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.
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.
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.
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.
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 โ as well as former Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Cindy McCain โ in part because he has been "deemed insufficiently beholden to Trump," Politico reports.
National Guard troops in camouflage and flak jackets and heavily armed state troopers were stationed at state capitals across the U.S. in advance of protests planned for Sunday. With the FBI warning of potential for violence at all state capitols, the ornate halls of government and symbols of democracy looked more like heavily guarded U.S. embassies in war-torn countries. Governors have declared states of emergency, closed capitols to the public and called up troops ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration next week.
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."
Iran urged the United Nations' nuclear watchdog to avoid publishing โunnecessaryโ details on Tehran's nuclear program, state TV reported Sunday, a day after Germany, France and Britain said Tehran has โno credible civilian useโ 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 misunderstandingโ in the international community, the statement said.
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.
President-elect Joe Biden is planning to spend his first 10 days in the Oval Office issuing dozens of executive orders, a memo circulated by incoming White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain on Saturday and obtained by The New York Times revealed. The memo appears to back up earlier reporting about how Biden envisioned the early stages of his presidency. On his first day alone, Biden will reportedly rescind President Trump's travel ban on several majority Muslim countries, rejoin the Paris climate change accord, extend pandemic-related limits on evictions and student loan payments, issue a mask mandate for federal property and interstate travel, and reunite children who were separated from their families while crossing the United States-Mexico border.
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 โ 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.
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. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar has resigned, CNN reported on Friday. Citing last week's deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol, Azar joins a wave of Cabinet members and other government officials who have stepped down after the attack. In his resignation letter to President Donald Trump dated January 12, Azar lauded what he cited as the administration's successes, such as the rapid development of coronavirus vaccines and therapeutics.
Joe Biden aims to hit the ground running with a blizzard of executive orders on his first day in office. Mr Biden plans to rejoin the Paris climate accord, end Donald Trump's travel ban on several predominantly Muslim countries and order masks to be worn in federal buildings. The orders will represent the opening salvo of a flurry of activity over the first 10 days of the Biden administration, aimed at rolling back many of the policies introduced by Donald Trump.
On Jan. 6, hundreds of supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attack that forcedย lawmakers to flee their chambers and left five dead. Since the riot, users on Facebookย and Twitterย haveย leveled accusations that U.S.ย Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., provided assistance to the insurrectionists. One Facebook user postedย on Jan. 13 a photo of Boebert and about dozen other people, at least four of whom appear to be making a white supremacist hand gesture.
Indian-administered KashmirโOn the afternoon of Jan. 7, 2021, a narrow lane covered with a huge layer of snowโand the muddy foot imprints of Kashmiri mournersโformed 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.
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.
American Magic had back-to-back losses on a bizarre day of light winds in the America's Cup challenger series at Auckland on Saturday to remain without a win after three races. The United States team first failed to finish a race against Italy's Luna Rossa, then sustained its second loss to British challenger INEOS Team UK which leads the Prada Cup series with a 3-0 record. In both races American Magic made pre-start errors and struggled to recover in conditions for which it seemed unprepared and which favored its opponents.
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.
Officials had fortified statehouses with extra police, National Guard troops and fencing after the FBI had warned about the possibility of armed demonstrations at all 50 state capitols. In Richmond, Virginia, police vehicles, dump trucks and orange barrels blocked streets around the Capitol, but there was no sign of demonstrations.
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.
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 โ 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.
Several Australian Open tennis players have expressed frustration at being confined to their hotel rooms for two weeks after people on their flights tested positive for coronavirus. At least three players said they might not have gone to the tournament if the rules had been made clear to them. Dozens of players are now in isolation ahead of the competition in Melbourne, which begins on 8 February.
The US Postal Service will remove some mailboxes and halt collection in several major cities as a safety measure ahead of next week's presidential inauguration. States and cities across the country are expecting unrest in the days leading up to January 20. The US Postal Services said it will remove mailboxes in several major cities as a security measure ahead of Joe Biden's Inauguration next week.
Donald Trump will get to take the nuclear football with him when he leaves Washington DC on his final day in office โ but the codes will be deactivated at the stroke of noon. Mr Trump will be accompanied by the 45-pound briefcase when he flies to Florida on the morning of Joe Biden's inauguration, as he is reportedly expected to do. Military officials will have a nuclear football ready and waiting to accompany Mr Biden after he becomes the commander-in-chief, officials told CNN.
โIf youโre looking to win elections, it is probably best not to urge your supporters not to vote.โ
โWarnockโs portrayal of himself as a dog lover, a means of overcoming white suspicions of Black men, smacked of pure genius.โ
โTrump has done damage to the Republican brand among suburban voters that goes well beyond just races where he is on the ballot.โ
โOnce more, Democrats must profusely thank activist Stacey Abrams.โ
โOverall, demographic trends show that the stateโs electorate is becoming younger and more diverse each year.โ