U.S.The WeekRomney says footage shown at impeachment trial let him know how close he was to danger
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) told reporters on Wednesday evening that when House impeachment managers showed previously unreleased law enforcement footage of the Capitol riot during the day's proceedings, he learned just how close he had been to the mob. In the video, Romney is shown running into Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman, who motions for him to turn around, as he was headed directly toward the rioters. Immediately after the attack, video was released showing Goodman diverting the mob away from the Senate chambers, and Romney told reporters he did not know that the same officer had helped him that day.
WorldReutersChina will 'eat our lunch,' Biden warns after clashing with Xi on most fronts
U.S. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping held their first phone call as leaders and appeared at odds on most issues, even as Xi warned that confrontation would be a "disaster" for both nations. While Xi has called for "win-win" cooperation, Biden has called China America's "most serious competitor" and vowed to "out compete" Beijing. On Thursday, Biden told a bipartisan group of U.S. senators at a meeting on the need to upgrade U.S. infrastructure the United States must raise its game in the face of the Chinese challenge.
U.S.Associated PressJudge declines new arrest warrant for Kyle Rittenhouse
A judge on Thursday refused prosecutors' request to issue a new arrest warrant for an 18-year-old from Illinois accused of killing two people during a police brutality protest in Wisconsin last summer. Kenosha County Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger alleged that Kyle Rittenhouse failed to update his address when he moved out of his Antioch apartment in November, amounting to a bail violation. In addition to a new arrest warrant, Binger asked Judge Bruce Schroeder to increase Rittenhouse's bail by $200,000.
WorldReutersPunctured lung, fractured ribs: some Russian protesters allege police brutality
Alexei Borisov was diagnosed by doctors as having a punctured lung, three fractured ribs and a broken tooth after he attended a rally on Jan. 31 in support of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny. The 42-year-old truck driver said he was injured by police who detained him after he led a march in central Ryazan, 200 km (120 miles) southeast of Moscow, shouting "Freedom to Alexei Navalny" and slogans against President Vladimir Putin. "I was lying face down on the (police car) floor... They began to hit me, I didn't even see how many of them there were," Borisov said.
U.S.INSIDERFederal investigators are looking into whether bear spray caused Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick's death
Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick died following the Capitol insurrection last month. Investigators told CNN that Sicknick may have been fatally hit with bear spray during the riot. Federal authorities are investigating the death of US Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died following the January 6 insurrection, and one leading theory is that bear spray is to blame.
TechnologyArchitectural DigestHow to Add a Little Extra Luxury to Your Bath Time
If not a lot of luxury Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
PoliticsThe IndependentLindsey Graham complains Democrats are making Trump out to be a ‘secret member of the Proud Boys’
Republican senator Lindsey Graham has accused House impeachment managers of attempting to connect former President Donald Trump to the far-right group, Proud Boys. During their presentation at Mr Trump's impeachment trial on Wednesday, the House impeachment managers argued that the former president refusing to denounce the Proud Boys helped lead to the siege at the US Capitol on 6 January. At the first presidential debate on 30 September 2020, Mr Trump told the group in widely criticised remarks to “stand back and stand by” when asked to denounce them by the moderator Chris Wallace.
U.S.Associated PressOfficials: Chauvin was ready to plead to 3rd-degree murder
Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was prepared to plead guilty to third-degree murder in George Floyd's death before then-Attorney General William Barr personally blocked the plea deal last year, officials said. The deal would have averted any potential federal charges, including a civil rights offense, as part of an effort to quickly resolve the case to avoid more protests after protests and riots damaged a swath of south Minneapolis, according to two law enforcement officials with direct knowledge of the talks. Barr rejected the deal in part because he felt it was too soon as the investigation into Floyd's death was still in its relative infancy, the officials said.
- PoliticsReuters Videos
Cambodia launches COVID-19 vaccine programme
Cambodia launched its coronavirus inoculation drive on Wednesday, using 600,000 vaccine doses donated by China. First in line to receive the injection were the sons of long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen and government ministers. Sen had vowed to take the first dose, but later said that at 68 he was above the age to get the vaccine, made by Sinopharm.
WorldBBCChina bans BBC World News from broadcasting
China has banned BBC World News from broadcasting in the country, its television and radio regulator announced on Thursday. China has criticised the BBC for its reporting on coronavirus and the persecution of ethnic minority Uighurs. It follows British media regulator Ofcom revoking state broadcaster China Global Television Network's (CGTN) licence to broadcast in the UK.
