U.S.NBC NewsWoman arrested at inauguration checkpoint in D.C. said she was Cabinet member, police say
A woman pretending to be "part of the presidential Cabinet" was arrested at an inauguration checkpoint in Washington, D.C., on Saturday morning. The woman, Linda Magovern, 63, was charged with impersonation of a law enforcement officer, failure to obey and fleeing a law enforcement officer after she presented herself at the checkpoint while in a car, NBC Washington reports. Magovern displayed "a round metallic object later identified as a Military Police Challenge Coin" and said she was part of law enforcement, according to a police report.
PoliticsAxiosKevin McCarthy warned members to not call out colleagues by name, citing potential political violence
Members of the House Republican Conference ignored leader Kevin McCarthy last week when he warned them against criticizing colleagues by name based on intelligence that doing so could trigger more political violence. Why it matters: McCarthy made clear that name-dropping opponents, instead of spelling out complaints in more general terms, can put a literal target on a politician, especially with tensions so high following the events of Jan. 6. That's what happened to Rep. Liz Cheney, the GOP conference chairperson, after she said she would support impeaching President Trump.
PoliticsAssociated PressCongresswoman'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 was prompted to by the insurrection at the nation's Capitol. Ben Goldey confirmed his departure to The Colorado Sun after it was first reported on Saturday by Axios. The Sun reported that Goldey did not respond to additional questions, but he told Axios he was leaving in the wake of a deadly Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
HealthReutersSinovac says its COVID-19 vaccine more effective with longer dosing interval
China's Sinovac Biotech said on Monday that a clinical trial in Brazil showed its COVID-19 vaccine was almost 20 percentage points more effective in a small sub-group of patients who received their two doses longer apart. The protection rate for 1,394 participants who received doses of either CoronaVac or placebo three weeks apart was nearly 70%, a Sinovac spokesman said. Brazilian researchers announced last week that the vaccine's overall efficacy was 50.4% based on results from more than 9,000 volunteers, most of whom received doses 14 days apart, as outlined in the trial protocol.
U.S.NBC NewsTexas realtor on Capitol riot: 'I'm glad I was there'
Jenna Ryan says it all began with an invitation from a “very cute guy” on Facebook: Would she join him on a private plane to the Jan. 6 Trump rally in Washington, D.C.? Ryan, a Dallas-area real estate agent, is single, loves President Donald Trump and believes the discredited claim that the election was riddled with fraud. Within 48 hours of her return to Texas, social media posts made by Ryan, who live-streamed herself entering the Capitol with a mob of Trump supporters, were being shared with the FBI and she would soon become the target of a federal investigation.
PoliticsThe GuardianBillionaire backer feels 'deceived' by Josh Hawley over election objections
A secretive billionaire supporter of Josh Hawley and other rightwing lawmakers suggested he had been “deceived” by the Republican senator from Missouri, who led the effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Jeffrey Yass is a co-founder of Susquehanna International Group – headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a critical swing state – who has donated tens of millions of dollars to hardline Republican groups who supported Donald Trump's effort to invalidate his defeat at the polls by Joe Biden. “Do you think anyone knew Hawley was going to do that?” Yass wrote to Laura Goldman, a former stockbroker who has known him for more than three decades.
- PoliticsReuters Videos
Biden to end Keystone XL pipeline early on
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden may end the Keystone XL pipeline project as one of his first acts in office, a source familiar with his thinking told Reuters it could happen as early as day one. Biden, who will be inaugurated on Wednesday, was vice president when Barack Obama rejected the $9 billion project in 2015. Then two years later, Donald Trump issued a presidential permit that allowed the line to move forward.
U.S.The IndependentProud Boys and Black Lives Matter supporters clash at Utah rally
As pro-Trump extremists, which President-elect Joe Biden later would label “domestic terrorists”, laid siege to the Capitol building on Wednesday, similar “Save America” gatherings erupted across several US cities, from Atlanta, GA, to Topeka, KS — albeit on a less grand scale. Atop Salt Lake City's Capitol Hill, approximately 400 people, some heavily armed, descended upon the Utah statehouse. There, speakers led the horde in chants and several prayers that urged a higher power to intervene in stopping Congress' electoral count to confirm Biden's victory.
