U.S.NextSharkBoy Killed By Father After Vaccination Dispute in Heartbreaking Murder-Suicide in SF
A boy who was killed in an alleged murder-suicide by his father has been identified as 9-year-old Pierce O'Loughlin. Family tragedy: The boy and his father, Stephen O'Loughlin, 49, were both found dead at their home on Scott Street, Marina District in San Francisco on Wednesday afternoon, SF Chronicle reports. The boy's mother, Lesley Hu, asked authorities to check on her son after learning that he did not show up for school that day.
WorldAxiosThe WHO warns of "catastrophic moral failure" over coronavirus vaccine access
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned Monday the world is "on the brink of a catastrophic moral failure" because of unequal COVID-19 vaccine distribution. Why it matters: Tedros noted during an executive session that 39 million vaccine doses had been administered in 49 higher-income countries, while one lowest-income nation had "just 25 doses." Of note: The WHO itself faced criticism in an interim report on Monday for being slow to respond to the outbreak after it was first detected in late 2019 in China, which was also singled out for failings early on.
U.S.The IndependentCapitol rioter threatened to shoot his own children if they reported him, say officials
A Texas man, arrested for allegedly being part of the riotous mob that attacked the US Capitol building on 6 January, also threatened to shoot his children if they turned him in, according to the FBI. Guy Reffitt, 48, a licensed driver from Wylie, Texas, is one of the latest additions to the list of people booked for the Capitol violence. He was arrested on Saturday by the FBI and is charged with unlawful entry, for being in the US Capitol, and obstruction of justice, for threatening his family to prevent them from talking to the police.
PoliticsCBS News"MyPillow guy" says he'd welcome suit from voting machines maker
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell — an ardent supporter of President Trump — says he would "welcome" a threatened lawsuit from voting machines manufacturer Dominion. Lindell told CBS News a suit would enable him to show the world the recent presidential election was rigged. However, the Justice Department found no evidence of widespread voter fraud and Trump administration national security and election officials have called it the "most secure election in American history."
U.S.Miami HeraldA ‘little thumb sticking out in the Everglades’ has cost taxpayers millions in flood control
On the edge of the Everglades, less than a couple thousand feet from a backdoor entrance to the national park, the Las Palmas neighborhood teeters like a forlorn scheme to conquer the marshes. More than just another South Florida neighborhood with a flooding problem, Las Palmas has come to symbolize what happens when water managers try to negotiate with the Everglades — and the price they pay: Flood control for the neighborhood that sits in the footprint of Everglades restoration has so far cost about $180 million, according to estimates by the national park. Now, water managers are back trying to work out a new deal for a neighborhood that some see as blocking billions spent to repair the River of Grass and restore Everglades National Park.
WorldThe TelegraphMeghan Markle argues 'quintessentially private letter' was 'triple barrelled' breach of her rights, High Court hears
The Duchess of Sussex has argued that the publication of a “quintessentially” private letter she sent to her father was a “tripled barrelled” invasion of her rights and that any argument to the contrary was “utterly fanciful.” The Duchess, 39, has accused the Mail on Sunday of a “plain and serious" breach “not just of her right to respect for her correspondence, but also her private and family life" by reproducing extracts of the letter in a “sensational" context. At a two-day summary judgment hearing, being heard remotely at the High Court, the Duchess's lawyers have argued there is “no real prospect” of the newspaper winning the case and that it should therefore be resolved without a trial.
U.S.The IndependentQAnon supporters suggested posing as National Guard to access capitol on inauguration day
QAnon conspiracy theorists had allegedly discussed posing as National Guard troops in Washington and were on the lookout for vulnerable spots in the city in an attempt to disrupt Joe Biden's inauguration ceremony, according to FBI intelligence sent to law enforcement on Monday. The National Guard members have been warned of a threat from both “lone wolves” and adherents of QAnon, after intelligence indicated that they are planning to disrupt the swearing-in ceremony of Mr Biden, according to the intelligence briefing by FBI obtained by The Washing Post.
PoliticsThe GuardianTrump administration to deport man to Haiti who has never been there
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) is to carry out a final deportation flight of the Trump era on Tuesday, with a plane bound for Haiti whose passengers include a man who is not a Haitian citizen, and who has never been there. Paul Pierrilus, a 40-year-old financial consultant from Rockland County, New York, was born in the French Caribbean territory of Saint Martin, according to a birth certificate supplied by his family, who said he came to the US with his parents when he was five. According to his sister, Neomie, he was seized when he went to an immigration office on Federal Plaza in Manhattan on 11 January, for what he thought would be a routine visit.
