U.S.Associated PressWhite Army vet charged in shooting Black girl at Trump rally
A white military veteran shot and wounded a 15-year-old girl when he fired his gun into a car carrying four Black teenagers during a tense confrontation at a rally in support of President Donald Trump near the Iowa Capitol last month. Michael McKinney, 25, is charged with attempted murder in the Dec. 6 shooting in Des Moines. McKinney, who was heavily armed and wearing body armor, told police he fired the shot in self-defense.
PoliticsNextSharkGeorgia's First Vietnamese American State Rep Wears Áo Dài to Swear-In
Bee Nguyen, Georgia's first Vietnamese American state representative, donned an áo dài to her swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday. Regarded as the most popular national costume of Vietnam, the áo dài for women is a long dress with a contoured top that flows over loose-fitting trousers that reach the sole of the feet. Nguyen, 39, decided to wear the garment in response to the Capitol siege on Jan. 6, in which rioters carried the South Vietnamese flag.
WorldReutersYemen's Houthis won't abandon peace efforts over U.S. designation, says chief negotiator
Yemen's Houthi movement will not walk away from peace talks with the United Nations and Saudi Arabia despite the U.S. decision to designate the Iran-aligned group as a foreign terrorist organisation, the Houthi chief negotiator told Reuters. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said the designation, which will trigger sanctions against the movement and three of its leaders, will come into effect on Jan. 19 at the end of the Trump administration's term. "These (peace talks) have nothing to do with the (U.S.) decision which will not limit our movements nor our international relations," Mohammed Abdulsalam said on Thursday, adding this applied to both U.N. efforts and ceasefire talks with Riyadh.
HealthAxiosThe coronavirus variants: What you need to know
New variants of the coronavirus circulating globally appear to increase transmission and are being closely monitored by scientists. Driving the news: The highly contagious variant B.1.1.7 originally detected in the U.K. could become the dominant strain in the U.S. by March if no measures are taken to control the spread of the virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. The state of play: Public officials are tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants, including the B.1.1.7 variant detected in the U.K., the 501.V2 variant in South Africa and a newly discovered variant in Brazil.
U.S.TheGrioBiden nominates Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms to DNC post
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has been nominated by President-elect Joe Biden as a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee. In the role, Bottoms would be in charge of civic engagement and voter protection. Mayor Bottoms is the only Mayor in Atlanta's history to have served in all three branches of government, serving as a judge and City Councilmember before being sworn in as Mayor,” the DNC said in press release Thursday night.
U.S.The WeekFBI says over 100 people arrested for Capitol siege, including 'liberal activist,' Confederate flag bearer
FBI Director Christopher Wray, in his first public comments since the Jan. 6 violent siege of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Trump, said Thursday that law enforcement has arrested more than 100 people in connection with the assault and is aware of "an extensive amount of concerning online chatter" ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's Jan. 20 inauguration. Most of those arrested so far have been far-right militants, off-duty police, retired military personnel, GOP officials, QAnon adherents, and white supremacists. For example, the man photographed carrying a Confederate battle flag through the Capitol, Kevin Seefried, and his son, Hunter Seefried, surrendered to the FBI in Delaware on Thursday, the Justice Department said.
U.S.Associated PressWaitress credited with helping boy after noticing bruises
A Florida waitress who noticed bruises on an 11-year-old boy flashed him a handwritten note asking him if he needed help, and when he nodded yes, she called the police, authorities said. Orlando police credited Flaviane Carvalho, a waitress at Mrs. Potato Restaurant, with coming to the boy's aid on New Year's Eve when the child's parents weren't looking. Police took the boy to a hospital where doctors found bruises on his face, earlobes and arms.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderWhy Congress can't categorically reject and overturn presidential election results in the future
The episode prompted concerns that if a Democrat also won in 2024, for example, a Republican-controlled Congress could go through with fully rejecting a state's electors and even overturn an election. "There are very limited grounds on which a member of Congress can object to a state's determination," Ravi Doshi, senior voting rights counsel at the Campaign Legal Center, told Insider. Doshi said that under the Electoral Count Act, Congress can only object to and reject electors that were not properly certified, not the slate actually elected by the states' voters, or electors who voted illegally.
