PoliticsBusiness InsiderRepublican Sen. Kelly Loeffler, a candidate in the Georgia runoff, tested positive for COVID-19 and is quarantining
Sen. Kelly Loeffler of Georgia tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday and is quarantining, her campaign announced in a statement on Saturday. The statement said Loeffler took a test on Saturday that came back inconclusive and is waiting on more test results. The campaign said she has no symptoms and notified close contacts.
U.S.Associated PressMan arrested in deadly attack at Nebraska Sonic restaurant
Authorities arrested a 23-year-old man in an attack at a Nebraska fast food restaurant in which two employees were shot and killed, two were wounded and officers responding to a report of a possible bomb inside a moving truck in the parking lot arrived to find the vehicle on fire. Roberto Carlos Silva Jr., of Omaha, was booked into Sarpy County jail early Sunday on suspicion of first-degree murder and first-degree arson in Saturday night's attack at a Sonic Drive-in restaurant in Bellevue, the Omaha World-Herald reported. In a news release early Sunday, Lt. Andy Jashinske said Bellevue police received a call at 9:23 p.m. Saturday about a possible bomb in a U-Haul truck parked outside of the restaurant in the Omaha suburb.
- WorldReuters
Turkey, Russia at odds over Turkish military post in Azerbaijan - source
Turkey and Russia are at odds over Ankara's wish to set up an independent military observation post on Azeri territory, a Turkish source said, after the two agreed this month to monitor a ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Turkey and Russia have already agreed to set up a joint centre in the region to monitor the Nov. 10 ceasefire, which ended weeks of fighting between Azerbaijan's troops and ethnic Armenian forces in the enclave. Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but is populated by ethnic Armenians.
WorldThe TelegraphUS national security adviser warns China not to use military force against Taiwan
The United States' national security adviser has warned China not to use military force against Taiwan, a day after an unannounced visit to the democratic island by a two-star Navy admiral overseeing US military intelligence in the Asia-Pacific. Robert O'Brien cautioned Beijing while touring the Philippines and Vietnam, where he spoke to his counterparts about tackling China's growing assertiveness in the South China Sea, a region of vital shipping routes where it has made multiple disputed territorial claims. The Chinese Communist Party also claims Taiwan, a democracy of 24 million, even though it has never ruled there.
PoliticsThe WeekJohn Kasich calls Trump's refusal to concede 'absurd'
Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) may have endorsed President-elect Joe Biden in the 2020 election, but he is still a member of the GOP, and finds the fact that so many of his fellow conservatives are not calling President Trump out for refusing to concede the election "extremely disappointing for someone who has been a Republican all of my life." In an interview with NPR on Sunday, Kasich said it's clear Republicans haven't come out to roundly condemn Trump over his false claims of voter fraud because they are "either in complete lockstep" with the president or "they're afraid of him." Kasich, who appeared at this summer's virtual Democratic National Convention, told NPR it's "absurd" that Trump won't concede, as Biden has "clearly won this election, and it is just sort of amazing to me that Republicans just keep sitting on their hands."
WorldBBCArnab Goswami: India's most loved and loathed TV anchor
But for nearly a week, the Republic network ran programmes claiming the victims' Hindu identity was a motive for the crime, echoing an unfounded theory floated by some members of India's governing Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). This, critics say, is the real danger of Mr Goswami's brash, cacophonic and often partisan coverage. They believe viewers of his network are being drip-fed false information, divisive and inflammatory views, and propaganda for the Hindu nationalist BJP - its six years in power have been linked to the increased marginalisation of India's 200 million Muslims.
WorldThe Daily BeastJFK Conspiracy Theory Is Debunked in Mexico
Most conspiracy theories surrounding President John F. Kennedy's assassination have been disproven. Kennedy was not killed by a gas-powered device triggered by aliens or by actor Woody Harrelson's dad. Several JFK assassination experts, like the former New York Times investigative reporter Phillip Shenon, see Mexico as the best place to find answers regarding a possible conspiracy and who was behind it.
WorldAssociated PressThousands march in Taiwan against US pork imports
Thousands of people marched in Taipei's streets on Sunday demanding the reversal of a decision to allow U.S. pork imports into Taiwan, alleging food safety issues. President Tsai Ing-wen's administration lifted a long-standing ban on U.S. pork and beef imports in August, in a move seen as one of the first steps toward possibly negotiating a bilateral trade agreement with the U.S. The ban is due to be lifted in January. The new policy allows imports of pork with acceptable residues of ractopamine, a drug added into animal feed that promotes the growth of lean meat that some farmers use in pigs.
