PoliticsThe IndependentTrump walks away from Covid briefing refusing to take questions about the election
The president refused to answer any questions about the presidential election—or anything else— following a coronavirus briefing at the White House, the president's first public address in nearly a week, even as the nation is consumed with an election he won't concede and a coronavirus that is setting new records across America. Instead, he used the remarks to praise Operation Warp Speed, the effort to distribute a coronavirus vaccine once it is approved, and say the US wouldn't go into another coronavirus lockdown. He also left the door open that he still thinks he'll have a second term, yet also seemed to almost mention a Biden administration.
PoliticsThe WeekTexas senator suggests it's too soon to declare Biden the winner because Puerto Rico is still counting votes
The Senate Republicans who have not conceded publicly that President-elect Joe Biden won the 2020 election argue that President Trump has the right to challenge the results in court, or point out that the vote totals haven't been certified yet, or admit they need his voters to show up in Georgia's special Senate elections, or privately acknowledge that they would pay a political price for not humoring Trump's baseless fraud claims. Some say it's best to let the courts swat down the fraud allegations so people who voted for Trump will feel assured the system worked. But this reason for letting "process run its course" posted by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) on Thursday is new.
U.S.The IndependentMother of college student who died following pancake eating competition drops lawsuit
The mother of a college student who died following a pancake eating competition has dropped her lawsuit against the school. Caitlin Nelson, 20, died three days after choking during the charity fundraiser at Connecticut's Sacred Heart University in 2017. Her mother, Rosanne Nelson, had filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the university but withdrew it after a settlement was reached.
U.S.USA TODAYAmani Al-Khatahtbeh, Muslim media figure, says she was singled out after arrest at Newark Airport
Amani Al-Khatahtbeh, a media figure and founder of Muslim Girl who ran for New Jersey's 6th congressional district was arrested Saturday and taken off a flight at Newark Airport after she said she was wrongly singled out during an incident with a white male passenger, according to an airline spokesperson. Al-Khatahtbeh, 28, was escorted off American Airlines flight 2029 at about 9:55 a.m., just as the Charlotte, North Carolina-bound flight was slated to depart. Passengers were temporarily deboarded, according to Andrew Trull, an American Airlines spokesperson.
PoliticsThe WeekEx-Obama official suggests Biden should pack as much as he can into executive orders
Former President Barack Obama's chiefs of staff want President-elect Joe Biden to embrace his executive authority once he's in office, NPR reports. Denis McDonough who served in the role during Obama's second term told NPR that President Trump "has demonstrated ... an enormous amount of leeway for the president to institute executive action on things like immigration and energy and climate policy" and "there's no reason" the president-elect "should not use the authority that's available to him." Meanwhile, Obama's first chief of staff, Rahm Emmanuel, argued Biden, despite his fondness for working across the aisle in Congress, should fit as much of his agenda as he can into his executive orders because "the fewer things you have to clog up the legislative pipeline with allows you to concentrate your political capital in that legislative front."
CelebrityNBC News4-year-old boy in Texas loses mom and dad to Covid
A few days later, Adan was hospitalized after also testing positive on June 3. Health care workers told the family that "he was one of the two sickest at the hospital," Salinas said. He died weeks later on June 26 at age 33.
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Beijing furious over Pompeo's Taiwan comments, warns of action
China will strike back against any moves that undermine its core interests, its foreign ministry said on Friday, after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Taiwan "has not been a part of China."
EntertainmentINSIDERA local news anchor in Milwaukee was suspended after he asked why 2020 took Alex Trebek but not Mitch McConnell
A local news anchor in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was suspended this week following a post made to his personal social media profile that seemed to joke about the death of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. "2020 takes Alex Trebek but leaves Mitch McConnell?" Perry wrote following Trebek's death. Perry, who has worked at Fox 6 since 1993, apologized for the post and hasn't been seen on air since, but it's unclear how long he will be suspended, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
PoliticsThe IndependentSecret intelligence exists that ‘would cast Trump in very negative light’, warns ex-FBI chief
Former acting FBI director Andrew McCabe has warned that classified intelligence from bureau's investigation into President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign ties to Russia could contain information that would “risk casting the president in a very negative light”. Mr McCabe has been at the centre of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, in which a Republican-controlled panel is reviewing the FBI's recision to initiate the investigation. He testified before the panel on Tuesday and told lawmakers that officials had a “duty” to carry out the investigation due to the information they had collected.
