings to a maximum of six people. Last week the Democratic governor instituted a new round of restrictions aimed at mitigating the spread of coronavirus in the state via executive order, including a two-week “freeze” limiting indoor and outdoor gatherings to no more than six people from no more than two households just ahead of Thanksgiving. Residents are also prohibited from eating out at restaurants and going to the gym, though faith-based gatherings of up to 25 people indoors and 50 people outdoors are allowed.
U.S.Associated PressFederal prisons to prioritize staff to receive virus vaccine
The federal prison system will be among the first government agencies to receive the coronavirus vaccine, though initial allotments of the vaccine will be given to staff and not to inmates, even though sickened prisoners vastly outnumber sickened staff, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. Officials at the federal Bureau of Prisons have been instructing wardens and other staff members to prepare to receive the vaccine within weeks, according to people familiar with the matter. The internal Bureau of Prisons documents, obtained by the AP, say initial allotments of the vaccine “will be reserved for staff.”
- PoliticsFOX News Videos
Hanson: 2020 election has always been a constitutional issue
Historian Victor Davis Hanson joins 'Life, Liberty & Levin' to discuss the constitutional controversy surrounding the 2020 presidential election.
PoliticsNBC NewsFeinstein says she's stepping down as top Democrat on Senate Judiciary Committee
Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Monday she will step down as top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee in the new session of Congress beginning early 2021, marking a victory for progressives who pressured her to step aside. “After serving as the lead Democrat on the Judiciary Committee for four years, I will not seek the chairmanship or ranking member position in the next Congress,” the California Democrat said in a statement. The senator came under fierce criticism from progressives after she lavished praise on Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., for his handling of the Amy Coney Barrett Supreme Court hearing, and gave him a hug after the proceedings concluded on Oct. 15.
U.S.Business InsiderApple's security chief was indicted on bribery charges over allegations that he offered $70,000 worth of iPads in exchange for concealed-carry permits for Apple security guards
Apple's head of security was indicted on charges accusing him of offering 200 iPads, worth an estimated $70,000, to local law-enforcement officials in exchange for concealed-carry weapons permits for Apple security guards. The second-in-command at Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office was also named in the indictment. In October, two former managers at a Silicon Valley security firm pleaded guilty to charges related to the case.
U.S.The Independent12-year-old boy fatally shot after answering knock at his Philadelphia front door
A 12-year-old boy was fatally shot after he heard a knock and went to answer the front door in his Philadelphia home, authorities said. The boy, identified as Sadeek Clark-Harrison by CBS Philly, was shot in the face and killed shortly before 3am on Sunday morning. A knock was heard at the front door of the Frankford home before a bullet was shot through the crescent moon glass of the door.
PoliticsThe Daily BeastRush Limbaugh Does Full 180, Blasts Sidney Powell After Team Trump Disavowed Her
Rush Limbaugh fully reversed course on Monday, trashing the Trump legal team's unhinged press conference detailing baseless election-fraud conspiracies just days after praising attorney Sidney Powell—whom the Trump team has since disavowed—for dropping “bombs all over the place.” Over the weekend, after Powell claimed millions of votes were stolen from President Donald Trump by corrupted software, Powell gave an off-the-rails interview to Newsmax TV in which she expanded her bonkers conspiracy to include Georgia's Republican governor and secretary of state being bribed.
PoliticsNational ReviewHere Comes the Biden Blame Game
During the eight years that President Obama and his team managed the economy, Americans were regularly assured that the president's Keynesian policies would deliver striking growth in the years ahead. The growth repeatedly failed to materialize, and what followed was a master class in blamesmanship. No matter how far into the Obama term we were, the disappointing growth was a “new normal”– not the result of President Obama's high tax and heavy regulatory policies.
U.S.NBC NewsSearch for missing Dallas businessman upgraded to 'Endangered Missing Person'
As many families gather for Thanksgiving this week, the loved ones of Dallas businessman Alan White say it won't be the same without him as the holiday marks five weeks since he went missing. “We should all be together right now,” Alan's younger brother, Tim White, told Dateline. “Instead, we're just worried sick about where Alan could be,” he said.
