PoliticsBusiness InsiderPete Buttigieg has emerged as the frontrunner to become Biden's secretary of transportation, new report says
Pete Buttigieg has emerged as a leading candidate to become President-elect Joe Biden's secretary of transportation, according to a CNN report. Buttigieg's nomination would elevate the profile of the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor and 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful. Buttigieg is widely expected to run for president again.
PoliticsThe IndependentTrump signs executive order making Christmas Eve a federal holiday in 2020
Christmas Eve will be considered a federal holiday in the United States this year, according to a new executive order signed by President Trump. Under the executive order, signed Friday, “all executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government shall be closed and their employees excused from duty on Thursday, 24 December 2020, the day before Christmas Day”. The executive order does make an exception, however, for the heads of executive departments and agencies, who may determine that “certain offices and installations of their organisations, or parts thereof, must remain open,” as well as for employees who may be needed to work for “reasons of national security, defense, or other public need”.
LifestyleThe WeekRussian opposition leader Alexey Navalny may have been poisoned by a very bad Negroni, investigation suggests
A sweeping investigation into the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny pins the non-fatal act on Russia's FSB spy agency, and suggests a very poor tasting cocktail may have been the source. Per the report — which was conducted by the investigative website Bellingcat in partnership with CNN, Der Spiegel, and The Insider — Navalny, a major thorn in the side of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was in the Russian city of Tomsk on Aug. 19 when he met his traveling team at a hotel bar for a drink around 11:15 p.m. He ordered a late-night Bloody Mary, but was told by the bartender the ingredients weren't on hand and that he should have a Negroni instead.
WorldAssociated PressIran summons EU envoys for protesting reporter's hanging
Iran on Sunday summoned the German and French envoys to Tehran after the European Union condemned the execution of an Iranian journalist whose work helped inspire nationwide economic protests in 2017, Iranian state media reported. IRNA said an Iranian Foreign Ministry official summoned the ambassadors because of EU statements on the exiled reporter Ruhollah Zam, 47, who was hanged on Saturday. Zam had been jailed in Iran after Iranian authorities seized him while he was traveling in neighboring Iraq last year.
U.S.USA TODAYMan climbs on wing of Alaska Airlines plane departing Las Vegas airport, takes off shoes and socks
Police have arrested a man who managed to climb the wing of a departing Alaska Airlines plane at Las Vegas's McCarran International Airport on Saturday. Passengers watched in shock — and filmed — inside Alaska Airlines flight 1367 from Las Vegas to Portland when they saw the man climbing onboard the wing, sitting down and eventually taking off his shoes and socks during his estimated 45-minute stint. "WTH did I just witness?" passenger Erin Evans asked on Twitter, posting video of the incident.
HealthBusiness InsiderHead of White House security office has his right foot amputated because of severe COVID-19 and is facing 'staggering medical bills,' new report says
The head of the White House security office, Crede Bailey, had a part of his lower right leg and the big toe of his left foot amputated because of COVID-19, Bloomberg reported on Monday. Bailey has been hospitalized with a severe case of COVID-19 for three months but is said to be recovering. Friends of Bailey's have raised over $35,000 through a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for his rehabilitation and "staggering" healthcare costs.
U.S.Miami HeraldTwo inmates who escaped a Tennessee prison arrested in South Florida
Two inmates who escaped from a prison in Tennessee were arrested in Pompano Beach Sunday night, officials said. According to the Tennessee Department of Corrections, Robert Lee Brown and Christopher Osteen were arrested by the Broward County Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Marshals Service after the two absconded from Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville on Friday. Brown, 36, was serving an 18-year sentence for aggravated rape, and Osteen, 34, was serving an eight-year sentence for burglary.
WorldThe TelegraphSupermarkets to implement rationing within 24 hours of a run on essential goods being detected
Supermarkets are poised to implement rationing within 24 hours of a run on essential goods being detected, amid growing fears panic buying will erupt if the UK confirms a no-deal Brexit, The Telegraph has learnt. One major chain is preparing to intervene at high speed to implement a three-item limit on specific products, and could even impose a one-item limit on certain baby goods, in order to ensure all customers have access to essentials, according to a senior industry source. Moves to start rationing are expected to be expedited this winter after many stores took a week or more to levy item limits when coronavirus sparked a spate of customer stockpiling in the spring.
