PoliticsThe IndependentBiden coughs his way through first speech since being confirmed as president-elect: ‘Hand him a glass of water!’
Joe Biden's first address to the nation shortly after state electors declared him president-elect was overshadowed by persistent bouts of coughing and throat-clearing, as he mounted a scathing attack on President Donald Trump for his efforts to undermine the election. “It should be celebrated, not attacked,” Mr Biden said, as he acknowledged his victory in the presidential race. Mr Biden sounded hoarse and stopped several times to clear his throat during his speech on Monday night, prompting reactions from social media users.
WorldReutersChina urges EU to stop 'irresponsible remarks' after statement on Bloomberg employee
BEIJING (Reuters) -China said on Monday the European Union should stop making "irresponsible remarks" after it called for the release of all those arrested for reporting in China in a statement on a detained Chinese national working for Bloomberg News. China's foreign ministry said on Friday authorities had detained Haze Fan, who works for the Bloomberg bureau in Beijing, on suspicion of endangering national security. The European Union called for authorities to grant Fan "medical assistance if needed, prompt access to a lawyer of her choice, and contacts with her family."
WorldAssociated PressIran president says Israel was behind killing of scientist
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Monday claimed that Israel was behind the killing of a scientist who founded the Islamic Republic's military nuclear program in the 2000s in an effort to start a war in the last days of President Trump's administration. Rouhani's comments in a news conference marked the first time he has directly accused the Jewish state of carrying out the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh late last month. Israel, long suspected of killing Iranian nuclear scientists over the last decade, has repeatedly declined to comment on the attack.
U.S.ReutersGhislaine Maxwell proposes $28.5 million bail package, proclaims innocence
Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite facing criminal charges she helped procure girls for the late financier Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse, on Monday forcefully proclaimed her innocence and proposed a $28.5 million bail package in a renewed effort to be freed from a New York jail this year. In a filing with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Maxwell also disclosed that she has been married since 2016, and with her husband would post a $22.5 million bond, mirroring their combined assets, to support her bail application. Most of the remaining bail would be guaranteed by friends and family.
U.S.The IndependentNeilia Hunter: How the tragic loss of Joe Biden’s first wife shaped his Washington career
Joe Biden's ongoing recovery from the trauma of the deaths of his first wife and youngest child have dramatically shaped his career, from the ways in which he speaks to crowds about grief and mourning to his views on healthcare. While out shopping just days before Christmas in 1972, his 30-year-old wife Neilia and 13-month-old daughter Naomi were killed in a car accident after a tractor-trailer carrying corn broadsided the family's Chevrolet station wagon. Campaign literature featuring the young senator-elect from Delaware littered the streets.
- PoliticsAssociated Press
Company targeted by vote fraud claims strikes back at Trump
The head of an electronic voting company being targeted by allies of President Donald Trump said baseless claims that it helped flip the 2020 election for Joe Biden threatens to undermine Americans' faith in democracy. Antonio Mugica, CEO of Florida-based Smartmatic, said for years he watched as democracy in his native Venezuela was destroyed by lies and conspiracy theories pushed from the highest levels of the country's socialist government. Now he fears many Americans are being too complacent in the face of a similar disinformation campaign.
HealthBusiness InsiderOperation Warp Speed's top scientist says Moderna vaccine will 'likely' be approved by end of week
In an interview with Fox News Sunday, Moncef Slaoui, the head of the federal vaccine initiative Operation Warp Speed, said Moderna's vaccine would "likely would be approved by Friday." Slaoui repeated his prediction that he hoped 100 million people would be immunized by the first quarter of next year, and said he expected around 14 million vaccine doses to be distributed before the end of 2020. Slaoui said the US plan for a vaccine works with "a portfolio of products," and there would "most likely" be no reason for concerns for a shortage of supply in the vaccine in the spring.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderWall Street Journal op-ed telling Jill Biden to drop her 'Dr.' title condemned as 'patronizing drivel.' The paper's higher-education reporter was among the critics.
An op-ed article published by The Wall Street Journal on Friday sparked criticism after it suggested that the incoming first lady, Jill Biden, should drop her "Dr." title because she does not hold a doctorate in medicine. The essayist Joseph Epstein urged Biden to "drop the doc" in her name, saying it "sounds and feels fraudulent, not to say a touch comic." A representative for Biden called the article a "disgusting and sexist attack," with many public figures, including Vice President-elect Kamala Harris' husband, Douglas Emhoff, tweeting in support.
