Ninety percent of Congressional Republicans refuse to acknowledge Biden’s win

Ninety per cent of Republican lawmakers in Congress have so far refused to say Joe Biden was the winner of the presidential election, according to a survey. Of all 249 Republicans in the US House and Senate, only 25 told the Washington Post they believed the Democrat won against the US president last month. Two lawmakers surveyed by the Post said Donald Trump had actually won the presidential race, in contrast with results and the electoral college, which show Mr Biden won.

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  Trump news: Just 10% of Republicans in Congress acknowledge Biden win as president heads to Georgia

  The Independent
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  Most congressional Republicans are still avoiding acknowledging a winner in the presidential election, survey finds

  The Week

Turkey in weekend lockdown with coronavirus cases at record highs

Turkey has entered its first full weekend lockdown since May as deaths from coronavirus more than doubled in less than three weeks to hit record highs, with daily infections now among the highest numbers recorded globally. The daily death toll https://tmsnrt.rs/35LkG8h rose to a record high of 196 on Saturday, bringing the total since the beginning of the pandemic to 14,705. Opposition politicians have expressed scepticism however about whether the official death toll reflects the true picture in the country of 83 million people.

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  Hungary reports record 189 daily COVID-19 deaths

  Reuters
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  Iran’s virus deaths pass 50,000 as lockdown on capital eases

  Associated Press

Caving to Brussels on fish and level playing field risks leaving UK a 'permanent client state', Boris Johnson warned

Caving to Brussels on fish and the level playing field to secure a post-Brexit trade deal risks turning Britain into a permanent “client state”, senior Conservative MPs have warned Boris Johnson. With the UK on the cusp of reaching an agreement with the European Union, a group of “die-hard” backbenches have urged the Prime Minister not break his promises to Leave voters in last year's election. It comes amid fears that Mr Johnson could be forced to grant a flurry of last-minute concessions after intensive lobbying from French president Emmanual Macron to secure more preferable terms on fishing, state subsidies and non-regression clauses.

Kellyanne Conway breaks from Trump's refusal to concede, saying 'Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will prevail'

Former White House advisor Kellyanne Conway said in an interview with The 19th that "it looks like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will prevail." Conway's remarks go against President Donald Trump, who is still refusing to concede to Biden and continues to share claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election to undermine the results. With the comment, Conway joins a growing number of Republicans who are acknowledging Biden's victory.

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  Kellyanne Conway: 'It Looks Like Joe Biden And Kamala Harris Will Prevail'

  HuffPost
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  Biden says it's important for the country for Trump to attend inauguration

  Yahoo News Video

U.S. ends exchange programs with China, calling them 'propaganda'

The U.S. State Department said on Friday it has ended five cultural exchange programs with China, calling them "soft power propaganda tools." The Department said on its website it had "terminated" the Policymakers Educational China Trip Program, the U.S.-China Friendship Program, the U.S.-China Leadership Exchange Program, the U.S.-China Transpacific Exchange Program and the Hong Kong Educational and Cultural Program. It said that the programs had been set up under the auspices of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act - a 1961 law signed by President John F. Kennedy and aimed at boosting academic and cultural exchanges with foreign countries.

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  US ends 5 cultural programs with China in further escalation

  Associated Press
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  US ends China-funded exchange programs, calls them 'propaganda tools'

  AFP

Hayabusa-2: Rocks from an asteroid set for delivery to Earth

A capsule containing the material was released by Japan's Hayabusa-2 spacecraft on Saturday morning (GMT), as it approached our planet. Hayabusa-2 grabbed the cosmic treasure trove from Ryugu, one of the primitive building blocks of our Solar System. Scientists say that studying the material from Ryugu could provide insights into how life itself began.

