With over 128,000 hospitalizations nationwide due to COVID-19, some hospitals have become so overwhelmed that they have had to turn away patients.
With President Donald Trump set to leave the White House in less than a day, the fired ex-director of the Department of Homeland Security's cybersecurity agency expressed concern for the lasting impacts of the disinformation spread by the outgoing president and called for consequences following the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Christopher Krebs, a longtime Republican and former head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, was fired by Trump over Twitter on Nov. 17.
An abiding sense of loyalty to the fringe online conspiracy movement known as QAnon is emerging as a common thread among scores of the men and women from around the country arrested for their participation in the deadly U.S. Capitol insurrection, court records reveal. The FBI first labeled QAnon and its fluid online community of supporters as a "dangerous extremist group" in August 2019, and over the past two weeks it has featured prominently in criminal indictments filed against many of those alleged to have participated in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, including a number accused of egregious crimes. Among them is Douglas Jensen, the bearded man seen in a viral video wearing a distinctive "Q" T-shirt, menacing a lone black U.S. Capitol Police officer as he led rioters through the halls and pushed the mob deeper into the Capitol building.
It's January now, but the problems of 2020 have followed Melanie Adams into the new year. Last March, Adams was working in the only grocery store in Missouri Valley, Iowa. A town with fewer than 3,000 people, Adams, 28, said it was a place where "you know everybody, and everybody knows you."
Lawmakers evaluated Alejandro Mayorkas to lead the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday and grilled the hopeful future secretary on a range of issues focused on immigration enforcement and his time at the highest ranks of the department in 2015. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, asked about the caravan of migrants reportedly heading north from the southern border of Guatemala. In 2019, immigration authorities at the border were overwhelmed by an influx of migrant families fleeing dangerous conditions of Central America's Northern Triangle -- Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
Federal authorities are continuing to charge rioters who took part in the siege on Capitol Hill. The Justice Department has filed its first conspiracy charges from the Capitol riot against a Virginia man who they allege was an apparent leader of a group of militia members who were part of the mob that stormed the building. Thomas Edward Caldwell is identified in an FBI affidavit as a member of the Oath Keepers.
A dozen Army National Guard members have been removed from the inauguration security mission, including two who were sent home after vetting for extremist links found an "inappropriate" text and comment, the Pentagon said oTuesday. Each of the 25,000 National Guardsmen now in Washington assisting with security at Wednesday's presidential inauguration is being vetted by the FBI. Each of the dozen Guard members has been sent back to his or her home state for later investigation either by their chain of command or law enforcement, officials said.
Janet Yellen, President-elect Joe Biden's history-making pick for treasury secretary, stressed the need for "big" relief efforts amid the COVID-19-induced recession during her confirmation hearing Tuesday before the Senate Finance Committee. Yellen, 74, is the former chair of the Federal Reserve and, if confirmed by the Senate, would become the first woman to lead the Treasury. "When economists look back on the pandemic, I expect they'll conclude that Congress' actions averted a lot of suffering," Yellen, who appeared remotely, said at the hearing.
Outgoing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday placed blame squarely on President Donald Trump for the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol, saying he had "provoked" the violent mob of the president's supporters. "The mob was fed lies," McConnell said on the Senate floor Tuesday. McConnell's most scathing rebuke yet of the president comes on Trump's last full day in office and as questions arise whether the Republican leader -- who holds heavy sway with his GOP colleagues -- will vote to find Trump guilty of inciting an insurrection -- and potentially, bring others with him.
Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, who is running for New York City mayor, appeared Tuesday on "The View" and responded to criticism about a comment he made surrounding his living situation in Manhattan. Like many New Yorkers, Yang, his wife and their two young sons have not remained in the city full-time since the coronavirus pandemic began. In a Jan. 11 interview with the New York Times, Yang detailed his experience balancing working from home at the same time of his children’s virtual schooling while living in America's largest city amid the global pandemic.
An active duty American soldier is in federal custody Tuesday after he allegedly plotted with someone he thought was a member of ISIS to attack a landmark in New York City and fellow troops overseas, according to a law enforcement official. Cole James Bridges, who is stationed at Fort Stewart, is charged with attempting to provide material support to ISIS and attempting to murder U.S. service members. The Ohio native allegedly spoke to an undercover FBI agent when he thought he was planning an ISIS-inspired attack against the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.
