PoliticsYahoo NewsRepublicans bring out the big guns in Georgia runoff election, but Trump’s refusal to concede sparks concern
In the high stakes runoff election for two U.S. Senate seats that will decide which party controls the chamber under President-elect Joe Biden, incumbent Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler are looking to bring in big GOP names to stump alongside them, while Democrats are choosing to keep things local. On Friday, Loeffler and Perdue were joined by Vice President Mike Pence in Canton, Ga., to a raucous outdoor crowd of more than 1,000 supporters.
PoliticsUSA TODAYElection mail: We sent 193 shipments. Here's what we learned.
After seven weeks and sending 193 pieces of mail short distances, it finally happened: A perfect week of on-time mail delivery. Out of 20 packages sent the week of Election Day in six states, not a single one took more than three days to reach its destination -- the postal service's benchmark for delivery of local mail. It was the first time that had happened in the course of the USA TODAY network's effort to track mail delivery times across the nation in the leadup to the presidential election.
PoliticsAssociated PressAP Explains: The FBI is investigating Texas AG Ken Paxton
The FBI recently opened a criminal investigation into claims that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton abused his office to benefit a wealthy donor. The probe, which was confirmed to The Associated Press by two people with knowledge of it who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, marks an escalation in the latest controversy to surround the high-profile Republican, who has spent years under indictment on unrelated state securities fraud charges. The FBI's interest in Texas' top law enforcement official arose from a rebellion by Paxton's top deputies, who accused him of breaking the law by using his office to help a wealthy donor with a troubled real estate empire who also hired a woman with whom the married Paxton allegedly had an affair.
WorldReutersRussia bars entry to 25 British citizens in retaliation for UK sanctions
Russia has banned entry to 25 British citizens in retaliation for similar measures by Britain, Russia's foreign ministry said on Saturday, without providing their names. Britain brought sanctions against 25 Russians and 20 Saudis in July as part of post-Brexit measures foreign minister Dominic Raab said were aimed at stopping the laundering of "blood money". The British list includes Russian nationals Britain has said were involved in the mistreatment and death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderRudy Giuliani's son tested positive for the coronavirus one day after attending his father's sweaty press conference
Andrew Giuliani, a White House aide and son of Rudy Giuliani, said on Friday he tested positive for COVID-19 and his experiencing "mild symptoms." His diagnosis comes one day after the younger Giuliani attended his father's press briefing on Thursday, where Trump's personal attorney was seen sweating profusely. The Trump campaign lawyer said on Friday that his legal team, which was also present at the briefing, had likely to be exposed to the virus as most of them were not wearing face masks.
WorldBBCPakistan opposition seeks end to Imran Khan's 'puppet' rule
Opposition parties in Pakistan are keeping up the pressure on Imran Khan, holding a series of mass protests against his government. On Sunday, thousands of protesters are due to demonstrate in the city of Peshawar, despite a government threat to ban gatherings to curb rising coronavirus cases. The PM, who came to power on an anti-corruption platform, has said the campaign is aimed at blackmailing him to drop corruption cases against opposition leaders.
U.S.Associated PressCommander seeks to get embattled Fort Hood 'back on track'
Every week, Army Lt. Gen. Pat White dons his workout clothes and walks through the neighborhoods at Fort Hood with his wife, Emma, and golden retriever Sadie, looking for some unvarnished feedback from the soldiers at his embattled Texas base. As Fort Hood's commander, White faces the immense task of rebuilding trust and turning around an installation that has one of the highest rates of murder, sexual assault and harassment in the Army, and drew unwelcome national attention this year because of the disappearance and brutal murder of Spc. White agrees that he and other commanders bear some responsibility for the problems.
WorldReutersTurkey extends seismic survey work in disputed Mediterranean area to November 29
Turkey said it was extending the seismic survey work of its Oruc Reis ship in a disputed area of the eastern Mediterranean until Nov. 29, in a move that could add to tensions in the region. NATO members Turkey and Greece are locked in a dispute over the extent of their continental shelves and conflicting claims to hydrocarbon resources in the eastern Mediterranean. The row erupted in August when Turkey sent Oruc Reis into waters also claimed by Greece and Cyprus.