U.S.Business InsiderThe man accused of breaking the window Ashli Babbitt tried to climb through when she was shot during the Capitol insurrection has been arrested
Chad Barrett Jones, 42, of Coxs Creek, Kentucky, was arrested in Louisville on Saturday, the FBI said in a news release. Jones is accused of breaking a window of the Capitol building moments before Ashli Babbitt was fatally shot during the insurrection earlier this month. He's facing multiple charges, including assault on a federal officer, destruction of government property, obstruction of justice, unlawful entry on restricted building or grounds, and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
- PoliticsYahoo News Video
Congresswoman'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 felt like he need to due to the insurrection at the nation's Capitol.
WorldThe IndependentFlight passenger who assisted dying man with Covid-19 says he was given $200 credit for ‘inconvenience’
An emergency medical technician who administered CPR on a fellow passenger on a United Airlines flight said that the $200 voucher and phone call he received from the airline for the "inconvenience" felt like a "slap in the face". The passenger later died of Covid-19, causing Tony Aldapa to fear that he had contracted the virus after experiencing symptoms, Fox News reported. Mr Aldapa was one of three passengers who helped a man experiencing a medical emergency on the Orlando to Los Angeles flight on 14 December.
HealthINSIDERA plastic surgeon died from COVID-19 after giving lip filler to a patient who later tested positive for the virus
Well-known Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Payman Simoni died on Friday from a brain hemorrhage potentially related to COVID-19. Simoni, who appeared on the television show "The Doctors," may have contracted the virus from a patient while giving her lip injections. Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Payman Simoni died from a brain hemorrhage on Friday after testing positive for coronavirus, his longtime friend Katy Amiri-Younesi told CBS News.
U.S.TheGrioWhat happens when white Americans have no moral arc to bend?
On May 10, 1967, while facing growing white backlash for demanding an end to the Vietnam War, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke to America's greatest shame and Black Americans' most significant burden — racial injustice. Read More: 7 inconvenient truths white people must understand about Martin Luther King Jr. Today, as many are celebrating the life and legacy of King on what would have been his 92nd birthday, many are also still incensed at the white insurrectionist attacks at the Capitol that occurred just two weeks ago.
U.S.Business InsiderThe Florida data scientist who accused the state of firing her for refusing to alter COVID-19 data was arrested after she said she'd turn herself in
Rebekah Jones, the Florida data scientist fired last year by the state's health department, has been arrested in Florida after she turned herself in. Jones, who worked on the state's COVID-19 dashboard, was fired over what she alleges was a refusal to alter data related to the COVID-19 pandemic in the state. State officials say she was fired for insubordination.
PoliticsThe IndependentWho is Timothy Harleth: The man that will defy history and welcome Biden to the White House instead of Trump
Joe Biden will be inaugurated as the 46th US president on Wednesday in a ceremony lacking some traditional elements, thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic and Donald Trump, who will be absent. The outgoing president has not invited Mr Biden for the traditional meeting at the White House and has refused to attend the inauguration ceremony. On Wednesday the White House chief usher, Timothy Harleth, will instead make history when he welcomes the Bidens to the executive mansion before the president-elect travels to the US Capitol, to be sworn in as Mr Trump's successor.
U.S.INSIDERA man who lived at a Chicago airport for 3 months before being discovered said he was too scared to fly because of COVID-19, prosecutors say
A 36-year-old California man lived at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport for three months before being discovered, according to multiple reports. Prosecutors said the man arrived at O'Hare from Los Angeles in October, but told police he was too scared to fly because of COVID-19. He was discovered Saturday when two United Airlines employees asked him for identification and he displayed a badge that had been reported missing in October.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderCuomo asked Pfizer to sell its COVID-19 vaccine directly to New York, as the head of the WHO warns of mounting inequities in vaccine distribution
On Monday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called on pharmaceutical company Pfizer to sell doses of its coronavirus vaccine directly to New York state. The proposal to work directly with New York's state government would require Pfizer to bypass the federal government's Operation Warp Speed campaign to vaccinate hundreds of millions of Americans. "The distribution of any doses obtained directly from Pfizer will follow the rigorous guidance the State has established, while enabling us to fill the dosage gap created this week by the outgoing federal administration," Cuomo wrote in a letter to Pfizer.
