PoliticsThe IndependentTrump news: McEnany departs White House as McConnell calls impeachment ‘vote of conscience’
President Donald Trump is said to be planning a final trip on Air Force One to Mar-a-Lago during the inauguration, as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reportedly discusses impeachment with colleagues as the administration ends in history-making ignominy. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who entered the role in April 2020, joined a growing list of administration officials who left the president before his term officially ended. The president's top economic adviser Larry Kudlow has criticised his boss in The Wall Street Journal over his response to the deadly insurrection at the Capitol.
U.S.Associated PressHouse arrest plan for invader of Pelosi's office halted
A federal judge in Washington on Friday night halted a plan to release and put on house arrest the Arkansas man photographed sitting at a desk in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office during last week's riot at the U.S. Capitol. Richard Barnett will instead be brought to Washington, D.C., immediately for proceedings in his case, Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ordered Friday night, staying a decision by another judge to confine Barnett to his home in Gravette, Arkansas, until his trial. Howell's ruling came hours after U.S. Magistrate Judge Erin Wiedemann in Arkansas set a $5,000 bond for Barnett and ordered that a GPS monitor track his location.
PoliticsNBC NewsTexas realtor who took private jet is charged in Capitol riot
A Texas realtor who took a private jet to the riot at the U.S. Capitol last week and called it the best day of her life is facing federal charges. Jennifer Ryan, who goes by Jenna Ryan on social media, is the latest person charged in connection to the Jan. 6 attack that left five people dead, including a Capitol police officer. Federal authorities said in court documents released Friday that Ryan traveled with a group to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 5 and documented her two-day trip on social media.
U.S.The WeekSecret Service reportedly had to use Obama's bathroom after being barred from Ivanka Trump's
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner have spent the past few years living in a six bedroom, 6.5 bathroom rented home in Washington, D.C.'s exclusive Kalorama neighborhood. The family could count high-profile officials and even one former president among their neighbors — as well as their own Secret Service detail, who had to rent a nearby apartment to use the bathroom because they weren't allowed inside the Kushner-Trump home, neighbors and law enforcement sources tell The Washington Post. It's not unusual for Secret Service agents to stay out of the typically expansive homes they're guarding, instead using a garage or auxiliary building as their home base, the Post notes.
U.S.Miami HeraldThe FBI keeps making more arrests in the Capitol riot. Here are some Florida suspects
At least a handful of Florida residents have been tracked down, thanks in part to video and images widely circulated on social media. At least one Floridian was a first responder: Andrew Williams, who was at first put on paid administrative leave by his employer, the Sanford Fire Department, and then unpaid leave. Williams was arrested Tuesday, charged with unlawful entry and disorderly conduct.
PoliticsAxiosKudlow says he's "very disappointed" in Trump's treatment of Pence
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow criticized President Trump's response to last week's U.S. Capitol siege and his treatment of Vice President Mike Pence in the aftermath of the 2020 election, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Friday. The big picture: Trump has lost support from a number of top aides and allies since a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol building on Jan. 6, resulting in five deaths. Kudlow is the latest to publicly speak out against the president.
PoliticsThe IndependentMitch McConnell tells senators to ‘vote their conscience’ as impeachment trial looms
Following Donald Trump's second impeachment in the House of Representatives, Mitch McConnell has told his senate colleagues to “vote their conscience” as the Senate determines whether to convict the president for his role inciting a deadly insurrection at the Capitol, fulled by false claims of voter fraud and a pervasive lie that the 2020 election was “stolen” from his supporters. The Senate Majority Leader, overseeing the remaining days of the GOP-controlled Senate as the balance of power shifts in a newly elected Congress, has not indicated how he expects his colleagues to vote, and an impeachment trial won't reach the Senate floor until Joe Biden is president.
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Palm oil protests hinder sustainability drive: planters
Campaigners say that the industry is responsible for deforestation of tropical rainforests and human rights abuses and have initiated consumer boycotts of palm oil, which is found in everything from pizza to lipsticks. However, such campaigns are hindering the industry's efforts to achieve sustainability certification and develop a market for certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO), top palm oil producers said during the Reuters Next conference. "The issue is how do we regain the trust we seemed to have lost?"
