OTR: Roundtable analysts suggest names for Massachusetts state dinosaur

The "On the Record" roundtable discusses lighter news after a very tough week in politics.

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  • Republicans who cheered Trump's executive orders now grumble about 'record number' from Biden

    Over the past week, a growing number of Republicans began sounding the alarm about the number and content of executive orders being issued by President Joe Biden.

  • Black National Guardsman describes being deployed to protect Biden’s inauguration: 'I just felt this huge sense of pride'

    As most of the 25,000 National Guardsmen who were called upon to protect Washington, D.C., during the presidential inauguration began heading home this week, one Black service member agreed to speak to Yahoo News about the experience of protecting the nation’s capital in the wake of a pro-Trump riot on Capitol Hill. 

  • Far-Right 'Proud Boy' leader arrested ahead of Capitol riots revealed to have been police informer

    The leader of the Proud Boys extremist group has been unmasked as a "prolific" former FBI informant. Enrique Tarrio, 36, worked undercover exposing a human trafficking ring, and helped with drug and gambling cases, according to court documents. Tarrio's documented involvement with law enforcement related to the period 2012 -2014. There was no evidence of him cooperating after that. But the revelation raised further questions over why police did not take further steps to secure the US Capitol ahead of the riots on Jan 6. At least half a dozen members of the Proud Boys were arrested over involvement in the riots. Tarrio denied ever being an informer, telling Reuters: "I don’t know any of this. I don’t recall any of this."

  • U.S. returns indictment against Oath Keeper members over plot to storm U.S. Capitol

    The United States has secured an indictment against three members of the far-right "Oath Keepers" militia, charging they conspired to storm the U.S. Capitol in a bid to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden's electoral victory. The indictment alleges that Jessica Marie Watkins, 38, Donovan Ray Crowl, 50, and Thomas Caldwell, 65, conspired as far back as November to obstruct Congress - a charge that can carry a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.

  • Here Are The Brightest Decor Buys of the Season

    Let’s get loudOriginally Appeared on Architectural Digest

  • Congress prepares for major fight over voting laws in the wake of Trump's false fraud claims

    Former President Donald Trump’s “big lie” about a stolen election may have been discredited over and over in the courts, and disgraced by the attack on the U.S. Capitol, but the corrosive effect of his dishonesty will linger on, complicating efforts to strengthen American elections.

  • Biden announces government's intention to increase total U.S. COVID-19 vaccine orders by 50 percent

    President Biden announced Tuesday that his administration intends to order an additional 100 million doses of both the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines. The extra 200 million doses, which Biden said should arrive by the summer, would boost the country's supply by about 50 percent to 600 million shots total, meaning that there would be enough shots available to inoculate 300 million people in the coming months without the Food and Drug Administration granting approval for any other vaccine candidates. Pres. Biden says his admin has ordered 200 million more COVID-19 vaccine doses that will be available by summer, increasing the total number ordered from 400 million to 600 million pic.twitter.com/VFZ3qTmUK9 — NowThis (@nowthisnews) January 26, 2021 It's another sign that the government is raising expectations for the vaccine rollout. On Monday, Biden upped the daily vaccination goal from 1 million to 1.5 million throughout his first 100 days in office and suggested that any American who wants a shot could be able to get one by the spring. FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver applauded the administration for getting more ambitious, though he noted it could be difficult — impossible, even, unless the shots are approved for children — to find 300 million willing Americans to get vaccinated by the end of summer. In practice it's going to be hard to find 300m Americans willing to get vaccinated by Sept. 22. (It's literally impossible until vaccines are approved for children.) And we'll probably eventually mix in some one-dose vaccines. Still, ramping up to 2-2.5m/day is a laudable goal. — Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) January 26, 2021 More stories from theweek.comMitch McConnell is the GOATWho is the Cinderella in the GameStop fairy tale?The left's fake Senate majority

  • Jill Biden spent her first week as First Lady reshaping the role. Melania Trump spent hers isolated in a tower

    New first lady signals she will be an active and constant presence in the White House - drawing stark contrasts to her predecessor

  • Russian authorities target Navalny's associates and wife in series of police raids ahead of protests

    Russian authorities raided the homes of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and his associates on Wednesday, piling pressure on opposition figures ahead of a major rally planned for this weekend. Masked police on Wednesday afternoon broke down the door of Mr Navalny’s rented flat despite the pleas from his wife who was inside, asking for her lawyer, Veronika Polyakova. Ms Polyakova arrived at her house but was not allowed in to witness the search, a clear violation of the Russian law,she told the Dozhd TV channel. In the biggest wave of police action against the opposition in months, law enforcement agents raided at least seven homes on Wednesday, including a Moscow property owned by Mr Navalny but where he has not lived for years, and the office of his associates who run his YouTube channel. A video posted online by Lyubov Sobol, a close ally of Mr Navalny, showed black-clad masked men break down the door and walk into the office.

  • Former teacher extradited from Israel lands in Australia

    A former Israeli teacher arrived on Wednesday in the Australian city of Melbourne where she faces charges of child sex abuse. Israeli authorities on Monday extradited Malka Leifer after a six-year legal battle that had strained relations between the two governments and antagonized Australia’s Jewish community. Media reported that she flew through airports in Frankfurt, Germany, and Singapore.

