PoliticsYahoo NewsGiuliani tells Pennsylvania legislators they can override popular vote to appoint pro-Trump electors
Speaking to an occasionally raucous but mostly disgruntled panel of Pennsylvania Republicans, President Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and his campaign counsel Jenna Ellis on Wednesday floated the idea that the state Legislature could decide on its own to give Pennsylvania's 20 Electoral College votes to Trump, despite the state's certifying that Joe Biden won the Nov. 3 election in the state. It's the state Legislature that controls this process,” Giuliani told a panel of Republican legislators. It's your power.
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Pilots, civilians given life terms over Turkey's 2016 coup
A Turkish court sentenced several military and civilian personnel at an air base to life prison sentences Thursday, proclaiming them guilty of involvement in a failed coup attempt in 2016, the state-run news agency reported. A total of 475 defendants, including generals and fighter jet pilots at the Akinci air base, on the outskirts of the capital Ankara, were on trial for the past three years, accused of directing the coup and bombing key government buildings, including a section of the parliament building. The massive trial was one of two main trials against suspected members of a network led by U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of orchestrating the failed attempt.
WorldReutersGermany extends anti-virus measures as deaths reach record
Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed with leaders of Germany's 16 federal states to extend and tighten measures against the coronavirus until at least Dec. 20 and they are likely to extend them into January, she said on Wednesday. "This is absolutely not the time to sound the all-clear," she told journalists, after the number of deaths from the virus reached a daily record. Germany imposed a month-long "lockdown lite" on Nov. 2 to rein in a second wave that is sweeping much of Europe.
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Pennsylvania judge halts election certification amid mail-in vote fight
Trump campaign recount team member Chris Prudhome provides insight.
PoliticsThe IndependentAOC and Ilhan Omar sign petition calling on Biden not to give Bruce Reed administration role
Progressive lawmakers Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar have signed a petition calling on president-elect Joe Biden not to appoint Bruce Reed to his administration. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, of New York, and Rep. Omar, of Minnesota, are supporting efforts to have Mr Reed, Mr Biden's former chief of staff, frozen out of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Reports emerged earlier this week suggesting that Mr Reed, who also served in the Obama administration, was top of the president-elect's list to head up the OMB.
PoliticsYahoo NewsJournalist who criticized FBI for handling of Russia probe says Trump's refusal to concede is 'dangerous BS'
A common defense of President Trump's refusal to concede the 2020 election is that he's simply taking revenge on his liberal opponents, in particular those who doubted the legitimacy of the 2016 election because of Russian interference. The media gave Russia Collusion 3.5 years. We can give Team Trump three and a half weeks,” tweeted Jenna Ellis, a member of the Trump campaign's legal team that has failed to provide any evidence in court of cheating in the 2020 election.
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Mexico: 'Mastermind' of 2019 killings of US citizens nabbed
Mexico's army and federal prosecutors said Wednesday they have arrested the purported mastermind of the killings a year ago of three women and six children from a well-known Mexican-American family, the LeBaróns, on a rural road in the northern state of Sonora. The suspect was identified only by his first name, “Roberto,” in line with Mexican law against incrimination. The agencies said the suspect was arrested Monday along with two other men near the town of Nuevo Casas Grandes in the northern border state of Chihuahua.
WorldReutersFrance, EU lawmakers push for sanctions on Turkey next month
The European Parliament urged the EU on Thursday to impose sanctions on Turkey after President Tayyip Erdogan this month paid a visit to the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north of Cyprus. With 631 votes in favour, three against and 59 abstentions, the parliament agreed a non-binding resolution in support of EU member Cyprus urging EU leaders to "take action and impose tough sanctions in response to Turkey's illegal actions". The resolution is likely to bolster support for France's push for EU sanctions on Turkey next month, following through on a threat made by the bloc in October over a dispute between Ankara and EU members Greece and Cyprus over natural gas rights.
