WorldLA TimesU.S. rebukes Mexico for releasing evidence in drug case against former defense minister
The U.S. Department of Justice berated Mexico late Friday for releasing hundreds of pages of evidence in a drug trafficking case against a former Mexican defense minister, saying the publication of sensitive information shared in confidence violates a mutual aid treaty. Mexico's decision to make the documents public raises doubts about future law enforcement collaboration between the two countries, a Justice Department statement said. "Publicizing such information violates the Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance between Mexico and the United States, and calls into question whether the United States can continue to share information to support Mexico's own criminal investigations," said the statement from an agency spokeswoman.
WorldReutersVaccine shipments to EU slow as Turkey, China ramp up inoculations
Some EU nations are receiving fewer than expected doses of coronavirus vaccines as U.S. pharmaceutical firm Pfizer slows shipments, while Turkey and China race ahead with inoculations amid surging infections worldwide. Six EU countries described the delay as unacceptable and said it impacted the credibility of the whole vaccination process. But even when inoculations start en masse, pressure on health systems is not expected to lift for months, or until most people within a population get the shot.
WorldAssociated PressIranian Guard drones in drill mirror those in Saudi attacks
Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard conducted a drill Friday that saw “suicide drones” crash into targets and explode, triangle-shaped aircraft that strongly resembled those used in a 2019 attack in Saudi Arabia that temporarily cut the kingdom's oil production by half. Iran has long denied launching the attack on the sites of Abqaiq and Khurais while Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels initially claimed the assault. However, the United States, Saudi Arabia and U.N. experts believe the drones were Iranian, likely launched amid an escalating series of incidents stemming from President Donald Trump's unilateral withdrew from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers.
U.S.Miami HeraldLatino leaders call out Trump disinformation campaign in Miami Spanish-language media
Latino leaders from more than 20 local advocacy groups have denounced the spread of misinformation in South Florida Spanish-language media, warning in an open letter that “hateful rhetoric can have deadly consequences.” Since a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, resulting in the deaths of five people, including a Capitol Police officer, a number of popular Spanish-language AM radio stations and YouTube shows have amplified conspiracy theories about the riot, and disseminated unfounded allegations of voter fraud. In the days leading up to the Jan. 6 attack, a listener used an afternoon show on WWFE's La Poderosa 670 AM to advertise her plan to lead a caravan of Miami-based Trump supporters to Washington for the planned protests.
- ScienceReuters Videos
Peru's 'Paddington' bears spotted at Machu Picchu
A couple of spectacled bears, mother and cub, were seen wandering around the ruins of Machu Picchu on Wednesday (January 14), taking advantage of the ruins that are largely free from large tourist numbers. Video footage of the pair was taken by worker from Peru's Culture Ministry at the empty looking ruins. Spectacled bears, also known as the Andean bear, are the only surviving species of bear native to South America.
PoliticsThe IndependentMitch McConnell tells senators impeachment trial is ‘vote of conscience’
Following Donald Trump's second impeachment in the House of Representatives, Mitch McConnell has told his senate colleagues it would be a “vote of conscience” as the Senate determines whether to convict the president for his role inciting a deadly insurrection at the Capitol, fuelled by false claims of voter fraud and a pervasive lie that the 2020 election was “stolen” from his supporters. The Senate Majority Leader, overseeing the remaining days of the GOP-controlled Senate as the balance of power shifts in a newly elected Congress, has not indicated how he expects his colleagues to vote, and an impeachment trial won't reach the Senate floor until Joe Biden is president.
PoliticsAssociated PressAfter Trump, Biden aims to reshape the presidency itself
When Joe Biden takes the oath of office Wednesday outside a wounded U.S. Capitol, he will begin reshaping the office of the presidency itself as he sets out to lead a bitterly divided nation struggling with a devastating pandemic and an insurrection meant to stop his ascension to power. Biden had campaigned as a rebuke to President Donald Trump, a singular figure whose political power was fueled by discord and grievance. The Democrat framed his election as one to “heal the soul” of the nation and repair the presidency, restoring the White House image as a symbol of stability and credibility.
