PoliticsYahoo NewsHouse Democrats press forward with plans to remove Trump
House Democrats, furious over the invasion of the Capitol by a mob, are preparing criminal referrals to the Justice Department to request that President Trump and some of his top advisers be investigated for inciting the violence, while also looking at a range of other options that include impeachment and invoking the 25th Amendment. A senior congressional source told Yahoo News that while House Democrats are still “deeply traumatized” by Wednesday's events, there was a mounting consensus among them that Congress needs to reconvene as soon as possible and take forceful action to respond to what was seen as an unprecedented attack on the institutions of government. “What happened at the U.S. Capitol yesterday was an insurrection against the United States, incited by President Trump,” Chuck Schumer, the Democratic minority leader in the Senate, said Thursday morning.
U.S.Yahoo NewsTikTok users to Congress after Capitol riot: Welcome to high school in America
Students in more than 95 percent of American K-12 schools have been participating in school shooting drills for years. And some of them say the “run, hide, fight” strategy, taught to many students across the U.S., could have easily been applied to the Capitol riot. This is how some Gen Z-ers who spoke to Yahoo News saw the attempted insurrection in Washington: with anger but also a lack of surprise.
PoliticsYahoo NewsPerdue concedes race to Jon Ossoff, sealing control of Senate for Democrats
Jon Ossoff's victory in the Georgia Senate runoff election Jan. 5, together with Raphael Warnock's win the same day, ensured Democrats will control the Senate for the next two years, a seismic shift of power in Washington. Warnock's opponent, Sen. Kelly Loeffler, conceded the race on Thursday, and after several days of silence the other Republican running, Sen. David Perdue, admitted his loss on Friday afternoon, Reuters correspondent David Shepardson reported. "Although we won the general election, we came up just short of Georgia's 50 percent rule, and now I want to congratulate the Democratic Party and my opponent for this runoff win,” Perdue said.
WorldAssociated PressHong Kong grants bail to arrested pro-democracy activists
Authorities in Hong Kong said Friday they have granted bail to most of the 55 pro-democracy activists who were arrested this week in a sweeping crackdown on dissent. One of the activists said they could still be charged under a tough national security law. The activists were accused of taking part in an unofficial primary election last year that authorities said was part of a plan to paralyze the Legislative Council and subvert state power.
PoliticsYahoo NewsTrump's 'healing and reconciliation' ends after less than a day as he says he won't attend Biden's inauguration
Less than 18 hours after releasing a video in which he committed himself to “ensuring a smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power” to President-elect Joe Biden, President Trump on Friday tweeted that he has no plans to attend Biden's inauguration. “To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th,” Trump wrote on Twitter. Outgoing presidents have traditionally attended the inauguration of their successor to show the peaceful transfer of power.
WorldAssociated PressPakistan arrests 7 Shiite militants, foils possible attacks
Pakistan's counter-terrorism police and the country's intelligence agency raided hideouts of an outlawed Shiite militant group in the eastern Punjab province and arrested seven suspects who allegedly wanted to attack leaders of rival Sunni Muslims' groups, a spokesman said Thursday. In a statement, the Punjab Counter-Terrorism Department said the suspects from the outlawed Sipah-e-Mohammad group were arrested in three separate raids over the previous 24 hours from cities of Sargodha, Khusab and Sahiwal. It said officers seized bomb-making material and guns that were to be used in sectarian attacks by the arrested men.
PoliticsReutersU.S. Supreme Court's Breyer in retirement spotlight after Democratic wins
With Democrats securing control of the U.S. Senate, some liberal activists are calling for liberal Justice Stephen Breyer to make retirement plans so Democratic President-elect Joe Biden quickly can appoint a successor to the Supreme Court's oldest member. Breyer, 82, has served on the nation's top judicial body since 1994, having been appointed by a Democratic president, Bill Clinton. Republican President Donald Trump, due to leave office on Jan. 20, appointed three justices during his four-year term, moving the court rightward with a 6-3 conservative majority.
PoliticsNational ReviewCotton, Rubio Condemn Republicans Who Opposed Electoral Certification ‘For Political Advantage’
Republican Senators Marco Rubio and Tom Cotton chastised several of their fellow GOP senators on Thursday for their behavior ahead of Congress's certification of the electoral vote count, which a group of senators said they opposed. “You have some senators who, for political advantage, were giving false hope to their supporters, misleading them into thinking that somehow yesterday's actions in Congress could reverse the results of the election,” Cotton said on Fox News. The Arkansas Republican appears to be referring to fundraising messages from Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri that were sent just as pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol building Wednesday afternoon.