WorldReutersSaudi women's rights activist Hathloul freed from jail, relatives say
Prominent women's rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul was released from a Saudi prison after nearly three years behind bars, her family said on Wednesday, a case that has drawn international condemnation. Another sister, Alia, said Hathloul was at their parents' home in Saudi Arabia. Rights groups and her family say Hathloul, who had campaigned for women's right to drive and to end Saudi's male guardianship system, was subjected to abuse, including electric shocks, waterboarding, flogging and sexual assault.
- WorldAssociated Press
Iran's Guard begins ground forces drill near Iraqi border
Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard Thursday began a ground forces drill near the Iraqi border, state TV reported. In recent months, Iran has increased its military drills as the country tries to pressure President Joe Biden over the nuclear accord, which he has said America could reenter. A week before that, Iran's navy fired cruise missiles as part of a naval drill in the Gulf of Oman, state media reported, under surveillance of what appeared to be a U.S. nuclear submarine.
WorldReutersMyanmar ruler calls for end to protests as U.S. imposes sanctions
Washington announced a first round of sanctions, while European Union lawmakers called on their countries to also take action against the military leadership and Britain said it was considering measures to punish the Feb. 1 takeover. The coup and the detention of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi along with scores of others have prompted the biggest demonstrations since a 2007 'Saffron Revolution' that ultimately became a step towards now halted democratic change. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing addressed the protests for the first time in public, blaming "unscrupulous persons" for stoppages in a growing civil disobedience movement by medics, teachers, railway workers and other government employees.
- WorldAssociated Press
Israeli commander says Hamas has amassed vast arsenal
The Hamas militant group ruling Gaza has replenished its arsenal since a 2014 war with Israel and now has a vast collection of rockets, guided missiles and drones, a senior Israeli military commander said Thursday. According to Israeli military estimates, Hamas has some 7,000 rockets, as well as 300 anti-tank and 100 anti-aircraft missiles, the commander said. It also has acquired dozens of unmanned aerial vehicles and has an army of some 30,000 militants, including 400 naval commandos who have received sophisticated training and equipment to carry out seaborne operations, the commander added.
WorldReutersPhilippines military keen to keep U.S. troop deal - minister
The Philippines defence apparatus wants to keep a Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States, its defence minister said on Thursday, as officials met to settle differences over a pact central to Washington's Asia strategy. Thursday's meeting in Manila between U.S. and Philippine officials comes after President Rodrigo Duterte, who openly disapproves of the U.S. alliance, unilaterally cancelled the two-decade-old VFA last year, in an angry response to an ally being denied a visa. The withdrawal period has been twice extended, however, to create what Philippine officials say is a window for better terms to be agreed.
- WorldAssociated Press
Gunmen kill 5 Afghan police escorting UN convoy near Kabul
Attackers killed five Afghan policemen escorting a U.N. convoy on the main highway heading east from Kabul before escaping, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said on Thursday. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Afghanistan has seen a nationwide spike in bombings, targeted killings, and violence on the battlefield as peace negotiations in Qatar between the Taliban and the Afghan government have stalled. UNAMA said the U.N. family in Afghanistan mourns the loss of the Directorate of Protection Service troops in the Surobi district, some 60 kilometers (37 miles) east of the capital.
PoliticsThe IndependentTrump and Pence ‘yet to repair their relationship’ after president turned on key ally over election dispute
Former US president Donald Trump has reportedly still not healed the rift with his once-loyal deputy Mike Pence, which erupted over the latter's refusal to support his boss's baseless election fraud claims and the Capitol riot on 6 January. The mob that broke through police barricades to storm the legislative complex that day had been fired up by remarks made by Mr Trump and his inner circle at a “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington, DC, insisting his election defeat to Joe Biden was the result of a mass voter fraud conspiracy his legal team failed to prove. The event was scheduled in protest at a Joint Session of Congress convening to ratify November's Electoral College results, formally recognising Mr Biden as the winner, a ceremonial duty traditionally presided over by the vice president.
U.S.INSIDERA DJ who shared photos of himself smoking in the Capitol building during the insurrection has been arrested
Greg Rubenacker, from Farmingdale, New York, was taken into custody on Tuesday. The FBI says he smoked inside the Capitol building during the January 6 insurrection. In a criminal complaint, the FBI cited videos Rubenacker posted on Snapchat during the riot.
