PoliticsThe WeekMcConnell threatens to block Senate's power-sharing agreement if it doesn't preserve the filibuster
The evenly split Senate is having a hard time agreeing who's in charge. Georgia's two new Democratic senators were sworn in Wednesday, giving Republicans and Democrats 50 senators each, with Vice President Kamala Harris as a Democratic tiebreaker. The two parties are now working out a power-sharing agreement, but Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) commitment to the filibuster is standing in the way.
U.S.NBC News60 victims, most of them young girls, caught undressing on hidden camera in Tennessee gym
Police are investigating a camera hidden in a bathroom at a Tennessee gym that had recorded dozens of videos of underage girls. A GoPro camera was found inside a bathroom and changing area at a Premier Athletics facility, which trains young cheerleaders, gymnasts and dancers, police in Franklin said Thursday. "Detectives believe that the suspect had been intermittently staging the camera to capture video in the restroom since September," police said.
PoliticsNational ReviewFauci Refutes Biden Admin Claim that Trump Left ‘No Plan’ for Vaccine Distribution
Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, refuted a claim by the Biden administration that the outgoing Trump administration left no plan for distributing coronavirus vaccines. President Biden said at a White House press conference on Thursday that the Trump administration's distribution of coronavirus vaccines has been a “dismal failure,” and set a goal to vaccinate 100 million Americans by the end of April. Meanwhile, sources in the Biden administration claimed that the previous administration left no vaccine distribution plan.
WorldNextSharkChinese Actress Faces Backlash After Allegedly Hiring 2 Women to Have Her Babies Then Abandoning Them
Chinese actress Zheng Shuang is facing massive backlash after being accused by her former partner, producer Zhang Heng, of abandoning their two children born to U.S.-based surrogate mothers. An international scandal: In a 2019 audio recording that emerged on Monday, Heng said Shuang decided to abandon the children before they were even born following the end of their relationship, South China Morning Post reports. Shuang's father purportedly made the suggestion to abandon the children at the hospital.
PoliticsThe WeekTrump reportedly extended 24-hour Secret Service protection to his 4 adult children
One of former President Donald Trump's last acts in office was issuing a directive extending free Secret Service protection to his four adult children and two of their spouses for the next six months, three people with knowledge of the matter told The Washington Post. It's not just his adult children benefiting — Trump also directed that former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, and former National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien continue to receive Secret Service protection for six months, two people familiar with the matter told the Post. Under federal law, only Trump, former first lady Melania Trump, and their 14-year-old son, Barron, are entitled to Secret Service protection now that they have left the White House; while Donald and Melania can receive protection for the rest of their lives, Barron is only entitled to it up until his 16th birthday.
LifestyleArchitectural DigestAD100 Designer Monique Gibson Designs a Tribeca Aerie with High-Impact Views
800 feet up in the sky, the Dreamy 6,000 square foot space offers panoramic views from the East River to the Hudson Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
WorldThe TelegraphSocial worker who died after secret liposuction in Turkey struggled to communicate with doctors after surgery, inquest hears
A social worker who died after having secret liposuction in Turkey struggled to communicate with doctors due to the language barrier, an inquest has heard. Abimbola Bamgbose, 38, left the UK on Aug 16 for what her husband believed was a week-long holiday with some friends in the coastal city of Izmir. At an inquest into her death, it emerged that Ms Bamgbose had struggled to communicate with doctors after she started to feel unwell following the operation.
PoliticsThe IndependentWatchdog to investigate sudden resignation of Georgia attorney criticised by Trump
A government watchdog is investigating the abrupt resignation of the US attorney in Atlanta, says a report. Byung J Pak quit his position after then-president Donald Trump criticised officials for not doing enough to find election fraud. The Justice Department's inspector general Michael Horowitz is in the early stages of looking into the sudden departure of Mr Pak, according to the Washington Post.