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  Japan spacecraft approaches Earth to drop asteroid samples

  Associated Press
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  Japan's capsule with asteroid samples retrieved in Australia

  Associated Press

Trump orders withdrawal of US troops from Somalia

President Donald Trump has ordered the removal of most US military and security personnel from Somalia, where they have been conducting operations against the Al Shabaab militant group, the Pentagon said Friday. After ordering major troop reductions in Iraq and Afghanistan recently, Trump's new move reflects his drive to disengage US forces from what he calls "endless wars" abroad, making good on a campaign pledge in the final weeks of his presidency. Trump "has ordered the Department of Defense and the United States Africa Command to reposition the majority of personnel and assets out of Somalia by early 2021," the Pentagon said in a statement.

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  Trump orders most American troops to leave Somalia

  Associated Press
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  Trump to withdraw most troops from Somalia as part of global pullback

  Reuters

Violence erupts during Paris protest against Macron's security law

Scores of hooded anarchists launched projectiles at riot police, smashed up shop fronts, torched cars and burned barricades during a demonstration in the French capital on Saturday against police violence and a draft security law. One group of anarchists ransacked the branch office of a bank, throwing piles of paperwork onto a fire outside. It marked the second consecutive of weekend of unrest in Paris, provoked by recent episodes of police brutality and President Emmanuel Macron's security plans, which the demonstrators say would restrict civil liberties.

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  French protest police brutality, clashes erupt

  Reuters Videos
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  'We're not Hungary,' Macron says, rejecting 'illiberal' accusations

  Reuters

Jeff Bezos says Blue Origin's rocket engine is going to land the first woman on the moon, after successful test

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, Elon Musk's SpaceX, and Dynetics are competing to land NASA astronauts on the moon. NASA awarded the companies a total of nearly $1 billion to produce initial lunar-lander designs for its Artemis 3 mission, which aims to land people on the moon in 2024. On Friday, Bezos announced that Blue Origin's lunar-lander rocket engine, the BE-7, completed its fourth successful test firing.

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  Bezos says Blue Origin will take the first woman to moon's surface

  Reuters
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  NASA took a photo of China's moon rock-collecting robot on the lunar surface before it rocketed back toward Earth

  Business Insider

Trump and Giuliani’s star witness at Michigan hearing had been charged with obscenity

A Trump supporter from Michigan who went viral after her belligerent performance complaining about election fraud before the state legislature was previously charged with obscenity, it has emerged. Mellissa Carone, 33, a former contractor for Dominion Voting Systems, went before the Michigan House Oversight Committee on Wednesday and claimed in bizarre, oftentimes combative testimony that instantly went viral, that she witnessed a host of election misconduct at a Detroit counting center. It quickly emerged that the key witness in the case made by Donald Trump and Mr Giuliani had recently ended her probation for "computers-using to commit a crime".

Airbus' new $260 million answer to Boeing's 787-8 Dreamliner just began flying passengers but it's already looking like a flop

The Airbus A330-800neo entered service with Kuwait Airways in November after being delivered in October as Airbus' newest passenger jet. It's the smaller variant of the A330neo family but still boasts an impressive range of 8,150 nautical miles and greater efficiency thanks to new Rolls-Royce engines. With only three airlines publicly placing orders for the aircraft, however, it's likely to be a flop.

As he looks to 2024, Trump’s deep pockets mean barbs for Biden and GOP competitors

President Donald Trump hasn't conceded the election but is already discussing a rematch in 2024, a prospect that could entangle President-elect Joe Biden and stymie other Republicans laying the groundwork for their own campaign. From an aggressive post-election fundraising effort that came into sharper focus this week to remarks he delivered at a recent White House holiday party, Trump is signaling at increasing volume his desire to remain in control of GOP politics after Jan. 20. Just how much of the spotlight Trump can continue to hold after he leaves office next month – and how much of the Republican Party will remain under his influence – could have enormous implications for Biden's ability to push an agenda through Congress and bring together a nation divided by the pandemic and recent election.

I helped put an 18-year-old Black teen on federal death row. I now think he should live.

