PoliticsThe TelegraphAshley Biden: 'I will not have job in my father's administration,' unlike Ivanka Trump
Joe Biden's daughter Ashley has said she will not have a job in her father's administration, unlike Ivanka Trump, in her first interview since the election. The only child of President-elect Biden and wife Jill, Ashley, a 39-year-old social worker in Delaware, said she instead wanted to use her new platform to ”advocate for social justice and mental health.” “I will not have a job in the administration,” she told NBC's Today Show, in what could be seen as a jibe at the current First Daughter, who, along with husband Jared Kushner, had adviser roles in the White House.
U.S.Associated PressFeds say charges over stolen Pelosi computer being prepared
A woman accused of entering the U.S. Capitol illegally during the Jan. 6 riot will likely be charged with stealing a computer from the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a federal prosecutor said in court Tuesday. U.S. Magistrate Judge Martin Carlson in Harrisburg said he will consider bail and that he plans to conduct a preliminary hearing on Thursday in the case of Riley June Williams. Williams is charged with trespassing as well as violent entry of the Capitol and disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors, and is being held in the county jail in Harrisburg.
PoliticsReutersSenate's top Democrat, Republican seek path to guide 50-50 chamber
Facing a 50-50 partisan split in the U.S. Senate, the chamber's top Democrat and Republican discussed adopting a power-sharing deal similar to one struck two decades ago in similar circumstances, a Democratic spokesman said on Tuesday. Democrat Chuck Schumer, set to become majority leader on Wednesday thanks to incoming Vice President Kamala Harris' tie-breaking vote, told the chamber's top Republican, Mitch McConnell, that he favored adopting a deal along the lines of the 2001 arrangement "without extraneous changes from either side," a Schumer spokesman said.
WorldThe TelegraphBrussels gives tentative backing to EU coronavirus 'passports' to boost travel
It is unlikely that Britain would accept the certificates from EU citizens hoping to travel to the UK. Brussels said that using the vaccination certificates to allow greater travel and tourism in the EU was “premature” at this stage but left the door open for the plans to be picked up in the future. We feel that now this is the time for these vaccine certificates to be recognised across the European Union, and even beyond the European Union.
U.S.Associated PressWoman investigated for theft of Pelosi computer due in court
Federal authorities arrested a woman whose former romantic partner says she took a laptop from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office during the riot at the U.S. Capitol earlier this month. Riley June Williams was arrested Monday, according to a Justice Department official. The federal prosecutors' office in Harrisburg, where she was jailed, said Williams was due in court Tuesday afternoon.
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12 Guard members removed from Biden inauguration
Twelve U.S. Army National Guard members have been removed from the presidential inauguration security mission after they were found to have ties with right-wing militia groups or posted extremist views. Jan.
WorldReutersAlready in lockdown, Dutch to toughen COVID-19 measures
The Dutch government will announce further measures to fight the coronavirus this week amid fears that the "British variant" and other new mutations could soon start spreading, the health minister said on Tuesday. The country's Outbreak Management Team had advised the government on Sunday that infections remain worrying and "new variants of the virus are going to contribute to that in the coming weeks", Hugo de Jonge said in a letter to parliament. The government has been considering a night curfew on top of its current lockdown, which includes a ban on public gatherings and the closure of schools, restaurants and non-essential shops.
WorldThe TelegraphViktor Orban accused of putting son through Sandhurst at Hungarian taxpayer's expense
Opposition leaders have accused Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban of putting his son through training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst at the expense of the taxpayer. Gaspar Orban, the son of Hungary's authoritarian leader, graduated in December after attending the nine-month course, which local media said cost about £93,000. Viktor Orban has faced frequent accusations of cronyism and of using the levers of state power to benefit and reward those closest to him since becoming prime minister for a second time in 2010.
WorldAssociated PressAP Photos: Snow fills Kashmir resort with tourists again
Snow lies knee-deep in the pastoral town of Gulmarg, or “meadow of flowers,” on Indian-controlled Kashmir's high plateau. With its blanket of white, the idyllic hill station is seeing tourists again fill its hotels and ski, sledge and trek its Himalayan landscape. The heavy influx of tourists is a dramatic change for the tourism industry in disputed Kashmir, which faced the double whammy of the coronavirus pandemic and harsh curbs on civil rights India imposed in the region in August 2019.