WorldReutersMalaysian PM Muhyuddin may face showdown in final budget vote
Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin may face another challenge to his leadership on Tuesday, if the opposition in parliament seeks to block a third and final vote to pass the government's 2021 budget. Muhyiddin's government plans to spend a record 322.5 billion ringgit ($79.61 billion) next year, up 2.5% from this year as it seeks to spur activity in an economy badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Opposition lawmakers led by veteran leader Anwar Ibrahim backed down from a plan to vote down the budget at the end of the policy stage debate last month, avoiding a potential political crisis as Muhyiddin faced the first real test of his wafer-thin majority in the 222-seat parliament.
PoliticsAssociated PressTrump says Barr resigning, will leave before Christmas
Attorney General William Barr, one of President Donald Trump's staunchest allies, is departing amid lingering tension over the president's baseless claims of election fraud and the investigation into President-elect Joe Biden's son. Barr went Monday to the White House, where Trump said the attorney general submitted his letter of resignation. Trump has publicly expressed his anger about Barr's statement to The Associated Press earlier this month that the Justice Department had found no widespread fraud that would change the outcome of the election.
U.S.USA TODAYA small town dragged its feet on COVID-19 mask mandates. Now residents are paying the price.
In the midst of a worsening pandemic, as coronavirus cases climbed, elected leaders in a former frontier town famous for its gunfights faced a choice. The five commissioners of Dodge City, Kansas, a politically red cattle community of some 27,000 people, had resisted such measures all summer and into fall. Like other parts of rural and small-city America, Dodge City had mostly returned to normal after shaking off the pandemic's first wave.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderA voting technology company at the center of election conspiracy theories demanded a retraction from Fox News, accusing them of 'a concerted disinformation campaign'
Smartmatic, a voting technology company, sent cease and desist letters on Monday to Fox News, One America News, and Newsmax, demanding retractions. The company has become the subject of conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election, and accused the media organizations of spreading them. In a letter to Fox News obtained by Insider, Smartmatic says Fox News hosts Lou Dobbs, Jesse Watters, and Maria Bartiromo have been instrumental in spreading the conspiracy theories, which first gained widespread currency with lawsuits from ex-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell.
PoliticsReutersU.S. sanctions NATO ally Turkey over purchase of Russian defense system
The United States imposed long-anticipated sanctions on Turkey on Monday over Ankara's acquisition of Russian S-400 air defense systems, further complicating already strained ties between the two NATO allies. Turkey condemned the sanctions as a "grave mistake" and urged Washington to revise its "unjust decision." Senior U.S. officials said in a call with reporters that Ankara's purchase of the S-400s and its refusal to reverse its decision, despite repeated pleas from Washington, left the United States with no other choice.
HealthAssociated PressAfter 110K virus deaths, nursing homes face vaccine fears
After 110,000 deaths ravaged the nation's nursing homes and pushed them to the front of the vaccine line, they now face a vexing problem: Skeptical residents and workers balking at getting the shots. “You go get that first and let me know how you feel,” said Denise Schwartz, whose 84-year-old mother lives at an assisted living facility in East Northport, New York, and plans to decline the vaccine. Everyone from members of the military to former presidents have announced their intentions to get the shots, echoing the refrains of others who say the drugs are the product of rigorous review, firm data and independent experts.
WorldBBCSouth Korea balloons: Seoul to ban people sending cross-border messages
Activists would tie the leaflets to balloons and float them over the border for North Korean residents to find. A bill was introduced in June after Kim Yo-jong - sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un - said balloon-senders were "human scum". Breaking the law passed by the South's parliament will be punishable by up to three years in prison or a fine of 30 million won (£20,700; $27,500).
PoliticsBusiness InsiderAttorney General Barr reportedly instructed prosecutors not to reveal the Hunter Biden tax probes before the election to keep the DOJ out of politics
Attorney General William Barr went to great lengths to prevent prosecutors and senior Justice Department officials from revealing the existence of federal tax investigations into Hunter Biden before the election, The Wall Street Journal reported. The report includes new details of Barr's efforts to keep the investigations under wraps. Monday's report adds to a growing list of frustrations President Donald Trump has with Barr and may catalyze the president's efforts to fire the attorney general weeks before he leaves office.
- PoliticsFOX News Videos
Hannity: 'Bow' to the Democrats or 'face the wrath of the media mob'
Sean Hannity scolds mainstream media for criticizing Trump and his supporters over election disputes
ScienceAssociated PressJapan space agency confirms asteroid soil inside capsule
Japan's space agency said Monday it has confirmed the presence of black soil samples inside a capsule that the spacecraft Hayabusa2 brought back from a distant asteroid last week. The pan-shaped capsule, 40 centimeters (15 inches) in diameter, was dropped by Hayabusa2 from space onto a spot in a sparsely populated Australian desert on Dec. 6. It arrived in Japan last Tuesday for research that will hopefully provide insights into the origins of the solar system and life on Earth.
