PoliticsThe IndependentBidens left stuck outside White House on Inauguration Day after ‘petty’ final Trump act
The Bidens were momentarily left to wait outside the White House in an awkward moment on Inauguration Day, possibly as a result of a final “petty” act by the Trump administration. Later, as the Bidens walked up the steps to enter the executive mansion, pausing to wave before turning to enter, the much anticipated moment fell flat as the doors failed to open and the couple was left on the doorstep. According to The National Journal, a well-placed official not associated with the incoming Biden team told the newspaper: "The Trumps sent the butlers home when they left so there would be no one to help the Bidens when they arrived."
PoliticsAxiosTrudeau stresses "disappointment" with Keystone XL in first official call with Biden
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday expressed his "disappointment" with President Biden's executive order to rescind permits for the Keystone XL pipeline, in a readout of the president's first official call with a foreign leader. Why it matters: The prime minister has long backed the pipeline meant to carry crude oil from Alberta to Nebraska. Biden, however, campaigned on the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline.
PoliticsNBC NewsBiden's acting attorney general signed off on reassigning prosecutor who objected to family separations
President Joe Biden's pick to run the Justice Department temporarily, Acting Attorney General Monty Wilkinson, signed off on a 2017 decision to remove a prosecutor from his position after the prosecutor's superiors complained he was not adequately prosecuting migrant parents separated from their children, according to documents reviewed by NBC News. Wilkinson, who once served as former Attorney General Eric Holder's deputy chief of staff, was not a Trump appointee when he received the complaints about Joshua Stern, an attorney detailed to the Western District of Texas in 2017. In a memo sent to Wilkinson on Sept. 11, 2017, Stern's superiors said he was not adequately performing his duties because he was “very concerned" about cases in which he was asked to prosecute an immigrant parent who had been separated from and did not know the whereabouts of their child.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderThe Bidens were reportedly left waiting outside the White House on Inauguration Day because Trump sent the staff home
Joe and Jill Biden may have been waiting to enter the White House for longer than necessary on Inauguration Day because there was a lack of staff there to greet them. In a break from White House protocol, the new President and First Lady were left standing in front of closed doors as they took photos outside of their new residence for the first time on Wednesday. The Trumps "sent the butlers home when they left so there would be no-one to help the Bidens when they arrived," a well-placed official not associated with the Biden administration told The National Journal.
PoliticsThe WeekBiden has stopped construction on Trump's border wall, but the fate of outstanding contracts is unclear
Among the first 17 executive orders President Biden signed Wednesday evening was one hitting "pause" on construction of former President Donald Trump's border wall. "It shall be the policy of my administration that no more American taxpayer dollars be diverted to construct a border wall," Biden's order said. "I am also directing a careful review of all resources appropriated or redirected to construct a southern border wall."
U.S.The IndependentFormer police officer who climbed over fences to get into Capitol during riot claims he was there to see art
A former police officer admitted to climbing over fences to get into the Capitol during the 6 January riot but then claimed he only went inside because it was a rare moment to view historical art pieces. Ex-officer Tam Dinh Pham was arrested Wednesday for unlawful entry of the Capitol and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, The Washington Post reported. After 18 years working for the Houston Police Department, he stepped down on January 14, Chief of Police Art Acevedo announced on Twitter.
U.S.NBC News$1 billion Mega Millions jackpot has a winner
A lucky Michigan lottery player won big Friday night — $1 billion big. Friday's Mega Millions jackpot was one the most valuable lottery jackpots ever, according to organizers. One ticket matched all six numbers — 4, 26, 42, 50, 60, and 24 —necessary to win the estimated $1 billion prize, according to Mega Millions.
PoliticsPoliticoPfizer ships fewer Covid vaccine vials to U.S. after Trump FDA label change
Pfizer is counting extra coronavirus vaccine it uses to top off each of its vials toward its commitment to deliver 200 million shots for the U.S. pandemic response — even though there aren't enough syringes capable of squeezing out the extra fluid. The Trump administration Food and Drug Administration on Jan. 6 approved a Pfizer request to update its vaccine label to clarify that six doses, instead of five, can be drawn from each vial. The new label came several weeks after the agency said pharmacists could administer any surplus they could successfully extract from the vials.