WorldAssociated PressUN says breakthrough achieved in Libya transition talks
The top U.N. official for Libya said Saturday an advisory committee for representatives of Libya's different regions has proposed a way forward for choosing a transitional government that would lead the war-torn country to elections late this year. The talks in Geneva, structured around the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, have been taking place amid a heavy international push to reach a peaceful settlement to Libya's civil war. U.N. acting envoy for Libya Stephanie Williams told a news conference in Geneva that the advisory committee's members “have met their responsibility with a constructive spirit, cooperative efforts, and a great deal of patriotism.”
ScienceThe TelegraphColombia's rapidly breeding 'cocaine hippos' must be stopped, scientists say
Scientists forecast that the number of hippos will swell to almost 1,500 by 2040. They conclude, that at that point, environmental impacts will be irreversible and numbers impossible to control. Nobody likes the idea of shooting a hippo, but we have to accept that no other strategy is going to work,” ecologist Nataly Castelblanco-Martínez told The Telegraph.
PoliticsNational ReviewLindsey Graham Warns That Pardoning Capitol Rioters Would ‘Destroy’ Trump
Senator Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) on Sunday advised the president not to grant presidential pardons to the rioters who stormed the Capitol this month, warning that doing so would “destroy” Trump. “There are a lot of people urging the president to pardon folks who participated in defiling the Capitol, the rioters,” Graham continued. On Wednesday, a large group of Trump supporters overpowered Capitol Police and forced their way into the halls of Congress.
U.S.Miami HeraldConvicted stalker kidnapped Pembroke Pines family and still has teen girl, cops say
MONDAY MORNING UPDATE: Pembroke Pines police say they were notified at 12:40 a.m., Monday, that Jaddier Sanchez and Nicole Martinez were found in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Alexandria, Virginia, by Virginia State Police. Sanchez was taken into custody and Martinez was taken to a hospital to treat minor injuries. A man who did prison time for aggravated stalking and has convictions for domestic violence and violating a restraining order has an 18-year-old girl he has kidnapped at gunpoint, Pembroke Pines police said.
HealthThe TelegraphAlmost a third of recovered Covid patients return to hospital in five months and one in eight die
Almost a third of recovered Covid patients will end up back in hospital within five months and one in eight will die, alarming new figures have shown. Research by Leicester University and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found there is a devastating long-term toll on survivors of severe coronavirus, with many people developing heart problems, diabetes and chronic liver and kidney conditions. Out of 47,780 people who were discharged from hospital in the first wave, 29.4 per cent were readmitted to hospital within 140 days, and 12.3 per cent of the total died.
PoliticsReutersTrump, in wave of Tuesday pardons, so far not planning to pardon himself: source
U.S. President Donald Trump at this point is opting not to issue a pardon for himself as he prepares an expansive list of more than 100 pardons and commutations for release on Tuesday, a source familiar with the effort said. White House advisers have said Trump has privately debated with advisers whether to take the extraordinary step of issuing a pardon for himself but some administration officials have cautioned Trump against a self-pardon because it would make him look guilty. Many scholars have said a self-pardon would be unconstitutional because it violates the basic principle that nobody should be the judge in his or her own case.
WorldBusiness InsiderEvery single passenger on board 2 international flights to Canada informed that they were potentially exposed to COVID-19
All passengers on board two Air Transat flights from Haiti to Montreal have potentially been exposed to COVID-19, the Toronto Sun reported. Passengers seated in "all rows" have been notified by the Canadian government's exposure tracking system that they need to monitor their symptoms. The Canadian government announced on January 7 that a negative coronavirus test is required to fly.