PoliticsCBS NewsKamala Harris, Joe Biden send out wishes for happy Diwali
As India celebrates Diwali, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, who will be the first South Asian vice president, tweeted Saturday to wish those celebrating the festival of lights a Happy Diwali. She also gave wishes for "Sal Mubarak," the Gujarati New Year, which falls one day after Diwali. Diwali, one of the most important holidays in India, symbolizes new beginnings and the triumph of good over evil, and light over darkness.
LifestyleINSIDERAn adults-only luxury resort in the Maldives is offering guests to book a year's worth of unlimited stays in 2021 for $30,000
A luxury resort in the Maldives in offering a deal that allows guests to stay at their establishment for an unlimited time in 2021 for $30,000, according to CNN. The "Unlimited Stays in Paradise" package includes an overwater bungalow, free breakfast services, and discounts on dining experiences at the resort. The Anantara Veli resort in the Maldives is offering an "Unlimited Stays in Paradise" package that is valid to book for unlimited nights in 2021 for $30,000, according to CNN.
WorldBBCZambia on brink of defaulting on foreign debt
Zambia is on the brink of defaulting on its foreign debt after it missed a payment of more than $40m (£30m) last month. A so-called grace period will expire on Friday, which would make it Africa's first country to default on sovereign debt since the coronavirus pandemic. Zambia was already struggling with its $12bn external debt load.
PoliticsThe WeekAdvisers reportedly confounded by Trump's decision to let Giuliani run election legal efforts
President Trump has reportedly made a call to the bullpen as his hopes of disqualifying enough ballots to win the the presidency through the legal system dwindle. The New York Times reports the president has tapped his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, to lead the effort from now on after the Trump campaign dropped its legal challenges throughout Arizona's Maricopa County on Friday while President-elect Joe Biden's lead grew in the state, where he's the projected winner. Per the Times, the decision to bring in Giuliani was not well-received by White House and campaign officials, who think Trump "is conflating a media strategy with a legal one."
PoliticsThe IndependentNew Alabama senator struggles with basic WWII history and says US fought ‘socialism and communism’
Tommy Tuberville, the incoming Republican senator from Alabama, doubled down on his erroneous grasp of World War II history in comments on Thursday, telling a news site his father, a US soldier, fought to “free Europe of socialism. I tell people, my dad fought 76 years ago in Europe to free Europe of Socialism,” he told Alabama Daily News. Today, you look at this election, we have half this country that made some kind of movement, now they might not believe in it 100 per cent, but they made some kind of movement toward socialism.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderMike Pence suggests the Trump administration will be in place for four more years despite Biden victory: 'That's the plan'
Vice President Mike Pence told supporters on Friday that the Trump administration plans to be in place for another four years. "That's the plan," Pence replied to a crowd cheering "four more years." His remark serves as yet another signal that Donald Trump will continue to refuse to concede the election to President-elect Joe Biden.
EntertainmentThe Daily BeastA Connecticut Mom Was Slaughtered. Everyone Was a Suspect.
On March 3, 2010, Barbara Hamburg was found murdered outside her home at 44 Middle Beach Road in the quiet, affluent seaside town of Madison, Connecticut. It was a slaying that shocked the region and shattered the Hamburg family, and the ensuing investigation's failure to come up with a single potential culprit worth charging only compounded the air of mystery surrounding the crime. In an attempt to find out who committed this atrocity, Barbara's son Madison began a documentary inquiry into the case, and the result, HBO's riveting four-part Murder on Middle Beach, reveals a tale rife with suspects—all of them Hamburg's closest relatives, who had varying motives for wanting to kill his mother.
WorldThe TelegraphDowning Street slams 'vicious and cowardly' attacks on Carrie Symonds
Downing Street sources have condemned "vicious and cowardly" attacks on Carrie Symonds, the Prime Minister's fiancee, over a series of toxic briefings and counter-briefings that have rocked No 10. Senior insiders claimed that Ms Symonds, a former Tory adviser, was becoming too involved with the workings of No 10, with the 32-year-old perceived as seeking to "run the Government by WhatsApp" from the Prime Minister's official residence. A senior No 10 source described the claims as "cowardly, vicious, and designed to wound her".