WorldBBCArnab Goswami: India's most loved and loathed TV anchor
But for nearly a week, the Republic network ran programmes claiming the victims' Hindu identity was a motive for the crime, echoing an unfounded theory floated by some members of India's governing Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). This, critics say, is the real danger of Mr Goswami's brash, cacophonic and often partisan coverage. They believe viewers of his network are being drip-fed false information, divisive and inflammatory views, and propaganda for the Hindu nationalist BJP - its six years in power have been linked to the increased marginalisation of India's 200 million Muslims.
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Biden turns 78, is set to become the oldest U.S. president
President-elect Joe Biden turned 78 on Friday. In exactly two months, he'll take the reins of a politically fractured nation facing the worst public health crisis in a century, high unemployment and a reckoning on racial injustice.
PoliticsBusiness Insider'Bring it on, I'm not backing down': Arizona top election official Katie Hobbs holds fast against attempts to undermine the state's election
Arizona's top election official Katie Hobbs is preparing for Arizona counties to certify their election results by Monday's deadline, despite efforts from the state Republican Party to halt certification. "We've been in communication with all the counties and the election officials have told us they don't anticipate any delays in certification," Hobbs, a Democrat elected in 2018, told Insider in a Friday interview. In addition to efforts to undermine the integrity of Arizona's election, Hobbs says she's faced vitriolic attacks and threats on her safety — ones she says she was prepared for after a career in politics.
U.S.Associated PressIdaho Supreme Court: State must reveal execution drug source
Idaho prison officials must turn over information about where they got lethal injection drugs used in recent executions, the state Supreme Court ruled Friday, the latest turn in a long-running challenge over transparency in executions that's playing out nationwide. The high court's ruling was a win for University of Idaho professor Aliza Cover, who studies how the public interacts with the death penalty. She filed a public records request with the Idaho Department of Correction in 2017 seeking execution-related documents.
WorldReutersPlan to raise China's retirement age sparks anger
A decision by the Communist Party of China to raise the retirement age under a long-term economic and development plan has sparked anger on social media in fast-greying China. In 2018, nearly 250 million of China's 1.4 billion people were aged 60 or over. "Delaying retirement means we have to postpone our pension," one user on the Weibo platform wrote on Friday.
PoliticsUSA TODAYLess pomp and circumstance? Biden inauguration likely to be scaled-down affair in response to COVID
WASHINGTON – Donald Trump is still trying to sow doubts about the election results, but planning already has begun for inaugural ceremonies in which Joe Biden is expected to officially become the nation's 46th president. But while planners of past presidential inaugurations have had to resolve complex issues like how to handle crowd control and security matters, organizers of the Jan. 20 ceremony are confronting an unprecedented challenge: How do you safely stage a presidential inauguration in the middle of a deadly pandemic?
WorldAssociated PressBlack man killed by security guards is buried in Brazil
A Black man who died while being beaten by supermarket security guards was buried on Saturday following protests that echoed those of the racial justice movement in the United States. João Alberto Silveira Freitas, a father of four, was buried wearing a white T-shirt in a coffin draped with the flag of his favorite soccer team in the city of Porto Alegre. “I just want justice," his partner, Milena Borges Alves, told Globo news.
WorldReutersPompeii's ruins yield scalded bodies of rich man and slave
Archaeologists have discovered the exceptionally well-preserved remains of two men scalded to death by the volcanic eruption that destroyed the ancient Roman city of Pompeii in 79 AD, the Italian culture ministry said on Saturday. The remains were found in Civita Giuliana, 700 metres northwest of the centre of ancient Pompeii, in an underground chamber in the area of a large villa being excavated. "These two victims were perhaps seeking refuge when they were swept away by the pyroclastic current at about 9 in the morning," said Massimo Osanna, director of the archeological site.
WorldBBCKabul attack: Several killed as rockets hit residential areas
A barrage of rockets has hit residential areas of Kabul, killing at least eight people and wounding more than 30, Afghan officials say. More than a dozen rockets were fired from a pickup truck inside the city, the interior ministry said. The attack happened hours before a meeting between US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Taliban negotiators in an effort to resume peace talks.
