PoliticsBusiness InsiderAlan Dershowitz says Texas lawsuit tossed by Supreme Court should tell Trump's allies they 'can't count on the judiciary' to invalidate the election results
Alan Dershowitz on Sunday said the Supreme Court's decision to toss the Texas election lawsuit signaled to President Donald Trump's camp that they "can't count on the judiciary" to invalidate the election results, according to The Hill. Dershowitz said Trump's campaign would need a "perfect storm" to invalidate the election results, with courts, governors, and state election officials aiding his cause. "I suspect on Monday we will see the electors ... elect Joe Biden," he said.
WorldReutersChina urges EU to stop 'irresponsible remarks' after statement on Bloomberg employee
BEIJING (Reuters) -China said on Monday the European Union should stop making "irresponsible remarks" after it called for the release of all those arrested for reporting in China in a statement on a detained Chinese national working for Bloomberg News. China's foreign ministry said on Friday authorities had detained Haze Fan, who works for the Bloomberg bureau in Beijing, on suspicion of endangering national security. The European Union called for authorities to grant Fan "medical assistance if needed, prompt access to a lawyer of her choice, and contacts with her family."
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Roadside bomb wounds 23 near Pakistan police station
A roadside bomb exploded near a police station in the Pakistani garrison city of Rawalpindi on Sunday, wounding at least 23 people, police said. Initially police said a hand grenade was thrown near a water filtration plant across the road from the police station, but a senior Rawalpindi police officer Ahsan Younas later confirmed the blast was from a device planted on the side of the road. Police said three of the casualties received deep wounds, while others were given medical care and discharged from the hospital.
WorldThe TelegraphIsrael announces full diplomatic relations with Bhutan
Israel announced on Saturday that it is establishing full diplomatic relations with the relatively isolated Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, the latest in a string of international deals designed to show Israel's growing acceptance abroad. “The circle of recognition of Israel is widening,” said Israeli foreign minister, Gabi Ashkenazi. “The establishment of relations with the Kingdom of Bhutan will constitute a new stage in the deepening of Israel's relations in Asia.”
U.S.INSIDERA man was physically assaulted while supporting Democratic candidates at rally in Georgia, police say
A man was a victim of a physical assault on Saturday while at a rally in support of Georgia runoff Democratic candidates Jon Ossoff and Reverend Raphael Warnock, Atlanta's WSB-TV reported. "A passerby stopped and confronted a supporter with physical aggression," Henry County Police Captain Randy Lee told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in a statement."The supporter suffered wounds to his face and head." A man was physically assaulted while showing support for Georgia Democratic Senate candidates at a rally on Saturday morning.
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.
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.
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AstraZeneca shares dip after $39 bln Alexion deal
Shares in AstraZeneca fell around 6% early on Monday morning (Dec 14). That as investors reacted to news from the firm over the weekend. The British drugmaker on Saturday (December 12) announced it is buying Alexion Pharmaceuticals for $39 billion in cash and stock.
WorldAssociated Press'External source' causes oil tanker blast off Saudi Arabia
An oil tanker off Saudi Arabia's port city of Jiddah suffered an explosion early Monday after being hit by “an external source,” a shipping company said, suggesting another vessel has come under attack off the kingdom amid its yearslong war in Yemen. The attack on the Singapore-flagged BW Rhine, which had been contracted by the trading arm of the kingdom's massive Saudi Arabian Oil Co., marks the fourth assault targeting Saudi energy infrastructure in a month. It also apparently shut down Jiddah port, the most important shipping point for the kingdom, which later said a bomb-laden boat like the remote-controlled ones used by Yemen's Houthi rebels caused the explosion.
