New Yorker publishes stunning video of Capitol riot

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.

Congresswoman's spokesman quits less than 2 weeks into term

The spokesman for Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert has quit less than two weeks after she was sworn into office, saying he was prompted to by the insurrection at the nation's Capitol. Ben Goldey confirmed his departure to The Colorado Sun after it was first reported on Saturday by Axios. The Sun reported that Goldey did not respond to additional questions, but he told Axios he was leaving in the wake of a deadly Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

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  Communications director for gun-toting congresswoman quits

  Axios
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  Aide to Lauren Boebert resigns following Capitol riots

  The Independent

Lebanon patriarch tells feuding president and PM-designate to reconcile

Lebanon's top Christian cleric has urged President Michel Aoun to set up a reconciliation meeting with Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri to form a cabinet and end the country's political deadlock. The country's fractious politicians have been unable to agree on a new administration since the last one quit in the aftermath of the Aug. 4 Beirut port explosion, leaving Lebanon rudderless as it sinks deeper into economic crisis. Tensions between Aoun and Hariri, who publicly traded blame in December after failing to agree a cabinet, came to a head last week when a leaked video showed Aoun apparently calling Hariri a liar.

Trump's presidency not just a blip in US foreign policy

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.

Guatemala forces stall migrant caravan with tear gas, batons

Guatemalan police and soldiers launched tear gas and wielded batons and shields against a group of Honduran migrants that tried to push through their roadblock early Sunday. The security forces beat them back and deployed tear gas. Later, hundreds of migrants sat down on the roadway, refusing to leave and insisting they be allowed through, appealing to the soldiers as fellow Central Americans.

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  Guatemala tries blocking caravan of 9,000 Honduran migrants

  Associated Press
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  Migrant caravan: Guatemala blocks thousands bound for US

  BBC

In Tokyo's lockdown, some drink on even after authorities call time

For Yuuki Hamazono, it was a relief to find bars and restaurants in Tokyo flouting the Japanese government's request to close by 8 p.m. The 30-year-old financial trader was one of many people out in the Shimbashi nightlife district during the first weekend of an expanded state of emergency, with the government pleading for residents to stay home to contain the coronavirus. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared a state of emergency for Tokyo and surrounding prefectures this month.

Wilmington 1898: When white supremacists overthrew a US government

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.

Biden fills out State Department team with Obama veterans

President-elect Joe Biden on Saturday filled out his State Department team with a group of former career diplomats and veterans of the Obama administration, signaling his desire to return to a more traditional foreign policy after four years of uncertainty and unpredictability under President Donald Trump. Biden will nominate Wendy Sherman as deputy secretary of state and Victoria Nuland as undersecretary of state for political affairs — the second- and third-highest ranking posts, respectively. They were among the 11 officials announced to serve under the incoming secretary of state, Antony Blinken.

China 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.

A couple of Capitol rioters told the FBI an officer shook their hands and said 'it's your house now' as insurrectionists stormed the US Capitol

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."

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  FBI Shares Photos Of Suspects Who Surrounded And Beat DC Officer During Capitol Riot

  HuffPost
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  Capitol rioters taking selfies leave digital trail of 140,000 images under FBI investigation

  The Independent

Iran fires long-range missiles into Indian Ocean in military drill: media

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.

Israel OKs hundreds of settlement homes in last-minute push

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.

Mexico says it's OK with getting less Pfizer vaccine for now

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.

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  Lebanon signs with Pfizer for 2.1 million vaccine doses

  Associated Press
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  Brazilian approval of Sputnik V vaccine delayed by missing data

  Reuters

Federal authorities arrest the mother of Tennessee man who was pictured holding plastic restraints during Capitol riots

The mother of the man who was pictured with plastic zip-tie restraints during the Capitol riots was arrested and charged by the FBI. Lis Eisenhart was arrested in Nashville on Saturday. According to an affidavit, footage from the riot revealed that both Eisenhart and Munchel appeared to be "holding flex cuffs in each of their hands" while following a violent mob who were chasing two Capitol police officers during the siege.

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  Mom Of 'Zip Tie Guy' In Capitol Mob Arrested In Nashville

  HuffPost
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  Mom of ‘zip tie guy’ arrested for her role in US Capitol insurrection, feds say

  Miami Herald

Adam Schiff says ‘massive intelligence and security failure’ at US Capitol being investigated by the House

Rep. Adam Schiff, the House Intelligence Committee Chairman, said a "massive intelligence and security failure" was being investigated in connection with the US Capitol insurrection by Donald Trump's supporters on 6 January. Mr Schiff made the comments while appearing on CBS's Face the Nation. "Along with my fellow chairs, we are beginning an investigation into what went wrong," Mr Schiff said.

Iran asks watchdog not to publish 'unnecessary' nuke details

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.

SLS: Nasa's 'megarocket' engine test ends early

A critical engine test for Nasa's new "megarocket" has ended early, but the agency denied it amounted to a failure. Shortly before 22:30 GMT (17:30 EST) on Saturday, the four engines ignited, burning for more than a minute before the event was aborted. The core stage of the Space Launch System (SLS) was being evaluated at Stennis Space Center, in Mississippi.

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  NASA's Boeing moon rocket cuts short 'once-in-a-generation' ground test

  Reuters
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  NASA stages test of its next huge rocket

  Axios

Trump will take nuclear football out of DC on his final day in office - and the codes will be deactivated at the stroke of noon

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.

Egypt unveils ancient funerary temple south of Cairo

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.

The EU could throw out its landmark trade deal with China over concerns about Beijing's human rights record

A leading member of the European Parliament has raised significant concerns about the EU's landmark investment deal with China over its alleged human rights abuses and fears that it could harm relations with the new Biden administration. The EU-China investment deal aims to liberalize trade between Beijing and Brussels and was struck in the last days of December after last-minute concessions from Chinese premier Xi Jinping. But there is mounting concern in the European Parliament, which still needs to approve the deal, about the deal given China's human rights record on issues including alleged forced labor camps and a crackdown in Hong Kong which began last year.

Twitter suspends US congresswoman over election fraud claims

Twitter on Sunday temporarily suspended the account of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Republican U.S. Congresswoman from Georgia who has expressed racist views and support for QAnon conspiracy theories online. Greene's account was suspended “without explanation," she said in a statement, while also condemning big tech companies for “silencing” conservative views. Before noon Sunday, Greene posted a clip from an interview with a local news outlet in which she condemned Georgia election officials and expressed support for debunked theories claiming that voting machines, absentee ballots and other issues led to widespread fraud in the state during the presidential election.

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  Twitter Temporarily Suspends QAnon Rep. For Election Disinformation, Inciting Violence

  HuffPost
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  Twitter locks account of Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican who promoted QAnon

  Reuters

A woman in Washington, DC said she found a pipe bomb while doing laundry on the same day as Capitol siege

D.C. resident Karlin Younger found a pipe bomb while doing her laundry on January 6. The FBI has launched an investigation in response to multiple reports of pipe bombs found around DC that may be connected to the riots. The FBI has launched an investigation after a woman in Washington, DC found a pipe bomb while doing her laundry on the same day as pro-Trump rioters stormed the US Capitol.

The pandemic devastated airlines in 2020 and forced many out of business - here's the most notable that didn't make it to 2021

All 11 major US airlines remained intact but smaller regional carriers were forced to close or merge due to the drop in travel demand. A surprise announcement in February that the promising Qatar Airways-backed Air Italy would be liquidated set the stage for a year of losses even before lockdowns grounded the world's airlines. In the US, all 11 major airlines remained intact but smaller regional carriers folded amid an unprecedented drop in passengers that remains low even into the new year.