PoliticsNBC NewsIncoming Biden administration to migrant caravan: Don't come, you won't get in immediately
As thousands of Honduran migrants make their way to the U.S. border, the incoming Biden administration, just days from taking office, has a message: Don't come now. President-elect Joe Biden has promised an end to the strict immigration policies of the Trump administration, which focused on building a border wall and restricting eligibility for asylum. If would-be emigrants from Central America perceive that now is the time to travel to the U.S., the southern border could quickly be overwhelmed before systems are put in place to handle the influx.
PoliticsAssociated PressCongresswoman's spokesman quits less than 2 weeks into term
The spokesman for Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert has quit less than two weeks after she was sworn into office, saying he was prompted to by the insurrection at the nation's Capitol. Ben Goldey confirmed his departure to The Colorado Sun after it was first reported on Saturday by Axios. The Sun reported that Goldey did not respond to additional questions, but he told Axios he was leaving in the wake of a deadly Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
PoliticsAxiosKevin McCarthy warned members to not call out colleagues by name, citing potential political violence
Members of the House Republican Conference ignored leader Kevin McCarthy last week when he warned them against criticizing colleagues by name based on intelligence that doing so could trigger more political violence. Why it matters: McCarthy made clear that name-dropping opponents, instead of spelling out complaints in more general terms, can put a literal target on a politician, especially with tensions so high following the events of Jan. 6. That's what happened to Rep. Liz Cheney, the GOP conference chairperson, after she said she would support impeaching President Trump.
WorldThe TelegraphChristian girl chained up in cattle pen for five months after forced marriage to Muslim
A Christian girl has been taken into care in Pakistan after allegedly being abducted by a Muslim man who forced her marry him and kept her chained up in a cattle pen. The girl spent five months chained up in the pen in the yard of her 45-year-old captor's home, where she was forced to work all day clearing the animals' dung, her family claim. They said that when rescued by police last month, she had cuts on her ankles left by the shackles put on her by captor, who is also said to have raped her repeatedly.
PoliticsThe IndependentKayleigh McEnany leaves White House after final two-minute press briefing following deadly Capitol riot
Donald Trump's press secretary Kayleigh McEnany has packed up her office at the White House, days before president-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office, though she is expected to remain in the role until the president's term ends on 20 January. The press secretary took no questions from the reporters in the room. Following a career in right-wing cable news commentary, Ms McEnany was named the Republican National Committee's national spokesperson in August 2017 before joining the Trump campaign as its national press secretary in 2019.
HealthReutersSinovac says its COVID-19 vaccine more effective with longer dosing interval
China's Sinovac Biotech said on Monday that a clinical trial in Brazil showed its COVID-19 vaccine was almost 20 percentage points more effective in a small sub-group of patients who received their two doses longer apart. The protection rate for 1,394 participants who received doses of either CoronaVac or placebo three weeks apart was nearly 70%, a Sinovac spokesman said. Brazilian researchers announced last week that the vaccine's overall efficacy was 50.4% based on results from more than 9,000 volunteers, most of whom received doses 14 days apart, as outlined in the trial protocol.
U.S.NBC NewsWoman arrested at inauguration checkpoint in D.C. said she was Cabinet member, police say
A woman pretending to be "part of the presidential Cabinet" was arrested at an inauguration checkpoint in Washington, D.C., on Saturday morning. The woman, Linda Magovern, 63, was charged with impersonation of a law enforcement officer, failure to obey and fleeing a law enforcement officer after she presented herself at the checkpoint while in a car, NBC Washington reports. Magovern displayed "a round metallic object later identified as a Military Police Challenge Coin" and said she was part of law enforcement, according to a police report.
ScienceThe TelegraphColombia's rapidly breeding 'cocaine hippos' must be stopped, scientists say
Scientists forecast that the number of hippos will swell to almost 1,500 by 2040. They conclude, that at that point, environmental impacts will be irreversible and numbers impossible to control. Nobody likes the idea of shooting a hippo, but we have to accept that no other strategy is going to work,” ecologist Nataly Castelblanco-Martínez told The Telegraph.