WorldThe Daily BeastRussian Chemical Experts Trailed Alexei Navalny for Years Before Poisoning Him: Report
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was stalked, trailed, and spied on for more than three years before Russian intelligence agents allegedly poisoned him with a novichok-type nerve agent, according to a new investigation published by Bellingcat on Monday. The extensive investigation by Bellingcat, the Insider, Der Spiegel and CNN, names two Russian doctors working with at least six Russian Security Service, or FSB, operatives who trailed Navalny, flying within him at least 30 times, and possibly attempting to poison him at least once before successfully doing so in August 2020 in the Siberian city of Tomsk.
WorldAssociated PressGermany's heath minister urges EU to approve vaccine faster
Germany's health minister demanded that the European Union's regulatory agency work faster to approve a coronavirus vaccine and bring an end to the suffering on the continent, but the head of the agency said Monday that his team is already working “around the clock.” Other German officials suggested that residents should forgo Christmas shopping and attend Christmas Mass online as a new lockdown loomed that will close schools and most stores. Chancellor Angela Merkel and the governors of Germany's 16 states agreed Sunday to step up the country's lockdown measures beginning Wednesday and running to Jan. 10 to stop the exponential rise of COVID-19 cases.
PoliticsReutersElectors meet across U.S. to confirm Biden's presidential win
Electors began voting across the United States on Monday at sessions that will formally choose Joe Biden as the next U.S. president, effectively ending President Donald Trump's failing attempt to overturn his loss in the Nov. 3 election. The state-by-state Electoral College votes, traditionally an afterthought, have taken on outsized significance because of Trump's assault on the democratic process. Pushing false claims of widespread fraud, Trump has pressured state officials to throw the election results out and declare him the winner.
HealthAssociated PressAfter 110K virus deaths, nursing homes face vaccine fears
After 110,000 deaths ravaged the nation's nursing homes and pushed them to the front of the vaccine line, they now face a vexing problem: Skeptical residents and workers balking at getting the shots. “You go get that first and let me know how you feel,” said Denise Schwartz, whose 84-year-old mother lives at an assisted living facility in East Northport, New York, and plans to decline the vaccine. Everyone from members of the military to former presidents have announced their intentions to get the shots, echoing the refrains of others who say the drugs are the product of rigorous review, firm data and independent experts.
PoliticsAssociated PressLoeffler campaign: She had 'no idea' she posed with neo-Nazi
The campaign of Georgia Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler is disavowing a photo circulating on social media of her posing with a longtime white supremacist at a recent campaign event, with less than a month to go until the runoff elections that will determine the balance of the U.S. Senate. Loeffler did not know who Chester Doles was when she took a picture with him, her campaign spokesman Stephen Lawson said in a statement to The Associated Press on Sunday. The picture was taken Friday at a campaign event in Dawsonville, Georgia.
WorldAssociated PressItaly surpasses UK for worst COVID-19 death toll in Europe
Italy on Sunday eclipsed Britain to become the nation with the worst official coronavirus death toll in Europe. Italy, where the continent's pandemic began, registered 484 COVID-19 deaths in one day, one of its lowest one-day death counts in about a month. Counting criteria differ in the two countries, and many coronavirus deaths, especially early in the pandemic, are believed to have gone undetected, including those of elderly people in nursing homes who were not tested for COVID-19.
WorldBBCIndia farmers: Misleading claims about high-profile support
Protests by farmers in India over new pricing laws show no sign of abating. The dispute has become highly politicised, with many thousands of farmers blocking access roads around the capital Delhi with their tractors and other machinery. Both sides have sought to control the social media narrative, and we've taken a look at attempts to spread misinformation about well-known personalities takings sides in the dispute.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderWall Street Journal op-ed telling Jill Biden to drop her 'Dr.' title condemned as 'patronizing drivel.' The paper's higher-education reporter was among the critics.
An op-ed article published by The Wall Street Journal on Friday sparked criticism after it suggested that the incoming first lady, Jill Biden, should drop her "Dr." title because she does not hold a doctorate in medicine. The essayist Joseph Epstein urged Biden to "drop the doc" in her name, saying it "sounds and feels fraudulent, not to say a touch comic." A representative for Biden called the article a "disgusting and sexist attack," with many public figures, including Vice President-elect Kamala Harris' husband, Douglas Emhoff, tweeting in support.