U.S.Associated PressWaitress credited with helping boy after noticing bruises
A Florida waitress who noticed bruises on an 11-year-old boy flashed him a handwritten note asking him if he needed help, and when he nodded yes, she called the police, authorities said. Orlando police credited Flaviane Carvalho, a waitress at Mrs. Potato Restaurant, with coming to the boy's aid on New Year's Eve when the child's parents weren't looking. Police took the boy to a hospital where doctors found bruises on his face, earlobes and arms.
U.S.The Telegraph‘I need to protect myself in case there is a civil war’: Why middle-class America is arming up
But for many of Jimmy Gong's customers in Mineola – a suburban village 20 miles east of the skyscrapers of Manhattan – the storming of the Capitol by pro-Trump demonstrators on January 6 was the inflection point. The following day is one of the busiest Gong, 46, can remember, even accounting for a 150 per cent rise in demand. And he expects business to keep booming.
EntertainmentArchitectural DigestMore Inside Artist Jorge Pardo's Transformed Bushwick Carriage House
When it came to the lighting in his home, Pardo drew inspiration from the insides of fruits, nuts, and seeds, as well as sea creatures and machine parts. Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
U.S.TheGrioBiden nominates Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms to DNC post
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has been nominated by President-elect Joe Biden as a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee. In the role, Bottoms would be in charge of civic engagement and voter protection. Mayor Bottoms is the only Mayor in Atlanta's history to have served in all three branches of government, serving as a judge and City Councilmember before being sworn in as Mayor,” the DNC said in press release Thursday night.
U.S.TheGrioMan accused of throwing fire extinguisher at Capitol police arrested
The man accused of throwing a fire extinguisher during the Washington, D.C. riots last week has been arrested. Robert Sanford, a retired Chester Fire Department firefighter, was arrested on Thursday and charged with assault on a police officer, among other offenses. Attorney Enrique Latoison argues Sanford went on a free bus to the rally for Trump at the Capitol, but he did not enter the government building.
PoliticsThe WeekMelania Trump is reportedly more than ready to leave the White House
First lady Melania Trump is spending her final days in the White House packing, making photo albums, and counting down the minutes until she can move out, CNN reports. Since November, she has been overseeing the Trump family's move, deciding what will go to Mar-a-Lago in Florida and what will go into storage. With the help of White House staffers, she has been doing this stealthily, as to not upset President Trump — the official told CNN he really didn't think they would be moving, and it's a sensitive subject.
PoliticsThe Daily BeastPeyote-Loving ‘QAnon Shaman’ Vowed to Attend Inauguration, Left Chilling Note for Pence: Docs
The so-called QAnon Shaman who stormed the U.S. Capitol last week in Viking garb before sitting in Vice President Mike Pence's chair on the Senate dais admitted to federal agents he intended to return to D.C. to “protest” President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration. “I'll still go, you better believe it,” Jacob Chansley bragged in an interview with FBI agents the day after the violent insurrection. The admission by Chansley, also known as Jake Angeli, is one of several that prosecutors detailed in an 18-page detention memo arguing for the 33-year-old Arizona man to be held before trial.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderBumble removed its political filter after people said they used it to lure conservatives who were at the Capitol riot into sending incriminating evidence
The dating app Bumble has temporarily removed its political-identification filter to prevent "misuse." The move came after women tweeted about using the filter to find conservatives who took part in the Capitol breach and passing on evidence to law enforcement. Users started to notice the political filter had been removed on Thursday, and people on Twitter criticized Bumble as appearing to protect the insurrectionists.
PoliticsThe IndependentTrump administration staffers reportedly getting snubbed while looking for new jobs
Trump administration staff are reportedly getting snubbed for jobs, amid the fallout of the end of Donald Trump's presidency and the Capitol riots. After a mob of pro-Trump rioters stormed the US Capitol last week, several businesses turned on the Trump Organisation, as New York City announced on Thursday that it was ending all ties with the company. The rioters attacked the Capitol after attending a rally led by Mr Trump, who urged supporters to “walk down to the Capitol” and told them: “You have to show strength, and you have to be strong.”
