PoliticsThe WeekTrump's last-minute foreign policy dumps are reportedly an attempt to overwhelm Biden and drown his agenda
President Trump is making a lot of lame-duck foreign policy decisions that could further his agenda for months and years to come. Trump fired the defense secretary and other Pentagon officials last week, telling acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller to focus on cyber and irregular warfare, particularly in China, an administration official tells CNN. All of these moves are plunging the U.S. into tricky territory right before President-elect Joe Biden takes office — and that just may be the point.
U.S.The Daily BeastDelaware Teens Lured a Classmate Into the Woods—Then Murdered Her With a Baseball Bat: Prosecutors
A Delaware teenager has been charged with murder after allegedly luring her classmate into the woods and beating her to death alongside the girl's ex-boyfriend, prosecutors said. Annika Stalczynski, 17, was arrested on Monday after a New Castle County grand jury indicted her on several charges—including first-degree murder, possession of a deadly weapon during commission of a felony, and conspiracy—for Madison Sparrow's Oct. 2 slaying, according to the Delaware Attorney General's office. Prosecutors allege Stalczynski, along with Sparrow's ex-boyfriend, 19-year-old Noah Sharp, conspired to lure the teenager to the woods behind Maclary Elementary School, before they ambushed and fatally beat her with a metal baseball bat.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderWhite House chief of staff Mark Meadows says he 'can't guarantee' the federal government will avoid a shutdown next month
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said Wednesday he couldn't guarantee the federal government would avoid a shutdown in December. "Obviously, we want to keep the government funded," Meadows said, according to a Capitol Hill pool report. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said on Wednesday he couldn't "guarantee" the federal government would avoid a shutdown in December.
U.S.Miami HeraldThey had sex off a Florida highway in the middle of the day. Passing drivers interrupted
One Florida couple found out the hard way that getting romantic while cars zoom by can spoil the mood quickly. According to a police report from the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, Amber Gormley and Shawn McClelland were arrested Tuesday after “many drivers” observed them having intimate relations on the side of a road in Largo, near St. Petersburg, around 2 p.m. After they were read their rights, the “offender” admitted he performed acts of a sexual nature upon Gormley, the report says.
LifestyleArchitectural DigestThe 7 Best Airbnbs in Austin, Texas
From a vintage trailer to a lush 1950s bungalow, AD has you covered Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
PoliticsThe WeekOfficial in charge of signing off on Biden's win is reportedly 'afraid on multiple levels'
President-elect Joe Biden's victory over President Trump can't be ascertained until General Services Administrator Emily Murphy signs off on it, but she is continuing to hold out while Trump refuses to concede. Murphy has been subject to criticism for delaying the inevitable, but sources close to her told CNN that the "consummate professional" believes she's doing "her honest duty as someone who has sworn true allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America and the laws that govern her position." The sources also said Murphy is struggling with what she considers a no-win situation.
PoliticsThe IndependentTrump news – live: Campaign ‘cherry picks’ two Wisconsin counties for recount ahead of Georgia results
Wisconsin's two largest Democratic counties, Milwaukee and Dane, will begin recounting ballots on Friday after the Trump campaign committed $3m to seeing whether or not votes in the two counties could show the "worst irregularities" in the state, as cited by the president's team without any basis. They are not expected to turn-around Joe Biden's 260,000 vote lead across both Milwaukee and Dane counties, which the president-elect's team said were “cherry picked” to challenge the votes of more liberal, diverse, parts of Wisconsin.
U.S.INSIDERA woman believed to be a QAnon follower was charged with killing a legal theorist trying to help her regain custody of her daughters
A Kentucky woman that appears to be tied to the fringe QAnon and "sovereign citizens" movements has been arrested, police say, on charges of killing a man advising her on how to regain custody. Police speculated that Neely Petrie-Blanchard allegedly killed Hallett "due to her belief that the victim might have been working against her, or working to assist the government, in keeping her children away from her," according to a police report obtained by The Daily Beast. A woman in Kentucky who appears to support the QAnon and so-called "sovereign citizens" movements has been accused of killing a legal theorist she had enlisted to help her regain custody of her two daughters, police said.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderFox News panel erupts at a liberal guest for saying it's 'not time to joke' about COVID-19 as US deaths near 250,000
After a Fox News panel traded memes and banter mocking COVID-19 restrictions in some states heading into Thanksgiving, the discussion got testy. "God forbid we laugh at a meme on the internet," Fox Business Network host Dagen McDowell replied. "It's fine, but people aren't taking these restrictions seriously, and people are dying every single day," Harf said.