WorldReutersScottish support for independence drops, poll shows
Scottish support for independence has fallen four percentage points, probably due to divisions among Scottish nationalists, but 47% of Scots still support breaking up the United Kingdom by going it alone, a poll indicated on Thursday. A Savanta ComRes poll for The Scotsman showed 47% would vote for independence and 42% would vote against, up 4 percentage points, with 10% still undecided. Scottish nationalists are pushing for an independence referendum to be held after this May's Scottish parliament election, but British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said such votes should happen only once in a generation.
PoliticsThe Daily BeastThe Same Putin Poison Squad Hit a Washington Post Columnist Before Navalny
Years before a Russian poison squad nearly killed Alexei Navalny by allegedly planting a Novichok-like nerve agent in his boxer shorts, the same group was honing its skills on other Russian opposition figures, according to a new report by Bellingcat. The same agents who Bellingcat says stalked, trailed, and spied on Navalny for more than three years, also trailed three other Russian dissidents, including Kremlin critic and journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza, who, like murdered Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi, was a contributor to The Washington Post. Kara-Murza was poisoned twice, both incidents leaving him in prolonged comas while his vital organs shut down.
PoliticsReutersBiden says Trump 'did not do his job' on coronavirus vaccination program, urges patience
U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday said the coronavirus vaccination program he inherited from Donald Trump was in "much worse shape" than he had expected, while urging patience and also announcing the government has bought 200 million more doses. "We're not going to have everything fixed for a while, but we're going to fix it," Biden said in remarks at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. With demand for the vaccine far outstripping supply, Americans are struggling to get appointments for their inoculations, leaving Biden with an acute problem less than a month after taking over from Trump.
BusinessReutersDoughnut-loving Poles cram in calories as Fat Thursday lifts pandemic gloom
After some lean months during the COVID-19 pandemic, Fat Thursday finally brought some cheer to Polish confectioners as their sweet-toothed customers feasted on doughnuts. On the last Thursday before Lent, the period when Christians traditionally fast before Easter, Poles stuff their faces with doughnuts in a festival of calorific indulgence. "The pandemic has obviously had an effect on our sales, a negative effect of course," Pawel Sypniewski, owner of the Sucre Patisserie in Warsaw, told Reuters.
CelebrityBBCWill Framing Britney Spears be a moment of reckoning for the celebrity media?
The New York Times film turns the spotlight on the singer's treatment by the press before her public breakdown in 2007 and the ongoing dispute over her conservatorship - an arrangement that means she doesn't control many aspects of her own life and career. The documentary has led to renewed criticism about her treatment within the bubble of 00s celebrity culture, and has sparked some soul-searching in the media. "We are all to blame for what happened to Britney Spears," read an apology from Glamour magazine to the pop star on Instagram on Tuesday.
WorldReutersUK's Duchess Meghan wins privacy battle against 'dehumanizing' tabloid paper
Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, said on Thursday a British tabloid had been held to account for its "dehumanizing practices" after she won a privacy claim against the paper for printing extracts of a letter she wrote to her father. Meghan, 39, the wife of Queen Elizabeth's grandson Prince Harry, sued publisher Associated Newspapers after its Mail on Sunday tabloid printed parts of the handwritten letter she sent to her estranged father, Thomas Markle, in August 2018. Last month, her lawyers asked Judge Mark Warby to rule in her favour without the need for a trial which could have pitted her against her father, who gave a witness statement on behalf of the paper and who she has not seen since her wedding in May 2018.
SportsAssociated PressDavid Phelps agrees to $1.75M deal with Blue Jays
Right-hander David Phelps and the Toronto Blue Jays have agreed to a $1.75 million, one-year contract. Phelps, 34, went 2-4 with a 6.53 ERA in 22 relief appearances with Milwaukee and Philadelphia last season. He earned $462,963 in prorated base pay from a $1.25 million salary and $434,546 in earned bonuses for $897,509 in income.
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“There are people who genuinely need financial assistance due to the pandemic....but we don’t need a fiscal free-for-all.”
“The bottom line is that checks are popular with the public, easy to deliver, will help the fortunes of those who are struggling.”
“Checks are the confetti cannon of the economic-stimulus arsenal — not maximally efficient, just maximally awesome.”
“The public needs relief — not everyone, just the minority who’ve experienced the pandemic most acutely.”
“Checks are a golden opportunity to make sure Americans’ wallets are nice and fat in 2021 so that the economy will pop back.”