PoliticsUSA TODAYMichigan House punishes Republican state Rep. Gary Eisen for hinting at Electoral College disruption
Michigan Republican legislative leaders pulled a GOP lawmaker from his committee assignments Monday after the lawmaker hinted he was part of a group that sought to disrupt or otherwise undermine the Electoral College vote slated to happen at the Michigan state Capitol on Monday. Rep. Gary Eisen, R-St. Clair Township, made the comments Monday morning during an interview with Port Huron-area radio station WPHM. He was asked about the Electoral College, set to meet Monday in the state Senate chamber to cast the state's 16 electoral votes for President-elect Joe Biden. Eisen made the comments in the context of he and others in Lansing having some sort of event, either at the Capitol or somewhere else.
WorldAssociated Press'External source' causes oil tanker blast off Saudi Arabia
An oil tanker off Saudi Arabia's port city of Jiddah suffered an explosion early Monday after being hit by “an external source,” a shipping company said, suggesting another vessel has come under attack off the kingdom amid its yearslong war in Yemen. The attack on the Singapore-flagged BW Rhine, which had been contracted by the trading arm of the kingdom's massive Saudi Arabian Oil Co., marks the fourth assault targeting Saudi energy infrastructure in a month. It also apparently shut down Jiddah port, the most important shipping point for the kingdom, which later said a bomb-laden boat like the remote-controlled ones used by Yemen's Houthi rebels caused the explosion.
WorldReutersChina urges EU to stop 'irresponsible remarks' after statement on Bloomberg employee
BEIJING (Reuters) -China said on Monday the European Union should stop making "irresponsible remarks" after it called for the release of all those arrested for reporting in China in a statement on a detained Chinese national working for Bloomberg News. China's foreign ministry said on Friday authorities had detained Haze Fan, who works for the Bloomberg bureau in Beijing, on suspicion of endangering national security. The European Union called for authorities to grant Fan "medical assistance if needed, prompt access to a lawyer of her choice, and contacts with her family."
U.S.The Daily BeastU.S. Sanctions Iranian Intel Officers for Kidnapping Ex-FBI Man Who Died in Their Custody
The Treasury Department says it knows the Iranian intelligence officers who kidnapped the former FBI agent Robert Levinson who died in their custody. U.S. officials announced on Monday that two members of Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) would be sanctioned for their alleged role in Levinson's kidnapping and detention. “Senior Iranian officials authorized Levinson's abduction and detention and launched a disinformation campaign to deflect blame from the Iranian regime,” the statement reads.
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AstraZeneca shares dip after $39 bln Alexion deal
Shares in AstraZeneca fell around 6% early on Monday morning (Dec 14). That as investors reacted to news from the firm over the weekend. The British drugmaker on Saturday (December 12) announced it is buying Alexion Pharmaceuticals for $39 billion in cash and stock.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderAttorney General Barr reportedly instructed prosecutors not to reveal the Hunter Biden tax probes before the election to keep the DOJ out of politics
Attorney General William Barr went to great lengths to prevent prosecutors and senior Justice Department officials from revealing the existence of federal tax investigations into Hunter Biden before the election, The Wall Street Journal reported. The report includes new details of Barr's efforts to keep the investigations under wraps. Monday's report adds to a growing list of frustrations President Donald Trump has with Barr and may catalyze the president's efforts to fire the attorney general weeks before he leaves office.
WorldAssociated PressICC prosecutor slams 'wholly unacceptable' US sanctions
The outgoing prosecutor of the International Criminal Court hit out Monday at sanctions slapped on her by the Trump Administration in her final speech to an annual gathering of the court's member states before she leaves office next year. Fatou Bensouda noted at the start of her speech to the Assembly of States Parties that the court and her prosecution office were “subjected to unprecedented and wholly unacceptable threats, attacks and sanctions this past year. In September, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced a freeze on assets held in the U.S. or subject to U.S. law by Bensouda and the court's head of jurisdiction, Phakiso Mochochoko.
WorldReutersRouhani says Iran can move beyond row with Turkey over Erdogan poem
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday Tehran could move past a diplomatic quarrel with Turkey over a poem recited by President Tayyip Erdogan during a visit to Azerbaijan, which Tehran had called a threat to its territorial integrity. Iran summoned Turkey's envoy last week after Erdogan recited an Azeri-Iranian poem lamenting the 19th century division of Azerbaijan's territory between Russia and Iran. Tehran appeared concerned his remarks questioned Iran's territorial integrity and could fan separatist tendencies among its Azeri minority.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderWall Street Journal op-ed telling Jill Biden to drop her 'Dr.' title condemned as 'patronizing drivel.' The paper's higher-education reporter was among the critics.
