PoliticsYahoo NewsBiden supports impeaching Trump, Cedric Richmond tells Democrats
President-elect Joe Biden signaled Friday that he supports the push to impeach President Trump for his role in inciting the riot at the Capitol on Wednesday. Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La., Biden's incoming director of White House engagement, told Democratic lawmakers that Biden was onboard with the idea of impeaching and removing Trump from office, just 12 days before his term is due to end, according to Intercept reporter Ryan Grim.
PoliticsYahoo NewsLoeffler concedes to Warnock in Georgia Senate race: 'We came up slightly short'
On Thursday, Georgia Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler conceded to the Rev. Raphael Warnock in a video statement posted to Twitter. “I want to thank every Georgian and every single American who believed in me and our campaign,” Loeffler said.
WorldAssociated PressHong Kong grants bail to arrested pro-democracy activists
Authorities in Hong Kong said Friday they have granted bail to most of the 55 pro-democracy activists who were arrested this week in a sweeping crackdown on dissent. One of the activists said they could still be charged under a tough national security law. The activists were accused of taking part in an unofficial primary election last year that authorities said was part of a plan to paralyze the Legislative Council and subvert state power.
LifestyleArchitectural DigestInside the Charming Parisian Apartment of French Designer Sarah Poniatowski
Located directly under the roof, Poniatowski's idyllic Right Bank apartment is flooded with light, flea market finds, and the designer's very own collection Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
WorldReutersIndonesian cleric linked to 2002 Bali bombings walks free after 10 years in jail
Indonesian Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, the suspected mastermind of the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, walked free from prison on Friday after serving 10 years for setting up a militant training camp. Bashir, 82, who was never convicted of a direct role in the bombings, would enter a deradicalisation programme amid concerns over his continued influence in extremist circles, authorities said. Photographs showed him dressed in white and wearing a mask as he left the prison in Bogor, south of the capital, Jakarta, before being driven to his home at an Islamic boarding school near the city of Solo in Central Java.
PoliticsYahoo NewsHouse Democrats press forward with plans to remove Trump
House Democrats, furious over the invasion of the Capitol by a mob, are preparing criminal referrals to the Justice Department to request that President Trump and some of his top advisers be investigated for inciting the violence, while also looking at a range of other options that include impeachment and invoking the 25th Amendment. A senior congressional source told Yahoo News that while House Democrats are still “deeply traumatized” by Wednesday's events, there was a mounting consensus among them that Congress needs to reconvene as soon as possible and take forceful action to respond to what was seen as an unprecedented attack on the institutions of government. “What happened at the U.S. Capitol yesterday was an insurrection against the United States, incited by President Trump,” Chuck Schumer, the Democratic minority leader in the Senate, said Thursday morning.
PoliticsYahoo NewsPerdue concedes race to Jon Ossoff, sealing control of Senate for Democrats
Jon Ossoff's victory in the Georgia Senate runoff election Jan. 5, together with Raphael Warnock's win the same day, ensured Democrats will control the Senate for the next two years, a seismic shift of power in Washington. Warnock's opponent, Sen. Kelly Loeffler, conceded the race on Thursday, and after several days of silence the other Republican running, Sen. David Perdue, admitted his loss on Friday afternoon, Reuters correspondent David Shepardson reported. "Although we won the general election, we came up just short of Georgia's 50 percent rule, and now I want to congratulate the Democratic Party and my opponent for this runoff win,” Perdue said.
WorldAssociated PressPakistan arrests 7 Shiite militants, foils possible attacks
Pakistan's counter-terrorism police and the country's intelligence agency raided hideouts of an outlawed Shiite militant group in the eastern Punjab province and arrested seven suspects who allegedly wanted to attack leaders of rival Sunni Muslims' groups, a spokesman said Thursday. In a statement, the Punjab Counter-Terrorism Department said the suspects from the outlawed Sipah-e-Mohammad group were arrested in three separate raids over the previous 24 hours from cities of Sargodha, Khusab and Sahiwal. It said officers seized bomb-making material and guns that were to be used in sectarian attacks by the arrested men.