The news that Brandon Bernard was scheduled for execution on Dec. 10 hit me hard. Brandon was convicted and sentenced to death in Waco, Texas, 20 years ago; I was the federal prosecutor who defended that death verdict on appeal. I wrote briefs arguing that Brandon had a fair trial and his sentence was justified, even though he was only 18 at the time of the crime.

China, U.S. need to proceed together with 'good will': Chinese envoy

China and the United States need to proceed together with "good will" to improve relations, the Chinese ambassador to Washington said on Saturday, as ties remained fraught between the world's two biggest economic powers. On Friday, a Chinese state media editorial said ties are being shifted to "a dangerous path". "In order to put the relations on the right track, to have real improvement of the relations, both sides have to proceed with good will and good faith," Ambassador Cui Tiankai told the Annual Conference of the Institute for China-America Studies via video link.

A flooded Everglades: Boon for birds but high waters threaten some species

State surveys have spotted deer and other mammals already crowding onto canal banks and flood control levees that provide little shelter or forage. But wildlife managers say the high water also is benefiting wading birds, increasing the amount of fish they feed on, and also freshening up coastal areas in Florida Bay, which has been hammered by seagrass die-offs and algae blooms worsened by high salinity levels. There is concern that parts of the Everglades are too deep for some species to survive, and that flooding could hurt tree islands; but there is also some good news: flooding is creating good conditions for wading bird nesting in areas where we want them to be,” said Mark Cook, the lea...

Trump administration blocked Biden transition team from meeting intelligence agencies, say officials

The Trump administration has blocked Joe Biden's transition team from meeting with officials at US intelligence agencies controlled by the Pentagon, current and former US officials have said. The president-elect's team had asked to meet with senior officials at military intelligence agencies within the Defense Department (DoD), which include the National Security Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency, but were not allowed to do so, the Washington Post reported. According to the report, the meetings were requested this week, and appeared to have been turned down, or delayed – although officials have since denied that was the case.

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  The Trump administration blocked Biden and his transition team from meeting with Pentagon-controlled intelligence agencies

  Business Insider
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  Pentagon denies blocking Biden transition team

  Politico

Australian state eases restrictions for 'COVID safe' summer

Australia's Victoria state eased COVID-19 restrictions on Sunday after the country's pandemic hotspot recorded 37 days without any new coronavirus infections, moving toward a "COVID-safe" holiday season. From midnight on Sunday, up to 100 people will be able to attend public gatherings such as weddings, with density rules of one person per two square metres remaining in place, while 50% of office workers will be able to return to workplaces by Jan. 11, up from 25% now, the state's premier said. "Today we can take some big steps, not to normal, but to a COVID-safe summer (but) we all need to remain vigilant and we all need to play our part," Premier Daniel Andrews told a news conference.

New Jersey officials shut down a restaurant that hosted a mask-free New York Young Republicans gala

Officials from New Jersey and New York slammed Rep. Matt Gaetz for attending a mask-less gala on Thursday with 150 people convening in close proximity in a restaurant. New Jersey Mayor Steven Fulop shut down the Maritime Parc, the restaurant that hosted the event, on Friday. The event was an annual gala for the New York Young Republicans Club that was originally supposed to be held in a Manhattan venue, which declined to host the event.

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  Gala ignites political dispute over COVID-19 restrictions

  Associated Press
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  'You are not welcome in New Jersey': Gov. Phil Murphy slams Rep. Matt Gaetz over maskless GOP gala

  USA TODAY

The Miami-Dade GOP will choose a new leader next week. Will Democrats stand pat?

On the heels of an election that dramatically changed the outlook of Miami-Dade County politics, Democrats and Republicans will convene next week to choose local leaders for their respective parties. Miami-Dade Democrats appear likely to stick with current Chairman Steve Simeonidis despite an underwhelming performance last month by the party's candidates in partisan races up and down the ballot. Republicans, meanwhile, will close out a banner 2020 by choosing a replacement for outgoing Chairman Nelson Diaz, who is stepping down after eight years on the job.

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