Express forecastToday: Becoming partly sunny, steady breeze. Forecast in detailWhen partly sunny and low-to-mid-40s conditions could make today the most comfortable day of the forecast period, you know you’ve got a solid winter air mass settling in. Temperatures struggle to reach 40 tomorrow and Friday with strong winds sending wind chills into the 20s, perhaps even the teens at times. Today (Wednesday): After some early-morning fog, partly sunny skies help temperatures rebound somewhat today, rising through the 30s this morning with afternoon highs in the low to mid-40s. That puts us smack in the middle of strong winds between the systems, from the northwest at 15-25 mph, with gusts 30-40 mph.

ADAD“The major goal of the grant is to expand the ways we are welcoming people to the library,” said Kate Zwaard, head of digital strategy. “With the clear aim of collecting and digitizing the work, it’s about the undertold stories and underserved communities,” Alexander said. The final projects will be collected by the library and shared with the communities. ADADA second area focused on digital projects is another critical component that will help the library think about its collection in new ways, Zwaard said. ADLibrary officials believe engaging with these new and diverse partners will reveal hidden gems within the collection and spark ongoing discovery.

But more important, the share of foreign contracts went down during that period, from 3.3 percent to 3.1 percent. ADADIn fact, the reports showed that the percentage of Defense Department spending on foreign contracts had been steadily decreasing. So even though the raw numbers went up during the Trump administration, the share of foreign contracts continued on a downward trend. A substantial portion of the foreign contracts don’t qualify for inclusion under the Buy America rules because the services were used overseas. The percentage of Defense Department contracts receiving waivers, however, has jumped.

Recovering patients, they say, have continued to test positive through samples from the lower digestive tract days after nasal and throat swabs came back negative. “If we add anal swab testing, it can raise our rate of identifying infected patients,” Li Tongzeng, an infectious-disease specialist at Beijing You’an Hospital, said on state-run broadcaster CCTV on Sunday. Now, with infections stubbornly continuing to emerge ahead of the holiday, the government has approved an expanded use of anal swab testing. “Intriguingly, SARS-CoV-2 detection was positive in the anal swab of two patients and negative in throat swab and sputum samples,” they wrote. In recent days, state-run tabloid Global Times noted that the procedure was controversial, with some doctors saying nasal and throat swabs were more effective because coronavirus is a respiratory infection.

ADThe confrontation was the latest flash point among Georgia GOP members since tensions arose after the state’s Republican governor and secretary of state certified the November election results for President Biden. Clark joined about 30 other Georgia state legislators in supporting Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit to overturn election results in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. There have been almost 880,000 cases of the coronavirus in Georgia and more than 13,400 deaths, according to The Washington Post’s covid tracker. ADThe lawmaker also argued that it wasn’t fair for him to get two tests a week when his constituents don’t get the same advantage. “I appreciate Speaker Ralston for removing a member who has refused to take a COVID-19 test since session reconvened on 1/11,” tweeted state Rep. Scott Holcomb (D).

One volunteer alleged that the 22-year-old CEO had pocketed vaccine doses. ADNow, the city has cut ties with Philly Fighting COVID, and prosecutors are looking into the “concerning” allegations. The city announced on Monday that it would no longer work with Philly Fighting COVID for coronavirus testing or vaccine distribution, a day before the allegations of mishandled vaccine doses surfaced. For weeks, Philly Fighting COVID collected data from tens of thousands of Philadelphians seeking vaccine appointments without telling them how that information could be used. When a privacy policy finally appeared on the group’s website last week, it contained provisions that would allow Philly Fighting COVID to sell users’ personal data to a third party.

A vending machine that offers Covid-19 home test kits to the general public was unveiled at a Wellness 4 Humanity location in New York City on Jan. 26. The test costs $119 and provides a result in a day or two.

SEE NEW POSTS900 Holocaust survivors have died of Covid-19, Israel says Around 900 people who survived the Holocaust died from Covid-19 in Israel during the pandemic, according to the country’s Central Bureau of Statistics. Some 5,300 Holocaust survivors contracted the virus last year, Israel reported. All Holocaust survivors are over the age of 75 — World War II ended 75 years ago — and approximately 17 percent are over 90. There are around 179,600 survivors living in Israel. Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters Share this -'Snake oil' salesman in Washington state administered untested Covid-19 vaccines, officials say A man in Washington state was arrested on federal charges for allegedly administering an unauthorized Covid-19 vaccine to patients.

SEE NEW POSTSJapan prepares for vaccine drive Participants take part in a mock inoculation exercise on Wednesday in Kawasaki, Japan as the country prepares for a Covid-19 vaccination drive. Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters Share this -'Snake oil' salesman in Washington state administered untested Covid-19 vaccines, officials say A man in Washington state was arrested on federal charges for allegedly administering an unauthorized Covid-19 vaccine to patients. Stine, a self-described biotech executive, began peddling the illegal vaccine in March. U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran said the vaccine was "untested, untried and potentially unsafe." “According to the plea agreement, Brandenburg stated that he was skeptical of vaccines in general and the Moderna vaccine specifically,” the department said Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fulfilling a campaign promise, President Joe Biden plans to reopen the HealthCare.gov insurance markets for a special sign-up opportunity geared to people needing coverage in the coronavirus pandemic. Biden is expected to sign an executive order Thursday, said two people familiar with the plan, whose details were still being finalized. Coverage is available to people who don’t have job-based health insurance, with the Medicaid expansion geared to those with low incomes. Opening the insurance markets is also likely to result in higher Medicaid enrollment, since people who qualify for that program are automatically referred. “President Biden does not believe, as a principle, it should be difficult ... for people to gain access to health care,” she said.

WASHINGTON — When the dust settled from the first round of the Senate battle over the filibuster, one man had clearly won: President Joe Biden. Biden is now in the White House, but his Senate record shows support for a minority's being able to hold up business. Most of the Senate doesn't want this fight — even if that means all of the Republicans and only a handful of Democrats. McConnell lost on a firm commitment to entrench the filibuster, but it won't go anywhere without a major push from Biden. It could be that gridlock entices Biden to flip against the filibuster later.

French pharmaceutical company Sanofi has signed a contract with Pfizer and BioNTech to bottle their coronavirus vaccine. In an interview with Le Figaro published Tuesday evening, CEO Paul Hudson announced that Sanofi would start bottling BioNTech/Pfizer vaccines in July. Sanofi has been unsuccessful in its own efforts to develop a vaccine. After failing to show sufficient effectiveness in trials, its vaccine developed jointly with GSK will not be produced before the fourth quarter of 2021. Trials will take place in several parts of the world, including places where vaccines are not yet available, he said.

Biden spoke to Putin on Tuesday for the first time as president and raised concerns about the Kremlin's treatment of Navalny, according to the White House, as well as other issues. "The swift reaction by the State Department was registered here as a sign that the Biden administration will actively interfere in Russian politics," Dmitri Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, said Monday. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Vice President Joe Biden during their meeting in Moscow in March 2011. The Biden administration will have to come up with more than just statements of condemnation, Galeotti said, or "the Kremlin will rightly regard that as a mark of impotence rather than interest." While the Biden administration is likely to invoke new sanctions against Russia, they won't be enough, he said.

Now that the ban has been reversed, trans service members and civilians are figuring out what comes next. Cisgender service members could get access to hormone therapy for medical reasons if necessary, but transgender service members who came out after the ban couldn't. Overall, however, transgender service members — both those who have been serving openly and those who haven't — reported overwhelmingly positive experiences, despite the Trump administration's claims that the presence of trans service members negatively affected "cohesion" and "readiness." Until then, trans service members and hopeful enlistees say they will keep fighting for their right to serve. I joined to serve my country, and that's what the rest of transgender service members did, as well," she said.

LONDON — The vaccine wars have come to Europe. For months now, wealthy countries have been clearing the world’s shelves of coronavirus vaccines, leaving poorer nations with little hope of exiting the pandemic in 2021. The European Union, stung by its slow progress on vaccinations, threatened this week to tighten rules on the shipment of Belgian-made shots to Britain. British lawmakers, in turn, have accused their European counterparts of a blackmail campaign that could embitter relations for a generation. And poorer countries, already at the back of the line for vaccines, could face even longer waits if the intense squabbling among rich countries drives up prices for everyone else.

Though the vaccine rollout began in late December, states have complained that the promised numbers of doses did not arrive. It is unclear, however, if the boost in U.S. vaccine numbers will help with Biden’s other priority, returning schools to in-person learning. Data from the United States and abroad reviewed by the CDC team found that schools had nowhere near the transmission rates of sites like nursing homes or high density workplaces. Many European countries originally kept schools open much longer than in the United States, but are now bowing under the pressure of a second wave. With one of the most rapid vaccine rollouts in the West, Britain is hoping to blunt the latest wave of infections.

Fox News’ Sean Hannity has been criticized for sowing doubt about the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine during Tuesday’s episode of his widely watched show. “I don’t know when my number gets called, I’m actually beginning to have doubts,” the conservative network’s prime time personality said of taking the coronavirus shot. “I’ve been telling my friends I’m gonna get the vaccine,” Hannity continued. They wouldn’t take it in a million years.”“I don’t know who to listen to,” he added. HuffPost has debunked misinformation surrounding the vaccine here and answered questions about its development and safety here.

POLITICO has looked at the key moments in the U.K. government’s — and its scientific advisers’ — handling of the coronavirus pandemic. March 26: Harries said testing and contact tracing was no longer an “appropriate mechanism as we go forward,” arguing that the World Health Organization’s call to “test, test, test” was aimed at less-developed nations. December 16: Johnson insisted Christmas wouldn’t be canceled and that restrictions would be relaxed for five days over the festive period. Hancock announced a new coronavirus variant had been identified in the U.K.December 19: Johnson canceled Christmas and scrapped the relaxation plan. January 4, 2021: 13 days later, Johnson announced a third national lockdown.

An Iberia Airbus A330 is seen flying over a hotel at Heathrow Airport in west London on January 26, 2021 | Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty ImagesTravelers from coronavirus hot spots will be forced into mandatory hotel quarantine upon arriving in the U.K., British Home Secretary Priti Patel is expected to announce today, but the opposition Labour Party has called for tougher measures. According to the BBC, the U.K. would force British residents arriving in England from 30 countries, including Portugal and most of South America and southern Africa, to quarantine in hotels at their own expense for up to 10 days. 10 does “want to go further,” but that “there is no textbook as to how to respond to this.”Want more analysis from POLITICO? POLITICO Pro is our premium intelligence service for professionals. From financial services to trade, technology, cybersecurity and more, Pro delivers real time intelligence, deep insight and breaking scoops you need to keep one step ahead.

A supercut released by “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” exposes the hypocrisy of Fox News’ attacks on rival news organizations’ coverage of Joe Biden’s presidency. The montage shows how personalities at the conservative network heaped praise and fawned over former President Donald Trump throughout his time in office, often to his face. But now Joe Biden is president, the same hosts claim other media is giving him a free pass. Fox host Jeanine Pirro sums up her network’s hypocrisy at the end of the video: “Wow. Double standard much?”Watch the video here:

On January 22, students at Columbia University in New York began the largest tuition strike in nearly 50 years. With the tuition deadline behind them, students say they plan on withholding payment until the university’s administration agrees to both reduce the cost of attendance and increase financial aid by 10%. “Beyond systemically failing Black folx on campus, Columbia has also destroyed much of the once majority Black neighborhood of West Harlem,” MAD’s letter reads. The ongoing tuition strike hearkens back to the Columbia protests of 1968, which resulted in an occupation of Columbia’s Hamilton Hall to protest the university’s construction of a segregated gymnasium in neighboring Morningside Park. “The tuition strike at Columbia is about building a more democratic higher education system,” says Labiba Chowdhury, a student at City College of New York and co-chair of YDSA’s national organization.

Durham County Public Health Director Rodney Jenkins announced on Monday that the county will open a “mega-site” capable of administering 45,000 COVID-19 vaccines each week, beginning next month. According to the public health department’s website, the mass vaccination site will operate seven days a week. The county is working with state emergency management and public health officials, along with Fidelity Investments, to open the mega-site. Durham County Commissioners Vice-Chair Wendy Jacobs said she’s thrilled at the prospect of a mega-site to administer the COVID-19 vaccine doses. “That’s the sure-fire way of beating the variants.”There are currently 1,255 total active coronavirus cases in Durham County, Jenkins said.

Much like the Bernie mittens meme, the video and still images of Spencer’s punching were ubiquitous. Spencer, who claims to have coined the term “alt-right,” treated the inauguration as a victory lap for his brand of Third Reich–inspired reactionary politics aimed at creating a white ethno state. Spencer came to represent the larger white nationalist current in American politics that saw itself as ascendant alongside Trump. Today, many of those same people who protested Trump are now sharing memes of Bernie Sanders sitting masked and socially distanced at President Biden’s inauguration. Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders is the new chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, and, with both houses of Congress in Democratic control and Biden as president, he plans to be “aggressive” in pushing through a progressive agenda.

× Expand via Fullsteam's Instagram Fullsteam's winning Pear & Sumac beerFullsteam Brewery announced Saturday that its Pear & Sumac saison, made with foraged ingredients, had won a 2021 Good Food Award. The saison, part of Fullsteam's Pierre Delecto limited release series, is the eighth Good Food Awards victory for the Bull City brewery. The Triangle raked in the awards this year, pulling in nine of the 11 received throughout the state. The Good Food Awards, an annual celebration from the Good Food Foundation, announced winners during a virtual ceremony on Friday night. You can explore a map of the 2021 winners on the Good Food Awards website, or search by category from coffee to fish.

I worked through edits of a story while news alerts flickered across my computer monitor, over and over again, demanding my attention, my interest. The most lucid moments in Jaffe’s writing come in the form of her blunt redefinitions of commonplace ideas. The occupation operates in a space, Jaffe argues, where devotion and love for the work is intrinsic to the value of the job. What undergirds Jaffe’s range of case studies is her central point that that love and work should not be in bed together and that it’s our job, even if we do love what we do, to deliberately separate them. We can and should demand more for ourselves, and for the companies that employ us to treat us better.

The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. Still, a 2008 study by the Geneva Declaration Secretariat estimated that indirect deaths from war are at least four times as high as deaths sustained in combat. At the Costs of War Project, we’ve started to examine the effects of war on human health and mortality, particularly in America’s war zones. To me, what that bill truly represented was the massive and unseen costs of America’s post-9/11 wars at home and abroad. It seems that we Americans still care more about waging war in distant lands than about protecting our own people right here at home.

Biden and his allies say they want to undo the diplomatic harm caused by former president Donald Trump’s unilateral reimposition of sanctions on Iran, which happened over the objections of European partners. Along with rejoining the Paris climate accords, salvaging the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that Trump abrogated would demonstrate the Biden administration’s commitment to multilateral diplomacy with long-standing allies. While Biden is committed to re-engagement with Iran, his aides have yet to indicate clearly when and how, suggesting that the ball is in Iran’s court. ADADAs the Trump administration fired off a final salvo of punitive actions against Tehran, the regime responded by stepping up enrichment of uranium at five times the rate permitted under the nuclear deal. “We have weeks.”This standoff between Biden and Zarif’s boss, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, is made more fraught by domestic pressures within both countries.

A Georgia state lawmaker said his refusal to take a Covid-19 test got him kicked out of the House chambers on Tuesday. But Georgia House Speaker David Ralston said the lawmaker, Rep. David Clark, has repeatedly refused to follow House policy which states that all members and staff be tested for the coronavirus twice a week. As such, under the authority granted to the Speaker by House Rules, the member was escorted out of the Chamber by a member of the Georgia Department of Public Safety." But "what I will not do is be forced to have a Covid test, or any unnecessary medical test, done without a basis for doing so," he said. Ralston said in his statement that Clark will be allowed to return to the chamber after he complies with the policy.

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Bangkok, Thailand Thai lawmakers have voted in favor of allowing abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy while retaining penalties for later terminations, a move that pro-choice activists said fell short of protecting the rights of the mother. In a late night session of the Senate on Monday, legislators voted 166-7 in favor of amending a law that criminalizes abortion, backing a plan that seeks to tackle unregulated terminations by non-medical practitioners. Under the amendment, an abortion after 12 weeks would be allowed only in certain conditions and would otherwise be punishable by up to six months in prison, or a fine of up to 10,000 baht ($334) or both. "This mean abortion is conditional and can only be done by doctors according to the law," Senator Wanlop Tangkhananurak told Reuters. The amendment was passed by the lower house last week and follows a Constitutional Court decision last February that ruled that criminalizing abortion was unconstitutional and violated human rights.

She said for now they were advocating for a political boycott, rather than a total boycott, for the sake of the athletes. Individual athletes could still boycott the 2022 Games, although this would mean compromising years of training and lucrative sponsorships. 'The power of sport'An Olympics can still be heavily political even if there's no boycotts, and the 2022 Beijing Games are likely to be no exception. Human Rights Watch is currently not calling for any boycott of the 2022 Games. CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly named Munich as the host city of the 1936 Olympic Games.

Rachel Maddow notes that as long as the Republican Party is wrestling with the extremists in its ranks, the Democratic Party does not have a functional opposition that forms the basis of the two-party system in the United States.

With Trump silenced with Twitter and completely out of sight, why are so many Capitol Hill Republicans staying fiercely loyal to Trump ahead of his second impeachment trial? MSNBC's Brian Williams talks to Steve Schmidt.

The seventh day of the Biden presidency saw the president take executive action on racial equity and order a huge vaccine surge to states nationwide.

Vladimir Putin spoke to the new American president for the first time on Tuesday. And after years of a cozy relationship with Trump, the Washington-Moscow dynamic is now very, very different. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul reacts.

He also denied allegations that the company had been selling its vaccines beyond the EU to make a quick buck. Some European leaders had reacted with outrage to Friday’s news that AstraZeneca’s scheduled COVID-19 vaccine supplies to the EU would be significantly cut. Soriot said the EU will receive 3 million doses once the vaccine is approved by the European Medicines Agency, and 17 million total by February. The EU “contract is very clear: Our commitment is, I am quoting, ‘our best effort,’” he said. Soriot denied that AstraZeneca was selling vaccines outside of the EU to make more money, underlining that the company was contractually obliged with Oxford University to make no profit.

Rachel Maddow outlines how Mitch McConnell first stalled the Senate to keep it from dealing with the article of impeachment against Donald Trump while Trump was still in office, and then voted with most Senate Republicans to say that Trump shouldn't be impeached because he's already out of office.

Rachel Maddow looks at how the Republican Party isn't merely dealing with a political course correction after losing an election, but rather, a existential turmoil that will determine whether it can continue to function in a way that sustains a democracy with only two major parties.

The safety and lives of people are being politicized at a time when the country should be coming together to improve our shared future.”Read more:SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT Never Miss a Beat. Get our best delivered to your inbox. Human Rights Challenges Remain in Biden Executive Actions on Restoring the Right to Seek Safety in the U.S. (news release, 1/20/21)All families seeking safety should be safe, free and together. People can learn more about Amnesty International USA’s work on the issue here. People can learn about Amnesty International USA’s priorities for the Biden administration here.

"Folks have wondered what Democrats’ first big push will be, and now we know it’s comprehensive climate action. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is doing right by backing a bold agenda that’s rooted in our communities. Now, it’s time for Joe Biden to step into the mantle of the climate president by declaring a climate emergency and aligning his unprecedented $2 trillion investment plan to the principles of THRIVE. "Many of our communities have already been devastated by wildfires, floods, heatwaves, and if we don’t move, this will only get worse. The agenda calls for climate, labor, and racial justice: specifically, 100% clean energy by 2035; the PRO-act for worker justice; and, investing $2 trillion in green jobs and infrastructure with 40% directed to environmental justice communities.

WASHINGTON - Wade Henderson, interim president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement on the introduction of the Raise the Wage Act of 2021:“There’s no denying that working people are in desperate need of a fairer federal minimum wage. The Raise the Wage Act will address inequities among historically marginalized groups and increase wages for millions — including the essential workers who have sacrificed so much for all of us through the COVID-19 crisis. It’s crucially important that Congress act swiftly by passing this legislation to give working people and their families the economic opportunity they need and deserve.”In 2019, The Leadership Conference testified before the House Education and Labor Committee in support of the Raise the Wage Act. And in 2018, The Leadership Conference’s sister organization, The Leadership Conference Education Fund, along with the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality, released a report, “Bare Minimum: Why We Need to Raise Wages for America’s Lowest-Paid Families.” Bare Minimum makes the case for raising wages and eliminating carve-outs to the federal minimum wage that is grounded in history, economics, and movements across the country, and particularly in the lived experience of our nation’s lowest-paid working people.

The Raise the Wage Act of 2021 would increase the federal minimum wage to $15 in five steps over the next four years. Beginning in 2026, the federal minimum wage would be indexed to median wage growth. "Raising the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2025 will be a boost to the economy, and a boost to our sales. “It is a national disgrace that the minimum wage has lost over 30 percent of its purchasing power since 1968. Now is the time to raise the minimum wage to a living wage – at least $15 an hour.

This would be the first increase in the federal minimum wage in over a decade. The current federal minimum wage of just $7.25 an hour has left a wide swath of the American workforce unable to fully participate in our consumer economy. Raising the minimum wage is about so much more than just helping poor workers - it’s an incredible long-term economic stimulus. Critics will say we can't afford to raise wages in the middle of a pandemic. But with businesses closing left and right because they don't have enough customers, we can't afford not to raise wages right now.

WASHINGTON - On Wednesday, President Biden is expected to sign an executive order to combat climate change domestically and elevate the issue as a national security priority. President Biden has already suspended new oil and gas leasing for 60 days. “The bare minimum is permanently halting new fossil fuel infrastructure on public lands and water that our government owns. To meet this goal, the United States must stop selling off federal land and waters to fossil fuel development. The fossil fuel industry is an existential threat to Florida.

It is time for Congress to act to raise the minimum wage to at least $15 an hour." "Do I think we have 50 votes plus one [from Vice President Kamala Harris] to pass a $15-an-hour minimum wage? "A $15 minimum wage by 2025 would generate $107 billion in higher wages for workers," said Zipperer. "Raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025 will help reduce poverty, narrow racial and gender pay gaps, and stimulate the economy. Minimum wage workers deserve a raise.

WASHINGTON - The Antibiotics Off The Menu (AOTM) coalition has released a statement calling for the Biden Administration to address the ongoing global threat of antibiotic resistance at the federal level, and for the restaurant industry to continue taking action to limit the use of medically important antibiotics on livestock. Through AOTM, Center for Food Safety works in coalition with other public interest, animal welfare, and environmental groups seeking to preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics in treating sick people and sick animals. Jaydee Hanson, policy director at Center for Food Safety, released the following statement:SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT Never Miss a Beat. “Bacterial resistance to antibiotic drugs is one of the most serious global health threats in the world today. Before COVID-19, diseases like Tuberculosis were death sentences to millions of people around the world, while medically important antibiotics used to treat them were fed to chicken, pigs, and cows.

Read @Oceana’s latest analysis: https://t.co/4e70v6piJ2 #ProtectOurCoast pic.twitter.com/ZBH65iR8jp — Oceana (@oceana) January 26, 2021SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT Never Miss a Beat. "By permanently protecting our coasts from dirty offshore drilling and advancing clean energy sources like offshore wind, we can simultaneously combat climate change and safeguard our clean coast economy." A drilling moratorium would go a long way toward this goal, argues Oceana campaign director Diane Hoskins. "By permanently protecting our coasts from dirty offshore drilling and advancing clean energy sources like offshore wind, we can simultaneously combat climate change and safeguard our clean coast economy," she said. "President Biden has an incredible opportunity to act on climate change and protect our coasts once and for all by closing the chapter on future offshore oil leasing," Hoskins added.

Stinnett also said that nearly 7,000 environmental voters who cast ballots in the Senate runoff did not vote in the presidential election. Regan became the nominee after environmental justice activists resisted the possible appointment of California air regulator Mary Nichols. For too long, the voice of environmental justice has waxed and waned with the political winds. That, to me, has the potential to be transformative.”Transformation would mean that the once lonely voice of environmental justice is no longer in the wilderness. To borrow from Vidaurre, it’s very validating when the environmental justice community need not yell out to the wind.

House impeachment managers delivered the article to the Senate on Monday. While senators were sworn in on Tuesday for Trump's second impeachment trial, arguments aren't set to start until February 9. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Tuesday claimed that the trial is unconstitutional and forced a procedural vote on the matter. The 55-45 vote signals that the necessary two-thirds of senators do not support a conviction. That polling results also showed that 52% of the U.S. public wants the Senate to convict Trump on the impeachment charge.

"So, there was this crazy idea: to host the Summer Games in one of the coldest towns on the planet." The risks will be severe and unavoidable," said Joe Hobbs, a Fridays For Future activist and operations director for Climate Cardinals. "Global warming does not have to be a self-fulfilling prophecy and everyone can make a significant and decisive contribution to stop this process." "Global warming does not have to be a self-fulfilling prophecy and everyone can make a significant and decisive contribution to stop this process." "The ice sheets are now following the worst-case climate warming scenarios set out by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change," Slater added.

President Biden: "We've never fully lived up to the founding principles of this nation." It does not apply to other federal agencies that contract with private prisons, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Kudos to @JoeBiden for swiftly ending DOJ contracts with private prisons. Private prisons and private detention centers should NOT exist. https://t.co/3Fsk3E2Twr — Pramila Jayapal (@PramilaJayapal) January 26, 2021The order on prisons was one of a set of racial equity measures enacted by Biden on Tuesday.

President @JoeBiden has the power to stop fracking on public lands. A temporary pause on drilling and fracking is good news, but we need a permanent ban on federal lands and everywhere! "Make this temporary fracking pause permanent and continue to tackle fossil fuel development and infrastructure everywhere it exists." "The bare minimum is permanently halting new fossil fuel infrastructure on public lands and water that our government owns." The only way President @JoeBiden can truly “build back better” is by listening to the science & banning fracking on public lands.

The virality of these shares has inspired clickbait titles like “Joe Biden Invades Syria with Convoy of U.S. Another inaccurate narrative that’s gone completely viral is the claim that Biden is sending more troops to Iraq. Trump may not have started any “new wars,” but he kept the old ones going and inflamed some of them. Rather than a throwback to “new wars” and the old-school ground invasions of the Bush era, the warmongering we’ll be seeing from the Biden administration is more likely to look like this. It appears clear that this would be the Biden administration’s preferred method of warmongering if given the choice.

On this day in 2018 Consortium News lost its founder and editor Robert Parry, who succumbed to cancer at 68. We look back on his life in this video of his memorial service held on April 14, 2018. Read more ?

The progressive Jewish organization IfNotNow questions why more Democrats aren’t decrying Israel’s exclusion of millions of people in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. “The Netanyahu administration has a moral and humanitarian obligation to ensure that both Israelis and Palestinians have access to vaccines,” she wrote. Netanyahu must ensure that both Israelis and Palestinians have access to the Covid vaccine. “If it is the responsibility of the Israeli Health Minister to take care of the Palestinians what exactly is the responsibility of the Palestinian Health Minister? “Israel’s Covid-19 vaccine program highlights the institutionalized discrimination that defines the Israeli government’s policy towards Palestinians.

Within the next year, it seems likely that most, if not all, college athletes will be legally entitled to earn money from playing sports. * The difference between these two approaches, between allowing college athletes to make money and actually paying college athletes, is profound. Before the issue arrived at a statehouse near you, the fight over compensating college athletes raged in the courts. The NCAA has accepted, in principle, the idea that college athletes will get compensation for the use of their name, image, and likeness. Booker’s bill recognizes what the Florida and Colorado laws deny: college athletes’ free labor is being exploited for profit.

BREAKING: Judge Tipton blocks the Biden administration's 100 day deportation moratorium. Big initial loss for the Biden administration as it moves forward with its immigration policies. "The court's order shows the uphill battle President Biden has in trying to reverse the prior administration's immigration restrictions." #FamiliesBelongTogetherhttps://t.co/oKN8Nw3uIb — Human Rights First (@humanrights1st) January 26, 2021"This action is a good start, but doesn't impact already separated families. Biden must reunite separated families in the U.S. and provide them citizenship, resources, and care," tweeted the ACLU, which is working to reunite families.

On this day in 2018 Consortium News lost its founder and editor Robert Parry, who succumbed to cancer at 68. We look back on his life in this video of his memorial service held on April 14, 2018. Bob’s wife, Diane Duston, introduced friends and colleagues to recount their memories of Bob, whose work impacted the nation. We present here a video of the entire memorial for the many admirers of Bob and his groundbreaking journalism. Please click on “Watch on YouTube.” The National Football League has blocked the video from playing directly on Consortium News because it contains a very short clip of an NFL game.

Josh HawleyWhat do major corporations mean when they say they’re cutting off campaign contributions to the congressional Republicans who tried to overturn the election in order to keep Donald Trump in power? It depends which company you’re talking about, because they’re all over the map. Others are somehow bothsidesing this, cutting off all federal campaign contributions. Still others are talking big but leaving the door open to resume contributions in time for the 2022 elections. Which makes the effort to undermine democracy perhaps the biggest thing Republicans have done to get corporate money out of politics in the past decade.

xFrom @ohanakittyfostering: “Mood all day today. ? Mama Faith cuddles and hugs onto her babies like I’ve never seen in any of my mama kitties and all of my mama kitties have been very sweet. My heart has officially melted. ??” #catsofinstagram pic.twitter.com/KdyhylsF4e

His type of questioning in that hearing is a small part of what I have dealt with white people in the rural areas in the state senate district. That didn't happen because the state legislative, and the state executive branches are controlled by the Ohio Republican Party. What makes this crazy is he is heading the state Senate Health Committee and his cousin, Ohio State Senator Matt Huffman, is helping him. And yes, I also wouldn't be surprised if Republican county sheriffs, Nino Vitale, LarryHouseholder, or any other Ohio Republican state representatives or state senators decide to run for this seat. Jesus, please take the wheel.

Remember, as president, Trump had some extra-special-presidential-ways of staving off prosecutions. Led by Democratic Attorney General Letitia James, the office is conducting a civil-fraud probe into Mr. Trump's financial dealings." And others questions you have about presidential immunity, and what will happen after DJT heads to Florida. Presidential immunity is a thing, but it’s not as all-encompassing as it sounds. In the two years she’s been in office, James’ office has filed 76 lawsuits against the Trump administration, of which it has won over 80%.

To the contrary, Fox News has actually made an even sharper turn to the right since the November election. No one on Fox News is more guilty of toxic, dishonest politics than Tucker Carlson. "Once politicians attempt to tell you what to believe," Carlson warned, "they are no longer politicians. In other words, No reasonable viewer would believe Carlson's BS. And as Carlson said above, "If they succeed in controlling what you believe you are no longer a citizen.

Her heroism was not limited to the women's movement of her time. She was the first person to describe the greenhouse gas effect in climate science over 150 years ago. Greenhouse gases, as you know, help heat the planet, and they are the reason why civilization was able to survive and thrive on earth for thousands of years. But humanity has increased greenhouse gases beyond safe limits, threatening civilization's collapse and a likely (if current emission trends are not reversed) extinction event. Three years later, a male scientist presented her findings and has since been known as the father of climate science.

Biden signs executive action for racial equality. Mc Connell giving Biden a hard time. Susan Rice spoke for criminal justice reform Biden giving help from Fema then says, “Xenophobia is ‘unacceptable’”. Biden will Restore and expand the voting rights act. Biden will use Defense Production Act to expedite vaccine production.

Sorry, Putin, looks like your days of pushing around the White House are over. America has a real President again, one who is not afraid to directly confront you about interfering in our democracy. Oh, and that thing about putting bounties on American troops. Because we, and President Biden, aren’t going to let you forget about that one any time soon. I’m sure it was nice dealing with a total boot-licking pushover, but those times are over.

The WeekWith former President Donald Trump's Senate impeachment trial looming, several Republicans in the upper chamber are reportedly rallying around the argument that impeaching a president who is already out of office is unconstitutional. As The Dispatch and Politico note, scholars in legal circles that span the political spectrum generally disagree, and Trump himself suggested ex-presidents could be tried a year ago. Per The Washington Post, when Trump was impeached for the first time, he complained that Congress should be going after former President Barack Obama instead over comments he made about health care. "We should impeach him for that," Trump said. Gaetz didn't change his mind this time around, though he made the case Trump's actions aren't impeachment-worthy.

There’s a lot of pillow talk in the Twitterverse now that My Pillow guy Mike Lindell has been permanently suspended from the social media platform for spreading election conspiracy lies. x Twitter, to Mike Lindell. pic.twitter.com/XEsPmZIHPp — Blue Hog Report (@BlueHogReport) January 26, 2021x Twitter just smothered the MyPillow guy's Twitter account with his own crappy pillow. x Retweet if you’ll be able to sleep easier now that Twitter permanently banned My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell for his blatant election lies. x My Pillow Guy Deflated pic.twitter.com/Q9f4x3B2lQ — Christine Pelosi (@sfpelosi) January 26, 2021x Now we know why My Pillow stinks!

There were record 4k + record deaths after the freaking lull… MORONS!! ”Siegel is board-certified in internal medicine and a coordinator of the NYU Langone Medical Center’s partnership with Sirius-XM Satellite RWNJ Radio . Marc Siegel is a Doctor and a Fox “news” SHILL spreading disinformation. Marc Siegal is the Doc that BLOTUS heard comparing Covid-19 to the flu… cementing RW false consensus bias. Marc Siegel is the Doc who interviewed the moron -in -chief in the ""Person, woman, man camera TV,” interview )parodied by Colbert) nodding agreement letting tRUMP lie and say how difficult his simple cognitive test really was… “I watch you.

“Biden introduced a bold and sweeping immigration bill on day one,” campaign steering committee member America’s Voice said. “The new administration has already rolled out eight major executive actions on immigration policy. Biden’s initial actions on immigration policy are a welcome departure from the racism and xenophobia of the Trump era. Now it will be crucial for the administration to continue to take action to undo the criminalization and punitive nature of the immigration detention system.”The groups introduced the campaign in a moving video. “We are on the cusp of dismantling a dysfunctional, unjust, and inhumane immigration system, and winning laws and policies that respect the dignity and rights of immigrants.

Jeff Jackson for NC-Sen.OK guys, this is HUGE. Jeff Jackson is a Mecklenburg County NC Democrat. He was my State Senator since 2014, until I lost him in the most recent redistricting. But I have stayed on his email list and followed him anyway because he’s great at communicating to the public how the state legislative sausage is made (or isn’t made since we’re in the grip of Republican obstructionists). We knew something had changed the other day when this news appeared on the Jeff Jackson timeline:And today came the official announcement:Jeff Jackson announcement videoHaving been a constituent for years, I think Jeff Jackson is the candidate that can win NC in 2022, and I encourage everyone to get behind him early, and often.

They expect to be able to produce 100 million doses for the US by the end of June. One shot seems to produce good immunity although a second booster shot may be helpful. The Biden administration has announced a new goal of administering 150 million doses of Covid vaccine in the first 100 days. Administration of 150 million doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine will provide full protection for 75 million people. It is not clear if people with mild or asymptomatic Covid all develop good immunity.

We first noticed Mississippi Congressman Steve Palazzo because of how homophobic he is, but right now, we're focusing on how he's begun supporting a bunch of deranged seditionists who attacked the capitol on 1/6. And, we have concerns about Steve Palazzo because of his close ties with the anti-gay hate group, the Family Research Council, and its lunatic leader, Tony Perkins. Mind you, that isn’t the only example we have of Steve Palazzo irrationally hating President Obama. That would be the government shutdown that PALAZZO VOTED TO CREATE. One Year Ago, January 26th, 2020: Steve Palazzo (MS)… Original ProfileTwo Years Ago, January 26th, 2019: Phil Bryant (MS)… 2019 UpdateThree Years Ago, January 26th, 2018: Phil Bryant (MS)… 2018 UpdateFour Years Ago, January 26th, 2017:Phil Bryant (MS)… 2017 UpdateFive Years Ago, January 26th, 2016: Phil Bryant (MS)… 2016 UpdateSix Years Ago, January 26th, 2015: Phil Bryant (MS)… Original Profile

As Matt Gertz, writing for Media Matters, notes, its coverage and fealty to the Trump administration provided record viewership for Fox News. The following will hopefully help describe that person, as based on my own observations (with help from highlighted sources):Unsurprisingly, the typical Fox News viewer is white and male. Our Fox News viewer believes that the Black Lives Matter movement is as violent or more violent than the Ku Klux Klan. At the same time he believes Democrats are plotting to outlaw the possession of firearms. Fox viewers are taught over and over to believe they’re under constant assault and must therefore continue tuning in, for the good of themselves and the nation.

#trump is exactly the type of self-centered, shameless, transactional character the FOUNDERS warned us about. The end of this miserable joke of a Presidency on Jan. 20, 2021(hopefully) will not do anything for our country in the immediate sense. Not that I believe there is, but if karma or justice exist, he will end up in prison. It can not be overstated how shameless this man is. At one point he actually said at rally, that all the media talks about is “Covid, Covid, Covid”.

My books, "It's Worth It: How to Talk To Your Right-Wing Relatives, Friends, and Neighbors" & “As I See It: Class Warfare: The Only Resort To Right Wing Doom” support (1) communication techniques & (2) Progressive message delivery. Please join our YouTube channel to get the numbers up to open up some more features and reach more folks.

A colleague of mine — about whom I’ve written before — just called me on the office intercom to needle me over the “fact,” which he saw in the New York Post, that “Biden got $145 million in dark money.”During the brief conversation that ensued, my colleague said inter alia that he “thought the Post was liberal,” and asked, “What’s dark money?”That is all.

Kellyanne has more than 3 million Twitter followers, all of whom had the ability to view the nude photo. In videos posted to TikTok on Monday, Claudia first lashed out at people for spreading this information, assuming it was a rumor. While the videos have since been deleted, Twitter users reposted copies of the videos. The incident follows a series of videos Claudia shared to her TikTok last week alleging that her mother has been “physically, mentally, and emotionally abusive” towards her. The videos from Jan. 19 depict Kellyanne not only shouting at but cursing, belittling, and even seemingly hitting her daughter.

Yesterday, Lloyd Austin, today Janet Yellen! Secretary Yellen is a trailblazer, whose deep commitment to working families will be essential as we confront the urgent economic challenges facing the American people. Secretary Yellen was confirmed with an 84-15 vote! x By a vote of 84 to 15, Janet Yellen is now the 78th US Treasury Secretary and the first woman to ever serve in that role. Congrats to Janet Yellen, the first woman to serve as Secretary of the Treasury!

Many people thought she was drunk. When I first saw her, I thought she was drunk—and I was more baked than a batch of Toll House cookies at the time. Anyway, whether or not she was drunk, Rudy was unable to stop her from embarrassing herself, even with a headful of squid ink pointed right at her, poised to addle her into acquiescence. So now she’s doing what many in the Trumpian mook menagerie are doing these days—greatly overestimating her importance. Thanks to Goodbye, Asshat: 101 Farewell Letters to Donald Trump, Dear F*cking Lunatic: 101 Obscenely Rude Letters to Donald Trump, Dear Pr*sident A**clown and Dear F*cking Moron, you can purge the Trump years from your soul sans the existential dread.

In 1926, Queen Marie dedicated the Maryhill Museum. The Maryhill Art Museum near Goldendale, Washington has a large collection of Romanian items which had once belonged to Queen Marie. Queen Marie gave the desk to Alma Spreckels in 1922 and Alma donated it to the Maryhill Museum of Art. Shown above is Queen Marie’s corner throne which was made for her in 1908. She later gave the chair to Alma Spreckels and Alma gave it to the Maryhill Museum.

There was a republican effort to dismiss the impeachment trial of a president who is out of office as unconstitutional. The vote was 55 to 45 meaning only five republican senators voted that it was constitutional. 52 % of the public sees Trump as wholly or primarily responsible for the insurrection. .Only a dismal 29 percent of Americans approved of Trump’s job performance according to Pew, with two-thirds disapproving. They are going down the no funding from big business and let’s have almost two thirds of voters think we’re insane path.

How the hell can you be a person who's very life could have been taken that day just let that go unanswered for? Only 5 Republican Senators Voted that its constitutional to move forward to Impeachment trial. Also Republicans are already trying to block everything good for us ,so we need to fight them and keep on them. They gonna block everything we need to hit back harder, use all the tools to get what need to be passed done. We can try unity first ,but the Republicans block everything bullshit, has begun so ,Democrats are gonna have to move past them, if they wanna play that game again.

: At the instigation of Donald Trump, insurrectionists assaulted the Capitol and put the survival of U.S. Democracy on a knife’s edge. Wednesday, January 13th: Impeachment : A week after seditious Donald incited insurrection, Trump became the first President to be impeached twice. : A week after seditious Donald incited insurrection, Trump became the first President to be impeached twice. : With a huge security presence to dissuade and deter another Cult 45 assault on the U.S. government, President Biden was sworn in as the 46th President. Notes:+ Okay, striving to stay with “I” is a bit of a stretch for Wednesday’s anticipated climate executive orders.

Qoup d'TrumpA friend of mine recently sent me a slick little piece of propaganda that’s apparently been circulating on various rwnj websites that seeks to minimize the seriousness of the Jan 6 Capitol Insurrection and attempted Qanon coup by making blatantly misleading and utterly disingenuous comparisons with all the various BLM protests, including those hijacked by the anarchist black bloc types. I’m not going to include the actual hit job here, or even a link to it (let alone refute it point-by-point, which any of us could do in our sleep), though any search on the terms “Manufactured Outrage” or “Your Outrage is Manufactured” is sure to turn it up. Instead, I’m more interested in finding out how things like this actually get created and launched in the first place. From what I’ve been able to find so far, its first appearance seems to have been on a really obscure rw/ct website called theburningplatform.com (at least I’d never run across it before) run by one Jim (or James) Quinn with an actual PO Box in Kulpsville, PA, sometime around 1:30 pm est on Jan 8. Since no one seems to be claiming authorship over this particularly obnoxious bit of offal, is it likely that Quinn is the original creator and his website the actual launch platform, or is there someone here more adept at this type of dreadful internet detective work who can trace it back to an even earlier source?

He is showing early signs of being a real heroDuring his confirmation hearing to become Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin promised to address the issue of rape in the military immediately. He had vowed to immediately address the problems of sexual assault and harassment in the ranks. “We will lead.” [snip] In his hearing and in the memo, Austin acknowledged that the military has long struggled with the problem, but must do better. It may or may not be part of the rape problem, depending on your point of view, but needs to be dealt with at the same time because the two are related. As a former general, SecDef Austin knows how to get military personnel to obey the orders of their superior officers.

The fact that Rand Paul has not faced an investigation into his ties to Russia tells you all you need to know about American politics. The letter highlighted how the U.S. wants to continue to work together with Russia on "countering terrorism, enhancing legislative dialogue and resuming cultural exchanges," Paul said. As an outspoken non-interventionist, Paul praised Trump's willingness to engage with Putin and said at the time that he would travel to Russia in early August to play shuttle diplomacy for Trump. On Wednesday, White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said in a statement that it was Paul who had requested Trump to provide "a letter of introduction." "In the letter, the President mentioned topics of interest that Senator Paul wanted to discuss with President Putin," Gidley said.

Black celebrities with huge social media followings need to step-up and speak out to get our folks vaccinated. https://t.co/9JaxqoyeCm via @NBCNewsTHINK — Beyoncé’s adopted daughter (@KJbabi) January 23, 2021Dr. Ala Stanford wrote:I reflected on this complex relationship between racism and mistrust as I considered whether to take the Covid-19 vaccine. At this point, as more and more of us die, we need to get more people who Black folks trust (not talking about politicians) to help change minds, and we need to accelerate our debunk, block and report game. Trump was, as Ta-Nehisi Coates explained in 2017, the first American president to exist purely because of his whiteness. He brought no credentials or qualifications to the position outside of his role as a shamelessly racist retort to the political success of the disciplined and highly qualified first Black president.

Nse Ufot, CEO of New Georgia Project, today's guest on our YouTube show and podcast. I’m excited about this week’s episode of Daily Kos’ The Brief, with me and Kerry Eleveld—we’ll be talking to Nse Ufot, CEO of Stacey Abrams’ New Georgia Project, the organization that helped register almost half a million new voters in the Peach State. We’ll talk about how New Georgia Project helped save our democracy and what lessons we can apply to other changing states. You can catch it wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. The more people we reach, the better we spread the Daily Kos message of grassroots empowerment and progress.

In truth, he only graduated from the Army’s Ranger School, which gave him the right to wear the Ranger tab on his uniform. While there is some confusion among non-military types about this, military protocol is pretty clear—if you graduated from Ranger School, you only have the right to call yourself “Ranger qualified,” not a Ranger. He’s rightly proud of his service w/ 101st in Baghdad and w/ The Old Guard and of his Ranger Tab for Ranger School but never confused units or his service. In fact, he went further, pointing out that Cotton claimed to have actually seen combat duty while wearing the Rangers’ coveted tan beret. x The narrative has successfully been shifted to whether people who graduated from Ranger School are Rangers.

And I think their party voters would see that as acceptable. Now — think about why Republicans stand united against all those things. The real reason is because those are the things that would cause Americans to trust their government more. That’s why I can be so certain that they would support Putin still, even in the face of open military action. I think that point needs to be pressed more, since it’s so consistent in their actions.

This will be short. 90% of today's Senate Republican caucus supports sedition, has contempt for democracy, and doesn't have the balls to hold a corrupt traitor who has been thoroughly disgraced accountable for trying to overthrow an election and inciting a murderous mob, even though that traitor no longer wields any power from his office. But god forbid if you lie about a blow job. My god, the entire party is a pathetic f-ng joke. So I suppose that not unlike Hamlet, the GOP can be viewed as part comedy as well.

It was worse on TV, as news anchors read Trump’s lies with a straight face. Too often, coverage still quoted the ... [Trump]'s lies without explaining that they were wrong. No matter how often Daniel Dale pointed out Trump’s lies, Trump kept on lying. Some thirty years ago, Biden lied about his educational credentials, and he was fact-checked the very next day by journalists like Sam Donaldson. Surely there are older as well as more recent examples of Biden lying.

Dear John Roberts, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, your presence is required in the Senate for the trial of Donald John Trump when it commences next month. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present. [Article I, Section 3, Paragraph 6]This passage is intended to distinguish trials for the President from trials for the Vice President and from trials for civil Officers of the United States. He is being tried as President of the United States. Therefore, the Chief Justice shall preside.

Greta on Capitol Hill in 2019www.alternet.org/…Alternet reports that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has called on President Biden to declare a Climate Emergency. "I think it might be a good idea for President Biden to call a climate emergency," said Schumer [in an interview with Rachel Maddow]. But if ever there was an emergency, climate is one," Schumer [added]. "When we shift the zeitgeist, we shift what's politically possible, and what's politically necessary. Further, “Democrats could pass climate legislation through reconciliation” according to climatologist Michael E Mann, who was citing Schumer.

Senator, I’d fight to raise the national minimum wage to at least $15 an hour. The minimum wage wage in Pennsylvania hasn’t been raised in *more* than a decade. Sign your nameFor people trying to stay above water, the $7.25 minimum wage in Pennsylvania just isn’t enough to get by. The truth is that the same politicians blocking a $15 per hour minimum wage are waiting on the other side to shame you for needing assistance simply to eat. I think it’s high time for us to take on this issue the right way by raising the national minimum wage to at least $15 an hour.

After four years of Trump who did whatever he could to exacerbate the climate crisis, now both President Joe Biden and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo are committed to a green economy. But Biden may need to declare the climate crisis a national emergency to get around Republican obstruction. But declaring the existential climate crisis a national emergency – a tactic Trump abused to divert Defense funding to build his Border Wall - would be another way to get over McConnell’s likely obstruction. Trump demonstrated that the Defense Budget doesn’t really need $740 billion budgeted, so Biden should allocate some of that to address the national security threat the climate crisis poses. Significantly, Biden is issuing a memorandum elevating climate change to a national security priority, but practically, politically, he needs to go further and designate the climate crisis the national emergency that it is.

I have served as a juror on a federal trial and I have watched the selection of jurors. I have seen the disqualification of some. I believe that some of the Senate jurors should be disqualified. I really believe that any Senator who supported and defended Trump in his lies about a stolen election should be disqualified. The impeachment managers should go for the jugular and hold Trump and every Republican Senator who has enable him accountable for what happen on January 6th.

American exceptionalism/exceptionally stupidAmerican exceptionalism is a saying and a term propagated over the decades with pride and bull headedness. However, in the face of it all we have never fulfilled the American dream for blacks, other minorities, women, the poor, and the vanishing middle class, despite our rhetoric to the contrary. We have a dysfunctional and racist judicial system led by a corporatist oriented, vote suppressing right wing Supreme Court. I want to be clear there are exceptional people in America, but to call the country exceptional as a whole is both ignorant of reality, and flies in the face of the facts. As I write this Trump supporters are storming the Capitol.

When your wood rack is beginning to show its age and you have accumulated old cedar fencing and 4x4 posts it is time to get busy and build anew from old. The old wood rack as you can see was on its last legs, err props and since I am now “retired” I have no excuses left for not getting it cleaned up and rebuilt. So having a number of already planed cedar fence boards, see prior Old to new II diary and a handy planer I got to work. Old Redwood decking waiting for a new useSeveral pieces of old redwood decking were around along with some truly ugly 4x4 pence posts which had rotted out at ground level. Oh, and in the background is a garden tool shed which was another project I did many years ago….not a old to new though.

Americans’ appetite for pusillanimous silver-spoon ninnies being as insatiable as it is, Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show is surprisingly highly rated. Which is where MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell comes in. And now this cruelly and unjustly censored tribune of the people is going to take his freshly muzzled mug over to, you know, the aforementioned highly rated Fox News show. x Mike Lindell will be on @TuckerCarlson tonight in the 7pm CT hour! Thanks to Goodbye, Asshat: 101 Farewell Letters to Donald Trump, Dear F*cking Lunatic: 101 Obscenely Rude Letters to Donald Trump, Dear Pr*sident A**clown and Dear F*cking Moron, you can purge the Trump years from your soul sans the existential dread.

So, first the vaccine was supposedly available though the Georgia Department of Health, just not in our county. Then “they said” our county health department had vaccine. We copied the link to 3 devices, got all insurance cards out, set timers for 5:59, and then… The website, listing each county which would have vaccine. Muscogee county had 203, 0.1% of the population of the county (completely not including adjacent counties, like mine, with no vaccine). And there is currently no vaccine for people under the age of 16.

xVP Harris at the National Institutes of Health: "I want to say to everyone who works here: I know who you are. I know what you do. I know that you work around the clock with those experiments that have to be checked on every few hours."

Apparently, Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Susan Collins (R-furrowed brow) are trying to secure support for a resolution of censure against Trump, since it now seems abundantly clear that not enough Republicans have the integrity, decency, patriotism, and courage to convict the corrupt traitor currently stewing in Mar A Lago. It’s not entirely clear if this would be in lieu of a Senate trial. Based on what I have read, it seems like they only may move forward with this if there are definitely at least 10 Republicans publicly on board, thereby overcoming a filibuster. If they also bypass a trial it would also eliminate very public coverage of the abundant evidence which is already out there — as well as other stuff which hasn’t emerged yet. I like Senator Kaine — he’s one of my Senators — but the more I think about this, if this was intended to be in lieu of a trial, again, this would be staggering political malpractice.

I get, every so often a question sent to me from someone who reads the diaries. No one I can think of looks anything like Larry King, even enough to get some make-up done enough to portray him in a film. Yes, to me Larry King does in fact look like Professor Farnsworth from Futurama. I do not think that we could bring the Professor to life, and make him an actor. How about you… who do you think should portray Larry King?

It's time democrats steer their ship and let the repugnants whine. Also a hike to 15 dollars an hour will results in millions of dollars flowing into the economy. It would save people nationwide from being forced out into the street as well as infusing small businesses with a shot of cash for small businesses which could save millions of them. Raising the minimum wage means less money that the government has to give businesses to prevent them from going under. A living wage means that people will be able to buy things and perhaps save some money which will reduce the number of people that will need help when they reach retirement age.

Samuel and Isiah have been raised to take care of the big livestock on a plantation so heartless it is called Empty. They have come of age falling in love, and becoming lovers has only strengthened their bond in work and beyond. That the three strongest characters are echoed in the main narrative of the novel reinforces the tragedy of what is to come. There is a lot of life and love in this book. The stories are concerned with gender, race, one's place in the world and identity in ways great and small.

Luckily, Dr. Ellen Alexander, a young, feminist postdoc geologist at University of Colorado Boulder, immediately saw what was going on and got busy tweeting. x FLOTUS Dr. Jill Biden as Aquamarine (a variety of Beryl) pic.twitter.com/ra8GA5GpKH — Dr. Ellen Alexander (@ellenwalex) January 20, 2021Dr. Jill Biden’s entire ensemble is by Markarian, a label of Alexandra O’Neill that WaPo says is “sustainability-focused”. [Bernie tweet — Doug tweet]x Doug Emhoff as Onyx pic.twitter.com/Wmpv7dU4b9 — Dr. Ellen Alexander (@ellenwalex) January 20, 2021Second gentleman Doug Emhoff wore a coat by Ralph Lauren. You go, Dr. Alexander! First, though, here’s a reminder that, if you missed any part of Inauguration Day, or want to see something again, everything is up on their YouTube page.

I just don’t see the existence of a security concern in this. Before I get into my specific four points as to how national debt, specifically US debt, play in the relationship of national security, I’m dropping a couple reminders:- Household debt is a very poor analogy to national debt. Something we should consider in both the private and the national circumstances, debt is investment. Regarding national security. While household debt may be destabilizing to individuals, debt is highly stabilizing for the US government.

Page notes:"Olbermann Vs. Trump" now becomes "Olbermann Vs: ______" And we begin with the new Republican Congresswoman from Georgia, Marjorie Taylor Greene. Her previous attempt to overthrow the election, foment the attack on the Capitol, support Trump's coup, and - farcically - to "impeach Biden" on January 21 turn out to have been mere prelude. CNN has discovered a cache of her social media posts endorsing 'executing' Speaker Nancy Pelosi for 'treason.' And the not-so-thinly-veiled-threats extend to President Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, and other leading Democrats. While she has blamed "others" who have access to her Facebook account, the most damning words are contained in a video of a 2019 speech Taylor Greene herself gave.

While everything about the pandemic is horrible and seems never-ending, I have found a small, but detectable silver lining: disabled people with funds (i.e. Please send comments (before 9:30pm ET) by email to topcomments@gmail.com or by our KosMail message board . There’s a lot that sucks, but that’s what makes finding a silver lining in all those gray clouds extra special. Discovering a bit of a silver lining peeking out from behind ever dark clouds has been a blessing. Have any of you found a silver lining in the past terrible, awful, most horrendous year?

I read somewhere that Bernie and Democrats are waiting to pass stimulus until March. Will this hurt them in midterms.

President Joe Biden names Rear Admiral Susan Orsega acting surgeon general. President Joe Biden is certainly not sitting on his hands during the devastating coronavirus pandemic. His administration is expected to tap nurse and Rear Admiral Susan Orsega for the role as the nation’s doctor, two anonymous sources told The Washington Post. Orsega is a commissioned officer in the U.S. Public Health Service corps, which she thanked in 2019 when she was honored with the HRH Princess Muna Al Hussein Award for her contributions to health care internationally. "It is a mobile, duty-bound group of 6,300 uniformed health officers willing to go anywhere at any time to meet the nation's most urgent public health needs."

Sneed's East Tennessee base remained loyal to the Union during the conflict, though he temporarily left Congress in 1863 when he was appointed state attorney general by military governor Andrew Johnson. Sneed returned in 1866 when Tennessee was readmitted to the Union after Johnson was elevated to the presidency after Abraham Lincoln's assassination, this time as a full-fledged member of the Republican Party. After the federal government abandoned Reconstruction, however, Republicans throughout the South quickly found themselves with little influence. Democrats hung on in Tennessee longer than in other corners of the South, but those days are long gone. Republicans gained control of the redistricting in 2010 for the first time since Reconstruction, and they’ll once again decide the new congressional map.

The complaint filed by advocates last month alleged a pattern of retaliation against immigrants who dared to speak out Amin’s abuse, including the use of deportation. That moratorium, along with an order rescinding the previous president’s deportation priorities, should’ve been protecting many immigrants who shouldn’t have been a target for ICE in the first place. But the out-of-control agency defied those orders and targeted a young immigrant formerly protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. ICE operates with impunity, and unless we come down hard on it, it’ll continue operating with impunity. This is why we have to remain vigilant when it comes to ensuring the women released from Irwin are able to safely fight for justice.

Nebraska alone has reported over 6,700 COVID-19 cases traced back to meatpacking plants, as well as 26 deaths. Data from the Mirgation Policy Institute shows undocumented people make up about 11% of the workforce at meatpacking plants in Nebraska. Now, as the COVID-19 vaccine begins to roll out around the country, immigrant justice and workers’ rights advocates are speaking out about how crucial it is to prioritize access to essential undocumented workers. Since the pandemic began, she said undocumented community members have even been scared to get tested for COVID-19 because they believed they had to show documents proving their “legal” status. Despite many attempts … nothing has been done [to protect meatpacking workers],” Vargas said in the Jan. 11 virtual press conference.

? Nov. 06—Trump campaign seeks volunteers to engage in election fraud in Pennsylvania by submitting late ballots. ? Nov. 10—William Barr authorizes U.S. attorneys to pursue false claims of election fraud, triggering resignation of DOJ’s Election Crimes Branch, Richard Pilger. Trump calls for MAGA revolt. Brian Kemp reminds Trump that election fraud is illegal after Trump posts series of tweets attempting to get Kemp to overturn election results. ? January 067:30 AM—Lauren Boebert tweets “Today is 1776.”8:17 AM— Trump once again tweets lies about election fraud.

Later, the video shows a crowd at the door of the Capitol building chanting “We want Pence,” over and over again. It’s not a bunch of people calling for Mike Pence to speak—that’s something that’s never happened in America, frankly. Video inside of the Capitol building hallways shows big bearded faketriots screaming at D.C. and Capitol police, telling them that “You’re outnumbered. You can argue that the people who believe the things that Donald Trump says are being conned. You can say all of those things because Donald Trump, the president of the United States, told them exactly that.

Linda Ellis, who took on the position as superintendent of the district last May, chose to instead focus on giving the appearance of political neutrality. x So basically we shouldn’t celebrate HISTORICAL MOMENTS if it offends a group of individuals??? If the 1st woman vp had been republican and white, would there be an issue??? A “violation of political neutrality? They can't seem to celebrate that a #woman holds the second-highest office in the nation.

Let’s investigate what today is, because we need all the holidaze we can celebrate, right? This is an Open Thread, so please feel free to add your favorite pomes and photoes and holidaze for today in the Comments! How to Observe National Plan for Vacation Day Celebrate the day for planning out your vacation days for the upcoming year. Project: Time Off has a vacation planning tool where you can enter the number of days you will have off and how you want to spend them. This can also easily be done as there are many places close to home where vacations can be taken.

Just how much risk districts should take on in the name of reopening is a question school districts throughout the country are grappling with. “What CPS is asking educators to do is like asking someone to jump out of a plane holding a blanket when a parachute is a few rows back,” Thad Goodchild, deputy general counsel for the union, told the Sun-Times. In Los Angeles, the school district's top official is similarly advocating for vaccinations before reopening for kindergarten and older students. “The (President Joe) Biden Administration has set a goal of administering 100 million doses in the next 100 days,” Beutner said. But after receiving multiple complaints from worried educators and activists, administrators pushed back the return date for older children.

First today, there is quite a bit of news out of both the White House and the Senate. These efforts are very real, and may well work, even in states which currently have Democratic Governors. "You've got a 50/50 body and yet, those 50 Democratic Senators are representing about 41.5 MILLION MORE PEOPLE. And then there's the need to get rid of the undemocratic filibuster in the already wildly undemocratic Senate if Democrats hope, as they are now promising, to quickly accomplish "big, bold things" done. Constituents of Democratic Senators Kyrsten Sinema in Arizona and Joe Manchin in West Virginia may wish to mention that to them.