WorldAssociated PressIran president says Israel was behind killing of scientist
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Monday claimed that Israel was behind the killing of a scientist who founded the Islamic Republic's military nuclear program in the 2000s in an effort to start a war in the last days of President Trump's administration. Rouhani's comments in a news conference marked the first time he has directly accused the Jewish state of carrying out the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh late last month. Israel, long suspected of killing Iranian nuclear scientists over the last decade, has repeatedly declined to comment on the attack.
HealthBusiness InsiderPfizer's coronavirus vaccine should be safe for most Americans, but 5 groups may want to wait for more data before getting shots
Some public-health experts have also questioned whether people who were already infected with the coronavirus should get vaccinated, particularly if they have lingering symptoms. Here are five groups that may want to wait for more data on how the vaccine affects people like them. At least two groups, young children and those with severe allergies to the vaccine's ingredients, will have to wait no matter what.
U.S.Business InsiderAtlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms says she declined a position in Biden's cabinet
The office of Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms on Saturday told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that she declined an offer to serve in the cabinet of President-elect Joe Biden. Bottoms, considered a rising star among Democrats, had previously been considered for the role of Biden's vice president before he ultimately selected Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottom has declined an offer to serve in President-elect Joe Biden's cabinet, her office said in a statement Saturday.
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Hunter Biden requested keys for his father and others, emails show
Former assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Little provides insight into alleged Hunter Biden email scandal.
PoliticsAssociated PressWisconsin Supreme Court tosses Trump election lawsuit
A narrowly divided Wisconsin Supreme Court on Monday rejected President Donald Trump's lawsuit attempting to overturn his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the battleground state, ending Trump's legal challenges in state court about an hour before the Electoral College was to meet to cast the state's 10 votes for Biden. In the 4-3 ruling, the court's three liberal justices were joined by conservative swing Justice Brian Hagedorn who said three of Trump's four claims were filed too late and the other was without merit. The president sought to have more than 221,000 ballots disqualified in Dane and Milwaukee counties, the state's two most heavily Democratic counties.
EntertainmentThe Daily BeastPrince Andrew Misled BBC When He Said He Didn’t Stay at Epstein’s Home in 2001: Report
Prince Andrew's relationship with dead pedophile Jeffrey Epstein was back under the microscope Sunday evening after British newspaper the Daily Mail revealed that Andrew was misleading when he told the BBC he did not stay at Epstein's house when he was in New York in April 2001. He was questioned on camera by Emily Maitlis of the BBC about his movements during the three-day trip because one Epstein victim, Johanna Sjoberg, had previously accused Andrew of a bizarre groping incident at Epstein's home involving a Spitting Image puppet on the trip. Another Epstein victim, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, claims that it was after the groping incident that she was ordered to have sex with “Andy.
EntertainmentUSA TODAYFact check: Altered image makes false claim about Time magazine's Person of the Year
The claim: Front line health care workers were named Time magazine's Person of the Year Following Time magazine's 2020 "Person of the Year" issue, an old post resurfaced on social media claiming that medical workers were selected for the title. "Finally it's not celebrities that make to covers," reads a Facebook post from April 3 with over 32,000 shares that recently went viral. Accompanying the text is a purported Time magazine cover featuring a photo collage of medical workers bruised from wearing protective equipment used when treating COVID-19 patients.
PoliticsAssociated PressTrump raises China concerns as reason to veto defense bill
President Donald Trump offered a new rationale Sunday for threatening to veto the annual defense policy bill that covers the military's budget for equipment and pay raises for service members: China. He did not outline his concerns. Republican and Democratic lawmakers say the wide-ranging defense policy bill, which the Senate sent to the president on Friday, would be tough on China and must become law as soon as possible.
“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.”