PoliticsNational ReviewRand Paul Warns One-Third of Republicans Will Leave Party if GOP Senators Back Impeachment
Senator Rand Paul (R., Ky.) warned Friday that one-third of Republican voters could leave the party if GOP senators vote in impeachment proceedings to convict President Trump. The senator's remarks come amid an increasing divide between congressional Republicans who oppose impeaching the president and a smaller number who support the measure following the riots at the Capitol on January 6. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) is reportedly hopeful that Republicans can use impeachment to purge Trump from the GOP, although he would need the support of at least 16 additional Republican senators to vote to convict.
BusinessReutersGitHub apologizes for firing Jewish employee who warned of Nazis in U.S. Capitol: TechCrunch
Technology company GitHub has apologized for firing a Jewish employee who cautioned his colleagues about the presence of Nazis in Washington on the day of the assault of the U.S. Capitol earlier this month, TechCrunch reported. After a probe found "significant errors of judgment and procedure" in the termination of the employee, GitHub's head of human resources resigned, GitHub Chief Operating Officer Erica Brescia said on Sunday. "In light of these findings, we immediately reversed the decision to separate with the employee and are in communication with his representative," Brescia said in a blog https://bit.ly/2KnkVhI, adding that the company apologized to that employee.
ScienceThe TelegraphColombia's rapidly breeding 'cocaine hippos' must be stopped, scientists say
Scientists forecast that the number of hippos will swell to almost 1,500 by 2040. They conclude, that at that point, environmental impacts will be irreversible and numbers impossible to control. Nobody likes the idea of shooting a hippo, but we have to accept that no other strategy is going to work,” ecologist Nataly Castelblanco-Martínez told The Telegraph.
HealthThe WeekIsrael may be starting to show 'herd effects' of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, expert suggests
Israel has vaccinated at least 25 percent of its population against the coronavirus so far, which leads the world and makes it "the country to watch for herd effects from" the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, says infectious disease expert David Fishman. Recently, the case rate in Israel appears to have declined sharply, and while there could be a few reasons for that, it's possible the vaccination effort is beginning to play a role. One study from Clalit that was published last week reports that 14 days after receiving the first Pfizer-BioNTech shot, infection rates among 200,000 Israelis older than 60 fell 33 percent among those vaccinated compared to 200,000 from the same demographic who...
U.S.The IndependentWoman arrested at DC checkpoint after telling police she is an officer and cabinet member
A woman has become the second known person to be arrested at a Washington DC checkpoint put in place for Joe Biden's inauguration, after telling officers she was one of them. Authorities said 63 year-old Linda Magovern was arrested on Saturday near Union Station after she showed police a military challenge coin – used by service members to prove they had been on active duty. According to NBC News, she went on to say that she was “a part of the presidential cabinet” as well as a member of the police.
PoliticsNational ReviewLindsey Graham Warns That Pardoning Capitol Rioters Would ‘Destroy’ Trump
Senator Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) on Sunday advised the president not to grant presidential pardons to the rioters who stormed the Capitol this month, warning that doing so would “destroy” Trump. “There are a lot of people urging the president to pardon folks who participated in defiling the Capitol, the rioters,” Graham continued. On Wednesday, a large group of Trump supporters overpowered Capitol Police and forced their way into the halls of Congress.
HealthThe TelegraphAlmost a third of recovered Covid patients return to hospital in five months and one in eight die
Almost a third of recovered Covid patients will end up back in hospital within five months and one in eight will die, alarming new figures have shown. Research by Leicester University and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found there is a devastating long-term toll on survivors of severe coronavirus, with many people developing heart problems, diabetes and chronic liver and kidney conditions. Out of 47,780 people who were discharged from hospital in the first wave, 29.4 per cent were readmitted to hospital within 140 days, and 12.3 per cent of the total died.
HealthThe IndependentFauci: Two more Covid vaccines just ‘weeks’ away from US distribution
Two more Covid vaccine candidates are likely just around the corner, a development that would provide a much-needed boost to the US programme to vaccinate millions of its citizens, Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, has said. A pair of vaccines from the drugmakers AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson have wrapped up their clinical trials and could be cleared for use in the US within “a few weeks” pending the government review process, Dr Fauci said in an interview on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday. The drug companies' own safety monitoring boards will first need to ensure the data from their clinical trials is sound and proves they have a safe, effective vaccine.
PoliticsNBC NewsPoll: Trump approval remains stable, Republicans unmoved after Capitol violence
Donald Trump is the only president in U.S. history to be impeached twice — this time for his role in inciting a deadly assault on the Capitol by his supporters — but he is still poised to leave office with a job approval rating that is fairly typical of his entire time in office. A new NBC News poll found that 43 percent of voters nationwide gave Trump a positive job approval rating, just barely down from 45 percent who said the same before the November election and the 44 percent who approved of his performance shortly after he took office in 2017. The same poll found that 35 percent of voters — including 74 percent of Republicans but just 30 percent of independents and 3 percent of Democrats — believe that President-elect Joe Biden did not win the 2020 election legitimately.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderAll US special operators train for combat diving, but Navy SEALs take it to another level
Special-operations units from each US military service branch train to conduct combat diving as a part of their missions. Navy SEALs take that capability further, however, practicing not only to travel through the water but to conduct underwater missions as well. With the military refocusing for a potential conflict in the vast Pacific region, that diving capability is taking on new importance.
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Illegal caravans headed to border due to Biden's 'open door policy': Mark Morgan
Acting CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan weighs in on changing immigration policy under President-elect Joe Biden.