Getting everyone vaccinated by summer or early fall means not just coming up with more doses, but increasing the rate of vaccination by two to three times. Biden pledged to meet that challenge. As first steps, he notified states that starting next week the number of doses going out will increase from about 8.5 million to 10 million a week. President Biden mentioned several times his intuition to use the Defense Production Act, not just to secure more vaccine, but to make sure there are adequate supplies. That includes the vials and syringes needed for vaccination, personal protective equipment needed to protect healthcare workers, and swabs and reagents needed for testing.

Several more of Jordan’s current or former House colleagues are also talking about seeking the GOP nod for Senate. Tiberi, though, retains a $5 million war chest that he could use on another bid for federal office. Troy Balderson and Youngstown State President Jim Tressel. Whaley didn’t indicate which office she’d prefer but seemed especially motivated to stop Jordan from representing Ohio in the Senate, saying, “If Jim Jordan decides to run [for Senate], it is highly likely he will win that primary. We recognize that the soul of our state is at stake, and that’s a motivation to all of us.”

“We want lone wolves, we want local cells without online recruitment,” a popular “accelerationist” account on Telegram recently urged its readers. A more dispersed and deliberately discreet approach is hard for law enforcement and monitoring groups to observe their activities and prepare accordingly. (It was largely inspired by the real-life serial-killing spree of white supremacist Joseph Paul Franklin.) The white supremacist website Stormfront and the jihadist website Azzam.com both appeared in the early days of the internet. Unlike older white supremacist websites such as Stormfront and even Vanguard News Network, these websites are totally unfiltered.

Meghan McCain just about lost it on The View as she described the degeneracy of the Republican Party. Meghan McCain laments the state of the GOPSee full episodes here. One had to feel somewhat sorry for Meghan McCain. The life-long Republican has watched the Republican Party as she knew it under her dad's guides and others disappear. "I'll die fighting for it," Meghan McCain said.

White residents, even as a minority, often vote as a bloc and drown out the voices of Black and brown voters. “There’s no shot against anybody because they’re a white man or a white woman. Houston Chronicle: Harris County rolls out 'Ready Harris' COVID-19 vaccine portal by Alison MedleyIt can be a confusing, frustrating challenge for many Houstonians trying to register for the COVID-19 vaccine in Harris County. Getting a COVID-19 vaccine shouldn’t be like the Hunger Games. The process will no longer be implemented on a first-come, first-serve basis, a Harris County Health press release stated.

xDear @TheAmandaGorman , WOW! Your words inspired me so much last week and not only because of what you said but because of the obstacles I know you had to overcome to get there! Thank you so much for inspiring me and every other person in the world with a speech impediment! pic.twitter.com/ImA0O1EZp7

“It has been a week since Joe Biden has been elected, and I am disappointed in the lack of progress”“What’s the point of having a Democratic majority in Congress, and Democrat in the Whitehouse? it feels like nothing is changed!”These are some of the comments I am hearing from some of my son’s high school classmates, neighbors, and even some local Democrats who were actively involved during the election season. At first, I tried to explain how much Biden has already done within his first week. But before talking about Biden’s first week in office, we should be grateful that Trump is not in the office and causing damage to us domestically and internationally. We should also celebrate the fact that we have a team focused on building the nation with competency instead of actively destroying our country with deliberate incompetence like we have seen under DJT.

The Insomniacs' Vent Hole is a latenight gathering for non-serious palaver. Violation of IVH rules will result in expulsion without refund. A copy of IVH rules can be obtained from one or more members wearing tie-dyed oxford shirts after submitting written requests. _____________________________________________________________________________________“We love you so much and we’re going to be here every night trying to make you laugh and trying to bring a bit of light and levity to your day whenever we can.” James Corden. Last night I made a comment about the pattern on this door at the Palace in Fez.

Dire Wolf skulls on display at the LaBrea Tarpits museum in Los AngelesThe Dire Wolf has been one of the most common fossils to be found in North American Ice Age deposits. Since there are many thousands of Dire Wolf bones that are both relatively recent and quite well-preserved, she assumed this would be an easy task. They were not even close enough to be in the same genus, and Perri’s team resurrected the genus name Aenocyon (“terrible wolf”) for the Dire Wolf. The Dire Wolf may have been evolving independently for perhaps as long as six million years before the ancestors of the Gray Wolf and Coyote ever arrived in the western hemisphere. In 2017, moreover, a jawbone identified as a Dire Wolf was found in northeastern China.

Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont D VT has who was just sworn in to preside over the upcoming impeachment trial has been taken to the hospital for observation. His office put out a statement that he was feeling unwell, has been seen by a doctor and has been taken to the hospital out of an abundance of caution for observation and evaluation. thehill.com/...

Trump's White House press office was a hostile work environment for journalists who strived to bring truthful information to the public. As reported by Politico:"White House officials promise a sea change from how the Trump White House interacted with the press. "'We expect reporters covering the White House to operate in good faith and tell their audience the truth, and this White House will do the same. We are moving forward with that mutual understanding,' said T.J. Ducklo, the deputy White House press secretary. If the Biden Press team sticks to those principles, they will have to ban to Fox News from the White House Press Room.

I’ve been entertaining myself with youtube videos of insurrectionists’ arrests. One thing that pops up often, is the concern that the charges levied so far have been far too light. Feds Preview More Serious Charges, Including Sedition, For Capitol Attack By Matt Shuham January 26, 2021 5:01 p.m. Washington, D.C.’s top federal prosecutor on Tuesday previewed more, and more complicated, charges for individuals involved in the Capitol attack earlier this month as the pool of evidence from the event continues to grow. “These numbers are on a steep incline.” [...] “We are closely looking at evidence related to the sedition charges,” Sherwin said, noting the charge could result in decades of prison time for those found guilty. “That [case] was of note because it shows militia groups actively involved in planning and breaching the Capitol,” Sherwin said of the Oathkeepers.

According to these reports, the mother and son pair were almost released from custody to walk free among us. CBS NewsNashville — A federal judge on Sunday blocked the release of a Tennessee man authorities say carried flexible plastic handcuffs during the riot at the U.S. Capitol. U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell for the District of Columbia also ordered that he be brought to Washington for further proceedings. TennesseanA federal judge on Monday ruled that Lisa Eisenhart, a woman who federal authorities say broke into the U.S. Capitol alongside her son in a violent mob on Jan. 6, could be released from federal custody as early as Tuesday night. I’m pretty sure they’re going to be restrained by a bit more than FlexiCuffs as they’re transported back to Washington, D.C. under federal custody.

The entire Republican Party will be on trial. As Boot emphasizes, Trump’s guilt here is crystal clear and becoming even clearer than that with each passing day. Many of the participants in the event itself have directly characterized their actions as responsive to Trump’s siren call. All 10 of the House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump are now facing a backlash at home, with local party organizations scolding them for disloyalty and primary challengers lining up against them. Call some witnesses in from those state legislatures who met with Trump as he hemmed, hawed and threatened them.

ABC NewsActing Washington, D.C., U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin said Tuesday that they have identified 400 suspects and have arrested 135 to date in connection with the attack on the U.S. Capitol. (snip)The DOJ is still trying to "build towards" charges of seditious conspiracy and pointed to the Thomas Caldwell OathKeeper case because "it shows a militia group's actively involved in planning and breaching the Capitol," according to Sherwin. He said the public could see possible sedition charges "bear fruit very soon" and that there could be an uptick in assaults against police officer cases. At a previous press conference, Sherwin said the DOJ established a task force to investigate possible sedition charges.

That constitutional scholar Tommy Tuberville claims he wasn’t at a meeting with Trump the night before. “Lawmakers ‘perturbed’ when House Sergeant-at-Arms told them at least none of them died in Capitol attack.”As GOP defends Trump's impeachment on 'political speech' grounds, don't accept that framing. The proper framing is around the elements of his behavior: 1. Gave the charge to march on the Capitol. The newspaper also reported that Herbster ‘also met Tuesday in Trump’s private residence in his Washington, D.C., hotel with Trump’s sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, and other campaign advisers.’”

(CNN)Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene repeatedly indicated support for executing prominent Democratic politicians in 2018 and 2019 before being elected to Congress, a CNN KFile review of hundreds of posts and comments from Greene's Facebook page shows. In one post, from January 2019, Greene liked a comment that said "a bullet to the head would be quicker" to remove House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In other posts, Greene liked comments about executing FBI agents who, in her eyes, were part of the "deep state" working against Trump. In one Facebook post from April 2018, Greene wrote conspiratorially about the Iran Deal, one of former President Barack Obama's signature foreign policy achievements. A commenter asked Greene, "Now do we get to hang them ??

The Washington Post's sources say the action "is intended to reverse Trump-era changes to Medicaid." Whether that means undoing orders that allowed states to do things like impose work requirements or treat Medicaid like a block grant isn't clear at the moment. Biden can also revise the previous administration's hostility to Obamacare by providing all kinds of incentives for states that haven't expanded Medicaid to do it now. These are the immediate, COVID-19 emergency actions Biden is taking, but just the start to the Obamacare expansion he's got in the pipeline, but which will require congressional action. In addition to those orders, Biden is expected to rescind the Mexico City policy, the global gag rule that prohibits any international aid to international groups that provide or facilitate abortions in foreign countries.

If they spend a few dollars for homeless Americans, we'll support a few dollars for members of Congress. Dr. Arthur Maass Professor of Government Emeritus, Harvard University rrxhYou have to view these members of Congress as representing hundreds of thousands of citizens. The judges aren't asking for a raise; all they want is their purchasing power restored to 1969 levels. Mark Russell Observer of Washington rrxhThe only problem with the raise for members of Congress is that it takes away their incentive to go out and look for honest work. The best thing would be to lower the salaries and raise the bribes.

Trump and Biden's unfavorable ratings are about the inverse of their favorable ratings. Both receive higher unfavorable than favorable ratings, although the balance of opinion is more negative for Trump. Trump now earns a -16 net-favorable rating (percentage favorable minus percentage unfavorable) while Biden has a -4 net-favorable rating. Melania Trump and Jill Biden are each viewed favorably by just under half of Americans -- 49% for Biden and 47% for Trump. However, one thing that can be said for 2020 is that the candidates' favorability ratings are better on average the candidates' ratings were in 2016.

During the 2021 Session, Georgia Tech will be operating a testing site for General Assembly Members and Capitol Staff. The test that Georgia Tech will be using is a saliva-based PCR test (no nasal swab required) and is intended for asymptomatic individuals only. If a Member or House staff has difficulty finding a testing site with availability, they should contact the Office of the Speaker for assistance.) [...] All Members and House staff will be required to be tested twice weekly during the 2021 Session. House staff must begin testing the week prior to session.

The most direct approach is an annual wealth tax on the biggest fortunes, proposed by Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, among others. THREE OTHER ARTICLES WORTH READINGTOP COMMENTS • RESCUED DIARIES • THE BRIEFTWEET OF THE DAYx Some Republicans in Congress seem confused about what “unity” means. They seem to think that if you don’t give them what they want, you’re not for unity. — Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) January 27, 2021QUOTATION“The same rule of self-destructive financial calculation governs every walk of life. We destroy the beauty of the countryside because the un-appropriated splendors of nature have no economic value.

Unlike Obama and Clinton, he’s too old to be dreaming of years lived high in the economic oligarchy as the payoff for serving Wall Street while in the White House. Biden will be lucky to outlive his time in the White House and, who knows, might be more prone to care about his legacy to humanity? Second, he’s not super-bright like Clinton and Obama and smarts can be overrated when they are developed within a ruling class world view. Fourth, and this is amateur psychologizing, but Biden seems less plagued by narcissism than Clinton and Obama, both of whom were heavily caught up in that common politico affliction. America is in deeper shit as Biden moves into the White House than it was when Clinton and Obama took up the reins of power.

During the past two decades, Pew has used multiple indicators to gauge voters’ interest and intensity as the presidential election approaches. Prior to the 2000 election, 51% of the voters believed that the major party candidates were articulating differing positions on the issues, compared to 33% who saw them as taking similar positions. What the data from 2020 tells us is that there is every reason to expect a record turnout in 2020. If McDonald is correct and turnout reaches the 1908 level, votes cast in 2020 could total more than 145 million, up from 133 million in 2016. In addition to massive turnout, Republicans and Democrats will be voting in very different ways.

The nation's 644 billionaires have enjoyed a staggering rise in wealth since the pandemic shuttered the economy in March, with the group gaining almost $1 trillion in total net worth, according to a new analysis. The wealth of the nation's billionaires rose to $3.88 trillion as of October 13, a jump of $931 billion from March, an analysis from Americans for Tax Fairness and the Institute for Policy Studies, two left-leaning groups, found. That's almost twice the $2.1 trillion in wealth held by the bottom half of the U.S. population, or about 165 million people, they added. Other billionaires whose fortunes have risen during the pandemic include Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates, whose wealth has jumped 20% to $118 billion since March, and Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, with an 85% gain to $101.2 billion, the analysis found. "I would argue that it has a social cost [because] it undermines the solidarity we need to get through the pandemic."

Private campaign contributions drive electoral outcomes, while neoliberal political economy structures the political process. The pandemic is excluded from the graph to capture the state of the pre-pandemic economy. One answer: Wall Street wants to control both the demand for and supply of credit. The third is the permanent crisis economy that began in 2008, and that now represents an epoch of its own. The implied premise that motivated Barack Obama in 2009 was that restoring Wall Street would restore the economy that preceded the economic collapse.

“They’re turning the court into an arm of their PR effort,” complained one GOP staffer closely tracking the lawsuits. “There’s probably been a couple hundred stories reprinting the AP” article summing up the lawsuits, the source added. Trump and his Republican backers have already beaten a similar Democratic lawsuit in federal district court in Arizona. Both Democratic and Republican sources tracking the litigation said they had their doubts a Supreme Court appeal would be very effective. While the Democrat vs. Republican litigation has a distinct partisan flair, it also has some practical effects, too.

The political and economic realities have changed a lot since 2009, which is allowing Biden to trade restraint for ambition. "This is an environment where there is very little regard for the consequences of higher federal debt, if any, on both sides," Holtz-Eakin said. Trump, who referred to himself as the King of Debt, saw the national debt soar by more than $7 trillion during his four years in office. "There's just a sense that they want to do bigger things," said Jason Furman, an economic policy professor at Harvard, of the progressives. Furman, who was a deputy director of the National Economic Council in the Obama administration, helped craft the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The issue“The COVID-19 recession is the most unequal in modern U.S. history.”1The pandemic has thrown into stark relief the high and rising economic inequality in the United States and elsewhere. The pandemic is not only exacerbated by the deprivations and vulnerabilities of those left behind by rising inequality but its fallout is pushing inequality higher.2Income and wealth inequality has risen in practically all major advanced economies over the past two to three decades. Rising inequality is a major fault line of our time, with adverse economic, social, and political consequences. The pandemic is not only exacerbated by the deprivations and vulnerabilities of those left behind by rising inequality but its fallout is pushing inequality higher. Globalization also has contributed to rising inequality within economies—although technological change has been the more dominant factor.

A majority of Americans say they feel the country is headed in the wrong direction ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, a new poll shows. The NBC News poll showed that 73% of respondents indicated the country is on the wrong track, while only a mere 21% of Americans approve of the country’s direction. (RELATED: 68% Of Americans Approve Of Biden Transition, Poll Shows)An earlier Suffolk University Poll released on Sunday showed that 65% of Americans disapprove of the direction America is heading in. The NBC poll showed that 55% of Americans believe Biden’s rhetorical style as president will be more presidential than outgoing President Donald Trump’s and that 43% approve of his personal qualities. The poll also indicated 60% of respondents approve of Biden’s transition thus far, compared to 32% who disapprove of the team’s efforts.

The numbers on this page are estimates from exit polls conducted by Edison Research for the National Election Pool. These surveys interviewed voters outside of polling places or early voting sites, or by phone (to account for mail-in voters). While exit polls offer an initial indication of how groups voted on election night, they are not perfect. The polls are not precise enough to distinguish between, say, 53 percent support or 50 percent support from a certain group. Like any survey, they are subject to sampling error, and they rely on estimates of how many people voted in each group.

Wealth, otherwise known as net worth, is an accounting of assets minus liabilities. Forbes estimates the net worth of the wealthiest among us—all 400 would not be captured in the SCF. The wealth held by these 400 equated to the total wealth held by the entire bottom 58% of families in the U.S. For perspective, at Black median wealth, it would take 12.8 million families to equate to that held by Bezos and the Waltons. Average net worth for this group was negative $13,500—due to the fact that the bottom 10.4% of families all have negative net worth.

Yesterday’s invasion of the Capitol by a Trump-supporting mob has certainly generated intense political passion and pervasive rage. ShareOne is that striking at cherished national symbols — the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, the Capitol — ensures rage and terror far beyond body counts or other concrete harms. Even those unarmed protesters who peacefully entered the Capitol should, many argued, be hunted by the FBI as domestic terrorists. Antifa advocates are working to expose the names of Capitol protesters to empower the FBI to arrest them on terrorism charges. As is true of every faction, there are right-wing activists filled with rage and who are willing to engage in violence.

It’s not public opinion, especially as it relates to Democrats’ votes. Instead, congressional Democrats’ votes appear to be heavily influenced by the campaign contributions of the same war profiteers for whom the NDAA is a corporate bailout. On average, House Democrats who voted for the NDAA accepted four times the amount of war industry cash as those who voted against it. The first is that recruiting “no” votes will come from the pool of Democrats who do not rely on war industry financing. The second is that the top recipients of war industry cash will not be swayed and must be replaced by a primary challenger.

I don’t see a role for me as a lawyer,” said Alan Dershowitz, the Trump-allied attorney who joined Trump’s impeachment defense team last January. Nikki Haley and Mark Sanford, and serves as a judge advocate general officer for the South Carolina National Guard. Trump’s push to bolster his defense team comes one week after House Democrats impeached him for a second time on charges of inciting an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. During that rally, Trump encouraged protesters “to walk down to the Capitol” — a phrase likely to become a focal point of his impeachment trial. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has asked for Trump to receive two weeks to prepare his legal case for trial.

The violent takeover of the Capitol Building was designed to stop the election certification. Only after the mob was cleared from the Capitol Building was Congress able to reconvene to do this. (Washington Post, Jan. 14)Why was the mob chanting “Find Mike Pence, Hang Mike Pence” when they marched through the Capitol Building? Given the level of awareness that an attack was coming, it is shocking that Capitol Police and other law enforcement bodies did not prepare more robust defenses around the Capitol Building. How did the attackers have such detailed knowledge of the notoriously difficult to navigate Capitol Building?

Ever since the first dismal days after President Donald Trump’s election, the Democratic Party has been falling for the FBI. Shortly after Comey was fired, the former FBI chief Robert Mueller was appointed special prosecutor and Democrats had found their vaunted hero and darling. Now he brings us the swashbucklingly titled The Threat: How the FBI Protects America in the Age of Terror and Trump. McCabe, who declares, “I love the FBI” during media interviews and book talks, is not at all apologetic about any of this. The FBI after 9/11 picked up one, then another, and then yet another suspect and put them all in detention.

It may seem to many Americans that Washington is entirely consumed by the impeachment inquiry, and that no other important business is getting done on Capitol Hill. But on Tuesday, in a break from televised hearings, the House of Representatives voted to fund the government through December 20. That’s all well and good, except that Democratic leaders had slipped something else into the bill: a three-month extension of the Patriot Act, the post-9/11 law that gave the federal government sweeping surveillance and search powers and circumvented traditional law-enforcement rules. Key provisions of the Patriot Act were set to expire on December 15, including Section 215, the legal underpinning of the call detail records program exposed in the very first Edward Snowden leak. Republicans have “decried FISA abuse” against the president and his aides, he said, referring to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, “and Democrats have highlighted Trump’s abuse of his executive powers, yet they’re teaming up to extend the administration’s authority to warrantlessly gather data on Americans.”

astead herndonAnd Joe Biden runs for Senate in 1971 as a new type of Democrat —archived recording (joe biden) I’m Joe Biden, and I’m a candidate for the United States Senate. archived recording (joe biden) Politicians have done such a job on the people that the people don’t believe them anymore. And at the exact same time, that’s when the young Joe Biden makes his way to Capitol Hill. archived recording (joe biden) In a nutshell, the president’s plan doesn’t include enough police officers to catch the violent thugs. archived recording (joe biden) Before I start, I’d like to say something about the debate we had last night.

The following is the Jan. 12, 2021 message to U.S. troops from the Joint Chiefs of Staff. MEMORANDUM FOR THE JOINT FORCESUBJECT: MESSAGE TO THE JOINT FORCEThe American people have trusted the Armed Forces of the United States to protect them and our Constitution for almost 250 years. The violent riot in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021 was a direct assault on the U.S. Congress, the Capitol building, and our Constitutional process. We mourn the deaths of the two Capitol policemen and others connected to these unprecedented events. [signed]Mark A. MilleyGeneral, U.S. ArmyChairman of the Joint Chiefs of StaffJohn E. HytenGeneral, U.S. Air ForceVice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of StaffJames C. McConvilleGeneral, U.S. ArmyChief of Staff of the ArmyDavid H. BergerGeneral, U.S. Marine CorpsCommandant of the Marine CorpsMichael M. GildayAdmiral, U.S. NavyChief of Naval OperationsCharles Q.

“Our board has thus made the decision to exercise our right to terminate the contract to hold the 2022 PGA Championship at Trump Bedminster. His New Jersey course hosted the 2017 U.S. Women’s Open, and his course in Loudoun County, Va., hosted the Senior PGA Championship that same summer. As an organization we have invested many, many millions of dollars in the 2022 PGA Championship at Trump National Golf Club, Bedminster. ADThe e-commerce firm Shopify said it would no longer host the Trump Organization’s online retail store, which sold T-shirts, hats, scented candles and bath bombs with the Trump name. ADThe 2022 PGA Championship was supposed to be the high point of Trump’s relationship with the game, bringing one of golf’s most high-profile events to a course that Trump treats as a second home.

So who is John Sullivan, and what was his connection, if any, to Black Lives Matter and the wider left-wing activist community? Among the pro-Trump activists leading the charge against John Sullivan in Utah is his own brother, James Sullivan. James Sullivan is a Black Republican, inheriting the rigidly conservative political line of the white Mormon parents that adopted him. Like so many other right-wing activists, James Sullivan has been determined to pin the violence on leftist Antifa infiltrators. I learned about the unusual meeting between Cisneros and Sullivan from local BLM activists tracking John Sullivan’s movements in DC.

And charges filed so far have not been very severe, though federal officials have said they expect harsher ones soon. White people, conversely, were 60 percent of the population yet faced fewer than 53 percent of hate crime accusations. Below are three prominent historical examples of White violence leading to disproportionate punishment for people of color. But at the time, lawmakers weren’t talking about going after Black criminal groups. It was the deadliest single act of domestic terrorism in American history, and the perpetrators were White.

Liberals posed as Trump Supporters and stormed the Capitol to agitate real Trump supporters! They have coordinated a break in and staged a false flag inside the Capitol Building and blamed it on the Patriots. Trust me, if the Patriots were going to rush the Capitol they would do that in a different way. President Trump knew his people would come to DC on the sixth. He knew ANTIFA would show up.

Extremism experts have focused on Jan. 17, as well as Inauguration Day and the days surrounding it, as potential flashpoints for violence. So far, however, public online discussions of the purported Jan. 17 protests have been much less visible than the wave of talk in pro-Trump forums that preceded the Jan. 6 riot. A Minnesota group that has recently organized “Stop The Steal” events at the state’s capital issued a Facebook warning to followers about the Jan. 17 event. On Facebook, the group shared posters for the Jan. 17 event, and suggested that they were an “anarchist” plot. Still, the days surrounding Jan. 17 are also potential tinderboxes across the country.

Waving Trump flags, they easily pushed past the unusually light security, climbed the steps and began throwing chairs through windows. Inside, the Secret Service evacuated the vice president, who Trump had been threatening all week. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2021The mayor of Washington and Speaker Nancy Pelosi requested the Pentagon send in the National Guard to protect them. When I wrote my reporting cables back to headquarters, I called these things what they were: an attempt to overthrow the legitimate government—an insurrection—a coup attempt. What will the Pentagon choose?

Both the fascist movement and their representatives were defeated that day—which is extremely important. It was and is extremely important that the Democrats immediately pushed forward the demand for impeachment and won the vote on this. The fascist Republican Party and its media mouthpieces, with way too few exceptions, still not only oppose punishing Trump in any way but act as if they (and he!) A section of the fascist party and fascist apparatus may have thought it wiser to not contest this particular election. As you do that, the place to begin is with the synthesized understanding brought forward by Bob Avakian (BA).

Commentaries on current events, political economy, and the Communist movement from a Marxist-Leninist perspective. Zigedy highly recommends the Marxist-Leninist website, MLToday.com, where many of his longer articles appear.

He demanded she “change the course” of the Socialist Party (PSOE)-Podemos government. Leaked WhatsApp messages of some of the former officers discussed shooting “26 million” people and imitating General Francisco Franco’s fascist coup that provoked the 1936-1939 Spanish Civil War. Amid mass deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic, millions view the Spanish officers’ threats with outrage and alarm. Trump’s plotting, culminating in the fascist coup to overrun the Capitol in Washington, is only the sharpest expression of a broad disintegration of democratic forms of rule, amid the pandemic and unsustainable levels of social inequality. The cowardly response of the Democratic Party to Trump’s coup attempt will, moreover, only bolster the Spanish fascist officers in their view that they might be able to carry out a far-right putsch.

The five people who died during the US Capitol invasion included a military vet who was shot, a cop who collapsed while fending off rioters, and three protesters who perished from medical emergencies, officials said. A US Capitol Police officer also died after “physically engaging with protesters,” according to a report. One of the people who died from a medical emergency includes Kevin Greeson, 55, of Athens, Ala., according to AL.com. Philips — a computer programmer who founded a social media site for Trump supporters, Trumparoo.com — died of a stroke, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Boyland was “a really happy, wonderful person,” a sister told Atlanta’s 11Alive.

PoliticsBiden: ‘Do I look like a radical socialist with a soft spot for rioters?’Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Aug. 31 said he wants a safe America.

President Trump wrote (October 9, 2019):“The United States has spent EIGHT TRILLION DOLLARS fighting and policing in the Middle East. President Trump pointed out that Democrats used the concocted Russia collusion story to rationalize their embarrassing 2016 election defeat. It was nothing short of treasonous.”At that July 16, 2018 press conference with President Putin, a reporter questioned President Trump: “President Putin denied having anything to do with the election interference in 2016. President Trump not only was the first US president to meet with a North Korean leader of state, but, unlike his predecessors, Trump displayed respect for its leader, Kim Jong Un. In a presidential debate, Trump defended his actions:“We have a good relationship with North Korea, we’re not in a war.

After condemning the pro-Trump invasion of the Capitol, the incoming Biden administration invited Carlos Vecchio – a coup leader charged in the 2014 torching of the Venezuelan Attorney General’s office – to its inaugural ceremony. Among those dignitaries is Carlos Vecchio, a former Exxon lawyer who currently serves as US-recognized “Interim President” Juan Guaidó’s envoy in Washington. The Biden team’s decision to invite Vecchio was a disappointing sign to those hoping the new administration would break from Trump’s failed and destructive policy of recognizing Guaidó as Venezuela’s leader. After condemning Trump for inspiring the Capitol riot, Biden sent inaugural invite to @carlosvecchio – Venezuelan coup leader charged with inciting insurrectionist 2014 attack on gov't building. The violent actions of Vecchio and his allies were hardly limited to the events of February 12, 2014.

Only then could the party leader’s rhetorical violence be transformed into mass violence, the suppression of all opposition, the nullification of civil rights and the vicious persecution of vulnerable minorities. Trump’s speeches may sometimes recall the rhetoric of fascist leaders in his praise of violence, his demands for obedience and his disregard for constitutional restraints. From the start, the history of modern democratic republics has been inseparable from that of charismatic political leaders who can forge intense emotional connections with committed cadres of followers. Simón Bolívar, who seized dictatorial powers several times in the history of the South American revolutions, was not a fascist. Most American voters outside the progressive left do not think of fascism as in any way an American phenomenon.

According to an email from Marissa Astor, Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook’s assistant, to Clinton campaign chair John Podesta, the campaign knew Trump was going to run, and pushed his legitimacy as a candidate. The memo, sent to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) also reveals the DNC and Clinton campaign were strategizing on behalf of their candidate at the very beginning of the primaries. Expecting Clinton to be the nominee, the DNC and Clinton campaign developed strategies for the general election. It was in the best interest of Clinton, and therefore the Democratic Party, that Trump was the Republican presidential nominee. “Clinton, Trump trade insults as rhetoric heats up between front-runners,” read the headline from a CNN article in September 2015.

Even in victory the Democrats are rearing the ugly head of Russiagate to further vanquish the vanquished and protect their power, writes Joe Lauria. And now Russiagate is poised to be used again against Russia, Trump and Trump voters. Russiagate is also too useful to discard because it is a tool for politicians to get out of sticky situations. Beyond that, Russiagate has been a convenient and successful strategy of deflection from one’s own responsibility for America’s social and political crises. Despite this, the Russiagate saga is still believed by millions of Americans, bolstered by Congressional studies that relied on intelligence briefings.

The real estate magnate got $4.96 billion in free earned media in the year leading up to the presidential election, according to data from tracking firm mediaQuant. Over the past 12 months, the president-elect received more than $800 million in free earned broadcast media, compared to $666 million for Clinton, and $2.6 billion in free earned online news attention, compared to $1.6 billion for his rival. According to mediaQuant's estimates, as much as 23% of free earned media attention given to Trump during the election was negative, compared to about 12% for Clinton. During the election, Trump got about 50% more coverage than Clinton across all media but outdid her by 150% on Twitter. What remains uncertain moving forward is whether Trump's free earned media ride can be replicated by other candidates, or if we'll see 2018 and 2020 return to business as usual in terms of advertising and media.

In this episode of Intelligence Matters, host Michael Morell speaks with Antony "Tony" Blinken, former deputy Secretary of State and current foreign policy adviser for the Joe Biden for President campaign. RELATIONSHIPS WITH U.S. INTELLIGENCE: "[A] President Biden will not politicize intelligence, will insist that truth always be spoken to power. Antony "Tony" Blinken, former deputy Secretary of State and current foreign policy adviser for the Joe Biden for President campaign. Which also sums up the profound differences between President Trump and Vice President Biden. Last question: You know the Vice President better than anyone else when it comes to foreign policy and national security.

Slideshow ( 2 images )WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s administration will continue to recognize Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the South American country’s president, Anthony Blinken, Biden’s nominee for secretary of state, said on Tuesday. The United States, along with dozens of other countries, recognized Guaido - the leader of Venezuela’s opposition-held National Assembly - as the country’s president in January 2019, arguing Maduro’s 2018 re-election was rigged. Guaido’s push to oust Maduro - who has overseen a collapse in the once-prosperous OPEC nation’s economy and stands accused of corruption and human rights violations - has stalled. Maduro calls Guaido a U.S.-puppet seeking to oust him in a coup. His allies have expressed a desire to engage in negotiations with the Biden administration after years of tensions and escalating U.S. sanctions.

We've added enough new oil and gas pipeline to circle the Earth and then some," Obama said, with a nod to middle-school science class. Here, we decided to check something we haven't heard before -- that the United States has added enough oil and gas pipeline to circle the Earth since Obama took office. We asked two experts if the year-to-year comparison of pipeline miles is a valid measure and if anything else should be considered. For some perspective, we looked at the miles added during the last three years of George W. Bush's presidency. Our rulingObama said the U.S. has added enough pipeline in the last three years to circle the Earth "and then some."

“Our industry knows Joe Biden really well, and he knows our industry really well,” said Arnold Punaro, a retired Marine Corps major general and Democratic Senate staffer who works as a defense consultant. Stock prices of major defense contractors increased Wednesday, as Republicans appeared poised to hold on to the Senate, and held steady throughout the week. Major defense contractors benefited from well-funded weapons technology initiatives, including numerous hypersonic-weapons programs and accelerated purchases of new fighter jets. Some major defense contractors saw record sales as a result. Defense analysts have expected for years that the current defense budget would probably not increase further even under a second Trump administration.

Biden’s position on a fracking banBiden would not allow new fracking on federal lands. He would allow existing fracking to continue on federal property and existing and new fracking to continue on private land. ADADMost of these examples the Trump campaign uses conflate Biden’s decades-long vision for a clean-energy economy with his immediate plans now for how to do that. The Trump campaign is taking advantage of the fact that Biden wants to move away from fossil fuels, including fracking, to imply Biden wants to ban fracking now. (It’s no coincidence that Biden restated his position on not wanting to ban fracking Monday while in Pittsburgh.)

Accordingly, to protect the Federal workforce and individuals interacting with the Federal workforce, and to ensure the continuity of Government services and activities, on-duty or on-site Federal employees, on-site Federal contractors, and other individuals in Federal buildings and on Federal lands should all wear masks, maintain physical distance, and adhere to other public health measures, as provided in CDC guidelines. Immediate Action Regarding Federal Employees, Contractors, Buildings, and Lands. (c) Heads of agencies shall promptly consult, as appropriate, with State, local, Tribal, and territorial government officials, Federal employees, Federal employee unions, Federal contractors, and any other interested parties concerning the implementation of this section. There is hereby established the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force (Task Force). (a) For purposes of this order:(i) “Federal employees” and “Federal contractors” mean employees (including members of the Armed Forces and members of the National Guard in Federal service) and contractors (including such contractors’ employees) working for the executive branch;(ii) “Federal buildings” means buildings, or office space within buildings, owned, rented, or leased by the executive branch of which a substantial portion of occupants are Federal employees or Federal contractors; and(iii) “Federal lands” means lands under executive branch control.

Today, most people don't make the connection that Glass-Steagall both created FDIC insurance and separated commercial and investment banks. During the 1970s and 80s the commercial banks had gotten approval for a host of absurd exceptions to the law, but they wanted more. To avoid being run over by the plentiful and cheap capital available to the commercial banks, investment banks had to change their capital structures. Ultimately, the investment banks cut a deal and the inevitable happened as the separation was repealed in November 1999 as President Clinton signed the Graham-Leach-Bliley Act. Of course, as Clinton said, the “unified” banks were slightly less likely to fail because they were connected to the US Treasury indirectly through FDIC insurance.

Former US President Bill Clinton speaks in Washington, DC, in 2015. “I signed a bill that made the problem worse,” Clinton told an audience at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s annual meeting in Philadelphia. What’s more, Hillary Clinton has made criminal justice reform a staple of her campaign. “Our prisons and our jails are now our mental health institutions.”Both Clintons, however, pushed hard for the 1994 crime bill. This is not the first time Bill Clinton has said he regretted his impact on mass incarceration.

Donald Trump’s narcissistic personality is as much a political problem as his dismal performance. In our hyper-charged environment, ideologues forget that personality is as much a factor in voting decisions as issues are. But they are just as likely to fault the president for his personal failings and credit his Democratic challenger for having a more positive personality. But Biden’s personality is just as potent as his performance. In the wake of the pandemic, Americans lost their taste for exciting candidates and looked for a presidential hopeful who would bring peace to a restive nation.

It's called The Leadership Institute and since it was set up in 1979 "has trained," according to its website, "more than 200,000 conservative activists, leaders and students." .leadershipinstitute.org/training/schools.cfm?school=21The "Morton" he is referring to is Morton C. Blackwell, who founded The Leadership Institute, and remains its president and runs it. As The Leadership Institute says on a page about its "Mission" on its website: "The Leadership Institute's mission is to increase the number and effectiveness of conservative activists and leaders in the public policy process. The Leadership Institute is the center of conservative activist training. Describing under "Headquarters" The Leadership Institute's "facility" in Arlington, Virginia, the website says it includes "a training center, professional multimedia studies, dormitories."

An X% efficacy would mean that while 100 infections occurred in the placebo group, only 100-X occurred in the vaccine group. Of these, 8 had received the vaccine shot and the other 162 were in the placebo group. In other words while 162 infections occurred in the placebo group only 8 occurred in the vaccine group. But the COVID-19 vaccine studies were put together very rapidly, and they are still ongoing. vaccine hesitancy and scepticismScience has designated the COVID-19 vaccines as the breakthrough of the year 2020, but there is still a considerable degree of vaccine hesitancy and scepticism.

A new president, an ousted fascist predecessor, and an obstructionist opposition party that wants nothing to change despite losing a national election is a great time to take on this task. Change Department of Defense to Department of War. (And I wouldn't be surprised if some expert on US history didn't write in and tell me that actually the US started that war too.) Even the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on 9-11-2001 was not a war. Actually right up through World War II, the executive agency in charge of the military was aptly named the War Department, and was headed by the Secretary of War.

Several infectious-disease researchers contacted by The NY Times cautioned that it would be months before enough people in the US will have gotten the shots to allow for normal life to begin again.Only then will the number of people with immunity — those who have had the disease and recovered, plus those who have been vaccinated — be large enough to take the wind out of the pandemic, said Jeffrey Shaman, an epidemiologist at Columbia who shared his team’s modeling calculations.

But yes, it's been one year since the death of Kobe Bryant. A year later, my two greatest enduring and life affirming memories of Kobe Bryant are the same. He called out the criminal justice system for the abomination in letting Zimmerman skip away scot free. When you really think about it, though, it really wasn't terribly hard for Bryant to switch roles from basketball superstar Bryant to racial justice activist Bryant. This is the Kobe Bryant I choose to remember.

Today, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) renewed his support for introducing a War Powers Resolution with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) aimed at stopping the war in Yemen. Rep. Khanna affirmed his commitment to working with Sen. Sanders on the War Powers Resolution, during a global rally of activists, lawmakers, and celebrities calling for an end to the war. "Ending this war and providing the relief that is necessary to civilians and Yemen has to be our highest priority," Rep. Khanna said. I am committed to working with Senator Sanders and the Biden administration to bring this war to an end." Read the text of MP Corbyn's motion calling on the British government to end its support for the war.

"Ah, mon cher, for anyone who is alone, without God and without a master, the weight of days is dreadful. Hence one must choose a master, God being out of style." Seemingly is the relevant word, for the opposites are not opposites but counterparts, flip sides of the same coin. But each choice is a choice of belief that satisfies the need to believe no matter how unbelievable. The French sociologist Jacques Ellul put it this way in his classic book Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes:For no citizen will believe he is unable to have opinions.

In the wake of the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol, "domestic terrorism" has become the new poster child for expanding the government's powers at the expense of civil liberties. Watch and see: We are all about to become enemies of the state. Cue the Emergency State, the government's Machiavellian version of crisis management that justifies all manner of government tyranny in the so-called name of national security. Investigative journalist Glenn Greenwald explains:Why would such new terrorism laws be needed in a country that already imprisons more of its citizens than any other country in the world as the result of a very aggressive set of criminal laws? What acts should be criminalized by new 'domestic terrorism' laws that are not already deemed criminal?

My objective is to remind progressives we're going to have to push Biden to do what needs to be done. Dear President Biden, Vice President Harris, DNC, DCCC:Congratulations on your winning both houses and your offices, though with an embarrassingly narrow margin, considering how destructive Trump and his often violent minions have been to our country and democracy. This narrow margin is a result of the Democratic Party - YOU - abandoning the working class. Without the progressive vote for you in this past election, Trump would have been re-elected and you would likely have lost both houses of Congress. Yes, we have no other party, but progressives can stay home or vote third party, which is a big part of why Hillary lost in 2016.

During the 1967 MOBE march and demonstration by several hundred thousand antiwar activists on the Pentagon to protest the Vietnam War, the feds didn't hesitate about arresting, charging, and then busing me and 700 other activists to federal prison in Occoquan, Va. While not all violent, all suspects clearly illegally entered or broke into the nation's Capitol, disrupting Congress. Now take a close look at top image above showing the peacefully seated protesters "occupying" the front mall entrance to the Pentagon in '67. Some 700 or more of us peaceful protesters were eventually yanked away by those marshals and were beaten as we were dragged to vans and buses to be hauled off to a federal prison in Occoquan, Virginia. All those of us who were snatched away were charged with various offenses, often grossly inflated.

But let me start by recounting the story of a famous Supreme Court episode. In 1964, the Court was confronted with the question of whether a Ohio theatre owner had violated an obscenity statue by showcasing a "pornographic" film. The theatre owner was declaring that his right to display these materials was protected under the free speech provision of the First Amendment. We are talking about a Supreme Court populated by nine middle-aged and old white guys. In a famous concurring opinion, Justice Potter Stewart, in attempting to define the parameters of "hard-core pornography," wrote the following:

In this special episode, Dr. Cornel West and professor Tricia Rose walk “The Tight Rope” with Max Alvarez, editor-in-chief of The Real News Network. For the next few months, “The Tight Rope” and The Real News Network have partnered to bring you exclusive conversations with some of the world’s foremost thought leaders, educators, activists, artists, and intellectuals. Listen in as Dr. West and Max discuss how Fyodor Dostoevsky mutually inspired their worlds of ideas, and Dr. Rose ties that literary connection to the purpose of their powerful partnership. Guest Socials/Guest Links:Max Alvarez’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/maximillian_alvTight Rope Links:Become a member of our Patreon family for BTS access and more exclusive content! Professor Tricia Rose is director of the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America at Brown University.

It also raises the federal minimum wage for tipped workers from $2.13 to $4.25. The $7.25 an hour federal minimum wage is a starvation wage,” he said in a statement. The federal minimum wage hasn’t been raised in nearly 12 years, the longest it’s ever stayed stagnant. Republicans argue that raising the minimum wage would kill jobs or raise prices for goods and services, but in many places where the minimum wage is already $15, such as New York City, job numbers haven’t been affected, and yet more historical research shows that minimum wage increases do not kill jobs. Also, in Seattle, researchers found that a minimum wage hike to $13 in 2016, did not increase prices at supermarkets.

Local National Guard commanders usually have the ability to take responsive actions when lives are at risk or significant property damage is possible in certain scenarios, particularly when it isn’t possible to obtain approval quickly. “All military commanders normally have immediate response authority to protect property, life, and in my case, federal functions — federal property and life. A detailed timeline of the day’s events shows that the Pentagon took about an hour and a half to approve requests for the National Guard to respond to the Capitol breach, according to reporting from The Hill. “We all know that’s true — and it’s unacceptable.”The D.C. National Guard wasn’t the only agency that didn’t prepare enough for the Capitol breach that took place on January 6, which resulted in the death of five individuals. Many believe Trump is to blame for having instigated his loyalists to attack the Capitol.

The American Exceptionalism Of Secretary Of State Antony Blinken“American leadership still matters. The reality is the world simply does not organize itself,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken proclaimed at his confirmation hearing. During President Barack Obama’s second term, Blinken was deputy secretary of state. Asked about the intense humanitarian crisis in Yemen, Blinken drew a false equivalency between the actions of the Houthis and the Saudis. Antony Blinken sworn in as Secretary of State (Photo: State Department)US Return To Iran Nuclear Deal Not Happening SoonIt was the United States under Trump that ditched the Iran nuclear deal, not Iran.

At least 43 refugees drowned on January 19 off the Libyan coast during their attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. The mass death in the Mediterranean, for which the European Union (EU) bears responsibility, thus continues into yet another year. The experience of Souleymane, a refugee from Guinea, gives a sense of the tragedies taking place in the Mediterranean. But 11,891 refugees were seized at sea by the Libyan coastguard and returned to Libya’s torture camps. At the same time, the EU not only supported the Libyan coastguard’s illegal repatriation of refugees, but also conducted illegal “pushbacks” of refugees at sea.

Britain officially passed 100,000 coronavirus deaths on Tuesday according to the government’s measure of a fatality within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test. This means that 147 people have died for every 100,000 people in the UK, a figure only topped by two other nations—Belgium and Slovenia. More people have now died in the UK from COVID-19 than its civilian death toll in World War II. As the milestone was reached, Prime Minister Boris Johnson called a Downing Street press briefing, in which he had the gall to declare, “[I]t is hard to compute the sorrow contained in that grim statistic. Control of the response to the pandemic must be taken from the political criminals in Downing Street and their allies.

This is the first of a two-part analysis of the Biden climate plan. The second part will detail the international geopolitical implications of Biden’s climate plan. The Biden climate plan, like all such plans put forward by major capitalist governments, is a fraud and a political trap. These examples illustrate the modest ambitions and wishful thinking that underlie the proposed Biden climate plan. The Biden climate plan illustrates the impossibility of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, even in a single country, at the rate required to prevent dangerous levels of warming.

The WSWS had an opportunity to speak earlier this month on the COVID-19 pandemic with Dr. Arthur Caplan, the Drs. One, the pandemic revealed something that insiders already knew that the public does not seem to know, which is we destroyed our public health system. They are in little on what I call basic public health measures. Not public health. You need to have leaders who emphasize that public health requires different responses.

Former President Donald Trump has not been open about what his future may hold, including whether he intends to run for office again or not. However, Trump indicated this week that he will attempt to play a role of some kind in the future of U.S. politics. Trump established “The Office of the Former President” on Monday, which will be located in Palm Beach County, Florida, not far from his current residence at Mar-a-Lago. That number has dwindled down to 42 percent in a more recent poll — still a plurality of support from GOP respondents, but a significant drop nonetheless. Trump has already begun backing people he perceives to be loyal to him for future Republican primary elections.

Long-time civil rights attorneys Flint Taylor and Jeffrey Haas will join Defending Rights & Dissent (DRAD) and Truthout as DRAD Policy Director and Still Spying Podcast host Chip Gibbons discusses the latest revelations about the FBI’s role in Fred Hampton’s death and why it matters. Fifty-one years ago, the Chicago Police raided the office of the Illinois Black Panther Party, killing Fred Hampton and Mark Clark. Fred Hampton was not only likely drugged by an FBI informant the night of the raid, but the raid was part of the FBI’s Counter Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO), covert actions designed to neutralize and disrupt political movements disfavored by the FBI. Their work led to the exposure of the FBI’s role in Hampton’s death and they are still working to shine a light on exactly what happened. On January 19, 2021, they published new revelations at Truthout: “New Documents Suggest J. Edgar Hoover Was Involved in Fred Hampton’s Murder.”This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) called on President Joe Biden to declare the climate crisis a national emergency, echoing calls that other Democratic lawmakers and activists have been making in past months and years. “I think it might be a good idea for President Biden to call a climate emergency,” said Schumer on MSNBC on Monday. But if there ever was an emergency, climate is one.”The emergency declaration would allow Biden to direct funds to clean energy projects and suspend activities like oil drilling and crude oil exports. He also joins over 380 climate groups that, in December, called on Biden to issue an executive order declaring an emergency over the climate crisis. Though, as Grist points out, Biden refers to the climate crisis as an emergency in speeches and documents, he has yet to formally declare one using his presidential powers.

We have a family dynamic that avoids acknowledgment of the obvious, yet this obese sister is quick to point out her two sisters' faults. ADShe lives several states away from me yet stays involved with her family, and is kind, generous and smart. ADNo, do NOT contact your sister’s “slim” husband to discuss your sister’s weight with him. If she brings up her weight you can ask, “Has your doctor suggested seeing a nutritionist?” And that’s it. ADDear Amy: I recently lost the job I had held for more than 25 years.

Being an active sort, Miss Manners likes to fix problems. ADDear Miss Manners: What is the proper way for a toddler to address a step-grandparent? Miss Manners adds the caveat because not all reasons are equal. New Miss Manners columns are posted Monday through Saturday on washingtonpost.com/advice. You can send questions to Miss Manners at her website, missmanners.com.

Overcoming both involves finding peace with what you have, so your work in therapy will probably mitigate both problems over time. Imagine for a moment how you feel when you’re late for a meeting and you miss your train. When you’re dealing with irritation over small things, it can be helpful to think of this difference. ADSo, what can you do to break out of the “late” state of mind? For example: Expect little things will go wrong, so you aren’t surprised or let down when they do, or give yourself extra time or leeway, especially for things you know are stressful.

New York (CNN Business) Walmart plans to build automated mini-warehouses in dozens of its stores to speed up customers' online delivery and curbside pickup orders in a race against Amazon. The items will then be brought to an area where Walmart workers can assemble them into orders for pickup or delivery. Crowded aisles are a growing problem for stores as online shopping accelerates, and retail analysts have said these automated fulfillment centers help solve this challenge. Walmart's online sales, which include pickup and delivery, climbed 79% during the three months ending October 31 compared with the same stretch last year. The prior quarter, online sales grew 97% from a year earlier.

In April, Donald Trump told the public injecting bleach could cure coronavirus and in an interview this week, Dr. Deborah Birx said Donald Trump “appreciated the gravity” of the coronavirus pandemic in March. Lawrence O’Donnell says we must never forget what those officials did say and did not say to stand up to Donald Trump’s lies.

Congressman Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) joins Lawrence O’Donnell to discuss New York’s Covid-19 vaccine shortage, President Joe Biden’s executive actions on racial equity and why, when it comes to prison reform, “we have to do more.”

After securing the presidency and two Senate seats for Democrats, New York Times Columnist Charles Blow says Georgia is a model for how Black people can alter the political landscape. Blow is proposing what he calls, "the most audacious power play by Black America in the history of the country” – encouraging Black Americans to repopulate southern cities to consolidate their political power.

WASHINGTON — Among the most urgent tasks a new president faces is assembling a core group of advisers to serve in the cabinet. In doing so, he created a cabinet of mostly wealthy, white men with limited experience in government, mirroring himself. President Biden has taken a different approach, turning to policymakers with government experience for most of his cabinet nominees, many of whom he has worked with for decades. He is on track to assemble the most diverse cabinet in American history. Mr. Biden has nominated far more women and more nonwhite cabinet members than Mr. Trump, and has chosen the first openly gay person to be a cabinet-level secretary.

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans rallied on Tuesday against trying former President Donald J. Trump for “incitement of insurrection” at the Capitol, with only five members of his party joining Democrats in a vote to go forward with his impeachment trial. By a vote of 55-to-45, the Senate narrowly killed a Republican effort to dismiss the proceeding as unconstitutional because Mr. Trump is no longer in office. “I think it’s pretty obvious from the vote today that it is extraordinarily unlikely that the president will be convicted,” said Senator Susan Collins of Maine, one of the five Republicans who voted to proceed to trial. “Just do the math.”It would take two-thirds of senators — 67 votes — to attain a conviction, meaning 17 Republicans would have to cross party lines to side with Democrats in finding Mr. Trump guilty. If they did, an additional vote to disqualify him from ever holding office again would take a simple majority.

Alongside the return to official skepticism from the top about Russian actions and motives, Biden made an expected offer to Putin to extend a key arms control agreement. “The two presidents agreed to maintain transparent and consistent communication going forward,” the White House statement said. On a number of occasions, the White House did not even acknowledge the calls until after an announcement by Moscow, and some reported by Moscow do not appear in archived public White House records. Asked in an interview with Axios whether he had raised the subject with Putin, Trump said it was “a phone call to discuss other things. They always bring up Russia, Russia, Russia.”

The impeachment managers moved though a room filled with the ghosts of our distant past and the fresh memories of our troubled present. The simple comity of now-Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell toward House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was greeted by observers like gladiatorial detente. We can’t simply step over it and put it in the past because the muck is too wide and deep. The impeachment of the former president forces us to wrestle with a past that allowed such poisonous thinking to flourish and to become a rallying cry. ADADA year ago, when Trump was impeached for the first time, the sight of the House managers striding through Statuary Hall had the air of high drama.

SEE NEW POSTS'Snake oil' salesman in Washington state administered untested Covid-19 vaccines, officials say A man in Washington state was arrested on federal charges for allegedly administering an unauthorized Covid-19 vaccine to patients. Research supports "a path forward to maintain or return primarily or fully to in-person instructional delivery," according to the study. The recommendations provide some clarity about a contentious topic and offer much-needed guidance for local officials, school administrators and parents. “According to the plea agreement, Brandenburg stated that he was skeptical of vaccines in general and the Moderna vaccine specifically,” the department said Tuesday. A new shipment of 120,000 doses is expected to arrive in the Tar Heel State on Wednesday, though officials are lobbying for a boost.

Press play to listen to this article Voiced by Amazon PollyEurope has three days to decide how tough it will be in a global fight over restricting vaccine exports. Indeed, the call for export restrictions is pushing the European Commission's trade department into an excruciating position because it is normally one of the leading global forces preaching against trade restrictions and protectionism as a way of dealing with economic shocks. “It’s worth noting that we are not planning to impose an export ban or export restrictions,” he said when asked by POLITICO about the new law. “A legal obligation for authorization of vaccine exports at EU level makes sense," Spahn said on Twitter Monday, reiterating this point in several TV interviews. Escalation riskExperts and EU lawmakers were quick to warn that any export restrictions could promptly escalate into an all-out trade war over vaccine supplies.

As Europe seeks to reboot transatlantic relations with the United States, one urgent common challenge should — but is not — on the long list of priorities: tackling racism. Moral arguments for addressing racism have always been robust; the political will and sense of urgency too often missing. But when it comes to addressing racism, the new U.S. president is already far better positioned than his European counterparts. The EU, meanwhile, is being held back in its fight against racism by a lack of racial diversity in its own ranks. Europe’s struggle to eliminate years of racism, unconscious bias and discriminatory practices is going to be long.

McConalogue says Ireland’s catch losses in price terms are roughly double those envisaged for other EU nations’ fleets operating in British waters. Losses are sharpest for Ireland’s most valuable catch, mackerel. It says Ireland’s pre-Brexit ability to catch fish in U.K. waters was worth €288 million yearly, based on 2019 Irish market prices. This includes a 26 percent cut to its previous quota of mackerel, Ireland’s most lucrative seafood product. “What’s perhaps most galling … is that the fish are spawned in Irish waters,” O’Donoghue told lawmakers.

But EU diplomats say some officials have gone beyond that, requiring EU nationals living in Britain to provide documentation to prove their status — specifically that they have obtained settled or pre-settled status under the government’s EU Settlement Scheme. Border officials are not meant to ask for it until that date. Others tried to log in to the Home Office website while at the border post or showed print outs of their digital settled status certificate. While queuing, an official shouted that they should have evidence of their Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR or EU Settlement Scheme) ready, or they would be fined. “A person with status under the EU Settlement Scheme should continue to use their valid passport or national identity card to cross the U.K. border.”Want more analysis from POLITICO?

Bob Seely, a Conservative Party member of the committee and staunch opponent of China’s handling of Hong Kong, slammed Quinn’s remarks. “If the question was, am I willing to walk away from Hong Kong, the answer is no. "When [Quinn] said he supported the Hong Kong government’s action to stop violence, it shows that he accepted the political propaganda unreservedly,” Hui said. Quinn stood by HSBC’s chief in Hong Kong, Peter Wong, who signed a petition in support of the national security law. Quinn added that he had personally witnessed damage done by the protesters and said Wong was only expressing a desire to restore Hong Kong to stability.

Detectives did not find bias indicators, nor do they believe this is politically motivated," police said in a statement Tuesday. "Detectives say that the driver's actions did show intent to hit and injure people." Her family said in a statement released by police that she was a cancer survivor who lived in Portland for 48 years. She beat cancer five years ago," her family said in a statement released by police Tuesday. Witnesses said the suspect was driving erratically and narrowly missed one person, and the first pedestrian who was struck was hit at around 1:02 p.m.

He will not be president,’” Jeffries told Hayes on Tuesday. “Words are putting you and your family at risk,” the message said, according to the complaint. He was charged with making threatening interstate communications, which can carry up to a five-year prison sentence. His Facebook profile and phone records indicated he was a former member of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department, the complaint said. “There is very false information on social media that a Robert Lemke worked for the Alameda County Sheriff,” the department said.

“I’ll defer to the veterans committee and men whose opinions actually matter and who are in a position to actually judge a player,” Schilling wrote. In modern times responding to such drivel somehow validates the claim.”At other points in his letter, Schilling brought up chemotherapy treatments his wife is undergoing to fight cancer. Despite the length of and anger in his letter, Schilling claimed to be “at peace” with the likelihood of Hall of Fame exclusion. My desire to do the right thing and be a good person has driven most of my life choices,” he wrote. “I stood at my locker 400+ times after my starts and took every question and answered honestly.

ADADSmith, who died Jan. 15, was the second officer who had been at the Capitol on Jan. 6 to take his life. Capitol Police Officer Howard Liebengood died Jan. 9. ADADContee sent D.C. officers to help overwhelmed Capitol officers retake control of the building. It took up to eight hours to clear the building and grounds, and by then Contee said 850 D.C. officers had been deployed to the Capitol and an additional 250 to the area around the federal complex. “This assault on the Capitol has exposed weaknesses in the security of the most secure city in the country,” Contee told lawmakers.

And the racial disparities are stunning, with Black women three times more likely to die of pregnancy-related causes than White women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Butler is quite pleased with her doctor — a relationship made stronger by their shared experience of being Black women. Efforts to reduce Black maternal and infant deaths include legislation, such as the Anti-Racism in Public Health Act under consideration in Congress. More highly skilled doctors aware of the dangers Black women and their babies face — and willing to listen to Black women when they tell them something is wrong. Linda Green, an OB/GYN in Coral Springs, Fla., who is Black, told me that female patients who are Black often come to her after having unpleasant encounters with male physicians, Black and White.

Safety Commission Chief Operating Officer Sharmila Samarasinghe said Tuesday the commission has approved 20 of 21 corrective action plans Metro was required to submit after the audit. ADOn Aug. 11, a train rolled backward and inadvertently attached to another train while workers were performing tests, safety commission inspector Manuel Lopez said. The team had requested a stoppage, but the ROCC told it to stand by. ADMembers of the team told safety investigators they weren’t watching for train traffic because they assumed the ROCC was watching out for them. At least one electrician told investigators “they were scared to raise a good-faith challenge due to fear of retaliation,” Walker said.

The 2022 PGA Championship was set to be held at Trump Bedminster, but the PGA of America canceled that arrangement several days after a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol this month. “As an organization we have invested many, many millions of dollars in the 2022 PGA Championship at Trump National Golf Club, Bedminster. In 2017, the year Trump took office, the PGA of America held the Senior PGA Championship at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Va., and the USGA staged the U.S. Women’s Open at Bedminster. It was scheduled to host the PGA Championship again in 2030, but that arrangement was moved up eight years. “Many of us were there in 2007 [when Tiger Woods won the PGA Championship].

Biden will sign an executive order establishing a White House interagency council on environmental justice, create an office of health and climate equity at the Health and Human Services Department and form a separate environmental justice office at the Department of Justice, the individuals said. Robert Bullard, a professor at Texas State University and longtime environmental justice advocate, praised the notion of linking the environment and health by establishing a dedicated office at HHS. And he said creating an environmental justice office at the Justice Department underscores that the problem is both important and pervasive. ADThe president also has ordered federal agencies to review scores of climate and environmental policies enacted during the Trump years and, if possible, to quickly reverse them. The oil and gas industry already has begun to assail key Biden policy changes, including his decisions on the Keystone XL pipeline.

President Joe Biden announces a plan to buy 200 million more Covid-19 vaccine doses from Pfizer and Moderna to fully vaccinate the American population by the end of summer or early fall of 2021.

After many controversial incidents with private prisons, President Biden is pulling America out of the private prison business in a significant break with what Trump’s administration had done. MSNBC’s Chief Legal Correspondent Ari Melber is joined by Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson to discuss the significance of this action.

Colorado police are under fire for holding a Black woman and four unarmed kids in custody at gunpoint, forcing them to lie face-down on the ground in a parking lot for two hours after incorrectly thinking their vehicle was stolen. MSNBC’s Ari Melber reports on the disturbing case, and interviews the lawyer for the woman suing the officers, which is only possible under a brand new law passed in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death.

Biden administration officials say the executive orders are but one of several steps the president plans to take to battle racial disparities. It’s why both Biden and racial justice advocates demanding change view the executives orders the same way: as a good first step. Led by former Obama national security adviser Susan Rice, the council will focus its efforts largely on racial equity. When he signed the executive orders, Biden also called for restoration and expansion of the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which would protect voter access. Organizers with the Movement for Black Lives say the Biden-Harris administration has warmed up to them — to a point.

Elliot Page and his wife, Emma Portner, have called it quits. Emma Portner and Elliot Page attend the premiere of "Flatliners" at The Theatre at Ace Hotel in Los Angeles on Sept. 27, 2017. Jason LaVeris / FilmMagic"After much thought and careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to divorce following our separation last summer. News of their split comes nearly two months after Page announced he is transgender in an emotional post on Instagram. "I am so proud of @elliotpage," Portner wrote.