WorldReutersIndependent pandemic review panel critical of China, WHO delays
An independent panel said on Monday that Chinese officials could have applied public health measures more forcefully in January to curb the initial COVID-19 outbreak, and criticised the World Health Organization (WHO) for not declaring an international emergency until Jan. 30. The experts reviewing the global handling of the pandemic, led by former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, called for reforms to the Geneva-based United Nations agency.Their interim report was published hours after the WHO's top emergency expert, Mike Ryan, said that global deaths from COVID-19 were expected to top 100,000 per week "very soon". "What is clear to the Panel is that public health measures could have been applied more forcefully by local and national health authorities in China in January," the report said, referring to the initial outbreak of the new disease in the central city of Wuhan, in Hubei province.
U.S.Business InsiderThe man accused of breaking the window Ashli Babbitt tried to climb through when she was shot during the Capitol insurrection has been arrested
Chad Barrett Jones, 42, of Coxs Creek, Kentucky, was arrested in Louisville on Saturday, the FBI said in a news release. Jones is accused of breaking a window of the Capitol building moments before Ashli Babbitt was fatally shot during the insurrection earlier this month. He's facing multiple charges, including assault on a federal officer, destruction of government property, obstruction of justice, unlawful entry on restricted building or grounds, and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
PoliticsReutersDemocrats to take working control of U.S. Senate Wednesday when three sworn in
Three new Democratic U.S. senators, including the winners of a pair of Georgia races and the successor to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, are set to be sworn in on Wednesday, a source familiar with the planning said, giving the party a working majority in the chamber. Georgia's Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, as well as California's Alex Padilla, should be sworn in once the Senate reconvenes after the midday inauguration of Democratic President-elect Joe Biden and Harris, the source said, asking not to be identified. The additions will split the chamber, currently Republican controlled, 50-50 with Harris holding the tie-breaking vote.
WorldAssociated PressUK: 'Genocide' clause to China trade deals narrowly defeated
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson narrowly avoided a defeat in Parliament on Tuesday after lawmakers voted against a controversial proposal seeking to bar trade deals with any country deemed by the U.K. High Court to be committing genocide. The amendment to the government's post-Brexit trade bill was largely designed to force international action in addressing China's alleged human rights abuses against the Uighur minority in the far western Xinjiang region. Campaigners had said that if the proposal passed, Britain would become the first country in the world to allow genocide cases to be considered in domestic courts.
HealthReutersModerna says possible allergic reactions to COVID-19 vaccine under investigation
The company's comments come after California's top epidemiologist on Sunday issued a statement recommending providers pause vaccination from lot no. 41L20A due to possible allergic reactions that are under investigation. The vaccine maker said it was unaware of comparable cases of adverse events from other vaccination centers which may have administered vaccines from the same lot or from other lots of its vaccine. A total of 307,300 doses from the lot remain in storage, Moderna said, of the total 1,272,200 doses that were produced in the batch.
WorldAssociated PressThai court gives record 43-year sentence for insulting king
A court in Thailand on Tuesday sentenced a former civil servant to a record prison term of 43 years and six months for breaching the country's strict law on insulting or defaming the monarchy, lawyers said. The Bangkok Criminal Court found the woman guilty on 29 counts of violating the country's lese majeste law for posting audio clips to Facebook and YouTube with comments deemed critical of the monarchy, the group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said. The sentence, which comes amid an ongoing protest movement that has seen unprecedented public criticism of the monarchy, was swiftly condemned by rights groups.
WorldAssociated PressPakistan PM angry over reports TV anchor knew about strike
Pakistan's prime minister reacted angrily Monday to media reports of a text exchange between an Indian TV anchor and a former media industry executive that suggests a 2019 Indian airstrike inside Pakistan was designed to boost Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's chances for reelection. Imran Khan took to Twitter to respond to Indian media reports of an exchange on the WhatsApp messaging service between popular Indian TV anchor Arnab Goswami and Partho Dasgupta, the former head of a TV rating company.
PoliticsThe IndependentInauguration Day schedule: Full list of timings by hour
The Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) has announced a flurry of events set to be broadcast on Inauguration Day that Americans can watch virtually after urging people to refrain from attending in person. Check out an hour by hour schedule of all the events that have been announced so far for Inauguration Day this Wednesday below and check back for updated timings. am ET (3pm GMT) Our White House: An Inaugural Celebration for Young Americans "Our White House" will mark the first-ever curated livestream for young Americans before and during the Inaugural Ceremonies, ending at 12.30pm.