WorldAssociated PressPakistani PM asks Shiites to bury coal miners killed by IS
Pakistan's prime minister on Friday appealed on protesting minority Shiites not to link the burial of 11 coal miners from their Hazara community, killed by the Islamic State group last week, to demands that he visit the mourners. Saying that the miners would not be buried until he visits the protesters amounts to blackmail, said Prime Minister Imran Khan. Since Sunday, hundreds of mourners have been rallying despite cold weather in Quetta, beside the coffins of the miners.
PoliticsYahoo NewsHere are the Republicans who voted to contest the Electoral College votes showing Biden beat Trump
For a handful of Republican lawmakers, the spectacle of a pro-Trump mob, spurred on by the president's false claims of election fraud, storming the U.S. Capitol was enough to make them reconsider their role in seeking to block the certification of Electoral College votes that confirmed Joe Biden had beaten Donald Trump on Nov. 3. Sens. Kelly Loeffler of Georgia, James Lankford of Oklahoma and Steve Daines of Montana and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington broke ranks with Trump's plan to stop Biden from becoming the 46th president, announcing that they would not stand in the way of what is traditionally a pro forma ceremony.
WorldReutersU.S. envoy to U.N. to visit Taiwan; China says playing with fire
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Kelly Craft, will visit Taiwan next week for meetings with senior Taiwanese leaders, Taiwan's government and the U.S. mission to the U.N. said, prompting China to warn they were playing with fire. Beijing, which claims the self-governed island as its own territory, has been angered by stepped-up support for Taiwan from the outgoing Trump administration, including trips to Taipei by top U.S. officials, further straining Sino-U.S. ties. Chinese fighter jets approached the island in August and September during the last two visits - by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar and U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Keith Krach, respectively.
WorldAssociated PressBrazil enjoys fun in the sun as COVID-19 deaths top 200,000
The night before New Year's Eve in Rio de Janeiro, thousands of revelers clad in their bathing suits crowded onto the iconic Ipanema beach to have some seaside drinks. It was one of many open-air parties occurring along Brazil's vast coastline since the summer heat set in, and as the COVID-19 death toll climbed higher. The explosion of celebrations came just ahead of a pandemic milestone: Brazil passed 200,000 deaths Thursday, rising 1,524 in the previous 24 hours to a total of 200,498 for the pandemic, according to data released by Brazil's health ministry.
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Sean Hannity calls out condescending remark from Anderson Cooper about Trump supporters
Sean Hannity responds after CNN's Anderson Cooper says Trump supporters will go back to the "Olive Garden and Marriott" after riots in the Capitol.
PoliticsYahoo NewsCapitol riot and Trump's role leave allies around the world stunned and frightened
And that was one of the milder expressions of dismay from leaders and commentators around the world at the spectacle of the U.S. Capitol overrun by an armed mob incited to violence by the president himself, in what former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt described incredulously as “insurrection. Nothing less. In Washington.
PoliticsThe IndependentHawley and Cruz campaigns sent fundraising messages to supporters as Capitol under siege
Moments before Donald Trump-supporting rioters breached the US Capitol, a fundraising email from Senator Josh Hawley's campaign was sent to supporters, following the Republican's spurious objections to results from the 2020 presidential election that sought to legitimise the president's false claims of a stolen election. The Missouri Republican was the first among GOP senators to announce plans to object to electors in one of the states that certified results for president-elect Joe Biden's victory. His campaign email was sent out as a joint session of Congress convened on 6 January to formally count the Electoral College votes.
WorldReutersEuropean watchdog could decide on AstraZeneca vaccine by end-Jan
Europe's medicines regulator expects drugmaker AstraZeneca to apply for approval of its COVID-19 vaccine next week, it said on Friday. The Astrazeneca shot, which was developed with Oxford University, was given a green light by authorities in Britain on Dec. 30. The European Medicines Agency's (EMA) Deputy Executive Director, Noel Wathion, last week said that approval of AstraZeneca's vaccine this month looked highly improbable because the company had yet to submit sufficient information.
WorldAssociated PressAP interview: Libyan minister hopes for support from Biden
The powerful interior minister of Libya's U.N.-backed government, seen as a contender for the post of prime minister, has expressed hopes that bringing stability to his war-torn country would become a top priority for the incoming Biden administration. He also announced an upcoming major offensive by his Turkey-backed Libyan government forces in the country's west to finish off militants and target human smugglers, and invited the United States to assist. Our hopes were greatly lifted” by Joe Biden's election victory, Fathi Bashagha told The Associated Press earlier this week.
