PoliticsThe IndependentJosh Hawley blocks Biden cabinet appointment
Josh Hawley has blocked the quick confirmation of Joe Biden's pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security. The Missouri senator announced that he would hold up the nomination of Alejandro Mayorkas just hours before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs was set to complete its hearing with the nominee. “Mr Mayorkas has not adequately explained how he will enforce federal law and secure the southern border given President-elect Biden's promise to roll back major enforcement and security measures,” Mr Hawley said in a statement.
U.S.The WeekHeroic Capitol Police officer who fended off Senate from mob will escort Kamala Harris at the inauguration
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris had a fitting escort to walk her up the stairs of the Capitol on Wednesday: Eugene Goodman, the lone, Black police officer who bravely lured rioters away from the Senate chamber during the invasion of the Capitol building earlier this month. Goodman is the new acting deputy House Sergeant at Arms, and a candidate for the Congressional Gold Medal, one of the highest honors a civilian can receive. "I've always said, if bullets start ripping through, I'm finding Goodman," a friend of Goodman's told The Washington Post.
PoliticsAssociated PressTrump OKs prison release of Detroit's disgraced former mayor
President Donald Trump on Wednesday commuted the 28-year prison sentence of disgraced former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who was convicted on federal corruption charges and has served about seven years. The announcement came in a flurry of clemency action in the final hours of Trump's White House term that benefited more than 140 people, including rappers, former members of Congress and other Trump allies. A White House statement said prominent members of the Detroit community had supported the 50-year-old Democrat's commutation and noted: “During his incarceration, Mr. Kilpatrick has taught public speaking classes and has led Bible Study groups with his fellow inmates.”
WorldReuters'One village, one policy': China keeps it local to battle COVID wave
China is using localised tactics to battle a wave of COVID-19 outbreaks, an approach that avoids the sort of widespread shutdowns that devastated the economy last year but is also sowing uncertainty ahead of the Lunar New Year travel season. In the province of Hebei, which surrounds Beijing and has seen hundreds of infections in the last two weeks, officials were told in a Monday meeting to adhere to the principle of "one village, one policy" and draw up individual plans for each community. After keeping confirmed new COVID-19 infections to just a handful a day for months, China has seen a spike in cases since the beginning of the year, with more than 100 a day recently, raising fears of a large-scale outbreak.
PoliticsAxiosBiden to sign 15 executive actions on Day One
President-elect Joe Biden is expected to sign 15 executive actions upon taking office Wednesday, immediately reversing key Trump administration policies. Why it matters: The 15 actions — aimed at issues like climate change and immigration — mark more drastic immediate steps compared with the two day-one actions from Biden's four predecessors combined, according to incoming White House press secretary Jen Psaki. What they're saying: The actions are the first of many, Psaki said in a news release, as Biden works "to address the four crises that he's laid out" — COVID-19, the economic crisis, racial injustice and climate change.
U.S.The IndependentTrump ends term with ‘patriotic education’ report which makes excuses for slavery and calls anti-abortion movement ‘great reform’
The White House has released a report by the 1776 commission that pushes for "patriotic education" that teaches the country's history with "with reverence and love" and says that slavery was not "a uniquely American evil". The commission, which was created in response to The New York Times Magazine's 1619 project which “reframes American history around the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans”, released their report on MLK day. The report attempts to defend slave-owning founding fathers against charges that they were hypocrites who “didn't believe in their stated principles,” and that “the country they built rests on a lie".
PoliticsThe WeekTrump is reportedly just going up to people and asking if they want a pardon
President Trump has spent the last few days asking his friends, aides, and associates if they would like pardons — even those who are not facing any charges, a senior administration official told The Washington Post. In one case, the official said, Trump offered a pardon to a person who declined the chance at clemency, saying they weren't in any legal trouble and hadn't committed any crimes. Trump has taken a great interest in pardoning people, the Post reports, even calling families to personally let them know he granted a pardon.