The U.S. reached yet another grim milestone Tuesday as the confirmed coronavirus death toll topped 400,000, just one day before President-elect Joe Biden is set to take the oath of office. The 400,000 lives lost is more deaths than the number of U.S. soldiers that died in battle during World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War combined, an analysis of data compiled by the Department of Veterans Affairs shows. The milestone comes just over a month after the country surpassed 300,000 confirmed COVID-19 deaths on Dec. 14, and only 17 days since the U.S. hit 350,000 reported deaths on Jan. 2, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.
President-elect Joe Biden's choice to lead the U.S. intelligence community vowed Tuesday to help the FBI uncover any role that foreign nations like Russia may have played in radicalizing the violent mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol two weeks ago, even as she assured lawmakers that politics would have no place in her office. "I've certainly seen Russia's use of active measures and a variety of influence campaigns to exacerbate some of the divisions in this country and to promote extremism," Avril Haines, the nominee to become director of national intelligence who served as a senior national security adviser in the Obama administration, told the Senate Intelligence Committee during her confirmation hearing on Tuesday.
While he admitted to not knowing a thing about the project, count Liam Neeson in if Ewan McGregor needs a hand in the upcoming "Obi-Wan Kenobi" series on Disney+. Neeson played Kenobi's master, Qui-Gon Jinn, in "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace," taking on McGregor's character as his padawan to train in the way of the Jedi. Although his character's physical self met his end at the end of Darth Maul's double-bladed lightsaber, Neeson's voice was heard as Qui-Gon communicated through the Force in the animated "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" and at the climax of "Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker."
With less than 24 hours left in office, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday issued a determination that the Chinese government has committed "genocide" and "crimes against humanity" against Uighurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities. The determination is a final parting shot that will complicate U.S.-Chinese relations long after President Donald Trump and Pompeo leave office -- but one that President-elect Joe Biden's campaign called for months ago. "This genocide is ongoing, and ... we are witnessing the systematic attempt to destroy Uyghurs by the Chinese party-state," Pompeo said in his statement, adding the Chinese government is "engaged in the forced assimilation and eventual erasure of a vulnerable ethnic and religious minority group, even as they simultaneously assert their country as a global leader and attempt to remold the international system in their image."
Washington state has announced a new robust public-private partnership featuring corporations headquartered in the state -- including Starbucks, Microsoft and Costco -- to boost its vaccine distribution efforts. Gov. Jay Inslee announced the new effort, dubbed the Washington State Vaccine Command and Coordination Center, during a news conference Monday. The governor added that he has the "ambitious goal" of creating the infrastructure necessary to vaccinate 45,000 people per day.
"The Fast and the Furious" marks its 20th anniversary this summer, but Vin Diesel kicked off the celebration a little early. Over the weekend, the 53-year-old actor honored the first installment of the wildly successful franchise by sharing a throwback snap of him and co-star Michelle Rodriguez, who played his character's on-screen love interest, Letty Ortiz. Diesel, who played protagonist Dom Toretto, simply captioned the throwback, "20 year anniversary...Happy Creative... All love."
For all you Marvel fans out there looking forward to the opening of the Avengers Campus at Disneyland Resort, Disney Parks has revealed more details about its first attraction to swing into the theme park. Disney Parks announced Tuesday that actor Tom Holland will reprise his role as Peter Parker for the upcoming attraction, WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure. “What Walt Disney Imagineers have created is pretty spectacular,” said Holland.
The Supremes are about to celebrate a major milestone, marking their 60th anniversary on Jan. 21 -- the day they were signed by Motown Records as The Primettes in 1961. Mary Wilson spoke to The Hollywood Reporter regarding the big anniversary and reflected on the possibility of reuniting with her former group members Cindy Birdsong, Jean Terrell and, of course, Diana Ross. Wilson and Ross are the only two founding members still alive.
Carrie Underwood is releasing her gospel album, "My Savior," on March 26. The album, which features a variety of traditional hymns Underwood grew up singing, is co-produced by the singer and "Cry Pretty" co-producer David Garcia. In a trailer for the project, Underwood refers to the songs as "legacy stuff," and says she was intentional about doing "the familiar" in terms of covering the songs she was raised on in church.
Ahead of "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series" star Olivia Rodrigo's No. 1 debut, "Drivers License," anticipated to top the Billboard Hot 100 list, the 17-year-old revealed that Niall Horan reached out to her to give some advice about sudden fame. Rodrigo's breakup song released at the beginning of January, earned praise from Taylor Swift. "Drivers License" also landed on top of several music charts in the United Kingdom and Australia, reports Billboard.