U.S.Associated PressCOVID-19 deaths of Serbian clerics highlight virus worries
As coronavirus cases surge globally, the COVID-19 deaths of two senior Serbian Orthodox Church clerics — one who died weeks after presiding over the funeral of the other — are raising questions about whether some religious institutions are doing enough to slow the spread of the virus. More reports are emerging about people who attended religious services and contract the virus — some after parishioners seemed to ignore the pleas of church and health officials officials to wear masks, practice social distancing and other steps to combat the virus that's killed nearly 1.4 million people worldwide. In Belgrade, many mourners paying their respects Saturday to Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Irinej ignored precautions and some kissed the glass shield covering the patriarch's body, despite warnings not to do so from Serbia's epidemiologists.
PoliticsReutersTrump administration to add four more Chinese firms to Pentagon blacklist: sources
Washington is poised to designate four more Chinese companies as backed by the Chinese military, sources said, curbing their access to U.S. investors as the Trump administration seeks to cement its hawkish China legacy in its waning days. The designations, which have not been previously reported, could be released by the Department of Defense as soon as Friday but may be unveiled next week, said one U.S. official and one person familiar with the matter who declined to be named. The White House and the Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
WorldBBCBharti Singh: Indian comedian arrested after cannabis found in raid
Indian comedian Bharti Singh has been arrested after cannabis was found during a raid on her home. The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) said 86.5g (3oz) of the drug was found in the house she shares with husband, screenwriter Haarsh Limbachiyaa. The investigation emerged from a high-profile inquiry into the death of the actor Sushant Singh Rajput in June and has led to multiple raids on figures from the TV and film world.
PoliticsReutersRepublicans ask Michigan election board to delay certification for two weeks, audit Detroit votes
The Republican National Committee and the Michigan Republican Party wrote to Michigan's state board of canvassers on Saturday asking it to adjourn for 14 days to allow for an audit of ballots in the state's largest county. A Michigan official said such an audit was not permitted under Michigan law. The letter came as Wayne County, which includes the majority-Black city of Detroit, has become a focus of President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the results of the Nov. 3 election in states that were decisive in his defeat by Democrat Joe Biden.
WorldAssociated PressThai students rally for educational and political reforms
Secondary school students in Thailand's capital rallied Saturday for educational and political reforms, defying government threats to crack down with legal action against the country's high-profile protest movement. The rally was called by a group that calls itself “Bad Students,” mocking their status as rebels against traditional school rules and authorities. Reflecting their light touch toward protest actions, they used props including people in dinosaur suits and oversize beach balls standing in for asteroids.
LifestyleMiami HeraldThree Carnival Corp. cruise lines will cancel sailings until 2021
Three Carnival Corp. cruise lines will extend their sailing cancellations until 2021, as the number of COVID-19 cases in the United States surges out of control, with more than 185,000 U.S. cases reported Friday. On Friday, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises and Seabourn all said their voyages will be canceled until 2021. Holland America Line and Princess Cruises will extend their pauses for all departures through March 31, 2021.
PoliticsUSA TODAY OpinionTo prevent a future transition mess, Congress should fix the law
As a result, Trump appointees are able to drag their feet, making it far more difficult for President-elect Joe Biden and his team to prepare to lead the country. Congress has been abundantly clear about the importance of an orderly transfer of presidential power. In the Presidential Transition Act of 1963, Congress declared that “any disruption occasioned by the transfer of the executive power could produce results detrimental to the safety and well-being of the United States and its people.
U.S.ReutersJudge denies bid to halt Nevada from certifying election results
A judge in Nevada denied an emergency bid to halt the state from certifying its election results, saying in a court hearing it would disenfranchise more than one million of the state's voters. The Election Integrity Project, an organization led by a right-wing activist, had alleged voter fraud. The organization claimed it had identified about 1,400 people who had registered to vote in Nevada, moved to California and then voted in Nevada.
“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.”