An op-ed article published by The Wall Street Journal on Friday sparked criticism after it suggested that the incoming first lady, Jill Biden, should drop her "Dr." title because she does not hold a doctorate in medicine. The essayist Joseph Epstein urged Biden to "drop the doc" in her name, saying it "sounds and feels fraudulent, not to say a touch comic." A representative for Biden called the article a "disgusting and sexist attack," with many public figures, including Vice President-elect Kamala Harris' husband, Douglas Emhoff, tweeting in support.
WorldAssociated PressItaly surpasses UK for worst COVID-19 death toll in Europe
Italy on Sunday eclipsed Britain to become the nation with the worst official coronavirus death toll in Europe. Italy, where the continent's pandemic began, registered 484 COVID-19 deaths in one day, one of its lowest one-day death counts in about a month. Counting criteria differ in the two countries, and many coronavirus deaths, especially early in the pandemic, are believed to have gone undetected, including those of elderly people in nursing homes who were not tested for COVID-19.
PoliticsReutersHistoric U.S. COVID vaccine campaign launches with convoy of trucks
Mask wearing workers at a Pfizer factory in Michigan began packing the first shipments of its COVID-19 vaccine in dry ice shortly after 6:30 a.m. ET (1130 GMT) on Sunday. Three trucks carrying pallets of boxed, refrigerated vaccines rolled away from the central Michigan facility at 8:29 a.m., escorted by body armor-clad security officers in a pickup truck and a SUV. It will take months before most U.S. residents can get a COVID-19 vaccine.
PoliticsThe WeekWill Georgia show Democrats ran the wrong campaign against Trump?
"It's time for [Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler] to answer for this pattern of self-dealing and corruption," Democratic Senate candidate Rev. Raphael Warnock demanded Saturday, along with a clip of his opponent dissembling in their recent debate. The double runoff in Georgia to determine control of the United States Senate is a rare election where a significant change in campaign message can be truly tested in the same cycle. Did the Biden campaign, and the Democratic Party as whole, make a mistake by not focusing aggressively on Donald Trump and other top Republicans?
U.S.Business InsiderAtlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms says she declined a position in Biden's cabinet
The office of Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms on Saturday told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that she declined an offer to serve in the cabinet of President-elect Joe Biden. Bottoms, considered a rising star among Democrats, had previously been considered for the role of Biden's vice president before he ultimately selected Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottom has declined an offer to serve in President-elect Joe Biden's cabinet, her office said in a statement Saturday.
HealthAssociated PressThe Latest: West Virginia governor gets coronavirus shot
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice became one of the first top elected officials in the country to receive a coronavirus shot on Monday evening, even though the state's rollout is supposed to prioritize giving the highly sought-after vaccines to health care workers and people in long-term care centers. The 69-year-old Republican governor said he wanted to demonstrate confidence in the vaccine's safety. Four other top state officials, including the health officer and head of the National Guard, next rolled up their sleeves and also received shots live on camera.
WorldReutersMalaysian PM Muhyuddin may face showdown in final budget vote
Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin may face another challenge to his leadership on Tuesday, if the opposition in parliament seeks to block a third and final vote to pass the government's 2021 budget. Muhyiddin's government plans to spend a record 322.5 billion ringgit ($79.61 billion) next year, up 2.5% from this year as it seeks to spur activity in an economy badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Opposition lawmakers led by veteran leader Anwar Ibrahim backed down from a plan to vote down the budget at the end of the policy stage debate last month, avoiding a potential political crisis as Muhyiddin faced the first real test of his wafer-thin majority in the 222-seat parliament.
U.S.BBCAlfred Bourgeois: Second death row inmate executed in two days
A man who killed his toddler daughter nearly 20 years ago has become the second US federal inmate to be executed in as many days. Alfred Bourgeois' death by lethal injection on Friday comes after Brandon Bernard was put to death on Thursday. Three more executions are planned before the end of Donald Trump's presidency on 20 January.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderA voting technology company at the center of election conspiracy theories demanded a retraction from Fox News, accusing them of 'a concerted disinformation campaign'
Smartmatic, a voting technology company, sent cease and desist letters on Monday to Fox News, One America News, and Newsmax, demanding retractions. The company has become the subject of conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election, and accused the media organizations of spreading them. In a letter to Fox News obtained by Insider, Smartmatic says Fox News hosts Lou Dobbs, Jesse Watters, and Maria Bartiromo have been instrumental in spreading the conspiracy theories, which first gained widespread currency with lawsuits from ex-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell.