HealthBusiness InsiderModerna's chief medical officer says that vaccine trial results only show that they prevent people from getting severely sick — not necessarily that recipients won't still be able to transmit the virus
Moderna Chief Medical Officer Tal Zaks told Axios that the public should not "over-interpret" the vaccine trial results to assume life could go back to normal after adults are vaccinated. "They do not show that they prevent you from potentially carrying this virus transiently and infecting others," Zaks told Axios. While he believes, based on the science, that it's likely that vaccine does prevent transmission, but said there's still no solid proof of that yet.
PoliticsThe IndependentTrump says he ‘will never concede’ and transition process has nothing to do with election result
Having come closer than ever to accepting the 2020 election results on Monday night, by officially launching the transition process, Donald Trump again took to Twitter in the small hours of Tuesday to insist that he “will never concede”. The president reiterated his unsubstantiated claims that the 3 November vote had been “the most corrupt election”, saying he will keep challenging the result in court and hitting out at “fake ballots and 'Dominion'” - a reference to a brand of voting machines. Twitter once again flagged the post almost immediately as “disputed”, hiding it with a warning from people's feeds.
EntertainmentBusiness InsiderNew York Gov. Andrew Cuomo cancels his Thanksgiving plans hours after saying his 89-year-old mother and 2 daughters were coming to dinner
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo will not be having Thanksgiving dinner with his 89-year-old mother and two of his three daughters, contrary to what he alluded to a radio interview on Monday. The internet was quick to drag Cuomo, given that he's been urging New Yorkers to stay home and limit travel this Thanksgiving due to the coronavirus pandemic. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo will not be having his 89-year-old mother and two of his daughters over for Thanksgiving, according to a senior adviser.
EntertainmentINSIDERDisney World fans are worried that Animal Kingdom's broken yeti will never get fixed after a famous Imagineer announced he's retiring
Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde announced in an Instagram post on Monday that he's retiring after 40 years with the company. The beloved creative said he thinks now is a "great opportunity to slip away without too much disruption" while Disney World faces a "quiet time" during the COVID-19 pandemic. While many fans thanked him for his impact on the theme parks over the years, others questioned if the broken yeti animatronic in Animal Kingdom — the theme park he was in charge of — will ever be fixed.
BusinessBusiness InsiderTravis Kalanick's $37 million NYC penthouse was reportedly the site of a large party where no one was wearing a mask
A large indoor party where guests weren't wearing masks was reportedly held at ex-Uber CEO Travis Kalanick's New York City penthouse in September. In a story featured in New York Magazine's The Cut, Cat Marnell describes attending the party, saying there were "tons of people there, and of course no one was wearing a mask." A representative for Kalanick told Business Insider that he had lent his apartment to a friend and was not aware of the party, and that he does not know Marnell.
PoliticsNBC NewsWith nearly all votes counted, the 2020 presidential election wasn't that close
What's gotten lost in all of the focus on President Trump's lawsuits, his baseless accusations of voter fraud and his administration's unwillingness so far to begin the transition is a simple fact. Right now, Joe Biden's popular-vote lead over Trump stands at 4 percentage points, 51 percent to 47 percent — and it's only going to grow once more of New York's votes (finally) get counted. When it comes to the Electoral College, the tally stands at Biden 306, Trump 232 – which happens to be the exact same split as Trump's 2016 win versus Hillary Clinton (but in reverse).
LifestyleThe IndependentMysterious metal monolith found in the wilds of Utah by team of biologists
It is made of smooth, black-grey metal, unlike anything seen in the nearby red rocks. KSLTV, a local news station, interviewed Bret Hutchings, the pilot who helped discover the monolith. That's been about the strangest thing that I've come across out there in all my years of flying,” he told the broadcaster.
CelebrityINSIDERMartha Stewart says her sultry pool selfie that went viral this summer was a mistake
Martha Stewart revealed that the sultry pool selfie she posted this summer was a total accident. Stewart's selfie — which showed her blowing a kiss to the camera from her pool — received more than 240,000 likes and was copied by Chelsea Handler. "I was trying to take a picture of the beautiful turquoise planter at the end of the pool, but the camera was on me, so I just snapped it," Stewart recently told People.
“Donald Trump defeated Donald Trump.”
“The victory was a vindication of a style of American politics that many feared was gone forever.”
“Mr. Biden’s victory — and Mr. Trump’s defeat — is a testament to the resilience of American democracy.”
“Trump’s 2020 reelection bid was doomed by his boorish behavior. Time and again, he refused to act like a president.”
“Biden took the opportunity to unite the Democratic Party.”