Dive into the background of the nine impeachment managers Speaker Nancy Pelosi chose to present the case to the Senate in the second impeachment trial of former President Donald J. Trump, and a common thread will emerge: deep experience in the law. All equipped with law degrees, the nine managers include Democrats who served as notable characters in Mr. Trump’s first impeachment trial and some who have spoken out forcefully against Mr. Trump in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Previous impeachment trials have shown that the role of impeachment manager can bring valuable recognition to representatives and elevate their political profile. Lindsey Graham, now the senior senator from South Carolina, served as an impeachment manager in the Senate trial of President Bill Clinton. Representative Adam Schiff of California served as the lead manager in Mr. Trump’s first impeachment trial.

Two days before the attack, Chief Sund asked that the Capitol Police Board declare a state of emergency and authorize a request to secure National Guard support. As the crowd became an increasing threat to the Capitol on Jan. 6, Chief Sund asked for more help from federal agencies and law enforcement agencies in the area. “He also lobbied the board for authorization to bring in the National Guard, but he was not granted authorization for over an hour,” Chief Pittman said. The third member, J. Brett Blanton, the architect of the Capitol, is still on the board. Mr. Blanton said in a statement that he was not included in any discussions about deploying the National Guard.

Maxwell, 59, has British and French citizenship and is the daughter of late media mogul Robert Maxwell. ADUnder the law, juries and grand juries must represent a fair cross-section of the community where the alleged crime occurred. The grand jury process is secret, but the Sixth Amendment protection still firmly applies. ADADThe Southern District of New York, where Maxwell’s case is pending, encompasses parts of New York City and six upstate counties, with jurors and grand jurors often having to commute into the city. In White Plains, where the grand jury in Maxwell’s case was impaneled, jurors come from six upstate counties, including Westchester — a region with significantly smaller minority populations than those in or closer to the city.

ADVirginia’s largest school system — Fairfax County Public Schools, whose 186,000 students are currently learning online-only — began administering vaccine shots to teachers in mid-January. And a handful of governors, citing their desire to reopen schools, are prioritizing teachers beyond what the CDC recommends. Kate Brown (D) is delivering the vaccine to teachers first, before the elderly and people with preexisting health conditions. “As for teachers, as supply increases we’ll eventually get there.”Elsewhere, officials are asking teachers to return to school without vaccinations — and that, too, is spurring protest. In the capital, Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) has stressed that the timing of school staff vaccinations will not be linked to reopening.

New York (CNN Business) Rosalind Brewer will be the next CEO of Walgreens — making her the only Black woman currently slated to take the helm of a Fortune 500 company. Brewer is set to begin on March 15, Walgreens said Tuesday. She currently serves as the chief operating officer at Starbucks, and will remain in the role until the end of February. The coffee company announced her departure on Tuesday. Brewer will succeed Stefano Pessina, who became Walgreens' CEO in 2015.

SEE NEW POSTSCDC officials say schools can re-open during pandemic — but precautions are crucial Schools should reopen as soon as possible if social distancing and mask-wearing can be maintained to keep in-person learning safe, health officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a study published Tuesday. The research, published online in the journal JAMA, provides a framework for how to open schools safely while limiting the spread of Covid-19. Research supports "a path forward to maintain or return primarily or fully to in-person instructional delivery," according to the study. The recommendations provide some clarity about a contentious topic and offer much-needed guidance for local officials, school administrators and parents. But opening schools safely also requires controlling the virus's spread within communities, the scientists said.

SEE NEW POSTS'Snake oil' salesman in Washington state administered untested Covid-19 vaccines, officials say A man in Washington state was arrested on federal charges for allegedly administering an unauthorized Covid-19 vaccine to patients. Research supports "a path forward to maintain or return primarily or fully to in-person instructional delivery," according to the study. The recommendations provide some clarity about a contentious topic and offer much-needed guidance for local officials, school administrators and parents. “According to the plea agreement, Brandenburg stated that he was skeptical of vaccines in general and the Moderna vaccine specifically,” the department said Tuesday. A new shipment of 120,000 doses is expected to arrive in the Tar Heel State on Wednesday, though officials are lobbying for a boost.

SEE NEW POSTSWisconsin pharmacist who tried to destroy 500 Covid vaccine doses agrees to plead guilty The Wisconsin hospital pharmacist who was fired and arrested for intentionally trying to destroy hundreds of Covid-19 vaccine doses has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges, authorities said on Tuesday. The charges carry with them a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for each count. “According to the plea agreement, Brandenburg stated that he was skeptical of vaccines in general and the Moderna vaccine specifically,” the department said Tuesday. Share this -North Carolina running out of vaccine doses North Carolina has doled out 95 percent of its allotted coronavirus vaccines, with demand now on the verge of eclipsing scheduled supply, officials said Tuesday. Boris Johnson ‘deeply sorry’ as U.K. Covid toll passes 100,000 Jan. 26, 2021 00:48 The prime minister's remarks came as the United Kingdom topped 100,000 deaths from the coronavirus.

But the latest property reported to have been taken off the shelf is definitely one that should be left alone: "Harry Potter." The "Harry Potter" series was beloved by readers because it preached messages of tolerance and inclusivity. HBO Max doesn't need "Harry Potter" anyway. It doesn't need a hobbled "Sex and the City" without Samantha; it doesn't need more "Game of Thrones." And it certainly doesn't need to saddle itself with more "Harry Potter."

New York Times Justice Department reporter Katie Benner joins Chris Hayes to discuss her reporting that Trump weighed ousting the acting attorney general to install a loyalist in his place instead.

Schools should reopen as soon as possible if social distancing and mask-wearing can be maintained to keep in-person learning safe, health officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a study published Tuesday. "Decisions made today can help ensure safe operation of schools and provide critical services to children and adolescents in the U.S.," the scientists wrote. "There has been little evidence that schools have contributed meaningfully to increased community transmission," they wrote. The study cited a high school wrestling tournament in Florida last month that brought together 130 student-athletes from 10 schools. The guidelines also said testing should be expanded so infected teachers or students can be identified quickly and isolated.

Best Valentine’s Day gift ideas of 2021Our Valentine’s Day list features everything from hot tools celebrity hairstylist recommended by hair stylists and a customizable trio of candles to tech for social media savvy teens and gifts for your dad, mother, siblings and the best friend you love like a sibling, too. Valentine’s Day gift for yourself: State CashmereAfter checking off your Valentine’s Day holiday gift list, be sure to also order a luxurious treat for yourself, like State Cashmere’s stylish and functional memory foam slippers for additional support while working from home. Valentine’s Day gift for your BFF: PeriperaPeripera, a Korean beauty brand, created a limited-edition beauty gift set for Valentine’s Day dubbed Get Red With Me. Valentine’s Day gift for brother: AppleIf your brother is also your best friend, and you don’t mind splurging on his Valentine’s Day gift this year, then consider investing in Apple’s latest watch offering: the Apple Watch 6. Valentine’s Day gift for sister: OtherlandEncourage your sister to take some time for herself this Valentine’s Day season by surprising her with a customizable set of three candles from Otherland, a trendy Instagram-famous purveyor of candles.

“This is something that unfolded on January 6th, directed at a family member of mine. This individual apparently had secured a phone number, secured an address, made it appear as though they were prepared to proceed violently,” says Rep. Hakeem Jeffries discussing the man charged with threatening his family.

Black Lives Matter Movement Co-Founder Patrisse Cullors calls President Biden’s executive orders on racial equity ‘a nod’ but "there's so much more to do and we will push this administration to do it."

“There needs to be a full investigation,” says Chris Hayes. “We need some formalized process for getting to the bottom of what happened with Covid, so that we never go through this kind of disaster again.”

HONG KONG — When Shirley Leung, 60, woke up enclosed in Hong Kong’s first coronavirus lockdown, she surveyed the tiny room she shares with her adult son, which fits a single bed and cardboard boxes and plastic tubs for storing clothes. She tried to ignore the smell of the ceiling and walls, which were blanketed with mold. She rationed out the fresh vegetables she had at home, dissatisfied with the canned foods and instant noodles the government had provided when it imposed the restrictions on Saturday. She considered the cramped, interconnected nature of her apartment building. “If one room is infected, then how is it possible for cases not to spread among subdivided flats?” Ms. Leung said in a telephone interview.

I often watched Dr. Anthony Fauci and wished that his message were more positive, but I trusted the message, while I never at any time believed anything President Donald Trump spun about turning corners or unproven miracle cures. One man exuded integrity and calm, the other willful dishonesty and a focus on maintaining his own political power. Yes, Dr. Fauci could have been more forceful in countering Mr. Trump’s lies. Susan WunderOberwil, SwitzerlandTo the Editor:Anthony Fauci is a shining example of patriotism, civility and courage under pressure. And no, Dr. Fauci, even jokingly, you were never “the skunk at the picnic”; you were the rose at the skunk convention.

ET Covid-19 Live Updates: Biden Administration Nears Deal with Pfizer and Moderna for 200 Million More Doses The deal may not accelerate the current pace of vaccination. Biden said his administration was nearing a deal with Pfizer and Moderna for 200 million more doses by summer’s end. That’s 100 million more doses of Pfizer and 100 million more doses of Moderna — 200 million more doses than the federal government had previously secured. The deal would provide the federal government with 100 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 100 million doses of the Moderna vaccine, Mr. Biden said. Pfizer had agreed last summer to provide an initial 100 million doses to the United States by the end of March.

“All travelers should have a Plan B,” Mr. Brownlee said. “We urge folks to postpone their trips if they’re able.”Just one week into his administration, Mr. Biden is facing a convergence of crises. The vaccine rollout he inherited from his predecessor has been rocky, leaving Americans angry and frustrated over vaccination appointments canceled for lack of supply. At the same time, new, more infectious variants of the virus are making vaccination all the more urgent. “We’re not in a race with the variants — the variants have already won,” warned Michael T. Osterholm, the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.

“The zombie minority started to grow rapidly in the early 2000s, and by the eve of the pandemic, accounted for 19 percent of U.S.-listed companies.” It’s happening in Europe, China and Japan, too. With so many new cheap digital tools of innovation, so much access to cheap high-powered computing and so much easy money, start-ups should have been exploding. “Before the pandemic, the U.S. was generating start-ups — and shutting down established companies — at the slowest rates since at least the 1970s,” wrote Sharma. Alas, though, big companies are becoming huge and more monopolistic in this easy money, low interest rate era. So it takes more and more stimulus each time to prop up growth.

She told lawmakers that the department had more than 1,200 officers on site when the attack began. The D.C. police had also requested help from sister agencies in Maryland and Virginia, putting them on standby, as well as 300 members of the National Guard. ADSome lawmakers bristled at the idea that protecting the Capitol from rioters would require turning the Capitol into a partial fortress. Ryan said that in the short term, he supported keeping thousands of National Guard soldiers stationed at the building because Capitol Police needs time to recover. The new Capitol security profile, he said, “will basically be that next step, past the 9/11 adjustments that were made .

President Joe Biden: The First 100 DaysThe latestBiden issuing pandemic plan that aims to expand access to testing and vaccines, reopen schoolsBiden administration to pause deportations, curtail arrestsOn his first day, Biden signs executive orders to reverse Trump’s policiesThe Biden White House: A look inside Biden’s Oval OfficeThe inaugurationJoseph R. Biden Jr. is sworn in as the 46th President of the United States | Read his speechAmerica’s first Youth Poet Laureate: Amanda Gorman reads poem ‘The Hill We Climb’ at inaugurationWorld reaction: The world is watching as Biden assumes office, Trump era endsThe administrationThe Biden Cabinet: Who has been selected and who is in the runningBiden appointees: Who is filling key rolesThe Biden AgendaRead more about his plans on: Immigration | Foreign policy | Health care | Climate change | Social and Criminal Justice | Economic policy | Tech policyShow More

But the coronavirus pandemic has mostly eliminated spectators from high school sports, forcing winter-sports athletes across Northern Virginia to compete in near-empty gyms. Live-streaming, a practice that was slowly growing in popularity before last spring, has become a vital part of keeping parents and fans connected to their athletes. Widespread live-streaming has long felt like the logical next step in increasingly commercialized high school sports. They are broadcast on NFHS Network, a subscription service that has partnered with the National Federation of State High School Associations. “And possibly beyond that.”Even if live-streaming becomes a staple of high school athletics, it may never be as important as it is now.

A determination in favor of the Yemeni petitioners by the commission, an independent body affiliated with the Organization of American States, would not necessarily force changes in U.S. military operations or policy. But it could have symbolic importance in highlighting the unintended outcome of counterterrorism operations. ADAD“A decision from the [commission] concluding that the U.S. is responsible for a particular human rights violation carries legal and moral weight internationally. The other six actions occurred during the Trump administration, when the pace of counterterrorism operations accelerated in Yemen as the new president loosened operational rules and new intelligence fueled additional operations. From 2017 to 2019, the military reported more than 160 strikes, the majority of which Reprieve said were carried out in Bayda.

Two of the 12 officers face murder charges, and a third is charged with tampering with government records related to the shooting. ADRetired officer Gerald Goines was charged with two counts of murder in August 2019 as prosecutors accused him of lying to obtain the warrant. Another retired officer, Steven Bryant, was charged with providing false information in a police report about the raid. Those officers are the only ones who should face charges in the shooting, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said Monday in defense of Gallegos. Officer Hodgie Armstrong, also retired, was previously charged with a state jail felony and is now also charged with a second-degree offense.

So he said he did not hesitate to defend Trump, a job that lawyers at big, high-profile law firms apparently did not want. It’s all about the rule of law in the Constitution,” Bowers told The Washington Post in his first interview since Trump picked him. ADHe declined to discuss his legal strategy, whether Trump might appear at the trial, or whether he would call witnesses. Bowers said he is, as a Trump aide described him, the “anchor tenant” of the legal team. Bowers was described by associates as a serious-minded, taciturn lawyer who bears little resemblance to the bombastic, publicity-seeking lawyers who have sometimes represented Trump.

Some Republicans think unity is something they can weaponize against Biden as they willfully misinterpret his meaning. “A radical leftist agenda in a divided country will not help unify our country,” protested Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). That’s a kind of unity the left doesn’t love. “Unity” cropped up early on, remember, in those “Unity Task Forces” convened to bring the left and the somewhat-less-left together as the Democrats wrote their platform. There is less room for an ode to something called unity, which is, when you think about it, just a word after all.

But more cynical sources think Portman scanned the Ohio political landscape and didn’t like the view. Portman, said one operative, “is a George Bush, Mitt Romney Republican, and he understands that’s not where the Ohio GOP is.”According to more than one observer, the Ohio GOP is now Jordan country. Among those competing for Trump’s base could be Rep. Warren Davidson and state Republican Chair Jane Timken. Meanwhile, Republicans staking out more moderate ground might include Rep. Steve Stivers, state Sen. Matt Dolan and Lt. Gov. The Ohio Democratic bench isn’t deep.

Navalny decided to release the video only after he had come home. The new administration immediately called for Navalny’s release. Biden’s press secretary, Jen Psaki, said Biden discussed Navalny and other issues with Putin in a phone call Tuesday, but she didn’t provide details. In the new video, Navalny interviews Kolesnikov, who confirms on camera the story that he told me 10 years ago. But his words at the end of the video echo across Russia: “The future is in our hands.

Yet there I was on a recent crisp Sunday afternoon, receiving my first dose of the vaccine. Doug Ducey (R) ranked us amid front-line health-care workers, doctors, nurses, residents of long-term care facilities and law enforcement officers. “I’m worried that I may have taken a dose of the vaccine away from somebody else who needs it more than I do,” I said. In Arizona, vaccine demand is overwhelming and supply is limited. ADADWhen I told my students that I had gotten the first dose of the vaccine, they congratulated me.

ADDon’t get me wrong, there’s nothing really wrong with Biden’s covid-19 plan. But without more ambitious targets and an aggressive implementation schedule, Biden’s plan is still basically replacement-level. The administration began by touting its bold plan to get 100 million doses injected in its first 100 days. Which sounds magnificent, except that this broke down to 1 million shots a day, and America was already basically doing that. And so we have to demand that the Biden administration aim stronger, higher, faster.

Their theory — that impeachment applies only to sitting officials — is not beyond the pale. There have been so few impeachments over the course of U.S. history that major issues such as this remain unsettled. But the Congressional Research Service notes that the nation’s Founders appeared to accept that former officials could be impeached for their conduct in office, as they could be in the British tradition. Both the House and Senate debated whether Mr. Belknap could be impeached and tried, and both chambers agreed he could be. Some might conclude that barring Mr. Trump from office could make him a martyr and do more harm than good.

In fact, on Mount Pleasant Street, not a single store was damaged, not one pane of glass broken. Expensive restaurants are one of the major symptoms of gentrification, but Mount Pleasant Street has always had a healthy ratio of affordable to high-end food. Mount Pleasant Street has two national chain stores (a 7-Eleven and a Subway) and three places to wire money to your home country. The devastating death toll from the coronavirus is a reminder that Mount Pleasant was born in another national catastrophe: the Civil War. In 2003, developers proposed building condominiums to replace the former gas station occupied by Wilson Amaya’s Mount Pleasant Auto Repair at the south end of Mount Pleasant Street.

SEE NEW POSTSWisconsin pharmacist who tried to destroy 500 Covid vaccine doses agrees to plead guilty The Wisconsin hospital pharmacist who was fired and arrested for intentionally trying to destroy hundreds of Covid-19 vaccine doses has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges, authorities said on Tuesday. “According to the plea agreement, Brandenburg stated that he was skeptical of vaccines in general and the Moderna vaccine specifically,” the department said Tuesday. Share this -North Carolina running out of vaccine doses North Carolina has doled out 95 percent of its allotted coronavirus vaccines, with demand now on the verge of eclipsing scheduled supply, officials said Tuesday. A new shipment of 120,000 doses is expected to arrive in the Tar Heel State on Wednesday, though officials are lobbying for a boost. California will also launch a new online portal, called My Turn, where residents can make vaccine appointments and check their eligibility status.

(CNN Business) Amateur investors continued a frenzied runup of GameStop for the fourth session in a row, with the stock ending Tuesday up more than 92%, or about $148 a share. Tesla TSLA After the market closed,CEO Elon Musk appeared to join the pile-on with a tweet that sent GameStop shares briefly above $200. GameStop is up more than 680% so far this year — an improbable spike led by investors congregating on the WallStreetBets subreddit. Those traders have essentially declared war on GameStop's short sellers — investors who have placed bets that a stock would go down. The more GameStop climbs, the more money the short sellers lose.

The $10 million payout comes after Goldman agreed to pay nearly $3 billion after pleading guilty to charges the bank conspired to violate US anti-bribery laws in a massive scandal with 1MDB. Goldman Sachs FADXX The scandal relates to bond sales thatarranged and underwrote for 1MDB, from which the US Justice Department alleges $4.5 billion was stolen. Scherr's pay was reduced to $15.5 million from $22.5 million in 2019. Waldron's pay was slashed to $18.5 million, down from $24.5 million in 2019. In total, the three executives' total compensation for 2020 was reduced by $24 million in response to the bribery scandal fallout.

(CNN Business) Apple is urging iPhone and iPad users to promptly update their operating systems to fix security bugs that may have already been exploited by hackers. On its support webpage , the company said three security flaws "may have been actively exploited." It did not reveal too many specifics about the bugs, noting "Apple does not disclose, discuss, or confirm security issues until an investigation has occurred and patches or releases are available." The issue is a link in an exploit chain , meaning a hacker would need to exploit further bugs for it to be fully executable. Apple said two security issues stem from its WebKit, an open source browser engine used by Safari and iOS browsers.

Bars, restaurants and their staff have been hit hard by the pandemic. As of December, more than 110,000 establishments had to shut their doors, according to a report.

To help her community, Sue Gandhi runs a food pantry out of her garage using her own funds and donations.

Goya’s board of directors has reportedly voted to censure CEO Robert Unanue after he made unfounded public claims about voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election. On Inauguration Day on Wednesday, Unanue appeared on Fox Business and said that President Joe Biden’s win was “unverified” and spoke of a coming war. "I think this is mission accomplished, by the union, the partnership, the conglomerate of social media, big tech, big media and big government for ushering in the dawn of a new world order,” Unanue said on air. Goya doesn’t publicly disclose financial earnings so it’s unclear what impact Unanue’s comments had on the company. But a source who spoke with CNN Business said the comments “imperiled the future of the company” and that “sales growth is less than it was” before his comments.

Senior Advisor to the President and director of the White House Office of Public Engagement Cedric Richmond tells Joy Reid that Congress needs to act on covid relief, calling it a matter of emergency for the country.

On Democrats having all the levers of power in Congress and in the Executive branch, Eugene Robinson says they should push through legislation like covid relief through reconciliation. He says, "They have just watched a years long master class in the use of naked power by Mitch McConnell … You saw what he did with Garland, Coney Barrett, and all those judges he pushed."

But several sources close to the White House confirmed that the document — even though clearly a draft — was authentic. But it also shows a White House making a gamble of sorts: that it can apply traditional communication methods to a nontraditional media climate. President Joe Biden signs executives orders related to his racial equity agenda in the State Dining Room of the White House. And that’s precisely what makes this strategy a rather complex one for Biden’s team. In turn, the White House press corps became intoxicated — and, perhaps, overdosed a few times — on his quick-change programming.

Some 81 percent of detained immigrants in ICE’s custody were held in for-profit detention centers as of January 2020, prior to the coronavirus pandemic, according to an ACLU report. Progressive groups have long fought the use of private facilities, arguing that the companies that run them are able to evade accountability and leave immigrants in terrible and deteriorating conditions. “This is great development & important step,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) tweeted after Biden signed the executive order on private prisons. We must include ending for-profit immigrant detention & examine the use of for-profit services that squeeze families of the incarcerated in public prisons, too.”The question of phasing out for-profit facilities detaining migrants came up at the end of former President Barack Obama’s administration. The report also found that ICE should look for ways to “reduce reliance on detention in county jails.”

Authorities in Tennessee are seeking the public's help in finding a 70-year-old man wanted for murder following a double homicide on Monday. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said on Tuesday that warrants have been issued for David Vowell, who faces two counts of first degree murder. BREAKING: TBI Special Agents are asking for help in locating a person of interest in a homicide investigation in Obion County. Vowell, from Martin, Tennessee, is said to be armed and dangerous. TBI is joined in the search for Vowell by the Obion County Sheriff's Office, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, the Tennessee Highway Patrol and the U.S.

He later wrote on Facebook that he has asked the Hall of Fame to remove his name from the ballot. Schilling, Clemens and Bonds will be joined on next year's ballot by sluggers Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz. Months later, Schilling was again criticized after using social media to applaud a T-shirt calling for journalists to be lynched. Schilling wrote on Facebook that he would like the veterans committee to review his Hall case. “I’ll defer to the veterans committee and men whose opinions actually matter and who are in a position to actually judge a player,” Schilling wrote.

It was said his services were available only to billionaires, whose affairs he handled mostly from a tropical island hideaway. So what did Jeffrey Epstein do to earn hundreds of millions of dollars from a handful of wealthy clients like the private equity billionaire Leon Black? In the case of Mr. Black, the chief executive of Apollo Global Management, his advice could have been worth as much as $2 billion in savings, according to a law firm’s review of Mr. Black’s business dealings with Mr. Epstein. On Monday, Mr. Black announced that he would step down as Apollo’s chief executive this year after the review found he had paid Mr. Epstein $158 million over five years for his services. In the process, he collected hefty fees — usually based on a cut of the anticipated tax savings.

The Capitol Police knew of a “strong potential for violence” ahead of the Jan. 6 mob attack but failed to take adequate steps to prevent the riot, the department’s acting police chief said. In a closed-door briefing with lawmakers, Yogananda Pittman, who was not the acting chief at the time of the siege, apologized for the security failures, including a delay in approving pleas for National Guard assistance. She described the riot as a “terrorist attack.”The admission came the same day that senators were sworn in for former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, with proceedings set to begin on Feb. 9. Republican senators voted en masse against holding an impeachment trial, strongly suggesting Mr. Trump is likely to be acquitted. Here’s where each one stands on conviction.

WASHINGTON — As President Biden prepares on Wednesday to open an ambitious effort to confront climate change, powerful and surprising forces are arrayed at his back. But what may well stand in the president’s way is political intransigence from senators from fossil-fuel states in both parties. Without doubt, signals from the planet itself are lending urgency to the cause. Last year was the hottest year on record, capping the hottest decade on record. Already, scientists say the irreversible effects of climate change have started to sweep across the globe, from record wildfires in California and Australia to rising sea levels, widespread droughts and stronger storms.

Mr. Davidson, too, had ties to the Trump administration: His longtime lawyer was part of a team that represented Donald Trump Jr. in recent years. But the unexpected decision was likely the product of several forces, including the influential advocacy of a former pardon recipient who retained close ties to Mr. Trump.. Because Mr. Howard was killed during the commission of the robbery and in service of the drug ring, Mr. Davidson was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Mr. Davidson, who was not accused of being present at the scene of the shooting, has maintained his innocence. But in 2014, when a judge reduced the sentence of Robert Lawrence, the man who shot Mr. Howard, the officer’s mother and sister pleaded in court that it be reconsidered.

The order does not end all government contracts with private prisons — administration officials confirmed it would not apply to other agencies, like Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which contracts with private companies to detain thousands of undocumented immigrants. That includes asking the department to review actions under Mr. Trump that sought to weaken some of that enforcement. “This represents a clear change of direction that gets us back on track to fulfill the Fair Housing Act,” said Julián Castro, who served as secretary of housing and urban development under President Barack Obama. “It’s sending a very strong signal that it’s a new day when it comes to fair housing and that HUD is going to be aggressive again. But given that the action came on Day 6 of the new administration, he said, it served as a “clear repudiation of Trump’s fear-mongering” about low-income housing invading white suburbs.

YouTube’s action doesn’t stop Giuliani from posting new videos or making paid product endorsements in his posts, which he does often. But it prevents him from receiving any money from the ads YouTube sells that run before a video begins to play. ADYouTube spokesperson Jessica Gibby confirmed that Giuliani had been suspended from the company’s ad partner program after multiple violations of YouTube’s rules against posting misleading information about the recent presidential election. It’s unclear how much money Giuliani might have made from YouTube’s revenue sharing program. Giuliani also made money from hawking dietary supplements and online fraud prevention services directly to his audience in the middle of his videos.

The stimulus payments are actually an advance tax credit referred to on the 2020 1040 as a “Recovery Rebate Credit.” The credit was eligible to be paid in two rounds of advance payments during 2020 and early 2021. The IRS has pointed out that the rebate is “a tax credit against your 2020 income tax. It’s possible the Bartons’ stimulus payment is still in the pipeline and may be delivered after all. The agency used the 2019 tax year to issue the second stimulus payments automatically. Scott Heemann is concerned that he and his spouse won’t get the second stimulus payment, either.

However, Schilling, a vociferous right-wing provocateur and Twitter antagonist, appears to have been penalized by some voters for his political views and intolerance. He has one more chance next year before falling off the writers’ ballot. ADADFurther down the ballot, a handful of candidates made strong leaps that positioned them to make the cut in the future. In the history of the writers’ ballot, 20 of the 21 players who hit the 70 percent mark with additional years of eligibility eventually gained election. (The Washington Post is among a handful of media outlets that do not permit their otherwise eligible employees to vote for the Hall of Fame.)

WorldThe dream of an Arab Spring was dashed 10 years ago, but the movement may not be dead yetTen years ago, demonstrators across North Africa and the Middle East stood up against dictators and railed against government corruption and mismanagement that had mired much of the Arab world in poverty for decades, but it all went horribly wrong. The unfinished business of the Arab Spring Related

The principle holds that leaders must preserve and protect democracy whether it serves their personal interest or not. You can argue over how many years of returns — five seems reasonable — but no hiding behind claims of privacy or audits. Using the right to privacy to hide one’s history as a grifter seems like a protection we can no longer afford. It is counterintuitive to work to preserve democracy if that means putting on blinders about a potential commander in chief’s financial relationships overseas or at home. The 1939 Hatch Act, designed “to prevent pernicious political activities,” prohibits federal employees from engaging in political activities or using government property for political purposes.

Late on the night of Jan. 6, those Senate Republicans decided that, in essence, the violent mob had a point. to finagle a lawyerly way to bolster Trump’s effort to overturn the election. And, on Tuesday, 45 senators voted to simply sidestep the trial resulting from Trump’s impeachment. ADADOne can debate the utility of the impeachment trial. How Republican senators view Trump’s rhetoric and actionsWe’ve broken down the views of the senators into four categories:

Austin, Texas (CNN Business) SpaceX and Amazon — companies run by the two richest men in the world — are sparring over their competing satellite-based internet businesses, with SpaceX accusing Amazon of "stifling competition" and Amazon accusing SpaceX of looking to "smother competition in the cradle." Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, has an estimated net worth of $209 billion. Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, has an estimated net worth of $192 billion. That proposed change could put Starlink satellites in the way of another constellation, called Project Kuiper, that's been proposed by Amazon. The company argued in its objection that Starlink satellites at that altitude could cause more signal interferences with Project Kuiper satellites and other nearby satellite networks.

The city and the group together ran a mass vaccination site at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, and the relationship was publicized by national media, including NBC News. A new shipment of 120,000 doses is expected to arrive in the Tar Heel State on Wednesday, though officials are lobbying for a boost. California will also launch a new online portal, called My Turn, where residents can make vaccine appointments and check their eligibility status. Among those allowed to reopen at limited capacity are indoor fitness centers and health clubs, movie theaters, museums, aquariums, and indoor recreational and athletic facilities. Indoor gatherings remain limited to 10 people and outdoor gatherings are limited to 25.

Not long after the riot, insurrectionists knew they could be in trouble, with their largely unmasked faces in clear view, especially to family members and friends thousands of miles away. Reffitt allegedly said he would "do what he had to do" to his own family members in such an event, prompting the young man to ask: "Are you threatening us?" "I got in contact with the FBI after the Capitol riots about my dad," the younger Reffitt told KDFW. "I definitely feel like they should be held accountable for their actions," Helena Duke told NBC News. It’s like a betrayal of your family and you want to keep your family values whole."

No changes are permitted,” Jon Shestakofsky, vice president of communications and education for the Hall, said on Tuesday. The Hall of Fame’s ballots stipulate that the candidates are supposed to display “integrity” and “character,” which some voters took as sufficient to disqualify Schilling. Still, Smith said it made sense that the Hall of Fame refused to let voters change their votes after they were cast. Among those who have supported his candidacy was Trump, who tweeted in 2019: “Curt Schilling deserves to be in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Do what everyone in Baseball knows is right!”None of the other 24 candidates were elected, a rarity in Hall elections.

Dare we call it unity? Presented byWith help from Allie BiceWelcome to POLITICO’s 2021 Transition Playbook, your guide to the first 100 days of the Biden administration. Before the Blinken vote, 10 Republican senators also switched their votes on JANET YELLEN. Where's KamalaOn the East Landing in front of the Treasury Department, where she swore in Treasury Secretary JANET YELLEN. Janet Yellen, this year’s valedictorian, was preparing her graduation speech.”“‘I’m the editor of The Pilot,’ I said, ‘and I’ve…’”“‘Just a minute,’ said Janet abruptly, ‘I’m thinking.’”So meta.

It bothers me as a citizen.”In 2016, the hard-right turn of the state GOP was a boon for the party: Trump became the first Republican to win the presidential election in Pennsylvania in nearly 30 years. After clinging to Trump, the GOP nominees for governor and senator in 2018 lost by double digits. Democrats also picked up House seats that year in part thanks to the Philadelphia suburbs, a former GOP stronghold. And in the fall, Biden took back Pennsylvania, again fueled by a Trump backlash in the populous suburbs of the state’s largest city. “It certainly lessened the influence of moderate Republicans.”Christopher Nicholas, a GOP consultant based in Pennsylvania, also pointed to population trends in central Pennsylvania as playing a role.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who will preside over Trump's impeachment trial, was taken to the hospital on Tuesday, a spokesman said. "This evening, Senator Leahy was in his Capitol office and was not feeling well. Leahy, 80, who is third in the line of succession as the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, was just sworn-in to preside over the impeachment trial. The Senate is divided 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris acts as the tie-breaking votes. If a seat were vacant or a senator were unable to attend votes, the balance of power could be upended.

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) expresses the need to convict former President Donald Trump of inciting an insurrection and speaks to how his Republican colleagues "participated in the lies" that led to the Capitol siege

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Information about George Floyd’s prior arrests can’t be used at the trials of four former Minneapolis police officers charged in his death, but jurors will be allowed to hear details about two previous incidents involving the officer who kneeled on Floyd’s neck, a judge ruled. Floyd, who was Black and handcuffed, died May 25 after Officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck as Floyd said he couldn’t breathe. Floyd’s death was captured in widely seen bystander video that set off protests, sometimes violent, that spread around the world. Chauvin and the three other officers who took part in Floyd’s arrest were fired. Legal experts told The Associated Press that a blame-the-victim approach is a common defense strategy and can sway public opinion outside of court, but that prior incidents can’t be brought up in court simply to smear people.

(AP) — A hate crime charge has been added to attempted murder in the case of a gay Louisiana teenager who was attacked by another teen he met on a dating app last year. “I was saying my final words to myself, which were just, ‘Stay calm,’” White told KLFY-TV. The Lafayette Parish District Attorney’s Office added the hate crime charge to the case against Chance Seneca on Jan. 20. But police did not initially recommend a hate crime charge, even though White’s family accused Seneca of targeting him because he’s gay. Wayne Griffin said right after the attack that preliminary evidence indicated it was not a hate crime and that Seneca and White had gotten into an argument.

Video sharing giant YouTube extended its suspension of former President Donald Trump’s channel indefinitely on Tuesday and restricted Trump adviser Rudy Giuliani’s ability to make money off the platform. The latest clampdowns: The Google-owned company announced that for the second time in two weeks, it would extend restrictions that block Trump from posting on the platform. The company initially blocked him on Jan. 12 amid fears of additional violence in the wake of the insurrection at the Capitol by Trump’s supporters. YouTube initially said it was giving Trump his first of three strikes before it would permanently ban him from the site under its content policies, suspending him for a minimum of one week. But the company offered no timetable for the latest extension, making his suspension effectively indefinite.

The Wisconsin hospital pharmacist who was fired and arrested for intentionally trying to destroy hundreds of Covid-19 vaccine doses has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges, authorities said on Tuesday. Anyone who tampers with doses of Covid-19 doses will face justice, U.S. Attorney Matthew D. Krueger said Tuesday. “Distributing the COVID-19 vaccine is critical to overcoming this pandemic, which continues to end lives and upend our economy,” Krueger said. There have been more than 23.5 million doses administered across the country as of Tuesday, according to data from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that he planned to purchase an additional 200 million doses in an effort to bolster distribution.

Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo calls the Biden administration’s rigorous and realistic approach to covid-19 “a welcome relief,” compared to the actions of the Trump administration

Brandon Straka, a gay Trump supporter who launched the #WalkAway social media campaign encouraging voters to leave the Democratic Party, has been arrested in connection with the assault on the U.S. Capitol this month. The affidavit says a video posted to YouTube by a witness shows Straka at the Capitol doors saying: "We're going in. Patriots began exiting shortly after saying Congress had been cleared." Straka is alleged to have tweeted after the assault that he was "confused'' by conservatives who disavowed the rioters. I will not," he wrote on Twitter, according to the complaint.

I was not one of them, because I thought the claim was clever and bold, but far-fetched, and I still do, much as I wish it were true. Otherwise, he says, we might miss something amazing, like the church officials in the 17th century who refused to look through Galileo’s telescope. “Are we, both scientists and lay people, ready?” he asks in his introduction. I fear the answer is no, and that prevailing prejudice is a cause for concern.”Oumuamua — Hawaiian for “scout” — was first noticed by a telescope on the island of Maui on Oct. 19, 2017, when it was already on its way out of the solar system, having passed closest to the sun a month before. It had come from outside the solar system, from the direction of the star Vega.

“This isn’t a secret,” Mr. Williams said. In particular, he pushed back against the idea that Instagram was punishing users who didn’t engage with its newest feature. “Broadly speaking, this is an Instagram best practices sort of thing.” A representative later added: “Other content is not being downranked in service of content on Reels.”Like most social platforms, Instagram’s app has never been shy about its priorities. In the beginning, social platforms tend to be blunt about what matters, minting new currencies with likes or shares, comments or reposts, followers or reach. As social platforms mature, becoming both more crowded and more important in some users’ lives, growth can become more difficult to sustain.

I love taking my girls on outings, riding the bus, going to lunch, embarking on long, possibly ill-considered road trips. She is in kindergarten, but she has never seen the inside of her classroom. This child is at an age when she is entitled to privacy — a privacy she does not receive with her mother lurking around her kindergarten class or writing about her here. Toddlerhood is gone, and she is indisputably and forcefully becoming her own person. For months she and I have found ourselves locked an awful duet of upset and recrimination.

… Obviously after the season that I had and potentially winning MVP and we obviously made another good run, I don’t think that there’s any reason why I wouldn’t be back. But, look, I think there’s not many absolutes, as you guys know, in this business. I guess that’s why it went kind of nuts.”ADADThat came after the Packers remained insistent that Rodgers will stay with the team. Now, that’s really the case for all of us, I think, as players.”ADRodgers had a brilliant season and is likely to be named the NFL’s MVP. “When they drafted Jordan,” Rodgers said, “it was more just like the reality kicking in, going: ‘Hey, that’s actually never the case.

One of the most sensical veteran choices is longtime Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, who will turn 33 on Feb. 7. The Lions granted Stafford’s request to leave Detroit this offseason as the organization undergoes its third overhaul of his tenure. In Week 15, with the Lions out of playoff contention, Stafford played through torn cartilage in his rib cage that gave him body spasms. Washington has plenty of issues to solve on offense — filling out its wide receiver corps behind Terry McLaurin, re-signing right guard Brandon Scherff, etc. It remains to be seen whether Smith will return to Washington, but it is highly unlikely the team could afford to retain Smith and add Stafford, too.

ADADEither way, questions about Hand’s diminished velocity have followed him into 2021. Hand did all this with an average fastball velocity of 91.4 mph. One AL scout said even with a slower fastball, Hand’s effectiveness hinges on a 10- to 11-mph difference between his fastball and slider velocity. In 2018, when his fastball velocity peaked, it averaged 93.6 mph, while his slider averaged 82.1. Last year, his average fastball velocity was 91.4 and his average slider velocity was 79.6.

So McConnell gave an ultimatum saying that the rules must require that the filibuster remain intact. He didn’t get that, but in dropping his demand, he cited two Democratic senators who said they wouldn’t vote to nix the filibuster — apparently rendering the proposal dead for the foreseeable future. Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) said: “I do not support doing away with the filibuster under any condition. — I will not vote” to change the filibuster. McConnell spokesman Doug Andres also said Sinema has provided an arguably even more ironclad assurance to McConnell personally that she would reverse course under no circumstances.

One result of these changes is that we have seen a number of people elected to Congress who see their positions as a platform for celebrity more than legislation. That necessarily complicates President Biden’s push for a Congress which will engage in more traditional, less contentious legislative activity. In July 2008, less than half of the current Senate was in either the House or Senate. Scroll backward through time and watch the current members of Congress drop away. Boxes marked with a dot are current members of Senate who, in the selected year, were serving in the House.)

ADADCase in point: Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and ambassador to the United Nations under Trump. And it highlights what looks like a bizarre retreat from holding Trump accountable, even just rhetorically, that’s underway among many Republicans, including establishment-oriented ones. Absolutely not.”AD“I don’t even think there’s a basis for impeachment,” Haley said, adding: “They beat him up before he got into office. Worse still, Haley is supposed to be a rising star who might run in 2024 as a non-Trumpist Republican. ADAnd on Tuesday, all but five Senate Republicans voted for a doomed effort to kill the impeachment effort before Trump has to face a Senate trial.

In a new Biden administration executive order that took effect Tuesday, the United States now requires all international entrants — including those returning home to the United States — pass two significant hurdles for entry. The measures aim to prevent new and more-contagious variants of the coronavirus from entering the United States, the administration said. Current CDC travel guidance recommends seven days of self-quarantine following international travel, as well as acquiring a coronavirus test three to five days into the quarantine. If a traveler cannot acquire a coronavirus test, CDC guidance recommends 10 days in quarantine. After 13 air crew broke quarantine, Sydney health officials will now police-monitor working flight attendantsAustralia largely beat the virus.

What if the mob that stormed the Capitol had encountered members of Congress or Vice President Mike Pence unimpeded? What if they’d used their numbers to overwhelm security protecting the legislators? What if the armaments and explosives found on some protesters and in the city had been deployed in the building? Had he not riled up the crowd that morning and encouraged them to head to the Capitol, far fewer probably would have. But all of those things happened, and there was a critical mass of fury that poured over the Capitol Police and into the building.

When Schumer was minority leader, he vigorously used the filibuster to do just that. Under his leadership, Democrats used the filibuster to block funding for construction of Trump’s border wall in 2019. ADADAnd those are just the bills Democrats killed with actual filibuster votes. And Democrats have used the filibuster to force Republicans to reduce the scope of some of their biggest legislative achievements. The filibuster allowed Democrats to constrain Republicans from enacting what the Democrats consider a radical agenda under a populist right-wing president.

On Sunday, the same day he said he had tested positive, López Obrador joined the country’s top military brass for an event. Twelve hours later, López Obrador would be quarantined, along with several members of his Cabinet, local officials and several of the people with whom he socialized. López Obrador has spent most of the crisis flaunting his disdain for science, including protective equipment and even hand sanitizer. If López Obrador chooses to learn the virus’s painful lessons, he may yet save his country from a tragedy of historic proportions. If he fails to learn from the experience, Mexico’s president will have lost another historic opportunity to save lives.

Right off the bat, Birx said she was the only person in the White House working full-time on the Covid-19 response. A pandemic was raging, killing more Americans than any war in more than 150 years, and the Trump administration was fighting it with a dedicated team of one. And she disclosed that there was "parallel data" coming into the White House that Trump relied on. But even in this latest interview, she was hesitant to be too critical of the Trump administration. Join us on Twitter and FacebookAt the very least, there should be a thorough investigation into how the Covid-19 response was so bungled.

Charles Krupa/Associated PressThe Boston Marathon has been scheduled for Oct. 11, marking the second year in a row—and the second year in its history—that it will not be held in April. The race is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, a Massachusetts state holiday that falls on the third Monday in April. This year's race has been postponed to the fall in hopes that it will allow for an in-person event amid the COVID-19 pandemic. There was a virtual marathon instead, and participants were required to complete a marathon in six hours between Sept. 7-14. All of the other Abbott World Marathon Majors are also scheduled for the fall, including Berlin (Sept. 26), London (Oct. 3), Chicago (Oct. 10), Tokyo (Oct. 17) and New York City (Nov. 7).

Determining the FactsReading 3: Selected Ships' HistoriesAs the years went by, age took its toll on the Liberty and Victory ships. The Victory Ship SS American VictoryThe SS American Victory was launched on June 20, 1945 at the California Shipbuilding Corporation yards in Los Angeles, California. In 1963, the Navy planned to convert 15 Victory ships, among them the American Victory, as forward depot ships. The Victory Ship SS Lane VictoryThe SS Lane Victory was built by the California Shipbuilding Corporation in Los Angeles. Unlike the Liberty ships, which were built to be expendable, the Victory ships were designed to last for at least 20 years after being built.

Dr. Irene Butter is a Holocaust survivor. (CNN) I am a survivor of the Holocaust and a proud American. I was a 15-year-old refugee with a sixth-grade education, broken English, no money and a small knapsack of belongings. America allowed me to receive an education, build a career, a family, and a new life -- away from the Nazis. Just as America was there for me and people like me, we must now be there for America.

And if they lose, those extreme candidates still tend to define how the Republican Party is perceived. But two congressional candidates, both unsuccessful, planted the seed that Republican candidates were increasingly outlandish in their performance and beliefs. In Delaware, Christine O'Donnell, a Tea Party-backed Republican Senate candidate, was forced to go on the defensive in an effort to explain her earlier remarks about "dabbl[ing] into witchcraft." It's possible Republicans might nominate Trump loyalists Rep. Jim Jordan to replace Portman and Lara Trump , Trump's daughter-in-law, to replace Burr. Indeed, by attacking fellow Republicans, party officials in places like Arizona Oregon and Virginia scare away potential moderate Republican voters who do not subscribe to Trumpism.

That includes the surprise retirement announcement by Ohio Republican Sen. Portman's retirement is rightly understood as simply the latest piece of evidence that being a so-called establishment Republican -- or, really -- anything but a die-hard Trump Republican -- is no fun at all. And that series of retirement decisions follows several years of House Republicans walking away from Washington. He just spent four years under a Republican president with whom he disagreed on, well, a whole lot. A party that is barely recognizable from the one Portman has served in for much of the past three decades.

A new shipment of 120,000 doses is expected to arrive in the Tar Heel State on Wednesday, though officials are lobbying for a boost. Under the new system, state officials will work with third party administrators to allocate vaccines directly to providers, including county public health systems, pharmacies, health systems, public hospitals, community health centers, pharmacies and pop-up sites. California will also launch a new online portal, called My Turn, where residents can make vaccine appointments and check their eligibility status. We are continuing enforcement of the Los Angeles County health orders to address underground party events. "The goal of these enforcement actions is to reduce the spread of #COVID19 and the risk to our vulnerable populations."

Experts are urging Biden administration officials to better understand the source behind Covid-19 vaccine skepticism across different Latino communities to improve vaccine rollout strategies nationwide. At least 28 percent of all Latinos surveyed by the Latino advocacy nonprofit UnidosUS in October reported that they were unlikely to get vaccinated for Covid-19. Over a third of all Latinas surveyed by UnidosUS stated they will likely not get vaccinated, compared to 22 percent of Latino men. The researchers are calling for officials to commission an in-depth study that identifies the most effective messaging strategies for different Latino subgroups. They also urge an aggressive use of fact-based information to counter the overwhelming amount of bilingual vaccine disinformation Latinos have been exposed to over the past months.

The town of Palm Beach, Florida, is reviewing Donald Trump’s use of his Mar-a-Lago Club as a residence, even as the former president is set to once again violate a length-of-stay provision he himself agreed to three decades ago. Palm Beach Mayor Kirk Blouin told HuffPost that Trump’s apparent decision to live there permanently is being examined by the town’s lawyer. “This matter is under legal review by our Town Attorney, John ‘Skip’ Randolph,” Blouin said, adding that the matter may come before the town council at its Feb. 8 meeting. It’s his club.”Nevertheless, Trump violated the seven-day limit three times during his four years in office, according to a HuffPost review of his travel schedule. Precisely why Trump insists on living at Mar-a-Lago in violation of his agreement is also unclear.

Dennis helped her school’s team clinch a win over Arizona State University after her floor routine earned her a score of 9.950 out of a possible 10. Her performance, which featured music by Kendrick Lamar, Tupac and Missy Elliott, was a celebration of Black culture , she said. UCLA gymnast Nia Dennis can now add former first lady Michelle Obama to her list of admirers. The gymnast told The Lily in an article published Tuesday that her intention to spotlight Black culture in her now-viral routine was inspired by Black Lives Matter protests. “They had a huge impact on Black culture, which has also had a huge impact on me.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department on Tuesday rescinded a Trump-era memo that established a “zero tolerance” enforcement policy for migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally, which resulted in thousands of family separations. “Consistent with this longstanding principle of making individualized assessments in criminal cases, I am rescinding — effective immediately — the policy directive,” Wilkinson wrote. While the rescinding of “zero tolerance” is in part symbolic, it undoes the Trump administration’s massively unpopular policy responsible for the separation of more than 5,500 children from their parents at the U.S-Mexico border. Most families have not been prosecuted under zero tolerance since 2018, when the separations were halted, though separations have continued on a smaller scale. The “zero tolerance” policy was one of several increasingly restrictive policies aimed at discouraging migrants from coming to the Southern border.

At least five people are believed to have died in connection with the riot. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who was injured in the riot, died the following day. The officials insisted that the massive probe is not overwhelming investigators, prosecutors or the courts. And we do complex,” D’Antuono said, while acknowledging that in terms of the sheer number of suspects, the Capitol riot case stands alone. “If a crime was committed, whether it was inside or outside the Capitol, we are charging you,” Sherwin said.

A man in Washington state was arrested on federal charges for allegedly administering an unauthorized Covid-19 vaccine to patients. He indicated that he had used a similar method to develop his Covid-19 vaccine," the news release states. The Justice Department did not say how many people Stine allegedly treated. Federal authorities said that one person contacted the FDA about Stine's unauthorized vaccine, saying that their friend had been injected. Only two Covid-19 vaccines, Moderna and Pfizer, have been approved for emergency use by the FDA.

Not long after the riot, insurrectionists knew they could be in trouble, with their largely unmasked faces in clear view, especially to family members and friends thousands of miles away. Reffitt allegedly said he would "do what he had to do" to his own family members in such an event, prompting the young man to ask: "Are you threatening us?" "I got in contact with the FBI after the Capitol riots about my dad," the younger Reffitt told KDFW. "I definitely feel like they should be held accountable for their actions," Helena Duke told NBC News. It’s like a betrayal of your family and you want to keep your family values whole."

Only about one in 10 companies expect all employees to return to their pre-pandemic work arrangements, according to a new survey. The National Association for Business Economics found that just 11 percent of survey respondents expect all staff at their firms to eventually return. Companies are reviewing a post-pandemic future with a lot more flexibility — yet few are prepared to completely abandon the office space. When the company surveyed its staff, it found that 70 percent preferred a blend of work-from-home and office work. “I think a lot of people are ready to go back to the office once it’s safe.”

Co-founder of the Lincoln Project Steve Schmidt remarks on the tough hand President Biden has been dealt by the Trump administration and its bungled coronavirus response

Disney’s newly released trailer for “Raya and the Last Dragon” has spurred mixed reactions regarding Asian representation. But basically everyone, except KMT is East Asian. Imagine how big it would be they actually casted Southeast Asian actors. Imagine how big it would be they actually casted Southeast Asian actors. — Laura (she/her) (@lsirikul) January 26, 2021Others shared their excitement for Southeast Asian representation in Hollywood films.

NBC News correspondent Garrett Haake and New York Times political reporter Nick Confessore on the difficulties the House Impeachment Managers will face after a majority of Republican senators voted against holding an impeachment trial

On Twitter, the anti-vaccination activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote that Aaron's death was "part of a wave of suspicious deaths" related to the vaccine. Dr. Carlos del Rio, executive associate dean at the Emory University School of Medicine, said the public nature of Aaron's decision proved to be a double-edged sword. "We make his vaccination public so it would be used to increase vaccination," del Rio said Monday. "If you're vaccinating large numbers of people over the age of 65, a number are going to die from causes unrelated to vaccines," Hotez said. "I'd rather have the vaccine than have Covid," del Rio said.

On Monday, President Joe Biden upped his Covid-19 vaccination goal to 150 million shots in arms in his first 100 days in office. Then on Tuesday, shortly after this article was first published, Biden backed away from 150 million and restated his 100 million goal. In the days and weeks before entering office, he said his goal was 100 million vaccinations. Note that total vaccinations given — as in first and second shots, both shots counting individually — are what’s being counted. This is not the same as not full vaccinations, which are first and second shots counted as one.

Democrats in Congress are looking to advance their longstanding goal of raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, introducing legislation Tuesday that would do so over five years. "Minimum wage must be a living wage, enabling people to live with dignity. It is unacceptable that Congress has not passed an increase in the minimum wage since 2007 — 14 years ago.”President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief plan also contains a provision to raise the federal minimum wage from the current level of $7.25 an hour to the $15 minimum. The president also signed an executive order last week telling the Department of Labor to develop recommendations on providing the $15 minimum wage to federal workers. Marion said gaining $2.50 more an hour to bring her to the proposed minimum wage "would help us keep a permanent roof over our heads, food on our table, healthcare, and money to send them to college.

President Biden announces that his administration has ordered 200 million additional doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, increasing the U.S. supply by 50 percent in an effort to vaccinate nearly 300 million Americans by the summer.

ET Covid-19 Live Updates: Global Virus Cases Surpass 100 Million C.D.C. Video President Biden addresses the fight against the coronavirus pandemic from the White House. As of Tuesday, Moderna had delivered to a federal government distributor 30.4 million doses out of the 100 million doses it has pledged to ship by the end of March. Some states and localities have been clamoring for more vaccine doses, while many others are struggling to use their existing supply. Credit... Adek Berry/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Indonesia officially passed one million coronavirus cases on Tuesday, with many hospitals near capacity even as vaccinations are underway.

In Texas, he said this is a “tender time” for our country, a “time for our nation to heal,” but Mr. Trump never was a healer of wounds. Mr. Trump wasn’t the first sower of divisions or builder of walls. But Mr. Biden has an opportunity to begin the work of healing. Mr. Biden has already begun to reverse some of the damage, offering a draft of immigration reforms and halting construction on the border wall. That’s not enough, but it’s an important step toward moving beyond the border thinking of Mr. Trump and his supporters.

A wintry scene emerged in Las Vegas proper, where a dusting of snow coated palm trees like powdered sugar. ADBetween late April and Monday, only 0.04 inches of rainfall was tallied, featuring a record 240-day streak without measurable precipitation. ADLas Vegas wasn’t the only place to enjoy a sporadic visit from Old Man Winter. The area was placed under a winter storm warning, with heavy snow forecast above 4,000 feet. Heavy snows used to visit Tucson every couple years, but the city has been snow-starved since the early ’90s.

And in response, Democrats have repeatedly raised their own demands for how high the minimum wage should go. But what’s different is that almost no one in the Republican Party will sign on to a minimum wage increase. ADAt the moment, the prospects for passing a minimum wage increase through the Senate don’t look great. Polls regularly show them supported by clear majorities, and pretty much every time a state minimum wage increase is on the ballot, it passes easily. There have been 23 minimum wage ballot initiatives since 1998, and every one has succeeded.

LIVE NationalBiden delivers remarks on U.S. coronavirus effortsPresident Biden on Tuesday speaks on the fight to contain the coronavirus pandemic in the United States.

(CNN) Elliot Page and Emma Portner are getting divorced. The couple announced the decision in a statement to CNN on Tuesday. "After much thought and careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to divorce following our separation last summer. Their split comes three years after they announced that they tied the knot in 2018. Portner, a Broadway Dance Center teacher, and the actor began dating in 2017.

New York (CNN Business) Microsoft exceeded Wall Street analysts' expectations for quarterly revenue by nearly $3 billion, it reported Tuesday. The results signal that the pandemic is continuing to buoy the tech giant's business — from computers and gaming systems to the cloud computing systems helping companies navigate continued remote working. Microsoft MSFT posted $43.1 billion in revenue for its fiscal second quarter — a 17% increase from the same period in the prior year and well above the $40.2 billion analysts had predicted. Income hit $15.5 billion, or $2.03 per share, compared with the $1.64 earnings per share Wall Street predicted. "Microsoft is powering this shift with the world's largest and most comprehensive cloud platform."

New York (CNN Business) Beyond Meat and PepsiCo are combining forces to develop and distribute snacks and drinks made with plant-based protein as the plant-based trend gains even more traction. With Pepsi, Beyond Meat — which already makes plant-based alternatives to beef and pork — will have access to a global distribution and marketing powerhouse. That means Beyond Meat will be able to enter more categories and bring new products to market more quickly, according to a Beyond Meat spokesperson. The US joint venture may include a future expansion into China and the United Kingdom, the spokesperson added. PepsiCo and Beyond Meat announced a joint venture on TuesdayPepsi's marketing prowess could also get more people to try Beyond Meat's product.

New York (CNN Business) CBS (VIAC) has suspended two of its top TV executives following a Los Angeles Times investigation that alleged they cultivated a toxic work culture involving racist and misogynistic behavior. On Sunday, The Times published an investigation led by media reporter Meg James into the culture at CBS' TV stations. Dunn has managed CBS' 28 TV stations, which together employ 2,800 workers, since 2009, according to the article. The Times' investigation included allegations that Dunn disparaged female and Black employees. Friend, who works closely with Dunn, allegedly took part in the conduct and was also accused of verbal abuse, according to The Times' report.

SEE NEW POSTSPhiladelphia ends contract with vaccination provider over for-profit status change The city of Philadelphia has terminated its partnership with Philly Fighting COVID, a group that ran the city’s biggest Covid-19 vaccination site, after discovering the organization had changed its corporate status from nonprofit to for-profit, abruptly stopping offering testing, and updated the privacy policy on its vaccination sign up website in a way that could allow for the sale of user data. Three weeks ago, the city’s Department of Public Health announced a “unique public/private partnership” with Philly Fighting COVID, according to NBC Philadelphia, and urged residents to pre-register for vaccination on the group’s website. Under the new system, state officials will work with third party administrators to allocate vaccines directly to providers, including county public health systems, pharmacies, health systems, public hospitals, community health centers, pharmacies and pop-up sites. California will also launch a new online portal, called My Turn, where residents can make vaccine appointments and check their eligibility status. Boston joins other major marathons that are moving their events from early in the year to October to try to avoid cancellation.

SEE NEW POSTSNorth Carolina running out of vaccine doses North Carolina has doled out 95 percent of its allotted coronavirus vaccines, with demand now on the verge of eclipsing scheduled supply, officials said Tuesday. We are continuing enforcement of the Los Angeles County health orders to address underground party events. Share this -N.J. governor says state is 'desperately short' on vaccine doses Gov. He added that there are roughly 270 locations around the state ready to administer vaccine doses. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has repeatedly said the city's supply of vaccine doses is running very low, too.

The Biden administration on Tuesday announced that the federal government intends to purchase 200 million additional doses of two federally approved COVID-19vaccines, potentially creating a stock large enough to reach nearly the entire U.S. population. A background briefing paper for reporters said that the administration is “working to purchase” more vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. The discovery that vials contain enough extra liquid for extra doses means that the companies can produce their vaccines at a quicker rate than they initially anticipated. Pfizer’s chief executive officer said on Tuesday that the company would be able to deliver its initial shipment of 200 million doses by the end of May ? two months ahead of schedule. With the additional doses, administration officials said, the supply should be adequate to vaccinate nearly the entire population by the end of summer.

A legion of cicadas that have spent nearly two decades underground are predicted to emerge and fly across 15 states this spring and summer. Formally known as periodical cicadas, or Magicicada, the insects spend 13 to 17 years beneath the ground in a slow period of maturation during which time they feed on the roots of plants and trees. Eventually the juvenile cicadas ? known as nymphs ? grow to adulthood and leave the soil in large groups before mating and dying, usually three to four weeks after their emergence. “In some years, both a 13- and 17-year brood will emerge, but not in the same location. Despite their extreme numbers, the insects themselves are harmless, and Raupp described their once-every-two-decades emergence as a “a wonderful opportunity for millions of people to witness and enjoy a remarkable biological phenomenon in their own backyard that happens nowhere else on the planet.”

A bankruptcy judge has approved a plan to liquidate the Weinstein Company that allocates slightly more than $17 million to Harvey Weinstein’s sexual abuse victims. The money will form a Sexual Misconduct Claims Fund, court documents stipulate. Nearly 40 women with sexual abuse claims against Weinstein who were a part of the lawsuit voted to move forward with the plan earlier this month. “Every victim of Harvey Weinstein was victimized and deserves to have a say into the plan confirmation. HuffPost has reached out for comment to attorneys for the Weinstein Company but did not receive an immediate response.

“The Office” almost had an especially sobering moment. “I had no idea [Meredith] was gonna become a drunk or a floozy,” Flannery told Meyers. So we had to wait ’til Christmas to reveal that Meredith was a drunk,” the actor said. In that Season 2 Christmas episode, Meredith is especially excited when Michael Scott (Steve Carell) brings adult beverages to the office holiday party. Apparently, she thinks “doing alcohol is cool” or something, and she ends up flashing her boss at the end of the night.