  • China seeks details about Chinese crew after tankers seized by Indonesia

    China said on Wednesday it was seeking details about 25 of its nationals who were among 61 crew on two supertankers seized by Indonesia on suspicion of illegally transferring oil. Indonesia said on Sunday it had seized the vessels after they were detected making the transfer from Iranian-flagged MT Horse to Panamanian-flagged MT Freya, causing an oil spill. The Indonesian authorities said the seizure was not related to U.S. sanctions, which Washington imposed in a bid to shut off Iran's oil exports in a dispute over Tehran's nuclear programme.

  • Giuliani election witness who went viral after testimony says she’s running for office

    Melissa Carone was widely mocked following her court appearance in December 2020

  • Let's Answer Dr. Jill Biden's Call to 'Join Forces'

    "Our veterans, families and caregivers will benefit from the return of Joining Forces, and our nation will as well."

  • Police find no bias, terror motive in Portland road rampage

    Investigators have found no evidence that terrorism, politics or any bias motivated the rampage of a 64-year-old Oregon man who witnesses said repeatedly drove into people along streets and sidewalks in Portland, killing a 77-year-old woman and injuring nine other people, police said. Police identified the driver as Paul Rivas of Oregon City. The Oregon State Medical Examiner determined that Jean Gerich died of blunt force trauma and ruled her death a homicide, according to police.

  • China, New Zealand ink trade deal as Beijing calls for reduced global barriers

    China and New Zealand signed a deal on Tuesday upgrading a free trade pact to give exports from the Pacific nation greater access to the world's second-largest economy. The pact comes as Beijing seeks to establish itself as a strong advocate of multilateralism after a bruising trade war with the United States, at a time when the coronavirus has forced the closure of many international borders. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed the signing of the expanded deal.

  • DHS issues bulletin warning of 'heightened threat environment' in the U.S.

    The Department of Homeland Security has issued a bulletin warning that extremists could "continue to mobilize to incite or commit violence" around the United States. Acting Secretary of Homeland Security David Pekoske issued a National Terrorism Advisory System bulletin on Wednesday, citing a "heightened threat environment across the United States" that "DHS believes will persist in the weeks following the successful presidential inauguration." The bulletin comes three weeks after supporters of former President Donald Trump, who falsely claimed he won the 2020 presidential election, stormed the Capitol building in a violet riot to disrupt Congress' certification of the election results. "Information suggests that some ideologically-motivated violent extremists with objections to the exercise of governmental authority and the presidential transition, as well as other perceived grievances fueled by false narratives, could continue to mobilize to incite or commit violence," DHS said. The DHS also said it's concerned that extremists "may be emboldened" by the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol building, though it added that domestic extremists have been "motivated by a range of issues, including anger over COVID-19 restrictions, the 2020 election results, and police use of force." The last such advisory issued by DHS using this alert system was related to a potential threat from Iran following a U.S. strike that killed Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani in January 2020, ABC News reports. The White House last week announced that Biden has ordered a threat assessment focused on domestic extremism to be conducted in coordination with DHS in the wake of the Capitol riot. "The January 6 assault on the Capitol and the tragic deaths and destruction that occurred underscored what we have long known: the rise of domestic violent extremism is a serious and growing national security threat," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said. More stories from theweek.comMitch McConnell is the GOATWho is the Cinderella in the GameStop fairy tale?The left's fake Senate majority

  • Singapore detains 16-year-old over plans to attack mosques

    Authorities in Singapore said Wednesday that they had detained without trial a 16-year-old student who made detailed plans and preparations to launch “terrorist attacks” on two mosques with a machete. The Internal Security Department said the Singaporean teen was inspired by an Australian gunman who killed 51 worshippers at two mosques in New Zealand in 2019. The teen was detained in December, and was the youngest terror suspect to be held under the country's Internal Security Act, it added.

  • Biden administration has system in place where reporters will not ask president tough questions: Media critic

    Steve Krakauer, editor at Fourth Watch, says 'it shouldn't be contingent' on one reporter to ask Biden tough questions.

  • U.S. judge blocks deportation freeze in swift setback for Biden

    A federal judge in Texas on Tuesday temporarily blocked a move by new U.S. President Joe Biden to halt the deportation of many immigrants for a 100-day period, a swift legal setback for his ambitious immigration agenda. U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton, an appointee of former President Donald Trump in the Southern District of Texas, issued a temporary restraining order that blocks the policy nationwide for 14 days following a legal challenge by Texas. The Biden administration is expected to appeal the ruling, which halts the deportation freeze while both parties submit briefs on the matter.

  • Pakistani suspect admits to role in Daniel Pearl’s beheading

    After 18 years of denial, the Pakistani suspect convicted and later acquitted in the 2002 beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl has told a court he played a “minor" role in the killing, the Pearl family lawyer said Wednesday. A letter handwritten by Ahmad Saeed Omar Sheikh in 2019, in which he admits limited involvement in the killing of the Wall Street Journal reporter, was submitted to Pakistan's Supreme Court nearly two weeks ago. It wasn't until Wednesday that Sheikh's lawyers confirmed their client wrote it.