- U.S.Politico
'We feel incredibly betrayed': Thousands of Guardsmen forced to vacate Capitol
Thousands of National Guardsmen were allowed back into the Capitol Thursday night, hours after U.S. Capitol Police officials ordered them to vacate the facilities, sending them outdoors or to nearby parking garages after two weeks pulling security duty after the deadly riot on Jan. 6. One unit, which had been resting in the Dirksen Senate Office building, was abruptly told to vacate the facility on Thursday, according to one Guardsman. The group was forced to rest in a nearby parking garage without internet reception, with just one electrical outlet, and one bathroom with two stalls for 5,000 troops, the person said.
- PoliticsReuters Videos
Fox News asks why Biden wasn't wearing mask 'at all times'
President Joe Biden signed 15 executive actions on Wednesday hours after he was sworn into office, many aimed at sweeping away former President Donald Trump's policies, including mandating masks on federal property.
PoliticsThe IndependentBiden administration now allowing visitors of White House website to choose pronouns
The Biden administration is now allowing visitors of the White House website to choose their pronouns while offering gender neutral options. The change came hours after Joe Biden was inaugurated as the 46th US President, as part of the remastering of the website that is standard for new administrations. The contact form for the White House now allows individuals to select their pronouns from she/her, he/her, he/him, they/them, other, or prefer not to share.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderSen. Bernie Sanders says Democrats don't need GOP support to approve $2,000 stimulus checks and cancel student debt
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont wrote an opinion column this week pushing for Democrats to implement a bold economic agenda. Now that the Democratic Party has full control over Congress, Sanders argues they can use a tool called reconciliation, which requires only a simple majority in the Senate to pass bills. Among the key measures Sanders urges the Senate to pass are $2,000 direct payments to Americans and raising the minimum wage to $15.
StyleTheGrioMichelle Obama’s hair stylist flooded with appointment requests following inauguration
Popular former First Lady Michelle Obama — who many refer to as America's “Forever FLOTUS” — absolutely stole the show at Wednesday's inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, helped by a shiny mane of bouncing, flowing curls. Obama hair wizard Yene Damtew says she and her squad of stylists have been flooded with hundreds of appointment requests in just one day. My team and I have received literally hundreds of DMs and emails about hairstyling services at Aesthetics Salon,” Yamtew wrote on Instagram.
U.S.The Daily BeastCapitol Rioter Came Back to D.C. for Inauguration, Feds Say
A Florida man wanted after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot tried to return to the scene of the crime for the inauguration of President Joe Biden. Like many of the MAGA fanatics who have been arrested in the two weeks since the insurrection, Samuel Camargo implicated himself by bragging about his participation on social media, authorities said. “Got some memorabilia, did it myself,” Camargo allegedly wrote under a photo of a hand showing a piece of metal from the Capitol.
PoliticsYahoo NewsAs Trump departs office, reality sets in for QAnon cult
For some the charade had ended two weeks earlier, with the chaotic riot at the Capitol, at which Q followers were well represented, that failed to stop the counting of electoral votes certifying Biden's victory. Or at various other milestones along the tortuous road that led from the Nov. 3 election. Q had gone mostly silent since then, and followers had to fall back on reassuring each other that Trump was just biding his time before unleashing the “Storm” on an ever-growing list of enemies, eventually including members of his own administration.
U.S.The IndependentSurvivors demand Marjorie Taylor Green resign over more school shooting conspiracy comments
Gun control organisations and school shooting survivors have called for newly elected Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene to step down after more uncovered social media posts appear to show her supporting conspiracies that the 9-11 attacks were “done by our own" government and that "none of the school shootings were real or done by the ones who were supposedly arrested for them." Earlier this week, Media Matters discovered that the Georgia congresswoman appeared to endorse a conspiracy theory on Facebook in 2018 that the deadly mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida was a “false flag” event.
PoliticsINSIDERKamala Harris' nephew-in-law wore $2,000 Dior-Air Jordans to the inauguration, and sneakerheads were drooling
Someone in VP Kamala Harris' camp wore sneakers to Wednesday's inauguration — but they weren't just any old pair of sneakers. Nikolas Ajagu — the husband of Harris' neice, Meena, and the father of the VP's adorable grand nieces — was spotted wearing Dior x Air Jordan 1 Retros at the ceremony. The shoes retail for $2,000 but are selling for up to $25,000 on the resale market.