PoliticsThe WeekTrump's team fired the White House chief usher right before Biden took office, maybe at Biden's request
When President Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden arrived at the White House on Wednesday afternoon, there was no chief usher to greet them. Former first lady Melania Trump had hired the chief usher, Timothy Harleth, from the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., in 2017, after the previous chief usher, Angella Reid, was dismissed a few months into Donald Trump's term.
U.S.NBC NewsFamily of 12-year-old boy swept out to sea in California offers $50,000 reward
The family of a 12-year-old boy who was swept out to sea in northern California is offering a $50,000 reward to anyone who locates him after a multiagency search was suspended. The boy, identified by family as Arunay Pruthi, was pulled into the ocean at Cowell Ranch Beach in the city of Half Moon Bay, about 25 miles south of San Francisco, on Monday. Arunay's father and 8-year-old brother were also pulled in by a "sneaker wave," the boy's uncle Arvind Pruthi said.
PoliticsThe WeekBiden's next executive order will let people stay on unemployment if they quit an unsafe job
President Biden has issued another two executive orders aimed at the coronavirus pandemic's economic fallout. Millions of Americans have claimed unemployment insurance as they lost their jobs amid the pandemic, not to mention thousands of noncitizen workers who haven't been eligible for the benefits. Biden is pushing Congress to pass another $1.9 trillion stimulus program, but took initial and immediate relief steps Friday with another round of executive orders.
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Graham on Amazon offering vaccine help to Biden: 'It's disgusting' if they refused to help Trump
Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. reacted to Amazon offering President Biden help to distribute the vaccine after President Trump left office.
LifestyleArchitectural DigestAD100 Designer Monique Gibson Designs a Tribeca Aerie with High-Impact Views
800 feet up in the sky, the Dreamy 6,000 square foot space offers panoramic views from the East River to the Hudson Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
U.S.The IndependentIvanka Trump’s rented DC home goes back on the market, for $18,000 a month
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner's former Washington DC home is now back on the rental market for $18,000 a month. The former first daughter and her husband have moved to Florida after their time in the White House and have reportedly rented a $40,000 a month condo in Miami's Arte building. The couple's colonial-style Washington DC rental was located around the corner from Barack Obama's home in the upscale Kalorama neighbourhood.
U.S.Business InsiderA Texas doctor has been charged with stealing 9 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine 'for friends and family'
A Texas doctor was fired and charged after being accused of stealing a vial of the COVID-19 vaccine. The District Attorney said the vial contained nine doses of the vaccine. Gokal's attorney told CNN that the vile was due to expire and would have gone to waste.
PoliticsThe IndependentSean Hannity denounces Biden’s first week as ‘disastrous’ before the president completed a full day of work
Fox News opinions host Sean Hannity has already reviewed the Biden administration's first week as “disastrous”, less than two days after President Joe Biden entered office. On Thursday evening, Mr Hannity opened his show eager to give a review of what the new administration has done in the first week. This included a Fox News chyron declaring “Biden's disastrous first week”.
PoliticsINSIDERGiuliani admits his associate asked for a fee of $20,000 a day to help Trump overturn the election, but says he didn't know about it
After months of denial, Giuliani admitted his associate requested a daily $20,000 fee to help Trump. Giuliani said he represented Trump out of a sense of commitment and didn't expect to be paid. After months of denials, former President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, conceded that one of his associates asked campaign officials for a $20,000 daily fee to help Trump after his election loss, according to a New York Times report.
U.S.Business InsiderHundreds of National Guard troops deployed to defend the Capitol have reportedly tested positive for COVID or are in quarantine
Hundreds of National Guard troops have tested positive for COVID-19 or are in quarantine, according to a Politico report. More than 25,000 National Guard troops were activated and deployed to Washington, DC in the wake of the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol. Hundreds of National Guard troops from among the thousands who deployed to the nation's capital after the violent riots earlier this month have tested positive for COVID-19 or are in quarantine, Politico reported Friday.
