Trump did ‘more harm than expected’ to transition, says senator close to president

Senator Chris Coons has said that Donald Trump and “his team caused more harm than expected” during the transition period after Joe Biden's transition team was not permitted access. The revelation came during an interview on MSNBC during which the Democratic senator was asked for his opinion on the flurry of executive actions passed by the president since Wednesday. Senator Coons, who holds Mr Biden's old seat and has known the president for 30 years, said the president had been thoroughly preparing since he won the election in November.

Israeli police, ultra-Orthodox protesters clash over schools

Ultra-Orthodox demonstrators clashed with Israeli police in two major cities on Sunday, as authorities faced new difficulties in enforcing coronavirus restrictions in the country's religious communities. The clashes occurred in Jerusalem and Ashdod as police attempted to close religious schools that had opened in violation of lockdown orders. Throughout the pandemic, many major ultra-Orthodox sects have flouted safety regulations, continuing to open schools, pray in synagogues and hold mass weddings in funerals.

The Bidens were reportedly left waiting outside the White House on Inauguration Day because Trump sent the staff home

Biden reportedly wasn't greeted by White House staff on Inauguration Day because Trump sent them home. Trump reportedly sent the butlers home so "there would be no-one to help the Bidens when they arrived." Chief usher Timothy Harleth left his role before the Bidens arrived at the White House.

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  For Biden, pandemic safety starts at home: In the White House

  Yahoo News
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  Bidens left stuck outside White House on Inauguration Day after ‘petty’ final Trump act

  The Independent

Biden on collision course with Saudi Arabia that could upset Trump's alliance against Iran

The Biden administration has already set itself on a collision course with Saudi Arabia after its director of National Intelligence vowed to declassify a report on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. The push to release the intelligence community's assessment of the murder of the dissident journalist, which is believed to implicate Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has the potential to trigger a major fallout with the kingdom. Avril Haines, who was confirmed in her new role on Thursday, told Congress “we will follow the law” regarding the report, referring to the Trump administration's refusal to release the full version for US House representatives.

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  Saudi Arabia expects 'excellent relations' with Biden administration

  Reuters
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  Schiff asks new intel chief Avril Haines to declassify Jamal Khashoggi report

  Axios

US reaffirms Taiwan support after China sends warplanes

The U.S. has reaffirmed its support for Taiwan following China's dispatch of warplanes near the island in an apparent attempt to intimidate its democratic government and test the resolve of the new American presidential administration. The U.S. State Department on Saturday said it was concerned by China's "pattern of ongoing attempts to intimidate its neighbors, including Taiwan.” “We urge Beijing to cease its military, diplomatic, and economic pressure against Taiwan and instead engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan's democratically elected representatives," Ned Price, a spokesman for the department, said in the statement.

Man who punched cop during Capitol riot has brother in Secret Service who is friends with Michelle Obama, the Huffington Post has revealed

Scott Kevin Fairlamb, 43, of Stockholm, New Jersey, was arrested on five charges on January 22. Preston Fairlamb III led Michelle Obama's service detail while she was First Lady. The son of a police officer who punched a cop during the Capitol riots also has a brother in the Secret Service who Michelle Obama previously described as a "real friend," the Huffington Post found.

Washington gets whiplash in shift from Trump to Biden

White House events have carefully calibrated themes. Washington is suffering whiplash — or enjoying it, depending on whom you ask — as President Biden takes over from former President Trump, a transition that stands as one of the starkest contrasts in U.S. political history. Before the election, Trump mocked his opponent as "Sleepy Joe."

Protests against Israeli PM Netanyahu continue nationwide

Over a thousand protesters gathered in Jerusalem on Saturday for weekly demonstrations demanding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu step down over corruption charges, as smaller protests were staged at intersections and bridges across the country. The protests have taken place each week since last summer, primarily at a Jerusalem square near Netanyahu's official residence, and continued despite lower turnout in the cold winter nights. In March, Israel will hold its fourth national election in less than two years, and Netanyahu is facing further challenges from defectors within his Likud party.