U.S.NBC NewsWhy the defunct South Vietnam flag was flown at the Capitol riot
Ensigns bearing Confederate and neo-Nazi imagery defined the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. The yellow-and-red-striped banners of the former South Vietnam flew above crowds of rioters all over the Capitol grounds. Many of the flag carriers were Vietnamese Americans who, in support of President Donald Trump, have often used the emblem to express nostalgia for a lost home and opposition to communism.
U.S.Associated PressWisconsin teen charged with killing infant daughter in woods
A 16-year-old boy has admitted fatally shooting his newborn daughter and leaving her body inside a fallen tree in the woods in southern Wisconsin, according to prosecutors. Logan Kruckenburg-Anderson, of Albany, is charged as an adult with first-degree intentional homicide and hiding a corpse. According to a criminal complaint, the teen took the infant shortly after she was born Jan. 5 to a wooded area in Albany, about 80 miles (129 kilometers) southwest of Milwaukee, placed her inside a fallen tree and shot her twice in the head.
EntertainmentArchitectural DigestMore Inside Artist Jorge Pardo's Transformed Bushwick Carriage House
When it came to the lighting in his home, Pardo drew inspiration from the insides of fruits, nuts, and seeds, as well as sea creatures and machine parts. Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
PoliticsUSA TODAYThe members of Congress who objected to Joe Biden's Electoral College win amid Capitol riot
With President Donald Trump continuing to erroneously claim he won the election in the lead-up to Jan. 6, several Republican allies planned to fight the results when Congress met to formally count the votes of the Electoral College. States had already certified their Electoral College results, and Biden secured the election with 306 votes to Trump's 232. In the next step of the certification process, the Constitution requires both chambers of Congress to meet before the inauguration to count the electoral votes from every state.
PoliticsThe WeekMelania Trump is reportedly more than ready to leave the White House
First lady Melania Trump is spending her final days in the White House packing, making photo albums, and counting down the minutes until she can move out, CNN reports. Since November, she has been overseeing the Trump family's move, deciding what will go to Mar-a-Lago in Florida and what will go into storage. With the help of White House staffers, she has been doing this stealthily, as to not upset President Trump — the official told CNN he really didn't think they would be moving, and it's a sensitive subject.
U.S.CBS NewsCapitol rioters communicated using military hand signals, source says
A Washington D.C. police officer witnessed rioters using military-style hand signals to communicate inside the Capitol building during the breach on January 6, a law enforcement official tells CBS News. The identification of individuals using military, small unit tactics is among the "highest priorities" for a Sedition Task Force being run by the D.C. U.S. Attorney's office. The apparent use of "small unit tactics," trained to military and law enforcement, drew immediate scrutiny from investigators.
U.S.LA TimesTravel from California to the inauguration? Here's what to expect
The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, which has the task of planning the swearing in on Jan. 20, wants you to stay home and celebrate virtually. The theme is "America United," which was selected before the pro-Trump insurrectionist mob breached the security of the the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. The swearing-in takes place at noon Jan. 20 on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol.
PoliticsAssociated PressMike Pence calls Kamala Harris to offer congratulations
Vice President Mike Pence has called his soon-to-be successor Kamala Harris to offer his congratulations, according to two people familiar with the conversation. It's the first known contact between the elected members of the outgoing and incoming administrations. President Donald Trump has not reached out to President-elect Joe Biden and has repeatedly questioned the legitimacy of Biden's win.
- ScienceReuters Videos
Peru's 'Paddington' bears spotted at Machu Picchu
A couple of spectacled bears, mother and cub, were seen wandering around the ruins of Machu Picchu on Wednesday (January 14), taking advantage of the ruins that are largely free from large tourist numbers. Video footage of the pair was taken by worker from Peru's Culture Ministry at the empty looking ruins. Spectacled bears, also known as the Andean bear, are the only surviving species of bear native to South America.