PoliticsThe WeekMichigan judge says GOP election challengers skipped training session, didn't fully understand process
A Michigan judge has shot down an attempt to delay the certification of 2020 election results in Detroit, Michigan, after determining that challengers lacked a "full understanding" of the process and their claims weren't credible. Judge Timothy Kenny on Friday rejected two poll challengers' bid to stop vote certification in Detroit, where President-elect Joe Biden defeated President Trump, saying it "would be an unprecedented exercise of judicial activism for this court" to do so, CNN reports. The judge found the allegations of misconduct brought by the Republican poll watchers and an election official to be "not credible," The Washington Post reports.
LifestyleThe IndependentMike Pence secretly attended his daughter’s wedding two days before election
The vice president and Second Lady Karen Pence were on hand to see youngest child Audrey Pence Tomanelli tie the knot. The bride posted a black and white picture to Instagram of her parents watching her kiss husband Daniel Tomanelli outside the steps of a courthouse. There is no sign of anyone in the wedding pictures wearing a mask but they are all socially distancing.
CelebrityTheGrioNina Thomas, wife of Earl Thomas, files for divorce
Nina Thomas, wife of NFL player Earl Thomas, has filed for divorce on Saturday, seven months after holding the athlete at gun point for being in bed with two women and his brother. As reported by TMZ, Nina Thomas submitted paperwork on Nov. 3 which cited adultery and indicated that there's “no reasonable expectation of reconciliation.” According to court documents from the April 13 incident, Nina and the former NFL athlete were engaged in a heated argument when police received a call.
PoliticsThe Daily BeastTucker Carlson Apologizes for Claiming 96-Year-Old Georgia Voter Was a Dead Man
Fox News host Tucker Carlson opened his show Wednesday by proclaiming that “truth really matters more than ever.” One of the voters he claimed had cast a ballot from the grave on Friday's episode—claims that were amplified by the Trump campaign and by members of Congress like Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL)—had not actually done so after all. The late James Blalock of Newtown County, Georgia, whom he profiled in the earlier episode, had not actually voted in the 2020 presidential election as Carlson claimed.
PoliticsThe WeekCritics dispute McEnany's claim about MAGA march crowd size
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Saturday claimed that "more than one million" people came out to march in support of President Trump in Washington, D.C. as he continues to challenge the results of the presidential election, but several critics quickly dispelled that figure. As some folks pointed out, Trump's time in office similarly began with a dispute over the size of his inauguration crowd, with the White House exaggerating the number of attendees, which appeared to pale in comparison to previous inaugurations. From Spicer to McEnany...the Trump administration ends as it began: With a lie about crowd size.
HealthBusiness InsiderA 25-term congressman from Alaska who called COVID-19 the 'beer virus' and said concerns were 'created primarily by hysteria' has tested positive for the disease
Alaska Rep. Don Young has tested positive for COVID-19, he announced Thursday in a tweet, becoming the latest lawmaker to contract the disease. Young previously called COVID-19 the "beer virus" and suggested its severity was overblown but said Thursday he was feeling "strong" following his diagnosis. Young, the longest-serving current member of Congress, is just one of a number of officials who tested positive for the disease after previously downplaying its severity.
EntertainmentINSIDERThe director of 'Home Alone' says he walked off 'Christmas Vacation' because he 'couldn't make the movie with Chevy Chase'
Chris Columbus told Insider what led him to him directing "Home Alone." The director was hired to helm "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," but didn't get along with its star Chevy Chase. That opened the door for him to make another Christmas classic, "Home Alone."
PoliticsUSA TODAYFact check: Claim that Pennsylvania case is proof of ‘dead people’ voting is under investigation
The claim: A deceased Pennsylvania woman's mail-in ballot was recorded, indicating wide-spread voter fraud The 2020 presidential election may have been called for Joe Biden, but claims of voter fraud continue to spread among Biden's opponents, especially in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. At a Nov. 7 press conference, Corey Lewandowski, President Donald Trump's former campaign manager, claimed election officials in Pennsylvania's Allegheny County had received a mail-in ballot for Denise Ondick, despite Ondick having passed away before even receiving the ballot.
“Donald Trump defeated Donald Trump.”
“The victory was a vindication of a style of American politics that many feared was gone forever.”
“Mr. Biden’s victory — and Mr. Trump’s defeat — is a testament to the resilience of American democracy.”
“Trump’s 2020 reelection bid was doomed by his boorish behavior. Time and again, he refused to act like a president.”
“Biden took the opportunity to unite the Democratic Party.”