The New Yorker on Sunday published 12 minutes of new, surreal footage from inside the Capitol during the mob rampage that left five people dead earlier this month. The video, recorded by veteran war correspondent Luke Mogelson, captures the mob breaking into the building, walking through hallways and taking over the Senate chamber. “If you will not stand down, you are outnumbered,” a man tells a Capitol Police officer after the rioters broke inside.
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will resign her Senate seat on Monday, two days before she and President-elect Joe Biden are inaugurated. Aides to the California Democrat confirmed the timing and said Gov. Gavin Newsom was aware of her decision, clearing the way for him to appoint fellow Democrat Alex Padilla, now California's secretary of state, to serve the final two years of Harris' term. Padilla will be the first Latino senator from California, where about 40% of residents are Hispanic.
Britain reported its lowest number of daily new coronavirus infections since the start of the year on Saturday, adding to signs that a national lockdown is slowing the spread of a more infectious variant of the disease. However the effect of the recent surge in cases remains clear in the death toll, which was the third-highest on record. Britain has Europe's highest death toll - though more have died in Italy and Belgium on a per capita basis.
Donald Trump will leave office with his approval rating at an all-time low, according to a new poll. Mr Trump is now likely to complete his term in the White House with Mike Pence, the vice president, refusing to invoke the 25th amendment to remove him from office and an impeachment hearing due to begin after Joe Biden is inaugurated. The storming of Capitol Hill and Mr Trump's refusal to accept that Mr Biden won the election has caused considerable damage to his reputation, a poll by Pew Research has found.
He writes tenderly of the woman he visited even while likening himself to a mouse lured into a trap. And he brands himself a “political hostage,” held on pretextual charges to secure concessions from the U.S. Seven months after his release, White is trying to reassemble his life in Mexico, unsure what comes next but eager to share his story. I don't want the government of Iran to think that, 'Oh, Mike White's out of here, he's going away, he's going to be quiet,'" he said in a recent interview.
They destroyed black-owned businesses, murdered black residents, and forced the elected local government - a coalition of white and black politicians - to resign en masse. Historians have described it as the only coup in US history. Its ringleaders took power the same day as the insurrection and swiftly brought in laws to strip voting and civil rights from the state's black population.
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.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Saturday fired long-range ballistic missiles into the Indian Ocean on the second day of a military exercise, state media reported. The drill, which comes in the waning days of high tensions with U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, was conducted in the country's central desert region. "One of our most important defence policy goals is to use long-range ballistic missiles against enemy warships, including aircraft carriers and warships," state media quoted Guards commander Major General Hossein Salami as saying.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Sunday that his government has agreed with a U.N. proposal to delay shipments of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine to countries like Mexico that had exiting purchase agreements, in order to get more doses to poorer countries quicker. López Obrador said the delayed shipments would be made up later. “Anyway, that won't change our plan, because we are already seeking out other vaccines,”' López Obrador said, referring to the AstraZeneca vaccine as well as the Chinese CanSino and Russian Sputnik V vaccines, neither of which has been approved for use yet.
Israeli authorities on Sunday advanced plans to build nearly 800 homes in West Bank settlements, in a last-minute surge of approvals before the friendly Trump administration leaves office later this week. COGAT, the Israeli defense body that authorizes settlement construction, confirmed the approvals, which drew swift condemnations from the Palestinians. The anti-settlement monitoring group Peace Now said that over 90% of the homes lay deep inside the West Bank, which the Palestinians seek as the heartland of a future independent state, and over 200 homes were located in unauthorized outposts that the government had decided to legalize.
Sir Richard Branson's rocket company Virgin Orbit has succeeded in putting its first satellites in space. Ten payloads in total were lofted on the same rocket, which was launched from under the wing of one of the entrepreneur's old 747 jumbos. Sir Richard is hoping to tap into what is a growing market for small, lower-cost satellites.
Egypt's former antiquities minister and noted archaeologist Zahi Hawass on Sunday revealed details of an ancient funerary temple in a vast necropolis south of Cairo. Hawass told reporters at the Saqqara necropolis that archaeologists unearthed the temple of Queen Neit, wife of King Teti, the first king of the Sixth Dynasty that ruled Egypt from 2323 B.C. till 2150 B.C. Archaeologists also found a 4-meter (13-foot) long papyrus that includes texts of the Book of the Dead, which is a collection of spells aimed at directing the dead through the underworld in ancient Egypt, he said.
President-elect Joe Biden's plan to scrap President Donald Trump's vision of “America First” in favor of “diplomacy first” will depend on whether he's able to regain the trust of allies and convince them that Trumpism is just a blip in the annals of U.S. foreign policy. From Europe to the Middle East and Asia, Trump's brand of transactional diplomacy has alienated friends and foes alike, leaving Biden with a particularly contentious set of national security issues. Biden, who said last month that “America's back, ready to lead the world, not retreat from it,” might strive to be the antithesis of Trump on the world stage and reverse some, if not many, of his predecessor's actions.