BusinessPoliticoTax filing season start delayed until Feb. 12
Tax filing season won't start until Feb. 12 to give the IRS more time to adjust to changes Congress made late last year in the tax code and the second round of coronavirus-related stimulus payments lawmakers approved, the agency said Friday. Filing usually starts in January, and the delay "allows the IRS time to do additional programming and testing of IRS systems following the Dec. 27 tax law changes that provided a second round of Economic Impact Payments and other benefits," the agency said in a statement. Urging electronic filing: The IRS said it anticipates 9 out of 10 taxpayers will get their refunds within 21 days of when they file — if they file electronically, have direct deposit of their payments and there are no issues with their return.
U.S.USA TODAY'Do you need help?': Florida restaurant manager's note helps child escape 'torture,' police say
A four-word note was all Flaviane Carvalho needed to help a child out of a dangerous situation. Carvalho, a Florida restaurant manager who was working as a server on New Year's Day, saw a small child with bruises on his face and arms sitting at the table she waited on, according to the Orlando Police Department. “Do you need help?” Carvalho wrote in black on a piece of paper, holding the note out of view of the child's parents.
PoliticsThe WeekTrump's team is reportedly trying to assemble a crowd for a 'major send-off' hours before Biden's inauguration
President Trump is planning to exit the White House on the morning of Jan. 20, a few hours before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in a short distance away, CNN reports. "Eager for a final taste of the pomp of being president, Trump has asked for a major send-off," and "as one of their final acts, Trump's team is working to organize a crowd to see him off on the morning of Biden's inauguration, when he plans to depart Washington while still president" for a flight to Palm Beach, Florida, where his term will officially end at noon. There are 20,000 National Guard troops currently deployed or en route to Washington, D.C., ahead of Biden's inauguration, because the last crowd Trump drew to the White House morphed into an insurrectionist mob that stormed the Capitol.
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Biden unveils $1.9T COVID-19 relief package with $1,400 checks
President-elect announces plans for additional economic relief to help those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
HealthBusiness InsiderThere are no extra COVID-19 vaccines doses left to send to states, despite Trump's health officials promising to release more 3 days ago
Federal officials promised earlier this week to stop stockpiling second doses of COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, and instead use them to get more people their first shots. That statement prompted many states to open up vaccine distribution to a wider swath of the public this week. But a new report from the Washington Post says that the government hasn't actually been holding back any vaccines for second doses, and they've already been sent out.
EntertainmentLA TimesMAGA musician Ariel Pink, spurned by fans, complains to Tucker Carlson: 'People are so mean'
Days after attending a rally that led to a deadly right-wing insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, the L.A. indie musician Ariel Pink tried to defend his actions on Fox News host Tucker Carlson's show on Thursday. “I had no choice, there's nothing else for me to do,” Pink said, looking shaken and nervous. Pink, an acclaimed but antagonizing fixture of L.A.'s experimental music scene, has become an unlikely far-right martyr-hero after photos of him attending the Jan. 6 “Stop the Steal” rally (with fellow local avant-garde artist John Maus) surfaced.
PoliticsThe IndependentTrump is back in contact with Steve Bannon and ‘asking him how to overturn election’
Donald Trump is reportedly back in touch with his former chief strategist Steve Bannon who he has been speaking to several times over the phone in the recent weeks, seeking advice on how to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential elections. Mr Bannon is considered one of the main architects of Mr Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and had joined him as an adviser in the White House after the elections. Mr Bannon quit the position in August 2017 after he fell from the good books of the president due to a controversy related to his book.
LifestyleBusiness InsiderBiden's new stimulus plan features family benefits that include an annual credit of up to $3,600
President-elect Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan expands the Child Tax Credit to include $3,600 yearly benefits for families with children under the age of 6. The child and dependent care tax credit will also be expanded, covering half the cost of childcare up to $4,000 for one child. The plan will have significant impacts on reducing child poverty in the United States, cutting it nearly in half.
“Governors are being WAY too precious about who gets this vaccine.”
“The federal government needs to give states strict parameters for when their vaccine allocation must be administered.”
“While public health leaders know what must be done, their critical work could be supported by a national COVID-19 Vaccine Corps.”
“The US vaccine campaign is not a disaster. Rather, I think it is predictably mediocre.”
“The best option may be to rely more on private industry.”