Biden officials also committed to giving states estimates of how much vaccine they will receive at least three weeks in advance. More than 41 million shots have been distributed so far, nearly half of which have yet to be administered, according to Centers for Disease Control data. The administration is hoping that adding an additional 200 million doses will alleviate those supply issues over the long term, though it remains unclear when agreements with the manufacturers will be finalized. Moderna and Pfizer have pledged a total of 200 million doses of their Covid shots by the end of March, with another 200 million available over the three months after that. The White House is betting heavily on the eventual arrival of a third vaccine from Johnson & Johnson that requires only a single shot compared with the two-dose regimen for Moderna and Pfizer.

HOUSTON — A federal judge on Tuesday barred the U.S. government from enforcing a 100-day deportation moratorium that is a key immigration priority of President Joe Biden. U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton issued a temporary restraining order sought by Texas, which sued on Friday against a Department of Homeland Security memo that instructed immigration agencies to pause most deportations. The order represents a victory for Texas' Republican leaders, who often sued to stop programs enacted by Biden's Democratic predecessor, President Barack Obama. That was a reversal from Trump administration policy that made anyone in the U.S. illegally a priority for deportation. The 100-day moratorium went into effect Friday and applied to almost anyone who entered the U.S. without authorization before November.

Eva Longoria and Amy Schumer are urging the government to pay mothers a $2,400 stipend for their labor as the COVID-19 epidemic continues. It was modeled after “The Marshall Plan,” an initiative passed in 1948, that provided economic aid to Europe after World War II. It was modeled after “The Marshall Plan,” an initiative passed in 1948, that provided economic aid to Europe after World War II. Today, @GirlsWhoCode took out a full-page ad in the @nytimes calling on the Biden administration to support moms by implementing a #MarshallPlanForMoms in the first 100 days. “The first 100 days are an opportunity to define our values.

Target has joined several other retailers in dropping a Thailand-based company’s coconut products following allegations that its farms use monkey labor. Target will no longer carry Chaokoh coconut products in its stores amid allegations that its manufacturer has continued to use monkey labor at its coconut farms in Thailand, Target confirmed to NBC News Tuesday. Monkey labor is not uncommon in Thailand, Kent Stein, corporate responsibility officer for PETA, told “Today” last year. Chaokoh posted a statement to its Twitter account last year denying the use of monkey labor at its farms. Chaokoh said that all of its suppliers have signed a pledge to not use monkey labor and ensure that they comply with audits by the Thailand Ministry of Agriculture.

Forty-five Senate Republicans voted Tuesday to dismiss the trial as unconstitutional. For many Republicans, an argument over the legality serves as a process-based justification to acquit the former president. The vote isn't necessarily indicative of the final outcome as some senators who voted to dismiss haven't ruled out a conviction. "If more than 34 Republicans vote against the constitutionality of the proceeding, the whole thing's dead on arrival," Paul said before the vote. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has emphatically rejected the argument that a trial is unconstitutional, and promised that it will go forward.

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is purchasing an additional 200 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, a move that could provide enough doses for nearly every American to get fully inoculated by the end of the summer, a senior administration official said Tuesday. The new purchase of 100 million doses from Pfizer and 100 million from Moderna will be made available over the summer and are in addition to the 400 million combined doses the companies had already committed to providing to the U.S., the official said. The agreement will lessen the country’s reliance on getting additional vaccines on the market from other manufacturers. The Trump administration had passed up on purchasing more vaccine doses from Pfizer and Moderna and was instead relying on additional vaccines from Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca coming to market. As of Jan. 26, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 23.5 million doses were administered and more than 3.4 million were people fully vaccinated.

The FBI's investigation of the deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol this month has identified more than 400 suspects, according to the figures disclosed Tuesday by the Justice Department. Steven D'Antuono, assistant director in charge of the FBI's Washington field office, said more than 150 criminal cases have been filed so far. He said prosecutors were not concerned that opening a large number of cases could overwhelm the FBI or federal judges. Investigators have also obtained more than 500 subpoenas and search warrants to aid in identifying suspects. The FBI is offering a $75,000 reward to help identify whoever planted two pipe bombs near the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic National Committees near the Capitol.

The city and the group together ran a mass vaccination site at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, and the relationship was publicized by national media, including NBC News. Garrow said the group also had a contract with the city for Covid-19 testing through Jan. 31, but had unexpectedly suspended testing. PFC updated its data policy on its website Monday. Doroshin also said he had personally informed the health department of change in corporate status, which was done to make it easier to fundraise and operate clinics. The city will now schedule new vaccination clinics so people who received their first doses from PFC at the convention center can receive their second doses elsewhere.

Keira Knightley said she's no longer interested in acting in nude scenes staged by a male director, expressing her discomfort with shooting intimate narratives that appeal to men. "I don't have an absolute ban [on shooting nude scenes], but I kind of do with men," said Knightley. The British actress said she would be interested in filming nude scenes about female life experiences and body acceptance, but under a woman's direction. The actor added, "I don't want it to be those horrible sex scenes where you're all greased up, and everybody is grunting. Knightley said that she understands the need for certain films to include sex scenes, but said directors just need "somebody to look hot."

Senators took an oath and were sworn-in ahead of the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump.

Vice President Harris received her second dose of the Covid-19 at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.

We analyzed serum from women with Covid-19 and did not detect any reaction between patients’ antibodies and the syncytin-1 protein. To the contrary, women have conceived after coronavirus infection and vaccination. Neither mother nor infant is at any risk for coronavirus infection from the vaccines. Of course, vaccines for the flu and for tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis are routinely and safely administered to pregnant women. While we do not yet know everything about Covid-19 in human pregnancy, we do know that pregnant women who contract the disease are at higher risk for severe illness.

To the Editor:Re “Mutiny Halted Trump Scheme in Justice Dept.” (front page, Jan. 23):The revelation of the plot hatched by Jeffrey Clark to use the Justice Department to bolster President Donald Trump’s false claims of the election being stolen shows how perilously close this country came to a true constitutional crisis. It was only the willingness of department officials to put their own careers on the line to halt this anti-democratic scheme that prevented the replacement of Jeffrey Rosen by this Trump loyalist, one with a penchant for conspiracy theories. Michael EsterowitzBrooklynTo the Editor:Americans must draw the right lesson from this farce. The right lesson is not that democracy worked after all. Nor is it that Donald Trump is an anomaly that will never recur.

Open schools. When to keep schools open, and how to do so, has been an issue plaguing the response by the United States to the pandemic since its beginning. President Biden vowed to “teach our children in safe schools” in his inaugural address. On Tuesday, federal health officials weighed in with a call for returning children to the nation’s classrooms as soon as possible, saying the “preponderance of available evidence” indicates that in-person instruction can be carried out safely as long as mask-wearing and social distancing are maintained. “But outdoor cross-country, where distance can be maintained, might be fine to continue.”

ET Janet Yellen Sworn In as Treasury Secretary: Live UpdatesVerizon is still investigating the cause of a widespread internet outage on the East Coast. Ms. Yellen is the nation’s 78th Treasury secretary and the first woman to assume that role in the institution’s 232-year history. Standing outside the White House, Ms. Yellen took the oath of office with her husband, the economist George Akerlof, and her son by her side. Video transcript Back bars 0:00 / 1:01 - 0:00 transcript Biden’s Commerce Secretary Nominee Testifies Before Senate Gov. Janet L. Yellen was confirmed as Treasury secretary on Monday and was sworn in on Tuesday.

MOSCOW — President Biden and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia agreed to extend the last remaining nuclear arms treaty between their countries, but Mr. Biden confronted his counterpart over the poisoning of a Russian opposition leader and other issues, the White House said. It was the first call between the leaders of the world’s two nuclear superpowers since Mr. Biden’s inauguration. The New Start treaty, which limits the size of the two countries’ strategic nuclear arsenals, expires on Feb. 5, and the call appeared to seal a last-minute agreement to extend the treaty after the Trump administration declined to do so. But on a host of other high-stakes matters, Mr. Biden sent the message that he would be taking a harder line on Russia than his predecessor. He raised the poisoning of the Russian opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny, whose arrest on Jan. 17 sparked protests across the country last weekend, the White House said.

Investigators involved in the Capitol attack have also focused their attention on the chairman of the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio. Mr. Tarrio, who lives in Miami, was scheduled to attend the march in Washington but was thrown out of the city by a judge the day before it happened. Dominic Pezzola, a Proud Boy from Rochester, N.Y., was in the first wave of rioters to breach the Capitol, prosecutors say, and stands accused of shattering a window with a plastic police riot shield. “Obviously, they didn’t help our cause,” Mr. Tarrio said. On the day of the attack, Mr. Tarrio took to Parler, calling members of the Proud Boys who took part in it “revolutionaries” and urging them not to leave.

ET Covid-19 Live Updates: Global Virus Cases Surpass 100 Million C.D.C. As of Tuesday, Moderna had delivered to a federal government distributor 30.4 million doses out of the 100 million doses it has pledged to ship by the end of March. Some states and localities have been clamoring for more vaccine doses, while many others are struggling to use their existing supply. Credit... Adek Berry/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Indonesia officially passed one million coronavirus cases on Tuesday, with many hospitals near capacity even as vaccinations are underway. A healthcare worker receiving a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine at the military hospital FFAA in Quito, Ecuador, last week.

Monday night’s wintry mix generally produced a coating to an inch of snow and sleet from the District northward. ADADThe wintry mix slicked untreated roads and sidewalks, but treated and well-traveled roads mostly remained wet. ADThese international models track the storm far enough south to pose a snow threat in the region. The latest American model forecast doesn’t show the necessary ingredients for a major snow event. As shown in the image below, the American modeling system simulates more northerly storm tracks, less favorable for snow, compared with the European modeling system.

ADADBut the judge changed course after learning more during hearings Monday and Tuesday, saying the case was appearing less like a spy thriller and more like a domestic dispute. ADWilliams’s defense argued that she deleted social media accounts not to hide evidence but because the ex-boyfriend had started sending messages under her name. The affidavit links to images of all-caps, typo-riddled social media posts from a user named “Riley” who declares that they “STOLE . ADAlso Tuesday, two Rocky Mount, Va., police officers who are charged with taking part in the Capitol riot were fired. He said he never intended to harm Ocasio-Cortez nor police, apologized to both, and called his social media posts “completely inappropriate.”Miller tweeted “Assassinate AOC” on Jan. 6, according to charging papers.

ADAs of Tuesday, the number of Maryland residents eligible for a vaccine was roughly three times larger than the number of doses available. The number of appointments available at those sites will be based on dose allocations from the federal government. ADMembers of Congress from Virginia sent a letter to FEMA’s acting director Tuesday asking for a mass vaccination site in Northern Virginia like those Hogan is setting up in Maryland. Democratic Reps. Jennifer Wexton, Don Beyer and Gerald E. Connolly wrote that the region has both the capacity and the demand to support one of the 100 federally operated mass vaccination sites that the Biden administration has proposed. President Biden unveiled the proposal to create mass vaccination sites on his first day in office.

Paxton, a close Trump ally, celebrated the ruling as a “victory” and declared Texas “the first state in the nation to bring a lawsuit against the Biden (administration). AND WE WON.”As one of his first executive actions, Biden ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to halt most deportations from the interior of the United States for 100 days. But Texas alleged the moratorium would inflict immediate harm on the state, and the measure violated an agreement Paxton and Gov. Hundreds of additional executive actions by Trump were disputed in the federal court system, and immigrant advocates and attorneys filed many of those motions in California’s Ninth Circuit. “This lawsuit should not be allowed to proceed,” said Kate Huddleston, an attorney for the ACLU of Texas, in a statement.

Tim Griffin and Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, Sanders is considered the one to beat because of her national prominence. ADADSanders’s announcement video also shows where Republican voters stand today. Fighting against the left, not fighting for anything in particular, is what Republican voters want most. Only then does she turn to longtime Republican staples: fighting bureaucracy, lowering the cost of government and cutting state income taxes. This ordering suggests she believes cultural issues animate Republican voters more than fiscal concerns.

Trump’s trial is not scheduled to begin until Feb. 9, but senators were set to be sworn in for the proceedings Tuesday. ADA week after a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol, the House passed one article of impeachment against the president for inciting an insurrection. If convicted, Trump could be barred from holding future office with a subsequent majority vote. Paul sought to muster at least 34 votes to signal there are enough senators with constitutional misgivings to secure an acquittal. Rather than Roberts, presiding over the trial will be Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) — the Senate president pro tempore and longest serving senator.

However, both chambers have previously determined that they retain power to proceed against an executive branch official that has resigned from office. The principal precedent is the 1876 impeachment of Secretary of War William Belknap. The matter went to the Senate, where Belknap avoided the two-thirds majority needed for conviction. Third, most Republican senators, especially slick lawyers such as Sens. They nevertheless appear nervous of being (correctly) identified as ratifying Trump’s sedition.

President Biden has ordered a 90-day commission to pursue solutions to sexual misconduct in the military, but Mr. Austin said he didn’t want to wait to take action. I know you have worked this problem for many years,” he wrote. Yet reports of sexual assaults have increased steadily since 2006, including a 13 percent jump in 2018 and a 3 percent increase in 2019. “My hope,” Don Christensen, president of Protect Our Defenders, told Military Times, “is that leadership is honest in its assessment. If they are they will see they have made no real progress in reducing the rate of sexual assault and are failing when it comes to accountability.”ADAD

ADImportant progress is being made on peace, but Afghanistan has experienced unprecedented levels of violence since the U.S.-Taliban agreement was signed last year. According to the U.S.-Taliban agreement, a full U.S. withdrawal of troops is scheduled for May 2021, if the conditions are met. Given that the conditions have been repeatedly violated, the United States must now decide how to proceed. ADAlready, the Taliban is marketing the U.S.-Taliban agreement as evidence of its victory over the United States. If we truly desire peace — and we do — the United States must ensure it is not just trimming the branches, but treating the roots.

The acting chief of the U.S. Capitol Police offered an unbridled apology to lawmakers Tuesday, adding that officials “fully expect to answer to you and the American people for our failings on January 6.”“The Department also knows that you — the Congressional community — expect excellence from the Capitol Police and depend on us for your safety, but, most importantly, the protection of the democratic process,” acting chief Yogananda D. Pittman told lawmakers during a closed-door briefing, according to a copy of her prepared remarks obtained by The Washington Post. “I am here to offer my sincerest apologies on behalf of the department.”Pittman is one of several officials testifying before members of the House Appropriations Committee about the events and decisions that led to rioters storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, and the steps that security outfits are taking to ensure such a breach is not repeated. She backed up the former police chief’s assertion that he had asked for National Guard backup ahead of time but had been denied — but also acknowledged that the police failed to execute a fully secured lockdown procedure and lacked the weapons to fend off the attackers. Security officials around the Capitol, including the former House sergeant-at-arms, have said since the riot that they struggled to find the proper balance between protecting the Capitol and preserving the public’s access to the building colloquially known as the People’s House. In a sobering warning, Pittman told lawmakers Tuesday that there was no way that the police could have both prevented the riot and preserved the demonstrators’ First Amendment right to stage the protest before the storming of the building took place.

Among all sorts of noteworthy items, a moon rock was found to be sitting on a bookshelf. But what many didn't know was that this rock, dubbed Lunar Sample 76015,143, had been on an Odyssean journey to get there, one 3.9 billion years in the making. Like the other rocks brought back by the Apollo missions, it was housed at the Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. The Oval Office's moon rock is, for many, a cathartic sight, a symbol of the new President's science-driven agenda, of his administration's adherence to facts and to objective truths, something America needs now more than ever. If so, I suspect Americans will look back in pride at the moment they saw a moon rock sitting in Biden's Oval Office.

Soon after his election loss to Biden, Trump reportedly asked advisers for options to strike Iran militarily. Biden has stated an inten t to rejoin the nuclear deal, while also signaling he hopes a more expansive agreement can be reached soon after. As the UN's atomic watchdog chief warned on Jan. 11 , there is a matter of weeks rather than months to salvage the nuclear deal. Public sentiments around diplomacy with the West are much more negative than when the nuclear deal was first agreed. First, the US and Iran should agree on technical steps required for mutual compliance with the nuclear deal, cool regional tensions and build confidence.

Chris Pizzello/Associated PressOn the one-year anniversary of his death, Los Angeles-based poet City James honored the life and career of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant:Video Play Button McCollum and the Blazers Snapped Postseason Losing Streak for "Jennifer" Stars Invest in Plant-Based Food as Vegetarianism Sweeps NBA The NBA Got Some Wild Techs This Season Jarrett Allen Is One of the NBA’s Hottest Rim Protectors Wade's Jersey Swaps Created Epic Moments This Season Westbrook Makes History While Honoring Nipsey Hussle Devin Booker Makes History with Scoring Tear 29 Years Ago, Jordan Dropped Career-High 69 Points Bosh Is Getting His Jersey Raised to the Rafters in Miami Steph Returns to Houston for 1st Time Since His Moon Landing Troll Lou Williams Is Coming for a Repeat of Sixth Man of the Year Pat Beverley Has the Clippers Stealing the LA Shine LeBron Keeps Shredding NBA Record Books Young's Hot Streak Is Heating Up the ROY Race with Luka LeBron and 2 Chainz Form a Superteam to Release a New Album Wade's #OneLastDance Dominated February Warriors Fans Go Wild After Unforgettable Moments with Steph Eight Years Ago, the Nuggets Traded Melo to the Knicks Two Years Ago, the Kings Shipped Boogie to the Pelicans ASG Will Be Competitive Again If the NBA Raises the Stakes Right Arrow IconBryant entered the NBA in 1996 and became one of the greatest players of his generation. The 2007-08 MVP, an 18-time All-Star and five-time NBA champion, Bryant left an indelible impact on the game as he rose to the top of the sport. Toward the end of his career and following his retirement in 2016, Bryant also worked with a number of younger stars to impart his knowledge to the next generation. On Jan. 26, 2020, Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. His daughter, Gianna, was among the eight other victims.

His competitive drive and desire to win propelled him to five NBA championships, and he's fourth all-time in scoring. Los Angeles Clippers star Paul George posted a photo of a hug he shared with Bryant: "I knew I held on tight for a reason. Forever in our hearts and minds.. long love the mamba"Cleveland Cavaliers star Kevin Love wrote that Bryant's death "still doesn't seem real." Miss you"Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr spoke about how he thinks Bryant will be remembered, per The Athletic's Bill Oram and Jovan Buha:"I think Kobe's legacy for me is one of passion. The tributes extended beyond the NBA:Through his performance on the court, Bryant influenced future generations of NBA players, and his legacy will have a lasting impact on the game.

0 of 9Elise Amendola/Associated PressTom Brady was the prize of a prolific quarterback class in last year's free-agency period. He landed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and now his team is going to the Super Bowl. While this year's edition of the quarterback carousel might not push a team to the NFL title game, it's going to be every bit as interesting. Additionally, Matthew Stafford is expected to be traded, while Deshaun Watson is pushing for a move of his own. So where will the carousel stop this offseason?

The source said this is a "full stop" on Unanue speaking to the press, not only about politics, but also about the company itself. "They accomplished what they set out to do, which was get President Trump out of the way," he said. Those comments did not get as much attention as his July remarks praising President Trump , likely because of all the other news surrounding the inauguration. Unanue and Goya said at the time that he was at the White House to announce the donation of millions of cans of Goya products to food banks. That in turn prompted a so-called "buy-cott" by Trump supporters, including Ivanka Trump , who urged the president's backers to buy Goya products.

Indoor gatherings remain limited to 10 people and outdoor gatherings are limited to 25. "The goal of these enforcement actions is to reduce the spread of #COVID19 and the risk to our vulnerable populations." The Boston Marathon is usually held in April and was canceled last year because of Covid-19, though there was a virtual edition. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has repeatedly said the city's supply of vaccine doses is running very low, too. "These findings suggest that the prevalence of self-reported psychological distress among school-aged children and adolescents during the Covid-19 pandemic was relatively high," the researchers said in a summary of the study's key findings.

SEE NEW POSTSBoris Johnson says he's 'deeply sorry' for Covid-19 deaths, takes 'full responsibility' British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Tuesday he was "deeply sorry" for every life taken by Covid-19 as he insisted his government has done "everything we could" to ease the pain of the pandemic. California will also launch a new online portal, called My Turn, where residents can make vaccine appointments and check their eligibility status. We are continuing enforcement of the Los Angeles County health orders to address underground party events. "The goal of these enforcement actions is to reduce the spread of #COVID19 and the risk to our vulnerable populations." The Boston Marathon is usually held in April and was canceled last year because of Covid-19, though there was a virtual edition.

SEE NEW POSTSCalifornia officials take control over state's slow vaccine rollout California is changing its vaccine delivery system to give the state more control over who gets doses amid growing frustration over a slow rollout that has forced people to wait hours, and months, for their shots. Under the new system, state officials will work with third party administrators to allocate vaccines directly to providers, including county public health systems, pharmacies, health systems, public hospitals, community health centers, pharmacies and pop-up sites. California will also launch a new online portal, called My Turn, where residents can make vaccine appointments and check their eligibility status. He emphasized that unlike other states, New Jersey was sticking with an "appointment-based system" for vaccine distribution instead of a first come, first served model. Murphy, a first-term Democrat, expressed confidence that the Biden administration would help speed the vaccine rollout nationwide.

SEE NEW POSTSNorth Carolina running out of vaccine doses North Carolina has doled out 95 percent of its allotted coronavirus vaccines, with demand now on the verge of eclipsing scheduled supply, officials said Tuesday. We are continuing enforcement of the Los Angeles County health orders to address underground party events. Share this -N.J. governor says state is 'desperately short' on vaccine doses Gov. He added that there are roughly 270 locations around the state ready to administer vaccine doses. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has repeatedly said the city's supply of vaccine doses is running very low, too.

Why Is This Happening? Every week on the podcast Chris Hayes asks the big questions that keep him up at night. How do we make sense of this unprecedented moment in world history?

EITAN HERSH: That's right. EITAN HERSH: That's right. EITAN HERSH: That's right. EITAN HERSH: That's right. EITAN HERSH: That's right.

Migrants return to Mexico using the Puerta Mexico bridge that crosses the Rio Grande river on the border with Brownsville, Texas. | AP Photo/Emilio EspejelThe 100-day pause went into effect on Friday. The agreements, signed on the final days of the Trump administration, were first reported by Buzzfeed News. However, Tipton’s order specified that the decision was not based on that agreement between DHS and Texas. The Justice and Homeland Security departments did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

This week Chris sits down with professor and historian David Bligt to talk about his Pulitzer winning book "Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom." And Frederick Douglass is in a somewhat similar category in so far as like, yes, we know Fredrick Douglass. Well, and it's also, I mean, after my encomium Frederick Douglass, he was, of course, not unflawed either. But first, I guess, for people that have not read the biography, which is probably the large majority of the listeners right now, just tell me a little bit about how does Frederick Douglass become Frederick Douglass? The book we were just discussing "Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom."

According to authorities, Colon told investigators that a captain with the fire department had asked him to take the vaccine. NurPhoto via Getty Images Boxes of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine vials are seen in a cooler with dry ice at a vaccination drive-thru site in The Villages, Florida. The investigation began when a battalion chief noticed discrepancies in the paperwork Colon filed after a vaccine assignment. The captain told Colon that the doses were in a car parked outside a friend’s house in Saint Cloud, officials said. “The bottom line is, Joshua tried to cover for the captain,” Judd said of Colon’s arrest.

In a statement, Kudlow said he was “excited to join many of my former colleagues now at FBN, creating a show that speaks to the real issues truly impacting Americans.”Suzanne Scott, Fox News Media’s chief executive, said in her own statement that Kudlow’s “vast experience in policy making coupled with his intuitive on-air presence will add depth and insight to our business analysis programming.”Kudlow’s transition to Fox is not his first foray into the world of broadcasting. The former Wall Street economist served as a CNBC contributor before joining Trump’s White House, and he had previously hosted shows on the network, including “The Kudlow Report.”Trump’s choice of Kudlow to replace his first economic adviser, Gary Cohn, in 2018 was widely regarded as another example of the former president’s proclivity for plucking camera-ready administration officials out of “central casting.”A former Reagan administration official who preached the importance of a free market, Kudlow often found himself defending tariff policies and other executive actions by Trump that were antithetical to his own economic views. Last year, amid the coronavirus pandemic and the crushing economic fallout, Kudlow echoed Trump in making numerous misleading predictions about the U.S. outbreak and downplaying its significance. But he was not as combative or partisan as some of his White House colleagues, and frequently took questions from reporters outside the White House with a generally amiable attitude.

About this episode:The holidays should be the busiest time of the year, but small businesses everywhere have been crushed by the pandemic and its restrictions. The picture is especially grim for Black-owned small businesses, which closed at twice the rate of white-owned small businesses this spring. Two years later, the Sabirs opened the Sherman Phoenix, a community healing space and hub of more than two dozen small businesses. Business owners within the Sherman Phoenix have been able to stave off closures and financial hardship tied to COVID-19. And Trymaine sits down with JoAnne and Maanaan to talk about how the Sherman Phoenix could provide a model for other Black community spaces, especially during tough times.

I mean, Texas is a microcosm for the bigger trends in the country. ABBY LIVINGSTON: That's right. Those are ranches that's ... that's not metro area stuff. I think that's the debate that's happening right now. ABBY LIVINGSTON: That's my Austin.

Senator Elizabeth Warren discusses her hopes for the new Biden administration, highlights among new staff members she is enthusiastic about, and expectations that Democrats will hold together to advance an agenda.

About this episode:Heather Penney was born in Tucson, Arizona, the daughter of a fighter pilot. Heather harbored a dream of being a fighter pilot, like her dad, except that there was one problem: back then, women were not allowed to fly in combat. At Air Force pilot training, Heather was the only woman in her class. To graduate – to earn her Air Force flight wings – she had to master it. She had been the only woman in her Air Force flight class, and was now the only woman in her squadron.

The great American author and Pulitzer Prize winner, Wallace Stegner, wrote that our “[n]ational parks are the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best….” That is certainly true. Jon served in eight national parks, from his days as a ranger, through his turn as the superintendent of Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska – the largest park in our national system. From 2009 until 2017, Jon served as the Director of the National Park Service, in charge of its 22,000 employees and its 3-billion-dollar annual budget.

Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) talks to Chris Hayes about the importance of the Senate becoming a more active legislative body with Chuck Schumer serving as the new Senate Majority Leader.

About this episode:As an outspoken sports journalist, Jemele Hill has been told to “stick to sports” in her coverage. Black athletes decided the fight was worth risking it all for. And many team owners and the leagues realized it was good for business to support their players. Trymaine Lee looks back on the year of sports and activism with Jemele Hill, contributing writer for The Atlantic and host of the podcast Jemele Hill is Unbothered. Jemele traces the roots of why Black athletes stayed silent in the past and why change is more likely to stick in the NBA than the NFL.

About this episode:From children’s books, to cartoons, to the worlds of fantasy and make believe, it can sometimes seem as if Black characters are on the side-lines, or don’t exist at all. Especially around the holidays, Black parents get creative to find toys for their kids that reflect just how beautiful and special they are. More than three decades ago, Yla Eason took matters into her own hands when her Black son said that he couldn’t be a superhero because he’s not white. Trymaine Lee talks to Yla, about why she created Sun-Man, one of the first Black superhero toys in America, and the challenges she encountered along the way. And we get some words of wisdom from Trymaine’s 8-year-old daughter, Nola, on why representation in toys matters.

Rachel Maddow expresses her alarm at the realization that former presidents are usually only gathered to call for American unity in especially dire situations, making that portion of the Biden inaugural prime time special as concerning as it is reassuring.

Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock talks about the civil rights milestone represented by his swearing-in as a U.S. senator and how his work at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church ties to the issues he hopes to work on in the senate.

Nicolle Wallace says that President Biden's "grace" and "commitment to unity is what allows the Republicans ... to move about comfortably in their workplace."

Joy notes how the star-studded Inauguration programs were an answer "to what we saw on January 6th ... And they went to work. They did a workday. They gave us a press conference where there were no lies."

A portrait of Benjamin Franklin and busts of Cesar Chavez, Rosa Parks, and Eleanor Roosevelt are just some of the changes President Joe Biden has brought to the Oval Office. NBC News’ Geoff Bennett explains what these personal touches signify.

Rachel Maddow comments that “a glass ceiling shatters” as Kamala Harris ascends steps into the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which is part of the White House complex, for the first time as vice president.

As law enforcement and the Senate pursue accountability for the Capitol riot and insurrection, world leaders and cultural figures have been speaking out and condemning the attack on democracy. Rapper Marlon Craft has a new song challenging clichés about unity and arguing America cannot try to be unified until people confront things that should not be negotiated, from scientific truths about Covid-19 to white supremacy. Craft joins MNSBC’s Ari Melber and former RNC chairman Michael Steele to discuss his searing song and his hopes for America’s future.

While giving his inaugural address, Pres. Joe Biden called for a divided America to unite. Will the new president's call for unity resonate with the nation? We talk to Baratunde Thurston and Bill Kristol.

Is House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy trying to have it both ways when it comes to messaging on impeachment and Trump's role in the U.S. Capitol riots? The Morning Joe panel discusses.

QAnon believers looked to Inauguration Day for Trump to stop Biden from taking office and Democrats - who they believe to be pedophiles and cannibals - to be arrested. Ben Collins and Jen Golbeck discuss how Q loyalists reacted after none of that happened.

The House has delivered the Trump impeachment article to the Senate, and the stage is now set for the fmr. president's second impeachment trial. Meanwhile, Biden is pushing to get his agenda in motion before the trial begins.

HuffPost’s Matt Fuller and Chris Hayes discuss Republican Rep. Andy Harris getting caught trying to bring a gun onto the House floor—just two weeks after the Capitol insurrection.

Reacting to news that Trump plotted to use the Justice Department to overturn Georgia’s election results, House impeachment manager Rep. David Cicilline tells Lawrence O’Donnell that they included Trump’s call with Georgia officials in the article of impeachment because it demonstrates part of an “effort by the president to feed a lie to his supporters to the point that they became enraged and violent.”

“I think a lot of people are shocked and disappointed at the willingness of Senators Cruz and Hawley—in pursuit of political ambition—to basically disregard the Constitution of the United States,” says George Conway.

Congressman Ted Lieu says impeaching Trump is a matter of deterrence: “Future presidents need to know they cannot attempt a coup to hold on to power."

On Sen. Mitch McConnell wanting to prevent Senate Democrats from getting rid of the filibuster, Joy says: "The guy who made it his number one priority to block President Barack Obama's agenda and use the filibuster at levels rivaled only by Southern Dixiecrat filibusters of civil rights legislation during the 50s/60s wants to make sure he can rinse and repeat with Biden."

“This was—as we have argued and intend to show—the worst presidential crime against the Republic in American history,” says House impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) just announced Donald Trump's Senate impeachment trial schedule has been agreed to and will begin in a little more than two weeks on February 8. MSNBC's Ari Melber reports on the breaking news, announcing the House managers will formally present the articles of impeachment to the Senate on Monday, January 25.

In a ReidOut exclusive, DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison tells Joy Reid that he wants the party to invest in a 50 state strategy to be prepared for the next races.

Since taking office, President Biden has already issued a series of executive orders addressing Covid-19, student debt, climate change and immigration. Oscar winning filmmaker Michael Moore joins MSNBC's Ari Melber to discuss Biden's aggressive agenda for his first 100 days in office, Moore asserting Biden needs to address the crippling debt Americans are facing in light of the pandemic and should implement universal healthcare. Moore also hits out at Republicans, arguing Biden needs to ensure they "answer for what they did" to enable Donald Trump and subvert democracy.

Washington Post Political reporter David Fahrenthold says that any hope former President Trump had of his businesses recovering after the pandemic was killed after the events of January 6th

Morning Joe pays tribute to veteran journalist Tom Brokaw, who announced he is retiring after 55 years at NBC News. Brokaw is the only anchor to host all three NBC News broadcasts: Nightly News, TODAY Show and Meet the Press.

President Trump is using his final hours in office to look at presidential pardons. Former RNC Chairman Michael Steele and Politics War Room co-host James Carville join Stephanie Ruhle to discuss how some people are spending big bucks to get on the pardon list.

New evidence continues to emerge detailing the insurrection that occurred at Capitol Hill, some videos showing how rioters developed elaborate plans for extending their crimes. MSNBC’s Ari Melber walks through the evidence and emphasizes that the insurrectionists share Sen. Ted Cruz’s goal of overthrowing the election – new video revealing rioters argued Cruz would support their crimes.

A look back at President-Elect Joe Biden’s life-long career in politics, that spans more than five decades. It all began in November of 1972, and this week, Biden will become the President of the United States.

Joe Biden will be sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday, January 20 in a ceremony that will keep with tradition while being unlike any other inauguration in U.S. history. The Morning Joe panel discusses.

On Trump's last day in office, he leaves in more disgrace than most modern presidents, dogged by more convictions of top advisers in his first term than any other president. As Trump faces late backlash, MSNBC's Ari Melber and The New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg discuss what it took to dent Trump's impunity.

On President Trump's final full day in office, the Morning Joe panel discusses the role social media played in Trump's presidency and what type of politician could come in the future if social media sites remain unchecked.

Rachel Maddow reviews the collection of crises, court cases and criminal investigations Donald Trump faces and wonders if he, like many Americans, wishes he could take back the last four or five years.

Climate change activist Greta Thunberg says that the climate goals from the Biden administration are "very far from being in line with the Paris Agreement" but welcomes the new tone from the president.

It was a fitting cap to Trump’s corrupt administration that in his final hours, he pardoned Bannon— forgiving his alleged crime of fleecing Trump's own supporters—and rescinded the lobbying ban that he had put in place at the start of his term.

Sen. Bernie Sanders brought the drip to Biden’s inauguration, and everybody noticed. MSNBC’s Ari Melber discusses how Sanders’ “inaugural chic” took the internet by storm, and highlights some of The Beat’s favorite memes that have been created to memorialize the striking look.

Chris Hayes: “Democrats are going to have to choose really soon: do they roll over for phony calls for unity that absolve the Republican Party for its trespasses against American democracy? Or, do they wield the rare power they have won through democratic means to repair democracy and people's lives?”

The impeachment articles against Donald Trump will formally go the to Senate in mere days. But as MSNBC’s Chief Legal Correspondent Ari Melber explains, Trump’s second impeachment will be different from his last. Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer is now in charge, which means there could be more evidence and witnesses admitted in trial- two things Republicans blocked last time- and Trump is now out of office, ensuring the entire case is about whether or not he should be convicted. Melber asserts the Senate will decide something “that shapes history” and that may ensure Trump “never has power again.”

Indianapolis Police Chief Randal Taylor said he is “heartbroken” after a fatal shooting left six people dead on the northeast side. The mayor called it a “mass murder,” and police are searching for one or more gunmen.

Legendary television host Larry King died this morning at a hospital in Los Angeles at the age of 87. King spent 63 years in both television and radio, his longest running show “Larry King Live” aired on CNN for 25 years. NBC’s Kevin Tibbles looks back at his life and legacy.

Dr. Anthony Fauci talks with Rachel Maddow about how the Trump administration blocked him from appearing on her should through most of the coronavirus crisis and how much more free top U.S. scientist are under the Biden administration to communicate with the public.

President Biden is making his first call to a foreign leader today since his inauguration, putting a focus on the United States’ relationship with other countries around the world. Eurasia Group founder and president Ian Bremmer join Stephanie Ruhle to discuss why his call might be a little tense.

The House on Monday is set to send the article of impeachment to the Senate. This move comes amid new revelations that then-President Trump considered naming a new attorney general to help push baseless claims of voter fraud.

Republican legislators across the country are preparing new voting restrictions in the wake of former President Donald Trump’s defeat, Politico reports. The panel discusses.

Senate Republicans Tuesday voted for a measure declaring the impeachment proceedings against former President Donald Trump to be unconstitutional because Trump is no longer in office. One proponent of that view, George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley, spoke to Senate Republicans at a lunch ahead of the swearing-in on Tuesday. While some senators have likened their role in the impeachment trial to jurors, they're actually more than that. The Senate trial is expected to begin the week of Feb. 8 under a deal struck between the parties. Senate Republicans had requested extra time to allow Trump's lawyers to prepare.

The Senate confirmed Antony Blinken as President Joe Biden's secretary of state on Tuesday with overwhelming bipartisan support. Blinken must be confirmed so we can start addressing the challenges we face abroad," Sen. Bob Menenedez, D-N.J., said ahead of the vote. Blinken has served Biden in various roles for over two decades, including as a staff member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. But not all U.S. foreign policy under Blinken will be a repudiation of the Trump administration. He has said the Trump administration was right in taking a tougher approach to China, and he has committed to keeping the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, where it was moved under Trump.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, the first phone call between the two since Biden took office last week, the White House confirmed. "President Biden made clear that the United States will act firmly in defense of its national interests in response to actions by Russia that harm us or our allies," the White House said in a statement. In addition, Biden raised the issue of 2020 election interference and the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny. Biden has spoken to a number of America's allies since taking office, including the leaders of Canada, Germany and France. "Vladimir Putin congratulated Joseph Biden on the start of his work as President of the United States," the Kremlin described the call in a translation of a readout of the call.

A California man was arrested Tuesday after federal authorities said he sent threatening text messages to family members of a New York City congressman and journalist. "We are nearby armed and ready," the suspect allegedly said in one text described in the document. “Your brother is putting your entire family at risk with his lies and other words. In the text to the lawmaker's brother, authorities said Lemke wrote: “your words have consequences. Members of Lemke's family could not be reached for comment at several publicly listed phone numbers for them in Northern California on Tuesday afternoon.

SEE NEW POSTSMinnesota reports first known case of Brazil coronavirus variant in the U.S. Minnesota public health officials announced what appears to be the first known case of the coronavirus' Brazil P.1 variant in the nation. Paul who became ill after traveling to Brazil, the Minnesota Department of Health said. Google is contributing $150 million in advertising credits so that public health agencies and nonprofits can run announcements and information campaigns, Pichai said. The city has reported more than 628,000 cases and more than 12,000 deaths from the virus, according to data from Public Health England. Share this -California lifts regional coronavirus stay-at-home orders California lifted its stay-at-home orders for all regions statewide Monday, citing improving coronavirus conditions, health officials announced.

The 8-minute video tribute can be seen at 107 stations throughout the city starting Jan. 25 through Feb. 7 and can also be seen online. The strain was found among the 50 random samples analyzed every week as part of the state's variant surveillance program, according to the health department. Share this -California is ramping up its lagging vaccination effort, governor says California Gov. Google is contributing $150 million in advertising credits so that public health agencies and nonprofits can run announcements and information campaigns, Pichai said. She said the briefings will focus on bringing the public "key updates" on the virus and the federal government's response to the pandemic.

This is why vaccine distribution — and not just vaccine development — is of utmost importance. So far, the implementation of vaccine distribution is unfortunately falling far short of what is needed to quell the pandemic. The unfocused, patchwork approach President Donald Trump has helped foster means vaccine distribution has been functionally outsourced to individual states, creating significant discrepancies in who is prioritized for vaccine eligibility. In some counties, there is not even a local public health department, leaving much of this work to fall to the state. For example, information systems need to be developed and integrated between local public health agencies and retail pharmacies to verify eligibility, allocate resources and ensure compliance.

“That they love our labor and not our lives.”Such is the cycle for Black people, especially Black women, in America. If Black women are good enough to carry this country on its back, winning its elections and securing its democracy, we should be worthy of its protection. Now is the moment you may be tempted to delve into the specific elements surrounding Taylor's death, Blake’s life-altering injuries, and so many other tragedies. https://t.co/x70AG6537e — MSNBC (@MSNBC) January 3, 2021The same has been true in the latest developments in the investigation of Taylor’s death. In truth, Taylor’s death was not merely the result of policy violations or tactical errors.

Dr. Kavita Patel, primary care physician in Washington, D.C., is an MSNBC columnist and an NBC News/MSNBC contributor. She previously served in the Obama administration as director of policy for the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement in the White House. A Brookings Institution nonresident fellow, she is the former managing director of clinical transformation at Brookings' Center for Health Policy.

Violence against Black protesters who condemn those killings is almost a matter of course, an expected and planned-for outcome when too many Black people gather in one place. White citizenship comes with certain protections, a trust and a belief that the rights laid out in the Constitution apply to you, point blank and period. Meanwhile, Black citizenship, in its fullest sense, remains an aspiration, if not a myth. The disparate treatment of white and Black protesters, agitators or rioters is just one consistent example. Yet, instead of the kind of state-sanctioned violence by police in the last seven months, white rioters at the Capitol were treated like patriots rather than thugs.

When the telecommunications giant announced a freeze on donations to election deniers, it called the riots they inspired "appalling." Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., says he’s “not sure that there is even climate change.” The list goes on and on. The only reason corporations haven't stopped donations to climate deniers like they have election deniers is because their greenwashing campaigns have worked. People simply aren't as angry about the fact that they bankroll climate violence as they are about the fact that they bankroll political violence. Corporate America may not consider climate misinformation as big a threat as election misinformation when it comes to their profits.

As in most crises, low-income, rural, Black and Latinx communities are suffering the most when it comes to the digital divide.

Senate Republicans have figured out a way to wiggle out of passing judgment on President Donald Trump in his impeachment trial: claiming that the Senate has no ability to try him after he leaves office Wednesday. Every impeachment trial is basically a blank canvas for the Senate to impress its stamp upon. Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution says the Senate "shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments." Unlike this time last year, Republicans will no longer hold the majority by the time the trial is likely to start. And finally, any challenge to the ability of the Senate to hold the trial should be deemed out of order.

But this time, the insurrection was televised — and hosted on social media websites around the world. In response to the Trump-supporting extremists storming the Capitol, platforms like Twitter and Facebook have finally taken the previously unprecedented leap to ban or block Trump’s account. We do not want extremism to proliferate freely on social media websites, radicalizing vulnerable people and potentially infecting all of society, with often violent results. Trump himself has not been a fan of social media platforms, despite being an incredibly prolific user, of Twitter in particular. Trump himself has not been a fan of social media platforms, despite being an incredibly prolific user, of Twitter in particular.

Brittany Packnett Cunningham is an MSNBC columnist and contributor, a leader at the intersection of culture and justice, a 2020 fellow at Harvard’s Institute of Politics and host of the podcast “Undistracted.” A lifelong activist and proud member of the Ferguson Uprising, Brittany was co-host of the 2019 iHeart Radio Best Political Podcast, “Pod Save The People.”

Mehdi Hasan is host of The Mehdi Hasan Show on Peacock and an MSNBC political analyst. He is a former senior columnist for The Intercept and launched their Deconstructed podcast. Mehdi was also the presenter of UpFront and Head to Head on Al Jazeera English. He is the author of two books and winner of the Society of Professional Journalists’ 2018 Sigma Delta Chi Award for Online Column Writing.

Members of the religious right have used their considerable power again and again, mobilizing around politicians, legislation and judicial nominees (including Amy Coney Barrett). The religious right may have the loudest voice when it comes to abortion, but there are numerous other religious approaches to the matter. Other religious communities have their own complex and nuanced approaches to the procedure. The religious right may have the loudest voice when it comes to abortion, but there are numerous other religious approaches to the matter. And they should be places where everyone understands the importance of fighting for reproductive health, rights and justice for everyone.

Democrats have said for years that as a party they stand with workers, not big business — and now is their chance to prove it. Once praised for its flexibility, the field has been a nightmare for anyone who wants anything resembling job security or benefits. Thankfully, workers managed to get in a win last week — one that Democrats should pay close attention to. I want Biden's pick to be general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board to go after Instacart for its retaliation and union busting. And on Capitol Hill, let's see the Democrats take their new majority out for a spin and transform some of these suggestions into law.

Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., may be the youngest member of Congress, but he's already racking up a number of scandals that could rival those of his veteran peers. We could sit here all day and analyze Cawthorn's deceitful actions toward the public he took an oath to serve. "None of this would be possible if the public weren't complicit in perpetuating ableism," disability rights activist and writer Imani Barbarin told me. From the conversations I've had with disability rights activists, it seems the grift Cawthorn was running wasn't fooling many members of the disabled community. And how else could Cawthorn exist in the GOP reality, with an openly ableist man like Trump in charge of the Republican Party?

The rest of the trial’s structure still needs to be worked out, but at least now we won’t have to waste time debating the alleged unfairness of the process.

Experts are urging Biden administration officials to better understand the source behind Covid-19 vaccine skepticism across different Latino communities to improve vaccine rollout strategies nationwide. At least 28 percent of all Latinos surveyed by the Latino advocacy nonprofit UnidosUS in October reported that they were unlikely to get vaccinated for Covid-19. Over a third of all Latinas surveyed by UnidosUS stated they will likely not get vaccinated, compared to 22 percent of Latino men. The researchers are calling for officials to commission an in-depth study that identifies the most effective messaging strategies for different Latino subgroups. They also urge an aggressive use of fact-based information to counter the overwhelming amount of bilingual vaccine disinformation Latinos have been exposed to over the past months.

MEXICO CITY—Mexicans hope President Andrés Manuel López Obrador makes a speedy recovery from Covid-19, though many believe he could have avoided infection if he had more strictly followed the government’s own health advice - and worn a face mask. López Obrador's diagnosis on Sunday capped the deadliest week of the coronavirus pandemic in the country with the world's fourth-highest death toll. López Obrador, who quit smoking after a heart attack in 2013, insists he is careful, and has deferred to the recommendations of his coronavirus czar, deputy health minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell, when asked why he does not wear a mask. Only when flying is the president really ever seen in a mask. “It’s good that he knows how it feels, how people are suffering,” said Teresa López, a digital magazine editor.

Washington promoted Jennifer King to assistant running backs coach Tuesday, making her the first Black woman assistant position coach in the NFL. She is the second woman in league history to be an assistant position coach after Tampa Bay’s assistant defensive line coach Lori Locust. King spent the 2020 season as a full-year coaching intern under Ron Rivera and worked with running backs coach Randy Jordan. “I am very pleased to have coach King back to assist me full time in the running backs room,” Jordan said. “It should be open to everybody in terms of opportunities to play, opportunities to coach or opportunities to lead the organization.

There's a lot more work that needs to be done.”The memorandum issues guidance for the DOJ on how to better collect data and assist with the reporting of anti-Asian hate incidents. Many officials warned that the term and others like it would perpetuate the racist association between the disease and Asian Americans, prompting more hate attacks. Research published in the journal Health Education & Behavior suggests that such racist rhetoric has already had a profound impact on how those in the United States see Asian Americans. The language led to an increased subconscious belief that Asian Americans are “perpetual foreigners,” researchers said. More than 40 percent of the incidents were identified as anti-Asian incidents.

The FBI on Monday charged a man accused of participating in the Capitol riots after they received multiple tips from people who recognized his varsity jacket and number in footage of the mayhem. Brian Gundersen, of Armonk, N.Y., was identified as a Capitol rioter by his varsity jacket. Other people had also sent tips to the FBI identifying Gundersen as the man wearing the letterman jacket. Brian Gundersen, of Armonk, N.Y., was identified as a Capitol rioter by his varsity jacket. Still, when he was interviewed by the FBI on Jan. 19, Gundersen denied being a part of the Capitol riots.

He died from complications of smoke inhalation nine days after he was pulled from the shed. The surveillance video showed Hsieh opening the shed door about 3:15 a.m. No one was outside, but an “occasional light smoke” was “wisping from the door,” according to the report. The security camera footage showed “an increase in smoke emanating from the shed along with burning embers,” the report says. The shed where Tony Hsieh was found unconscious, right, at a house in New London, Conn. New London Fire Dept. From inside the shed, Hsieh could be heard in the video footage telling his brother to come back in five minutes, the report says.

The suspension will last at least 30 days and has been in effect since last week, YouTube said in an email. YouTube’s Partner Program allows video creators to share ad revenue as well as receive support from a company team, but channels that violate company policies can be removed. Giuliani, a former New York City mayor, has been a vocal proponent of baseless allegations of widespread fraud in the presidential election. In a series of news conferences and court hearings after the election, his team pushed allegations of voter fraud that had already been debunked. Giuliani could appeal his suspension with YouTube or reapply to the Partner Program in 30 days if he addresses the underlying issues, the company said.

President Biden announced executive orders he would be signing that focused on his administration's plans for racial equity. This includes a move to eventually end the Justice Department's use of private prisons.

President Joe Biden made history Jan. 19 when he announced the nomination of Dr. Rachel Levine to be his assistant health secretary — if approved, she would become the first openly transgender federal official confirmed by the U.S. Senate. However, some prominent figures on the right responded to the news by launching transphobic attacks against herMost notably, a Republican lawmaker from Pennsylvania, state Rep. Jeff Pyle, authored a Facebook post mocking Levine’s appearance. The post drew a swift backlash, with some people responding to his post with calls for him to resign. They don’t care about Dr. Levine’s record on managing the crisis, which, according to most indicators, seems to be exemplary,” Suen added. Branstetter also shared that Levine was a source of inspiration for her during a pivotal time in her own life, when Branstetter covered Levine while working as a health care reporter in Pennsylvania.

Courtesy of Terraye Morris Brittany KittrellOne week before she died, Brittany Kittrell spoke with her sister and mother on a video call. Four days after being booked into the Durham County jail, the sheriff’s office reported that Kittrell was transported to Duke Hospital, where she later died. The sheriff’s office said Kittrell’s official cause of death is still being determined and will be later released by the state medical examiner. Morris said that her family has been calling the state medical examiner’s office in Raleigh, but officials there haven’t returned their calls. After Kittrell became addicted to heroin, her family begged her to go into treatment, but she wasn’t willing, her sister said.

So pervasive has violence been in postcolonial societies that it can seem like the key thread linking their otherwise disparate experiences. The violence of postcolonial societies should be understood as fulfilling the logic of colonialism. Rather than a return to atavistic tribal ways, the violence of postcolonial societies should be understood as fulfilling the logic of colonialism. In a comparative analysis of five countries—or, more accurately, five country-specific “moments”—he locates the origin story of contemporary postcolonial political violence far back in history. Nuremberg was the international trial that broke with both the sovereignty of the state and the assumed link between mass violence and war—it tried Nazis for crimes committed beyond state borders, and before the war began.

× Expand STRF/STAR MAX/IPx 2020 First100-012621 Postal Service delivery times actually went down after the election. Postal Service Board of Governors, the 11 members who operate as kind of a board of directors for one of the nation’s largest employers. Most of the people in New Jersey got their card in January.”Pascrell has been a longtime supporter of the Postal Service. Give what you can... SUPPORT THE PROSPECTThis latest recommendation falls squarely within the law: the president can absolutely fire Postal Service board members for cause. The Senate can confirm new board members by a majority vote, and Democrats are united on the Postal Service.

Take, for example, the House Foreign Affairs Committee. But that level of disclosure is far from the norm for the other think tanks most frequently appearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The other three think tanks most frequently invited to House Foreign Affairs Committee hearings provide incomplete, or no, information about their funding. And they were extremely well represented before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Heritage experts testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee 12 times during the Republican-controlled 115th Congress and five times during the Democratic-controlled 116th Congress.

× Expand Patrick Semansky/AP Photo President Biden signed an executive order yesterday expanding the government’s Buy American requirements. What with all the purported concern over the gutting of American manufacturing, you’d think someone would have kept an eye on just how much offshoring our own government has been engaged in. That’s a lot of shopping abroad for strategic necessities—and not just face masks but also many high-tech products on which the Pentagon relies. Yesterday, President Biden signed an executive order expanding the government’s own Buy American requirements. They’d still only amount to a down payment on rebuilding our much-diminished middle class, but even just the change in direction would be a big step forward.

After nearly a decade of activism, the Fight for $15 stands closer than ever to achieving its most visible goal: a $15 federal minimum wage. Separately, a group of congressional Democrats today are reintroducing the Raise the Wage Act, which would gradually move the federal minimum wage up to $15 over a period of five years. “We’ve never given up that dream, as much as Fight for $15 has been characterized as a minimum wage movement,” says Henry. When he joined the Fight for $15 in 2014, he was making $7.47 an hour at McDonald’s. If the Democrats do manage to raise the minimum wage, Terrence Wise — a grown man with a family, a job, and years of activism that have taken him all over America — would get a raise.

The Kerner Commission was tasked with studying 24 so-called disorders that had occurred in 23 cities that summer. President Lyndon Johnson’s administration is credited with ?“solving” these problems of responsiveness and efficiency with the creation of the centralized 911 system we know today . In 1966, the National Academy of Sciences reported a uniform emergency number could reduce accidental deaths and injuries. The racist origins of the 911 system were on full display in its first-ever (ceremonial) use. Since its very first implementation, the 911 system has exacerbated racial disparities in communities across the country with devastating and costly results.

But because perspectives from the Global South have been largely excluded from analyses of international institutions and global governance, these elite Mexicans occupy a paradoxical place. When I set out to study the history of institutions like the World Bank and the IMF, I kept finding unexpected references to Mexico. In doing this, the book builds on debates about the nature of development as an international project. In response, however, a number of scholars argued that development could also be a fundamentally national project — the Global North and international institutions weren’t necessarily turning all the dials in the Third World. In many cases, the leaders of developmental states set policy according to domestic prerogatives, sometimes in defiance of what international creditors wanted.

Others among the “Fight for Trump” crowd, buying into the “Wild Time” promised by the presidential twitter feed, were independent contractors, self-employed professionals, the pettiest of the petty bourgeoisie. This dangerous militia-like presence in the Trump crowd no doubt provided a good part of its discipline and preparedness. The result was that when the Trump crowd proceeded to the Capitol, it had something of a cakewalk. Race was undoubtedly an important component of this political disaffection, but a lot more was also swirling in the witch’s brew on which the Trump crowd was drunk and disorderly. Many white protesters have found themselves on the wrong, and occasionally lethal, side of law’s vengeance.

When Alice and I moved to the area in 1976, many here remembered the bloody confrontations of the 1937 Little Steel Strike. It is union contracts, negotiated by unions and employers, that forbid strikes and other direct action during the life of the contract. The booklet advocated tearing down the open-hearth furnaces being used to make steel in Youngstown and building electric furnaces up river. Until unions in the United States take these clauses out of their contracts, their hands are tied. Workers may feel they have no other option than to believe the untruthful and self-interested leadership of a Donald Trump.

× Expand Photo via the Square One Project Mayoral candidate Elaine O'NealRetired Durham superior court judge, former law school dean, and racial equity champion Elaine O’Neal is running for mayor. “She’s Durham born, Durham bred, and during her life she’s seen all the changes, gentrification, the gun violence, and changes in the schools. O’Neal returned to the law school in 2018 and served as interim dean for two years during a period when the school was having accreditation issues. Prior to her stint as law school dean, she worked as a Durham County Superior Court judge from 2011 until 2018. She served as a district court judge from 1994 until 2011, with the last eight years of her tenure as the county’s chief district court judge.

Last week, I opened my work email to find further evidence that the mayor of Chicago and the Board of Education simply do not care about the well-being of teachers, students, and school staff. If it weren’t for my union, the Chicago Teachers Union, I would feel little hope. In Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot has tried twice to open up schools to in-person learning. If Lightfoot and the board refuse to relent, they’ll have a big fight on their hands — one that could look like the 2019 CTU strike that lasted fifteen days. This is a fighting, democratic union that stands up — and isn’t afraid to strike — for a socially just city.

Because their election will put an end to the block in Washington on that $2,000 stimulus check. The good news is: there’s still time to reverse this trajectory, so now is not the time to give up hope and stop pushing. You’ll recall that back then, Barack Obama and Biden got themselves elected in the middle of an economic crisis after promising to pass a public health insurance option. A little more than a decade later, the public option fight should be a harrowing cautionary tale for Biden on both the policy and the politics. The $2,000 checks initiative does not have to go down the same way the public option went down.

Review of Red Metropolis: Socialism and the Government of London by Owen Hatherley (Repeater Books, 2020). It is this London that is the subject of Owen Hatherley’s new history of municipal socialism in the British capital, Red Metropolis. The Rise of Municipal London Most of the municipal formations that have ruled London have not been oriented toward transforming the social order but maintaining it. The origins of municipal London can be found in a secretive, unelected public organization. In 1889, the scandal-ridden MBW was replaced by the London County Council (LCC), which was the first elected municipal body to govern London.

Support Progressive Journalism The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. Support Progressive Journalism The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. But while democracy can be periodically delayed, it can never be permanently defeated.”Yet it would be a mistake to think the fight to preserve and revive our flawed democracy concluded on Inauguration Day.

This story was produced for Student Nation, a section devoted to highlighting campus activism and student movements from students in their own words. For more Student Nation, check out our archive. The Student Nation program is made possible through generous funding from The Puffin Foundation. But as the Covid-19 pandemic persisted, said Emmaline Bennett, cochair and master’s student at Columbia Teachers College, the student group’s work began to feel less salient. “I think a lot of people are passionate, but don’t know how to go beyond social social media as an advocacy platform,” said Farmer.

Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Md. —John Nichols MORE FROM John Nichols Forget About ‘100 Days.’ These Are the 10 Days That Will Define Biden’s Presidency. We were forced to don gas masks, and it was a scene of absolute terror and mayhem. She said, “The president of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. There has never been a greater betrayal by a president of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.”JN: Congress had to act.

Their faces were there in the pictureID was the simplest of tasks. They shouldn’t have scorned Dr. FauciFor saying we must wear our masks.

Capitalism really did end after World War I, and we’ve been living under covert collectivism ever since. These days, discussions of the subject instead tend to invoke Fredric Jameson’s adage that it’s become easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism. Yet the end of capitalism is doubly ambiguous, for uncertainty about how capitalism might end reflects a deeper uncertainty about what exactly capitalism is. As Francesco Boldizzoni’s lively and wide-ranging book Foretelling the End of Capitalism makes clear, attempts to answer these questions are as old as the concept of capitalism itself, and they’ve led to remarkably varied conclusions. Foretelling the End of Capitalism moves briskly across a century and a half of intellectual history, from Marx and John Stuart Mill in the mid-19th century (when the term “capitalism” entered the lexicon) to the aftermath of the 2008 crash.

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In one area, however, senior Biden officials have not only praised Trump’s endeavors but promised to carry them further: mobilizing the nation for a new Cold War, this time with China. Signs Point to a Possible US Attack on Iran December 10, 2020 Trump Is Leaving Us With a New Cold War December 8, 2020 Author pageWhy this single-minded focus on girding the nation for a catastrophic war with China, or at the very least, a mutually debilitating Cold War? This is the real China threat in the minds of America’s top leaders, and they will do whatever it takes to prevent it from occurring. A harsh Cold War environment will also stymie any hope of diverting funds from the US defense budget to domestic revival in other areas, such as health, education, and the environment. China Policy Biden’s China Problem: Resisting a New Cold War in Asia Jeet HeerIt is essential, then, that thoughtful, peace-minded people in the United States—and China, wherever feasible—take steps to oppose the rush toward a new Cold War while proposing peaceful, mutually beneficial solutions to the divisive issues in US-China relations.

Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives for a news conference at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany. In Germany, national elections will also be featuring the departure, in this case after sixteen years, of a very different kind of leader, Angela Merkel. How could this happen in a Berlin governed by a three party coalition of Social Democrats (SPD), Greens, and LINKE (the Left)? The fight is also sure to be at least as hot on the national level. And more seriously, the LINKE has thus far upheld its rejection to sending troops to battlefields or missions outside Germany.

Postal Service board and appoint replacements who in turn can get rid of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, named, like the board, by former GOP Oval Office occupant Donald Trump. That led one big union, the Postal Workers, to demand Biden dump the USPS board so a new board can get rid of DeJoy. “Through the devastating arson of the Trump regime, the USPS Board of Governors sat silent,” Pascrell wrote Biden. And Biden can remove the entire USPS board “for cause,” Pascrell said. “After several years of unprecedented sabotage, the United States Postal Service is teetering on the brink of collapse.

"We Are Water Protectors," illustrated by Michaela Goade. NEW YORK – Illustrator Michaela Goade became the first Native American to win the prestigious Randolph Caldecott Medal for best children’s picture story, cited for “We Are Water Protectors,” a celebration of nature and condemnation of the “black snake” Dakota Access Pipeline. Goade, whose other books include “Encounter,” is the first Native American to win in either category. Jacqueline Woodson, whose previous honors include a National Book Award, won her third Coretta Scott King Book Award for best work by a Black author for “Before the Ever After.” And a tribute to Aretha Franklin, “R-E-S-P-E-C-T,” received the King award for best illustration. The Stonewall Book Award for best LGBT literature was given to Archaa Shrivastav for “We Are Little Feminists: Families.”