PoliticsThe GuardianBillionaire backer feels 'deceived' by Josh Hawley over election objections
A secretive billionaire supporter of Josh Hawley and other rightwing lawmakers suggested he had been “deceived” by the Republican senator from Missouri, who led the effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Jeffrey Yass is a co-founder of Susquehanna International Group – headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a critical swing state – who has donated tens of millions of dollars to hardline Republican groups who supported Donald Trump's effort to invalidate his defeat at the polls by Joe Biden. “Do you think anyone knew Hawley was going to do that?” Yass wrote to Laura Goldman, a former stockbroker who has known him for more than three decades.
PoliticsReutersTrump, in wave of Tuesday pardons, so far not planning to pardon himself: source
U.S. President Donald Trump at this point is opting not to issue a pardon for himself as he prepares an expansive list of more than 100 pardons and commutations for release on Tuesday, a source familiar with the effort said. White House advisers have said Trump has privately debated with advisers whether to take the extraordinary step of issuing a pardon for himself but some administration officials have cautioned Trump against a self-pardon because it would make him look guilty. Many scholars have said a self-pardon would be unconstitutional because it violates the basic principle that nobody should be the judge in his or her own case.
U.S.TheGrioWoman who entered Capitol may have stolen Pelosi device to sell to Russians: FBI
The sale ultimately didn't happen, and agents reportedly think Riley June Williams still has or destroyed it. A woman who participated in the deadly insurrection at the Capitol Building is being investigated for allegedly stealing a laptop or hard drive from the office of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. An affidavit released to the public on Sunday night said Riley June Williams, 22, was seen on video near the speaker's office.
PoliticsThe New York TimesIn Minnesota, a GOP Lawmaker's Death Brings Home the Reality of COVID
Republicans in the Minnesota state Senate were feeling jubilant after the November election. Masks were offered to guests on arrival, but there was little mask wearing over hours of dining and drinking, at a moment when a long-predicted surge in coronavirus infections was gripping the state. One was the Republican majority leader, Paul Gazelka, the state's most outspoken opponent of mask mandates and shutdown orders during the pandemic.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderRudy Giuliani realized he can't actually be Trump's impeachment lawyer because he's a witness in the case
Rudy Giuliani told ABC News that he would not be able to represent President Donald Trump during Trump's second impeachment trial because he was a witness in the case. Giuliani appeared with Trump at the January 6 "Save America" rally where Trump is accused of inciting an insurrection — and where Giuliani called for "trial by combat." It was widely expected that Giuliani, who served as lead counsel on the president's various challenges to the 2020 election, would head up Trump's impeachment legal team.
U.S.Miami HeraldPembroke Pines kidnapping suspect and teen girl found in Washington D.C. suburb, cops say
MONDAY MORNING UPDATE: Pembroke Pines police say they were notified at 12:40 a.m., Monday, that Jaddier Sanchez and Nicole Martinez were found in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Alexandria, Virginia, by Virginia State Police. Sanchez was taken into custody and Martinez was taken to a hospital to treat minor injuries. A man who did prison time for aggravated stalking and has convictions for domestic violence and violating a restraining order has an 18-year-old girl he has kidnapped at gunpoint, Pembroke Pines police said.
U.S.Business InsiderCapitol rioters say Trump told them to do it, which some legal experts say could open him to criminal charges
Multiple people who stormed the Capitol have claimed they did so on the instructions of President Donald Trump, the Washington Post reported. Trump instructed his supporters to come to Washington to attend a "Stop The Steal" rally as he sought to overturn the election, promising his supporters that the protest would be "wild." Leonard M. Niehoff, a First Amendment expert, said that the response to Trump's direct call for supporters to visit the Capitol and "fight" meant the president could be liable.
WorldBusiness InsiderEvery single passenger on board 2 international flights to Canada informed that they were potentially exposed to COVID-19
All passengers on board two Air Transat flights from Haiti to Montreal have potentially been exposed to COVID-19, the Toronto Sun reported. Passengers seated in "all rows" have been notified by the Canadian government's exposure tracking system that they need to monitor their symptoms. The Canadian government announced on January 7 that a negative coronavirus test is required to fly.