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
PoliticsReutersNew York governor asks Pfizer to directly sell COVID-19 vaccine doses
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo asked Pfizer Inc Chief Executive Albert Bourla on Monday if the state could buy COVID-19 vaccine doses directly from the U.S. drugmaker, a move that raised ethical questions by the U.S. health department. Pfizer told Reuters that such a proposal would first require approval by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). An HHS spokesman said that Cuomo was trying to circumvent the system in which the federal government, which has paid Pfizer for the United States' allotment of vaccines already, allocates doses to each state.
PoliticsThe Daily BeastFox News Launches ‘Purge’ to ‘Get Rid of Real Journalists,’ Insiders Say
Fox News on Tuesday fired the political editor who was tasked with defending the network's election night decisions that especially angered President Donald Trump and his allies. People familiar with the situation said the layoffs—a “blood bath,” as multiple Fox News insiders described it—were perpetrated by Porter Berry, the Sean Hannity crony now in charge of remaking Fox's digital properties in the image of its right-wing opinion programming. In addition to Stirewalt—the Fox News “nerd” who became the face of the network's election-night projection for Joe Biden to win Arizona, which angered much of the network's MAGA viewership and led to the rise of an even more obsequious, pro-Trump alternative in Newsmax—sources confirmed that long-time digital editors and reporters, some of whom had been with Fox for a decade or more, were among those laid off.
WorldAssociated PressTaiwan military stages drill aimed at repelling China attack
Taiwanese troops using tanks, mortars and small arms staged a drill Tuesday aimed at repelling an attack from China, which has increased its threats to reclaim the island and its own displays of military might. “No matter what is happening around the Taiwan Strait, our determination to guard our homeland will never change,” said Maj. Gen. Chen Chong-ji said, director of the department of political warfare, about the exercise at Hukou Army Base south of the capital Taipei. Chen said the exercise was intended as a show of Taiwan's determination to maintain peace between the sides through a show of force.
U.S.Associated PressOklahoma judge orders 'Tiger King' zoo to turn over big cats
A federal judge in Oklahoma has ordered the new owners of an Oklahoma zoo featured in Netflix's “Tiger King” documentary to turn over all the lion and tiger cubs in their possession, along with the animals' mothers, to the federal government. U.S. District Judge John F. Heil III issued the order last week in the case against Jeffrey and Lauren Lowe and the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park based on claimed violations of the Endangered Species Act and the Animal Welfare Act. “The Lowes have showed a shocking disregard for both the health and welfare of their animals, as well as the law,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jonathan D. Brightbill of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division.
PoliticsThe IndependentHow will the presidential ‘nuclear football’ transfer to Biden if Trump leaves DC early?
Donald Trump will get to take the nuclear football with him when he leaves Washington DC on his final day in office – but the codes will be deactivated at the stroke of noon. Mr Trump will be accompanied by the 45-pound briefcase when he flies to Florida on the morning of Joe Biden's inauguration, as he is reportedly expected to do. Military officials will have a nuclear football, which contains the equipment the president uses to authenticate his orders and launch a nuclear strike, ready and waiting to accompany Mr Biden after he becomes the commander-in-chief, officials told CNN.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderCuomo asks Pfizer to sell its COVID-19 vaccine directly to New York as the head of WHO warns of mounting inequities in vaccine distribution
On Monday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo called on Pfizer to sell doses of its coronavirus vaccine directly to New York. The proposal would require Pfizer to bypass the federal government's Operation Warp Speed campaign to vaccinate hundreds of millions of Americans. "The distribution of any doses obtained directly from Pfizer will follow the rigorous guidance the State has established, while enabling us to fill the dosage gap created this week by the outgoing federal administration," Cuomo wrote in a letter to Pfizer.
PoliticsAssociated PressMcConnell: Trump 'provoked' Capitol siege, 'fed lies' to mob
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday explicitly blamed President Donald Trump for the deadly riot at the Capitol, saying the mob was “fed lies” and that the president and others “provoked” those intent on overturning Democrat Joe Biden's election. Ahead of Trump's historic second impeachment trial, McConnell's remarks were his most severe and public rebuke of the outgoing president. The GOP leader is setting a tone as Republicans weigh whether to convict Trump on the impeachment charge that will soon be sent over from the House: “incitement of insurrection.”
“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.”