WorldAssociated PressPakistani PM asks Shiites to bury coal miners killed by IS
Pakistan's prime minister on Friday appealed on protesting minority Shiites not to link the burial of 11 coal miners from their Hazara community, killed by the Islamic State group last week, to demands that he visit the mourners. Saying that the miners would not be buried until he visits the protesters amounts to blackmail, said Prime Minister Imran Khan. Since Sunday, hundreds of mourners have been rallying despite cold weather in Quetta, beside the coffins of the miners.
WorldAssociated PressUS group appeals for Pakistani woman jailed on blasphemy
The U.S. religious watchdog appealed Friday for the rights of a Pakistani woman from the country's minority Ahmadis who has been jailed on blasphemy charges, declaring her a prisoner of conscience and urging Prime Minister Imran Khan's government to immediately set her free. The statement by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said 55-year-old Ramazan Bibi was jailed last April under Pakistan's draconian blasphemy law that carries the death penalty. Under the law, anyone accused of insulting Islam can be sentenced to death if found guilty.
LifestyleArchitectural DigestInside the Charming Parisian Apartment of French Designer Sarah Poniatowski
Located directly under the roof, Poniatowski's idyllic Right Bank apartment is flooded with light, flea market finds, and the designer's very own collection Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
WorldReutersPower struggle leaves U.N. rights body without leader
Russia and China have opposed a candidate from Fiji seen as a staunch human rights defender to lead the top U.N. rights body, diplomats and observers say, creating a deadlock just as Washington may seek to rejoin the forum it quit in 2018. The Human Rights Council presidency rotates annually between regions and is usually agreed by consensus, with any contests typically resolved quickly and cordially, diplomats say. The impasse means the council, the only intergovernmental global body to promote and protect human rights worldwide, is set to resume work in Geneva next week with no leader for the first time in its 15-year history.
HealthThe WeekPfizer says tests show its COVID-19 vaccine is effective against new, more contagious variant
Texas' first confirmed case was reported in Harris County on Thursday. The researchers reported Thursday night that lab tests on blood samples from 20 vaccinated people showed their antibodies successfully fended off the new strain of the virus. The new findings are preliminary and haven't yet been reviewed by outside experts, but "it was a very reassuring finding that at least this mutation, which was one of the ones people are most concerned about, does not seem to be a problem" for the vaccine, Pfizer chief scientific officer Dr. Philip Dormitzer told The Associated Press.
WorldAssociated PressDaughter of slain Sri Lankan journalist files UN complaint
A daughter of a slain Sri Lankan journalist filed a complaint Friday with the United Nations Human Rights Committee over alleged government involvement in her father's death 12 years ago. The San Francisco-based Center for Justice and Accountability filed the complaint on behalf of Ahimsa Wickrematunge, the daughter of Lasantha Wickrematunge, who was allegedly killed by a military-linked hit squad while driving to work on Jan. 8, 2009. Wickrematunge, editor of the now-defunct Sunday Leader newspaper, was a strong critic of current President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was a powerful defense official at the time.
ScienceBBCNasa's Curiosity rover: 3,000 days on Mars
When we got these images down in June 2018 it was a big relief for the team, even though it was a rather dusty time on Mars. That's because it marked the restart of drilling operations by the rover. "Duluth" was the first rock sample successfully drilled (see centre of the image for the drill hole) since October 2016.
PoliticsThe IndependentTrump turns on his supporters after inciting Capitol riot and tries to call for ‘healing and reconciliation’
Donald Trump has now turned on the Capitol rioters, a day after telling them he “loved them”, and attempted to call for a moment of “healing and reconciliation." After encouraging his supporters to march to the Capitol on Wednesday, triggering an insurrection inside the halls of Congress as he sought to overturn the election result, the president turned to social media after being suspended from his accounts. Like all Americans I am outraged by the violence, lawlessness and mayhem,” he said in a brief video message, days before the end of his one-term presidency as lawmakers prepare to remove him from office.