U.S.Business InsiderSupreme Court blocks some COVID-19 restrictions at religious services in New York, marking a shift from decisions made before Amy Coney Barrett joined the bench
The Supreme Court on Wednesday blocked certain COVID-19 restrictions imposed on churches and other religious services in New York. In a 5-4 vote, the court ruled in favor of the Catholic Diocese and Orthodox Jewish synagogues, blocking some of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's capacity restrictions. In a ruling against the state's restrictions, the court's majority said the restrictions "cannot be viewed as neutral because they single out houses of worship for especially harsh treatment."
PoliticsYahoo NewsTrump loyalist pushed out of White House now leading a shake-up at the Pentagon
A retired Special Forces colonel, Miller had worked to revamp civilian oversight over special operations forces in a previous Pentagon job. A driving force behind the current initiative is Ezra Cohen, a former Defense Intelligence Agency officer who has held several national security positions during the Trump administration and is now the acting assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict, or SO/LIC. The appointment of Cohen as the acting assistant secretary was a major factor behind the decision to implement the congressional legislation.
TechnologyArchitectural DigestThe Top 6 Black Friday Deals for Vacuums
We have you covered with all the best vacuum deals that you need to know about Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
WorldAssociated PressIndian state outlaws religious conversion by marriage
India's ruling Hindu nationalist party has approved legislation in the country's most populous state that lays out a prison term of up to 10 years for anyone found guilty of using marriage to force someone to change religion. The decree for the state of Uttar Pradesh was passed Tuesday and follows a campaign by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party against interfaith marriages. The party describes such marriages as “love jihad,” an unproven conspiracy theory used by its leaders and Hindu hard-line groups to accuse Muslim men of converting Hindu women by marriage.
WorldBBCIndia coronavirus: How do you vaccinate a billion people?
India plans to receive and utilise some 500 million doses of vaccines against the disease and immunise up to 250 million people by July next year. This confidence is bolstered by its track record of immunising large numbers of people every year. India's 42-year-old immunisation programme, one of the world's largest health programmes, targets 55 million people - mainly newborns and pregnant women who receive some 390 million free doses of vaccines against a dozen diseases every year.
PoliticsAssociated PressStephen Bannon switching lawyers in border wall fund case
A prominent Washington lawyer defending President Donald Trump's former chief strategist against charges that he cheated donors to a southern border wall notified a judge Wednesday that he's no longer the right lawyer for the job. Attorney William A. Burck sent a letter to the trial judge in Manhattan federal court to say that Burck and Stephen Bannon had amicably agreed that new lawyers would be better suited to Bannon's defense strategy. Bannon faces a May 24 trial on criminal charges alleging that Bannon and at least three others unlawfully raised over $25 million for the “We Build The Wall” campaign.
WorldAssociated PressThai protesters push on despite charges of royal defamation
Pro-democracy demonstrators in Thailand took to the streets of the capital again on Wednesday as the government escalated its legal battle against them, reviving the use of a harsh law against defaming the monarchy. Their rally was peaceful, but less than two hours after it was declared over and many in the crowd were lingering, a man was shot and wounded, according to initial reports of emergency service personnel and witnesses' accounts and photos posted on social media. Although it wasn't clear whether the attack involved a personal dispute or politics, it was a reminder that the threat of violence is attached to the passions involved in the protests.
PoliticsReutersMexico's president again declines to recognize Biden win
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Wednesday again declined to congratulate Joe Biden for winning the U.S. presidential election, making him stand out increasingly among world leaders who have withheld their recognition. Speaking shortly after China's President Xi Jinping congratulated Biden for his victory, Lopez Obrador reiterated that it would be wrong to offer congratulations until the electoral process has been formally concluded. "We do not agree with offering congratulations in advance," Lopez Obrador told reporters at a regular government news conference.
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Rights groups decry attacks on Pakistan's minority Ahmadis
Three international human rights groups on Thursday denounced recent attacks on Pakistan's minority Ahmadi community and asked Islamabad to “urgently and impartially investigate a surge" in violence. The joint appeal from Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the International Commission of Jurists came days after a sixteen-year-old Muslim youth opened fire on a group of Ahmadis gathering for worship at a home. The attack killed a doctor, Tahir Mehmood, and wounded three other Ahmadi men, including the doctor's father.