HealthBBCCovid: 'Entire families in hospital after coronavirus surge'
On 14 October, Farah Husain, a critical care specialist in Delhi's largest Covid-19 hospital, heaved a sigh of relief. Doctors fear that Delhi may well become the epicentre of India's first wave of winter infections. Delhi is now recording more cases a day than any state.
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Michigan leader: President didn't ask for election interference
A legislative leader said President Trump did not ask Michigan GOP lawmakers to “break the law” or “interfere” with the election during a White House meeting on Friday.
WorldAssociated PressChina tests millions after coronavirus flare-ups in 3 cities
Chinese authorities are testing millions of people, imposing lockdowns and shutting down schools after multiple locally transmitted coronavirus cases were discovered in three cities across the country last week. As temperatures drop, large-scale measures are being enacted in the cities of Tianjin, Shanghai and Manzhouli, despite the low number of new cases compared to the United States and other countries that are seeing new waves of infections. Many experts and government officials have warned that the chance of the virus spreading will be greater during the cold weather.
PoliticsThe IndependentRudy Giuliani says election case losses help Trump campaign’s strategy to get ‘expeditiously’ to Supreme Court
Rudy Giuliani has said he is “thankful” to the judge who dismissed the Trump campaign's post-election lawsuit in Pennsylvania, as it helps them to get “expeditiously” to the Supreme Court. On Saturday, a federal judge in Pennsylvania dismissed a lawsuit by the Trump campaign that attempted to block the certification of votes in the state. “This Court has been presented with strained legal arguments without merit and speculative accusations, unpaid in the operative complaint and unsupported by evidence,” judge Matthew Brann wrote in his dismissal on Saturday.
- WorldReuters
Yemeni Houthis say they fired missile at Saudi Aramco site in Jeddah
Yemeni Houthi forces fired a missile that struck a Saudi Aramco oil company distribution station in Saudi Arabia's Red Sea city of Jeddah, a Houthi military spokesman said on Monday. The Houthi spokesman, Yahya Sarea, said foreign companies and residents in Saudi should exercise caution as "operations will continue". The strike had been carried out in response to the Saudi-led coalition's actions in Yemen, he said.
WorldThe Daily BeastMigrants Flee Climate Change Ravaged Central America as Record-Breaking Hurricanes Hit
The destruction left in the wake of the hurricanes highlight the impacts of human caused climate change, factors which are driving hundreds of thousands from Central America to seek to reach the United States. Northern and Eastern Guatemala saw intense heavy rains from the storms causing widespread flooding and catastrophic landslides. In one disaster following Eta, a landslide in province of Alta Verapaz buried the Indigenous Maya Poqomchi' village of Quejá, leaving over 100 under mud and debris.
WorldBBCCovid: Australia state reopens border after Covid cases plummet
The Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) has reopened its border with neighbouring Victoria for the first time since July after coronavirus cases there fell to zero. Victoria, which imposed a tough lockdown after a surge in cases, has reported no new infections since the beginning of November. Australia has recorded about 900 deaths and 28,000 infections in total.
PoliticsAssociated PressTrump aims to box in Biden abroad, but it may not work
In recent weeks, the White House, State Department and other agencies have been working overtime to produce new policy pronouncements on Iran, Israel, China and elsewhere that aim to lock in Trump's vision for the world. Some have attracted significant attention while others have flown largely under the radar. And, while Biden could reverse many of them with a stroke of the pen, some will demand the time and attention of his administration when it comes into power with a host of other priorities that perhaps need more urgent attention.
WorldReutersIndia says local COVID-19 vaccine final trials could end within two months
India's health minister said on Sunday a locally-developed COVID-19 vaccine candidate could complete its final trials in a month or two, raising hopes for a rapid roll-out in a country with the world's second highest number of infections. The state-run Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and privately-held Bharat Biotech this month started third-stage trials of COVAXIN, in a process that would involve 26,000 volunteers. It is the most advanced Indian experimental vaccine.
PoliticsThe Independent‘Abandoning our people’: AOC attacks Mitch McConnell for granting Senate recess without passing coronavirus relief bill
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has criticised Mitch McConnell for granting a Senate recess without reaching an agreement on the coronavirus relief bill. Democratic Representative Ocasio-Cortez said on Friday during a House hearing that Mr McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, was “abandoning our people”. "Just a day or two ago, the Senate majority leader, Senator McConnell, decided to break the Senate," Ms Ocasio-Cortez said.