PoliticsThe WeekBiden's team reportedly realized after inauguration that Trump really had no vaccine distribution plan
It's been more than a month since the first COVID-19 vaccine was approved for distribution, and nearly a year since it became clear the coronavirus pandemic would require a vaccine to fully end. But former President Donald Trump's administration still failed to arrange a usable plan for distributing COVID-19 vaccines to Americans, as President Biden's incoming administration reportedly just discovered. Biden's team expected to find major flaws in Trump's distribution plans when they arrived at the White House on Wednesday, sources with direct knowledge of the administration's COVID-19 work tell CNN.
U.S.The IndependentReality show winner and husband arrested over toddler’s murder
A Food Network show winner and her husband have been arrested in connection to the violent death of a three-year-old girl. Foster parents Jerry Robinson, 34, and Ariel Robinson, 29, have been charged with homicide by child abuse and are being held at Greenville County Detention Center in northwestern South Carolina without bond. Robinson, a former middle school teacher, won season 20 of the reality show "Worst Cooks in America" on the Food Network.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderA GOP congressman tried to enter the Capitol Building on Thursday with a concealed firearm, HuffPost reports
GOP Rep. Andy Harris, of Maryland, attempted to carry a concealed weapon into the House Chambers on Thursday, the Huffington Post reported. Metal detectors placed in the Capitol following the January 6 attack went off when Harris attempted to walk through. Republican Rep. Andy Harris was prevented from entering the House chambers with a gun on Thursday by metal detectors that were put in place following the January 6 Capitol siege, the Huffington Post reported.
PoliticsThe IndependentRepublican Marjorie Taylor Greene files articles of impeachment against Joe Biden
Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has filed articles of impeachment against Joe Biden the day after he was inaugurated as president. The lawmaker, who has ties to the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory, took to Twitter to announce the move against the new president. “I've just filed articles of impeachment on president Joe Biden, we will see how this goes," she said.
PoliticsThe IndependentTrump’s tax lawyers cut ties as he leaves office and reports say federal prosecutors already have his records
Donald Trump's legal troubles began mounting before he could even step foot out of the White House on Wednesday. Reports indicated early in the morning on Inauguration Day that federal prosecutors in New York had obtained some of his financial records amid an investigation into the former president and his private business. While the district attorney's office was still waiting for an order from the nation's highest court on its subpoena powers, Bloomberg News reported the new developments meant investigators can begin verifying criminal allegations against the Trump Organization and former president.
U.S.INSIDER'Unreal' and 'outrageous': Democrats and Republicans are demanding a swift investigation into how soldiers ended up sleeping in a parking lot
Thousands of National Guardsmen in DC who are working 12-hour shifts to protect the nation's capitol were told to vacate congressional grounds and take their breaks in a nearby parking garage, according to Politico. One Guardsman told Politico that the garage had only one outlet, two bathroom stalls, and no internet reception for the 5,000 troops now occupying the space. "Yesterday dozens of senators and congressmen walked down our lines taking photos, shaking our hands and thanking us for our service," the Guardsman said.
LifestyleBusiness InsiderFlorida dealer accidentally sells display model of the new Ford Bronco Sport, immediately asks for it back
A Ford dealership in Tampa Bay, Florida, accidentally sold a Bronco Sport it wasn't supposed to. The customer, Adam Sidoti, was allowed to keep the car after Ford stepped in. As Ford Bronco Sport deliveries started rolling out at the end of last year, one Florida dealership made the mistake of selling a demonstration vehicle to a customer and had to ask him to return it.
PoliticsThe IndependentPete Buttigieg congratulated for masterclass confirmation hearing as he’s set to be first openly gay cabinet member
Pete Buttigieg was lauded for his performance at his confirmation hearing at which he appears to have gained bipartisan support from committee members. Democratic Senator Jon Tester of Montana effusively praised Mr Buttigieg for his preparation and the detailed policy knowledge he demonstrated: “You have put on a clinic on how a nominee should work and act.” Were Mr Buttigieg's nomination by Joe Biden to lead the Department of Transportation to be approved, he would be the first openly gay man to be confirmed by the Senate to a cabinet post.
“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.”