PoliticsThe Independent‘We’re not packing our bags at 100 million’: Biden press secretary hits back at complaints Covid vaccine plan not enough
The White House press secretary has responded to criticism from the public that Joe Biden's plan to administer 100 million vaccines in 100 days was not enough, at a time when Covid-19 surges through the US. “Our objective in setting that bold goal … is to set our own markers but also set markers for the American people,” Jen Psaki said on Good Morning America on Friday. Mr Biden unveiled his national Covid-19 plan on Thursday, which included how his administration intended to get 100 million vaccines into the arms of Americans within 100 days.
U.S.USA TODAYTennessee police say 60 females, mostly minors, recorded on hidden camera in gym bathroom
NASHVILLE, Tenn. —An investigation into a camera set up in a girls' changing facility has revealed 60 victims as of Thursday afternoon, police in Tennessee said. The GoPro camera — which was found hidden in a girls' changing and restroom at Premier Athletics which offers training in cheerleading, dance and gymnastics — was reviewed by police after it was found last week. Sixty females, mostly minors, were recorded on the camera, police said.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderMcConnell blamed Trump for inciting the Capitol riot, but the senator - and everyone else who refused to acknowledge Biden's win - was complicit too
On Tuesday, McConnell blamed Trump for inciting the mob that violently stormed the US Capitol. Republicans who did not admit Biden's win, and let those lies spread unchecked, are complicit. On his last day as Senate majority leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell explicitly blamed President Donald Trump for inciting the mob that violently stormed the US Capitol building on January 6.
U.S.The Independent‘We’re a National Guard family’: Jill Biden visits Capitol troops with cookies after some were forced to stay in garage
First Lady Jill Biden made a surprise trip to visit the National Guard troops stationed at the US Capitol on Friday so she could deliver them cookies made from the White House. The stop was not on Dr Biden's official schedule, but it was made in an effort to show her gratitude towards the troops for protecting Washington DC around Inauguration Day. I just wanted to come today to say thank you to all of you for keeping me and my family safe.
U.S.The Daily BeastWest Virginia Mom Killed Five Kids Before Turning Gun on Herself: Sheriff
A West Virginia mom allegedly upset over her husband's recent absence fatally shot her five children and set their house on fire before turning the gun on herself, authorities said this week. The Greenbrier County Sheriff's Department on Thursday revealed 25-year-old Oreanna Antoinette Myers killed her three kids and two stepchildren on Dec. 8, then set their two-story house near Williamsburg, West Virginia, ablaze. The children have been identified as Shaun Dawson Bumgarner, 7; Riley James Bumgarner, 6; Kian Myers, 4; Aarikyle Nova Myers, 3; and Haiken Jirachi Myers, 1.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderA former Trump White House spokesperson said the Capitol riots gave the ex-president's legacy a 'black eye'
Hogan Gidley, Trump's former deputy press aide, called the Capitol siege a "black eye" on his legacy. Five people died when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6. Trump has since been impeached on charges of "inciting an insurrection," his second impeachment.
PoliticsThe IndependentBiden: Why everyone is talking about the new president’s watch
Joe Biden's inauguration watch caused a stir online after it was pointed out the new president wore a $7,000 Rolex to get sworn in. Mr Biden picked a stainless steel Rolex Datejust with a blue dial to wear on his first day in the White House on Wednesday. The watch was a departure from some previous presidents, such as Bill Clinton, George W Bush and Barack Obama, who chose less expensive timepieces, according to the New York Times.
“By encouraging this act of terror on our capital, Trump’s legacy is destroyed.”
“Both backers and critics of Trump agreed that he remade the federal judiciary — a change that will impact America for decades.”
“He was largely responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans who did not need to die.”
“I do know what the future should hold for this country. That is to say, a policy of Trumpism without Trump.”
“It will be decades before the consequences of his tenure are fully known.”