Dr. Deborah Birx and Dr. Anthony Fauci at a Trump coronavirus task force meeting. | APThe top two scientists upon whom Americans depended for a year for guidance on the coronavirus pandemic are now confirming the fears of many. They are telling the nation that Trump’s response to the crisis was far worse than has generally been believed. What’s worse, the Trump administration was fully aware of the danger when it took actions it knew would kill people. While Birx spent time last week trying to save her reputation, Fauci described for the press some pretty horrifying facts about Trump’s handling of the crisis.

Sandra Bland was arrested for kicking a Texas state trooper during a traffic stop where he threatened to tase her and drag her out of the car. Some activists say that she would never have died or been arrested if the Legislature banned arrests for fine-only misdemeanor arrests. Criminal justice reform advocates say police use fine-only misdemeanor arrests to punish people who tick them off—for “contempt of cop” as Scott Henson, policy director for Just Liberty, puts it. Some large cities in Texas already have limits on fine-only misdemeanor arrests. In December, Marco Puente filed a lawsuit against the Keller police officers who arrested him; Dillon will soon join the suit.

If the $15 minimum wage bill backed by Biden passes the entire nation will be covered by the new wage. | Steven Senne/APWASHINGTON—Joined by a top “Fight for $15 and a union” campaigner, congressional Democrats formally introduced legislation to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025. He included the $15 minimum wage in his $1.9 trillion pandemic economic aid plan. So when the Democratic-run House OKd the $15 minimum wage in the last Congress, then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., refused to even allow hearings. The tipped minimum wage would more than double in 2022, to $4.95, then rise to $12.95 hourly in 2025 and the regular, indexed, minimum after that.

Finding a way to get rid of this harmful rule will allow the EPA to fully carry out its mission of protecting public health and the environment. It revokes the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline because it is inconsistent with the economic and climate goals of the new administration. Improve efficiency, transparency, and inclusiveness in the interagency review process. Under an improved review process, the rule would have never moved through the process because it will in fact overburden, yet again, vulnerable communities. Though OIRA’s work is often behind the scenes and rarely fully acknowledged, the agency plays a critical role in either advancing or hindering the regulatory process.

This symbol of the farmworkers’ struggle for economic democracy in the headquarters of U.S. political power inspires hope that the next four years can lead to real change. This symbol of the farmworkers’ struggle for economic democracy in the headquarters of U.S. political power inspires hope that the next four years can lead to real change. Chávez showed his care for humanity and commitment to nonviolent struggle as the leader of the United Farm Workers, or UFW, from the 1960s until his passing in 1993. César Estrada Chávez is one of the most recognized U.S. Latino figures of all time. But few are willing to engage in the kind of sustained action that Chávez and the UFW modeled for us.

The transition memos from the left flank of American agriculture began piling up almost as soon as Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s presidential win was clear. Fix the rules for raising organic livestock, and reverse the department’s track record with Black farmers. There was even a suggestion to change the name of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the Department of Food and Well-Being. The chef Michel Nischan is among those who have spoken with the Biden transition team about nutrition and farming policy. It was his idea to double the value of food stamps for fruits and vegetables, a notion that has grown into a national program.

Bonus: Kara and Kevin Roose Debrief on Chris Best They also discuss “flouncing” and whether a Substack newsletter would be too much work for Donald Trump.

WASHINGTON — After years of failure to curb the scourge of sexual assault in the military, Lloyd J. Austin III, the new secretary of defense, is open to considering significant revisions to how those crimes are prosecuted, a potential sea change that generations of commanders have resisted. Overhauling the way the military handles sexual assault cases — by taking them outside the military chain of command and assigning them to military prosecutors with no connection to the accused — would need approval by Congress, where some legislators have long pushed for such a system. President Biden has been a vocal proponent of these changes, even as general after general has gone to Capitol Hill to argue against them over the last decade. Mr. Austin’s first act as secretary was to order a review of how the Pentagon has been handling sexual assault cases. In December, he met remotely with survivors of assault in the military and was disturbed and moved by their stories, an official said.

ET Covid-19 Live Updates: More Vaccines to Go to U.S. States as Pledged Supply Remains on Track Several countries, including the U.S., are imposing international travel restrictions, citing the danger of more contagious virus variants. More vaccines will go to states next week, showing companies are on track to deliver their pledged doses. As of Tuesday, Moderna had delivered to a federal government distributor 30.4 million doses out of the 100 million doses it has pledged to ship by the end of March. Some states and localities have been clamoring for more vaccine doses, while many others are struggling to use their existing supply. The city’s vaccine tracker showed less than 7,710 first doses and around 202,000 second doses on hand as of Tuesday morning, with 72,409 second doses yet to be scheduled.

ET Janet Yellen Sworn in as Treasury Secretary: Live UpdatesA widespread internet outage on the East Coast disrupted work and school. With a stock market value of $840 billion, Tesla does not have trouble raising money on its own. Ms. Yellen is the nation’s 78th Treasury secretary and the first woman to assume that role in the institution’s 232-year history. Standing outside the White House, Ms. Yellen took the oath of office with her husband, the economist George Akerlof, and her son by her side. Janet L. Yellen was confirmed as Treasury secretary on Monday and was sworn in on Tuesday.

Oklahoma State thought the ban was too severe a penalty and appealed the decision. ADADWithout a final answer from the NCAA before mid-March, Oklahoma State will be eligible for the NCAA tournament. 8 seed (which Oklahoma State is in this week’s Washington Post projection). ADBut don’t expect Oklahoma State to change course with an NCAA berth within reach. … Interim coach Terrence Johnson has Texas State sitting atop the Sun Belt after a five-game winning streak.

Instead, looking at his body of work, Stafford should be considered an above-average quarterback who could have a positive impact on his next destination. The game charters at Pro Football Focus thought even more highly of Stafford in 2020, ranking him the 12th-best quarterback among 29th qualified passers. He had a passer rating of 85.7 on these throws over 24 games played from 2018 to 2019. Only Justin Herbert (99.4) earned a higher passer rating on drop-backs facing pass pressure in 2020. That resulted in a 104.1 passer rating for Romo and an 89.4 passer rating for Elway, which were 22 and 16 percent higher than the league average, respectively.

Prices are ramping up.”But those dream homes could become a nightmare, according to scientists who say sea level rise is coming to flood homes and vital roads in areas such as Anne Arundel County. Bill Sweet, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration sea-level rise expert living in Annapolis, said that because FEMA only considers historical events when making its flood maps, they don’t take sea-level rise into account. “Past risk is not the best predictor of future risk,” Sweet said. In Anne Arundel County, for instance, sea-level rise is accelerating along its 530 miles of shoreline while the ground is also sinking. But no one can be sure what will happen, Sweet said, because sea-level rise doesn’t increase on a smooth trajectory.

“My career has been about building businesses, creating new industries, making dreams become reality — all while disrupting the status quo,” Snyder says in the video. “We’ve had eight years of failed leadership by Northam, McAuliffe and the rest of the career politicians. It’s clear we need change.”ADSnyder makes no explicit reference to his rivals for the GOP nomination: Del. He sought the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor in 2013, losing to Chesapeake minister E.W. Northam cannot run for reelection this year because Virginia bans its governors from serving back-to-back terms.

Fox News Channel’s Tucker Carlson decided to take his own swing at defending QAnon supporters, in a way. ADHe began by arguing that such a rule would boomerang on Democrats, suggesting that their comments about the Russia investigation amounted to pushing just such a baseless anti-government conspiracy theory. Just because a conspiracy hasn’t been definitively proven doesn’t mean questions about it were on the level of QAnon. ADThen Carlson turned to clips of the media supposedly overhyping the threat of QAnon. ADADIn this context, being duped by a wild conspiracy theory that alleges a massive global pedophile cabal would already seem to be a pretty big red flag.

After a brief chase, bystanders managed to “corral” the suspected driver until officers arrived and arrested him, police said. ADADAs of Tuesday morning, the suspect was in the hospital and had not yet been booked in jail, police told local media. Witnesses to the hit-and-run said they watched the driver speed through red lights and smash into a retaining wall, clipping pedestrians as he zigzagged across the streets. He said she told him that the driver had tried to run over her a second time after knocking her to the ground. At some point, the driver crashed the car, mangling its passenger-side fender, and fled on foot.

The variant now dominant here has been found in at least 50 other countries, including the United States. The findings that emerge from here in the coming weeks and months will have critical implications for you, too. Other countries are watching the British experiment, hoping success here will mean that they, too, can spread available doses further while waiting for additional shipments. Studying a more contagious strainPfizer and Moderna have said laboratory testing showed that their vaccines would be effective against the virus variant that has emerged in Britain. They advise that even with a mass vaccine rollout, mask use, social distancing and other restrictions should continue through spring and probably into the summer.

That way they can support Trump without having to defend his indefensible actions in refusing to acknowledge his defeat and goading his violent supporters to insurrection. To do otherwise would be to risk the wrath of the conservative media, the party base, and Trump himself. Not only that, Biden’s early policy and personnel choices have been about as good as anyone on the left could have expected. No one in the Democratic Party seems to particularly care whether anyone else is loyal to Biden, not even Biden himself. ADThese internal conflicts can be problematic at times for both parties.

ADADWhile Blinken awaited confirmation, Biden and his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, began calling U.S. partners and allies and moved to renew U.S. membership in the World Health Organization and the Paris climate accord. He began there in 1993 as a Europe specialist before moving to President Bill Clinton’s National Security Council, where he eventually became senior director for European affairs. ADADIn 2001, after the election of Republican George W. Bush as president, Blinken moved to the Senate, where he became staff director for the Foreign Relations Committee, on which then-Sen. Biden served as chairman. Under President Barack Obama, he was Vice President Biden’s chief foreign policy adviser, then deputy national security adviser to the president. In his various roles over decades in senior foreign policy positions, Blinken helped formulate Biden’s support for the war in Iraq and Biden’s rejected proposal in the Senate to divide Iraq into three autonomous regions.

They need the help the most.”ADADTheir findings are backed up by other surveys and analyses of how people used their first stimulus payments. ADADNetspend, a prepaid debit card company, said it processed more than $850 million stimulus payments in January for about 900,000 customers. “For the first and second round of individual stimulus payments, Netspend saw its customers spend funds quickly. She had fallen three months behind on her car payment and was worried about losing it until her stimulus payment arrived on Friday. “Stimulus checks arrived, time for a big food bank donation,” tweeted one woman last week.

The failure to meet that 2008 promise — which came after a 2007 bipartisan bill failed under a Democratic-controlled Congress — continues to echo. Even a Dream Act push failed in 2010, when five Democratic senators joined most of the Republicans in voting no. Right-wing media and obstructionist Republicans always manage to weaken their resolve — and that’s why we’ve never seen results. Biden’s decision to propose immigration reform on his first day indicates that he knows that a record-breaking turnout of Latino voters delivered states like Arizona to him. A lot of people on the ground just want to be asked to be part of the fight.

The acting chief of the U.S. Capitol Police offered an unbridled apology to lawmakers Tuesday, adding that the force “fully expect to answer to you and the American people for our failings on January 6.”“The Department also knows that you — the Congressional community — expect excellence from the Capitol Police and depend on us for your safety, but, most importantly, the protection of the democratic process,” acting chief Yogananda D. Pittman told lawmakers during a closed-door briefing, according to a copy of her prepared remarks obtained by The Washington Post. “I am here to offer my sincerest apologies on behalf of the department.”Pittman is one of several officials testifying before members of the House Appropriations Committee about the events and decisions that led to rioters storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, and the steps that security outfits are taking to ensure such a breach is not repeated. She backed up the former police chief’s assertion that he had asked for National Guard backup ahead of time but had been denied — but also acknowledged that the police failed to execute a fully secured lockdown procedure and lacked the weapons to fend off the attackers. Security officials around the Capitol, including the former House sergeant-at-arms, have said since the riot that they struggled to find the proper balance between protecting the Capitol and preserving the public’s access to the building colloquially known as the People’s House. In a sobering warning, Pittman told lawmakers Tuesday that there was no way that the police could have both prevented the riot and preserved the demonstrators’ First Amendment right to stage the protest before the storming of the building took place.

Few in the hospitality industry could have imagined having to consider issues like an insurrection when Chesky first launched Airbnb. Airbnb makes a callEarlier this month, Airbnb hosts were alarmed to find their homes used as staging grounds for violence. Organizers calling for a DC shutdown said that their volunteers messaged 3,400 DC Airbnb hosts and encouraged them not to rent their properties. Days after the Capitol insurrection, Airbnb released a "Capitol Safety Plan," saying it would review DC reservations and ban individuals involved in criminal activity at the Capitol. While similar events will hopefully be rare, some in the travel industry are taking notice and seeking more collaboration to improve safety.

New York (CNN Business) Many people living on America's East Coast were without Internet for part of Tuesday because of Verizon Fios service issues. Tens of thousands of people reported outages from Boston to New York to Washington and locations in between, according to Downdetector.com , a website that tracks complaints about service disruptions. People also reported outages on several other services, including Gmail, Zoom and Slack as well. "We are aware of an issue impacting the quality of Fios service throughout the Northeast corridor," said Rich Young, spokesman for Verizon. We are working through the root cause and have already seen service levels start to restore."

New York (CNN) Martha Stewart wants to help pet owners turn dog days into dog daze. The lifestyle guru is bringing a new line of CBD dog treats to the market. The oil sells for $40 for a 600 mg bottle. Constellation Brands STZ Stewart announced her CBD product line — which includes the pet treats — in September, the result of a partnership with Canopy Growth, the Canadian cannabis company backed by multibillion-dollar US alcohol giant. His Leafs by Snoop cannabis brand is produced by Canopy.

Once everyone in a family is vaccinated, experts say that it should be safe for people to gather, but it will be several months before the vaccine is readily available to the general public to vaccinate. "That would be safe, if everyone in the family has been vaccinated," said Dr. Colleen Kelley, an associate professor of infectious diseases at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia who is involved with the Moderna and Novavax vaccine clinical trials. "I think the issue is it's going to be a long time before we get to the place where all members of a family are vaccinated, especially if it's a multigenerational family with grandparents and little kids and adults. But I think once we get to the place where everyone in the family is vaccinated then yes, they should feel free to see each other freely." Children can carry COVID-19 so they could be a risk to others in the group, especially if not everyone has been vaccinated.

Twitter has unveiled a new feature to bolster efforts against misinformation. NBC's Brandy Zadrozny explains how the move will allow users to flag potentially misleading tweets.

SEE NEW POSTSL.A. sheriffs super-spreader task force break up underground parties Members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Super-Spreader Taskforce are breaking up underground parties that continue to take place despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 5,000 L.A. residents since the start of the year. Nearly 90 people were arrested over the weekend at two separate parties, the sheriff's office said. The Boston Marathon is usually held in April and was canceled last year because of Covid-19, though there was a virtual edition. "These findings suggest that the prevalence of self-reported psychological distress among school-aged children and adolescents during the Covid-19 pandemic was relatively high," the researchers said in a summary of the study's key findings. officials by surprise last week when it announced its initial delivery volumes of the Covid-19 vaccine would be lower than originally anticipated because of manufacturing issues in Europe.

To be hit with the reality that they are fragile and mortal is a blow to our cultural myths about celebrity. “In each of those cases, we’re looking at a person who’s bigger than just a person,” she said. Ultimately, the death of a celebrity who created a legacy out of being great at their craft is hard. “There’s a level on which the work they did — that’s a whole other level of loss,” Stever said. “What could Kobe Bryant have gone on to do post-active basketball career in terms of philanthropy, in terms of being a commentator?

Hi Caroline,Since the pandemic started, I feel like my boss has slowly gone from being very understanding and relaxed about giving us time to process, figure out child care, figure out family and mental health stuff, etc. Here’s why: Just like you, just like everyone, your boss has never navigated life in a pandemic before. Grace and understanding was part of her game plan in March and April, likely because she was being granted the same from her boss. I would bet dollars, and lots of them, that your boss is yearning for some grace and leniency herself. If you provide grace and understanding for yourself, it will be easier to seek it from those around you.

SEE NEW POSTSBoston Marathon tentatively set for October if Covid-19 allows The organizers of the Boston Marathon said Tuesday they had selected Oct. 11 as the date for this year’s race, if pandemic restrictions in Massachusetts allow it. The Boston Marathon is usually held in April and was canceled last year because of Covid-19, though there was a virtual edition. Boston joins other major marathons that are moving their events from early in the year to October to try to avoid cancellation. "These findings suggest that the prevalence of self-reported psychological distress among school-aged children and adolescents during the Covid-19 pandemic was relatively high," the researchers said in a summary of the study's key findings. officials by surprise last week when it announced its initial delivery volumes of the Covid-19 vaccine would be lower than originally anticipated because of manufacturing issues in Europe.

Air rescue crews act as flying intensive care units as they attempt to save coronavirus patients in rural areas such as hard-hit Navajo Nation. NBC’s Miguel Almaguer reports for TODAY.

Food safetyIf you do a quick Google search on deli meats, you’ll find all kinds of articles that link the nitrites in these meats to certain types of cancer. Deli meats and hot dogs are only safe for pregnant women if they are heated to 165°F, and that pretty much negates the idea of a quick sandwich. You may be wondering how “natural” and organic deli meats stay fresh. But WHO has not been able to determine what it is in processed meat, like deli meat, that actually increases cancer risk. Bottom line:If you enjoy deli meat, eat it occasionally and refrigerate it properly.

LONDON — Boris Johnson said the EU should not impose "restrictions" on vaccine exports, following warnings that controls may need to be imposed on supplies leaving the bloc amid manufacturing problems and shortages. "So I don't want to see restrictions on the supply of PPE [personal protective equipment] across borders. I don't want to see restrictions on the supply of drugs across borders. And I don't want to see restrictions on vaccines or their ingredients across borders. I think that's pretty commonsensical, and I'm sure would be widely supported across the EU as well."

In particular, Republicans are resisting Biden’s proposal to raise the minimum wage to $15 and conservatives loath spending on state and local governments. And for now Democrats have ruled out gutting the filibuster, narrowing their options to reconciliation or recruiting 10 Senate Republicans on coronavirus relief. Even if they decide to toss out the idea of a bipartisan bill, Democrats haven’t agreed on how big a partisan effort should go. Every provision in a reconciliation package must pass the so-called Byrd Rule, meaning it must have a significant effect on federal revenues, spending or the debt. Durbin said that Senate Democrats have made no final decision on when to push forward with a budget resolution.

Every day, nurses across the globe put on protective equipment, go to work and care for patients battling COVID-19. Patients griping over shifting visitor policiesAlmost every hospital or doctor’s office is changing policies to adjust to the pandemic and COVID-19 positivity rates. Tiffany Clemmy, a registered nurse in an emergency room in Jacksonville, North Carolina, said many people are constantly arguing with staff about the pandemic-era rules. “Non-COVID-19 patients are separated from COVID-19 patients. Westend61 via Getty Images Many COVID-19 patients in hospitals can't see their families.

Biden also intended to support Ukrainian sovereignty and his goal of extending a nuclear arms treaty for five years with Russia, Psaki said. The two leaders agreed to “work urgently” to extend the nuclear treaty by Feb. 5, when the deal is slated to expire, according to the Biden administration’s readout of the call. The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty limits the two nation's deployed nuclear weapons to 1,550 each. Biden and Putin agreed to be transparent and communicate consistently, according to the readout. Biden has pledged to "restore dignified leadership at home and respected leadership on the world stage" in wake of Trump's foreign policy.

The idea of a $15 wage floor from coast to coast has never had more momentum, or more political viability. But Democrats still face major hurdles in their effort to more than double the federal minimum wage ? and not just from Republicans. The party still has not garnered all the support for a $15 minimum wage that it would need within its own caucus, as some moderate Democrats continue to resist an aggressive increase. He said there was a moral imperative for Congress to pass a minimum wage hike for the first time since 2007. … The minimum wage must be a living wage enabling people to live with dignity.” Yet not all Senate Democrats are signed on.

President Joe Biden signed an executive order Tuesday condemning the wave of anti-Asian racism accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, a largely symbolic measure but one that nevertheless stands in stark contrast to the actions of his predecessor, who actively fomented racism against Asian Americans. Since the beginning of last year, Asian Americans have experienced a surge in racist attacks and harassment related to the COVID-19 pandemic. A coalition of AAPI advocacy groups and scholars called STOP AAPI HATE started collecting these incidents in an online database. In September, the House passed legislation similar to Biden’s executive order. This is a time for the Biden-Harris administration to take bold action.”Tuesday’s executive order was part of a series of executive orders regarding racial equity and civil rights.

HOUSTON (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday barred the U.S. government from enforcing a 100-day deportation moratorium that is a key immigration priority of President Joe Biden. U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton issued a temporary restraining order sought by Texas, which sued on Friday against a Department of Homeland Security memo that instructed immigration agencies to pause most deportations. That was a reversal from Trump administration policy that made anyone in the U.S. illegally a priority for deportation. The 100-day moratorium went into effect Friday and applied to almost anyone who entered the U.S. without authorization before November. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton argued that the moratorium violated federal law as well as an agreement Texas signed with the Department of Homeland Security late in the Trump administration.

Carter cited concerns about artificial intelligence in light of China’s broad use of AI facial recognition and other technology for surveillance. And we’ve got to understand and know how we’re going to manage those risks,” Carter said. Carter acknowledged finding support for increased regulation might be hard to find among the GOP caucus, though. The European Union implemented its own privacy law in 2018, but concerns about a lack of enforcement have remained. “We need to work with the European Union,” Carter said.

In an eight-minute YouTube video that an unidentified witness brought to the FBI’s attention, Straka can be seen storming the Capitol with the crowd. The people are going.”As Straka and the crowd pushed forward, a U.S. Capitol officer held up his shield in an attempt to stop the crowd from advancing. Several people pulled on the shield as the officer grabbed it, thus pulling the officer deeper into the crowd. Five people died as a result of the day’s events, including U.S. Capitol police Officer Brian Sicknick. Straka spoke at a 2019 Trump rally in Cincinnati, where he was an opener for a lineup that included Trump, then-Vice President Mike Pence and Donald Trump Jr., Talking Points Memo noted.

The two richest men on the planet are sparring in front of federal regulators over the massive satellite internet projects their companies are developing. Jeff Bezos’ Amazon has been among companies that have disputed SpaceX’s request, on the grounds that the modification would interfere with other satellites. “It does not serve the public to hamstring Starlink today for an Amazon satellite system that is at best several years away from operation,” Musk said in a tweet. Meanwhile, Amazon has been working on its own satellite internet called Project Kuiper. It plans to launch 3,236 internet satellites into low Earth orbit — a system that would compete with Starlink.

WASHINGTON — The acting chief of U.S. Capitol Police told members of Congress Tuesday that her agency "failed" in its efforts to protect the Capitol complex on Jan. 6 when pro-Trump rioters stormed the building. Pittman said that although Capitol Police accomplished its mission of protecting lawmakers, "the insurrectionists’ actions and the Department’s inability to immediately secure the U.S. Capitol emboldened the insurrectionists and horrified millions of Americans." I am here to offer my sincerest apologies on behalf of the Department," Pittman said. Capitol Police prepared for potential violence, said Pittman, but admitted that her team "did not do enough." Sund resigned as Capitol Police chief a day after the attack,Pittman outlined steps that her department are now taking to better improve communication, including to lawmakers.

Biden has looked to establish a sharp break from the warm rhetoric often displayed toward Putin by his predecessor, Donald Trump. ASSOCIATED PRESS Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting via video conference at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. And on Tuesday before his call with Putin, Biden spoke to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, pledging the United States’ commitment to the decades-old alliance founded as a bulwark against Russian aggression. Biden told Putin that his administration was assessing the SolarWinds breach and the press allegations that Russia offered the Taliban bounties to kill American troops in Afghanistan. ASSOCIATED PRESS In this March 10, 2011, file photo, then-Vice President of the United States Joe Biden, left, shakes hands with then-Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia.

Rubio is consistent: He insists that holding Trump accountable is more polarizing than Trump’s actual behavior. In November, after a pro-Trump caravan swarmed a Biden campaign bus in Texas, Rubio gushed at a Trump rally: “I saw yesterday a video of these people in Texas. All the cars on the road, we love what they did.”)Despite his fawning support, Rubio has reportedly been threatened with a primary challenge from Ivanka Trump. The point about witnesses is ironic, since Rubio himself voted against hearing any witnesses during Trump’s first trial. But one way or another, the Senate’s verdict will set a precedent; are presidents above the law?

Bringing people back to reality is a bottom-up effort, according to experts who have worked directly with adherents to conspiracy ideologies. Since he left government, Blackburn has consulted extensively with law enforcement and nonprofit organizations to rehabilitate people who have succumbed to extremist ideologies. But shutting down the biggest sources of intelligence on extremist group activities will make them harder to track. And it needs to be part of a larger strategy as Trump-supporting conspiracy theorists, white supremacists and QAnon devotees go further underground on the internet. If the Biden administration is going to prioritize domestic deradicalization, it needs to act swiftly, while extremists and conspiracy theorists are seeing cracks in their ideologies.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, the first phone call between the two since the American president took office, the White House confirmed. "Vladimir Putin congratulated Joseph Biden on the start of his work as President of the United States," the Kremlin described the call in a translation of a readout of the call. The Russians added, "In general, the conversation between the leaders of Russia and the United States was businesslike and frank." “His intention was also to make clear that the United States will act firmly in defense of our national interests in response to malign actions by Russia,” Psaki said. Biden has spoken to a number of America's allies since taking office including the leaders of Canada, Germany and France.

As President Biden sets a new goal of 1.5 million vaccines a day despite the demand exceeding the supply, Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Michael Osterholm, joins Stephanie Ruhle to explain why he is “not at all optimistic” about the upcoming months.

A California man was arrested Tuesday after federal authorities said he sent threatening text messages to family members of a New York City congressman and journalist. “Your brother is putting your entire family at risk with his lies and other words. In the text to the lawmaker's brother, authorities said Lemke wrote: “your words have consequences. You are putting your family at risk. He is scheduled to appear in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on Wednesday.

The Senate confirmed Antony Blinken as President Joe Biden's secretary of state on Tuesday with overwhelming bipartisan support. Blinken must be confirmed so we can start addressing the challenges we face abroad," Sen. Bob Menenedez, D-N.J., said ahead of the vote. Blinken has served Biden in various roles for over two decades, including as a staff member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. But not all U.S. foreign policy under Blinken will be a repudiation of the Trump administration. He has said the Trump administration was right in taking a tougher approach to China, and he has committed to keeping the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, where it was moved under Trump.

NBC's Peter Alexander discusses President Biden's call with President Putin saying "there was a dramatically different way of communicating to Vladimir Putin demonstrated by this White House."

ET Covid-19 Live Updates: More Vaccines to Go to U.S. States as Pledged Supply Remains on Track Several countries, including the U.S., are imposing international travel restrictions, citing the danger of more contagious virus variants. More vaccines will go to states next week, showing companies are on track to deliver their pledged doses. On Monday President Biden said that he was now aiming for the United States to administer 1.5 million vaccine doses a day, which would be 10.5 million a week. As of Tuesday, Moderna had delivered to a federal government distributor 30.4 million of the 100 million doses it has pledged to ship out by the end of the March. That promise is dependent on the country receiving the 56.2 million does of the AstraZeneca vaccine, based on its original delivery pledge.

ET Janet Yellen Sworn in as Treasury Secretary: Live Updates RIGHT NOW European leaders announce a $3.5 billion push to grab a slice of the emerging market for car batteries. Janet Yellen, the first woman to be Treasury secretary, is sworn in by the first woman to be vice president. Video Janet L. Yellen made history on Tuesday, after being sworn in as the first woman to serve as Treasury secretary. Ms. Yellen is the nation’s 78th Treasury secretary and the first woman to assume that role in the institution’s 232-year history. Standing outside the White House, Ms. Yellen took the oath of office with her husband, the economist George Akerlof, and her son by her side.

Voraciously's Essential Cookbooks email seriesOur 10-week series is the cookbook club you've been waiting for. Sample recipes from our 10 desert-island titles?—then decide what to add to your shelf. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

Still, for all its brio, “Trio” hits some serious notes. Anny, who is caught between her fugitive ex-husband (the bomber) and her Parisian-Guadeloupean “radical revolutionary philosopher” boyfriend, is finding comfort, briefly, with her ingenuous, sexually athletic co-star. And Talbot, while trying to wrangle the circus act his film’s become, is toying with coming out. They all think and act like characters in a screenplay (Anny: “It was crazy — stop! Ellen Akins is the author of four novels and a collection of stories, “World Like a Knife.”TrioBy William Boyd

Dubai, a glamorous tourism destination in the United Arab Emirates, had flung its doors back open last year after appearing to break the back of the coronavirus outbreak, with daily infections dropping to the hundreds. In the past two weeks, daily coronavirus cases have tripled with diagnoses now exceeding 3,500 per day, among a population of about 9 million inhabitants. ADADDubai has recently introduced a flurry of public health rules and regulations, including limits on social gatherings and live entertainment. On Sunday evening, it was announced that the director general of the Dubai Health Authority had been ousted. Now, with Dubai vaccinating only official residents, many of these undocumented workers could be left unprotected.

A feared predatorThe red wolf population, once plentiful throughout the Southeastern United States, declined rapidly through the early 1900s. Listed by the federal government as an endangered species in 1967, red wolves were declared extinct in the wild in 1980. The shy, mild-mannered red wolf is smaller than the gray wolf of the West, but larger than a coyote. Many red wolves lost their lives through run-ins with cars or when they were shot by people who mistook them for coyotes. (Click on “resources” and “Far Traveler.”)• Do a school project to educate fellow classmates and teachers about red wolves.

Five people died as a result of the attack, including a police officer, and dozens of police officers were injured. His target has primarily been Dominion Voting Systems, a manufacturer of voting machines. Lindell said the boycotts have pushed customers to purchase MyPillow’s products from other retailers or directly from the company. ADRoepke said that he and Lindell parted on decent terms and that he admires much of the charitable work Lindell has done to help people in Minnesota. ADThe political fortunes of public figures, including Lindell, championing Trump’s baseless election fraud claims could get an early test in Minnesota politics.

ADThe White House did not immediately respond to questions seeking more information about its ASL interpreters. The move marks the first time a presidential administration will have regularly accessible news briefings using ASL, a step that was welcomed by the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. Weinstock, speaking through an interpreter, said that the deaf community is happy that the White House is making briefings accessible and that having an ASL interpreter — known as “terps” in the deaf and hard-of-hearing community — makes watching the news more enjoyable. ADTraditional broadcasts of the news briefings often have closed captions, but Weinstock noted that captions and ASL aren’t equivalent access. Biden’s experience with a more inclusive workplace dates to his time in the Obama administration, which featured several deaf or hard-of-hearing members, including former White House receptionist Leah Katz-Hernandez.

Most of the initial vaccinations went to government workers: President Alpha Condé, 82, received a shot in early January. “Negotiations are ongoing.”The unusual arrangement under which the country has received limited Sputnik V doses appeared to be the result of close ties between Condé and Russian President Vladimir Putin. WHO Africa chief Matshidiso Moeti said last week that it hoped the first Covax vaccine doses should reach Africa in March. ADADKeita said that Guinea was in negotiations with four different suppliers of vaccines: Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Sputnik V and the China-backed company Sinopharm. Negotiations with Sputnik V were most advanced, with 1.6 million doses expected for 2021.

Biden must decide how much he wants to restore the pre-Trump status quo vs. how much the times call for a new approach. ADADAnd Biden has been working the phones, calling leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. Biden has for weeks aimed for 1 million shots a day, or 100 million vaccinations, in his first 100 days. Biden nominated Vivek Murthy, a close adviser who served as surgeon general in the Obama administration, to return to his previous role. Senate committees are today scheduled to consider Alejandro Mayorkas’s nomination for secretary of homeland security and Rhode Island Gov.

The twister touched down around 10:43 p.m., roughly nine minutes after a tornado warning was issued by the National Weather Service in Birmingham. The tornado first touched down near Interstate 65 at Exit 267 in Fultondale, damaging a shopping complex off Lowery Parkway. However, the unusual setup featured wind shear that was most impressive close to the ground and actually weakened higher up. When CAPE is low, it diminishes but does not eliminate the chance for severe storms if a lot of wind shear is present. They are often overlooked since they occur in more marginal setups without the broader severe weather that accompanies larger springtime tornado outbreaks.

Opinions Live Chats Explore our columnists and live commentaryRecent chats: Opinions Live with Eugene Robinson: Donald Trump’s last day | Petri Dishes with Alexandra Petri: The Gandalf scenarioSubmit a question for Eugene Robinson’s Tuesday chat at 1 p.m. | Submit a question for Alexandra Petri’s Tuesday chat at 11 a.m.Read all of Eugene Robinson’s columns and past live chatsSign up to receive Eugene Robinson’s columns by email as soon as they’re publishedRead all of Alexandra Petri’s columns and past live chatsSign up to receive Alexandra Petri’s columns by email as soon as they’re publishedSee all Washington Post live chatsShow More

Beyond that, many activists say they want Biden to put resources toward reducing disparities in educational and economic opportunities. Susan Rice, whom Biden has chosen to lead his Domestic Policy Council, has been focused on ensuring that efforts toward equity are integrated into the administration’s broader policies. In the general election, Black voters favored Biden over Trump by a large margin. Biden has already been criticized by some Republicans, who say the focus on equity in his inaugural address implicitly suggested his political opponents are racist. And policies designed to increase housing equity were scaled back by Trump and remain an object of criticism by some Republicans.

He went to on to describe in detail how the GOP would respond if Democrats changed their position and moved to eliminate the filibuster in order to pass their agenda. AD“None of us on either side want to live in a scorched-earth Senate,” McConnell said. ADAfter Democrats blocked some of President George W. Bush's judicial nominees, Republicans responded with a broader blockade of President Barack Obama's nominees and agenda. In 2013, Democrats led by Sen. Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) moved to eliminate the filibuster requirement for executive branch nominees and lower court judges. While Republicans have given Biden's proposal a chilly reception, Democrats are ready to move forward using special budget procedures that can skirt a filibuster under the current Senate rules rather than eliminate the filibuster entirely.

“The preponderance of available evidence from the fall school semester has been reassuring,” wrote three CDC researchers in a viewpoint piece published online Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. A new CDC study, also released Tuesday, looked at 17 rural K-12 schools in Wisconsin and found just seven out of 191 coronavirus cases resulted from in-school transmission. Researchers noted that students and staff in these schools wore masks almost all the time. ADLittle was known about the spread of the virus in schools when the pandemic shuttered virtually every classroom in America last spring. As the school year progressed, evidence emerged that virus transmission inside schools was low, giving some comfort.

But some variants in the genetic makeup can cause significant changes in viral behavior and in the ability of vaccines to protect against it. The British variant spread with remarkable speed and is now dominant there, leading to a strict lockdown. The data is limited, but this could foreshadow trouble in the United States, where the new variant has a foothold. Also, a more transmissible virus could lead to a jump in cases, hospitalizations and deaths. The Moderna announcement points to what could be — but so far has not yet become — a serious threat to the vaccines, if the virus mutates to become evasive.

The acting chief of the U.S. Capitol Police offered an unbridled apology to lawmakers Tuesday, adding that the force “fully expect to answer to you and the American people for our failings on January 6.”“The Department also knows that you — the Congressional community — expect excellence from the Capitol Police and depend on us for your safety, but, most importantly, the protection of the democratic process," acting chief Yogananda D. Pittman told lawmakers during a closed-door briefing, according to a copy of his prepared remarks obtained by The Washington Post. “I am here to offer my sincerest apologies on behalf of the department.”Pittman is one of several officials testifying before members of the House Appropriations Committee about the events and decisions that led to rioters storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, and the steps that security outfits are taking to ensure such a breach is not repeated. He backed up the former police chief’s assertion that he had asked for National Guard backup ahead of time, but had been denied — but also acknowledged that the police failed to execute a fully secured lockdown procedure and lacked the weapons to fend off the attackers. Security officials around the Capitol, including the former House Sergeant at Arms, have said since the riot that they struggled to find the proper balance between protecting the Capitol and preserving the public’s access to the building colloquially known as the People’s House. In a sobering warning, Pittman told lawmakers Tuesday that there was no way that the police could have both prevented the riot and preserved the demonstrators’ first amendment right to stage the protest before the storming of the building took place.

Morry Gash/Associated PressAfter yet another disappointing NFC Championship Game loss, future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers looked frustrated and sounded discouraged about his current path with the Green Bay Packers. "[The Packers have] a lot of guys' futures that are uncertain—myself included," Rodgers told reporters following the 31-26 home loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If he hasn't already, Rodgers will likely soon realize that Green Bay gives him his best chance at capturing a second Super Bowl ring. To win a Super Bowl, the stars have to align and you need luck on your side. That does not mean a similar version of this Packers team can't win the Super Bowl next season, especially with a healthy Bakhtiari protecting Rodgers' blind side.

As the EU and the United Kingdom engage in frantic negotiations to ensure there are no reductions to their coronavirus vaccine supply, less wealthy countries are crying foul. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday called for rich countries that have secured “up to four times what their population needs” to release excess doses. “[Buying up those doses] was aimed at hoarding these vaccines,” Ramaphosa told the World Economic Forum's virtual Davos Agenda event. The EU has already set out its plan to distribute excess vaccine doses, but has yet to decide if it will go through COVAX or directly to countries of its choosing. It is also not clear if surplus vaccines will be distributed once EU countries vaccinate their entire populations, or if they will follow Norway in promising to donate doses during the early phases of vaccination.

Simply put, a USB hub, or docking station, expands the number of ports on your laptop through one adapter. Best USB hub overall: AnkerFor the laptops that just don't have enough USB ports, grab this simple 4-port USB hub from Anker. Best 8-in-1 USB-C hub: AUKEYIf you've built yourself a nice little telecommuting workstation, you may need more than just extra USB ports. Best USB hub for MacBooks: AnkerUSB hubs are useful but can be a little clunky thanks to the extra hardware flopping around on your desk. Best USB hub for the most Thunderbolt power: CalDigitIf you're a power user with lots of devices to connect, you may want to consider a Thunderbolt dock.

However, that order will not apply to other federal agencies who may contract with those same operators, such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Biden also plans to sign an executive order reaffirming the federal government’s commitment to the sovereignty of tribal governments over their territory, and a memorandum related to the rise in anti-Asian sentiment during the Covid-19 pandemic. "Advancing equity is a critical part of healing and of restoring unity in our nation," Rice said. "Building a more equitable economy is essential if Americans are going to compete and thrive in the 21st Century," Rice said. Both initiatives were started under Trump in the early stages of the pandemic.

Former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund as well as two board members resigned after the Capitol siege that left five people dead, including a Capitol police officer. The Senate and House Sergeant-at-Arms also stepped down from their posts in response to the security breaches. The acting police chief, who described the siege as a “terrorist attack," informed lawmakers that the department knew the protests had the potential to turn violent and that the Capitol was a target. “We also knew that some of these participants were intending to bring firearms and other weapons to the event,” Pittman told lawmakers. The briefing marks the first time that officials have testified to Congress on the security breaches at the Capitol, though lawmakers have been briefed on ongoing threats to members and the complex.

“My opposition of Mr. Blinken to be secretary of State is not so much because I oppose the administration. Trump’s first secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, frequently sidelined career officials and concentrated decision-making in the hands of a few top aides. Trump’s second secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, improved morale when he first took over, but soon lost the confidence of many veteran diplomats. But many key roles remain unfilled, including a number of assistant secretary of State positions that could go to current career officials. His father, Donald Blinken, is a former U.S. ambassador to Hungary, and his uncle, Alan Blinken, served as U.S. ambassador to Belgium.

Senators are being sworn in Tuesday for the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump — a case in which the lawmakers will be acting as judge, jury and victim. Leahy is presiding over the trial instead of Chief Justice John Roberts because Trump is now a former president. While some senators have likened their role in the impeachment trial to jurors, they're actually more than that. Download the NBC News app for breaking news and politicsThen-Chief Justice William Rehnquist, when he was presiding over the impeachment trial of Bill Clinton in 1999, noted, "The Senate is not simply a jury. The Senate trial is expected to begin the week of Feb. 8 under a deal struck between the parties.

The CEO of a Canadian casino company resigned from his job after he and his wife were accused of posing as motel employees to get doses of the Covid-19 vaccine intended for residents of a remote community. Google MapsYukon Community Services Minister John Streicker said the Bakers pretended to be new employees of a local motel so they could receive the shots. Members of the vaccination clinic learned that the couple was not employed by the motel, and authorities were contacted. The nation's chief, Angela Demit, said the Bakers' "selfish" actions put their elders at risk. Rodney Baker worked for Great Canadian Gaming, which owns more than 20 casinos across Canada, and his wife is an aspiring actress.

Vice President Kamala Harris formally swore in treasury secretary Janet Yellen outside on the east landing of the White House. Yellen is the first woman to serve in the role in the department’s history.

Authorities fired two police officers, one of whom is a corporal in the Virginia National Guard, on Tuesday after they were arrested and charged earlier this month in connection to the Jan. 6 deadly Capitol riot. Virginia National Guard Corporal Jacob Fracker, left, was arrested and charged for participating in the Capitol riot. He served as an 11B infantryman in a traditional National Guard station, according to a statement from the U.S. Army. Robertson told NBC affiliate WSLS the picture of him was taken “long after any disorder" happened. Ervin said it was a “challenging time” for the town of Rocky Mount since the Jan. 6 siege of the Capitol.

WASHINGTON - Today, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) renewed his support for introducing a War Powers Resolution with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) aimed at stopping the war in Yemen. Rep. Khanna affirmed his commitment to working with Sen. Sanders on the War Powers Resolution, during a global rally of activists, lawmakers, and celebrities calling for an end to the war. “Ending this war and providing the relief that is necessary to civilians and Yemen has to be our highest priority,” Rep. Khanna said. “I call on President Biden to end every aspect of this war,” Al-Adeimi said. Read the text of MP Corbyn’s motion calling on the British government to end its support for the war.

But in a time when authoritarianism is also on the rise, some governments are exploiting the public health crisis to impose dangerous policies that could impact civil society long after the pandemic ends. The online launch event will feature peacebuilding experts and activists striving to protect our rights and freedoms in these times. Speakers include:Fionnuala D. Ní Aoláin, the United Nations special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. She works closely with governments around the world and United Nations entities to advance human rights protections in some of the most difficult contexts. “The restrictions we have seen on civil liberties over the past decade are being accelerated by COVID-19.

WASHINGTON - Tomorrow, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will join Senate and House leaders at 11:30 a.m. EST to host a video conference announcing the introduction of the Raise the Wage Act. The legislation would increase the federal minimum wage to $15 in five steps over the next four years, increasing pay for nearly 32 million workers. Congress has not increased the federal minimum wage in more than a decade – the longest stretch since it was first established in 1938. The Raise the Wage Act would lift countless struggling workers and families out of poverty and provide economic security throughout the country. The event will also be livestreamed on Senator Sanders' Facebook page here.

WASHINGTON - Today, Congress introduced the Raise the Wage Act of 2021, which will raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025, indexes it to median wages to protect against future erosion, and phases out the harmful $2.13 subminimum wage for tipped workers. Raising the minimum wage helps narrow racial and gender pay gap—23% of workers who would benefit from a $15 minimum wage are Black or Latina women. A $15 minimum wage in 2025 would also raise pay for three in five workers with incomes below the federal poverty line. For over a decade, the federal minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 an hour—the longest it has been unchanged since the minimum wage was established in 1938. Minimum wage workers deserve a raise.

WASHINGTON - On Wednesday, President Biden is expected to unveil an “omnibus” climate change order that takes a series of actions to combat climate change on the national and international level. Plans include:Announcing the Climate Leaders’ Summit to take place on Earth Day, April 22nd. Ordering a moratorium on the Interior Department offering new oil and gas leases for onshore and offshore federal lands. “Biden’s rollout of the Climate Leaders’ Summit presents an enormous opportunity for the U.S. to be a world climate leader. As a global climate organization, we will push for the Summit to inspire bolder ambitions for all nations who signed the Paris Climate Agreement.

WASHINGTON - Ahead of executive actions rescinding the Global Gag Rule by United States President Joe Biden, Tarah Demant, Director of the Gender, Sexuality, and Identity Program said:“The rescinding of the Global Gag Rule is a victory for human rights and for the health and lives of every woman, girl, or person who can become pregnant. “This disastrous policy undermines the human rights to health, equality, information, privacy, and expression. “Rescinding the Global Gag Rule is just the first step: Congress must now permanently repeal the Global Gag Rule so that this destructive policy can’t be reinstated by the next president.”Background and contextAmnesty International recognizes abortion as the right of anyone who can become pregnant. The Global Gag Rule prohibits U.S. international aid to groups that so much as educate their communities on safe abortion. The Global Gag Rule means that women and girls who depend on U.S.-funded health facilities may not even hear about the options that may save their lives.

WASHINGTON - Tomorrow, the Biden administration is expected to announce a long-awaited executive order that will temporarily pause new drilling and fracking for fossil fuels on publicly-owned lands and waters. Permanently halting new fracking on federal land was one of Biden’s clearest commitments during the presidential campaign. In response, Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter released the following statement:SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT Never Miss a Beat. “A pause on drilling and fracking is good news, but only if it is followed by a strong plan to permanently ban all dirty energy extraction on public lands. The simple truth is that we need to stop drilling and fracking everywhere, as soon as possible.

As damaging, but rarely noted, is the unprincipled politicisation of America’s “terrorism” designation and its selective use as a tool of warfare against political opponents. It undermines any credibility that the US might retain in a facts-based, even-handed designation of terrorist actors around the world. These have included deliberate and indiscriminate attacks that have terrorised Yemeni civilians, including repeated attacks on children, resulting in over 112,000 casualties. In 2018, over two dozen Obama administration officials signed a letter urging an end to US involvement in the Yemen war – an unprecedented public mea culpa for green-lighting and then supporting the war effort. Arguments against any terrorism designation should centre on Washington’s extensive misuse of sanctions and terrorism designations as an undeclared tool of warfare.

WASHINGTON - Today, after Minority Leader Mitch McConnell finally backed down from his threat to filibuster the routine resolution allowing Senate committees to begin their work, the Accountable Senate War Room called on him and his colleagues to end their delays and obstruction and work with Senate Democrats to swiftly confirm Biden’s Cabinet so they can get to work. For weeks, many of the Senate’s committees have been unable to organize and move through the confirmation process for Biden’s Cabinet because of McConnell’s unreasonable demands. As the United States faces multiple health, national security, and economic crises, McConnell and Senate Republicans must put the needs of the American people first by ensuring a speedy confirmation process for the remainder of President Biden’s Cabinet nominees. “Now that Minority Leader McConnell has finally caved and will allow committees to organize, we cannot afford any more delays in confirming President Biden’s Cabinet,” said Mairead Lynn, spokesperson for the Accountable Senate War Room. Senate Republicans must stop causing unnecessary delays and let the Senate get to work vetting and confirming Biden’s highly-qualified slate of public servants.”###

A Democrat has assumed office, and so, like clockwork, corporate media are here to play their favorite game of pretending to suddenly be deeply concerned with the deficit and the national debt. While media had little problem with those tax cuts as they were happening (FAIR.org, 2/28/18), the party is now over, and it’s apparently time for austerity. It is unclear whether Biden will listen to the deficit hawks, but he should be used to this by now. The debt then, as now, was caused principally by a sustained economic shock, Republican tax cuts and gigantic military spending. There is some dissent to the austerity orthodoxy in corporate media, perhaps most prominently economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, who has long argued against the phony deficit doom-mongering (e.g., New York Times, 2/4/10).

WASHINGTON - Minority Leader McConnell’s (R-KY) decision to hold up the Senate’s organizing resolution over the filibuster rule was a trial balloon that failed. We have seen this before when McConnell spent six years abusing the filibuster at unprecedented levels during the Obama administration. The Senate’s filibuster rule—a Jim Crow relic used for decades to thwart civil rights legislation—must not be used to obstruct the people’s business any longer. McConnell has signaled that he is prepared to obstruct key parts of the Biden Administration’s agenda, including democracy and voting rights legislation. The Senate Democratic Majority must swiftly eliminate the filibuster.

The good news is that the price of electricity generated by renewables is going through the floor. Some really great news is that coal generation in Europe is half what it was in 2015. Coal is by far the dirtiest burning hydrocarbon and is still responsible for 23% of US electricity generation. Even with all the good news in the 2020 report, Europe is still not on track to meet those objectives and has to up its renewables game significantly. But because the government hasn’t properly promoted it, Italy’s solar generation is mainly from rooftop installations.

"New York City has set a new bar for climate finance action," declared author and activist Bill McKibben. Last September, they joined with officials from 10 other cities to commit to divesting from fossil fuels and investing in a green, just recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Echoing his statement from September, de Blasio said Monday that "fossil fuels are not only bad for our planet and our frontline communities, they are a bad investment." New York City is leading the way forward because we know the future is on the side of clean energy—not big polluters." This is how we secure a livable climate for the next generation and end the age of fossil fuels for good."

"Ending this war and providing the relief that is necessary to civilians and Yemen has to be our highest priority," he added. I am committed to working with Sen. Sanders and the Biden administration to bring this war to an end." Yesterday and today, people across the globe gathered (distantly or virtually) to demand an end to the murderous US-supported, Saudi-led war on Yemen! It's about time the war ended and I think #Biden should do this in first 100 days in office." "I call on President Biden to end every aspect of this war," Al-Adeimi said.

Fueled by renewed economic vitality, Washington seemed to have a reasonable shot at checking China’s all too real and growing global economic challenge. The proposed regulatory alignment between Europe and the United States would supposedly have added $260 billion to their total annual trade. So it’s likely to be in what, until mid-last week, was (and still in many ways remains) Donald Trump’s America, where the signs of decline are as erratic as they are omnipresent. Who better to rescue America from the job losses, stagnant wages, and foreign competition brought on by economic globalization? A Tragicomic EncoreIt was, however, President Trump’s bid for an encore that would prove truly extraordinary when it came to imperial decline.

Bowman, for example, wrote in a Sunday tweet: "Netanyahu must ensure that both Israelis and Palestinians have access to the Covid vaccine. Earlier this month, Newman weighed in broadly about the global need for equitable vaccine distribution and specifically called out Israel. "The Netanyahu administration has a moral and humanitarian obligation to ensure that both Israelis and Palestinians have access to vaccines," she wrote. The lawmakers' comments came as Israel's health minister doubled down on his country's decision to exclude Palestinians in the occupied territories from vaccines. "Israel's Covid-19 vaccine program highlights the institutionalized discrimination that defines the Israeli government's policy towards Palestinians.

And the will of the majority of the people is frustrated by a system rigged to empower the minority. That helped empower him to mislead millions by claiming the election was stolen, despite Biden’s landslide popular vote victory. The same distortions exist in state legislatures, where gerrymandered districts help the party with the minority of votes gain the majority. More than 59 million Americans live under minority rule in a state where the party with fewer votes controls a majority of the legislative seats. The reality is worse: our system is rigged so that the minority can rule.

Advocates for bold climate action welcomed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's remarks late Monday calling for President Joe Biden to declare a climate emergency. "I think it might be a good idea for President Biden to call a climate emergency," said Schumer. WATCH: Senate Majority Leader Schumer calls on President Biden to "explore" using emergency powers to declare climate an emergency. SCHUMER says declare climate emergency... ok who said dem prayers?" A coalition of climate groups including the Center for Biological Diversity has already drafted an executive order for Biden to be a "climate president," with action including the declaration of a climate emergency.

In addition to endangering the health and lives of millions of people in developing nations, coronavirus vaccine hoarding by rich countries such as the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom also poses a significant threat to the global economy, potentially causing worldwide income losses of up to $9.2 trillion USD. "A people's vaccine is in everyone's interests. Pointing to the ICC study, PVA declared in a tweet Monday that "a people's vaccine is in everyone's interests." South African President Cyril Ramaphosa issued a similar call to action during a virtual meeting of the World Economic Forum on Tuesday, declaring that "we all must act together in combating the virus." "The rich countries of the world went out and acquired large doses of vaccines," said Ramaphosa.

More than half (52%) of the U.S. public wants the Senate to convict Trump on the impeachment charge versus 44% of Americans who do not. Now, 57% want the Senate to take action to prevent Trump from holding federal office in the future, compared with 41% who are opposed. NATIONAL POLL: Half (52%) believe the Senate should convict Trump on the #impeachment charge while 44% disagree. Should Senate bar Trump from holding any federal office in the future? — MonmouthPoll (@MonmouthPoll) January 25, 2021"There is somewhat more agreement that Trump did something wrong than there was with the first impeachment.

Medea Benjamin and Ariel Gold Right say that Biden should pick one of the nation’s foremost experts on the Middle East to be his Iran envoy. Malley, on the other hand, has called U.S. Middle East policy “a litany of failed enterprises” requiring “self-reflection” and is a true believer in diplomacy. During the Trump years, Malley was a fierce critic of Trump’s Iran policy. As U.S. special envoy to Iran, Malley could put the weight of the U.S. behind such efforts. Ariel Gold is the national co-director and senior Middle East policy analyst with CODEPINK for Peace.

"Billionaires are reaping unseemly windfalls of wealth during the pandemic," Chuck Collins, director of the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at IPS, said in a statement. "They benefit from having their competitors shut down or controlling technologies and services we are all dependent on in this unprecedented time. We should tax these windfall gains to pay for recovery." "The Covid crisis is crushing people of color and low-income workers while billionaires who are nearly all white have seen fortunes skyrocket." "This is why we need the fair-share taxes program Joe Biden ran on, won on, and is now ready to pursue," Clemente added.

Medea Benjamin and Ariel Gold Right say that Biden should pick one of the nation’s foremost experts on the Middle East to be his Iran envoy. Read more ?

If keeping a Senate seat is your only goalthink…is it worth the price of selling your soul? Worth the price of endorsing sedition? Worth the price of moral American’s derision? Worth the cost of self debasement‘cause you’re worried Trump will support your replacement? You deserve to suffer a resounding defeat.

Standing Together Against Racism: Building on Our Common HeritageDear Friends,Thank you for registering for “Together Against Racism: Building on our Common Heritage.” The event was truly inspiring, and we thank you for your interest and participation. That relationship was and still is so beautifully exemplified by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and the Rev. Dr, Martin Luther King, Jr. – and is clearly alive and well, as the conversation between Dr. Bernice A. King, Dr. Susannah Heschel, and Rabbi Capers Funnye, Jr. so beautifully captured. Again, thank you for being part of history.

"Let me see … on the one hand, if I vote to certify Arizona's electoral votes, I'll look like a stand-up guy. On the other hand, I can still vote not to certify Pennsylvania's electoral votes, so Donnie and Viking Guy and all the QAnon crazies will still like me. Today I received the regular constituent email newsletter from Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ), who unfortunately remains my Congressional representative despite a valiant attempt by Dr. Hiral Tipirneni to unseat him. Votes YES to certify Arizona’s electoral votes, but farther down the line he sides with those voting NO on certifying the electoral count from Pennsylvania. Montini of the Arizona Republic, Jan. 13:“Schweikert hid out during the Arizona vote, but he went along with other Republican members of Congress trying to derail the election.

The Washington Football Team's Taylor Heinicke dives for a touchdown during a game in Landover, Maryland. Welcome to MF Daily(Formerly know as Mojo Friday’s Weekly Open Thread — MFWOT)All are welcome to hang out and share what is happening in your life today.

All I want for Christmas (well, that’s too far... let me say Mardi Gras) is for someone with the appropriate skills to put Bernie’s mittens on Ali. This probably doesn’t qualify as a diary (story? blog post?) but if you can do it, humor me. I’m still feeling the unserious yet somehow necessary joy of the Bernie meme thang……..

A full week’s worth still planned. And word is that the impasse on the Senate organizing resolution has been broken. It wasn’t impeachment. It wasn’t the organizing resolution. Even more ways to listen, live or by podcast, below the fold.

If you are able, please consider joining the Sorensen Subscription Service! Follow me on Twitter at @JenSorensen

Cheers and Jeers for Tuesday, January 26, 2021Note: Six days and Vice President Harris hasn’t shot a lawyer in the face with birdshot after drinking beer at a ranch. -CHEERS to the return of normalcy: Part I've Already Lost count. CHEERS to not forgiving and not forgetting. What happened next was so hilarious…As a result, fearing a high altitude nuclear attack that could blind Russian radar, Russian nuclear forces were put on high alert...and the nuclear weapons command suitcase was brought to Russian president Boris Yeltsin. -Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial ”As I read Cheers and Jeers, I just kept thinking: man, this is why Joe Biden won.” —Sen.

Alfie OakesAlfie Oakes is well known in Southwest Florida as a farmer and grocer emphasizing organic produce—and lately as an outspoken political activist. Oakes was there when, incited by Trump, the rally turned into a riot and an attack on the Capitol building. I watched with my own eyes as Capitol police invited happy and enthusiastic Trump supporters into the Capitol. I have supported President Trump since he descended the escalator.” She called him “the greatest president ever” and took positions against abortion and gun regulation. We delivered a landslide victory for President Trump.

- Henry Louis AaronMorning Open Thread is a daily, copyrighted post from a host of editors and guest writers. We support our community, invite and share ideas, and encourage thoughtful, respectful dialogue in an open forum. I’ve come to think of this post as one where you come for the music and stay for the conversation—so feel free to drop a note. ~Mornin’ y’all —First off, Aviator Doc posted a lengthy diary this morning that deserves to be read before mine. I think we’ve all been through plenty to deserve it….

One of the psalms (73) might just be thought relevant to some of our current political situations. Perhaps reflecting on this psalm might help some self-defined Bible-sensitive Christians find away out of the moral confusions of the Trump legacy . 9 They set their mouths against the heavens,and their tongue struts through the earth. But praise is not biblically what they have as their due, as the Psalm goes on to make clear. In this manuscript King David is pictured as the spitting physical image of Henry.

Little shit Rousseau, after an arrest in the armpit of Texas Sept, 2020. Rousseau previously led members of another extremist group, Vanguard America, at the disastrous “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. paper.suntimes.com/...A handful of Chicago Police observed the rowdy group as they stalked off from the Daley Center towards Millenium Park to pose for selfies with our famous Bean. “It was super scary.”Luckily for Chicago, the wind chill on Saturday were 18 Degrees F., with a brisk wind coming off the Lake. 80 racists traveled from Texas to Chicago (the Patriot Front previously claimed they had less than half a dozen members in the greater metro area);b.

Poor Donald had his Twitter bird taken away and he will never, ever, ever ride on Air Force One again. There’s a new president in town and he has an official Twitter bird and his own posh Boeing 747. My Melania ObsessionAnd then there’s the dearly departed Melania Trump who I admit I have an abiding dislike for and that I relish it when she gets ridiculed. Her personal Twitter page has a photo which I assume she choose herself. Update: Barack and Michelle Obama both have Twitter pages:The poll so far:Why do I bother putting links in my stories?

It’s unclear whether the current Supreme Court of the United States actually understands its role in our democratic system. In fact, it turned out the Trump administration had been openly lying to the Court about the reasons for the Census changes. Under almost all circumstances, the Supreme Court waits for an appeals court to issue a judgment before taking action. On those rare occasions when SCOTUS lets a litigant leapfrog over the appeals court, it typically issues a ‘stay pending appeal,’ setting aside a stay while the appeals court mulls the case. In the end, the Trump administration was apparently too disorganized to provide such data.

A slippery slope to Communism, Socialism, to taking away your ability to think and act for yourself. A slippery slope to no longer taking responsibility for your actions. It’s never a slippery slope to corporations large and small taking full control of it all. Now, I’m not here to wholly discount the “slippery slope” argument, for it does have merit, but it’s so damned overplayed. A slippery slope toward a more enlightened, enriched world where people are freed of the financial shackles that keep us apart.

Quick message to scientists : the public wants you to advocate for climate policies and engage with policymakers. Just make sure to do it right (see more below) because if you do it wrong, we’re all gonna laugh at you. Well, it turns out their premature posting might actually be a real problem for them, as the Inspector General has opened an investigation . But what they shouldn’t do is slap an official government seal on their posts if they are not, in fact, approved. But what you should do is speak up and engage with the public, advocating for climate policies and working with policymakers.