U.S.INSIDERSpiritual advisor to Barack Obama and George W. Bush sentenced to 6 years for multi-million dollar China bonds fraud
The spiritual advisor for both Barack Obama and George W. Bush during their time as President has been sentenced to six years for his role in a multi-million dollar investment fraud scheme. Kirbyjon H. Caldwell, 67, was sentenced by US District Judge S. Maurice Hicks on Wednesday in Shreveport, Louisiana, where he and his co-defendant, Gregory Alan Smith, were indicted in 2018. He spoke at the 2000 Republican National Convention, delivered the benediction at Bush's 2005 inauguration, and officiated his daughter Jenna's 2008 wedding, the New York Times reported Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
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Police use water cannon on anti-lockdown protest
The protesters had gathered on a square in front of the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum art galleries, carrying signs reading "Freedom: stop this siege" and chanting "What do we want? Freedom!" None wore masks, which are not mandatory, and few respected social distancing rules.
U.S.Business InsiderThe Florida data scientist who has accused the state of firing her for refusing to alter COVID-19 data says she'll turn herself in after a warrant was issued for her arrest
Rebekah Jones, the Florida data scientist fired last year by the state's health department, said Saturday that she'd turn herself in to authorities Sunday after they issued a warrant for her arrest. Jones, who worked on the state's COVID-19 dashboard, was fired over what she alleges was a refusal to alter data related to the COVID-19 pandemic in the state. State officials say she was fired for insubordination.
U.S.Business InsiderThe FBI is investigating whether a woman stole a laptop from Pelosi's office to sell it to Russia, after receiving a tip from someone claiming to be her ex
The FBI is investigating whether a woman stole a laptop from Nancy Pelosi's office to sell it to Russia, an affidavit said. The tip came from someone who claimed to be a former romantic partner of the woman, Riley June Williams. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating whether a Pennsylvania woman stole a laptop from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's office during last week's Capitol siege to sell it to Russia, a new affidavit said.
U.S.INSIDERPolice say Oregon man who stole a car with a child in the backseat came back and 'lectured' the mom about parenting
A carjacker in Beaverton, Oregon returned a child to their mother after realizing they were in the backseat of the car he was stealing. "He actually lectured the mother for leaving the child in the car and threatened to call the police on her," Beaverton police spokesman Officer Matt Henderson told the Oregonian. The carjacking took place outside of a grocery store in Beaverton, Oregon on Saturday when the mom left the car running with the child in the backseat, local authorities said.
U.S.Business InsiderUSPS says it's removing mailboxes and suspending mail collection in several major cities ahead of Biden's inauguration
The US Postal Service will remove some mailboxes and halt collection in several major cities as a safety measure ahead of next week's presidential inauguration. States and cities across the country are expecting unrest in the days leading up to January 20. The US Postal Services said it will remove mailboxes in several major cities as a security measure ahead of Joe Biden's Inauguration next week.
PoliticsThe IndependentBombshell report links Trump insiders to Washington rally that led to Capitol riots
At least three people from the campaign team of Donald Trump allegedly played a key role in organising the rally in Washington that culminated in a deadly assault on the US Capitol building, belying the campaign's claim that they did “organise, operate or finance” the event. Among those associated was Maggie Mulvaney, the niece of former acting White House chief of staff , Mick Mulvaney, found an investigation by the Associated Press. The AP report revealed that during the event organised by the Trump-supporting group, Women for America, a public gathering permit was granted to Ms Mulvaney, where she was listed as a “VIP Lead”.
CelebrityThe Daily BeastFarewell, Ivanka Trump? No, Ivanka Doesn’t Want to Say Farewell.
Her father's administration crippled the country to the point of a violent attempted insurrection, but you know, Ivanka's got content. As Joe Biden's inauguration looms, the first daughter's reputation continues to crumble. Never mind the failed, hideously violent Capitol coup, which would normally be a big buzz kill for any influencer's image.
ScienceBusiness InsiderWatch a Virgin Orbit rocket successfully launch from beneath the wing of a Boeing 747, marking the latest entrant to the commercial space race
Virgin Orbit launched its first rocket to successfully reach Earth orbit on Sunday. The rocket launched from a modified Boeing 747 and carried 10 small satellites for NASA. "A new gateway to space has just sprung open!" Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart said.
“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.”