PoliticsUSA TODAYMichigan House punishes Republican state Rep. Gary Eisen for hinting at Electoral College disruption
Michigan Republican legislative leaders pulled a GOP lawmaker from his committee assignments Monday after the lawmaker hinted he was part of a group that sought to disrupt or otherwise undermine the Electoral College vote slated to happen at the Michigan state Capitol on Monday. Rep. Gary Eisen, R-St. Clair Township, made the comments Monday morning during an interview with Port Huron-area radio station WPHM. He was asked about the Electoral College, set to meet Monday in the state Senate chamber to cast the state's 16 electoral votes for President-elect Joe Biden. Eisen made the comments in the context of he and others in Lansing having some sort of event, either at the Capitol or somewhere else.
PoliticsThe IndependentAlex Jones faces calls for arrest after apparent Biden threat
Alex Jones is facing calls for his arrest after the conspiracy theorist told a Donald Trump rally that president-elect Joe Biden will be removed "one way or the other". The InfoWars host has been accused of attempting to incite violence during his speech at the “Million MAGA march” which was held to drum up support for Mr Trump's baseless claims of election fraud. "So I don't know who's going to the White House in 38 days but I sure know this - Joe Biden is a globalist and Joe Biden will be removed one way or another,” Mr Jones said during his appearance at the event.
HealthMiami HeraldWhat are your chances of dying from COVID? This calculator gives you a hint
Studies and statistics alike have shown that people over 65 and those with underlying health conditions face the highest risks of dying from COVID-19 compared to the rest of the population. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health developed an online calculator that can answer these questions. The tool, which is updated on a weekly basis, incorporates information on mortality risks and statistics from several data sets on the community and state level.
HealthINSIDERFamily was kicked off United Airlines flight because their 2-year-old refused to keep her mask on
Eliz Orban says she and her family were kicked off a United Airlines flight after being unable to get her 2-year-old daughter to keep her mask on. United Airlines has a policy that states all passengers over the age of 2 must wear a "face covering" during flights. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that children over the age of 2 should wear a mask, the World Health Organization says that children under the age of 5 should be exempt.
- NewsYahoo News Video
Newsom could face recall, as resistance to California governor is growing
An effort to recall California Gov. Gavin Newsom is gaining momentum, partly fueled by outrage over the Democrat dining with friends at an opulent restaurant while telling residents to stay home.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderGeorgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler posed for a photo with a former KKK chief - but says she didn't know who he was
Sen. Kelly Loeffler has been photographed with Chester Doles, a former head of the Ku Klux Klan and member of the neo-Nazi National Alliance. Doles posted a selfie of them at a rally for Loeffler in Dawsonville, Georgia, on Friday, on the Russian social-media site VKontakte. The image was reshared on Twitter by a Jewish advocacy group, which criticized Loeffler.
U.S.USA TODAYMichigan man imprisoned for nearly 4 decades exonerated after witness admits lying
It felt like all the possibilities that I was working on all those years were coming to fruition,” Forbes said. I didn't think it would take that long, but patience paid off. COVID-19 gave this Ohio family a 'sucker punch': Powerful family emails show how tragedy unfolded Witness comes forward Key evidence used to implicate Forbes was witness testimony from a woman, Annice Kennebrew, who said she saw three men, including Forbes, burn down the century-old, two-story house-turned-apartment in Jackson.
PoliticsThe Independent‘This is a moment I have dreamed about’: Stacey Abrams presides over Georgia electoral college vote to name Biden official winner
Former Democratic lawmaker and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams presided over Georgia's electoral college and announced that Joe Biden would receive the state's 16 electoral votes. The announcement was met with applause by the slate of electors present. Republicans - including two of the states own senators and Donald Trump - have alleged, without clear evidence, that the state's elections were rife with voter fraud.
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.