HealthBusiness InsiderAmericans will hopefully begin receiving the COVID-19 vaccine as early as December 11, 'Warp Speed' advisor says
Some Americans could "hopefully" receive the vaccine for COVID-19 as soon as December 11 or 12, Moncef Slaoui, the chief science advisor of the White House's vaccine effort, "Operation Warp Speed," said Sunday. Slaoui, who was tapped to head the White House effort to develop a vaccine earlier this year, told CNN's Jake Tapper during an appearance on CNN's "State of the Union" that he and his colleagues hoped to ship the vaccine to immunization sites within 24 hours of receiving approval to do so by the Food and Drug Administration. A panel of outside experts that advises the FDA is expected to meet on December 10 to discuss Pfizer's application for an emergency use authorization.
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In Wisconsin recount, Trump challenges pile up, slow tally
Wisconsin recount observer Ardis Cerny stretched her neck as far as she could toward a Plexiglas divider separating her from two vote counters, eagle-eyeing them as they scrutinized ballot papers one by one. When one tabulator told the ardent supporter of President Donald Trump she was leaning too far over a yellow line on a Milwaukee conference-hall floor meant to keep observers 3 feet away, Cerny bristled. Cerny is part of a large contingent of pro-Trump observers participating in a recount the president requested and paid $3 million for in the state's two biggest and most liberal counties, Milwaukee and Dane, in a long shot bid to erase Democrat Joe Biden's more than 20,000-vote lead after the initial count.
ScienceBBCSentinel-6: 'Dog kennel' satellite blasts off on ocean mission
Its data will track not only sea-level rise but reveal how the great mass of waters is moving around the globe. Looking somewhat like a dog kennel, the sophisticated 1.3-tonne satellite was taken aloft from the Vandenberg base on a SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket. The Sentinel is a joint endeavour between Europe and the US, and will continue the measurements that have been made by a succession of spacecraft, called the Jason-Topex/Poseidon series, going back to 1992.
PoliticsUSA TODAYHere's the biggest news you missed this weekend
A Pennsylvania federal court on Saturday denied Trump's request to block certification of the state's 2020 election results in order to give his lawyers time to find evidence to support their claims of a fraudulent election system and improper ballot counting. In a scathing ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Brann criticized the lack of evidence the Trump campaign presented to support its argument to potentially disenfranchise every voter in the commonwealth who cast a ballot in the 2020 elections — nearly 7 million in all. Trump continues to refuse to concede the 2020 presidential election to rival president-elect Joe Biden.
WorldAssociated PressUS provides missiles, renews pledge to defend Philippines
U.S. President Donald Trump's administration provided precision-guided missiles and other weapons to help the Philippines battle Islamic State group-aligned militants and renewed a pledge to defend its treaty ally if it comes under attack in the disputed South China Sea. National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien represented Trump in Monday's ceremony at the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila, where he announced the delivery of the missiles and bombs to the Philippine military. Trump pledged to provide the $18 million worth of missiles in a phone conversation with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in April, Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said.
WorldLA TimesMexico's military gains power as president turns from critic to partner
As a candidate for president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador slammed Mexico's armed forces and the "mafia of power" that he said controlled them. He accused soldiers of human rights abuses in the country's bloody drug war and publicly clashed with Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos, then secretary of defense. But after taking office, López Obrador changed his tune, embracing the same military leaders he had once bashed.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderFox News correspondent Geraldo Rivera suggests naming COVID-19 vaccine 'The Trump' to soften his election blow
Fox News correspondent Geraldo Rivera has suggested naming the COVID-19 vaccine 'The Trump' to soften his election blow. He said: With the world so divided and everybody telling him he's got to give up and it's time to leave and time to transition and all the rest of it, why not name the vaccine 'The Trump? The comments came after the president falsely took credit for Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, which was found to be 95% effective.
“Donald Trump defeated Donald Trump.”
“The victory was a vindication of a style of American politics that many feared was gone forever.”
“Mr. Biden’s victory — and Mr. Trump’s defeat — is a testament to the resilience of American democracy.”
“Trump’s 2020 reelection bid was doomed by his boorish behavior. Time and again, he refused to act like a president.”
“Biden took the opportunity to unite the Democratic Party.”