WorldReutersDistrust, division and doubt cloud Palestinian election call
Beset by political infighting, split between three territories and distrustful of their institutions, many Palestinians are sceptical that their first national elections in 15 years will bring change - or even happen at all. President Mahmoud Abbas said on Friday that parliamentary and presidential elections would be held later this year in a bid to heal long-standing divisions. The announcement is widely seen as a gesture aimed at pleasing U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, with whom the Palestinians want to reset relations after they reached a low under Donald 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.
U.S.BBCWilmington 1898: When white supremacists overthrew a US government
They destroyed black-owned businesses, murdered black residents, and forced the elected local government - a coalition of white and black politicians - to resign en masse. Historians have described it as the only coup in US history. Its ringleaders took power the same day as the insurrection and swiftly brought in laws to strip voting and civil rights from the state's black population.
WorldReutersIran fires long-range missiles into Indian Ocean in military drill: media
Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Saturday fired long-range ballistic missiles into the Indian Ocean on the second day of a military exercise, state media reported. The drill, which comes in the waning days of high tensions with U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, was conducted in the country's central desert region. "One of our most important defence policy goals is to use long-range ballistic missiles against enemy warships, including aircraft carriers and warships," state media quoted Guards commander Major General Hossein Salami as saying.
WorldAssociated PressEgypt unveils ancient funerary temple south of Cairo
Egypt's former antiquities minister and noted archaeologist Zahi Hawass on Sunday revealed details of an ancient funerary temple in a vast necropolis south of Cairo. Hawass told reporters at the Saqqara necropolis that archaeologists unearthed the temple of Queen Neit, wife of King Teti, the first king of the Sixth Dynasty that ruled Egypt from 2323 B.C. till 2150 B.C. Archaeologists also found a 4-meter (13-foot) long papyrus that includes texts of the Book of the Dead, which is a collection of spells aimed at directing the dead through the underworld in ancient Egypt, he said.
PoliticsAssociated PressVice President-elect Harris to resign her Senate seat Monday
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will resign her Senate seat on Monday, two days before she and President-elect Joe Biden are inaugurated. Aides to the California Democrat confirmed the timing and said Gov. Gavin Newsom was aware of her decision, clearing the way for him to appoint fellow Democrat Alex Padilla, now California's secretary of state, to serve the final two years of Harris' term. Padilla will be the first Latino senator from California, where about 40% of residents are Hispanic.
U.S.INSIDERA couple of Capitol rioters told the FBI an officer shook their hands and said 'it's your house now' as insurrectionists stormed the US Capitol
Two Capitol rioters claim an officer told them "It's your house now" as hundreds stormed the Capitol on January 6. Bobby Bauer and a relative were identified as among those who breached the US Capitol after an unknown caller tipped the FBI's National Threat Operations Center. Bauer told authorities an officer "grabbed his hand, shook it, and said, 'It's your house now."
WorldReutersUK sees third-highest daily death toll with new cases at three-week low
Britain reported its lowest number of daily new coronavirus infections since the start of the year on Saturday, adding to signs that a national lockdown is slowing the spread of a more infectious variant of the disease. However the effect of the recent surge in cases remains clear in the death toll, which was the third-highest on record. Britain has Europe's highest death toll - though more have died in Italy and Belgium on a per capita basis.
PoliticsAssociated PressTrump's presidency not just a blip in US foreign policy
President-elect Joe Biden's plan to scrap President Donald Trump's vision of “America First” in favor of “diplomacy first” will depend on whether he's able to regain the trust of allies and convince them that Trumpism is just a blip in the annals of U.S. foreign policy. From Europe to the Middle East and Asia, Trump's brand of transactional diplomacy has alienated friends and foes alike, leaving Biden with a particularly contentious set of national security issues. Biden, who said last month that “America's back, ready to lead the world, not retreat from it,” might strive to be the antithesis of Trump on the world stage and reverse some, if not many, of his predecessor's actions.
WorldBBCCovid: Brazil approves and rolls out AstraZeneca and Sinovac vaccines
A nurse has received the first vaccine dose of Brazil's Covid-19 immunisation programme after health regulators gave emergency approval to two jabs. Regulator Anvisa gave the green light to vaccines from Oxford-AstraZeneca and China's Sinovac, doses of which will be distributed among all 27 states. Brazil's vaccine programme has started later than many of its regional peers.
