U.S.NBC NewsTexas man who stormed Capitol accused of threatening to shoot kids if they turned him in
A Texas man who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 was arrested and accused of having threatened to shoot his children if they told authorities that he had gone to Washington, D.C., according to federal court documents released Monday. According to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, the man, Guy Reffitt, was charged with obstruction of justice and knowingly entering a restricted building without lawful authority. In an affidavit, an FBI agent described Reffitt as an apparent militia member who traveled from suburban Dallas to Washington with a Smith & Wesson pistol to help "protect his country."
U.S.NextSharkBoy Killed By Father After Vaccination Dispute in Heartbreaking Murder-Suicide in SF
A boy who was killed in an alleged murder-suicide by his father has been identified as 9-year-old Pierce O'Loughlin. Family tragedy: The boy and his father, Stephen O'Loughlin, 49, were both found dead at their home on Scott Street, Marina District in San Francisco on Wednesday afternoon, SF Chronicle reports. The boy's mother, Lesley Hu, asked authorities to check on her son after learning that he did not show up for school that day.
WorldReutersLebanon patriarch tells feuding president and PM-designate to reconcile
Lebanon's top Christian cleric has urged President Michel Aoun to set up a reconciliation meeting with Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri to form a cabinet and end the country's political deadlock. The country's fractious politicians have been unable to agree on a new administration since the last one quit in the aftermath of the Aug. 4 Beirut port explosion, leaving Lebanon rudderless as it sinks deeper into economic crisis. Tensions between Aoun and Hariri, who publicly traded blame in December after failing to agree a cabinet, came to a head last week when a leaked video showed Aoun apparently calling Hariri a liar.
U.S.The TelegraphWoman who 'took laptop' from Pelosi's office in Capitol riot 'planned to sell it to Russian spies'
A woman identified as having taken part in the storming of the US Capitol is accused of stealing a laptop belonging to top Democrat Nancy Pelosi which she hoped to sell to a Russian spy agency, according to the FBI. There is no indication Riley June Williams, a 22-year-old careworker from Pennsylvania, took a laptop from Ms Pelosi's office. The FBI, which is working off a tip, said in the court record the "matter remains under investigation."
WorldAxiosThe WHO warns of "catastrophic moral failure" over coronavirus vaccine access
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned Monday the world is "on the brink of a catastrophic moral failure" because of unequal COVID-19 vaccine distribution. Why it matters: Tedros noted during an executive session that 39 million vaccine doses had been administered in 49 higher-income countries, while one lowest-income nation had "just 25 doses." Of note: The WHO itself faced criticism in an interim report on Monday for being slow to respond to the outbreak after it was first detected in late 2019 in China, which was also singled out for failings early on.
PoliticsThe IndependentBidens will be greeted to White House by former Trump hotel worker in historic snub by president
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania are eschewing the tradition of meeting the incoming first family – instead leaving Joe and Jill Biden to be greeted by White House chief usher Timothy Harleth. Traditionally, the outgoing president and first lady invite their successors into the White House for coffee ahead of the inauguration and travel to the ceremony together. Indeed, Mr and Mrs Trump were hosted by former president Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama following a bitterly fought election campaign that saw Mr Trump lambast the Obama administration.
HealthThe TelegraphPfizer vaccine may prevent transmission of coronavirus to others, Israeli study suggests
Pfizer vaccine recipients are unlikely to transmit the virus to others, according to the author of an Israeli study. Participants in the survey developed up to 20 times more antibodies within a week of receiving the second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. The survey, which reviewed data from 102 of about 1,000 of the Sheba Medical Centre's medical staff who have received both shots, showed that only two subjects have developed low amounts of antibodies - one of the subjects suffered from a compromised immune system.
U.S.AxiosWoman who allegedly stole laptop from Pelosi's office to sell to Russia is arrested
A woman accused of breaching the Capitol and planning to sell to Russia a laptop or hard drive she allegedly stole from Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office was arrested in Pennsylvania's Middle District Monday, the Department of Justice said. Driving the news: Riley June Williams, 22, is charged with illegally entering the Capitol as well as violent entry and disorderly conduct. Following the siege, a person called the FBI tip line to identify Williams and claimed that she told them she planned to send the computer device to a friend in Russia, per a DOJ statement of facts.