U.S.The Guardian'I had no qualms': The people turning in loved ones for the Capitol attack
When Alison Lopez discovered her uncle's sister had been part of the mob that breached the Capitol doors on 6 January, she immediately reported her to the FBI. Lopez found out about her in-law's participation when the woman in question called her aunt from inside the Capitol to brag about “taking back the election”. In the week after the attacks on the Capitol, there has been a concerted effort to “unmask” rioters online, with self-styled detectives investigating who's who in videos and photos posted from the attack.
U.S.INSIDERA Virginia man arrested at a DC checkpoint with guns and ammo says he was just lost and made an 'honest mistake'
A Virginia man arrested at a DC checkpoint and accused of having guns and a cache of ammunition says it was an "honest mistake," and he was simply a private security guard who got lost. Wesley Allen Beeler, 31, was released by a judge on Saturday and told The Washington Post he was licensed to carry the gun, and had an inauguration badge as he'd been working security gigs all week. Washington, DC, has dramatically ramped up security measures ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, just two weeks after Trump supporters violently stormed the US Capitol.
PoliticsThe IndependentKayleigh McEnany leaves White House after final two-minute press briefing following deadly Capitol riot
Donald Trump's press secretary Kayleigh McEnany has packed up her office at the White House, days before president-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office, though she is expected to remain in the role until the president's term ends on 20 January. The press secretary took no questions from the reporters in the room. Following a career in right-wing cable news commentary, Ms McEnany was named the Republican National Committee's national spokesperson in August 2017 before joining the Trump campaign as its national press secretary in 2019.
U.S.NBC NewsOff the grid, heavily armed and radicalized: He's a law enforcement nightmare
These are the people who keep law enforcement up at night,” said Clint Van Zandt, a former FBI criminal profiler and an NBC News analyst. I used to go to bed thinking, 'Did I do everything I could? Have I looked for this?
WorldBusiness InsiderEvery single passenger on board 2 international flights to Canada informed that they were potentially exposed to COVID-19
All passengers on board two Air Transat flights from Haiti to Montreal have potentially been exposed to COVID-19, the Toronto Sun reported. Passengers seated in "all rows" have been notified by the Canadian government's exposure tracking system that they need to monitor their symptoms. The Canadian government announced on January 7 that a negative coronavirus test is required to fly.
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."
PoliticsThe IndependentJoe Scarborough says he might sue Donald Trump for repeatedly accusing him of murder
Joe Scarborough has considered legal action against Donald Trump, who wrongly accused the MSNBC host of murder last year. Mr Scarborough said on Sunday that he had lost patience with Mr Trump since the storming of the US Capitol by his supporters, many of whom alleged the 2020 election was “stolen”, and that he could sue the US President over allegations levelled against him. Mr Trump, whose presidency ends on Wednesday, will no longer be protected against legal action.
PoliticsTheGrio68 officials push for probe of congresswoman who tweeted lawmaker locations during riot
elected officials from Colorado have sent a letter to lawmakers requesting a probe into Rep. Lauren Boebert's actions before and during the day of the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol, according to multiple reports. The letter was addressed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer and Kevin McCarthy. In the letter published by KUSA, Colorado officials of the 3rd Congressional District, expressed “deep concern about Boebert's actions leading up to and during the protests that turned into a violent deadly mob.
U.S.Business InsiderThe Florida data scientist who claims she was fired by the health department for refusing to alter COVID-19 data said she'll turn herself into police after a warrant was issued for her arrest
Rebekah Jones, the Florida data scientist, last year fired by the Department of Health, said Saturday she would turn herself in to authorities Sunday after they last week issued a warrant for her arrest. Jones, who worked on the state's COVID-19 dashboard, was fired in May after she said she refused to alter data related to the COVID-19 pandemic in the state. Florida authorities in December executed a warrant on her property, seizing computers, phones, and external storage drives after she continued to publish Florida's COVID-19 data through her own dashboard.
U.S.INSIDERPolice say Oregon man who stole a car with a child in the backseat came back and 'lectured' the mom about parenting
A carjacker in Beaverton, Oregon returned a child to their mother after realizing they were in the backseat of the car he was stealing. "He actually lectured the mother for leaving the child in the car and threatened to call the police on her," Beaverton police spokesman Officer Matt Henderson told the Oregonian. The carjacking took place outside of a grocery store in Beaverton, Oregon on Saturday when the mom left the car running with the child in the backseat, local authorities said.
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.
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.
U.S.Business InsiderParler's CEO fled his home and went into hiding after receiving death threats and security breaches, a court filing says
Parler CEO John Matze Jr. and his family have fled their homes after receiving death threats, a new court filing says. Parler was recently removed from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, and Amazon Web Services stopped hosting the platform after it deemed Parler a "risk to public safety." Trump supporters flocked to the platform after the president was banned from Twitter following the siege at the Capitol on January 6.
PoliticsUSA TODAYFact check: Trump loses several perks only if there's an impeachment conviction by Jan. 20
The claim: If President Trump is impeached again, he loses many post-presidency perks On Jan. 13, President Donald Trump became the only U.S. president to be impeached twice. Even before that, Americans took to social media to deliberate what this could mean for Trump after he leaves office Jan. 20. For those wondering if it's worth impeaching him this time, it means he: 1) loses his 200k+ pension for the rest of his life, 2) loses his 1 million dollar/year travel allowance, 3) loses lifetime full secret service detail, 4) loses his ability to run in 2024,” Ben Costiloe tweeted Jan. 8.
“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.”