HealthBusiness InsiderThe Trump administration gave more than $850,000 in PPP loans to prominent anti-vaccine groups
Top anti-vaccine advocacy groups received PPP funding from the Trump administration, The Washington Post reported. American distrust in the safety of COVID-19 vaccinations continues to pose a threat to public health. K. "Vish" Viswanath, a professor of health communication at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, told Insider that anti-vaccine groups are "likely to perpetuate the adverse impacts of the pandemic."
PoliticsThe IndependentBidens will be greeted to White House by former Trump hotel worker in historic snub by president
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania are eschewing the tradition of meeting the incoming first family – instead leaving Joe and Jill Biden to be greeted by White House chief usher Timothy Harleth. Traditionally, the outgoing president and first lady invite their successors into the White House for coffee ahead of the inauguration and travel to the ceremony together. Indeed, Mr and Mrs Trump were hosted by former president Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama following a bitterly fought election campaign that saw Mr Trump lambast the Obama administration.
LifestyleINSIDERA Chinese restaurant has gone viral for its searingly honest dish descriptions: 'This one is not that good'
A Chinese restaurant in Montreal has gone viral for its descriptions of dishes on its menu. Feigang Fei's comments on Aunt Dai restaurant's menu are searingly honest — and very amusing. "Comparing to our General Tao Chicken, this one is not THAT good," Fei wrote of the orange chicken.
HealthBusiness InsiderFauci predicts that people will be able to go back to singing in church by mid-fall, when an 'overwhelming proportion' of the US has been vaccinated
Dr. Anthony Fauci predicted Monday that church services by mid-fall should resemble pre-coronavirus worship. Churches have been the sites of super-spreader events, since the virus spreads easily indoors when people are speaking loudly or singing in close quarters. Dr. Anthony Fauci predicts church services - with hugging, praising, and music-making - will be able to resume safely in mid-fall if the US vaccinates people "appropriately, effectively, and efficiently."
PoliticsThe IndependentBill Barr told Trump that ‘clownish’ legal team was lying to him about ‘bull***’ voter fraud claims, reports say
President Trump's former Attorney General Bill Barr called Mr Trump's legal team "clownish" and the president's claims that the election had been stolen from him "bull****," according to reporting by Axios. This was during a December meeting in the White House that Mr Trump had asked Mr Barr to attend after seeing a story by the Associated Press that quoted Mr Barr as saying "we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election". Mr Barr had been one of the most loyal members of Mr Trump's administration, supporting his executive power at every turn and spinning the release of the Mueller report on Russian interference in the 2016 election in the best way possible for the president.
PoliticsThe WeekMelania Trump released a farewell video. So did Colbert's Late Show Melania Trump.
First lady Melania Trump released a seven-minute farewell video Monday, saying that "as Donald and I conclude our time in the White House," she is thankful fo the military service members, law enforcement officers, and caregivers who have inspired her over the "unforgettable" past four years. Stephen Colbert did not think the message was particularly well-suited to the messenger, he suggested on Monday's Late Show. The announcement ended up being more of a song, but if you are going to have a Broadway star like Laura Benanti be your Melania stand-in, it makes sense for her to play to her strengths, especially in her farewell message.
WorldBusiness InsiderA Princeton professor warned students not to take his class while in China amid the country's tightening grip on dissent
Rory Truex, an assistant professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University, told students not to take his course on Chinese politics if they currently reside in China. Truex told the Daily Princetonian the course covers subjects the Chinese government may consider sensitive and could endanger students. American academics fear for their Chinese students in the wake of China's increasingly bold crackdown on political dissent at home and abroad.
CelebrityThe Daily BeastHarry Brant, Once ‘NYC’s Most Beautiful Teen,’ Dead at 24
Harry Brant, who found fame as a precocious teenage aesthete with a distinctive androgynous look and was a staple of New York's elite fashion scene with his elder brother Peter, was found dead on Sunday at age 24. He died from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs. The New York Times said that he had struggled with addiction for several years and that according to his family he had been due to shortly enter rehab.
“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.”