But lately my food cravings have gotten so bad I think I might be the first man who became pregnant by some type of miracle birth. I go thru these odd times where I crave a certain food, sometimes beets, sometimes jellyfish, sometimes chicken feet, sometimes ..well, you get the idea. But now I am doomed as doomed can be. x YouTube VideoI want, desire … crave some creamed herring. how about you, do you suffer from food cravings?

At a young age Dragging Canoe became the Head Warrior of the town of Malaquo (Big Island Town) on the Little Tennessee River. In Cherokee society, Dragging Canoe would not have belonged his father’s clan, but, rather, he would have belonged to his mother’s clan. Dragging Canoe refused to sign the treaty and warned the colonists that a dark cloud now hung over the land. In 1780, Dragging Canoe led his Cherokee warriors in raids against a number of American frontier towns. Signing the treaty for the Cherokee were Dragging Canoe, Bloody Fellow, Doublehead, Lying Fawn, John Watts, and Little Turkey.

Welcome to the New Day Cafe! This is an open thread. Since Mar Tigre is AWOL until her new laptop arrives, I’m again sharing songs from James Baldwin’s playlist.

Standing beside John Lewis is civil rights attorney Fred Gray, Lewis's mentor, friend and attorney. John Lewis, Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King Jr, are civil rights icons, while Fred Gray has remained relatively obscure. There is little doubt that readers of this forum know about key figures and moments in the modern civil rights moment. The list of civil rights cases that Fred Gray brought and won can be found in most constitutional law textbooks. Fred Gray passed his 90th birthday in December, and is now among the last of the legendary heroes of the modern civil rights movement.

IOW, it’s about getting Big Oil quickly to where Big Coal is at now. Back in 2013, I thought that we’d reach that point once EV sales are a few % of the auto market. A staggering >3x jump in EV share, clear into 2-digit disruption territory. How The Jump played out in leading countries:In 2019, Germany became the first European country (and third overall) to exceed 100k passenger EV sales in a year. I’m sure Big Oil will try to pin its hope on emerging markets, just like Big Coal has done.

Starting off in the Bistro Cafe, Dr Fauci discussed the threats against his wife and children, and the envelope of white powder that blew up in his face. After the break, we move to the Chef’s Table where four times as many jobs were lost last year from the pandemic as during the worst part of the global financial crisis in 2009; and, the Earth is losing its ice faster today than in the mid-1990’s. All that and more, on West Coast Cookbook & Speakeasy with Chef de Cuisine Justice Putnam. Bon Appétit! The Netroots Radio Live Player

Big news today out of North Carolina:x Hey folks - I'm officially running to serve North Carolina in the U.S. Senate. Your support now means a lot:https://t.co/RyDJdgULeR pic.twitter.com/rGKgspujZK — Sen. Jeff Jackson (@JeffJacksonNC) January 26, 2021North Carolina state Sen. Jeff Jackson is expected to announce today that he is running for the U.S. Senate in 2022, the latest candidate to enter what could be a large field to replace outgoing Sen. Richard Burr. Jackson, a 38-year-old Democrat from Charlotte, is in his fourth term in the state Senate. A former Gaston County prosecutor, Jackson is a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve and an Afghanistan war veteran. Burr, a Republican, announced during his 2016 campaign that he would not seek a fourth term in the Senate.

Ordinarily, signing up for such coverage is tightly restricted outside a six-week period late each year. Nearly 15 million Americans lost employer-based health insurance. Here’s how to get health coverage again Elisabeth Buchwald/ Market Watch Nov. 3, 2020 Some 7.7 million Americans who were laid off during the pandemic lost their employer-sponsored health coverage as of June. Those plans covered some 6.9 million of their dependents, impacting up to 14.6 million individuals, according to an October report published by the Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that supports health-care issues. Just a reminder why we need universal health coverage mandated and provided by the federal government:

But the body’s recommendations, like other “what next?” discussions by legal scholars, policymakers, election officials and advocacy groups, concern other foundations of American democracy. And second, what should most immediately be done to fortify the laws and structures behind elections to restore public trust? The country faced a crisis that was bigger than the fine print of election law and procedure, said University of California, Irvine School of Law professor Rick Hasen. “There is only so much that election law can do if people are not willing to comply with the rules of the game,” he said. They suggested that political parties, especially Republicans, might rein in extremist flanks by revising their rules for primary elections.

Nominating a daughter of the Laguna Pueblo, Rep. Deb Haaland, as the next Secretary of the Department of the Interior is an inspired, important choice. As you asserted in your inaugural address to the nation, “there’s much to repair, much to restore, much to heal, much to build, and much to gain.” For Indigenous Peoples, these words carry enormous significance. Only a strong resolve, together with bold and visionary actions, will enact systemic change and stop the long historical process of dispossession of Indigenous lands and violations of their rights. We are prepared and motivated to collaborate with your administration in moving forward toward this brighter future. Brian Keane, Former Member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), Former Advisor — Indigenous Peoples’ Issues — USAID and Land is Life Board Chair and Co-Founder

The real reason nominations are not interminably stalled right now is due to Democratic Senate wins in Georgia, wins that flipped leadership of the Senate from the ever-stonewalling Sen. Mitch McConnell to, well, not him. The Senate only began hearings for five of Biden's top-level picks on Jan. 19, one day before Biden's inauguration. Another vote today confirmed Tony Blinken as Biden's secretary of state, and nominated Homeland Security Chief Alejandro Mayorkas today received a 7-4 committee vote allowing his nomination to head to the Senate floor as well. The Republican-held Senate did next to nothing to advance them, so there will be delays compared to past administrations. Now it's up to the Democratic Senate, and thank heavens there is one or the country would be wading through a national pandemic for months to come with only "acting" leadership.

“He's joined by Adam Hunter, who serves as deputy assistant secretary on immigration for DHS,” CNN continued. “Other familiar names in immigration circles, like Tyler Moran and Esther Olavarria, have also come to fill top roles,” CNN continued. It’s a welcome departure from the previous administration’s appointment of anti-immigrant figures to immigration roles, like the truly very strange Ken Cuccinelli. Alvarez reports that Moran and Olavarria struck a very different tone at a recent US Conference of Mayors meeting. The Department of Homeland Security hasn’t had a Senate-confirmed secretary since Kirstjen Nielsen, a top family separation co-conspirator, in 2019.

Welcome to the Daily Kos Elections Live Digest, your liveblog of all of today's campaign news. Please note: The Live Digest is a 2016 and 2020 Democratic presidential primary-free space. It’s also a place to discuss elections, not policy. Sign up here to receive the Daily Kos Elections Morning Digest in your inbox each weekday.

European Union ministers adopted new priorities on climate and energy diplomacy on Monday. Biden should act boldly on his campaign commitments to end finance for dirty energy projects. But this one at the University of Leeds in the U.K. is the first to look at all sources of ice loss. The authors show that Earth has lost 28 trillion metric tons (Tt) of ice since 1994 from Arctic sea ice (7.6 Tt), ice shelves (6.5 Tt), mountain glaciers (6.1 Tt), the Greenland (3.8 Tt) and Antarctic ice sheets (2.5 Tt), and Antarctic sea ice (0.9 Tt). John Parnell at Green Tech Media notes that the Republican majority at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) made decisions that are expected to weaken the competitiveness of state-subsidized wind, solar, and nuclear power in many markets.

Now that we’ve managed to put Joe Biden in the White House, we can’t afford to assume everything is going to be just fine. Biden promised to repeal Trump’s ban throughout his presidential campaign, and his executive order reflects staunch, unyielding support of transgender troops. When Barack Obama won the White House, McConnell attempted to make him a “one-term president” by rallying Republican Senators to block every one of his initiatives. 4 years without a dog in the White House is way too long.”Medicine Marches OnI know a lot of people with serious food allergies. >>>>Eric Swalwell is one of the House Managers who will prosecute the Impeachment trial.

Someone help me understand why many or perhaps even all insurrectionists, including the president, can’t be charged with felony murder in the January 6th insurrection in which a Capitol police officer was killed. Here is a general description of felony murder, which would vary by jurisdiction:“a rule of criminal statutes that any death which occurs during the commission of a felony is first degree murder, and all participants in that felony or attempted felony can be charged with and found guilty of murder. A typical example is a robbery involving more than one criminal, in which one of them shoots, beats to death or runs over a store clerk, killing the clerk. Even if the death were accidental, all of the participants can be found guilty of felony murder, including those who did no harm, had no gun, and/or did not intend to hurt anyone. Opinions from attorneys would be especially appreciated.

At the same time, Trump also plans to meddle in the GOP's effort to retake the U.S. Senate. Republicans are now facing 2022 battles for open seats they currently control following Republican Senate retirements in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina—a list that could easily expand. And this is where Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Trump will almost surely be at loggerheads over who the party should nominate to run for those seats. In Ohio, for instance, Trumper and seditionist Rep. Jim Jordan seems like a shoo-in for backing by Trump. Of course, McCarthy also went full seditionist, opposing certification of the election results and voting against Trump's impeachment.

Some Democrats did speak on behalf of transgender and non-binary youth, thankfully. As Daily Kos has covered, research shows that transgender youth are particularly vulnerable on almost every front; they are more likely to face bullying, harassment, and assault at school. They’re also more likely to live with mental health struggles like depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. An important study confirms what most of us would assume to be obvious: Acceptance (particularly from adults) is shown to reduce suicide attempts in transgender youth. “Trans youth deserve respect and dignity for everything they are,” the executive director of the ACLU of Montana, Caitlin Borgmann, told the Associated Press in a statement.

As The Washington Post reports, local National Guard commanders usually have the authority to act on their own when an emergency situation occurs. Instead they were put in place over the summer, after guard helicopters were used to buzz Black Lives Matter protests. These actions, and aggressive deployment of thousands of National Guard forces during the protests following the police murder of George Floyd, raised concerns at the Pentagon. In most states, those concerns didn’t translate into significant changes, but in D.C. the guard is controlled through a process that can already be confusing. Former secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy told the Post that, “After June, the authorities were pulled back up to the secretary of defense’s office.

I think Biden should simply pardon DACA recipients for being in the US. Using presidential pardons to address the DACA issue is an idea that needs a champion. I'm not posting to solicit comments or help, I'm posting to provoke someone into taking charge and ownership. Getting action on this has to begin by getting the attention of those with power to make it happen. In the long run, presidential pardons could become important in broader immigration issues.

Harlequin drakes, late afternoon on a short winters dayThe Daily Bucket is a nature refuge. January 2021Pacific NorthwestWinter ducks are a big plus to this stormy season. Do you see winter ducks? — In a wet field that becomes a giant puddle in winter (while out doing a swan count, no swans in my assigned site but definitely ducks) —Several species of ducks foraging. Two pairs of American Wigeons foraging in shallow water.

“Two days before the attack, Steven Sund, then the chief of the Capitol Police, requested that the Capitol Police Board declare a state of emergency and authorize a request to secure National Guard support. As the protesters became an increasing threat to the Capitol on Jan. 6, Mr. Sund asked for more help from federal agencies and law enforcement agencies in the area. “He also lobbied the Board for authorization to bring in the National Guard, but he was not granted authorization for over an hour,” she said. The third member, J. Brett Blanton, the Architect of the Capitol, is still on the board. How is this guy still on the Capitol Police Board?

Incredibly, Rip Van Winkle had slept right through the American Revolution. Fueled by renewed economic vitality, Washington seemed to have a reasonable shot at checking China’s all too real and growing global economic challenge. So it’s likely to be in what, until mid-last week, was (and still in many ways remains) Donald Trump’s America, where the signs of decline are as erratic as they are omnipresent. Who better to rescue America from the job losses, stagnant wages, and foreign competition brought on by economic globalization? A Tragicomic EncoreIt was, however, President Trump’s bid for an encore that would prove truly extraordinary when it came to imperial decline.

x"Right now more than ever we are desperate for hope. For me, hope is the feeling that keeps you going, even though all odds may be against you. For me hope comes from action not just words. For me, hope is telling it like it is. "#wef2021 #DavosAgenda pic.twitter.com/Gt9PnRkcGm

For those of you who think this will be about polling and political campaigns, sorry to disappoint. I’m sure you’ve all heard that, according to the polls, the majority of Americans want the Republicans and Democrats to work together … they want bipartisanship … they just want us all to get along. It is true that the majority of Americans answer “yes” to every polling question that asks whether they would like the two parties to work together (i.e., bipartisanship). Unfortunately, every single polling firm fails to then ask an essential and highly applicable follow-up question. I could be wrong, but I believe the majority of people care more about results than about processes and would answer B.

The DC National Guard is unique in that it is directly under the authority of the president, rather than a governor. The Pentagon normally allows the guard commander to take military action on his own in an emergency in order to protect lives and property. But sometime prior to the riot, the Pentagon required the guard commander to get approval from the Defense Secretary or the Secretary of the Army before taking any action. “After June, the authorities were pulled back up to the secretary of defense’s office,” [former Army secretary] McCarthy said in comments to The Post. McCarthy, the Army secretary, was also restricted by his superior, the acting defense secretary.

Kellyanne Conway is abusive to lots of people -- apparently including her 16 year old daughter. Claudia Conway wants her mother in jail after learning a topless picture of her were posted to her mother’s Twitter account. A private topless photo of Claudia, 16, was somehow posted to the “fleets” section of Kellyanne‘s Twitter account on Monday evening (January 25). According to Claudia, who posted multiple videos to TikTok, (some she later deleted) this is not a joke. She quickly determined it was not a rumor and posted the following:Apparently that’s real and so here’s what I guess happened.

The person who was detected with the P.1 variant in Minnesota had recently returned from Brazil. Still, this is a sobering reminder that the P.1 variant is coming. We shouldn’t make that mistake again: assume the P.1 variant is here. Brazil has the highest rate of COVID-19 deaths anywhere in the world except for (say it with me) the United States. Then the P.1 variant arrived and devastated the city all over again.

Another one bites the dust! The Associated Press is reporting that Twitter has permanently banned My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell’s account after he continued to perpetuate the baseless claim that Donald Trump won the 2020 U.S. presidential election. The stated reason for the ban is “repeated violations” of its civic integrity policy, a spokesperson said in a statement. Following the storming of the U.S. Capitol earlier this month, Twitter has banned over 70,000 accounts for sharing misinformation. Trump, who had urged on the mob, has also had his account permanently suspended.

You know i wasn't going to put their mean and ugly mugs on here. Rare when all the members of Canada’s Parliament are unanimous in a decision, but not when it came to The Proud Boys. Every member in the Lower House, from liberal to conservative, has seen and heard enough and made their feelings known. That the Proud Boys were and are a danger to society, hence, a terrorist organization. The motion was put forward by the New Democrats stating that the government should "use all of available tools to address the proliferation of white supremacists and hate groups, starting with the immediate designating Proud Boys as a terrorist entity."

Like they didn’t care about anything but corporate profits, and did not care about the front line employees. We got more skilled in treatment of COVID patients, but still the numbers climbed. The percentage of COVID patients who come off the vent is very small. Ventilator patients, COVID patients, trauma patients, everyone. Finally, finally, though, we are getting some hope.

We were all pleased to see corporations withdrawing money from the Republican Traitor Caucus. That hurts them like few other things would. This was done because coups are bad publicity and bad for business. The Republican Party remains the party of cutting taxes and regulations; what’s to keep those corporate donors from going right back to funding the traitors when the heat dies down? If we keep up the pressure, we can hit the Sedition Caucus where it hurts the most (short of the prison sentences they deserve, of course): their re-election funds.

“There are only a handful of Republicans and shrinking who will vote against him,” predicts Sen. Lindsey Graham, who is continuing his service as Trump’s lapdog. Since Trump is now a private citizen, his impeachment trial won’t require the services of Chief Justice John Roberts. Instead, Sen. Patrick Leahy, the Senate president pro tempore, will preside. Some Republicans are trying to make an issue of the lack of Roberts, but only a sitting president merits the chief justice, and that is not Donald Trump. Which is saying something about just how much of a cult this is.

Budget reconciliation became a thing as an optional procedure under the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. That act requires Congress to come up with a budget resolution every year, and that resolution can instruct the committees to craft bills that would reconcile current law with the decided-upon budget plan. Anything included in the legislation after it is combined, or reconciled, by the House and Senate has to thus change either spending or revenue. If the Parliamentarian rules it incidental under the Byrd rules (a tightening up of the process spearheaded by then-Sen. Robert Byrd in 1958), then it comes out. Now that McConnell has caved to allow the Senate to organize, the committees can start the work of drafting their components of the reconciliation bill.

For example, Sen. Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican who had been putting pressure on Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to get him to toss the state's election results. That phone call from Graham might have been the key to foiling the whole plot by Clark and Trump. It was only thwarted by Trump's own phone call to Raffensperger to threaten him. Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Scott Perry has confirmed that he's responsible for getting Clark and Trump together to further the plot. The Wall Street Journal tied that resignation in to pressure coming from the DOJ, because Trump was dissatisfied with his failure to investigate Trump's bogus election fraud claims.

Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley hadn't ruled out a Senate bid before Portman retired, and she reiterated Monday that she wasn't closing the door. Facing term limits last year, Scott ran for county tax commissioner but lost the Democratic primary in an upset. The two frontrunners appear to be a pair of Democratic state senators from New Orleans, Karen Carter Peterson and Troy Carter. Chambers ran for the state Senate in 2019 in a Baton Rouge-area seat but lost 74-26 to Democratic incumbent Regina Ashford Barrow. Richmond also competed in the Democratic primary and took third place with 17%, while Carter took sixth with 8%.

And while I hate to see dumb animals suffer, Donald Trump is the kind of pest who invites continued mockery. (Technically, Trump did not have the power to fire Fauci, a career federal employee.) Anyway, I’m glad to see Dr. Fauci is so relieved and happy these days. In other words, Dr. Fauci is all of us. Thanks to Goodbye, Asshat: 101 Farewell Letters to Donald Trump, Dear F*cking Lunatic: 101 Obscenely Rude Letters to Donald Trump, Dear Pr*sident A**clown and Dear F*cking Moron, you can purge the Trump years from your soul sans the existential dread.

Before taking office, Biden set a goal of 100 million doses of vaccine in 100 days. The 1 million injections rate was reached in four of the last eight days, so clearly that can be met. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine entered phase 3 over a month ago and is expected to provide interim data within the next week. Johnson & Johnson alone has promised 100 million doses for the U.S. this year. However, the truth is that both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines produce a large enough antibody response in people that they should still overwhelm these new variants.

In North America alone, the EV infrastructure market will total $2.7 billion by 2021 and $18.6 billion by 2030, according to the report. “By 2040, we predict that passenger EVs will consume more than 3.7 million tonnes of copper every year. A hybrid needs about 40 kg and a fully electric car has roughly 80 kg of copper (176 pounds). Once electric vehicles become popular, they estimate demand to reach 11,000,000 tonnes of new copper for EV’s alone, with potential upside in other green technologies. Despite advances in charger and battery technologies, it still takes much longer — about 30 minutes with today’s fast chargers — to recharge a car battery than to fill up the tank.

We've seen a dramatic evolution among Senate Democrats toward the filibuster and the necessity of getting rid of it. […] If all that happens is filibuster after filibuster, roadblock after roadblock, then my opinion may change." Never mind that it did not force compromise because McConnell doesn't do that on anything that really matters. Schumer and his fellow Democrats seemed to have recognized that and held their ground. It was a miscalculation by McConnell, who seems to have forgotten that he's not calling the shots anymore.

Instead, under the Raise the Wage Act, once the minimum wage hits $15, workers would get small, regular raises so that their pay didn’t fall steadily behind the cost of food and housing. The subminimum wage for tipped workers has been at $2.13 since 1991, and other groups that get subminimum wages include youth workers and workers with disabilities. Popular as in more than 60% of Florida voters approved a $15 minimum wage at the same time as the state went for Donald Trump. Recent years have brought a string of minimum wage victories through ballot measures. It’s past time for Congress to get its act together, and that means Senate Republicans getting out of the way.

One of the orders will fulfill a key campaign promise to set up a commission on policing. It’s something that will take time to yield results, but another of Biden’s moves will have a concrete effect much sooner: He’s reinstating an Obama-era policy prohibiting the federal government from sending local police departments military equipment like grenade launchers and bayonets. Donald Trump had, of course, revoked that policy. Biden will also require the Department of Housing and Urban Development to promote equitable housing policies—again, something Trump had actively moved against—and will sign orders to improve prison conditions and move to end the use of private prisons, another campaign promise. Biden will speak on the orders at 2 PM ET.

LISTEN TO ARTICLE 2:22 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Share Tweet Post EmailElectric-vehicle sales should overtake gas guzzlers in India by the end of the decade as prices become more aligned and infrastructure and technology improves, hopefully with help from the government, according to Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., one of the country’s biggest automakers. While authorities can assist in terms of cost parity for EVs, in India it’s “difficult for the government to justify subsidizing cars for the rich,” Mahindra Deputy Managing Director Anish Shah said in an interview with Bloomberg Television broadcast Monday. Watch: Pawan Munjal, chairman at Hero Motocorp Ltd., discusses how the pandemic has impacted his business strategy and his production targets. Its unlisted entities are well positioned to expand, in areas including used cars, rural housing finance and supply-chain consulting, he said. — With assistance by Tom Mackenzie( Adds comment from Hero MotoCorp Chairman in fifth paragraph. )

Cobalt is essential to power the rechargeable lithium batteries used in millions of products sold by Apple, Google, Dell, Microsoft and Tesla every year. More than 60% of cobalt originates in DRC, one of the poorest and most unstable countries in the world. The extraction of cobalt from DRC has been linked to human rights abuses, corruption, environmental destruction and child labour. The court papers allege that cobalt from the Glencore-owned mines is sold to Umicore, a Brussels-based metal and mining trader, which then sells battery-grade cobalt to Apple, Google, Tesla, Microsoft and Dell. I saw the unbearable grief inflicted on families by cobalt mining.

Apple Inc., Google LLC parent Alphabet Inc., Dell Technologies Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Tesla Inc. have sought to dismiss a lawsuit alleging the companies knowingly benefited from children mining cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The firms said in an Aug. 25 court filing that the "expansive" legal theories put forward in the lawsuit are not supported by current law. Cobalt is a key ingredient in the manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries, which are used in a number of products including electric vehicles and consumer technology. The complaint sought damages for forced labor and an award for "unjust enrichment, negligent supervision and intentional infliction of emotional distress." Alphabet and Dell also filed separate motions for their inclusion in the lawsuit to be dismissed, arguing Alphabet cannot be held liable for its subsidiaries' use of cobalt and the court lacks personal jurisdiction over Dell.

What is carbon capture and does it actually work? When equipped with carbon capture, they are supposedly ‘carbon negative’ because carbon is sequestered in the growing of crops or trees. The fossil fuel industry loves CCS, and some political leaders are pushing it tooFossil fuel companies are desperately pushing for CCS, which is gaining buzz as a supposed win-win cure-all. There is no future for the toxic fossil fuel industry, with or without CCS. Carbon emissions are the industry’s downfall, and there is no magic cure for that.

BEIJING (Reuters) - The city of Ganzhou in China’s southeastern province of Jiangxi has launched an exchange for spot transactions in rare earths and minor metals, according to a report posted by the Association of China Rare Earth Industry on Thursday. The bourse is the second rare earth exchange to open in China, the world’s dominant producer of the group of minerals after the launch of the Baotou Rare Earth Products Exchange in Inner Mongolia in 2014. Baotou and Ganzhou are China’s two hubs for rare earths, which are prized for their use in consumer electronics and military equipment. The Ganzhou exchange will also trade molybdenum, tungsten, tin, cobalt and other metals, the report said, making its trading portfolio similar to that of China’s now-defunct Fanya Metal Exchange. The report did not specify which of the 17 rare earths would be traded in Ganzhou, which is known for its high concentration of heavy rare earths such as terbium and dysprosium.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) presents the alluring promise that coal, oil and gas production can continue to expand while the world economy gradually decarbonises. But these companies are still struggling to justify meaningful investment of their own in carbon capture. Around half of new carbon capture projects propose dedicated storage of the captured CO2 rather than using it to pump oil, according to the IEA. The IEA’s vaunted “new era” for carbon capture is just as likely to be a false dawn leading to another lost decade of investment. Carbon capture will play a role in the energy transition and could prove valuable in some niche applications.

Why it matters: The U.S. lags far behind the rest of the world in electric vehicle adoption. Biden's goal: 1 million new auto industry jobs in manufacturing, supply chains and infrastructure like EV charging stations. Biden has made boosting electric vehicles a top priority and pledged to add 500,000 charging stations and make all federal fleets fully electric. If the U.S. goes big on electric vehicles to compete with China — a “minerals-to-markets” approach as laid out in SAFE’s roadmap — it would create more than 640,000 jobs, Diamond tells Axios, previewing new research. However, a BCG study concluded it takes roughly the same labor hours to assemble an electric vehicle as it does a traditional vehicle.

That could bolster efforts by Chilean miner Antofagasta Plc’s Twin Metals subsidiary to secure federal permits to build a Minnesota copper mine. Lithium miners including Lithium Americas Corp, Albemarle Corp, Standard Lithium Corp and others, especially, are seen as additional winners in a Biden presidency, as the white metal is key to build EV batteries. Donations by employees at U.S. lithium miners to Democrats this year have nearly doubled from 2016 levels, according to campaign disclosures. Biden declined this year to commit to opposing copper mining in Minnesota. “There are places that are too special to mine,” said Jeremy Drucker of Save The Boundary Waters, which opposes the Twin Metals project and has declined to endorse a presidential candidate.

ACCEPTANCE ON BEHALF OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICAI, Joseph R. Biden Jr., President of the United States of America, having seen and considered the Paris Agreement, done at Paris on December 12, 2015, do hereby accept the said Agreement and every article and clause thereof on behalf of the United States of America. Done at Washington this 20th day of January, 2021. JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

The historic nature of Rep. Deb Haaland’s nomination to lead the Interior Department is big: she could be the first Native American cabinet secretary. Lopez Whiteskunk, a former tribal council member, said federal officials don’t always take the nation-to-nation relationship seriously. And the Interior Department is involved with many aspects of the lives of Native Americans. An immediate crisis in Indian country is the large number of indigenous women and girls who are murdered or go missing. Haaland sponsored the Not Invisible Act, which after years of activism by indigenous women was signed into law in October 2020.

Under Biden, China faces renewed trade pressure The U.S.-Chinese trade war isn’t going away under President Joe BidenBEIJING -- The U.S.-Chinese trade war isn’t going away under President Joe Biden. But he looks set to renew pressure over trade and technology grievances that prompted President Donald Trump to hike tariffs on Chinese imports in 2017. They say Beijing might have made them anyway to suit its own plans. Katherine Tai, Biden’s choice to succeed U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, sounded a hawkish note on China in a speech this month. “It will depend on China, the speed at which they reform and change policies, to see whether Biden will roll back trade barriers,” he said.

Trump Issues Executive Order to Support American MiningLast week, President Trump issued an executive order designed to support the American mining industry and support the processing of these minerals in the United States. Today, President Trump is signing an Executive Order and declaring a National Emergency to expand the domestic mining industry, support mining jobs, alleviate unnecessary permitting delays, and reduce our Nation’s dependence on China for critical minerals. RESTORING THE AMERICAN MINING INDUSTRY: President Trump’s action will accelerate the reopening and expansion of our mines and processing plants. Over the last several decades, our Nation’s mining industry has suffered due to political inaction, a broken permitting process, and predatory foreign competition from China. Our country can reap far greater benefits from the mining industry if we encourage value-added businesses to spring up in areas where mining is conducted.

(Reuters) - Outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is moving to loosen mining regulations and green light new mineral projects before leaving office this month, with successor Joe Biden unable to reverse some of the changes. The law, known as FAST-41, was intended to streamline permitting for utility projects, such as power transmission lines. Officials may also allow the storage of mine waste, known as tailings, on federal land. The mine, like Rio’s project in Arizona, is strongly opposed by Native American tribes who say it will pollute their water reservoirs. In Arizona, Trump’s plans to approve the land swap needed for Rio to build a copper mine has run into stiff opposition from Native Americans who consider the land sacred.

Exclusive to OpEdNews: Life Arts 1/21/2021 at 12:43:44 H4'ed 1/21/21SONNET: Trump Thanks His Well-Wishers (in iambic pentameter). For full effect, read all the way through with rhythm. I am I am I am I am I amI am I am I am I am I amI am I am I am I am I amI am I am I am I am I amI am I am I am I am I amI am I am I am I am I amI am I am I am I am I amI am I am I am I am I amI am I am I am I am I amI am I am I am I am I amI am I am I am I am I amI am I am I am I am I amI am I am I am I am I amI am I am I am Goddamn! I am(Article changed on January 21, 2021 at 12:57)

By his own testimony, that direction was originally set by Jeremiah A. Wright, Mr. Obama's former pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ on Chicago's South Side. James Cone, the father of Black liberation theology has described Dr. Wright as Black liberation theology's foremost contemporary exponent. Unfortunately, the policies, Mr. Obama describes in A Promised Land ended up reflecting the former over the latter. Jeremiah Wright's Influence on Mr. ObamaThat reflection contrasts dramatically with what scandalized America's right wing when it first encountered Jeremiah Wright's liberation theology. In fact, what their excavations uncovered nearly terminated Mr. Obama's political ambitions (140).

Hunter, all right, the boy trampled some roses,It's all out of context, a question of poses. Philip Kraske Social Media Pages:"11/9 and the Terrorist Who Loved Bonsai Trees" is Philip Kraske's just-published novel. If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership. STAY IN THE KNOWIf you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content. Daily Weekly OpEdNews NewsletterNameEmail(Opens new browser window)

It doesn't make senseCos it's not MensaRemove all doubtCos you have the cloutIt's not me who is way outI'm a true believerIt comes from the heartSo play your partTo slay the hateThe universe awaitsTake the love baitChoose the path of peaceHeal a world in piecesPick up the fragmentsOf hurt, loss and painLend a hand its so plainSmooth the angry browsDrop the raised fistLove tops the listLook for the beautyFor it aboundsIt's in you and meWaiting to be foundSettle your mindWe are one kindAll breathe the same airEach one a sunPart of eternityA lasting fraternityFull of possibilitiesSee the golden otherAs a beloved brotherNot black, white or brownLook for the crownOf beating heartsIt's not red or blueIt's me and youColour is silentYet stands accusedIt is the seated soulThat speaks and rainsLove and hate unfeignedStars freely abideRuling darkest midnightSo too as sunsWe must overcomeHate, fear and prideOnly thenWill our work be done.

Together, the readings' call is to open ourselves to the wisdom and goodness of despised foreigners and the non-elite. Moreover, Pompeo's and Blinken's denunciations ignore the facts that China's system of political economy has (in Jonah's terms) "repented." Yes, China's way involves a large free-market sector. Moreover, according to economist Richard Wolff, accusations against China's alleged stealing of intellectual property are nonsensical. The result was the Chinese Way that enjoys huge success not only internationally, but domestically.

No yellow bricks to guideOur semi-precious wayLittered with the goodluck stonesThat once served our purpose. But don't be fooledBy the shining ofOur semi-precious way;Our luck has run out. No more magic for usOn this path of beautyNo spells (or curses)No protections from OzFrom the suits behind the curtainFrom the stale halls of debate. How can we continueOn our semi-precious wayWithout the wink and nodOf a patriarchal godhead? Or at least without our Easy Pass,Power objects Our creditOur proofs of purchaseOur good luck charmsOur synchronous devicesThat are charging while we sleepRemembering our passwordsWith clues to who we areShould we forgetOur semi-precious way.

One last time, the internet has run wild over viral video of first lady Melania Trump apparently spurning the conventions of her role, triggering speculation about the state of her marriage to the now former president. Trump himself paused to wave at photographers but his wife, in dark glasses and a striking print dress, continued walking, deadpan, until she was firmly offscreen, leaving her husband alone. “I ain’t got to do this sh*t anymore', was the biting verdict of one user, who posted the footage of Melania apparently at last on the way to life as a golf widow and – she seemed to a watching world to hope – relative obscurity, out of the public spotlight.

John Hawkins Social Media Pages:John Kendall Hawkins is an American ex-pat freelance journalist and poet currently residing in Australia. OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help. If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership. STAY IN THE KNOWIf you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content. Daily Weekly OpEdNews NewsletterNameEmail(Opens new browser window)

The need for speed in virtual reality ranges from a few to a few hundred Mbps (Click Here) for extremely immersive future applications. Here's the myth-buster: with over 1000 Mbps (Click Here), the latest 4G technology can provide all of these speeds. To eliminate the sensation of waiting between pages, Web browsing needs 25-50 ms (Click Here). Again, 4G satisfies these latencies with as little as 30-40 ms (Click Here) in real conditions. Manufacturers that need even lower latencies could install privately-owned (Click Here) 5G Phase 2 networks.

'We the people will have neither an “America United” nor “a Union with Purpose” as long as you continue to help pursue the ideological folly of school choice and charter schools with the aim of gradually but surely destroying public education and public schools. The prayer and hope now is that each of you will reach into the deepest recesses of your heart and soul and extract any remnants of wisdom you find there that will lead you to understand that school choice and charter schools ideology is folly and absolutely contrary to there ever being an “America United” existing as “a Union with Purpose;”' says Ed Johnson, a systems analyst & tireless advocate for systemic improvement of the Atlanta Public Schools. He wrote this letter: 'Inauguration 2021: “America United” and “a Union with Purpose” after watching the Inauguration ceremonies.

Joe Biden’s transition team had no illusions about the chaos they were inheriting from President Donald Trump. They expected a disorganized government and mismanaged agencies, many of them hollowed out and ignored over the past four years. Hours before they assume office, however, there is a fear among Biden’s team that the roadblocks they encountered during the chaotic transition shielded them from understanding the full scope of the problems at various agencies, and that the state of the executive branch is far worse than they understood — “the tip of the iceberg” as one senior transition aide put it.

Trump’s pardons sent an unmistakable message, capping the corruption of his tenure in office.“Drain the swamp.” Of all Trump’s lies, that was one of the most puzzling. It’s not just that Trump himself was and is crooked, or even that he so obviously likes and admires crooks. It’s that Trump’s particular form of crookedness was exactly the kind of crookedness that people have in mind when they imagine Washington, D.C., as a “swamp.”And on his last full day in office, as the minutes ticked down, he ended his presidency with a grand present to pro-Trump crooks, past and present.'

Barr was no pacifist, but he thought Trump's ideas were more aggressive than necessary. They fought all summer, and Barr later privately compared the experience to 'Groundhog Day.' It was always Groundhog Day trying to explain things to Trump..Barr decided to quit before their private skirmishes spilled further into public view. Barr had made it clear to Cipollone he did not want to be consulted on these post-election pardons. The only pardon he made an effort to preemptively stop was for Edward Snowden.

Gone are the days that Americans looked abroad for the biggest danger to the nation. A new CBS News/YouGov poll shows that most Americans (54%) now think that the biggest threat to their way of life comes from domestic enemies. There will be more political violence in the next 3-5 years.

Rob Kall is an award winning journalist, inventor, software architect, connector and visionary. His work and his writing have been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, ABC, the HuffingtonPost, Success, Discover and other media. Check out his platform at RobKall.comHe is the author of The Bottom-up Revolution; Mastering the Emerging World of ConnectivityHe's given talks and workshops to Fortune 500 execs and national medical and psychological organizations, and pioneered first-of-their-kind conferences in Positive Psychology, Brain Science and Story. Rob began his Bottom-up Radio show, broadcast on WNJC 1360 AM to Metro Philly, also available on iTunes, covering the transition of our culture, business and world from predominantly Top-down (hierarchical, centralized, authoritarian, patriarchal, big) to bottom-up (egalitarian, local, interdependent, grassroots, archetypal feminine and small.) Recent long-term projects include a book, Bottom-up-- The Connection Revolution, debillionairizing the planet and the Psychopathy Defense and Optimization (more...)

Former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle warned his party against impeaching President Donald Trump for inciting the mob attack on the Capitol arguing that even a delayed Senate trial risks impeding urgent action President-elect Joe Biden must take to bolster the economy and combat the Covid-19 pandemic. Daschle called impeachment at a moment that party control of the Senate is so tenuous a “mistake” saying it would first “galvanize” Trump’s supporters and then delay work on crucial issues. Dasche said a censure vote is “the most appropriate approach” adding that “it’s definitive, it’s final, it doesn’t send the whole matter to the Senate and require another trial”..

Subjected to double oppression and double exploitation in every domain, as working women but also as mothers and as women, women are standing up against all forms of oppression, discrimination and violence, and against patriarchal domination. In 1910, the Second International Conference of Socialist Women, held in Copenhagen, decided to organise the first annual International Women's Day on 19 March 1911, to commemorate the Revolutions of 1848 and the Paris Commune. And on 8 March 1917, Russian women marked International Women's Day by demonstrating in St. Petersburg to demand bread, peace and freedom. From 1920 onwards, International Women's Day has been celebrated on 8 March. ), the proposal to hold an international meeting of working women be put to the participants and discussed, and that delegations of working women begin to be formed and mandated to attend it.

Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121"In Bottom-Up, Rob Kall offers important insights on why our society is in such disarray and what we must do to change it. Rob shows how lasting change must come from the people themselves and not from the leaders. Indigenous elders have told me, "if you want to change the world, start talking and keep talking." Rob is doing this with this book and with his OpEdNews, and he is making a difference. I recommend this book to all who wish to see lasting, human-friendly, compassionate change that will sustain humanity is this crazy world of today."

This explains why the NYC DOE should cancel the 'gifted' tests immediately; now and forever. The contract renewal will cost $1.7M, which doesn't even include the considerable but undisclosed cost of administering this test one-on-one to kids as young as four-year-old. Read the abysmal record of Pearson, the corporation that produces the test. The renewal for the gifted test will be voted on next Wed., January 27 by the Panel for Educational Policy. Those who would like to speak on the proposal can register here, starting at 5:30 PM.

Justice Department officials have promised a relentless effort to identify and arrest those who stormed the Capitol that day, but internally there is robust back-and-forth about whether charging them all is the best course of action. That debate comes at a time when officials are keenly sensitive that the credibility of the Justice Department and the FBI are at stake in such decisions, given the apparent security and intelligence failures that preceded the riot, these people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss legal deliberations.'

Peter Greene here disentangles the latest move to expand vouchers in Florida and the latest attempt to demolish public schools in a state where 80 % of students attend public schools. Florida's voucher schools currently are not required to take state tests or to have any standards for teachers or principals or to adhere to the state curriculum. Most of the voucher schools are religious, ignoring the State Constitution which explicitly prohibits public funding of religious schools and ignoring a 2012 state referendum that rejected vouchers. There are schools where the 'educators' do not have college degrees, where racism is okay, where gay students and staff are barred, and where students are using textbooks that teach hate. The Orlando Sentinel published a three-part investigation called 'Schools Without Rules.'

Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121"Rob Kall shows us that the high-tech information revolution set the stage for a political and social evolution, the connectivity of which has the capacity to transform everything, everywhere. We have only to say 'yes' to tap [into] the power of this interconnection, participating in it from where we stand." Dennis Kucinich, former U.S. Representative (D-OH) and 2004 and 2008 Democratic presidential primary candidate

Employers cut 140,000 jobs in Dec., signaling that the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic is backtracking. Digging deeper into the data also reveals a shocking gender gap: Women accounted for all the job losses, losing 156,000 jobs, while men gained 16,000. These are net numbers-- of course, many men lost their jobs in Dec., too - but when taken together as a group, they came out ahead, whereas women fell behind. Women started 2020 on roughly equal footing with men, with women holding 50.03% of jobs, but women are down 5.4 million jobs from Feb., before the pandemic began, as compared to 4.4 million job losses for men. Schools and day cares are still closing, and we know that's what's impacting women's ability to reenter the workforce and sustain jobs.

Larry King by Gage Skidmore 2. (Image by Wikipedia (commons.wikimedia.org), Author: Gage Skidmore) Details Source DMCATelevision and radio host, Larry King, who passed away this morning, had been hospitalized with Covid-19. RT @Zigmanfreud: I am pro-vaccine, but it appears Larry King may have died after recovering from COVID & THEN getting the vaccine. (Image by Wikipedia (commons.wikimedia.org), Author: Unknown author Unknown author ) Details Source DMCAHank Aaron, one of the greatest baseball players of all time, passed away yesterday. G… at — Jenny Butcher (@philomathyjen) January 23, 2021RIP MLB Legend Hank Aaron... Died 2 Weeks Later After Taking the Covid Vaccine At 86 Years Old!

Well, probably not, although he may have had a vested interest in making sure that Trump never revealed any of the truly untouchable secrets of the Deep State -- Obama's fake B/C for instance (just kidding). But as an exercise in excess conspiracy theorizing (and let's recall that most Americans, since JFK onwards, are conspiracy theorists -- and rightly so -- given what we end up finding out about the shenanigans that go in the shadows of our exceptional democracy (see Assange and Snowden)), let's consider as a little libido-draining wank the possibility that Obama and his IC cohorts, who, after all, clearly thrust a Russian foreign policy on Trump during Obama's "transition" period, may have continued on with f*cking with Trump throughout his presidency. In short, what if Jan 6 was the result of Obama-Turd Blossom types telling the Cap Cops to stand down? More legislative tightening of the security state? We'll sees what happens when....

Everybody, everybody is entitled to be treated with decency and dignity. We’re gonna be judged. We are gonna be judged whether or not we restore the integrity and competency in this government…. We have to restore the soul of this country, and we’re counting on all of you to be part of that. The only thing I expect with absolute certitude is honesty and decency—the way you treat one another, the way you treat the people you deal with.

A family of four, including two children, died as a result of an alleged Israeli air strike on Hama in northwestern Syria on Friday, January 22, Syrian media said. "Syrian air defense systems confronted an Israeli air aggression and shot down most of the hostile missiles," the source said. In turn, the Israel Defense Forces declined to comment on alleged strikes resulted in the death of Syrian citizens. This incident was the fifth in a series of Israeli air attacks on targets in Syria in the past month and the first after the inauguration of the U.S. President Joe Biden. On the other hand, such Israeli behavior threatens to worsen relations with the United States, its main ally.

There are two different versions of the great-power competition that Washington is waging against Russia and China. Why do you think Silicon Valley, D.C. think tanks, and Biden White House officials have been telling us things about a "Great Reset" and a "Fourth Industrial Revolution?" But the masses will have to see material benefits in order to buy into the narrative the system is selling. In this stage of capitalism's crisis, the bourgeoisie can't afford to substantially lift up the living conditions of the masses. Neoliberalism, late-stage capitalism's tool for foisting the costs of the system's crisis onto the lower classes, mandates that more austerity be carried out.

Secretary of State nominee Anthony Blinken told senators Tuesday the Biden administration plans to recognize Juan Guaidó as the legitimate president of Venezuela instead of the democratically elected president Nicolas Maduro. Blinken stated:"We need an effective policy that can restore Venezuela to democracy, starting with free and fair elections." This is ironic since Guaidó, the leader of Venezuela's opposition-held National Assembly, was not elected, as Maduro was. We don't have to support either Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro or Juan Guaido. Next Page 1 | 2(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

From The New YorkerIf one wanted a basic rule of thumb for dealing with the climate crisis, it would be: stop burning things. Now those large brains have come to understand that burning stuff is destroying the stable climate on which civilization depends. In the early years of the climate crisis, scientists thought that "biomass" was an exception to the burning rule. We're breaking the back of the climate system in real time and, as we've known for years, burning wood hurts, not helps. It's possible to stop burning things on planet Earth because of our solar system's star, 93 million miles away.

Ages are named for their dominant technologies, e.g., Bronze Age, Industrial Age, Atomic Age. The Rule of Law was superseded by rule of "narrative". It's now effective PR strategy to accuse the other political party of cannibalistic child-trafficking out of a pizza joint run by sentient lizards, while simultaneously literally caging thousands of children and then losing track of them. When paradigm-level change happens, it's no good accusing the other political party of a coup-attempt, standing in the crime-scene within hours of an actual televised bloody attempted coup by the president hisself. Next Page 1 | 2(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

From Alon Ben-Meir WebsiteIsrael's continued treatment of Palestinian political prisoners is unconscionable. Mohammad El Halabi, an aid worker from Gaza, has been in prison for four years while he awaits his trial; this is nothing short of cruel absurdity. Israel's case against El Halabi -- whom it accuses of diverting humanitarian funds to Hamas -- has been widely condemned as flimsy at best. El Halabi is not the only Palestinian to whom this legal loophole has been applied; Israel has consistently and heavily used this shameful practice against Palestinian political prisoners. Thousands of Palestinians prisoners who have no blood on their hands are languishing in Israeli jails as incarceration without trial is used as a deterrent.

On January 17th two political prisoners, Alexei Navalny and Rebekah Jones, were arrested on the same day for their political activities. Both Navalny and Jones are relative newcomers to the political arena and both are facing prison time for their political activities. Both Navalny and Jones are innocent of criminal charges and are only guilty of fighting government lies and challenging the political establishment. She clashed publicly with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in a dispute over data manipulation, with DeSantis trying to downplay the number of infections and the death toll in Florida. Through these Twitter and YouTube publications, Navalny distributes materials about corruption in Russia, organizes political demonstrations and promotes his campaigns.

The ninth round of military talks between the Chinese and Indian military officials on Sunday failed to break the Ladakh standoff. In the military talks, India has all along been demanding restoration of status quo ante in all areas of eastern Ladakh prior to April. The Global Times has reported that Indian media is hyping China's construction of a village in a "disputed area," saying the construction was built within Indian territory. But the move stirs anti-China sentiment, as the construction occurred within Chinese territory and serves the right purpose of improving lives of border inhabitants. NDTV said that "the construction, approximately 4.5 kilometers within Indian territory of the de facto border, will be of huge concern to India."

Nuclear weapons may be unpleasant, but what is illegal about them, and how can they be in Puget Sound? Yet, the U.S. military keeps nuclear weapons in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and Turkey. Three years ago, 122 nations voted to create a new treaty to ban the very possession or sale of nuclear weapons, and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons won the Nobel Peace Prize. Divestment from nuclear weapons by major financial institutions has taken off in recent years, and can safely be expected to accelerate. Globally, nuclear weapons possession is becoming thought of as the behavior of a rogue state.

(Image by Egberto Willies) Details DMCACongresswoman Stacey Plaskett corrected the host mischaracterization of the insurrection. I was very impressed with Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett, who made sure that she corrected MSNBC Host Ayman Mohyeldin's mischaracterization of the insurrection as he interviewed her. Ayman Mohyeldin asked the Congresswoman how she and the other managers were preparing for Trump's impeachment trial. It is important that as the insurrection is more in the distance, we do not forget the gravity of the act by the insurrectionist. Please join our YouTube channel to get the numbers up to open up some more features and reach more folks.

(Image by Egberto Willies) Details DMCAThis is how one must interview Republicans given their adeptness to lie, misinform, and change the narrative. Tiffany Cross provided a clinic. Tiffany Cross was not pulling any punches in this interview. She was always pleasant to the point that she likely caught Republican Strategist Katon Dawson off guard. So how did Tiffany Cross do it?

Note before starting: this is Number Two of a four-part expose' covering Meng Wanzhou and Huawei. Explosive expose' blows the cover off Huawei Meng Wanzhou's 2018 sting operation in Vancouver, Canada: The truth and consequences of connecting the dots. China Rising Radio Sinoland· Huawei CFO Meng Landed in Canada, Perry Mason Isn't Her Lawyer Nor in His Mythical Rule of Law. Meng's extradition is manifestly a case of double criminality, which is her abuse of process #2. Meng's CBSA and RCMP court hearing testimonies expose Canada's medieval, Kafkaesque mockery of justice, while ripping the death mask off the West's mythical "rule of law".

Perhaps the strangest thing about America's "forever wars" is how little obvious impact they've had here. To focus only on the numbers of American combat deaths ignores two key issues. Second, as the testimony of the former Marine I interviewed suggests, many people suffer and die long after the battles they fought in are over. At the Costs of War Project, we've started to examine the effects of war on human health and mortality, particularly in America's war zones. And of course, as is evident from our own skyrocketing military suicide rates, they die by their own hands.

Now that former President Tweety Trump is no longer in office, Snyder's 20 key lessons are still important for turning his anarchist and nihilist followers away from their wayward ways. As noted, whatever else may be said about Snyder's still relevant 20 lessons, he does not happen to advert explicitly to the broad tradition of philosophical realism. For an accessible discussion on his philosophical thought, see my lengthy OEN article "Walter J. Ong's Philosophical Thought" (dated September 20, 2020):Click HereWhatever else may be said about Ong's phenomenological and personalist philosophical thought, his philosophical thought falls well within the broad tradition of philosophical realism. Now, whatever else may be said about the contemporary philosophic movement known as post-truth, it does not fall within the tradition of philosophical realism. Then Snyder's accessible short book unfolds in the following 20 short chapters:(1) "Do not obey in advance" (pages 17-21).

2021 storming of the United States Capitol(Image by Wikipedia (commons.wikimedia.org), Author: Tyler Merbler) Details Source DMCAFormer President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign aides played key roles orchestrating a rally protesting certification of President-elect Joe Biden‘s victory in the 2020 presidential election before hundreds of rioters breached the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. But the full extent of the Trump campaign’s ties to the protests may not be not fully known due to its use of shell companies that hide details of its financial dealings and the central role “dark money” played in the protests.

"My sister was 35 and served 14 years -- to me that's the majority of your conscious adult life," Babbitt's brother told the New York Times. Babbitt was far from the only disillusioned U.S. military vet drawn to the insurrection at the Capitol. As the Justice Department and other investigators continue to sort out what really happened on that bloody Wednesday on Capitol Hill, it's increasingly clear that military veterans were disproportionately involved. For a minority, conspiracy theories or extremism can provide a new form of social cohesion, albeit a dangerous one. The giant dog that isn't barking here in the early days of the Biden administration is our national addiction to militarism.

A question that keeps popping into my mind is: why is the entire focus on Trump's Senate trial? Of course it would be great if they did convict him and make it impossible for the Great Man to hold office ever again. But what seems to me to be more plausible, realistic and... appropriate, is for the Department of Justice to simply move forward with indicting Citizen Trump on sedition charges. Our former Attorney General called for it when investigating Capitol Hill protestors last fall:In a memo to U.S. attorneys Thursday obtained by The Associated Press, the Justice Department emphasized that federal prosecutors should aggressively go after demonstrators who cause violence and even sedition charges could potentially apply. U. S. NewsNext Page 1 | 2 | 3(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

I say "gently," because for some people urging them away from religion is highly offensive. It's certainly also true that for some people urging them away from militarism or imperialism or patriotism is highly offensive. How about unnamed government officials assessing that claim with medium-high confidence from the so-called intelligence so-called community? Yet the Times writes that science finds death to be death, yet we just can't be sure -- it's a matter for religion. A WORLD BEYOND WARThe mission of World BEYOND War is to envision a world without the male half of that couple.

As a divorced single male with no children, I stepped into my current wife's family with two boys ages 8 and 11. You've got to contend with their biological father, good or bad, along with his emotional makeup in the mix. You've got to contend with emotions of your new girlfriend as to her relationship with her ex-husband"the father of her children. When the biological father of my two stepsons met a new girlfriend, my stepsons wanted me to date her and him to get back with their mother. Thus, they contended with a calm biological father as opposed to a mountain climbing, backpacking and wilderness man.

TomBy Alfred McCoyAfter four years of Donald Trump's fitful tenure, America is awakening from a long, troubled sleep to discover, like the fictional character Rip Van Winkle, that the world it once knew has changed beyond all recognition. Incredibly, Rip Van Winkle had slept right through the American Revolution. In his two terms as president, Barack Obama, Trump's predecessor, pursued a clever countervailing strategy, seeking to split Beijing's potential world island economically at its continental divide in the Ural Mountains. The proposed regulatory alignment between Europe and the United States would supposedly have added $260 billion to their total annual trade. Key figures like Senator Elizabeth Warren opposed the potential degradation of labor and environmental laws via the TPP.

President Biden's commitment to re-entering the Iran nuclear deal -- formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA -- is already facing backlash from a motley crew of warhawks -- both domestic and foreign. Malley, on the other hand, has called U.S. Middle East policy "a litany of failed enterprises" requiring "self-reflection" and is a true believer in diplomacy. When Obama left office, Malley became president of the International Crisis Group, a group formed in 1995 to prevent wars. During the Trump years, Malley was a fierce critic of Trump's Iran policy. He condemned Trump's maximum pressure campaign as a maximum failure, explaining that throughout Trump's presidency, "Iran's nuclear program grew, increasingly unconstrained by the JCPOA.

The seizing of the Capitol by Donald Trump's radical supporters came as a shock not only to the United States, but also to its allies. The United States partly lost its position as a Superpower, but now the internal conflict inside America has acquired such a global scale, that the new administration simply can't place greater focus on its foreign policy. Americans are too keen on internal problems and hatred for each other, to be distracted by the world outside the United States. Perhaps, the only thing in which the two opposing sides of America agree is the full absence of a demand for expansion in foreign policy in coming years. The new Biden administration sees and knows this, so now we can expect a more balanced U.S. foreign policy in the Eastern European region.

But things have changed compared to the last cold war. Despite what the partisans of neoliberal capitalism and U.S./NATO imperialism want us to believe, amid this cold war Washington finds itself sinking into geopolitical isolation and terminal economic decline. Already, Washington has lost its military primacy in the Indo-Pacific to China, the era of a U.S.-dominated southwest Asia has ended , the U.S. and the E.U. This is not an ideological, Cold War struggle. This is something that the more manipulative anti-Chinese cold war propagandists have often done .

Žižek on the Žhip of Fools Againby John Kendall HawkinsHow can we dance when our earth is turning How do we sleep while our beds are burning - Midnight Oils, " Beds Are Burning "Musing through Slavoj Žižek's new anti-tome, Pandemic 2! Like Marx said all those years ago: Talk, talk, talk : Where is it getting you? Žižek is all over the place, says things in a way here that makes me wonder about translation problems, or if I'm sane. In his Introduction: Why A Philosopher Should Write About Bringing In The Harvest, Žižek uses the pandemic-driven agro crisis to take a potshot at capitalism. There's trouble in Gutersloh , a no-doubt paradisiacal town "north-by-northwest" in Germany; there's trouble in Tennessee, where still waters run deep; there's trouble in south Florida near MaralagoLand; trouble in Italy and Spain, UK, France, and Russia.

Indian and Chinese troops clashed last week in an incident that caused minor injuries on both sides, Indian officials said Monday, underscoring the persistent border tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors Washington Post has reported. Washington Post, quoted an Indian Army statement as saying Indian and Chinese soldiers engaged in a "minor faceoff" on Jan. 20 in the Naku La area of the state of Sikkim,. Since then, tens of thousands of Indian and Chinese troops have been locked in a stalemate near the site of the clash in Ladakh. Indian media reports suggested that more than 20 Chinese and Indian soldiers were injured in the scuffle. Indian media outlets are releasing unsubstantiated information to their benefit, however, those information is basically fake news, the Global Times learned.

Alabama Prisoners Face Solitary, Violence For Organizing Boycott And Work StoppageAn ongoing boycott and strike inside Alabama’s prison system faced retaliation before it began. He hasn’t eaten since the Alabama Department of Corrections placed him in solitary confinement 19 days ago for his role in organizing the New Year’s 30-day economic boycott and work strike with the Free Alabama Movement (FAM), a group organizing against prison slavery and mass incarceration in Alabama. “In Alabama we have slavery,” incarcerated FAM organizer Kinetik Justice, also known as Robert Earl Council, told Shadowproof. It is unclear how many people have participated in the work strike. Unable to participate in the work strike, eleven people in solitary confinement at Kilby went on hunger strike on or around January 1.

“Experience feel-good shopping” is the slogan of the AmazonSmile programme, which enables customers to donate to charities as they shop online. Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos accepted the 2017 National Equality Award from the US LGBT rights advocacy group Human Rights Campaign. In 2012, he and his then wife publicly pledged $2.5m to the fight for same-sex marriage in Washington state. The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), led by Trump’s personal lawyer Jay Sekulow, is also listed on the AmazonSmile platform. It has intervened in numerous US court cases opposing LGBT marriage equality.

The rural clinic, which serves a county of 4,521 people, is nestled beside a pasture with a flock of chickens and a few goats. That’s when 100 doses were scheduled to be delivered, and the clinic’s staff would have 30 days at most to administer the doses before they spoiled. Rural clinics face unique challenges in getting highly perishable vaccines to residents who often live many miles away. Additionally, data show that rural residents are less likely to receive a flu shot than residents of metropolitan areas. A poll showed only 29 of about 86 clinic staff were immediately interested in taking the vaccine.

“We have this significant backlash to the very notion that trans humanity is going to be recognized,” says Strangio. AMY GOODMAN: President Biden has signed an executive order repealing the Trump administration’s ban on transgender people serving in the U.S. military. AMY GOODMAN: Newly sworn-in Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin expressed support for lifting the trans ban during his confirmation hearing last week. And I think this is an important moment not only for trans service members, but for building trans justice. And one way that that is manifesting are in dozens of bills across the country that would ban trans young people from sports and criminalize healthcare for trans youth.

The $1.1 trillion in wealth that America’s billionaires have collectively gained during ten months of pandemic and economic crisis could fully pay for key relief measures that President Joe Biden proposed in his recently released coronavirus aid package, including the $1,400 direct payments, the increase in unemployment benefits, and the boost to nutrition assistance. “Billionaires are reaping unseemly windfalls of wealth during the pandemic,” Chuck Collins, director of the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at IPS, said in a statement. “They benefit from having their competitors shut down or controlling technologies and services we are all dependent on in this unprecedented time. This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.

“Today two Democratic Senators publicly confirmed they will not vote to end the legislative filibuster,” he said in a statement. “The legislative filibuster was a key part of the foundation beneath the Senate’s last 50-50 power-sharing agreement in 2001. The legislative filibuster will require most bills to get 60 votes to pass. Now that Democrats are in charge by a narrow margin, McConnell is insistent on keeping the filibuster intact. Many left and progressive groups have been advocating for an elimination of the filibuster even before Democrats clinched the majority in this election.

The rural clinic, which serves a county of 4,521 people, is nestled beside a pasture with a flock of chickens and a few goats. Rural clinics face unique challenges in getting highly perishable vaccines to residents who often live many miles away. Additionally, data show that rural residents are less likely to receive a flu shot than residents of metropolitan areas. Data show that rural residents are less likely to receive a flu shot than residents of metropolitan areas. A poll showed only 29 of about 86 clinic staff were immediately interested in taking the vaccine.

Now with a working majority, the Democrats have named Sen. Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey) to chair the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Unfortunately, Senate Democrats have now chosen one of their most hawkish members to serve in the party’s most visible foreign policy position. The choice of Menendez by Senate Democrats to head the Foreign Relations Committee and effectively serve as their foreign policy spokesman is yet another example of the Democratic Senate leadership betraying the progressive base that gave them a majority. With distractions from the COVID pandemic, the new administration, and so much else, Menendez’s appointment to this critical foreign policy post has gone largely unnoticed by progressives. With Menendez in such a powerful position, we must be vigilant in order to prevent future foreign policy disasters.

A number of Republican senators, in fact, have suggested that indicting Trump at this point would be an unconstitutional move. Others have expressed a deeper indignation toward the concept of a Senate trial for a former president. Although Republicans loyal to Trump are making forceful arguments about a Senate trial being unconstitutional, their claims aren’t backed up by evidence or historical record, and a number of experts disagree with their views. Although the Senate voted 35-25 in favor of indictment, Belknap avoided repercussions from his impeachment as the two-thirds threshold wasn’t met. Regardless of what Republicans say, an impeachment trial is set to move forward the week of February 8.

Among the individual pages deleted were those of IYSSE National Secretary Genevieve Leigh and World Socialist Web Site (WSWS) US Managing Editor Niles Niemuth. “Social media… is privately owned but to all intents and purposes it’s [become] what used to be the market square,” Marsden said. The social media company had clearly invested time and resources to identifying leading members of the SEP, IYSSE and WSWS. Send copies of your letters to comments@wsws.org for publication on the World Socialist Web Site. Share this statement with your friends and co-workers and on social media, including Facebook, Twitter and other platforms.