Two Capitol rioters claim an officer told them "It's your house now" as hundreds stormed the Capitol on January 6. Bobby Bauer and a relative were identified as among those who breached the US Capitol after an unknown caller tipped the FBI's National Threat Operations Center. Bauer told authorities an officer "grabbed his hand, shook it, and said, 'It's your house now."
Iran urged the United Nations' nuclear watchdog to avoid publishing “unnecessary” details on Tehran's nuclear program, state TV reported Sunday, a day after Germany, France and Britain said Tehran has “no credible civilian use” for its development of uranium metal. The report quoted a statement from Iran's nuclear department that asked the International Atomic Energy Agency to avoid publishing details on Iran's nuclear program that may cause confusion. It is expected the international atomic energy agency avoid providing unnecessary details and prevent paving ground for misunderstanding” in the international community, the statement said.
Acting CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan weighs in on changing immigration policy under President-elect Joe Biden.
Donald Trump will get to take the nuclear football with him when he leaves Washington DC on his final day in office – but the codes will be deactivated at the stroke of noon. Mr Trump will be accompanied by the 45-pound briefcase when he flies to Florida on the morning of Joe Biden's inauguration, as he is reportedly expected to do. Military officials will have a nuclear football ready and waiting to accompany Mr Biden after he becomes the commander-in-chief, officials told CNN.
Parler CEO John Matze Jr. and his family have fled their homes after receiving death threats, a new court filing says. Parler was recently removed from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, and Amazon Web Services stopped hosting the platform after it deemed Parler a "risk to public safety." Trump supporters flocked to the platform after the president was banned from Twitter following the siege at the Capitol on January 6.
Indian-administered Kashmir—On the afternoon of Jan. 7, 2021, a narrow lane covered with a huge layer of snow—and the muddy foot imprints of Kashmiri mourners—formed a track leading to the door of Mushtaq Ahmad Wani's house. Two Kashmiri men in their early 20s who wore long dull-colored pheran, a traditional Kashmiri dress, served the tea to the mourners, who had come to express their condolences to Mushtaq over the killing of his only son, 16-year-old Athar Ashraf Wani. The teen was killed two weeks earlier on the highway that connects Srinagar, the capital city of Indian-administered Kashmir, to the northern and southern parts of the region.
The number of players in hard quarantine swelled to 72 ahead of the Australian Open after a fifth positive coronavirus test was returned from the charter flights bringing players, coaches, officials and media to Melbourne for the season-opening tennis major. Australian Open organizers confirmed late Sunday that the latest case involved a passenger on the flight from Doha, Qatar to Melbourne who was not a member of the playing contingent, But all 58 passengers, including the 25 players, now cannot leave their hotel rooms for 14 days. There were already 47 players, including Grand Slam winners, in hard quarantine after three positive tests were returned from a charter flight that arrived from Los Angeles and one from a flight that departed Abu Dhabi.
A lucrative market has emerged for presidential pardons and clemency, with associates of Donald Trump being paid to lobby on individuals' behalf, the New York Times reported. Thousands of dollars have changed hands according to documents filed by lobbyists to Congress. While there is no suggestion of illegality, the latest allegations will be embarrassing for Mr Trump who, when running for office, promised to “drain the swamp” of lobbyists and paid influence peddlers in Washington.
Apple may add Parler back to its App Store if the app steps up its moderation efforts, Apple CEO Tim Cook said on Fox News Sunday. Apple removed Parler from its platform in the wake of the deadly Capitol siege after it found the network did not adequately police content that promotes violence. Conservative-leaning social media app Parler could return to the Apple App Store if it steps up its moderation, Apple CEO Tim Cook said in an interview on Fox News Sunday.
At least six of Sen. Ted Cruz's former aides have expressed their disgust at the recent actions of their former boss, according to New York Magazine's Intelligencer. Ted Cruz is under fire for spreading election misinformation, objecting to the results of the 2020 election being certified, and having fundraised during the US Capitol insurrection. Democratic lawmakers have called for Cruz to resign or to be removed from office.
Jennifer Lopez recently launched a skincare product line, JLo Beauty. Jennifer Lopez shut down a commenter's accusation that she has Botox and won't admit it. On Friday, the actress and singer shared a video on Instagram that she said captured her first reaction to seeing her skin after using a product from JLo Beauty - her newly launched skincare line - called That Limitless Glow, a $48 sheet mask that comes in a set of three.
Lily Allen decided to get sober after she considered taking heroin while performing on Miley Cyrus' Bangerz tour in 2014. While speaking with DJ Fat Tony on The Recovery podcast, Allen opened up about her journey to sobriety and the obstacles she overcame along the way. Allen, 35, recalled her time as an opening act on the Bangerz tour as particularly difficult, saying she didn't feel like a pop star at all.
“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.”