Over 3 dozen Democrats lawmakers urge Biden to commute the sentences of all remaining federal death row inmates

Thirty-seven lawmakers asked President Joe Biden to commute the sentences of all remaining federal death row inmates. The effort was led by Reps. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Cori Bush of Missouri. Biden is opposed to the death penalty and campaigned on ending the practice.

Almost 1 in 5 people charged for Capitol riots served in military

Ongoing investigations have shown that more than one in five of the people currently charged for their involvement in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol has served in the military. NPR conducted an analysis of arrest records and compiled a list of people facing charges by either the federal government or the District of Columbia. Their review reveals that of more than 140 people charged, at least 27, or roughly 20 percent, have served or are currently serving in the U.S. military.

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  Man Arrested For Capitol Riot Involvement Threatened To 'Assassinate' Rep. Ocasio-Cortez

  HuffPost
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  Nearly 1 in 5 Charged in Capitol Riot Are Current or Former Military Members: Report

  The Root

Citizenship data is latest rollback of Trump census efforts

The U.S. Census Bureau is suspending efforts to create neighborhood-level statistics on the citizenship and age of residents, using 2020 census data, in the latest rollback of Trump administration census-related initiatives that critics feared would be used to favor Republicans and whites during the drawing of state and local districts. As part of an order President Joe Biden signed Wednesday on the 2020 census, the Census Bureau said Friday that it would discontinue efforts to create citizenship tabulations at the city-block level using 2020 census data combined with administrative records.

For 1st Black Pentagon chief, racism challenge is personal

Newly confirmed Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will have to contend not only with a world of security threats and a massive military bureaucracy, but also with a challenge that hits closer to home: rooting out racism and extremism in the ranks. Austin took office Friday as the first Black defense chief, in the wake of the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, where retired and current military members were among the rioters touting far-right conspiracies. Austin, who was confirmed in a 93-2 vote, has made clear that accelerating delivery of coronavirus vaccines will get his early attention.

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  Senate Confirms Lloyd Austin To Be The First Black Defense Secretary

  HuffPost
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  Senate confirms Austin as Defense Secretary

  Associated Press Videos

Lucas Interior Embraces Color to Modernize Palm Springs Spanish Revival Home

The materials and colors took center stage,” said David Lucas when it came to the design of the home. Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

National Guard: President Biden apologises over troops sleeping in car park

US President Joe Biden has apologised after some members of the National Guard stationed at the Capitol were pictured sleeping in a car park. Mr Biden called the chief of the National Guard Bureau on Friday to apologise and ask what could be done, according to US media reports. First Lady Jill Biden also visited some of the troops to thank them personally, bringing biscuits from the White House as a gift.

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  First Lady brings cookies to National Guard

  Associated Press Videos
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  NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen last week

  Associated Press

MyPillow Guy among the Trump acolytes picking up the torch

When Mike Lindell, better known to TV viewers as the MyPillow Guy, went to the White House last week to try to persuade President Donald Trump to keep pushing bogus theories about the election, he came away disappointed. Unexpectedly, Trump passed him — and his claims about sabotaged voting machines — off on staffers. The president has told him before that he would back his bid for governor of Minnesota, Lindell told The Associated Press.

Ohio man stole a coat rack in Capitol riots; another brought a bottle of bourbon, court records say

An Ohio man is charged with stealing a coat rack during the US Capitol riots and another was found with marijuana and an open bottle of bourbon, according to court records. Dustin Byron Thompson and Robert Anthony Lyon were sitting on the sidewalk on a street near the U.S. Capitol grounds hours after the Jan. 6 rioting when they were approached by two Capitol Police special agents. Thompson, 36, of Columbus' University District, was wearing a Trump 2020 winter hat and a bulletproof vest, and Lyon, 27, whom records indicate has resided in Columbus and Reynoldsburg, had a Trump 2020 flag.