PoliticsThe IndependentBlack Lives Matter protesters near White House have one final message for Trump – you should be arrested
Karen did not have to think too long about the message she wanted to send to Donald Trump. Yes, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were set to take over, and perhaps correct course. Karen, who asked to be identified by just her first name and who said she was part of a group called “The Resistance”, was among a handful of protesters at Black Lives Matter plaza, a city street close to the White House that was established and named last year amid demonstrations for racial justice that swept the country.
PoliticsThe GuardianTrump administration to deport man to Haiti who has never been there
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) is to carry out a final deportation flight of the Trump era on Tuesday, with a plane bound for Haiti whose passengers include a man who is not a Haitian citizen, and who has never been there. Paul Pierrilus, a 40-year-old financial consultant from Rockland County, New York, was born in the French Caribbean territory of Saint Martin, according to a birth certificate supplied by his family, who said he came to the US with his parents when he was five. According to his sister, Neomie, he was seized when he went to an immigration office on Federal Plaza in Manhattan on 11 January, for what he thought would be a routine visit.
U.S.Business InsiderThe man accused of breaking the window Ashli Babbitt tried to climb through when she was shot during the Capitol insurrection has been arrested
Chad Barrett Jones, 42, of Coxs Creek, Kentucky, was arrested in Louisville on Saturday, the FBI said in a news release. Jones is accused of breaking a window of the Capitol building moments before Ashli Babbitt was fatally shot during the insurrection earlier this month. He's facing multiple charges, including assault on a federal officer, destruction of government property, obstruction of justice, unlawful entry on restricted building or grounds, and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
PoliticsThe IndependentBill Barr told Trump that ‘clownish’ legal team was lying to him about ‘bull***’ voter fraud claims, reports say
President Trump's former Attorney General Bill Barr called Mr Trump's legal team "clownish" and the president's claims that the election had been stolen from him "bull****," according to reporting by Axios. This was during a December meeting in the White House that Mr Trump had asked Mr Barr to attend after seeing a story by the Associated Press that quoted Mr Barr as saying "we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election". Mr Barr had been one of the most loyal members of Mr Trump's administration, supporting his executive power at every turn and spinning the release of the Mueller report on Russian interference in the 2016 election in the best way possible for the president.
HealthINSIDERA plastic surgeon died from COVID-19 after giving lip filler to a patient who later tested positive for the virus
Well-known Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Payman Simoni died on Friday from a brain hemorrhage potentially related to COVID-19. Simoni, who appeared on the television show "The Doctors," may have contracted the virus from a patient while giving her lip injections. Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Payman Simoni died from a brain hemorrhage on Friday after testing positive for coronavirus, his longtime friend Katy Amiri-Younesi told CBS News.
U.S.TheGrioWhat happens when white Americans have no moral arc to bend?
On May 10, 1967, while facing growing white backlash for demanding an end to the Vietnam War, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke to America's greatest shame and Black Americans' most significant burden — racial injustice. Read More: 7 inconvenient truths white people must understand about Martin Luther King Jr. Today, as many are celebrating the life and legacy of King on what would have been his 92nd birthday, many are also still incensed at the white insurrectionist attacks at the Capitol that occurred just two weeks ago.
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Congresswoman's spokesman quits less than 2 weeks into term
The spokesman for Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert has quit less than two weeks after she was sworn into office, saying he felt like he need to due to the insurrection at the nation's Capitol.
WorldThe IndependentFlight passenger who assisted dying man with Covid-19 says he was given $200 credit for ‘inconvenience’
An emergency medical technician who administered CPR on a fellow passenger on a United Airlines flight said that the $200 voucher and phone call he received from the airline for the "inconvenience" felt like a "slap in the face". The passenger later died of Covid-19, causing Tony Aldapa to fear that he had contracted the virus after experiencing symptoms, Fox News reported. Mr Aldapa was one of three passengers who helped a man experiencing a medical emergency on the Orlando to Los Angeles flight on 14 December.