But the Hunts Point strike collided against two principal obstacles: the trade unions and the Democratic Party. Twelve miles to the south of the Hunts Point market lies Wall Street, where US and world billionaires have acquired over $1 trillion during the pandemic, while millions around the world have been allowed to die, including 26,650 New Yorkers and at least six Hunts Point workers. The Hunts Point strike was the first major strike in the US since the attempted coup by Donald Trump on January 6 and took place during the same week as the inauguration of Joe Biden as president. A slew of Democratic Party politicians, led by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, ran down to the picket line to posture as supporters. In a city seething with social anger over mass deaths and grotesque levels of social inequality, such a struggle would quickly erupt into a battle against the Democratic Party and the corporate and financial oligarchy it defends.

On Monday, January 25, dozens of Montgomery Public Schools (MPS) educators conducted a sickout across the district. Many teachers were justifiably relieved and pleased, “So did we accomplish this without AEA [Alabama Educators Association]? They staged demonstrations on the Capitol steps and testified on unsafe and deadly conditions at school board meetings. On January 20, they launched an independent Alabama Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee. For months, the school board callously dismissed the teachers’ safety concerns as the disaster mounted.

The report shows that deliberate policies enacted by capitalist governments around the world have resulted in a further concentration of wealth within the financial oligarchy, while exacerbating already historic levels of global wealth inequality. It continues: "This means it is likely that COVID-19 will drive up inequality in virtually every country on earth simultaneously. The clearest example of this was the quickness with which the world’s top billionaires recovered their wealth after the pandemic sent stocks plummeting in March 2020. This class policy safeguarded and increased the wealth of the ruling class, whose fortunes are predicated on the never-ending rise of the stock market. The fact is that despite nearly a decade of such reports and recommendations from Oxfam, the situation has only worsened.

A new breed of financial operators emerged to organise financial speculation, particularly through the issuing of less than investment grade, or junk, bonds for the financing of hostile takeovers. The 2008 crisis was the outcome of the rise and rise of financial parasitism over the previous three decades and more. The rise of fictitious capital and the consequent development of parasitism as the dominant mode of profit accumulation point to another significant development. The scale of the Fed’s intervention in mid-March revealed the extent and depth of the financial crisis. Such a program must begin by tackling head on the source of the financial parasitism that has played such a crucial role in creating the social breeding grounds for fascism.

Mike Ludwig speaks with Jade Begay, the Climate Justice Director of NDN Collective, an Indigenous led-organization building Indigenous power by working with front line activists. I asked Jade Begay, the Climate Justice Director of NDN Collective, an Indigenous led-organization building Indigenous power by working with front line activists. That emerged from the revamping of the pipeline and that’s a coalition of Indigenous tribes, Indigenous grassroots groups, organizations, also groups like 350.org, the Indigenous Environmental Network. And I really think that was like a moment for Indian country to be like, okay. JB: Yeah, I’m really excited for what’s to come within Indigenous movements around protecting land water and also strengthening various actions around climate action.

“McConnell is no longer the majority leader.” It all sounded formidable enough. McConnell knew that, but the new Senate Majority Leader must have misplaced those notes. Schumer said little of his strategy for rebuffing Mr. McConnell, other than calling his demand unacceptable,” reported The New York Times. MSNBC, specifically, went with the BREAKING NEWS banner, the music and the wild lights with chryron headlines like McCONNELL DEFEATED and McCONNELL BACKS DOWN. Who does Mitch think he is by using the filibuster to preserve the filibuster and block Senate Democrats from asserting their fairly won majority control?

When Jack Carlson wears his mom’s old green Lehman Brothers sweatshirt around New York City, people try to buy it off his back. “People will just come up to me and offer me money for it in restaurants,” said Mr. Carlson, 33, the founder of the clothing company Rowing Blazers, which sells a contemporary version of the so-called banker bag, a Wall Street accessory that dates to 1978. Branded merchandise of defunct investment banks that were key architects of the financial crisis in 2008: officially hot, if in an arch, allusive way. Buying and selling products associated with the crash has become, paradoxically, a thriving niche market. So too has memorabilia associated with other disasters in recent financial history, like the dot-com bubble and the Enron scandal.

To Didion’s longtime readers, the title may feel peculiar; her essays so rarely waste room on the page by pausing to instruct, or explain so crudely. As she puts it in her 1976 essay “Why I Write”: “I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means. In a 2014 interview with Vogue — where Didion worked for several years in the ’50s and ’60s — she noted that the Stingray was Daytona yellow. “A yellow so bright,” she said, “you could never mistake it for anything other than Daytona yellow.” The yellow is as certain to her as is her early work to us. You could never mistake it for anything other than Didion.

ET Watch Biden Commerce Nominee Gina Raimondo Testify: Live UpdatesGina M. Raimondo, Biden’s nominee for commerce secretary, testifies before the Senate. Gina Raimondo, President Biden’s pick for commerce secretary, will appear before the Senate Commerce Committee for a confirmation hearing. “In this time of overlapping crises, the Commerce Department must be a partner to businesses and workers to help them innovate and grow,” Ms. Raimondo said. Ms. Yellen is the nation’s 78th Treasury secretary and the first woman to assume that role in the institution’s 232-year history. Standing outside the White House, Ms. Yellen took the oath of office with her husband, the economist George Akerlof, and her son by her side.

MEXICO CITY — A day after the news that Mexico’s president had contracted Covid-19, frustration rippled through the line of Mexicans anxiously waiting Monday to refill tanks of oxygen for relatives who were suffering from the same illness and gasping for air at home. For nearly a year, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador had minimized the pandemic, claiming that religious amulets protected him, refusing to wear masks and even drinking from the same clay pot as supporters. It was only a matter of time until he got sick himself, some Mexicans said. They noted that with top-notch medical care delivered at his living quarters, the president may well recover. But their loved ones, on the other hand, will struggle to get the most basic care, whether a bed at an overflowing hospital or just the supplies like oxygen that might help them survive at home.

Covid-19 Vaccines › Answers to Your Vaccine Questions If I live in the U.S., when can I get the vaccine? A growing number of coronavirus vaccines are showing robust protection against becoming sick. So for the time being, even vaccinated people will need to wear masks, avoid indoor crowds, and so on. Once enough people get vaccinated, it will become very difficult for the coronavirus to find vulnerable people to infect. Will mRNA vaccines change my genes?

Dr. Chen has pleaded not guilty and was released on $1 million bond. The Biden administration has signaled it will maintain a tough line on Chinese intellectual property theft, and scores of investigations are underway. is opening a new China-related counterintelligence investigation about every 10 hours,” said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, the F.B.I.’s Boston special agent in charge. But some scholars say the China Initiative — which so far has led to charges against about 10 U.S. academics and six visiting research scientists — should reconsider criminal prosecutions that are based solely on disclosure of foreign funding. An eye-popping chargeThe case presented against Dr. Chen on Jan. 14 was eye-popping, in part because of the sums involved.

Judge Morris Arnold, who now sits on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, presided over the case and carefully instructed the jury on the complex nature of the charges. But wrapping all of those crimes up into a seditious conspiracy would be a tough sell. “Sedition has a troubling history in this country,” he said recently. “Louis, did you aspire to overthrow the United States government?” a reporter called out. He also corroborated the defendants’ exchanging of information and resources with the intent to overthrow the government.

LOS ANGELES — Working as a cook at Rustic Canyon in Santa Monica, Calif., Jihee Kim made dimpled, tender malfatti, and green pozole bobbing with mussels and clams. But all the while, she dreamed about opening her own place. It would be like her favorite banchan shops in Busan, South Korea, where she grew up. Ms. Kim would sell starchy Japanese yams braised in soy sauce, delicate omelets rolled into perfect spirals with seaweed, and cucumber fermented with sweet Korean pears. It was just a dream — until last year, when the pandemic forced restaurants to shut down, and a wave of unemployed, entrepreneurial cooks started to rethink their careers and reshape the takeout scenes in their cities with new, homegrown food businesses.

We have all recognized, from the close governor’s race in ’18 and the tough presidential races, that we have to have an Ohio-specific message. So, regardless if it’s a federal race or a local race, there is a message like the message Sherrod Brown delivers that resonates very well in this state. In a backward-looking way: Do you think Obama’s success in Ohio gave people an unrealistic sense of how purple it is, or do you think Trump’s strength there has given people an unrealistic sense of how red it is? I think what people forget about Ohio is, it’s an economic populist state, and its economic populism is why Sherrod does so well here. I think ’22 gives us a real opportunity to localize some of these issues in Ohio.

Even more Americans (57 to 41 percent) want the Senate to bar him from holding office in the future. The percent of Republicans who favor impeachment (13 percent) is low, but higher than the 8 percent who favored impeachment last year. ADADThe poll also indicates that President Biden’s inauguration has already eroded the notion that he is not the legitimate president. Sixty-five percent now think Biden won “fair and square,” five points higher than he did before taking office. An even-keel, pragmatic and conciliatory president might be the best antidote to the radicalization and alienation of the right.

Behind closed doors, however, Biden’s message to the teachers should be straightforward and emphatic: You are vital, irreplaceable public servants. ADADAccording to Erica L. Green in the New York Times, a stunning 18 students in Clark County, Nev., committed suicide between March and December. Last week, Montgomery County teachers rebelled against yet another plea from Gov. But all of those other public servants whom we can’t do without — cops and firefighters, nurses and National Guard troops, mail carriers and DMV workers, spies and bureaucrats — have been back on the job for months or never left. Simply put: We believe that public school teachers are devoted public servants whose expertise and sacrifice are indispensable to the nation.

In the wake of the state’s worst wildfire season on record, these rains carry with them a high risk of debris flows in the vicinity of burn scars. High debris-flow risk for burned areasCalifornia has a history of deadly debris flows from heavy rain falling across recently burned, steep slopes. In Santa Cruz County, emergency managers issued evacuation warnings on Sunday night, recommending that people pack a go-bag and prepare to evacuate. ADDuring a 1982 rainstorm, a landslide killed 10 people in the Santa Cruz town of Ben Lomond. ADThat means longer fire seasons that bump up against potentially extreme winter storms, which would be a perfect setup for debris flows.

The weekly allocation is forecast to go from about 8.6 million doses to about 10 million doses. The vaccine is distributed on a population basis among 64 jurisdictions, including 50 states, eight territories and six major cities. ADZients is expected to stipulate the increased supply will come from releasing more doses of Moderna’s vaccine — one of two authorized for emergency use in the United States. Each has pledged to provide 100 million doses to the United States by the end of March and another 100 million in the second quarter. ADModerna this month raised its global target for the year from 500 million doses to 600 million.

New York (CNN Business) Panera fans, rejoice! The fast casual bakery-cafe chain is adding pizza to its menu. Panera had started focusing on its dinner business, which represented more than 30% of the company's sales, and the introduction of pizza is further a move in that direction. Panera is counting on its new pizza to boost its dinner sales. Panera is counting on its new pizza to boost its dinner sales.

But the real future for dramatizing the Trump years likely resides in the former President's preferred medium , TV. As New York Times reporter Peter Baker says in "American Carnage," the events that unfolded in January were "mind-boggling ... and yet, wholly predictable." Trump supporters gather near the US Capitol, on January 6 in Washington, DC, as seen in the "Frontline" documentary, "Trump's American Carnage." In "American Carnage," the narration describes the Trump presidency and its violent end as "a crisis in plain sight for his party, his country, democracy." "Frontline: Trump's American Carnage" premieres January 26 at 10 p.m.

(CNN) Beyoncé has released a new Ivy Park collection called Icy Park, filled with streetwear, footwear and winter pieces for her fans. Ivy Park, a collaboration with Adidas, released the ad campaign for Icy Park on Monday, featuring Hailey Baldwin Bieber and Gucci Mane wearing select pieces from the line. Besides winter wear and ski looks, the latest line also features new versions of the Ivy Park Ultra Boost, Forum Lo, Forum Mid and Super Sleek sneakers, according to WWD . The Ivy Park campaign features Hailey Baldwin Bieber. She's seen sitting on a ski lift in a white bodysuit, white leggings, sneakers, long white gloves and a white fuzzy ski hat.

Damian Dovarganes/Associated PressThe Italian city of Reggio Emilia, where Kobe Bryant spent much of his youth while his father played overseas basketball, is set to debut a plaza in honor of the late Lakers great and his daughter Gianna. "On this sad day we want to remember that happy child who left wonderful memories in so many people of Reggio Emilia." Kobe and Gianna Bryant were among nine people who died in a helicopter crash Jan. 26 of last year. The "Largo Kobe and Gianna Bryant" will make its debut in honor of the one-year anniversary of their death. The city also has plans for a nighttime celebration, "Reggiano Forever—Reggio Emilia remembers Kobe Bryant," that will see parts of the city lit up in purple and gold.

Morry Gash/Associated PressGreen Bay Packers CEO Mark Murphy has shut down speculation that the team will trade Aaron Rodgers this offseason. He's our leader," Murphy told The 5th Quarter on WNFL (h/t WNFL's Mark Daniels). The Packers prepared for a future beyond Rodgers by drafting Jordan Love in the first round last year. With slight improvements in 2021, this team could be a top contender for the Super Bowl. Murphy seemingly wants to give Rodgers another chance at a title by keeping him around.

Patrick Semansky/Associated PressFormer MLB pitcher LaTroy Hawkins and his wife, Anita Hawkins, helped a woman move into a new apartment recently after she went viral on TikTok for catching a home invasion on camera. According to TMZ Sports, LaTroy and Anita moved single mother Hannah Viverette into a new apartment complex that features around-the-clock security and paid her rent for six months. TMZ reported last month that Viverette was recording dances for TikTok when a man walked into her Hagerstown, Maryland, apartment. The 48-year-old LaTroy Hawkins is making the best of retirement by helping those in need following a 21-year MLB career, primarily as a reliever. In 1,042 career regular-season appearances, Hawkins went 75-94 with a 4.31 ERA, 983 strikeouts and 127 saves.

SEE NEW POSTSN.J. governor says state is 'desperately short' on vaccine doses Gov. Phil Murphy said on MSNBC Tuesday that while the rate of Covid-19 infections and hospitalizations in the state has slowed, it was "desperately short" on supplies of vaccine doses. He added that there are roughly 270 locations around the state ready to administer vaccine doses. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has repeatedly said the city's supply of vaccine doses is running very low, too. officials by surprise last week when it announced its initial delivery volumes of the Covid-19 vaccine would be lower than originally anticipated because of manufacturing issues in Europe.

Marty Baron, the editor who led The Washington Post through a high-profile ownership transition and some of the most tumultuous years in American politics, said Tuesday that he will retire at the end of February. In eight years at the Post, Baron led the paper to 10 Pulitzer Prizes. "He is a terrific journalist and a true leader in American journalism," Dean Baquet, the executive editor of The New York Times, the Post's closest rival in newspaper journalism, said in an email. "Under Marty’s eight years of newsroom leadership, The Washington Post has experienced a dramatic resurgence and has soared to new journalistic heights," Fred Ryan, the CEO and publisher of The Post, wrote in a memo to employees. Like other editors of journalism's old guard, Baron was publicly criticized by some Washington Post staffers for his failure to prioritize racial equality across the paper's leadership and rank-and-file.

The Washington-based body said it expects the eurozone to expand by 4.2 percent this year, 1 percentage point less than in its October forecast. Britain will continue to rebound by 5 percent next year, while the eurozone grows 3.6 percent, the IMF added. The IMF forecast the world economy to grow by 5.5 percent this year, an upward revision of 0.3 percentage points. Vaccine rollouts are behind the improved global outlook, coupled with more government support in some large economies. But the strength of recovery will vary across countries, the IMF warned, as some are unable to provide the same level of health services and public support as others.

Netflix adds a couple dozen movies to the service this month, including the new Netflix film “Malcolm & Marie,” starring John David Washington and Zendaya. As such, “Malcolm & Marie” is a “bottle episode” of sorts, with the two leads mostly just hanging in a house together. Netflix "Malcolm & Marie" on Netflix. Netflix also loses 25 movies this month, including “The Other Guys,” “Easy A” and “GoodFellas.” Watch them while you can! Ji Sub Jeong/HuffPost StreamlineArrivalsFeb. 1“The Bank Job” (2008)“Beverly Hills Ninja” (1997)“Eat Pray Love” (2010)“Inception” (2010)“Love Daily” (Season 1)“My Best Friend’s Wedding” (1997)“My Dead Ex” (Season 1)“National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” (1989)“The Patriot” (2000)“Rocks” (2019)“Shutter Island” (2010)“The Unsetting” (Season 1)“Zac and Mia” (Seasons 1-2)“Zathura” (2005)Feb. 2“Kid Cosmic” (Netflix Family)“Mighty Express” (Season 2, Netflix Family)“Tiffany Haddish Presents: They Ready” (Season 2, Netflix Comedy Series)Feb. 3“All My Friends Are Dead” (Netflix Film)“Black Beach” (Netflix Film)“Firefly Lane” (Netflix Original)Feb. 5“Hache” (Season 2, Netflix Original)“Invisible City” (Netflix Original)“The Last Paradiso” (Netflix Film)“Little Big Women” (Netflix Film)“Malcolm & Marie” (Netflix Film)“Space Sweepers” (Netflix Film)“Strip Down, Rise Up” (Netflix Documentary)“The Yin-Yang Master: Dream Of Eternity” (Netflix Film)Feb. 6“The Sinner: Jamie”Feb. 8“iCarly” (Seasons 1-2)“War Dogs” (2016)Feb. 10“Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel” (Netflix Documentary)“The Misadventures of Hedi and Cokeman” (Netflix Film)“The World We Make” (2019)Feb. 11“Capitani” (Netflix Original)“Layla Majnun” (Netflix Film)“Middle of Nowhere” (2012)“Red Dot” (Netflix Film)“Squared Love” (Netflix Film)Feb. 12“Buried by the Bernards” (Netflix Original)“Nadiya Bakes” (Netflix Original)“Hate by Dani Rovira” (Netflix Comedy Special)“To All The Boys: Always And Forever” (Netflix Film)“Xico’s Journey” (Netflix Family)Feb. 13“Monsoon” (2019)Feb. 15“Th

But the D.C. National Guard will now be in place for at least two weeks longer, standing by in case law enforcement needs backup. The new order covers all members of the D.C. National Guard’s 74th Troop command at the rank of captain and below, aviation entities sergeant first class and below, and the D.C. Air National Guard 113th Wing, which encompasses all mission support and medical staff. There are about 3,400 members of the D.C. National Guard. In addition to the D.C. Guard, troops from Maryland have been ordered to remain on duty through at least March 15. The National Guard Bureau initially said the orders will become voluntary after 31 days, but Guard sources said Tuesday that was not the case.

“I think there will be enough support on it to show there’s no chance they can impeach the president,” Paul told reporters. “If 34 people support my resolution that this is an unconstitutional proceeding, it shows they don’t have the votes and we’re basically wasting our time.”All 50 Democrats are likely to vote against Paul’s motion. If at least 17 Republicans join Democrats, two-thirds of the Senate will have declared that the trial is constitutional. Republicans have been rallying around the legal argument that the Senate has no authority to put a former president on trial. Constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley, who has defended Trump on similar matters in the past, joined GOP senators for their weekly lunch on Tuesday.

LONDON — Boris Johnson offered his "deepest condolences" as the U.K. reached a grim milestone of 100,000 coronavirus deaths. The latest figures from the government showed the death toll has reached at least 100,162 mortalities within 28 days of a positive test. Addressing a Downing Street press conference on Tuesday evening, Johnson said: "It's hard to compute the sorrow contained in that grim statistic. The years of life lost, the family gatherings not attended, and for so many relatives the missed chance even to say goodbye. I offer my deepest condolences to everyone who's lost a loved one."

The watchdog issued the warning in a report Tuesday following investigations in Cyprus, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain. Poor and underused data means the EU is missing out on revenue between €50 billion to €70 billion that's lost to tax avoidance every year, the administrative auditors said. That annual figure rises to €190 billion if including “special tax arrangements” for companies — often criticized as sweetheart deals — and collection inefficiencies. “Initiatives in recent years have given administrations unparalleled access to tax data,” Ildikó Gáll-Pelcz, the ECA member responsible for the report, said in a statement. The latest update came in December, when EU finance ministers agreed that digital commerce platforms such as Airbnb, Uber and eBay must provide transaction data to tax administrators.

"Under Marty's eight years of newsroom leadership, The Washington Post has experienced a dramatic resurgence and has soared to new journalistic heights," he continued. Bezos thanked Baron for his leadership at the Post on Instagram, posting a picture of the two in conversation. "Thank you, Marty Baron, for all you have done during your eight years as Editor of The Post," he wrote in the caption. "From the moment I arrived at The Post," Baron wrote, "I have sought to make an enduring contribution while giving back to a profession that has meant so much to me and that serves to safeguard democracy. It has been my honor to work alongside hundreds of journalists who make The Post an indispensable institution."

Senate leadership has not yet weighed in on when Mayorkas' nomination will come up for a floor vote. He served as DHS deputy secretary under former President Barack Obama. Mitt Romney (Utah) and Rob Portman (Ohio) both voted to move Mayorkas' nomination forward. Mayorkas, who served in the role of DHS deputy secretary under Jeh Johnson, would be the first immigrant and Latino to lead the department. He has been confirmed by the Senate three times already: for deputy secretary at DHS, director of the U.S.

Washington promoted Jennifer King to assistant running backs coach Tuesday, making her the first Black female assistant position coach in the NFL. She is the second woman in league history to be an assistant position coach after Tampa Bay’s assistant defensive line coach Lori Locust. King spent the 2020 season as a full-year coaching intern under Ron Rivera and worked with running backs coach Randy Jordan. “I am very pleased to have coach King back to assist me full time in the running backs room,” Jordan said. “It should be open to everybody in terms of opportunities to play, opportunities to coach or opportunities to lead the organization.

Jimmy Kimmel noted Monday that Dominion Voting Systems filed a $1.3 lawsuit against Rudy Giuliani, alleging that Donald Trump’s attorney defamed it with lies about rigged ballots. “They are suing his pants off,” Kimmel said. “Although to be fair, Borat’s daughter already had them halfway there.”Giuliani’s appearance in “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” was one of many missteps for the former New York City mayor recently. Giuliani claimed he was tucking in his shirt. Giuliani later gained even greater infamy for trumpeting Trump’s incessant falsehoods about election fraud, culminating in the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

A Canadian casino mogul and his aspiring actor wife have been charged after they allegedly posed as motel workers to receive COVID-19 vaccine doses intended for Indigenous residents. This followed the Vancouver couple allegedly breaking a mandatory 14-day self-isolation that they agreed to upon flying into the Whitehorse airport on Jan. 19. The couple allegedly then traveled back to the Whitehouse airport, where they were intercepted by Yukon Civil Emergency Measures Act (CEMA) officers for questioning. “Effectively what they did was they put our community and our isolation team at risk,” Yukon Community Services Minister John Streicker told the CBC. Anyone found to have violated Yukon’s CEMA faces a maximum fine of $500 and/or up to six months in prison.

Lady Whistledown has her work cut out for her. But “Bridgerton” now faces a scandal that members of the historic high society have never seen: Fans have apparently spotted a modern mistake in the hit Netflix show. Either there’s a time-traveling road worker in Regency-era England making sure the cartways are up to code, or, dear reader, the period-piece drama accidentally left modern roadside lines in a finished episode. Netflix Does this "Bridgerton" mistake cross the line? Other fans have supposedly spotted parking signs and advertising posters for Irish retailer Primark.

Former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway has been accused of posting a topless photograph of her teenage daughter, Claudia Conway, on Twitter. The image has since been deleted, but other Twitter users say they took screenshots of it. The situation then made its way over to TikTok, where Claudia often posts about the goings-on within her family. Over the course of the last year, the teenager has been sharing videos that appear to show her tumultuous relationship with her parents, Kellyanne Conway and vocal anti-Trump lawyer George Conway. The teenager also commented on her own TikTok videos in Morse code and expressed her disbelief at the situation.

Instead of a coming-out message for Alana’s parents, the “Mean Girls” actor encouraged the teen to speak her own truth. Over the weekend, a TikTok user named Alana told her followers that she planned to ask Lohan to “come out to my parents for me” through a Cameo video. Lindsay Lohan surprised a young fan this week with a personal message about the power of living authentically. I promise you they will understand.”When Alana uploaded video of Lohan’s response to TikTok, it quickly went viral. Later on Monday, Alana told her followers that she’d taken Lohan’s advice and come out to her parents.

Doctors, nurses and other health care workers have taken on great risks in caring for patients sick with the coronavirus. But a new study from researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, suggests that workers in other essential fields are even more likely to die from COVID-19. The data showed that workers in agriculture, food processing facilities, warehouses, call centers and other essential businesses all died at a higher rate than the average worker. Among the job categories with the highest “risk ratios for mortality” were cooks, farmworkers, construction laborers and shipping clerks. Food workers, in particular, saw a sharp rise in excess death during California’s first stay-at-home phase last spring, while workers in nonessential fields did not.

The fund is largely dependent upon gas taxes — that haven’t increased in nearly three decades. The highway fund derives the vast majority of its funding from gas taxes that have been frozen at 18.4 cents since 1993. That is, of course, if the federal government continues to rely solely on gas taxes. The idea of raising gas taxes received notable pushback during the Buttigieg hearing, though there did appear to be some interest in finding alternatives. And with the number of BEVs expected to grow substantially going forward, an alternative to the traditional gas tax may prove critical.

Two children were hit by gunfire in an Atlanta suburb and police are searching for four men who drove away from the scene, officials said Tuesday. The shooting happened just before 8 p.m. Monday at the Indian Creek Apartments in DeKalb County, about 11 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta, police said. Police investigate the scene of a shooting in Dekalb County, Ga., on Jan. 25, 2021. WXIAThe wounded children and a third youngster, hurt by broken glass, were treated at a local hospital before two were released, authorities said. "The shooters have not been identified," DeKalb County police spokeswoman Michaela Vincent said.

NEW DELHI — Tens of thousands of protesting farmers drove long lines of tractors into India's capital on Tuesday, breaking through police barricades, defying tear gas and storming the historic Red Fort as the nation celebrated Republic Day. People watched in shock at the scope of the farmer protests, now seen as the biggest challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government. Thousands more farmers marched on foot or rode on horseback while shouting slogans against Modi. Leaders of the farmers said more than 10,000 tractors joined the protest. Once producing a third of India's gross domestic product, farmers now account for only 15 percent of the country's $2.9 trillion economy.

The ideas mirror many recommendations introduced last October in a House judiciary report led by Representative David Cicilline, a Rhode Island Democrat. But her bill won’t include provisions to unwind past mergers and other structural reforms, as his report had recommended. Her bill, as well as other laws proposed to limit the power of the tech companies, will face steep opposition. In 2020, tech companies again spent more than other industries in Washington. Representative Ken Buck, Republican of Colorado and a senior member of the House antitrust subcommittee, said he would work with Democrats on legislation, more hearings and investigations of the tech sector.

ET Covid-19 Live Updates: As Borders Tighten Worldwide, Brazil-Based Variant Is Found in U.S. Several countries, including the U.S., are imposing travel restrictions, citing the danger of more contagious virus mutations. On Monday, the first confirmed case of a Brazil-based variant was identified in Minnesota. Tariro Mzezewa andAdvertisement Continue reading the main storyIsrael’s early vaccine data offers hope. Public health experts caution that the data, based on the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, is preliminary and has not been subjected to clinical trials. So far, more than 1.7 million people have contracted the virus in Mexico and more than 150,000 people have died.

Researchers found President Trump was one of the primary drivers of misinformation about the coronavirus. Facebook, Twitter and Google have taken steps to limit misinformation about the vaccine. ADThe 116th Congress produced about 738,000 more social media posts than the 114th Congress of 2015 and 2016, the first one where Pew tracked such data. Twitter was the most popular social media platform among lawmakers. The total number of users who follow members of Congress on Twitter or Facebook has almost tripled over the past six years.

But despite survivors and advocates flagging this issue for the IRS and the Treasury, as well as Congressional lawmakers, new policies have yet to emerge to fully support survivors now, or help them avoid this problem in the future. After the first stimulus checks, survivors had only two options to reclaim the payments they were owed. They could fill out a 2019 tax return that could supersede their 2018 filings, as long as they filed before the July 15 deadline. Or, they could receive a tax credit for their 2020 tax returns, though this applies only to returns the IRS determines were filed illegally because they were coerced or forged by an abusive partner, and would require them to go back and forth with the agency to prove the filing was illegal.

Armstrong and Aldrin collected 49 pounds of lunar material while on the moon, according to Teasel Muir-Harmony, a curator of the Smithsonian’s Apollo Spacecraft Collection. The two-pound lunar rock in the photo above, which bears the catchy name “10020,” was the first piece of lunar material on display for the public. Aldrin, Armstrong and Collins attended a private ceremony at the Smithsonian’s Arts and Industries Building, where they took pictures with the lunar rock. The Smithsonian event was one calendar item in a long line of parades and other events held across the country for the astronauts. The next day, Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins addressed a joint session of Congress.

Consider this paragraph:ADImagine if, during the 2020 election, Joe Biden repeatedly expressed an unusual amount of latitude for the anti-democratic behavior of a foreign power. In the summer, agents of the foreign power promised the Biden campaign negative material about his opponent, which Biden’s son welcomed. ADAll of that occurred in the context of Trump’s 2016 campaign and is well documented. As we’ve noted before, Trump was referring to the Russia investigation as a hoax in March 2017, well before those dismissals had emerged. The country watched as the investigation of Russian interference and Trump’s campaign was minimized.

Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) correctly judged that McConnell would buckle if Democrats refused to rule out ending the legislative filibuster later. They’ll need to preserve that possibility as a future weapon against relentless McConnell obstructionism. Though that could change, for now it risks weakening Democratic leverage against McConnell’s use of it to frustrate Biden’s agenda. By Schumer’s analysis, successful McConnell obstruction would also continue undermining faith in democracy itself, making voters susceptible to another Trumpist demagogue. Joe Biden and Kamala D. Harris won the 2020 election decisively, against an incumbent, under very difficult and unpredictable circumstances.

ADADWalker recalled how Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund, who has since resigned, asked him on a call in the run-up to Jan. 6 to have National Guard troops at the ready. Members of the D.C. Guard ultimately arrived at the Capitol around 5:30 p.m. and helped establish a perimeter around the grounds. Memos obtained by The Post show how tightly the Pentagon restricted Walker ahead of the events. McCarthy, the Army secretary, was also restricted by his superior, the acting defense secretary. In a Jan. 4 memo, McCarthy was prohibited from deploying D.C. Guard members with weapons, helmets, body armor or riot control agents without defense secretary approval.

ADADEveryone has done it: You order something in several sizes, but you never return the items that don’t fit. You buy something you don’t need because it’s inexpensive, or you splurge on something you plan to wear only once. Organization mattersPeople often buy items they don’t need, because they don’t know what they already have. If you’re organizing a huge stack of T-shirts or yoga pants, you don’t need more of those. If you don’t want to consign, and the items you’re discarding can’t be recycled by a retailer — but they’re still in good condition — donate them to a community charity.

GuestsAparna Bawa, Chief Operating Officer, ZoomAparna brings to Zoom an expertise in building operations and infrastructure for rapidly growing technology companies. ADADGrant’s TED talks have been viewed more than 20 million times, and he hosts the chart-topping TED podcast WorkLife with Adam Grant. Susan Lund, Partner, McKinsey Global InstituteSusan Lund is a partner of McKinsey & Company and a leader of the McKinsey Global Institute. As a PhD economist, her research focuses on globalization and trade, and the impact of technology on work and workers. Kristi Hummel, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Dell TechnologiesKristi Hummel is a Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Dell Technologies and currently leads the Talent and Culture Center of Excellence.

The best way to do that: better masks. A typical cloth mask might capture half of all respiratory aerosols that come out of our mouth when we talk, sing or just breath. A tightly woven cloth mask might get you to 60 or 70 percent, and a blue surgical mask can get you to 70 or 80 percent. Yet our country has failed to invoke the Defense Production Act to produce enough masks for health-care workers and other essential workers. I’m not alone in calling for better masks, and certainly not the first.

“If this majority went scorched-earth, this body would grind to a halt like we’ve never seen,” McConnell said. His comments came a day after McConnell dropped a demand that Schumer assure him that Democrats would not move to end the filibuster. “Rather than relying on the Democratic leader, I took the discussion directly to his members,” McConnell said. Speaking before McConnell, Schumer said the chamber is now able to move forward under the same rules as 2001, the last time it was evenly split among Democrats and Republicans. (Vice President Harris provides a tie-breaking vote to Democrats, making them the majority.)

New York (CNN Business) Marty Baron, the editor who transformed the Washington Post into an international powerhouse and led the news organization to win 10 Pulitzer Prizes, is retiring next month. "Under Marty's eight years of newsroom leadership, The Washington Post has experienced a dramatic resurgence and has soared to new journalistic heights," Ryan wrote. Both inside and outside the Post, Baron was credited with steadying the editorial ship through business model turbulence, political attacks and international crises. That spirit fueled his support of Washington Post reporters, as well. In his internal memo on Tuesday, Baron wrote, "Please don't lose sight of how hard our gains as a commercial enterprise were to achieve.

The eviction crisis is just one of the economic disasters the Biden administration needs to tackle -- it's also staring down massive unemployment and a growing hunger problem. Even with the proposition of a historic $1.9 trillion relief package, President Joe Biden faces an uphill battle to get the economy back to where it was before the pandemic. Last week, Biden signed an executive order extending a ban on evictions through the end of March. Landlords are filing evictions as "tenant hold overs" -- when renters remain in a property after the lease expires. As part of his Covid-19 relief plan, Biden plans to extend enhanced unemployment benefits, increasing them from $300 a week to $400 .

New York (CNN Business) Target is the latest major retailer to stop selling Chaokoh coconut milk following accusations that its manufacturer uses monkey labor. Target has stopped selling Chaokoh coconut milk. Multiple investigations by PETA Asia found widespread use of monkey labor throughout Thailand's coconut farming industry. Chaokoh, one of the world leaders in producing coconut milk and other coconut products, and Theppadungporn Coconut Co., did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment. But the company told USA Today that it has audited coconut plantations using a third party and "did not find the use of monkeys for coconut harvesting."

New York (CNN Business) Cici's, a restaurant chain best known for its pizza buffets, has filed for bankruptcy. Cici's dropped "pizza" from its name in 2015 and expanded its menu to focus on its unlimited soup, salad and dessert options. Unlike other pizza chains , Cici's hasn't benefited from delivery. Cici's has between $50 million to $100 million in liabilities. The chain came to an agreement in December for its primary lender, D&G Investors, to purchase the company and its $82 million in debt.

SEE NEW POSTS10 percent of kids, teens in China reported psychological distress amid pandemic In a March 2020 survey, 10 percent of children and adolescents in China reported psychological distress amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to a JAMA Network Open study released Tuesday. As of Tuesday morning, the U.S. is at 76,380 deaths reported in January, and Tuesday will likely break December's record 77,124 deaths. Colombia reported more than 15,000 new cases per day in mid-January, up from about 7,000 cases in early December. The Moderna Covid-19 vaccine has been authorized for emergency use by the FDA, as well as from regulatory authorities in the European Union, United Kingdom and Canada. New Zealand reported 2 new cases of Covid-19 at its managed isolation facilities on Tuesday and no new community cases.

officials by surprise last week when it announced its initial delivery volumes of the Covid-19 vaccine would be lower than originally anticipated because of manufacturing issues in Europe. In the past week, the country averaged 3,172 deaths per day and 171,155 cases per day. Four weeks ago those numbers were 2,615 deaths per day and 213,940 cases per day. The Moderna Covid-19 vaccine has been authorized for emergency use by the FDA, as well as from regulatory authorities in the European Union, United Kingdom and Canada. New Zealand reported 2 new cases of Covid-19 at its managed isolation facilities on Tuesday and no new community cases.

SEE NEW POSTSU.K. coronavirus death toll passes 100,000, official data shows The death toll from the coronavirus in the United Kingdom has passed 100,000 people, according to data published Tuesday by the country's Office for National Statistics, which revises upward previous public figures. The U.K. has the highest death toll in Europe, with criticism of the government's handling of the pandemic growing louder. "These findings suggest that the prevalence of self-reported psychological distress among school-aged children and adolescents during the Covid-19 pandemic was relatively high," the researchers said in a summary of the study's key findings. As of Tuesday morning, the U.S. is at 76,380 deaths reported in January, and Tuesday will likely break December's record 77,124 deaths. The Moderna Covid-19 vaccine has been authorized for emergency use by the FDA, as well as from regulatory authorities in the European Union, United Kingdom and Canada.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will deliver remarks Tuesday outlining his plan to advance racial equity and will sign executive actions as part of his push to use the powers of the presidency to implement parts of his agenda. One of the executive actions will mandate that the Department of Housing and Urban Development promote equitable housing policies, an administration official said. An administration official also said the executive actions will address criminal justice, voting rights, health care, education and economic mobility. Susan Rice, Biden’s domestic policy adviser, is expected to speak about the executive actions at a White House briefing with press secretary Jen Psaki at 12:30 p.m ET. Biden directed OMB to assess “whether underserved communities and their members face systemic barriers in accessing benefits and opportunities available.”In other news:

Here are five FAQs on the Dutch riots. The Dutch police union (NPB) said it feared that the protests were just the start of curfew-related unrest. The riots grew out of calls on social media platforms such as Telegram and Snapchat to protest against the new lockdown measures. Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Monday condemned the riots, calling them acts of “criminal violence,” and adding that “99 percent” of the Dutch population did stick to the curfew. There have been protests and riots in other European cities in response to coronavirus measures, including Berlin and Rome.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday rejected calls for Europe to pick sides between the U.S. and China, in a nod to the plea made by Chinese President Xi Jinping a day earlier. While the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden is looking to group together democracies to contain China, Merkel was pointedly wary about the formation of factions. “I would very much wish to avoid the building of blocs," Merkel told the Davos World Economic Forum. This is not my understanding of how things ought to be.”Referring to Xi's speech at the same forum, Merkel said: "The Chinese president spoke yesterday, and he and I agree on that. POLITICO Pro is our premium intelligence service for professionals.

Along the East Coast, Washington finally broke its snowless streak with 0.3" on Monday, the first measurable snow there in 372 days. On Tuesday, 94 million people were under winter alerts across parts of 30 states stretching from California to Massachusetts. Through Wednesday, 1-2 inches of rain could fall across the Southeast and 4-8 inches of snow across interior Northeast and New England. A second storm system will form in the Southeast Wednesday and move up the mid-Atlantic Coast on Thursday. In fact, this storm system brought some rare snowflakes which dusted the Las Vegas strip early Tuesday morning.

Pharmaceuticals said on Tuesday its antibody cocktail was effective in preventing Covid-19 in people exposed to those infected with the new coronavirus, based on interim results from a late-stage study. The two-antibody cocktail, REGEN-COV, caused a 100 percent reduction in symptomatic infection and roughly 50 percent lower overall rates of infection, based on an analysis of about 400 participants in the trial who had a household member with Covid-19. Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreakRegeneron said it would discuss the interim results with U.S. health regulators to potentially expand the antibody cocktail’s current emergency use authorization (EUA). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in November granted EUA to the antibody cocktail for the treatment of mild to moderate Covid-19 in adults and children. REGEN-COV is also being studied in two late-stage hospitalized patient trials and a late-stage trial for the treatment of non-hospitalized patients.

A drone captured the significant damage left in the wake of a tornado that tore through central Alabama, killing one person and injuring at least 20 others. The footage showed damaged roofs, collapsed walls and house frames in Fultondale, a northern suburb of Birmingham. Jim Coker, the director of the Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency, said Fultondale, a city of about 9,000, was the most "tornado-prone county" in Alabama. The tornado ripped through Fultondale Monday night before moving toward nearby Center Point, he said. Emergency management officials urged people to take shelter during the storm and asked people to submit damage reports.

A California man accused of taking government documents he said were from Mitch McConnell's desk and attempting to steal an American flag from the Capitol has been charged in connection with the deadly riot there earlier this month. The first tipster sent photos and videos from Allan’s Facebook page that show the suspect inside and outside the Capitol, according to the arrest warrant. That same tipster said Allan destroyed the documents he took from the Capitol when he returned home to Rocklin, California. Another video, posted on someone else's Facebook page, shows Allan holding the documents outside the Capitol, authorities said in the warrant. Allan appeared in court following his Jan. 22 arrest and was released, according to federal court documents.

Dr. Ashish Jha explains the current coronavirus vaccine shortage and when he thinks the country will begin to return to normal.

Drawing the Ethical Line on AIAs artificial intelligence becomes increasingly ingrained in our everyday lives, concerns persist around biases in AI systems and ethical standards to guide its fair use. Without an international framework or set of principles governing AI, drawing the ethical line on responsibly using the technology varies across countries and even cities, and comes down to individual policymakers, elected leaders, the private sector and the work of grassroots advocates. Several countries are in the global AI race, but most notably the United States, China and European Union member countries are taking different approaches on how they incorporate ethics-driven and trustworthy AI frameworks, if any. POLITICO is hosting a deep-dive conversation that will explore the pace of global AI innovation and development and what it means for the future of AI ethical standards. FEATURED SPEAKERS:Kay Firth-Butterfield, Head of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic ForumRep.

That’s changing now that they find their speech running afoul of tech-company rules. One problem with private companies’ holding the ability to deplatform any speaker is that they’re in no way insulated from politics — from accusations of bias to advertiser boycotts to employee walkouts. “But the winds of public opinion are a terrible basis for free-speech decisions! “I’m afraid that the technology has upended the possibility of a well-functioning, responsible speech environment,” the Harvard law professor Jack Goldsmith says. “It used to be we had masses of speech in a reasonable range, and some extreme speech we could tolerate.

Dozens of start-ups now offer alternatives to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Amazon’s web hosting services, all on top of decentralized networks and shared ledgers. Many have gained millions of new users over the past few weeks, according to the data company SimilarWeb. “This is the biggest wave I’ve ever seen,” said Emmi Bevensee, a data scientist and the author of “The Decentralized Web of Hate,” a publication about the move of right-wing groups to decentralized technology. For several years, Bitcoin gained little traction beyond a small coterie of online admirers and people who wanted to pay for illegal drugs online. Some promised that the technology could be used to redesign everything from produce tracking to online games.

ET Covid-19 Live Updates: As Borders Tighten Worldwide, Brazil-Based Variant Is Found in U.S. Several countries, including the U.S., are imposing travel restrictions, citing the danger of more contagious virus mutations. On Monday, the first confirmed case of a Brazil-based variant was identified in Minnesota. Tariro Mzezewa andAdvertisement Continue reading the main storyIsrael’s early vaccine data offers hope. Public health experts caution that the data, based on the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, is preliminary and has not been subjected to clinical trials. So far, more than 1.7 million people have contracted the virus in Mexico and more than 150,000 people have died.

ET Company Earnings Could Show How Detached Stocks Are From Reality: Live Updates RIGHT NOW The I.M.F. improved its projection of the 2021 world economy. This week’s earnings reports could be a test of how detached stocks are from reality. The International Monetary Fund warned that logistics of the vaccine rollout could face obstacles and new variants of the virus present a threat to the world economy. Ms. Raimondo, the current governor of Rhode Island, is a moderate Democrat and former venture capitalist.

He didn’t think he’d actually have to do it, which was good because the hot sauce on his table was rated a scorching level 10. That’s when the Husky Ticket Project, a nonprofit that sends underprivileged children to Connecticut football and basketball games, raised the stakes. After graduating from Connecticut, they moved into a New York City apartment, where they watched Connecticut basketball games. Another time, he doused a banana with hot sauce and took a bite. When fans are permitted to return to Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, Jackson hopes to slurp hot sauce at a game.

Who can get a vaccine right now in the DMV? D.C., Maryland and Virginia, like most of the country, are vaccinating health-care workers and people living in nursing homes. The District is offering doses to residents 65 and older and to public and charter school teachers and law enforcement officials. Most of Virginia is offering doses to residents 65 and older as well as front-line workers and people with underlying health conditions. Maryland is vaccinating seniors 65 and older, along with teachers, firefighters, law enforcement officers, day-care providers and other essential workers.

ADThe Nationals’ addition of lefty Brad Hand over the weekend just might give them their best bullpen heading into the season since — well, let’s think about it. The Nats finished third in the NL in bullpen ERA and walks plus hits per inning pitched. ADThe addition of Hand on a one-year, $10.5 million deal doesn’t guarantee there won’t be moves this June or July. So the Nats tried Blake Treinen as the closer. Among those better in both categories: right-hander Will Harris, who now inhabits the same bullpen as Hand.

Teams interested in him will have to offer — at the least — two first-round draft picks and a high-level player. Were this a normal year, his high salary might have put his value lower than a first-round pick. But with so many QB-needy teams expected to get in on the bidding, it probably will take a first-round pick to get him. They are a couple of spots behind Washington in the first-round draft order at No. ADADRoethlisberger’s salary cap number for next season is $41.25 million.

But the novelist Tusker (Stanley Tucci) and his longtime partner Sam (Colin Firth), a musician on the way to give a piano recital for the first time in a while, are actually taking the long way toward a destination of a different sort. It isn’t obvious, except when we see his forgetfulness: He wanders off from a roadside convenience store with the couple’s dog. “Can you tell that it’s gotten worse?” Tusker asks his partner, gently prodding him, as if to talk him down from his pedestal of denial. Tucci and Firth have never been better than they are here, and they earn every superlative that has been laid on them in early reviews. In a way, it’s the only time when “Supernova” is guilty of stating the obvious.

Trump, by his own admission an unrepentant sinner, was evangelical leaders’ golden calf — their ticket to recapturing the glory days of evangelical political influence. Even the shocking capstone of the Trump years — his incitement of the mob that attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6 — wasn’t enough to turn evangelical leaders away. We have a new president, and evangelical leaders have a new opportunity. In just his first few days of service, President Biden has already demonstrated his Christian humanity and decency. I suspect President Biden would welcome them back.

Moss and Crawley got engaged and former "Bachelor" contestant Tayshia Adams replaced her to finish the season. "I love Clare and respect Clare enough to let her know how I feel, even if that's against the expectations of everybody else." "Speaking for myself, my intentions with this relationship have always been very clear, so the truth is I am crushed," the statement read. "This was not what I expected or hoped for and am still trying to process this." In his video Moss said he was hurting and insisted that he was invested in building a healthy relationship with Crawley.

(CNN) Justin Timberlake and wife Jessica Biel want to keep their children out of the spotlight but for good reason. Timberlake, who grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, recently appeared on actor Dax Shepard's "Armchair Expert" podcast and explained why he and Biel try to limit their children's exposure to fame. "I try to be conscious of making sure we can live a life where we're not weirdly private but we're conscious of making sure they can be kids for as long as possible," he said. The couple, who welcomed their second son last year , rarely post any photos of their eldest son on social media and have yet to post photos of their newest addition. Timberlake, whose new movie, "Palmer," is out this week on Apple TV+, talked with Shepard about how they explain fame to their children.

That's in large part because of the sizzling stock market . The US poverty rate declined during the first few months of the pandemic, in large part because of the federal government's stimulus checks. For those with a high school education or less, the poverty rate has surged to 22.5%, compared to 17% in June. The stock market is at record highs, the housing market is booming and Big Tech is thriving. Surging housing, stock marketsThe stock market has played a significant role in the divide between rich and poor.

(CNN Business) Two of TikTok's rivals in the United States are joining forces at a time when TikTok itself now appears to be here to stay. On Tuesday, Clash announced it was acquiring Byte , a short-form video app launched by a cofounder of Vine , the beloved six-second video app owned and shut down by Twitter. Terms of the Byte deal were not disclosed. It's just the latest example of M&A activity and strategy shifts among TikTok rivals after a roller coaster year. TikTok appeared to be on the cusp of getting banned in the US, where it counts 100 million users, only to outlast the Trump administration, which had been pushing to shut it down in the country because its parent company is based in China.

Do you feel as if you walk around life on autopilot, going through the motions but never really seeing, hearing, embracing, enjoying or experiencing life? Are you taking in every moment and living a life of presence? For 10 minutes each morning, do everything with great focus and purpose. Placing your mental focus on silence will pull you into the present moment. You can spend the first five minutes of each morning doing this practice or whenever you would like to bring yourself back into mindfulness.

TODAY's Al Roker spoke to exercise physiologist Marco Borges to find out his tips for staying active throughout the year. Anything that gets you moving is great: Consistency is the key, so picking something that you'll frequently want and be able to do is important. "It's really all about moving," Borges said. "Just get moving," Borges said. "What you're doing right now is the easiest thing that anyone can do.

One person was killed and more than a dozen others were injured when a tornado struck a northern suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, overnight, officials said early Tuesday. Jim Coker, the director of the Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency, estimated 20 people were injured. Fultondale, a city of about 9,000, is in Jefferson County — the most "tornado-prone county" in Alabama, Coker said. — NWS Birmingham (@NWSBirmingham) January 26, 2021An official at the fire department in Tarrant, which is east of Fultondale, told NBC News there were many trees and power lines down. Jefferson County emergency management officials urged people to take shelter during the storm and asked people to submit damage reports.

Vanessa Bryant shared an emotional tribute to her late husband, Kobe Bryant, and daughter, Gianna “Gigi” Bryant, in remembrance of the one-year anniversary of their tragic deaths. Kobe and the couple’s 13-year-old daughter were traveling with seven others in a private helicopter when the aircraft crashed in Calabasas, California, on Jan. 26, 2020. In a moving Instagram post, Vanessa shared a letter from one of Gianna’s best friends, Aubrey Callaghan, and wrote about how much she missed her husband and daughter. “I love you Aubz (as my Gigi would call you),” Vanessa wrote. “Thank you so much for beautifully sharing some of your memories of my Gigi with me and allowing me to share them here on my ig.

Nearly one in three small business owners in the U.K. say that government coronavirus restrictions are more harmful than helpful to society, as they struggle with the economic fallout from the pandemic. More than half of the small companies polled said they would open their doors tomorrow if the government were to suddenly relax lockdown rules. It follows a call by the Federation of Small Businesses in late December for the government to roll out a suite of measures aimed at small companies. The letter to the chancellor asked that measures to combat the economic damage from the pandemic be extended, but also asked for new steps like cash grants and additional tax relief for small business owners. The poll for POLITICO suggested business owners are more optimistic about the prospects for their own business, though.

Jim Carrey remains an artistic thorn in the side of former President Donald Trump and his defenders. On Monday, the actor and artist rebuked social media and right-wing disinformation as “one of the most corrosive threats to society moving forward” with a cartoon that also swiped at the widely watch conservative network Fox News, which has prime-time personalities who often advocate for Trump:

Forget the debt? Quick FixForget the debt? — Sure as night follows day, some lawmakers are fretting once again about soaring national debt and yawning annual deficits after largely ignoring them during the Trump years. People not currently worried but instead focused on the need for much more stimulus: Wall Street, the Fed, a large number of leading economists. Our Victoria Guida has more this a.m.: “Senior U.S. lawmakers are stressing out about mounting government debt as they resist … Biden’s $1.9 trillion plan to boost the economy … But investors in the federal debt, a wide range of market-focused economists and officials in the Biden administration have a firm response: Don’t worry about it right now.

“I would say I remain vigilant but not concerned” by the effect of the mutations on protection provided by the vaccine, Dr. Stephen Hoge, president of Moderna, tells TIME. The current study involved blood samples from eight people who were vaccinated in Moderna’s Phase 1 safety trial. Testing these samples against the live mutant virus from South Africa would confirm that the antibodies formed do indeed neutralize it. Over the past weekend, Hoge says his team has already started work, “in an abundance of caution,” on this new vaccine. Hoge stresses that the company’s decision to develop a version against the South African strain is purely precautionary.

Declaring “God is on your side,” a Roman Catholic cardinal, an archbishop and six other U.S. bishops issued a statement Monday expressing support for LGBTQ youth and denouncing the bullying often directed at them. Among those signing the statement were Cardinal Joseph Tobin, the archbishop of Newark, New Jersey, and Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico. “Most of all, know that God created you, God loves you and God is on your side. Among those welcoming the bishops’ declaration was Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, an outspoken opponent of same-sex marriage. “The Church stands in solidarity with them, and all of her children, to help them live a life of virtue.”The country of late has seen mixed messages, for transgender youth in particular, in terms of acceptance.

I imagine January has been a relatively good month for Chinese President Xi Jinping. When you peel back the layers, there's a distinct price that has come with the normalcy, mostly in the form of human rights violations. But when you peel back the layers, there's a distinct price that has come with the normalcy, mostly in the form of human rights violations. Beijing has imprisoned many human rights activists, lawyers, journalists and religious personnel for advocating for ideas unsanctioned by the Communist Party. Beijing has imprisoned many human rights activists, lawyers, journalists and religious personnel for advocating for ideas unsanctioned by the Communist Party.

The “Muslim ban” was born. A “complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States” — would I be able to get back into America, back to my wife and kids? The reaction to the Muslim ban, however, showed us America at its best. President Joe Biden, on his first day in office, fulfilled a key campaign pledge by revoking the Muslim ban. And the Muslim ban, like Trump, is gone.

Xi Jinping tests White House on China Presented by EricssonWith help from Leah Nylen and John HendelEditor’s Note: Morning Tech is a free version of POLITICO Pro Technology's morning newsletter, which is delivered to our subscribers each morning at 6 a.m. Write me at [email protected], and follow @Ali_Lev on Twitter and @alexandra.levine on Instagram. Send details to [email protected]. And ICYMI: Here are Rosenworcel’s first remarks as acting chair, from Monday. Send them along via email to our team: Bob King ([email protected], @bkingdc), Heidi Vogt ([email protected], @HeidiVogt), Nancy Scola ([email protected], @nancyscola), John Hendel ([email protected], @JohnHendel), Cristiano Lima ([email protected], @viaCristiano), Alexandra S. Levine ([email protected], @Ali_Lev), and Leah Nylen ([email protected], @leah_nylen).

ET the New Washington Live Updates: Democrats Win Filibuster Battle for Now Senator Mitch McConnell relented on his demand that Democrats promise to preserve the filibuster, ending an impasse that had left Senate committees frozen in Republican control. An impasse ends in the Senate as Democrats win a filibuster battle. “With these assurances, I look forward to moving ahead with a power-sharing agreement modeled on that precedent,” Mr. McConnell said in a statement. Democrats had been anticipating a capitulation by Mr. McConnell and said they believed he had overreached in the negotiation. By holding out against Democrats eager to take charge, Mr. McConnell was exercising what leverage he had.

President Biden’s Sunday afternoon order from Call Your Mother, a self-described “Jew-ish” deli, was more than a stop for takeout bagels. I haven’t even told him that I used to be a part owner of that business,’ ” Dana said. “It certainly wasn’t ‘President Biden’ on the ticket,” Dana joked. It could be months before he actually sits down in a restaurant in Washington, or anywhere. I think D.C. is his second home, obviously, because he’s had a massive life in politics.

President Biden on Jan. 25 said anyone who wants a coronavirus vaccine will be able to get one by "this spring." Sources tell Dan that Harris is getting her second dose of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine at the National Institutes of Health on Tuesday. Vice President-elect Kamala D. Harris received the Moderna coronavirus vaccine at United Medical Center in Southeast Washington on Dec. 29. (The Washington Post)In other coronavirus newsChick-fil-A staff helped guide gridlocked traffic at a drive-thru coronavirus vaccine site in South Carolina. The Biden administration is planning to halt a last-minute plan that would make it easier for physicians to prescribe an opioid treatment drug, known as buprenorphine.

Bistrot Lepic“People come for the taste,” the chef at this long-running French bistro in upper Georgetown likes to say. The chef smiled at the sight of happy diners and I thanked him as best I could right now, with two gloved thumbs up. Tres leches cake sports a two-toned top, thanks to a pink dusting of hibiscus sugar across half the luscious dessert. Elephant JumpsSongtham Pinyolaksana really wishes you wouldn’t order pad thai at the restaurant he co-owns with his wife and chef, Panida. NiHaoChef Pichet Ong says the theme at the 11th restaurant from the renowned Peter Chang family is “Chinese 101.”Really, chef?

Stanton stayed on as war secretary. Thomas got out on bail and went to the War Department shortly before noon to tell Stanton that he was taking over as interim war secretary. He had barricades put up blocking “all the passages in the War Office. The war secretary didn’t dare “to go out of earshot of his office,” the Boston Post reported. Interim secretary Thomas “submits to Stanton’s orders and is locked out, laughed at and treated with contempt,” complained Johnson’s Navy Secretary Gideon Welles.

Accompanying them will be Michael López-Alegría, a former NASA astronaut who flew to space four times and is now a vice president of Axiom Space, the Houston-based company that is coordinating their trip to space. The company is planning two flights per year and also is developing a space station of its own that NASA hopes may one day replace the International Space Station, the orbiting lab that has been in space for 22 years. “This is just the first of several Axiom Space crews whose private missions to the International Space Station will truly inaugurate an expansive future for humans in space — and make a meaningful difference in the world when they return home,” Michael Suffredini, Axiom Space president and chief executive, said in a statement. Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic and Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin are planning to fly paying customers to space, as well. Those trips, although still expensive, cost far less than trips to the space station.

The new U.S. restrictions come as a number of countries reconsider eased travel polices amid worry over virus variants that can make people sicker, spread faster and in some cases compromise the effectiveness of vaccines. “With the pandemic worsening and more contagious variants spreading, this isn’t the time to be lifting restrictions on international travel,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said during a news briefing on Monday. Britain, meanwhile, is set to announce Tuesday whether it will channel some new arrivals into quarantine hotels. The European Union proposed a new round of travel restrictions Monday. Australia ended its New Zealand travel bubble.

It is not clear whether those allegations are the sole impetus for inspector general’s investigation. (Readers may recall that the inspector general investigated the department’s role in the Trump administration’s family separation policy.) ADSecond, the office can compel testimony from current Justice Department employees and use its administrative subpoena power to obtain documents. The current inspector general, Michael Horowitz, has sought such power precisely because a Justice Department attorney, for example, can resign and thereby avoid telling his investigators what he or she knows about serious or even criminal misconduct. Theoretically, the holder of the privilege (now the Biden administration) could waive that privilege, making it difficult for current Justice Department attorneys to dodge questions.

and British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca, which said last week that it would supply “considerably fewer” doses of its coronavirus vaccine to E.U. The company blamed reduced capacity at one of its European production sites. “This new schedule is not acceptable to the European Union,” Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said Monday in a televised address. On Monday, Germany’s health minister said he supported restricting vaccine exports to ensure doses reserved for E.U. ADADFor Europe, the lack of supply is particularly galling: doses for third countries are often produced in the E.U., which has spent $3.3 billion on funding the development and production of vaccines.

Yet it would be a mistake to think the fight to preserve and revive our flawed democracy concluded on Inauguration Day. Both versions of the legislation would implement automatic voter registration, expand same-day voter registration and institute early voting nationwide. ADADTrue small-d democracy, however, also requires that these votes actually matter — that they determine the direction in which the country moves. This is an even tougher fight, but the For the People Act includes several provisions that form a solid start. They also fight “dark money” in politics by requiring all political organizations to disclose their donors.

Insignificant because official state party apparatuses don’t matter as much as they used to. ADADArizona has also periodically seen Republican Party dysfunction. This plot obtained a disturbingly large number of co-conspirators among Arizona GOP officials. A top-two primary system was rejected by Arizona voters in 2012. But Trumpism and the deterioration of the Republican Party in Arizona might renew interest in the reform.

Don’t other Times journalists veer into opinion on social media? During an interview with this blog, Wolfe said that an editor at the paper contacted her after she published the “chills” tweet. That it ended with the Times issuing a statement promoting speculation about her job performance has been painful. “As I’ve noted before, people following Times newsroom staffers online expect them to be well-informed and thoughtful. C’mon.”ADADAll of which is to say that the Times will never achieve a uniformly enforced standard for the social media behavior of its journalists.

As a school counselor, I know that parents of struggling kids feel powerless and worry about long-term emotional fallout. He made his holiday gifts this year, and he recently designed a lemonade dispenser out of cardboard and tinfoil. Focus on pacing, recoveryAs the pandemic drags on, now with less daylight, many children (and their caregivers) are running on empty. DeLapp, a psychologist with the Montefiore Health System in New York, challenges his Lego-loving clients to build a structure without talking. ADADStart a dialogue about what children think they can and can’t control, she says.