U.S.INSIDERFederal authorities arrest the mother of Tennessee man who was pictured holding plastic restraints during Capitol riots
The mother of the man who was pictured with plastic zip-tie restraints during the Capitol riots was arrested and charged by the FBI. Lis Eisenhart was arrested in Nashville on Saturday. According to an affidavit, footage from the riot revealed that both Eisenhart and Munchel appeared to be "holding flex cuffs in each of their hands" while following a violent mob who were chasing two Capitol police officers during the siege.
WorldAssociated PressIsrael OKs hundreds of settlement homes in last-minute push
Israeli authorities on Sunday advanced plans to build nearly 800 homes in West Bank settlements, in a last-minute surge of approvals before the friendly Trump administration leaves office later this week. COGAT, the Israeli defense body that authorizes settlement construction, confirmed the approvals, which drew swift condemnations from the Palestinians. The anti-settlement monitoring group Peace Now said that over 90% of the homes lay deep inside the West Bank, which the Palestinians seek as the heartland of a future independent state, and over 200 homes were located in unauthorized outposts that the government had decided to legalize.
PoliticsThe IndependentTrump will take nuclear football out of DC on his final day in office - and the codes will be deactivated at the stroke of noon
Donald Trump will get to take the nuclear football with him when he leaves Washington DC on his final day in office – but the codes will be deactivated at the stroke of noon. Mr Trump will be accompanied by the 45-pound briefcase when he flies to Florida on the morning of Joe Biden's inauguration, as he is reportedly expected to do. Military officials will have a nuclear football ready and waiting to accompany Mr Biden after he becomes the commander-in-chief, officials told CNN.
WorldAssociated PressChina builds hospital in 5 days after surge in virus cases
China on Saturday finished building a 1,500-room hospital for COVID-19 patients to fight a surge in infections the government said are harder to contain and that it blamed on infected people or goods from abroad. The hospital is one of six with a total of 6,500 rooms being built in Nangong, south of Beijing in Hebei province, the official Xinhua News Agency said. China had largely contained the coronavirus that first was detected in the central city of Wuhan in late 2019 but has suffered a surge of cases since December.
WorldThe Daily BeastChaos Engulfs Airport as Navalny Lands Back Home to Face Down Putin
MOSCOW—Five months after surviving an assassination attempt, the Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, arrived back in Russia on Sunday amid chaotic scenes as cops—some of who were dressed in riot gear—arrested supporters and tried to prevent people entering the airport where their returning hero was scheduled to land. A German medical rescue plane had evacuated Navalny from Russia in August while he lay in a coma. Putin has tried to dismiss Navalny as merely a “blogger” but that is a hard claim to make with a straight face when law enforcement services have deployed dozens of police vehicles to greet you at an airport that descended into anarchy with cops trying to herd supporters and journalists back out of the building after many had forced their way inside.
- PoliticsFOX News Videos
Gov. Hutchinson: Trump misled followers into believing election was rigged, resulted in attack on Capitol
Asa Hutchinson, R-Ark. joins Chris Wallace on 'Fox News Sunday.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderTed Cruz's former staffers say they are 'disgusted' by his role in the US Capitol insurrection and his unflinching support of Trump, report says
At least six of Sen. Ted Cruz's former aides have expressed their disgust at the recent actions of their former boss, according to New York Magazine's Intelligencer. Ted Cruz is under fire for spreading election misinformation, objecting to the results of the 2020 election being certified, and having fundraised during the US Capitol insurrection. Democratic lawmakers have called for Cruz to resign or to be removed from office.
PoliticsAssociated PressTwitter suspends US congresswoman over election fraud claims
Twitter on Sunday temporarily suspended the account of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Republican U.S. Congresswoman from Georgia who has expressed racist views and support for QAnon conspiracy theories online. Greene's account was suspended “without explanation," she said in a statement, while also condemning big tech companies for “silencing” conservative views. Before noon Sunday, Greene posted a clip from an interview with a local news outlet in which she condemned Georgia election officials and expressed support for debunked theories claiming that voting machines, absentee ballots and other issues led to widespread fraud in the state during the presidential election.