WorldReuters'Go for it,' says first person vaccinated in India's massive COVID-19 campaign
Hospital cleaning worker Manish Kumar became the first person in India to be vaccinated against COVID-19 on Saturday, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched one of the world's largest immunisation campaigns to bring the pandemic under control. Kumar received his shot at Delhi's premier All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), one of 3,006 vaccination centres established around the country. "The vaccine will give me strength and motivation to serve my hospital which has been at the forefront of taking care of coronavirus patients," Kumar said.
WorldAssociated PressPfizer temporarily reduces European deliveries of vaccine
U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer confirmed Friday it will temporarily reduce deliveries to Europe of its COVID-19 vaccine while it upgrades production capacity to 2 billion doses per year. “This temporary reduction will affect all European countries,” a spokeswoman for Pfizer Denmark said in a statement to The Associated Press. Line Fedders said that to meet the new 2 billion dose target, Pfizer is upscaling production at its plant in Puurs, Belgium, which “presupposes adaptation of facilities and processes at the factory which requires new quality tests and approvals from the authorities.”
WorldAssociated PressSpain rejects virus confinement as most of Europe stays home
While most of Europe kicked off 2021 with earlier curfews or stay-at-home orders, authorities in Spain insist the new coronavirus variant causing havoc elsewhere is not to blame for a sharp resurgence of cases and that the country can avoid a full lockdown even as its hospitals fill up. The government has been tirelessly fending off drastic home confinement like the one that paralyzed the economy for nearly three months in the spring of 2020, the last time Spain could claim victory over the stubborn rising curve of cases. Infection rates ebbed in October but never completely flattened the surge from summer.
WorldAssociated PressSidelining experts, Brazil bungled its immunization plans
Like many Brazilian public health experts, Dr. Regina Flauzino spent most of 2020 watching with horror as COVID-19 devastated Brazil. When the opportunity to join the government's vaccination effort came, she was thrilled: She would be able to share her decades of on-the-ground experience. Flauzino, an epidemiologist who worked on Brazilian vaccine campaigns for 20 years, became frustrated with what she described as a rushed, chaotic process.
PoliticsThe WeekTrump's team is reportedly trying to assemble a crowd for a 'major send-off' hours before Biden's inauguration
President Trump is planning to exit the White House on the morning of Jan. 20, a few hours before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in a short distance away, CNN reports. "Eager for a final taste of the pomp of being president, Trump has asked for a major send-off," and "as one of their final acts, Trump's team is working to organize a crowd to see him off on the morning of Biden's inauguration, when he plans to depart Washington while still president" for a flight to Palm Beach, Florida, where his term will officially end at noon. There are 20,000 National Guard troops currently deployed or en route to Washington, D.C., ahead of Biden's inauguration, because the last crowd Trump drew to the White House morphed into an insurrectionist mob that stormed the Capitol.
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.
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 was taken into custody after trying to enter a security checkpoint by the Capitol building on Friday, CNN first reported. The man, Wesley Allen Beeler, attempted to use fraudulent inauguration credentials and also equipped with a loaded gun in his pick-up truck, a law enforcement source told CNN. US Capitol Police arrested a Virginia man at a checkpoint on Friday, alleging he had an unregistered gun and more than 500 rounds of ammunition amid heightened security for President-elect Joe Biden's upcoming inauguration.
WorldAssociated PressGermany: Merkel's party elects pragmatic Laschet as leader
Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right party on Saturday chose Armin Laschet, the pragmatic governor of Germany's most populous state, as its new leader — sending a signal of continuity months before an election in which voters will decide who becomes the new chancellor. Laschet will have to build unity in the Christian Democratic Union, Germany's strongest party, after beating more conservative rival Friedrich Merz. Saturday's vote isn't the final word on who will run as the center-right candidate for chancellor in Germany's Sept. 26 election, but Laschet will either run himself or have a big say in who does.