PoliticsUSA TODAY'Compromised position': Dr. Anthony Fauci on why he thinks he hasn't heard from Joe Biden's team
Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday he wants to begin talks with President-elect Joe Biden to ensure a smooth transition for the new administration but believes the Biden team is wary of putting him in a "compromised position" as President Donald Trump refuses to concede the election. Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, hasn't spoken to Biden as the U.S. battles a significant spike in the coronavirus pandemic and the president-elect looks to start working on his plan to combat the virus.
HealthThe WeekSen. Steve Daines says he participated in Pfizer vaccine trial, tested positive for antibodies
Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) revealed on Wednesday that after participating in Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine trial, he has COVID-19 antibodies. "My goal is to help build confidence and trust for Montanans and the American people wondering if they should take the vaccine when it is approved," Daines said in a statement. While they don't know if they received the vaccine or a placebo, the presence of COVID-19 antibodies indicates Daines was either given the vaccine or was previously exposed to the virus.
U.S.The IndependentColorado police seek suspect nicknamed 'Psycho' after three bodies found in rural community
Colorado investigators are searching for a felon nicknamed "Psycho" in connection with the discovery of three human bodies on two rural properties near the state's New Mexico border. Law enforcement officials believe Andre "Psycho" Baroz, 26, was involved with three bodies that were found on a pair of properties outside the rural town of Los Sauces in the San Luis Valley. Police found the bodies while serving a search warrant related to a stolen vehicle or construction equipment.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderArizona's secretary of state is the latest election official to receive death threats, and she's ripping Trump and Republican leaders for their baseless claims of fraud
Katie Hobbs, Arizona's secretary of state, said in a statement she has received "ongoing and escalating" threats of violence. She ripped the president and other Republican officials for their unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud. She said Trump and other officials "are perpetuating misinformation and are encouraging others to distrust election results in a manner that violates the oath of office they took."
PoliticsThe WeekTrump advisers reportedly think Rudy Giuliani is encouraging election lawsuits so he can get paid
Every man has his price, and for Rudy Giuliani, it appears to be $20,000 a day. Several people with knowledge of the matter told The New York Times that Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City and President Trump's personal lawyer, has asked the Trump campaign for $20,000 a day to cover his legal services. Giuliani is overseeing the campaign's many court challenges in Trump's attempt to change the outcome of the election.
U.S.NBC NewsMissing 9-year-old boy found alive after three day search in woods
A 9-year-old boy was found safe wearing no jacket or shoes by a creek bed in Tennessee on Tuesday after a three-day search in the woods. Jordan Gorman was discovered on Tuesday at around 3 p.m. underneath a shelter made out of tarp, three-quarters of a mile away from his home in Cheatham County, Tennessee, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said. TBI initially sent out an Endangered Child Alert on Sunday before raising it to an Amber Alert on Monday afternoon.
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Three detained over $1 bln German jewel heist
Three people have been detained in police raids across Berlin, over a jewel heist reportedly worth over $1 billion, according to local authorities. Thieves forced their way into Dresden's Green Vault Museum in November last year, taking off with at least three sets of early 18th century jewelry, including diamonds and rubies. The police force said officers searched 18 apartments, garages, and vehicles for the jewelry and other evidence including digital data, clothes, and tools.
WorldBusiness InsiderIsrael's stunning assassination of an Al Qaeda chief inside Iran suggests a major deal was cut with the US
The assassination of an Al Qaeda commander in Tehran by an Israeli hit squad would only have been undertaken at the request of American intelligence services, sources tell Insider. Mounting an operation like the one that killed Abu Mohammed al Masri can take years of preparation. Mossad will select Israelis with perfect Farsi language skills and they will train their entire careers for a single mission, our sources say.
PoliticsThe WeekGiuliani formally asks federal judge to give Pennsylvania's electors to Trump
Rudy Giuliani, representing President Trump's campaign, asked a federal judge Wednesday to declare Trump the winner in Pennsylvania, a state President-elect Joe Biden won by about 82,000 votes. Giuliani amended the campaign's court filing for a second time, seeking to put back in complaints Trump's previous legal team had removed Sunday about how close Trump's observers had been allowed during ballot counting. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court had unanimously rejected that claim Tuesday, a decision the Trump new campaign's filing stridently criticized.