Dems Urged Not to ‘Waste a Second’ Negotiating as Republicans Back Away From COVID Relief

Democrats are facing new objections from Republicans over the Biden administration's COVID-19 relief package, a maddening reality that has set off alarm bells among progressives who fear hard-fought issues could be left on the chopping block. While President Joe Biden has long touted a working ability to inspire bipartisanship, some on the party's left wing are already warning against spending too much time trying to negotiate with the GOP, citing double control in the House and Senate and playing up the importance of providing fast monetary relief to Americans during the pandemic. “Democrats need to just plow ahead,” said Larry Cohen, chairman of Our Revolution, a grassroots network that supported Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-VT) presidential bids.

Kyle Rittenhouse's bond conditions modified after prosecutors said he was seen using white power hand symbols with Proud Boys members at a bar

The terms of Kyle Rittenhouse's bond were modified after he was seen at a bar with his mother and members of the far-right Proud Boys, according to FOX 6. Kenosha County prosecutors previously requested to adjust his bond conditions after being spotted using white power associated hand symbols and drinking beers following his release. Rittenhouse,18, is the gunman associated with the deaths of two people and injuring another during a Jacob Blake protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin last summer.

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  Judge: Kenosha shooter can't associate with supremacists

  Associated Press
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  Kenosha killing suspect Rittenhouse's bond terms changed after bar visit

  NBC News

Lawyers representing the Capitol insurrectionists are building a damning case against Trump

Attorneys representing people arrested in connection with the Capitol riot are focusing on Trump. The allegations bolster House Democrats' impeachment case against Trump and expose him to more legal risk. The rioters were adamant when they stormed the US Capitol: Joe Biden and the Democrats had stolen the 2020 election from Donald Trump.

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  Lawyers for accused Capitol rioters outline a defense: The president made them do it

  Yahoo News
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  At least 20 Capitol police officers test positive for COVID-19 after riot

  TheGrio

Sir Kenneth Branagh to play Boris Johnson in Sky coronavirus drama

Sir Kenneth Branagh will play Prime Minister Boris Johnson in an upcoming Sky drama based on the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, it has been announced. The BAFTA and Emmy award-winning actor,  who has starred in Valkyrie, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Dunkirk will portray Mr Johnson in This Sceptred Isle, a five-part drama will chart the events surrounding the Prime Minister, the government, and the country in the face of the first wave of the global pandemic. This Sceptred Isle will tell the tale of some of the most devastating events to ever befall the United Kingdom, and of a Prime Minister leading in these unprecedented times, Sky said.

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  ‘Far too soon’: Pandemic TV drama starring Kenneth Branagh as Boris Johnson accused of being ‘inappropriate’

  The Independent
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  Kenneth Branagh To Play British PM Boris Johnson In Sky Drama ‘This Sceptred Isle’

  Deadline

US America's Cup challenger: heart still beats after capsize

American Magic's race boat Patriot might have been battered and broken when it capsized at speed during the America's Cup challenger series in Auckland, but skipper Terry Hutchinson says its proud heart is still beating. The United States team remains in a race against time to repair Patriot, to make it fighting fit in time to face Italy's Luna Rossa in the semifinal of the Prada Cup series beginning Friday. Hutchinson is fully confident Patriot will be at the start line and as good as new after tireless efforts from American Magic's shore team and help from America's Cup defender Team New Zealand.

Biden apologizes to National Guard chief after 5,000 soldiers had to reportedly sleep in a DC parking garage with only one bathroom

President Joe Biden called the National Guard's chief on Friday to issue an apology. National Guard members were forced to vacate the Capitol on Thursday, according to Politico. President Joe Biden has called the chief of the National Guard Bureau to apologize after images circulated online of troops sleeping in a parking garage.

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  Guard in DC forced to sleep in garages, sparking outcry

  Associated Press
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  Outrage after National Guard stationed in DC forced to sleep in parking garage

  FOX News Videos

'Gondor has no king': Pro-Trump lawyer files a bizarre election lawsuit citing the imaginary kingdom in Lord of The Rings

A Trump supporter filed a lawsuit making baseless claims of election fraud with the use of "Lord of the Rings" references. Lawyer Paul Davis, who filed the suit, was fired earlier this month after he recorded himself storming the Capitol. The suit explains how the fictional land of Gondor is missing its rightful kings and that a "stewardship" should be issued.