PoliticsThe TelegraphTrump's White House packs up as one of the least civil presidential handovers in history begins
For starters, Donald Trump only conceded last week - at the urging of White House lawyers - after his supporters stormed the US Capitol. The formal process finally began this week, with White House staff pictured removing its current occupants' belongings - everything from paintings to a taxidermy pheasant. An Abraham Lincoln bust was carried out by hand by removal men, who shifted boxes of old newspaper copies of the New York Post and New York Times from Mr Trump's first term.
PoliticsMiami HeraldFlorida Republicans issue litmus test on Cuba, Venezuela policies for Biden nominees
Three Republican lawmakers from Florida are asking the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to reject President-elect Joe Biden's nominees unless they agree to take a tough stance on Cuba and Venezuela, according to a letter obtained by McClatchy. Reps. Michael Waltz, Maria Salazar and former Miami-Dade mayor Carlos Gimenez drafted the letter to the Senate panel just days before it is scheduled to hold a confirmation hearing on Biden's nominee for secretary of State, Antony Blinken, on Tuesday.
EntertainmentArchitectural DigestMore Inside Artist Jorge Pardo's Transformed Bushwick Carriage House
When it came to the lighting in his home, Pardo drew inspiration from the insides of fruits, nuts, and seeds, as well as sea creatures and machine parts. Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
WorldBusiness InsiderTurkey is accused of extraditing Uighur Muslims to China in exchange for COVID-19 vaccines
The Turkish government has been accused of agreeing to deport Uighur Muslims to China to access COVID-19 vaccines. In recent years, China has forcefully cracked down on Uighurs around the world, using their religion to cite a national security threat. Turkey is home to the largest number of diasporic Uighurs in the world.
WorldAssociated PressBillionaire right-wing patron Adelson buried in Jerusalem
Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino magnate who made prolific donations to right-wing politicians and causes in the United States and Israel, was laid to rest in Jerusalem on Friday. Adelson, a key supporter of President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and their hawkish approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, died this week at the age of 87 after a long illness. The chairman and CEO of the Las Vegas Sands built a worldwide casino empire.
PoliticsAssociated PressDonor backlash fuels GOP alarm about Senate fundraising
Republicans are worried that a corporate backlash stirred by the deadly Capitol insurrection could crimp a vital stream of campaign cash, complicating the party's prospects of retaking the Senate in the next election. The GOP already faces a difficult Senate map in 2022, when 14 Democratic-held seats and 20 Republican ones will be on the ballot. Eight Republican senators voted to reject Electoral College votes for President-elect Joe Biden, even after the ransacking of the Capitol by a mob of Donald Trump supporters who were exhorted by the president to stop Congress from certifying Biden's victory.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderThe US government will spend $500,000 deep-cleaning the White House before Biden's inauguration
The White House will get a $500,000 deep-clean before President-elect Joe Biden moves in, CNN reported. "There's always been a deep clean between administrations, but we've never seen anything like this," presidential historian Kate Brower Andersen told ABC. The US government will spend almost $500,000 on a deep clean of the White House before President-elect Joe Biden takes office on January 20, CNN reported, citing government contracts it had viewed.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderPelosi taps retired military commander, who oversaw the US response to Hurricane Katrina, to oversee probe into security failures during Capitol siege
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that retired Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré will lead "an immediate review" of the security during the Capitol attack. On January 6, pro-Trump insurrectionists stormed the Capitol, which resulted in five deaths. Honoré is known for leading the task force that was in charge of the US military response to Hurricane Katrina.
LifestyleArchitectural DigestJessie Schuster Transforms a Spacious SoHo Loft Inside an Old Factory Building
The Manhattan-based interior designer preserved the element of gritty New York through a “raw but elevated” renovation Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
- PoliticsFOX News Videos
White House plans for Trump departure without inauguration visit
Chief White House Correspondent John Roberts has the latest from Washington on 'Special Report'
“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.”