U.S.INSIDERSpiritual advisor to Barack Obama and George W. Bush sentenced to 6 years for multi-million dollar China bonds fraud
The spiritual advisor for both Barack Obama and George W. Bush during their time as President has been sentenced to six years for his role in a multi-million dollar investment fraud scheme. Kirbyjon H. Caldwell, 67, was sentenced by US District Judge S. Maurice Hicks on Wednesday in Shreveport, Louisiana, where he and his co-defendant, Gregory Alan Smith, were indicted in 2018. He spoke at the 2000 Republican National Convention, delivered the benediction at Bush's 2005 inauguration, and officiated his daughter Jenna's 2008 wedding, the New York Times reported Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
U.S.Business InsiderThe FBI is investigating whether a woman stole a laptop from Pelosi's office to sell it to Russia, after receiving a tip from someone claiming to be her ex
The FBI is investigating whether a woman stole a laptop from Nancy Pelosi's office to sell it to Russia, an affidavit said. The tip came from someone who claimed to be a former romantic partner of the woman, Riley June Williams. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating whether a Pennsylvania woman stole a laptop from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's office during last week's Capitol siege to sell it to Russia, a new affidavit said.
U.S.Business InsiderThe Florida data scientist who has accused the state of firing her for refusing to alter COVID-19 data says she'll turn herself in after a warrant was issued for her arrest
Rebekah Jones, the Florida data scientist fired last year by the state's health department, said Saturday that she'd turn herself in to authorities Sunday after they issued a warrant for her arrest. Jones, who worked on the state's COVID-19 dashboard, was fired over what she alleges was a refusal to alter data related to the COVID-19 pandemic in the state. State officials say she was fired for insubordination.
PoliticsThe IndependentTrump news - President wants ‘military’ sendoff as top Democrat says ex-staff cannot salvage reputations
President Donald Trump reportedly wants a 'military-style' sendoff from Joint Base Andrews before he flies to Palm Beach on the morning of his last day in office. Republican Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell has reportedly told colleagues to vote with their conscience during Mr Trump's impending impeachment trial. In doing so, Mr McConnell effectively allowed members of his party to vote to convict the US president, who is likely to face trial after Joe Biden assumes the presidency next week.
U.S.INSIDERPolice say Oregon man who stole a car with a child in the backseat came back and 'lectured' the mom about parenting
A carjacker in Beaverton, Oregon returned a child to their mother after realizing they were in the backseat of the car he was stealing. "He actually lectured the mother for leaving the child in the car and threatened to call the police on her," Beaverton police spokesman Officer Matt Henderson told the Oregonian. The carjacking took place outside of a grocery store in Beaverton, Oregon on Saturday when the mom left the car running with the child in the backseat, local authorities said.
U.S.PoliticoFBI investigating whether woman stole laptop from Pelosi's office to sell it to Russia
The FBI is investigating evidence that a woman who entered the Capitol on Jan. 6 stole a laptop or hard drive from Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office and intended to sell it to Russians. The bizarre claim, which the FBI emphasized remains under investigation, was included in an affidavit describing the criminal case against Riley June Williams, a Pennsylvania woman who was seen in footage of the Jan. 6 insurrection in area of the Capitol near Pelosi's office. And it's not clear if the FBI has been able to apprehend her.
U.S.Business InsiderUSPS says it's removing mailboxes and suspending mail collection in several major cities ahead of Biden's inauguration
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.
U.S.INSIDERIllinois mayor who attended Trump's DC rally apologizes after claiming the media lied about Capitol riot
Thomasboro, Illinois Mayor Tyler Evans Issued a statement Thursday apologizing for his comments accusing the media of lying about the violence that took place at the Capitol on January 6. In a now-deleted video, Evans described being at the Capitol building as "the most exhilarating thing." As of Jan 15, the FBI has identified more than 270 suspects involved in criminal activity related to the Capitol riot and taken more than 100 individuals into custody.
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”.
U.S.Business InsiderA new coronavirus variant has been tied to at least 90 infections in a deadly outbreak at a medical center in San Jose, California
A new coronavirus variant is linked to a deadly COVID-19 outbreak at Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center. The outbreak has resulted in at least 90 infections and one death. The variant called L452R was discovered in other countries and states last year.
“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.”