U.S.TheGrioHouston police veteran lied about entering Capitol, feds say
Tam Dinh Pham of the Houston police department was part of the deadly mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. A veteran Houston police officer is in trouble after attending the U.S. Capitol riots in Washington, D.C., then lying about it. Officer Tam Dinh Pham joined the deadly mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
U.S.NBC News12-year-old boy swept to sea by wave in northern California
A multiagency search for a 12-year-old boy swept out to sea in northern California on Monday has been suspended, according to officials. The boy was pulled into the ocean at Cowell Beach in the city of Half Moon Bay, about 25 miles south of San Francisco, on Monday, according to the Cal Fire San Mateo-Santa Cruz unit. An adult and 8-year-old were also pulled in by the wave, but were eventually pushed back to shore after being "beaten up by waves," according to Cal Fire.
PoliticsAxiosBiden lawyers remind Kamala Harris' niece that she can't profit off aunt's name
Biden's transition team lawyers have reminded Vice President-elect Kamala Harris' niece, Meena, that she can't profit off her famous aunt's image, after she unveiled a collaboration between her company and Beats By Dre. Why it matters: Following Republican attacks, President-elect Joe Biden pledged that neither his family nor Harris' would profit from their service as president and vice president. While Meena Harris did nothing illegal, it underscored the challenge of keeping relatives in line, and of adhering to the higher ethical standards that the incoming administration has pledged.
WorldThe TelegraphUK to 'look carefully' at claims vaccine efficacy in Israel has dropped to 33 per cent with one dose
Britain will "look carefully" at claims that the Pfizer vaccine fails to protect as well as expected following research into the first 200,000 people given the jab in Israel, Sir Patrick Vallance has said. The first real-world data showed the first dose led to a 33 per cent reduction in cases of coronavirus among people who were vaccinated between 14 and 21 days afterwards. In a radio interview, Nachman Ash, Israel's vaccine tsar, said a single dose appeared "less effective than we had thought" and also lower than Pfizer had suggested, raising fears that giving only one dose will not be as protective as hoped.
EntertainmentArchitectural DigestThe Coolest New Automotive Technology at CES 2021
Mercedes-Benz's Hyperscreen, General Motors' Bright Drop, and Jeep's Electric Wrangler were among the unveils that turned heads Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
PoliticsThe WeekCNN anchors laugh as Trump's departing flight takes off to Sinatra’s 'My Way'
And he's off — to the crooning of Frank Sinatra and the escaped laughter of CNN anchors. President Trump departed with his family from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Wednesday, four years to the day after he took his oath of office. He got out of Dodge a few hours before President-elect Joe Biden's swearing-in ceremony and is headed to Florida to begin his post-White House life.
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Rep. Crenshaw: 'I'd be frustrated if I were' Trump, watching the press 'go right back to the Obama-era'
Texas Congressman Dan Crenshaw argues Republicans need to unify and show voters that Democrats 'mean what they say' and 'will change your life fundamentally.
PoliticsLA TimesThousands of pro-Trump crowds have gathered since he took office. No state has had more than California
Despite its reputation as a leader of resistance, California saw more pro-Trump crowds than any other state during the president's term in office. That's according to the Crowd Counting Consortium, a project from the University of Connecticut and Harvard University that documents political gatherings of all kinds. By combing news reports and social media, the group has cataloged some 4,500 pro-Trump gatherings nationwide since he took office in 2017.
U.S.NBC NewsGeorgia lawyer said he kicked in Pelosi's door, she could've been 'torn into little pieces'
A Georgia lawyer boasted that he and fellow rioters "kicked in Nancy Pelosi's office door" and the House speaker dodged being "torn into little pieces," according to a criminal complaint. William McCall Calhoun Jr., an attorney from Americus, Georgia, has been charged with entering a restricted building, violent or disorderly conduct and obstructing official proceedings of government, according to an FBI affidavit seeking his arrest. The FBI's National Threat operation Center received a tip that Calhoun documented — in words and video on social media — his role in the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol Building, according to the affidavit.
PoliticsThe Independent‘It’s unfortunate’: Ashley Biden confirms first lady snubbed her mother on traditional White House handover
In her first ever TV interview, incoming first daughter Ashley Biden said it was “unfortunate” that first lady Melania Trump had not honoured “traditional protocol” and invited her mother to the White House. The daughter of President-elect Joe Biden and Dr Jill Biden confirmed that no invitation had been sent from the White House inviting the new first lady for tea and a tour of the executive mansion, with introductions to the residence staff. Ms Biden said that her mother had not heard at all from Ms Trump in what is one of the strangest handovers of power in US history.