HealthAssociated PressAfter 110K virus deaths, nursing homes face vaccine fears
After 110,000 deaths ravaged the nation's nursing homes and pushed them to the front of the vaccine line, they now face a vexing problem: Skeptical residents and workers balking at getting the shots. “You go get that first and let me know how you feel,” said Denise Schwartz, whose 84-year-old mother lives at an assisted living facility in East Northport, New York, and plans to decline the vaccine. Everyone from members of the military to former presidents have announced their intentions to get the shots, echoing the refrains of others who say the drugs are the product of rigorous review, firm data and independent experts.
U.S.USA TODAYA small town dragged its feet on COVID-19 mask mandates. Now residents are paying the price.
In the midst of a worsening pandemic, as coronavirus cases climbed, elected leaders in a former frontier town famous for its gunfights faced a choice. The five commissioners of Dodge City, Kansas, a politically red cattle community of some 27,000 people, had resisted such measures all summer and into fall. Like other parts of rural and small-city America, Dodge City had mostly returned to normal after shaking off the pandemic's first wave.
PoliticsReutersU.S. sanctions NATO ally Turkey over purchase of Russian defense system
The United States imposed long-anticipated sanctions on Turkey on Monday over Ankara's acquisition of Russian S-400 air defense systems, further complicating already strained ties between the two NATO allies. Turkey condemned the sanctions as a "grave mistake" and urged Washington to revise its "unjust decision." Senior U.S. officials said in a call with reporters that Ankara's purchase of the S-400s and its refusal to reverse its decision, despite repeated pleas from Washington, left the United States with no other choice.
HealthBusiness InsiderOperation Warp Speed's top scientist says Moderna vaccine will 'likely' be approved by end of week
In an interview with Fox News Sunday, Moncef Slaoui, the head of the federal vaccine initiative Operation Warp Speed, said Moderna's vaccine would "likely would be approved by Friday." Slaoui repeated his prediction that he hoped 100 million people would be immunized by the first quarter of next year, and said he expected around 14 million vaccine doses to be distributed before the end of 2020. Slaoui said the US plan for a vaccine works with "a portfolio of products," and there would "most likely" be no reason for concerns for a shortage of supply in the vaccine in the spring.
ScienceAssociated PressChinese capsule with moon rocks begins return to Earth
A Chinese space capsule bringing back the first moon rocks in more than four decades started its three-day return to Earth on Sunday. The Chang'e 5 lunar probe, which had been orbiting the moon for about a week, fired up four engines for about 22 minutes to move out of the moon's orbit, the China National Space Administration said in a social media post. The craft's lander touched down on the moon earlier this month close to a formation called the Mons Rumker, an area believed to have been the site of ancient volcanic activity.
WorldThe Daily BeastRussian Chemical Experts Trailed Alexei Navalny for Years Before Poisoning Him: Report
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was stalked, trailed, and spied on for more than three years before Russian intelligence agents allegedly poisoned him with a novichok-type nerve agent, according to a new investigation published by Bellingcat on Monday. The extensive investigation by Bellingcat, the Insider, Der Spiegel, and CNN names two Russian doctors working with at least six Russian Security Service, or FSB, operatives who trailed Navalny, flying with him at least 30 times, and possibly attempting to poison him at least once before successfully doing so in August 2020 in the Siberian city of Tomsk.
PoliticsThe WeekDonald Trump's defeat is good. Why does it feel so bad?
The Electoral College will gather in state legislatures across the country and cast its votes, and Joe Biden will officially be designated the next president of the United States. The system, such as it is, is still working despite dozens of junk lawsuits, multiple attempts to undermine the will of the voters, and endless falsehoods from the loser of the presidential election. The election of Donald Trump in 2016 made many of us fear for American self-government.
WorldReutersWild winds, huge seas and rain batter Australian tourist spots
Cyclonic conditions along Australia's northeast coast generated huge seas washing away beaches at popular tourist spots and destructive winds and rain causing widespread flooding, authorities said on Monday. Main Beach at Byron Bay, a popular tourist destination in northern New South Wales state and home to Hollywood A-listers such as Chris Hemsworth, has all but disappeared, Byron Mayor Simon Richardson told media on Monday. Television news footage showed a concrete walkway along the beach collapsing into the sea.
“The prospect of a 2024 run is politically significant. It’s also a complete fiction.”
“His flirtation with a 2024 bid ensures he’ll remain the dominant force in the Republican Party.”
“He shouldn’t run for president again. There’s a better job and life for him on the horizon.”
“Trump is in for years of scandals and humiliations…He’ll have to devote much of his energy to trying to stay out of prison.”
“If Trump himself passes on the opportunity, his two very political children could also potentially pick up the mantle.”