U.S.INSIDERA National Guard member in DC for the inauguration is pulling double duty as a band elementary school teacher in between guard shifts
A National Guard member, who is currently in Washington DC as security for Inauguration Day, has managed to do double duty as a teacher during breaks in service, the Washington Post reported. Sgt. Jacob Kohut is a band teacher who teaches elementary and middle schoolers from a Humvee on Zoom, according to WTOP News. "The last thing these students need is a disruption in their teaching," Kohut told the Washington Post.
PoliticsThe IndependentBombshell report links Trump insiders to Washington rally that led to Capitol riots
At least three people from the campaign team of Donald Trump allegedly played a key role in organising the rally in Washington that culminated in a deadly assault on the US Capitol building, belying the campaign's claim that they did “organise, operate or finance” the event. Among those associated was Maggie Mulvaney, the niece of former acting White House chief of staff , Mick Mulvaney, found an investigation by the Associated Press. The AP report revealed that during the event organised by the Trump-supporting group, Women for America, a public gathering permit was granted to Ms Mulvaney, where she was listed as a “VIP Lead”.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderCuomo asked Pfizer to sell its COVID-19 vaccine directly to New York, as the head of the WHO warns of mounting inequities in vaccine distribution
On Monday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called on pharmaceutical company Pfizer to sell doses of its coronavirus vaccine directly to New York state. The proposal to work directly with New York's state government would require Pfizer to bypass the federal government's Operation Warp Speed campaign to vaccinate hundreds of millions of Americans. "The distribution of any doses obtained directly from Pfizer will follow the rigorous guidance the State has established, while enabling us to fill the dosage gap created this week by the outgoing federal administration," Cuomo wrote in a letter to Pfizer.
U.S.The IndependentWoman arrested at DC checkpoint after telling police she is an officer and cabinet member
A woman has become the second known person to be arrested at a Washington DC checkpoint put in place for Joe Biden's inauguration, after telling officers she was one of them. Authorities said 63 year-old Linda Magovern was arrested on Saturday near Union Station after she showed police a military challenge coin – used by service members to prove they had been on active duty. According to NBC News, she went on to say that she was “a part of the presidential cabinet” as well as a member of the police.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderIsolated and facing an impeachment trial, Trump is dedicating his last days to spoiling Biden's inauguration
President Donald Trump seems determined to be the center of attention in his final few days in office. Since the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, Trump has lost many allies and faces an unprecedented second impeachment trial. The logistics of his final hours in office, which have emerged in leaks, seem tailor-made to compete for attention with President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration.
HealthBusiness InsiderThe Trump administration gave more than $850,000 in PPP loans to prominent anti-vaccine groups
Top anti-vaccine advocacy groups received PPP funding from the Trump administration, The Washington Post reported. American distrust in the safety of COVID-19 vaccinations continues to pose a threat to public health. K. "Vish" Viswanath, a professor of health communication at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, told Insider that anti-vaccine groups are "likely to perpetuate the adverse impacts of the pandemic."
LifestyleINSIDERA Chinese restaurant has gone viral for its searingly honest dish descriptions: 'This one is not that good'
A Chinese restaurant in Montreal has gone viral for its descriptions of dishes on its menu. Feigang Fei's comments on Aunt Dai restaurant's menu are searingly honest — and very amusing. "Comparing to our General Tao Chicken, this one is not THAT good," Fei wrote of the orange chicken.
U.S.INSIDERA man who lived at a Chicago airport for 3 months before being discovered said he was too scared to fly because of COVID-19, prosecutors say
A 36-year-old California man lived at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport for three months before being discovered, according to multiple reports. Prosecutors said the man arrived at O'Hare from Los Angeles in October, but told police he was too scared to fly because of COVID-19. He was discovered Saturday when two United Airlines employees asked him for identification and he displayed a badge that had been reported missing in October.
PoliticsThe IndependentMelania Trump is leaving the White House at the most unpopular point of her tenure as first lady
Melania Trump will depart from the White House this week at the most unpopular point of her tenure as the nation's first lady, according to a new CNN poll, following the deadly mob attacks on the US Capitol in support of her husband. Ms Trump has a 42 per cent favourability rating nationwide, the lowest rating she received since the poll began in 2016, while her unfavourability rating has continued to climb to 47 per cent. The first lady recently received criticism for her response to the violent attacks on the Capitol, in which she decried “salacious gossip” she claimed to have endured as the country was still in shock following the deadly riots.
“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.”