PoliticsThe WeekWhite House condemns Capitol siege in brief statement that doesn't mention Trump
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany took the podium on Thursday to make a brief statement "on behalf of the entire White House," rather than "on behalf of the president" as usual. In response to the mob of Trump supporters who broke into the Capitol building on Wednesday to block Congress from certifying the presidential election results, leaving four people dead, McEnany said the White House believes the "violence we saw yesterday at our nation's Capitol was appalling, reprehensible and antithetical to the American way." "We condemn it — the president and this administration — in the strongest possible terms," she continued.
WorldAssociated PressDaughter of slain Sri Lankan journalist files UN complaint
A daughter of a slain Sri Lankan journalist filed a complaint Friday with the United Nations Human Rights Committee over alleged government involvement in her father's death 12 years ago. The San Francisco-based Center for Justice and Accountability filed the complaint on behalf of Ahimsa Wickrematunge, the daughter of Lasantha Wickrematunge, who was allegedly killed by a military-linked hit squad while driving to work on Jan. 8, 2009. Wickrematunge, editor of the now-defunct Sunday Leader newspaper, was a strong critic of current President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was a powerful defense official at the time.
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Pakistan's military tests guided multi-launch rocket system
Pakistan's military said Thursday it successfully conducted a successful test flight of a rocket system capable of carrying a conventional warhead up to a range of 140 kilometers (about 90 miles). In a statement, miliary leaders said the weapon system, called Fatah-1, will give Pakistan's army “capability of precision target engagement deep in enemy territory." It said President Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Imran Khan and the military leaders congratulated scientists and troops on the “successful" flight test.
PoliticsReutersU.S. Supreme Court's Breyer in retirement spotlight after Democratic wins
With Democrats securing control of the U.S. Senate, some liberal activists are calling for liberal Justice Stephen Breyer to make retirement plans so Democratic President-elect Joe Biden quickly can appoint a successor to the Supreme Court's oldest member. Breyer, 82, has served on the nation's top judicial body since 1994, having been appointed by a Democratic president, Bill Clinton. Republican President Donald Trump, due to leave office on Jan. 20, appointed three justices during his four-year term, moving the court rightward with a 6-3 conservative majority.
WorldAssociated PressIsrael postpones Netanyahu's trial amid virus lockdown
Israel has postponed the next hearing in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's corruption trial because of a tightened coronavirus lockdown that began Friday. The Jerusalem District Court said the hearing scheduled for Wednesday would be postponed indefinitely because of the number of people required to attend in person. Netanyahu has been indicted on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust connected to three long-running investigations.
PoliticsThe Daily BeastPelosi Gives Pence an Ultimatum as House Members Draft Articles of Impeachment
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for Vice President Mike Pence to immediately invoke the 25th Amendment on Thursday, threatening to move forward with impeachment efforts if the president isn't removed for inciting the deadly Capitol riot. “In calling for this seditious act, the president has committed an unspeakable assault on our nation and our people,” Pelosi said. “If the vice president and Cabinet do not act, the Congress may be prepared to move forward with impeachment.”
WorldReutersIran's Khamenei: Tehran in no rush for U.S. to rejoin 2015 nuclear deal
DUBAI (Reuters) -Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Friday Tehran was in no rush for the United States to rejoin a 2015 nuclear deal, but that sanctions on the Islamic Republic must be lifted immediately. "We are not insisting nor in a hurry for the U.S. to return to the deal," Khamenei said in live televised remarks. Tensions have grown between Tehran and Washington since 2018, when U.S. President Donald Trump exited the deal between Iran and six world powers - which sought to limit Tehran's nuclear programme and prevent it developing atomic weapons - and reimposed sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy.
PoliticsBusiness Insider'You should be expelled': Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez mocks Josh Hawley for 'crying over a book deal' after insurrection
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez slammed Sen. Josh Hawley on Thursday evening after he grumbled over a canceled book deal, and called for his expulsion from the Senate. "Your actions fueled a riot and you fundraised in the chaos," the New York congresswoman said. Publisher Simon & Schuster announced earlier Thursday that it would cancel releasing an upcoming book by Hawley due to his commitment to object to the electoral process.
“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.”