PoliticsTimeGeorgia Is Just the Beginning. It's Time to Tell a New Story About the South
President-elect Joe Biden along with democratic candidates for the Senate Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock greet supporters during a campaign rally the day before their runoff election in Atlanta, on Jan. 04, 2021. Since 1968, American political fortunes have turned on the status of Southern politics. When Lyndon B. Johnson passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, racially aggrieved white Southern Democrats defected to the Republican Party, a move that Richard Nixon exploited as part of his infamous “Southern Strategy.”
- PoliticsReuters Videos
House rejects block to Biden win in Pennsylvania
The House rejected an objection to the certification in Pennsylvania, expected to be the final one debated, by a 282-138 tally. The Senate also rejected that objection by a 92-7 vote. The Senate earlier rejected by a 93-6 vote Republican objections to the certification of Biden's victory in the battleground state of Arizona, ensuring their defeat.
U.S.Associated PressDeadly siege focuses attention on Capitol Police
Only a few dozen guarded the West front of the U.S. Capitol when they were rushed by thousands of pro-Trump demonstrators bent on breaking into the building. The mob ransacked the place, smashing windows and waving Trump, American and Confederate flags. The lawmakers who were voting to affirm President-elect Joe Biden's victory were forced into hiding for hours.
PoliticsThe Daily BeastPelosi Gives Pence an Ultimatum as House Members Draft Articles of Impeachment
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for Vice President Mike Pence to immediately invoke the 25th Amendment on Thursday, threatening to move forward with impeachment efforts if the president isn't removed for inciting the deadly Capitol riot. “In calling for this seditious act, the president has committed an unspeakable assault on our nation and our people,” Pelosi said. “If the vice president and Cabinet do not act, the Congress may be prepared to move forward with impeachment.”
PoliticsAssociated Press'He's on his own': Some Republicans begin to flee from Trump
President Donald Trump's steadfast grip on Republicans in Washington is beginning to crumble, leaving him more politically isolated than at any other point in his turbulent administration. After riling up a crowd that later staged a violent siege of the U.S. Capitol, Trump appears to have lost some of his strongest allies, including South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham. A handful of congressional Republicans are openly considering whether to join a renewed push for impeachment.
PoliticsBusiness Insider'You should be expelled': Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez mocks Josh Hawley for 'crying over a book deal' after insurrection
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez slammed Sen. Josh Hawley on Thursday evening after he grumbled over a canceled book deal, and called for his expulsion from the Senate. "Your actions fueled a riot and you fundraised in the chaos," the New York congresswoman said. Publisher Simon & Schuster announced earlier Thursday that it would cancel releasing an upcoming book by Hawley due to his commitment to object to the electoral process.
CelebrityINSIDER'Vanderpump Rules' stars Stassi Schroeder and Beau Clark just welcomed their first child together. Here's a timeline of their love story.
Former "Vanderpump Rules" star Stassi Schroeder started dating Beau Clark at the end of 2017. Now, the couple has welcomed their first child together — daughter Hartford Charlie Rose Clark, born on January 7. The most recent season of "Vanderpump Rules" featured plenty of drama, but one bright spot for some fans was Stassi Schroeder and Beau Clark's relationship.
PoliticsAssociated PressTrump to skip Biden swearing-in — Biden's fine with that
President Donald Trump said Friday he will skip President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, refusing to fulfill the outgoing president's traditional role in the peaceful transition of power and undercutting his own message just one day earlier on the need for “national healing and unity." Trump, who has not appeared in public since a violent mob of his supporters besieged the Capitol on Wednesday and tried to halt the transfer of power, will be the first incumbent president since Andrew Johnson not to attend his successor's inauguration. Biden said he was just fine with that, calling it “one of the few things we have ever agreed on."
CelebrityINSIDERPhotos of Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton before they were royals show how drastically their lives have changed
Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle were regular people before they married into the royal family. Middleton graduated from St. Andrews with a degree in art history, and now she has an official portrait at the National Portrait Gallery. Markle held a number of odd jobs before getting her big break on the TV show "Suits," but as a royal, she got a staff of her own.
“Governors are being WAY too precious about who gets this vaccine.”
“The federal government needs to give states strict parameters for when their vaccine allocation must be administered.”
“While public health leaders know what must be done, their critical work could be supported by a national COVID-19 Vaccine Corps.”
“The US vaccine campaign is not a disaster. Rather, I think it is predictably mediocre.”
“The best option may be to rely more on private industry.”