PoliticsINSIDERBiden's incoming chief of staff says the administration is prepared to tackle the 'huge mess' it's inheriting in COVID-19 vaccine rollout
Incoming chief of staff Ronald Klain told CNN's Jake Tapper the Biden administration is inheriting a 'huge mess' from the Trump team when it comes to the vaccine rollout. Klain said the Biden administration has a plan to fix it and speed up the delivery of the vaccine. Incoming White House chief of staff Ronald Klain said Sunday President-elect Joe Biden's administration is gearing up to address the "huge mess" it is inheriting from the Trump administration regarding the coronavirus vaccine rollout.
WorldBusiness InsiderThe EU could throw out its landmark trade deal with China over concerns about Beijing's human rights record
A leading member of the European Parliament has raised significant concerns about the EU's landmark investment deal with China over its alleged human rights abuses and fears that it could harm relations with the new Biden administration. The EU-China investment deal aims to liberalize trade between Beijing and Brussels and was struck in the last days of December after last-minute concessions from Chinese premier Xi Jinping. But there is mounting concern in the European Parliament, which still needs to approve the deal, about the deal given China's human rights record on issues including alleged forced labor camps and a crackdown in Hong Kong which began last year.
WorldThe Daily BeastThe Kashmiri Families Begging for Their Sons’ Bodies Back
Indian-administered Kashmir—On the afternoon of Jan. 7, 2021, a narrow lane covered with a huge layer of snow—and the muddy foot imprints of Kashmiri mourners—formed a track leading to the door of Mushtaq Ahmad Wani's house. Two Kashmiri men in their early 20s who wore long dull-colored pheran, a traditional Kashmiri dress, served the tea to the mourners, who had come to express their condolences to Mushtaq over the killing of his only son, 16-year-old Athar Ashraf Wani. The teen was killed two weeks earlier on the highway that connects Srinagar, the capital city of Indian-administered Kashmir, to the northern and southern parts of the region.
U.S.USA TODAY OpinionIn Florida, are rich people jumping to the head of the COVID-19 vaccine line?
Last week TCPalm detailed how Piper's Landing Yacht & Country Club managed to get ahold of some 270 Moderna vaccines, courtesy of Mobile Medical Associates, which provides "concierge" in-home medical services. Mobile Medical is approved by the state to distribute the vaccine, and owner Laurie McCuen told TCPalm the firm already provides health care services to about 70 country club members/homeowners; 20 were home-bound patients, and 50 have mobility issues. The other 200 vaccines went to other club members age 65 and up.
U.S.Associated PressTribute to King, rebuke of demagogues in Warnock sermon
A day before the nation's annual holiday celebrating life of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Sen.-elect Raphael Warnock of Georgia returned to the pulpit at the church that was King's spiritual home, calling for the nation to adhere to “God's vision of equity.” Warnock's wide-ranging holiday message included a tribute to King and a remembrance of his last days organizing an anti-poverty crusade before he was gunned down in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968. “The tragedy is that the minimum wage had more purchasing power in 1968 than the minimum wage does in 2021," he said at one point.
WorldBusiness InsiderNorwegian health officials have adjusted their advice on who gets a COVID-19 vaccine as 29 frail elderly people die
Norwegian health officials have changed their advice on who gets a COVID-19 vaccine after more than 25 elderly people with underlying health conditions died. According to the agency, "all deaths" are linked to the Pfizer vaccine, which was the only one available in the country until Friday. However, Norwegian officials maintain they are not alarmed and have advised individual doctors to decide who should receive a vaccine.
BusinessINSIDERKanye West's Yeezy sues former intern for allegedly breaching NDA by sharing confidential photos on Instagram
Yeezy LLC has sued a former intern, Ryan Inwards, for allegedly breaching a non-disclosure agreement, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The complaint claimed Inwards breached the NDA by posting confidential Yeezy photographs on Instagram. Yeezy LLC is reportedly seeking $500,000 in liquidated damages and punitive damages.
“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.”