PoliticsBusiness InsiderPelosi taps retired military commander, who oversaw the US response to Hurricane Katrina, to oversee probe into security failures during Capitol siege
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that retired Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré will lead "an immediate review" of the security during the Capitol attack. On January 6, pro-Trump insurrectionists stormed the Capitol, which resulted in five deaths. Honoré is known for leading the task force that was in charge of the US military response to Hurricane Katrina.
PoliticsThe IndependentTrump is back in contact with Steve Bannon and ‘asking him how to overturn election’
Donald Trump is reportedly back in touch with his former chief strategist Steve Bannon who he has been speaking to several times over the phone in the recent weeks, seeking advice on how to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential elections. Mr Bannon is considered one of the main architects of Mr Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and had joined him as an adviser in the White House after the elections. Mr Bannon quit the position in August 2017 after he fell from the good books of the president due to a controversy related to his book.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderThe US government will spend $500,000 deep-cleaning the White House before Biden's inauguration
The White House will get a $500,000 deep-clean before President-elect Joe Biden moves in, CNN reported. "There's always been a deep clean between administrations, but we've never seen anything like this," presidential historian Kate Brower Andersen told ABC. The US government will spend almost $500,000 on a deep clean of the White House before President-elect Joe Biden takes office on January 20, CNN reported, citing government contracts it had viewed.
U.S.Business InsiderFBI affidavit details how a Trump supporter turned over evidence to a 'nice FBI lady' and explained walking into 'big boss' Nancy Pelosi's office
An FBI affidavit filed this week details how one Trump supporter who participated in the Capitol siege turned over evidence of his alleged crimes to an FBI agent. In an email to the agent, whom the man addressed as "Nice FBI Lady," he included links to videos that featured his voice and footage recorded inside and outside the Capitol, the affidavit said. The man, Kevin Lyons, also described to agents how he walked into "big boss" Nancy Pelosi's office, the affidavit said.
PoliticsThe Daily BeastBill Maher Delivers Final Insult to Kellyanne Conway on ‘Real Time’
On the evening of Jan. 7, a full day after an army of Trump fanatics—at the president's urging—stormed the U.S. Capitol on a mission to overthrow the government, menacing congresspeople and killing a police officer in the process, Kellyanne Conway issued a rambling statement on Twitter. In it, one of Trump's most loyal and semi-trusted advisers condemned the events as “outrageous and inexcusable,” followed by the comical lie that her former boss had “denounced the violence, acknowledged the certified election results and committed to a 'peaceful transfer of power' to the Biden-Harris Administration.” Well, Kellyanne—who once invented a terrorist attack in the “Bowling Green Massacre”—visited Real Time with Bill Maher on Friday night for its 19th season premiere.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderRepublicans in Congress are starting to oppose Biden's $1.9 trillion economic rescue package, dampening odds of smooth passage for new stimulus checks
Republicans in Congress started criticizing the Biden rescue plan on Friday. "Blasting out another $2 trillion in borrowed or printed money.. would be a colossal waste and economically harmful," Sen. Pat Toomey said. Many economists favor more relief spending, given the severity of the pandemic and the low cost of borrowing.
BusinessBusiness InsiderNearly 6,000 Amazon warehouse workers in Alabama will vote next month on forming the first union in the company's history
About 6,000 Amazon workers in Alabama will vote on forming a union, which would be the e-commerce giant's first union in its history, according to a petition filed. Workers will receive their ballots on February 8 to vote in the mail-in election over the wishes of Amazon, which was pushing for an in-person election. Amazon has been staunchly opposed to its workers organizing a union, with the company even hiring detectives with the Pinkerton spy agency to monitor efforts.
PoliticsThe Daily BeastMyPillow Guy Presents Trump With ‘China’ Election-Fraud Theory, Lawyers Send Him Packing
In the final week of his presidency, Donald Trump met in the Oval Office on Friday afternoon with Mike Lindell, the MyPillow CEO and a personal friend of the president's, who presented Trump with six pages of documents, loaded with unproven conspiracy theories, that he told him proved that China and other countries helped steal the 2020 election for Joe Biden. Lindell says that after a “five-to-ten minute meeting” in the Oval, Trump asked someone to take the MyPillow inventor to a different room to show his documents to “the lawyers,” and then asked for staff to bring Lindell back afterwards. Following a roughly two hour wait, according to Lindell, he finally met with White House attorneys who dismissed his claims but said they would “look into it.”
“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.”