PoliticsAssociated PressUS virus death toll tops 400,000 in Trump's final hours
The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus eclipsed 400,000 on Tuesday in the waning hours in office for President Donald Trump, whose handling of the crisis has been judged by public health experts a singular failure. The running total of lives lost, as compiled by Johns Hopkins University, is nearly equal to the number of Americans killed in World II. It is about the population of Tulsa, Oklahoma; Tampa, Florida; or New Orleans. While the Trump administration has been credited with Operation Warp Speed, the crash program to develop and distribute coronavirus vaccines, Trump has repeatedly downplayed the threat, mocked masks, railed against lockdowns, promoted unproven and unsafe treatments, undercut scientific experts and expressed scant compassion for the victims.
U.S.Business InsiderA retired NYC firefighter faces charges over the Capitol breach after texting his girlfriend's brother - a federal agent - a selfie from the riot
Thomas Fee, 53, texted his girlfriend's brother a selfie from the Capitol rotunda during the January 6 riot, saying he was "at the tip of the spear," per a criminal complaint. Fee's girlfriend's brother works for the US Diplomatic Security Service, and forwarded the evidence to authorities. Federal authorities later charged Fee in connection to the Capitol breach.
PoliticsNBC NewsMyPillow CEO Mike Lindell says products were dropped from major retailers after voter fraud claims
MyPillow CEO and ardent Trump supporter Mike Lindell says his products have been dropped by major retailers like Bed Bath & Beyond and Kohl's after his repeated false claims of voter fraud in the presidential election. Lindell told NBC Minnesota affiliate KARE on Monday that HEB Stores, Wayfair and Canada's Today's Shopping Choice channel had also stopped selling his products. MyPillow, the bedding company with commercials starring Lindell, is based in Chaska, Minnesota.
PoliticsThe IndependentIvanka praises her own work in farewell message as bitter Don Jr compares Biden to The Lion King’s Uncle Scar
Ivanka Trump praised her own work for American families in a farewell message as a bitter Don Jr compared Joe Biden to Uncle Scar from Disney's The Lion King. Members of the Trump family, who still have access to their main social media accounts unlike the outgoing president, signed off after four tumultuous years in the White House. While the president's daughter highlighted herself on Twitter, her elder brother took a bizarre shot at the president-elect on Instagram stories, in what appeared to be an attempt to undermine president-elect Biden's presidential win.
U.S.Associated PressUS rejects Ford, Mazda requests to avoid Takata recalls
The U.S. government's highway safety agency has rejected a request from Ford and Mazda to avoid recalling about 3 million vehicles with potentially dangerous Takata air bag inflators. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Tuesday the ammonium nitrate propellant used to inflate the driver's air bags is showing signs of decay and poses a safety risk. Vehicles included are the 2007 through 2011 Ford Ranger; the 2006 through 2012 Ford Fusion, Lincoln Zephyr and Lincoln MKZ; the 2006 through 2011 Mercury Milan; the 2007 through 2010 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderTrump's last-minute pardons include a guy who shared Google's trade secrets with Uber, a snake smuggler, and a man charged with cyberstalking a doctor
In his last hours in office, President Donald Trump issued more than 140 pardons and commutations. Many went to nonviolent drug offenders, but Trump also gave clemency to some surprising figures. The list included a friend of Jared Kushner, a snake smuggler, and a former Google executive.
PoliticsThe IndependentDonald Trump Jr shares doctored Biden video in last minute attack before father leaves office
Donald Trump Jr has taken one final false swing at President-elect Joe Biden before his father leaves office on Inauguration Day by sharing a doctored video of him on Twitter. The president's eldest son was called out by a fact-checker on Tuesday for promoting the fake clip, which attempted to show Mr Biden lost and confused on stage at an event on 16 January. Nonprofit fact-checker Politifact reported on Tuesday that the video had in fact been edited to promote a false narrative.
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Media gushes over 'historic' Harris as Biden struggles through another speech
FOX News contributor Raymond Arroyo joins 'The Ingraham Angle' for the latest edition of 'Seen and Unseen.
“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.”