U.S.USA TODAYWinter storm will blast mid-Atlantic, Northeast with heavy snow
"Heavy snow is expected to develop Wednesday morning over the Allegheny Mountains and central Appalachians in West Virginia and Virginia, and then spread across the northern Mid-Atlantic and through southern New England by Wednesday night," the National Weather Service said. Storm totals of 6 inches or more could be widespread, with some areas picking up more than a foot, according to Weather.com. Those heavier totals are most likely from parts of southern New England to southeast New York, including New York City, southward to locations west of Interstate 95 in the mid-Atlantic.
PoliticsThe IndependentJoseph Epstein wiped from university website after backlash over ‘sexist drivel’ Jill Biden column
Northwestern University has distanced itself from its former lecturer Joseph Epstein who, in an article published by the Wall Street Journal, criticised the incoming first lady for using the title Dr when she is not a medical professional. Epstein's article has met with a backlash after he said the use of the title by Dr Jill Biden, who has a doctorate in education, “sounds and feels fraudulent, not to say a touch comic”. Northwestern has now scrubbed Epstein's page from its website, where he was previously listed as an emeritus lecturer of English.
U.S.INSIDERTiny house owners are facing evictions or living under the radar because their homes are considered illegal in most parts of the US
Tiny house owners across the country are facing the struggles of zoning ordinances that exclude tiny homes. Zoning differs from state to state and even from community to community, so tiny house owners need to work with their local governments to pass tiny house-friendly ordinances if they don't exist. Brianna O'Brien said she was forced to move out of her tiny house after she parked it on her parents' property in New Hampshire and the zoning board told her it wasn't allowed.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderRepublican congressman pretends to attack antifa in an ad released after a weekend of violent political protests
Texas Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw released a video ad on Sunday showing him pretending to attack antifa activists in Georgia. The ad comes as President Donald Trump and his GOP allies have continued to spread baseless claims about the outcome of the presidential election and attempt to overturn the results. Over the weekend, violence broke out in Washington, DC, and Washington state between Trump supporters and counterprotesters.
U.S.USA TODAYMississippi police identify 2-year-old boy abandoned at Goodwill donation outlet, arrest suspect
Police in Mississippi police say a 2-year-old boy left abandoned at a Goodwill donation outlet on Monday has been identified and is in the custody of Mississippi Child Protective Services. "Southaven Police received numerous tips, and with the assistance of F.B.I. offices in both Mississippi, and Tennessee, along with the Shelby County Sheriff's Department a suspect related to this case was taken into custody in Memphis," the department said. Officers responded to the Goodwill outlet around 9:30 a.m., where they learned the boy was left with a plastic bag that contained a note and a change of clothes.
U.S.The IndependentFlorida newspapers sue DeSantis for ‘covering up Covid reports’
Two newspapers are suing Florida for allegedly suppressing information about the coronavirus pandemic in the Sunshine State. The Orlando Sentinel and its sister publication, the South Florida Sentinel, accuse the Ron DeSantis-led administration of violating freedom of information laws. Both titles claim officials have been burying weekly reports by the White House Coronavirus Task Force, which make recommendations on how to slow the spread of the infection.
CelebrityINSIDERThe mother of the Houston influencer found dead says she didn't know of any marital problems her daughter might have been having
Stacey Robinault, the mother of Alexis Sharkey, the Houston-based influencer found dead on November, 28, told Fox News that she wasn't aware of any marital problems between Sharkey and her husband. Several of Sharkey's friends, some speaking anonymously, previously told The Daily Beast that Sharkey's relationship with her husband Tom was troubled. Tom Sharkey told ABC 13 that he and Alexis had a happy marriage and denied that they were filing for divorce.
WorldBusiness InsiderHours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, US Marines took on the Japanese in what became the Alamo of the Pacific
On December 8, 1941, the US garrison on Wake Island awoke to news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Japan's destruction of the US Pacific Fleet meant Wake Island was on its own against Japan's advance across the Pacific. The garrison surrendered after a 16-day battle, but their resistance gave the US Navy breathing room and became a rallying cry for Americans.
“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.”