HealthAssociated PressVaccine comes too late for the 300,000 US dead
Palomo was 27 and, as a health care worker, was probably weeks away from getting the new vaccine that could have protected her from the virus. Instead, she became yet another victim of the relentless outbreak whose U.S. toll is accelerating as it eclipses another round-number mark. The numbers are staggering -- the most impactful respiratory pandemic that we have experienced in over 102 years, since the iconic 1918 Spanish flu,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government's top infectious-disease expert, said days before the U.S. reached the milestone.
PoliticsThe IndependentTrump demands names of Congressional Republicans who have acknowledged Biden’s election victory
Donald Trump demanded the names of the 27 Republican Congressional Republicans who have acknowledged Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 election. In a Washington Post survey of all 249 Congressional Republicans that was published on Saturday, just 27 recognised Mr Biden as the President-elect. The vast majority failed to respond to the newspaper, while two GOP congressmen, Alabama representative Mo Brooks and Arizona congressman Paul Gosar, falsely claimed Mr Trump had won.
BusinessBusiness InsiderAptera has taken more than 3,000 orders for a new solar-powered EV arriving in 2021 that it says never needs to be charged
Electric-vehicle startup Aptera has taken more than 3,000 orders for the futuristic, three-wheeled EV it launched this month. Aptera claims it has built the first "never-charge solar vehicle," and says the vehicle's integrated solar panels can deliver thousands of miles of driving range each year. Aptera launched its new solar-powered electric vehicle earlier this month, and after one week it has taken thousands of preorders.
HealthBBCWhy India's doctors differ on Covid-19 plasma therapy
Desperate calls for blood plasma to treat Covid-19 patients continue to appear on India's social media platforms even as doctors have mixed views about the experimental therapy. When people have Covid-19 or other viral diseases, their immune system responds by creating antibodies, which attack the virus. Over time the antibodies build up and can be found in plasma - the liquid portion of the blood.
PoliticsAssociated PressWisconsin Supreme Court tosses Trump election lawsuit
A narrowly divided Wisconsin Supreme Court on Monday rejected President Donald Trump's lawsuit attempting to overturn his election loss in the battleground state about an hour before the Electoral College cast Wisconsin's 10 votes for Democrat Joe Biden. In the 4-3 ruling, the court's three liberal justices were joined by conservative swing Justice Brian Hagedorn who said three of Trump's four claims were filed too late and the other was without merit. The ruling ends Trump's legal challenges in state court.
PoliticsUSA TODAYIn Georgia Senate race, Loeffler and Perdue demand updated list of registered voters
Shortly before early voting got started in Georgia on Monday morning for the U.S. Senate runoff elections, the Republican candidates complained because the Board of Elections has not yet made available to the public an updated list of voter registrations. It is “totally unacceptable” that they cannot yet get a fully updated list, says a statement that U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler published on Twitter on Monday morning on behalf of herself and Sen. David Perdue. A complete list of newly registered voters is not available to the Democratic candidates, either.
CelebrityThe Daily BeastPrincess Diana Letter Praised Martin Bashir and Said He Never Showed Her Fake Documents, Inquiry Will Hear
The extraordinary saga of alleged corrupt practices by journalist Martin Bashir in securing his devastating 1995 interview with Diana, Princess of Wales, took another turn Monday as it was revealed that a missing letter written by Diana apparently exonerating Bashir of using fraudulent documents to secure the interview has been found, and is expected to become an important piece of evidence during a forthcoming inquiry into the affair. Diana's handwritten letter is believed to praise Bashir, the interviewer who has been accused of obtaining Diana's cooperation by deception, and Diana apparently writes in it that she was never shown any documents to persuade her to take part in the interview. According to a report in British newspaper The Times on Monday, Diana apparently wrote in it: “This is to confirm that I gave you the interview freely and was not influenced by any documents.”
“The prospect of a 2024 run is politically significant. It’s also a complete fiction.”
“His flirtation with a 2024 bid ensures he’ll remain the dominant force in the Republican Party.”
“He shouldn’t run for president again. There’s a better job and life for him on the horizon.”
“Trump is in for years of scandals and humiliations…He’ll have to devote much of his energy to trying to stay out of prison.”
“If Trump himself passes on the opportunity, his two very political children could also potentially pick up the mantle.”