PoliticsThe Daily BeastIn Thanksgiving Message, Trump Says ‘We’re Like a Third-World Country’ Because He Lost Election
In a surprise news conference on Thanksgiving Day, President Trump took questions from the press for the first time since losing re-election—but he doubled down on his “rigged” election claims and appeared to deny the reality that his presidency is ending, saying it will be “very hard” for him to concede to Joe Biden. “I think it's not right he's trying to pick a Cabinet,” Trump complained after railing against the supposed “massive fraud” that he claims gave Biden victory. Reiterating his claims of voter fraud in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Georgia despite the fact that state authorities have already certified the election results in those states, Trump appeared to become combative when asked if he would concede if the Electoral College votes for Biden on Dec. 14.
BusinessThe IndependentDavid Perdue: Republican Senator faces scrutiny over stock trades made as Covid spread in US
Senator David Perdue, a Republican from Georgia, is facing scrutiny over a few very well times stock sales and purchases around the time the coronavirus first began to spread in the US. The Associated Press reported that on 23 January, around the time Congress was being briefed on the potential impact the coronavirus posed to the US, Mr Perdue sold off between $1m and $5m worth of shares in Cardlytics stock. Mr Perdue used to sit on the company's board of directors.
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Car enthusiasts restore Soviet-era cars
These Soviet-era cars were restored by enthusiasts during lockdown Location: Moscow, Russia (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) SOVIET CAR ENTHUSIAST, MURSAL MAMEDOV, SAYING: "With the help of this car, I express myself, my vision of this world. I want to stand out in the general flow of cars. I don't want to be like anyone else in this regard.
WorldAssociated PressKashmir rebels kill 2 Indian soldiers in region's main city
Rebels in Indian-controlled Kashmir killed two soldiers in an attack Thursday in the disputed region's main city, the Indian army said. Col. Rajesh Kalia, an Indian army spokesman, said militants sprayed bullets at an army patrol on the outskirts of Srinagar city. Two soldiers were critically injured and later died at a hospital, he said.
PoliticsReutersBiden considering former Obama national security adviser Donilon for CIA: source
Democratic President-elect Joe Biden is considering naming Tom Donilon, a veteran diplomat and national security adviser to former President Barack Obama, as director of the CIA, a person familiar with the situation said on Wednesday. The CIA position could be one of the most challenging in Biden's administration after four years of Republican President Donald Trump accusing the agency of being part of a "Deep State" conspiracy seeking to undermine his presidency. Biden, who takes office on Jan. 20, is also said to be considering Michael Morell, who was the CIA's deputy director and acting director of the agency twice under Obama.
WorldAssociated PressChina's top diplomat touts S. Korea ties amid row with US
China's top diplomat on Thursday stressed the importance of bilateral relations while meeting senior officials in South Korea, where there's growing concern the country is becoming squeezed between its biggest trading partner and military ally the United States. After meeting South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters that his visit amid a spreading coronavirus pandemic shows how much Beijing values its relations with Seoul. When asked whether Beijing was pressing Seoul to choose a side amid rising U.S.-China tensions over trade, security and other issues, Wang said “America is not the only nation in the world.”
CelebrityINSIDER22 alcohol brands you didn't realize were owned by celebrities
"Breaking Bad" stars Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston have a mezcal label. Todd Williamson/Invision for the Television Academy/AP Images Many celebrities have created, collaborated with, or invested in wine labels and liquor brands. Nick Jonas has his own premium tequila line, Villa One Tequila.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderIlhan Omar underperformed Biden by more than perhaps any House Democrat thanks to a 3rd party candidate and well-funded GOP rival
Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, handily won a second term this month, but underperformed President-elect Joe Biden by more than perhaps any other Democratic candidate in the country. There are a slew of factors that likely impacted Omar's race, including a third party on the ticket, a supremely well-funded Republican opponent, and the fact that she was virtually guaranteed to win reelection.
“Donald Trump defeated Donald Trump.”
“The victory was a vindication of a style of American politics that many feared was gone forever.”
“Mr. Biden’s victory — and Mr. Trump’s defeat — is a testament to the resilience of American democracy.”
“Trump’s 2020 reelection bid was doomed by his boorish behavior. Time and again, he refused to act like a president.”
“Biden took the opportunity to unite the Democratic Party.”