PoliticsAssociated PressGen. Milley key to military continuity as Biden takes office
In taking charge of a Pentagon battered by leadership churn, the Biden administration will look to one holdover as a source of military continuity: Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. President-elect Joe Biden will inherit Milley as his senior military adviser, and although Biden could replace Milley, he likely won't. A Princeton-educated history buff with the gift of gab, Milley has been a staunch defender of the military's apolitical tradition even as President Donald Trump packed the Pentagon with political loyalists.
U.S.BBCWilmington 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.
U.S.AxiosTech scrambles to derail inauguration threats
Tech companies are sharing more information with law enforcement in a frantic effort to prevent violence around the inauguration, after the government was caught flat-footed by the Capitol siege. Driving the news: Facebook on Friday announced new measures aimed at preventing people from using its platform to foment violence. The company is blocking the creation of new Facebook events in locations close to the White House, U.S. Capitol and state capitol buildings through Inauguration Day.
WorldReutersUK sees third-highest daily death toll with new cases at three-week low
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.
U.S.The WeekNew Yorker reporter's footage provides 'clearest view yet' of Capitol rioters inside Senate chamber
Luke Mogelson, a veteran war correspondent and contributing writer for The New Yorker, captured what appears to be the "clearest" footage yet of the deadly riot at the United States Capitol earlier this month. Mogelson attended (in a journalistic capacity) President Trump's rally on Jan. 6, which preceded the pro-Trump mob's march to and breach of the capitol. He followed the rioters into the building and filmed a group that entered the empty Senate chamber.
PoliticsAssociated PressVice President-elect Harris to resign her Senate seat Monday
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.
U.S.INSIDERFederal 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.
- ScienceReuters Videos
NASA's Boeing moon rocket cuts short in test
NASA's newest deep space rocket built by Boeing might have to stay grounded a little while longer. The Space Launch System was designed to return US astronauts to the moon by 2024 as part of NASA's Artemis Program. During an engine test on Saturday, all four of the Space Launch System's engines were ignited together for the first time, but that only lasted over a minute, well below the roughly eight-minute target for the test, designed to simulate the internal conditions of a real liftoff.
WorldAssociated PressTens of thousands evacuated amid Indonesia floods
Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated and more than a dozen have been killed in recent days in flooding on Indonesia's Borneo island, officials said Sunday. National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson Raditya Jati said floods brought by intense rains caused floodwaters as high as 3 meters (10 feet). As of Sunday, 39,549 people had been evacuated and at least 15 had been killed due to floods that affected 10 districts and cities in South Kalimantan province on Borneo island.
- WorldReuters
Saudi appeals court reduces sentence of U.S.-Saudi physician: documents
A Saudi appeals court has nearly halved a six-year jail sentence handed to a U.S.-Saudi physician whose case has been closely followed by Washington and suspended the rest of his term, court documents showed, meaning he will not have to serve any more time in prison. Prominent physician Walid al-Fitaihi was detained in 2017 under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's anti-corruption campaign, and was sentenced last month to six years in prison. U.S. senators condemned the sentencing.
WorldAssociated PressEgypt 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.
WorldAssociated PressIsrael 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.
U.S.INSIDERA 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."
WorldAssociated PressIran 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.
WorldAssociated PressChina 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.
PoliticsReutersU.S. says Vietnam's currency actions 'unreasonable' but holds off on tariffs
President Donald Trump's administration said on Friday Vietnam's actions to push down the value of its currency are "unreasonable" and restrict U.S. commerce, but did not take immediate action to impose punitive tariffs. Releasing the results of its so-called Section 301 investigation into Vietnam's currency practices, the U.S. Trade Representative's (USTR) office said it would continue to evaluate all available options to correct the situation. The U.S. Treasury Department in December labeled Vietnam a "currency manipulator" due to its growing trade surplus with the United States, its large global current account surplus and heavy foreign exchange market intervention to hold down the value of its dong currency.
PoliticsINSIDERBiden's incoming chief of staff says the administration is prepared to tackle the 'huge mess' it's inheriting in COVID-19 vaccine rollout
Incoming chief of staff Ronald Klain told CNN's Jake Tapper the Biden administration is inheriting a 'huge mess' from the Trump team when it comes to the vaccine rollout. Klain said the Biden administration has a plan to fix it and speed up the delivery of the vaccine. Incoming White House chief of staff Ronald Klain said Sunday President-elect Joe Biden's administration is gearing up to address the "huge mess" it is inheriting from the Trump administration regarding the coronavirus vaccine rollout.
WorldThe Daily BeastThe Kashmiri Families Begging for Their Sons’ Bodies Back
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.
PoliticsAssociated PressRecords: Trump allies behind rally that ignited Capitol riot
Members of President Donald Trump's failed presidential campaign played key roles in orchestrating the Washington rally that spawned a deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol, according to an Associated Press review of records, undercutting claims the event was the brainchild of the president's grassroots supporters. A pro-Trump nonprofit group called Women for America First hosted the “Save America Rally” on Jan. 6 at the Ellipse, an oval-shaped, federally owned patch of land near the White House. Other staff scheduled to be “on site” during the demonstration have close ties to the White House.
U.S.INSIDERA Virginia man arrested at a DC checkpoint with guns and ammo says he was just lost and made an 'honest mistake'
A Virginia man arrested at a DC checkpoint and accused of having guns and a cache of ammunition says it was an "honest mistake," and he was simply a private security guard who got lost. Wesley Allen Beeler, 31, was released by a judge on Saturday and told The Washington Post he was licensed to carry the gun, and had an inauguration badge as he'd been working security gigs all week. Washington, DC, has dramatically ramped up security measures ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, just two weeks after Trump supporters violently stormed the US Capitol.
WorldBusiness InsiderThe 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.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderTed Cruz's former staffers say they are 'disgusted' by his role in the US Capitol insurrection and his unflinching support of Trump, report says
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.
PoliticsThe WeekGOP officials are reportedly worried controversial pro-Trump House members could run for Senate, governor
Georgia and Arizona were two of the most crucial states in this election cycle, and it looks like they'll remain at the forefront of the coming battle within the Republican Party, The New York Times reports. Things have grown tense in the Sun Belt states, where mainstream Republicans are hoping to fend off President Trump's allies. In Arizona, for instance, the state GOP is trying to censure Republican Gov. Doug Ducey — as well as former Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Cindy McCain — in part because he has been "deemed insufficiently beholden to Trump," Politico reports.
SportsAssociated PressThakur, Sundar revive India's hopes in series deciding test
Test rookies Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar combined for a rearguard century stand that frustrated Australia's bowling attack and lifted India from a precarious position Sunday into almost first-innings parity in the series-deciding match. The partnership formed with India in serious trouble at 186-6 in reply to Australia's 369, and with no more recognized batters in the pavilion, and added 123 runs — an Indian record for the seventh wicket at the Gabba. Thakur, in his second test, got off the mark with a six and raised his maiden test half century with another six off Nathan Lyon and topped India's scoring with a 115-ball 67.
PoliticsINSIDERMelania Trump reportedly hasn't contacted Jill Biden to arrange the first ladies' traditional White House 'tea and tour'
First lady Melania Trump has apparently not yet contacted future first lady Jill Biden, according to CNN. Trump could break tradition if she doesn't invite Biden to the White House for a "tea and tour" visit. The gesture has been customary since at least 1952 when former first lady Bess Truman invited Mamie Eisenhower on a tour of the White House.
“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.”