U.S.Business InsiderNew York Gov. Andrew Cuomo snapped at reporters at a tense coronavirus press briefing where he learned that NYC schools were closing amid a spike in new infections
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo berated reporters during a tense coronavirus press briefing on Wednesday. As Cuomo was being asked about whether New York City schools would close amid a surge in cases, Mayor Bill de Blasio was running more than five hours late to his own COVID-19 news conference. Cuomo found out from a reporter at the end of the briefing that NYC schools would be closed on Thursday because the city's school chancellor broke the news after the governor was already seated at the podium.
HealthUSA TODAYFauci says the average American could get vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as April: 'I would take the vaccine'
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert who has guided the U.S. through the pandemic, projected Americans could expect their first doses of an approved coronavirus vaccine as early as April. After prioritizing people at risk of infection or severe disease, the healthy general population can expect first doses of a vaccine starting in April and through July if all continues on track, Fauci told the USA TODAY Editorial Board on Wednesday. If most of the population is vaccinated by summer and fall, Fauci said, people can start looking forward to returning to pre-pandemic normalcy.
PoliticsThe Daily BeastShe Backed Them for Years. They Left Her for Political Dead. Susan Collins Will Not Forget.
Flush with cash and riding high on the possibility of unified government for the first time in nearly a decade, progressive advocacy organizations in the closing days of the campaign handed out endorsements to Democratic challengers like shots at a bar. One such group, the Human Rights Campaign, must now contend with having alienated one of the few reliable Republican votes for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights on Capitol Hill—and at one of the most important legislative moments in its history. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) is one of several vulnerable Republicans who overcame a tidal wave of out-of-state dollars and up-ballot political headwinds to claim re-election victory—despite HRC breaking with her and supporting Democratic rival Sara Gideon after nearly two decades of endorsements.
BusinessBusiness InsiderManagers at a Tyson facility bet on how many of their workers would get sick with COVID-19 after they were ordered to work during the pandemic, a wrongful death lawsuit alleges
A wrongful death lawsuit alleges managers at the Tyson facility in Waterloo, Iowa, bet money on how many workers would catch COVID-19 during the early stages of the outbreak, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reported. The claim is part of a number of new allegations filed in an amendment to the initial lawsuit filed by the family of a worker who died of COVID-19 in April. A wrongful death lawsuit alleges managers at the Tyson Foods pork processing facility in Waterloo, Iowa, bet money on how many workers would catch the virus during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an amended complaint filed on Wednesday, initially reported on by the Iowa Capital Dispatch.
PoliticsThe Independent‘Dead Man Walking’ nun says Trump administration trying to rush through executions in ‘shameful killing spree’
Criminal justice advocates argue the Trump administration is trying to “rush through” as many federal executions as possible before Joe Biden, who opposes capital punishment, takes office. Sister Helen Prejean, a long-time death penalty abolition advocate whose story is the basis for the film Dead Man Walking, said on Monday the Department of Justice is planning new executions for federal inmates soon and called it a “shameful killing spree. The DOJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
PoliticsThe IndependentTrump asks judge to declare him winner in Pennsylvania despite trailing by 80,000 votes
Arguing that the results of the presidential election are defective, Donald Trump's campaign has asked a judge in Pennsylvania to declare him the winner in the state and allow the Republican-led state legislature to decide which way it will allocate its 20 electoral college votes. Joe Biden is projected to have won Pennsylvania by more than 82,000 votes, in a result which swung the overall election in the Democrat's favour. In a court filing, the Trump campaign asked US District Judge Matthew Brann to consider issuing an order that “the results of the 2020 presidential general election are defective and providing for the Pennsylvania General Assembly to choose Pennsylvania's electors.”
EntertainmentBusiness InsiderA sex worker says she's earning $35,000 a month thanks to the US Army's thirsty tweets going viral
The official Twitter account for the US Army's Fort Bragg posted some thirsty tweets at an OnlyFans sex worker in October. Now that sex worker has become one of OnlyFans' top performers. She told Insider she earned about $7,000 a month before the tweets but had since been on track to earn $35,000 a month.
“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.”