It is called the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, or PRO Act. After an anti-worker majority blocked it in the Senate, reintroducing the PRO Act, passing it in both chambers of Congress and getting Biden's signature is vital to our economic recovery. The PRO Act is a generational opportunity that will transform America's labor landscape and marshal economic recovery for working people. The PRO Act is also an economic stimulus bill. And that's why we need to make the PRO Act the law of the land.

New York (CNN Business) Tesla CEO Elon Musk is the richest person on the planet, but he's apparently still happy to shop on handmade craft site Etsy. And in a sign of just how much influence Musk has on social media, shares of Etsy (ETSY) soared nearly 10% in premarket trading Tuesday just because he said he's a fan. "I kinda love Etsy," Musk tweeted , adding in a follow up tweet that he bought a wool Marvin the Martian helmet (the alien from the Bugs Bunny cartoons) for his dog -- fitting as Musk, of course, wants to one day go to Mars with his other company, SpaceXGiven there was no other company news from Etsy Tuesday morning, it seems safe to say that Musk's tweet was the primary catalyst for the stock's surge. Etsy website on a laptop computerThat, of course, is ridiculous. It's also yet another example of the increasingly short-term nature of the stock market, one where algorithms can drive prices and individual investors using services like Robinhood are eager to make a quick buck.

You can sign up right hereLondon (CNN Business) The meteoric rise in GameStop's stock, as traders congregating on Reddit and Discord take on short sellers and hedge funds, is hard to look away from. Melvin Capital Management, which bet against GameStop's rise, has had to accept an infusion of cash after suffering steep losses, the Wall Street Journal reports. "What happened with GameStop's stock is a reminder of how times are changing." Baird tweeted Monday, referring to the Reddit message board where much of the GameStop action has been coordinated. But once the GameStop dust settles, expect Wall Street's asset managers to watch where the retail trading hive mind wanders next.

The IMF expects the global economy to grow by 5.5% this year, it said on Tuesday, or 0.3 percentage points faster than its previous forecast in October. (The IMF estimates that the world economy shrank by 3.5% in 2020, its biggest peacetime contraction since the Great Depression.) But it also warned that surging infections in late 2020, renewed lockdowns and logistical problems with vaccine distribution could hamstring growth. If new variants of the coronavirus also prove difficult to contain, global output this year would be 0.75% less than the IMF expects. Looking further ahead, the IMF expects global growth to slow to 4.2% in 2022.

On the one-anniversary of the helicopter crash that took the lives of Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven others, TODAY’s Craig Melvin looks back and reflects on their losses. “Grief is a messed-up cluster of emotions,” Vanessa Bryan posted on Instagram.

Nearly a year after the initial coronavirus lockdowns, many Americans are hoping for vacation getaways this year, but many safety concerns are still in play. NBC senior business correspondent Stephanie Ruhle joins TODAY with what you need to know about vacation travel in 2021.

It’s been a long-standing tradition for first families to bring their pets with them into the White House, and now it’s been revived by the Bidens and their dogs, Champ and Major. TODAY’s Jenna Bush Hager, whose own pets lived with her in the White House, looks at presidential pets then and now.

SEE NEW POSTSJanuary's Covid-19 death count nears December's record The U.S. counted 171,501 new Covid-19 cases and 2,178 reported deaths Monday as the case counts continued to wane from January's record highs, according to NBC News' tally. In the past week, the country averaged 3,172 deaths per day and 171,155 cases per day. As of Tuesday morning, the U.S. is at 76,380 deaths reported in January, and Tuesday will likely break December's record 77,124 deaths. The Moderna Covid-19 vaccine has been authorized for emergency use by the FDA, as well as from regulatory authorities in the European Union, United Kingdom and Canada. New Zealand reported 2 new cases of Covid-19 at its managed isolation facilities on Tuesday and no new community cases.

SEE NEW POSTSDubai restaurants offering up to 20 percent discount to vaccinated diners Restaurants in Dubai are offering diners money off their bill if they can prove they have had two shots of a Covid-19 vaccine. In the past week, the country averaged 3,172 deaths per day and 171,155 cases per day. Four weeks ago those numbers were 2,615 deaths per day and 213,940 cases per day. Colombia reported more than 15,000 new cases per day in mid-January, up from about 7,000 cases in early December. The Moderna Covid-19 vaccine has been authorized for emergency use by the FDA, as well as from regulatory authorities in the European Union, United Kingdom and Canada.

On Monday, Moderna said it was tweaking its vaccine to make it more effective against emerging strains of the virus . The Moderna Covid-19 vaccine has been authorized for emergency use by the FDA, as well as from regulatory authorities in the European Union, United Kingdom and Canada. So far, it has supplied some 30 million doses to the U.S. government, it said in a statement. U.S. biotech company Moderna said Tuesday it was on track to deliver 100 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine to the U.S. government by the end of March and 200 million doses by end of June. New Zealand reported 2 new cases of Covid-19 at its managed isolation facilities on Tuesday and no new community cases.

The Brexit trade deal was supposed to remove the threat of new tariffs on established trade. The trouble is, most British flour is made partly using North American wheat, particularly from Canada, and is often above the 15 percent threshold. Seeking to delay the financial blow, Ireland’s bakers stockpiled British flour ahead of the January 1 introduction of new post-Brexit trade rules. Ireland is the only EU member that imports significant volumes of U.K. flour. The longer German supply chain, meanwhile, makes it a more expensive alternative to British flour.

The newly fired head of the Voice of America’s parent agency blew $4 million on lawyers over five months, largely to spy on employees, The Washington Post reported Monday. He was recommended for the job by ally Steve Bannon, the former White House strategist pardoned by Trump on charges of defrauding supporters of the ex-president’s promised border wall. In Pack’s waning days, VOA White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara was demoted after she tried to ask then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tough questions, triggering bipartisan congressional outrage. Widakuswara was back covering the White House on Friday. President Joe Biden last week replaced Pack with VOA employee Kelu Chao, who immediately removed all organization board members picked by Pack.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, D-NY, says a shortage of vaccine doses has led to a delay in mass vaccinations in the city. Mayor de Blasio also weighs in on when he thinks the city's schools will fully reopen.

Phil Murphy, D-NJ, says he believes New Jersey is currently in a plateau in terms of new infections and hospitalizations. Murphy also says the state does not currently have enough supply of the coronavirus vaccine.

ASSOCIATED PRESS In this Jan. 25, 2021, file photo, President Joe Biden answers questions from reporters in the South Court Auditorium on the White House complex, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Joe Biden is poised to issue executive actions as soon as Tuesday scaling back the use of private prisons and placing new limits on the transfer of military equipment to local law enforcement, according to a person familiar with the matter and a planning document. Representatives of the White House and the Justice Department did not respond to requests for comment. The move to reduce the use of private prisons is also an Obama-era policy that was championed by then-Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates. Other potential executive actions in the works include reforms targeting prosecutorial decisions and sentencing, as well as policies involving voting and other civil rights laws.

LONDON — The European Union threatened to restrict the export of Covid-19 vaccines from the bloc amid growing anger at the slow rollout of immunizations across the 27-country bloc. officials by surprise last week when it announced its initial delivery volumes of the Covid-19 vaccine would be lower than originally anticipated because of manufacturing issues in Europe. intends to "take any action required to protect its citizens and its rights.”"In the future, all companies producing vaccines against Covid-19 in the E.U. will have to provide early notification whenever they want to export vaccines to third countries,” without going into detail of how future restrictions would work. An elderly person receives a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in Lamballe-Armor, France.

Twitter has permanently suspended the account of MyPillow chief Mike Lindell for repeated violations of the company's policy on election misinformation, the social media firm said late on Monday. Lindell used his personal Twitter account, which had nearly half a million followers before being suspended, and the company's account to spread unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud in the presidential election. Lindell repeatedly violated the company's civic integrity policy, due to which he was suspended, a Twitter spokesperson said in an emailed statement. Twitter had permanently suspended Trump from its platform earlier this month. "I'm never letting the fraud go," Lindell told Reuters.

Republicans will be defending 20 Senate seats, including the open ones in North Carolina (Richard Burr’s), Pennsylvania (Pat Toomey’s) and now Ohio (Portman’s). The GOP also will have to defend Sen. Marco Rubio’s seat in Florida and Sen. Ron Johnson’s seat in Wisconsin. President Joe Biden won two of those five states — Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — last November. Biden won all four states last year. 422,289: The number of deaths in the United States from the virus so far.

The government said López Obrador's symptoms began on Sunday, but it was not clear exactly when. Mexico has recorded nearly 150,000 deaths in the pandemic, and Lopez Obrador's crisis management has drawn sustained criticism from political adversaries and medical experts. Nevertheless, polls have shown Lopez Obrador's popularity rising in the pandemic, despite accusations he has too often downplayed it and put himself unnecessarily at risk. Roy Campos, head of polling firm Consulta Mitofsky, said the public reaction to the president's Covid-19 diagnosis would likely split along partisan lines, with supporters rallying behind Lopez Obrador and critics going after him. Lopez Obrador found time to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday to agree on Mexico's acquisition of 24 million doses of the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine.

The Guatemalan foreign ministry said in a statement it was working with Mexico to determine if any of its citizens were among the victims. Tamaulipas state prosecutor's office said the case was being investigated. DNA samples will be compared with samples taken from the bodies by the prosecutor's office in Tamaulipas. The prosecutor's office said the victims included 16 men and a woman. Mario Ernesto Galvez, a Guatemalan lawmaker, said 13 victims were from his mountainous San Marcos province, listing their names in a statement.

A 7-year-old boy was seriously injured after he fell 35 feet from a ski lift in Massachusetts on Monday, according to local fire authorities. Thanks to Boston Medflight for a quick response and to our partners at Canton PD, MSP and Blue Hills Ski Patrol. The child was flown to Boston Children's Hospital. His "injuries are serious, but are not believed to be life threatening," according to Doody. The Massachusetts State Police said that a detective responded to the hospital to gather information on the incident, which remains "under investigation."

Black paid Epstein $158 million for advice on tax and estate planning and related services between 2012 and 2017, according to the review. Black, 69, said that although the review confirmed he did not engage in any wrongdoing, he "deeply" regretted his involvement with Epstein. Apollo co-founder Marc Rowan, 58, will take over as CEO. The revelations of Black's ties to Epstein took a toll on Apollo, which Black turned into one of the world's largest private equity groups. Beyond the $158 million in payments, Black made two loans to Epstein totaling $30.5 million in early 2017.

The Parkline 60 model, with a base price of $2,259,500, has four or five bedrooms and six bathrooms (including powder room). The Parkline 80 has up to six bedrooms and seven bathrooms (including powder room) and starts at $2,329,500. The Parkline 80 offers a three-car garage as an option. Park Grove1531 Inverness Park Lane, McLean, Va. Bedrooms/bathrooms: 4 to 6 /6 or 7 (in each case, including powder room)Square-footage: 5,600 to 7,270.

Union advocates say discrimination faced by women and people of color at the tech companies proves the need for stronger worker protections. But even if unionization efforts don’t take hold among the majority of tech workers, the fact that the conversation is happening marks a real change of attitude in Silicon Valley. Perhaps the surest sign that Big Tech thinks unions can have a substantial impact is found in the companies’ responses. Efforts to reclassify gig workers as employees have been stymied by division among Democrats and tremendous pressure from multibillion-dollar tech companies. Meanwhile, a group of gig workers and unions has filed a lawsuit in California Supreme Court to have Proposition 22 overturned.

Biden plans to deliver remarks Tuesday on what the White House is describing as his “racial equity agenda,” as he continues the practice of focusing on an issue a day. “America has never lived up to its founding promise of equality for all, but we’ve never stopped trying,” Biden tweeted Tuesday morning. “Today, I’ll take action to advance racial equity and push us closer to that more perfect union we’ve always strived to be.”Following afternoon remarks in the State Dining Room of the White House, Biden is expected to sign several executive actions, including measures related to fair housing, voting rights and police practices. “It’s going to be a beginning of so much work we’re going to do," White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during an appearane on CNN on Tuesday. Susan Rice, who is leading Biden’s Domestic Policy Council, is also expected to detail the effort during a scheduled appearance Tuesday before reporters in the White House briefing room.

The encounter between Wheeler and the unidentified man was recorded by former Portland mayor Sam Adams, who later told police that the man, who was unmasked, had accosted them on the street with a video camera. The man, who told Wheeler he had taken pictures of him at the pub, accused the mayor of disregarding covid-19 safety measures during his meeting with Adams, Wheeler wrote in an emailed statement to police. He was within two feet of the mayor’s face, Wheeler told police. He asked you to back away, and you didn’t.”ADWheeler later described the man to the police as White man in his 40s. Before leaving, Wheeler said, he threw the man a bottle of water so he could wash out his eyes.

But President Biden shouldn't break out the champagne over a new era of bipartisan unity. AD“T he idea there are any ‘moderates’ on either side in politics in 2021 is a fallacy,” a GOP strategist told Power Up. “I think you'll be seeing fewer people who actually want to get things done involved in federal politics.”“They're definitely a dying breed,” a former senior GOP Senate aide told us of centrists. “It's a big blow to serious-minded people,” a GOP Senate aide added of Portman's retirement. O ffering his most extensive comments since taking office, Biden told CNN , “I think it has to happen.”Presiding over the trial will be Sen. Patrick J. Leahy ( D-Vt .

On Saturday, officials announced that the Washington Monument would be closed out of coronavirus concerns. On Sunday night, the monument’s exterior lighting did not go on, and it almost may have seemed that the great obelisk and famed symbol of Washington was fading away. It appeared on Monday night that the 555-foot tall masonry structure once again formed a gleaming part of Washington’s night skyline. It remained unclear, however, when the monument would again be open to visitors. On Saturday, the Park Service said the monument would be closed “until further notice” to protect staff and visitors against the coronavirus.

ADGiuliani, the lawsuit alleges, knowingly spread falsehoods about the company to bolster Trump’s failing attempts to overturn the reality of his election loss. The suit outlines how Giuliani often aligned his “direct-to-camera advertisements” with the falsehoods of the day. But Jones, like Giuliani, had also regularly advertised nutritional supplements during his videos, which attracted massive audiences. ADAD“Jones was able to hype up his supplement sales with this fantastical misinformation, these fantasies he would spin,” Bankston said. The Jones and Giuliani cases focus on specific harms from misinformation, “but what do we do when someone shares misinformation about the coronavirus that hurts us all?” he said.

In the Trump era, we witnessed rounds of intensive clashes between US and China in the field of technology. The Biden administration may take a more nuanced approach than Trump to diplomacy, but the tech rivalry will likely continue. CNN's Selina Wang reports.

London (CNN Business) The European Union is calling out vaccine makers AstraZeneca ( AZN ) and Pfizer ( PFE ) over delivery delays that could slow its recovery from the pandemic . Pfizer said Monday it would return to its original schedule of deliveries for the European Union this week. Supply chain experts are much more concerned by the news from AstraZeneca than Pfizer, given the latter company's commitment to increase output soon. A delay for a week or two "is not a big problem," said Burak Kazaz, a professor of supply chain management at Syracuse University. Delays from both firms are a sign that there are still kinks in the supply chain that need to be ironed out as distribution ramps up, according to Prashant Yadav, a medical supply chain expert and senior fellow at the Center for Global Development.

We surveyed the companies to learn more about their political contribution policies following the US Capitol riot on January 6. If so, was the company suspending all political giving, or only political giving to specific politicians (such as congressional candidates or the Electoral College objectors)? How long did the company plan to suspend its political giving? Several companies offered unsigned written statements, which CNN has declined to publish. In some cases, companies reported different contribution amounts from those reported by CRP.

It's also unclear if the government's approach to Chinese-linked companies, including TikTok, whose business deal with Oracle and Walmart still hasn't been approved , may change. Section 230Policy experts say tech companies are still in for a reckoning in Washington, even with the departure of Trump — the industry's chief antagonist for the last four years. At the same time, Democrats including Biden say tech companies haven't done enough to combat misinformation and must be held accountable. For their part, companies including Google and Facebook have said they've hired thousands of human content moderators and ramped up artificial intelligence-based content filters. The move was widely opposed by tech companies, internet activists and consumer groups, while telecom providers welcomed the de-regulation.

This is Trump's "Big Lie," a brazen falsehood with momentous consequences. But the focus on his Big Lie misses something fundamental about how propaganda works. A leader's Big Lie has no power and makes little sense on its own. Let's break down the smaller lies that prepared Trump's followers to accept the Big Lie. Focusing only on the Big Lie misses the big picture.

The Senate held Belknap's impeachment trial in August 1876 (and ultimately acquitted him). Indeed, it would defy common sense if the Senate were powerless to hold a former president accountable through impeachment and trial. The substantive portion of the Senate trial is set to begin in two weeks, on February 9. Its resolution could complicate, or even derail, Trump's upcoming impeachment trial. Now, your questions:Steve (Washington): Could President Trump's effort to use the Justice Department to overturn the Georgia election results be relevant evidence in the Senate impeachment trial?

CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta helps us understand the new coronavirus variants which have emerged in Brazil, South Africa and the United Kingdom. He tells us the effects these variants may have on the global pandemic.

CNN's Chad Myers gives an update on the weather system tearing across the south eastern US, including a tornado that killed at least 1 person in Alabama.

Amid the debate over whether schools now offering only remote learning should reopen for in-person instruction, many are concerned over the effect on mental health issues for students. NBC senior national correspondent Kate Snow reports for TODAY’s Coronavirus and the Classroom series.

President Trump delayed a push announced during the Obama administration to put abolitionist Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill in place of Andrew Jackson, but now the Treasury Department is resuming the effort. Tubman would be the first Black American to be depicted on U.S. currency.

The first, mostly intact, was sent in 1987 to the Central Air Force Museum near Moscow, but something went wrong with the delivery. Without a doubt, Bartini has left a mark in Soviet aircraft building. A short second lifeThe Soviet military abandoned the project after they realized its effectiveness would be limited. "I think the Soviet military very quickly realized that the effectiveness of the VVA-14 as an anti-submarine aircraft would have been low. Later transported via helicopter to nearby Monino at the Central Air Force Museum, the aircraft remains badly damaged to this day.

This article is part of Telescope: The New AIDS Epidemic, a deep-dive investigation into the modern face of a disease that transformed the world. Over the next six months, we will be searching for the most creative, urgent and broadly applicable initiatives and experiments aimed at ending the epidemic. That’s why we’re asking you to fill out a short survey with your thoughts and recommendations for what we should be looking into. It doesn’t matter whether it’s successful or not: We can learn just as much from failed experiments as successful ones. The survey is divided into seven categories — hit “continue” when you’ve filled out one section to go on to the next one.

The stars of “The Crown” are feeling “Good As Hell” in this clip showing them dancing to Lizzo’s hit song. “Olivia apparently does a dance class in the area that she lives with a bunch of friends, on a regular basis, and the last time she did the class, they had danced to that Lizzo song,” Anderson recalled. “She asked if we would happen to be interested in maybe doing it, and she would video it. So it was never meant to see the light of day,” she explained. “And yet, here we are,” said Meyers, introducing the clip (from the 2:30 mark in the video below).

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte gestures as he replies to questions ahead of a confidence vote at the Senate on January 19, 2021 at Palazzo Madama in Rome | Yara Nardi/Getty ImagesROME — Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte stepped down Tuesday following disputes within the governing alliance over the post-pandemic economic recovery. Conte handed in his resignation to President Sergio Mattarella following a Cabinet meeting, bringing the 16-month-old government to an end. His resignation plunges Italy into political uncertainty in the middle of a pandemic that has killed more than 80,000 people and with the highest annual death toll since World War II.

Two young Black men, their clothes torn, their bodies bloodied and broken, hang by their necks from a tree. I learned that the white woman they had supposedly raped later testified that nothing of the sort had ever happened. There, I learned that he came from a small-town conservative white Midwestern family whose beliefs he had gradually come to disavow. My father had been born into a poor and middle-caste farm family on the edge of Bihar, India’s poorest state. Family from India flew out to Wisconsin, and his family enthusiastically showed up in traditional lehengas and saris.

But Democrats are still staring down some tough political calculations ahead, including whether they will utilize a procedural maneuver to bypass Senate Republicans and push through a new Covid package. And their next move will signal how Democrats will work with Republicans -- and the Biden administration -- moving forward. He also said this is a decision that House and Senate leaders will make -- though his greenlight carries weight. But it also means Portman is a key vote to watch during the Senate impeachment trial now that he doesn’t have to worry about a primary. And the latest move comes just after Trump’s team relayed a message of their own to Senate Republicans over the weekend: He’s not going anywhere.

Rob Portman, R-Ohio, announced Monday that he will not seek re-election and instead will retire when his current term expires in 2022. The Morning Joe panel argues why Sen. Portman should stay in Congress.

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., reacts to commentary from some in the GOP on impeachment, and he says the case for impeachment isn't hard to make and that he believes Trump should be barred from holding office in the future.

The Capital Weather Gang rates today’s weather a 2/10: Drippy dreary is making us weary. Today: A slushy, messy morning greets us with patchy drizzle and light rain. Temperatures only slowly lift up through the 30s, with a few spots potentially touching 40 after the light rain and drizzle end by early afternoon. Light winds blow from the east at about 5 to 10 mph. Light winds from the west and northwest around 5 to 10 mph.

“Support your local newspapers, people. “This is genuinely what we are up against.”On Monday, McClatchy dismissed her for violating its social media policy, Lords told The Washington Post. The paper’s union publicly slammed the decision hours later, advocating not for one of its members but for the newsroom’s top manager in an unusual move. As top editor since early 2019, Lords turned competitors into collaborators, setting up content-sharing partnerships with newspapers around the state. She had been vocal on the platform about the challenges facing local newspapers and had never faced disciplinary issues before.

'Spectacular failure'The November 2019 local elections marked the first time that Li Shan had registered to vote in Hong Kong. But he insists that he received no direction from the Chinese government or its liaison office in Hong Kong. ADAD“The perception is it has been coming to the fore as the true power center of Hong Kong,” Hung said. Li’s party, meanwhile, proposes integrating Hong Kong with mainland Chinese cities and has called for Hong Kongers to be allowed to serve in the People’s Liberation Army. Most of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy politicians are facing criminal charges, or are in prison, or exile.

The answer is nuanced, say health experts and human rights advocates, and reflects the difficulty of balancing public health and civil rights. The coronavirus pandemic took things to a new level. In April, he announced security forces would impose fines and even jail terms on residents who violated pandemic restrictions. A combination of cooler weather, a crush of holiday parties and shopping reignited the pandemic, particularly in and around Mexico City. Many health analysts blame the government’s policy of limited testing, saying it has been inadequate to track the pandemic and persuade victims to isolate.

Keri immediately thought of her book club. ADAt a time when so many people are struggling to navigate labyrinthine websites and backed-up phone lines to track down a covid-19 vaccine, the Fabulous Ladies Book Club has demonstrated a remarkable efficiency. The clinic opened Jan. 3 and by Jan. 23 had administered more than 2,417 vaccines, about 33 percent of the town, according to club members. It took a lot of time and a lot of texting — one book club member maxed out her phone’s data plan — to delegate, coordinate and administer. ADADThe Fabulous Ladies each volunteered as many as 50 hours a week on the vaccination effort.

America may have gotten its oldest president ever on Wednesday, but there’s no question the power structure of Washington has become far more millennial at the same time. “But I have moral boundaries that I refuse to cross, and I’m hardly alone in that sentiment.”More than 40 percent of eligible millennial voters participated in the 2018 midterm elections. “Millennial politics bring us closer to realizing the vision of America as a multinational, multiethnic inclusive democracy.”But not all millennials are liberal — in Washington or across the country. And young conservative voters have sent their share of conservatives — some of them also millennials — to Washington to back the politics championed by Donald Trump. But that could be a challenge given the fundamentally different worldviews of many Americans — millennial voters included.

This was his play all along, to suggest that only votes cast on Election Day — votes that skewed heavily for him — could be trusted. ADADWe’ve by now grown accustomed to Trump’s insistent claims about election fraud, but they were the linchpin of everything that followed. Trump’s efforts to convince state officials, and the world, that the election results were dubious relied upon his claims that fraud had occurred. Pressuring officials in Michigan about certifying the election results. Doug Ducey (R-Ariz.) while Ducey was in the middle of certifying his state’s votes.

Blinken, Biden’s nominee to become secretary of state, appears headed for Senate confirmation on Tuesday, becoming the fourth member of the new president’s cabinet to clear that hurdle. Blinken was staff director of the committee when Biden, as a senator from Delaware, was its chairman. Blinken later joined the Obama administration as a senior adviser to Biden when he was vice president. To date, the Senate has confirmed Avril D. Haines as Biden’s director of national intelligence, Lloyd Austin as his defense secretary and Janet Yellen as his treasury secretary. The Senate Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday is scheduled to consider Alejandro Mayorkas’s nomination for secretary of homeland security.

Blantyre, Malawi (CNN) As a second wave of coronavirus spreads through parts of Africa, countries across the continent are shutting down schools to control the spread of the virus. Students in boarding schools will however remain on campus until health authorities determine whether it is safe for them to go home. Rwanda has closed schools in the capital, Kigali, with the possibility of school closures in other regions too if more cases are confirmed, according to the country's education minister. South Africa, which has the highest numbers of cases in Africa and has been dealing with a new virulent strain of the virus, delayed reopening schools by a further two weeks. South Africa registered 12,710 new cases on Wednesday, bringing the total number of infections to nearly 1.4 million.

(CNN) Security forces have withdrawn from Ugandan presidential candidate Bobi Wine's residence after he spent 11 days under house arrest, his lawyer told CNN on Tuesday. "They are now leaving, we hope this doesn't change later today," George Musisi said. Justice Michael Elubu, who heads the court's civil division, said if the government had evidence against Wine, he should be charged in court and not "held unjustifiably at his home," according to Musisi. Wine, a popular singer, was the main opposition frontrunner in the presidential elections held on January 14 and his home has been surrounded by military and police since the elections ended.

People across the U.S. are struggling to get the Covid-19 vaccine. NBC News’ Simone Boyce shares her family’s experience after her mom got the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. Boyce’s mom struggled to get an appointment but said she was “grateful for the opportunity” once she got it.

Budweiser says it is skipping its traditional Super Bowl ad and will instead support vaccine awareness campaigns. Other major brands are changing their plans, including with a focus on digital or social media advertisements.

President Joe Biden is planning to vaccinate even more Americans against Covid-19 in the coming weeks by administering 150 million shots over the next 100 days, equivalent to 1.5 million a day. Biden is asking Congress for more than $400 billion to fund the effort. "It is going to be a logistical challenge that exceeds anything we've ever tried in this country, but I think we can do that," he said Monday. The virus has killed more than 418,000 people and infected upward of 25 million across the U.S., according to an NBC News tracker.

President Joe Biden is planning to vaccinate even more Americans against Covid-19 in the coming weeks by administering 150 million shots over the next 100 days, equivalent to 1.5 million a day. Biden is asking Congress for more than $400 billion to fund the effort. "It is going to be a logistical challenge that exceeds anything we've ever tried in this country, but I think we can do that," he said Monday. The virus has killed more than 418,000 people and infected upward of 25 million across the U.S., according to an NBC News tracker.

POLITICO reported on concerns involving the EU-China Friendship Group on November 26, after European Parliament officials expressed concerns it was too close to the Chinese government's foreign affairs apparatus. The office of European Parliament President David Sassoli confirmed the president was notified on December 1. Zahradil said he suspended the group "awaiting new transparent rules on functioning of all those informal friendship groups." Lawmakers on the foreign influence committee are conducting a year-long review of influence activities by foreign states in European democracies. Friendship groups are unofficial groupings of members of the European Parliament that promote relations with third countries.

The Norwegian data protection agency on Tuesday announced its intention to fine gay dating app Grindr €10 million for violations of Europe's data protection code, the GDPR. "Our preliminary conclusion is that Grindr needs consent to share these personal data and that Grindr’s consents were not valid. The proposed fine, which Grindr has until February 15 to respond to, would represent around 10 percent of the company's annual turnover according to Datatilsynet. Under the GDPR, companies can be fined up to 4 percent of their annual turnover or €20 million, whichever is higher. Norway was able to act directly against Grindr because it does not have a legal establishment in Europe.

POLITICO Playbook: The White House power map Presented byDRIVING THE DAYWe’ve done some digging and pieced together who occupies most of the offices on the first two floors of the West Wing. — In the Biden White House, the senior advisers have senior advisers. All five of these influential aides have desks in the main power corridor and thus a front-row view of the early history of the Biden White House. Register hereBIDEN WHITE HOUSE‘THEY ARE THE NEW PODESTAS’ — “Ricchetti Brothers Rise in D.C., One a Lobbyist, the Other in the White House,” WSJ: “As a White House counselor, Steve Ricchetti is a top confidant of President Biden and one of the most important new power brokers in government. A rep for Newsmax told Playbook on Monday night that the network already had enough people covering the White House.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will deliver remarks Tuesday outlining his plan to advance racial equity and will sign executive actions, continuing his push to use the powers of his office to implement parts of his agenda. Biden will speak at 2 p.m. Susan Rice, Biden’s domestic policy adviser, are expected to speak about the executive actions at a White House briefing with press secretary Jen Psaki at 12:30 p.m ET. Under the order, the White House Domestic Policy Council, led by Rice, will be responsible for coordinating with various federal agencies including the Office of Management and Budget, to advance racial equity proposals. Biden directed OMB to assess “whether underserved communities and their members face systemic barriers in accessing benefits and opportunities available.”In other news:

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has suspended some of the terrorism sanctions that former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo imposed on Yemen’s Houthi rebels in his waning days in office. The Treasury Department said Monday it would exempt certain transactions involving the Houthis from sanctions resulting from Pompeo's designation of the group as a “foreign terrorist organization” on Jan. 10. The sanctions Pompeo imposed had taken effect Jan. 19, just a day before President Joe Biden was inaugurated, and had been roundly criticized by the United Nations and relief organizations. Six years of war between a U.S.-backed Arab coalition and the Houthi rebels have been catastrophic for Yemen, killing more than 112,000 people and reducing infrastructure from roads and hospitals to water and electricity networks to ruins. Saudi Arabia has advocated the terror designation, hoping it would pressure the rebels to reach a peace deal.

New Zealand's border may remain shut for 'much of this year,' prime minister saysNew Zealand's borders are expected to remain closed for most of this year due to concerns over Covid-19, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Tuesday. The pacific nation will still pursue travel arrangements with neighboring countries such as Australia. A tough lockdown and geographical isolation helped the country of 5 million virtually eliminate coronavirus within its borders. New Zealand reported 2 new cases of Covid-19 at its managed isolation facilities on Tuesday and no new community cases. The country has 65 active cases, 1,934 confirmed cases in all, and 25 deaths.

The House delivered its article of impeachment against former President Donald Trump to the Senate on Monday, kicking off preparations for the coming trial. The Morning Joe panel discusses.

And every month millions of dollars are wagered on their every move. This is the Russian Liga Pro, an obscure, semiprofessional table tennis competition that has over the past 10 months become the unlikeliest of sports betting phenomena in the United States. “It’s crazy to think I’ve made hundreds of dollars watching old guys play Ping-Pong in Russia,” said Shayan Ahmad, 23, of North Brunswick, N.J., one of many new, eager table tennis gamblers. The improbable arrival of Russian table tennis on the betting scene was swift and opportune. It came in the early days of the pandemic, when dedicated gamblers were scavenging a denuded sports landscape for something, anything, to put a bit of money on.

Scientists developed vaccines less than a year after Covid-19 was identified, a reflection of remarkable progress in vaccine technology. But progress in vaccine distribution is another story. Many questions that arose in vaccine rollouts decades ago are still debated today. Who should get vaccinated first? Some answers can be found in the successes and failures of vaccine drives over the past two centuries.

In his Inaugural Address, Biden rattled off a dire inventory of crises we face as a nation: The assault on truth. If you’re an average citizen with average means and average time at your disposal, you could be forgiven for hearing that list and taking to your bed. Rebuilding communities, even if that community is just a bunch of demoralized soccer hooligans. I am now rereading this and thinking I’ve made the show sound almost criminally cheesy. It is wickedly funny (I mean, Jason Sudeikis) and committed to a certain kind of outlandishness; the humor just doesn’t come from a place of anger.

But that severing became less and less likely the more Trump made himself the focus of all of right-wing populism’s cultural impulses, which he did with great success. Now this kind of populist loyalty to Trump requires embracing the belief that he just had a landslide election stolen. Over the next few years, this will have two likely implications for the right’s sincere economic populists. First, they will watch the Biden administration poach issues that they once hoped to own, from big tax breaks for families to big spending on domestic infrastructure. (Even Ronald Reagan wasn’t really a limited-government Reaganite of the sort his own cult recalls.)

He wanted Kennedy to succeed — or at least, to have a chance at success — and Smith’s control of the Rules Committee made that impossible. Or, since committee size was set by majority vote of the House, he could move to make it bigger. The Rules Committee could be as small as five members or as large as 15. With three additional members, two Democrats and one Republican, liberals and moderates would have an 8-7 majority. After his meeting with House liberals, Rayburn’s office told The New York Times of a plan to purge Colmer from the Rules Committee.

The decades-long decline of the labor movement has left it so weak that many Americans know little about its history. Alphabet Workers Union membership, for instance, includes contractors who do not enjoy the high salaries or generous benefits of senior software engineers. And even better-compensated tech workers routinely experience racism and sexism. Both senators have tweeted in support of the Alphabet Workers Union. Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram.

To date, Democrats have argued that states should expand coverage by fully expanding their Medicaid programs to all who are eligible. Flexibility from this demand would help more people gain coverage while addressing Republican concerns about the growth of the program. Insurers should reward consumers who choose lower-priced options by letting them share in the savings when they select lower-priced providers. This reform would encourage providers to cut their prices to become attractive to price-sensitive patients looking to save some money. President Biden will change the health care conversation in Washington, but he needs to compromise with Republicans if he wants to make significant progress.

Do it.”Times Opinion has included audio clips from the chat in this story because the group is public. U m , I h a v e n o l i n k t o c o n f i r m t h i s . H a s a n y b o d y h e a r d a n y t h i n g a b o u t t h a t ? W e s t i l l h a v e t h e I n s u r r e c t i o n A c t . I d o n ’ t t h i n k i t w o u l d b e M o n d a y .

PARIS — From her bulletproof case in the Louvre Museum, Mona Lisa’s smile met an unfamiliar sight the other morning: Emptiness. The gallery where throngs of visitors swarmed to ogle her day after day was a void, deserted under France’s latest coronavirus confinement. In the Louvre’s medieval basement, the Great Sphinx of Tanis loomed in the dark like a granite ghost from behind bars. Yet out of the rare and monumental stillness, sounds of life were stirring in the Louvre’s great halls. In Louis XIV’s former apartments, restorers in surgical masks climbed scaffolding to tamp gold leaf onto ornate moldings.

LONDON — Health experts, doctors and government officials in Britain are calling for a more concerted campaign to address vaccine hesitancy among minority groups, with some also urging that those groups be designated a priority for immunization against the coronavirus because they are more at risk. The government said on Monday that it would give 23 million pounds, or about $31 million, to local councils and other groups in England to encourage vaccines among those most at risk from the virus, including minority groups, by trying to combat misinformation and to build trust in the authorities. The pandemic has already thrown into sharp relief the persistent racial inequalities in Britain, which have played a role in the disproportionately high rates of infection and death among minority groups and, some say, deepened their mistrust of the government. Recent polls showed that members of Black, Asian and other minority groups in the country are less open to getting the vaccine than white people are because they worry about the vaccine’s reliability. Britain’s drug regulator, seen as a bellwether agency, has said the vaccines are safe and effective.

The messaging app Telegram has long been an engine of resistance and an annoyance for tyrants. When protests broke out recently in Belarus and Hong Kong, Telegram was the glue that held democracy movements together in the face of violent onslaughts by powerful security services. These days, though, Telegram is quickly becoming an online refuge for a different kind of resistance. Twenty-five million new users flooded Telegram in the days after Twitter and Facebook, reacting to the Jan. 6 mayhem at the Capitol, purged users they deemed responsible for having incited violence or spread disinformation. The company’s founder, Pavel Durov, described it as “the largest digital migration in human history.”

I’ve never covered a moment that simultaneously merits so much despair and so much hope. The Biden administration takes office with over 25 million Covid-19 cases nationwide, over 420,000 Americans dead, and new, highly contagious variants of the virus stalking our future. Getting a population of 330 million to herd immunity is a hellishly difficult undertaking in the best of circumstances, and these are not the best of circumstances. Still, speed matters: Getting to herd immunity a few months faster could save hundreds of thousands of lives. Dr. Vivek Murthy was surgeon general under Barack Obama, and is Joe Biden’s nominee for the same position.

ET Covid-19 Live Updates: As Borders Tighten Worldwide, Brazil-Based Variant Is Found in U.S. Several countries, including the U.S., are imposing travel restrictions, citing the danger of more contagious virus mutations. New York has roughly 56,000 bike parking spots on its streets, sidewalks and plazas. By comparison, London has three times as much bike parking, with more than 150,000 cycling spaces on its streets and at least 20,000 additional spaces at Underground and rail stations. Some American cities have increased efforts to create more bike parking during the pandemic. So far, more than 1.7 million people have contracted the virus in Mexico and more than 150,000 people have died.

Ms. Flynn showed her test results on her phone at the Turkish Airlines check-in counter at Istanbul Airport and kept a printed copy in case it was required when she landed. “No one asked to see the results again, so it really was minimal hassle for the extra peace of mind,” she said. Antigen tests have been found to be less reliable than P.C.R. Mr. Walker said that because antigen tests are less sensitive, some travelers could test negative and still be infected because their body’s viral load is not high enough for identification purposes. Casa de Campo, the Dominican Republic resort, is about five minutes away from a hospital which shares ownership with the resort.

Others plan to vaccinate prison and jail workers before incarcerated people, breaking with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends vaccinating everyone at correctional facilities simultaneously. “We have people dying on a weekly basis,” said Stefen Short, a lawyer for the Prisoners’ Rights Project at the Legal Aid Society. There’s got to be a consistent message coming out of Albany and coming out of these agencies on this. Otherwise, you’re just generating a lot of fear.”Vaccinating incarcerated people in the early stages of distribution has proved politically fraught. In New York, state senators have questioned whether prioritizing people in prisons makes sense.

In the future, big public pension funds and other investors could have firms like BlackRock create custom indexes for them based on such data. These sorts of actions won’t sacrifice investment performance, Mr. Fink said. “I urge companies to move quickly to issue them rather than waiting for regulators to impose them,” Mr. Fink wrote about companies disclosing their net-zero plans. “We believe that issuers of public debt also should be disclosing how they are addressing climate-related risks.”Already, several organizations are trying to create a uniform standard for climate disclosure. Mr. Fink, rightly, says there should be only one standard, and he has put his support behind the Task Force.

And Mr. Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., spoke with Mr. McCarthy recently and the two are on good terms, a person briefed on the call said. He will also at some point focus on the governor’s race in Arizona, where Doug Ducey cannot seek re-election; Gov. (One adviser disputed that Mr. Trump would have an interest in the Texas race.) In Ohio, Mr. Gonzalez faces a potential primary challenge from Christina Hagan, a former state legislator whom he defeated in a 2018 primary. Mr. Trump’s deepest hostility is reserved for Gov.

WASHINGTON — The Commerce Department has taken on new importance in recent years, with wide-ranging authority over issues as broad as technology exports and climate change. On Tuesday, President Biden’s nominee to run the sprawling agency, Gina M. Raimondo, will appear before the Senate Commerce Committee for a confirmation hearing. Ms. Raimondo, the current governor of Rhode Island, is a moderate Democrat and former venture capitalist. Dozens of companies have been added to the Commerce Department’s list, including telecom giants like Huawei and ZTE, which many American lawmakers see as threats to national security. “You can be reasonably confident that the members will demand a tough line” on China, said William Reinsch, a trade expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies who was a high-level commerce official during the Clinton administration.

In November, Ms. Riley said she was hospitalized with severe abdominal pain. The uncertainty of what happens after that is agonizing, Ms. Riley said. “If not, I don’t know how a lot of us are going to make it.”‘People feel a bit more emboldened.’At least 1,000 flight attendants have been infected with the coronavirus since the pandemic started, according to the Association of Flight Attendants. Airlines have strict mask policies but the Trump administration refused to order a mandate on interstate travel, putting the onus on flight attendants and other workers to enforce mask rules. In one case in September, a flight attendant complained that an airline captain did not wear a mask while greeting passengers.

Listen and subscribe to The DailyApple Podcasts | Spotify | StitcherThis episode contains strong language. Dr. Anthony Fauci describes a number of situations while advising the Trump administration on the pandemic as “difficult.”President Donald J. Trump and the White House minimized the gravity of the coronavirus, Mr. Trump prioritized anecdotal evidence about treatments over the science, and the White House press office even worked to undermine Dr. Fauci. So Dr. Fauci made a decision against this backdrop: If asked whether he disagreed with something that had been said, he would answer honestly. His role could be summarized in what he called “a little joke”: He was “the skunk at the picnic.”Today, a candid conversation between Dr. Fauci and Donald G. McNeil Jr., the Times science and health reporter, about dealing with the pandemic under the Trump administration.

If Mr. Trump is found guilty, the Senate could then vote to bar him from holding future office by a simple majority. Currently, no Republican senators openly support conviction, and no Democrats have made public statements opposing conviction. The House impeached Mr. Trump in a bipartisan vote on Jan. 13, saying he incited the violent mob that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6. Just over one year ago, Mr. Trump was impeached for pressuring Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, but he was acquitted in the Senate trial with only one Republican, Senator Mitt Romney of Utah, supporting the effort to remove him from office. Some of the statements date to when Mr. Trump was still president.

Baseless rumors circulated about “black helicopters” and Walmart stores that had supposedly been turned into detention camps. In the end, the exercise went off without a hitch. Three men were arrested after planning to attack the exercise with pipe bombs. “There were actually some farmers and landowners who were making threats that if anyone was on their land, they would shoot them, so there were real concerns,” Mr. Newbold said. Mr. Newbold is a longtime registered Republican who said he voted for Mr. Trump.

One of the biggest lessons of the pandemic has been the success of travel restrictions at reducing its spread. President Biden seems to realize this, and has reinstated some travel restrictions that President Donald Trump lifted just before leaving office. It’s not yet clear whether Biden will impose the kind of strict rules that have worked best elsewhere. Many of the places that have contained the virus have relied on travel restrictions. At key points, they imposed severe restrictions on who could enter.

In Oregon, the state Republican Party isn’t just backing former president Donald Trump — its official position now falsely claims that the entire episode was a “false flag” staged to discredit the GOP and silence Trump’s supporters. AD“The violence at the Capitol was a ‘false flag’ operation designed to discredit President Trump, his supporters, and all conservative Republicans; this provided the sham motivation to impeach President Trump in order to advance the Democratic goal of seizing total power,” the resolution says. State Republican Parties nationwide have been castigating members for opposing Trump, voting to impeach him and certifying Biden’s victory. Hours after Rep. Tom Rice (R-S.C.) voted to impeach Trump, the chairman of the South Carolina GOP released a scathing statement, blasting the congressman’s decision. In December, Republican state Rep. Mike Nearman was caught on surveillance footage exiting a backdoor of the state Capitol and holding it open for far-right rioters to enter and storm the building.

Today (Tuesday): A slushy, messy morning greets us with patchy drizzle and light rain. Temperatures only slowly lift up through the 30s with a few spots potentially touching 40 after the light rain and drizzle end by early afternoon. Confidence: MediumTomorrow night: Cloudy with a slight chance of light snow late at night, but no significant accumulation expected. There is a slight chance of light snow in the morning, especially south of the District, but again no significant accumulation expected. Sunday should be cloudy with a chance of light snow developing that could continue into the evening.

The Arab Spring was in full bloom. Tunisia remains the only country where democracy has consolidated and persevered after 2011, but the road has been bumpy. Former president Donald Trump was an eager ally, parroting the royals’ position that “stability” in the Middle East was paramount and democratic upheavals were a potential Trojan horse for Islamist takeovers. But Biden has a full plate when it comes to Middle East policy and, while working to shore up Arab support in new negotiations with Iran, probably won’t want to rock the boat on other fronts. ADADAll the while, the purported “stability” offered by Arab authoritarians is hardly that.

“We think the quality of the design is groundbreaking for Bethesda and rivals what you would find in any urban center around the country,” he added. The Elm is adjacent to a pocket park that opens onto Bethesda and Woodmont avenues, home to dozens of restaurants, shops and a movie theater. ADADThe one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments have birch-colored wide-plank flooring, keyless entry, recessed lighting, white quartz countertops, kitchen islands and stainless-steel appliances. Some units include a balcony or a terrace. “We used lots of natural materials like wood and stone to give the apartments warmth.”Rents for available apartments range from $2,065 to $6,075 per month, and available units range in size from 606 square feet to 1,790 square feet.

Soil composition is a very important thing to consider when it comes to the question of gutters or no gutters, it turns out. Gutters and downspouts will collect this water and pipe it to another location to minimize wetting. Typical downspouts come in two sizes: 2x3-inch downspouts fit 5-inch gutters and 3x4-inch downspouts fit 6-inch gutters. They’re foolish impostors and trick you into thinking that the roof water is being handled correctly. At other parts of my house, the roof water drops to the ground and disappears into the coarse gravel.

Though we finally have vaccines, the wait to return to normalcy can feel interminable. ADOr in a particularly spicy tweet: “when Amy Adams gets her Oscar.” She’s been nominated six times, after all. ADSome compared waiting for the end of covid to hoping for new material from their favorite artists. One “Game of Thrones” fan tweeted that the phrase sounds like “once George R.R. One of 2020?s more popular memes was a short video clip of a troupe of Ghanaian pallbearers who dance as they carry a coffin.

Early on Tuesday, some farmers deviated from the protest routes that union leaders had decided with police. Police fired tear gas canisters and beat protesters with sticks at several locations after farmers broke through barricades. Some farmers drove tractors at high speed toward police personnel in an area that is home to the police headquarters and close to India’s Supreme Court. Political leaders, farmer union officials and a Delhi police spokesman called for calm on Tuesday as the protests continued. Shriram Singh, 78, a village head from Uttar Pradesh, said he led 2,000 people on 500 tractors into Delhi on Tuesday.

China just outpaced the United States in attracting foreign direct investment for the first time. While China is still battling some Covid-19 cases , its numbers aren't remotely near the levels recorded in Europe and the United States. They now expect China to over take the United States five years earlier than previously forecast. "China has faced the US-initiated trade war and the country's strategic containment against China. "Once he has made progress on his domestic goals, he will turn his attention to global trade issues as well."

"It appears that two things have been confused in the reports," a ministry spokesperson said in a statement. "However, this does not imply an efficacy of only eight percent in the elderly," the spokesperson added. "These are huge data packages from the studies ... and we will just now get the results at the end of the week," he cautioned. "It's always been clear — this was a discussion already back in the fall — that there's less data for the elderly," he said. Pending results from regulatory authorities on the German and European level, he added, Berlin would decide next week "which groups … will be vaccinated with this vaccine first."

But interest rates have barely budged from their rock-bottom levels, signaling that investors — the people who actually finance the debt — aren’t the least bit concerned about all that government borrowing. And it’s a strategy that has found plenty of support on Wall Street. “They don’t have to ‘pay back the debt,’” said Julia Coronado, a former Fed economist and president of MacroPolicy Perspectives. But it offers a practical lesson as well: Interest rates were considerably higher then, when debt was about half the size of the economy. “There’s a lot of discussion about how the U.S. should not borrow, should not engage in fiscal stimulus for fear of seeing interest rates rise too much,” he said.

Another source says Trump and McCarthy had a cordial conversation since their last, heated interactions about the riots. “This is vintage Kevin McCarthy. “And it always comes back to bite you in the butt.”“Will the real Kevin McCarthy please stand up?” the lawmaker added. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy joins President Donald Trump after stepping off Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on May 30, 2020. McCarthy has also implored Republicans to avoid attacking each other in the press — advice which some GOP lawmakers ignored.

In other cities that have tried ranked-choice voting, such as San Francisco, unusual alliances have developed between candidates. The classic qualities of a successful politician — good at retail, good at raising money and good at public speaking — are still likely to carry the day. "The most compelling candidates, the best-funded candidates still tend to be the words that describe the winner,” Clemens said. “But coalitions have proven to be helpful in improving the chances of nonfrontrunners in the race." The biggest adjustment for New York pols will likely be pointing to some of their competitors and admitting they’d do a good job as mayor.

Some states have complained about the pace of that program, even though the retail pharmacy giants providing the shots — CVS and Walgreens — reported Monday they had met their goal of finishing the first round of vaccinations in nursing homes. States revising their allocations said they’re correcting for a mismatch in supply, now that many states have cleared vaccinations for people 65 and over, and other high-risk groups. Utah is halting new shipments for long-term care facilities this week and is instead redistributing 8,775 shots to local health departments and other providers, said health department spokesperson Tom Hudachko. Michigan is sending 120,000 shots to other providers that were originally intended for long-term care facilities, according to Lynn Sutfin, a health department spokesperson. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also helping states with reallocation, a spokesperson said.

Hundreds of state and local elected officials are calling on President Joe Biden to lead a speedy, aggressive national effort to combat the climate and extinction crises by protecting 30% of America’s lands and 30% of its waters by 2030. A 2018 study from the Center for American Progress found that about 12% of the U.S. landmass and 26% of the nation’s ocean waters were protected. “We cannot continue down the current path and watch as our nation’s land, water, and biodiversity disappears. Utah is among the states where Biden’s effort to increase land protections is likely to materialize first. Bob Strong / Reuters In 2017, then-President Donald Trump signed a proclamation slashing the size of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument outside of Escalante, Utah.

On his first day in office, President Joe Biden moved to both erase the white supremacist legacy of the previous White House and address injustices that existed long before Donald Trump came to power. “A cry for racial justice some 400 years in the making moves us. Racial justice is one of the administration’s top priorities, alongside the pandemic and the economy, he said. It has the potential to advance the cause of racial justice on several key fronts. Erasing Trump’s Most Egregious Actions The executive order on racial justice erased two of the Trump administration’s most blatantly racist policies.

“Tragically, after decades in the shadows, neo-Nazis and their ideas are now gaining currency,”Guterres said U.S. authorities have warned that neo-Nazis are on the rise across the country and around the world. In some unnamed countries, he said, neo-Nazis have infiltrated police and state security services and their ideas can be heard in debates of mainstream political parties. “The continued rise of white supremacy and neo-Nazi ideology must be seen in the context of a global attack on truth that has reduced the role of science and fact-based analysis in public life,” he said. Guterres said fragmentation of the traditional media and the growth of social media are contributing to the absence of shared facts. “We need coordinated global action, on the scale of the threat we face, to build an alliance against the growth and spread of neo-Nazism and white supremacy, and to fight propaganda and disinformation,” he said.

“It's not an all-or-nothing approach,” said one source with knowledge of the White House discussions. “We aren’t saying you have to pass the Biden bill. Undoubtedly the divisiveness stoked under former President Donald Trump is going to make cross-party support for any major immigration bill hard to come by. The additional Republicans still in office that supported immigration reform under Obama are Sens. But they said they’re open to breaking off individual pieces if the larger bill stalls, according to a source with knowledge of discussions.

Portman announced Monday that he won't be running for re-election in 2022, which came as a big shock to the political commentariat. His "moderate" reputation got a pretty decent skewering from MSNBC's Steve Benen, so I don't feel the need to repeat. But what I will say is that Portman's looming retirement means it might be even less likely that Republicans will offer up concessions for Biden's agenda in the meantime. That means three swing states will have open Senate seats in 2022. But does that mean Biden's priorities will suddenly have a clearer shot of passing the Senate?

Tony Starks of Accokeek, Maryland, remembers where he was one year ago when he learned that NBA great Kobe Bryant had died. Jerseys, flowers and candles at a makeshift memorial as fans mourn the death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant in front of Staples Center in Los Angeles on Jan. 27, 2020. "I went to the Staples Center for the celebration of his life, hoping to get a ticket. I didn't, but I was there at the Staples Center and able to take in that vibe. It's expected that a statue will be erected in Bryant's honor outside the Lakers' home, the Staples Center, in downtown Los Angeles.

Ten police were injured in the port city of Rotterdam, where 60 rioters were detained overnight, Dutch news agency ANP said on Tuesday. “Unfortunately, we’re seeing the same things as last night,” police chief Willem Woelders told Dutch current affairs show Nieuwsuur. By late Monday night, police in Rotterdam were left sweeping up shattered glass littering the street next to a vandalized bus stop. The force tweeted that “calm is slowly returning, but the atmosphere is still grim.”In the southern town of Geleen, police tweeted that youths in the downtown area were throwing fireworks. Police in the southern town of Goes and the North Holland province said they detained people on suspicion of using social media to call for rioting.

If developed countries don’t ensure access to vaccines in emerging markets, “the global economy stands to lose $9.2 trillion,” it said. “No economy can recover fully from the pandemic until vaccines are equally accessible in all countries.”The study comes as battles have emerged between nations over limited supplies of the most effective vaccines, including doses produced by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca. “As we speak, rich countries are rolling out vaccines, while the world’s least-developed countries watch and wait,” he said. South Africa is currently grappling with a new covid-19 variant that could make the current vaccines less effective, researchers say. AD“We need those who have hoarded the vaccines to release the vaccines so that other countries can have them,” Ramaphosa told a virtual meeting of the World Economic Forum.

Several victims are critically injured and first responders are still searching for people buried in rubble, said Fultondale Mayor Larry Holcomb. AD“We still have people trapped in their houses that we are trying to access at this time,” Holcomb told WBMA. Holcomb told reporters that the tornado cut a path nearly a quarter-mile wide, severely damaging Fultondale High School and multiple businesses in a period of about 30 minutes. About 12,000 people were without power in the state early Tuesday, according to Alabama Power. A Hampton Inn next to the interstate was mangled by the storm, which collapsed the hotel’s roof and left many rooms ripped open.

Neither could immediately be reached for comment late Monday, and it was not clear if they have attorneys. AD“It’s clear to me that because we are a predominantly Indigenous community, that they assumed we were naive,” Chief Angela Demit said. ADAuthorities say the Bakers flew to Whitehorse early last week, and promised to spend two weeks in mandatory quarantine in a local hotel. Many people who work in rural Yukon come from other parts of Canada, so proof of residency hasn’t been required at traveling vaccination clinics, Yukon Community Services Minister John Streicker told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. ADThough the Bakers were charged with violating quarantine protocols, it wasn’t immediately clear if they could face additional consequences for getting vaccines that were intended for rural Yukon residents.

Rob Portman's surprising announcement Monday that he had decided not to run for re-election shows that the future of the Republican Party is as bleak as the future of bipartisanship in Washington. It's no secret that Portman is considered a moderate Republican, and he never gave into the far-right conspiracy theories being pedaled by Trump and his allies. The Republican Party has obviously learned nothing from the violent insurrection or the election that lost it the Senate and the White House. I fear that, without any moderate Republicans, all hope is lost for the future of bipartisanship in Congress. At this point, I can only hope that as the Republican Party continues to move further to the extreme right, other voters will not go along with it.

Another classic Disney theme park ride is getting a makeover. The company announced on Monday that the Jungle Cruise ? one of the original attractions to open with Disneyland in California in 1955 ? will be revamped to remove offensive depictions of native people. The ride includes scenes depicting a spear-wielding tribal war party, native dancers and a character named Trader Sam who sells shrunken heads. “This is not a re-envisioning of the entire attraction,” Disney imagineer Chris Beatty told the company’s D23 website. It will play off the characters who are chased up a pole by a rhino in the current iteration of the ride.

For those opting for cloth masks, Segal recommends "two layers of high-quality cotton material with a relatively high thread count." Technically, the Food and Drug Administration regulates masks, including cloth face coverings, but only when they are marketed specifically for "medical purposes." "I would rather that someone wear a surgical mask or cloth mask 100 percent of the time, correctly and consistently." Download the NBC News app for full coverage of the coronavirus outbreakOne easy way to test cloth masks at home is to hold it up to a light. If light shines in between the cloth's individual fibers, it probably means that viral particles can get through, too, Segal said.

"If passed into law, HB 112 and HB 113 will cause irrevocable harm to trans youth," Caitlin Borgmann, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Montana, said in a statement. Anti-LGBTQ billsRepublican legislators in over a dozen states have proposed legislation that targets LGBTQ people. The bills touch on athletics, health care and a grab bag of other issues related to queer rights and recognition. If the bill becomes law, Indiana would join 20 other states and 80 cities in banning the widely discredited practice. "We are in the best position we have ever been to update federal civil rights law," Suffredini said.

ROME — In a vast makeshift courtroom in the region of Calabria, the toe of southern Italy's boot-shaped peninsula, 350 people went on trial this month in the biggest and most important organized crime trial in more than 30 years. Nicola Gratteri, the lead prosecutor, who has become the public face of the trial, led the four-year investigation that preceded it. Gratteri said the group is "by far the most powerful, hard, violent mafia there is" — more so than the Sicilian Mafia. The 'Ndrangheta, he said, is the only mafia group present on all continents, including the Americas. Pope Francis visited the town and comforted the boy's father before condemning the crime group.

At Buttigieg’s confirmation hearing the next day, Cruz said that “in 2021, the Keystone pipeline was scheduled to have more than 11,000 jobs.”ADOur first fact check of Keystone job numbers appeared almost a decade ago, in 2011, and we have published many more in recent years. ADThe Keystone XL pipeline is a construction project, and so the most direct jobs are related to construction. ADThe most comprehensive estimate of Keystone jobs was calculated by the State Department in a 2014 report. ADThe State Department report says it would be close to 50. In the same report, the State Department said the Keystone XL pipeline, if built, would require only 35 to 50 permanent positions.

NBC’s Mehdi Hasan responded to the news that Sarah Huckabee Sanders is running for Arkansas governor with a run-down of her five worst lies as White House press secretary. Sanders’ two-year tenure in the White House was defined by her “brazen” and “relentless” lying on behalf of former President Donald Trump, Hasan said on Monday’s episode of “The Mehdi Hasan Show” on NBC’s Peacock streaming service. Hasan listed what he believed were Sanders’ most egregious falsehoods — from fear-mongering about border security to her “ridiculous denialism” of Trump’s promotion of violence. “An expert in the art of dissembling from the White House podium who now wants to also do it from the governor’s mansion in Little Rock,” he then warned. Watch the video here:

The U.K. will share its sequencing capability with other countries, in order to boost the tracking of coronavirus variants on a global level. Hancock is expected to provide insight into the decision to export Britain's sequencing capabilities. This article is part of POLITICO’s premium policy service: Pro Health Care. From drug pricing, EMA, vaccines, pharma and more, our specialized journalists keep you on top of the topics driving the health care policy agenda. Email [email protected] for a complimentary trial.

Twitter has permanently banned My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell’s account after he continued to perpetuate the baseless claim that Donald Trump won the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Twitter decided to ban Lindell, who founded bedding company My Pillow, due to “repeated violations” of its civic integrity policy, a spokesperson said in a statement. It was not immediately clear which posts by Lindell on Twitter triggered the suspension of his account. Lindell, a Trump supporter, has continued to insist that the presidential election was rigged even after U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has begun. He had also urged Trump to declare martial law in Minnesota to obtain its ballots and overturn the election.

Many teachers protested their workplace conditions amid the pandemic and opted to continue remote instruction, either on school grounds but outside the classrooms or from their homes. As of Jan. 16, the district had started disciplinary proceedings against more than 100 district employees. It argued that requiring all teachers to return was unnecessary because fewer than 20 percent of students had returned for in-person instruction. ADPublic schools in Chicago have largely remained closed since last spring when the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic took hold. ADBiden has made reopening the majority of K-8 schools within the first 100 days of his presidency a top priority, but Chicago teachers welcomed his emphasis on safety for students and teachers.

Stephen Colbert has spent nearly four years cracking jokes concerning one of the most bizarre and unverified allegations about former President Donald Trump . But the steady stream of quips on the subject of the infamous “ Pee Pee Tape ” might be over with a single “Late Show” crack on Monday night:Could this be the last one? #LSSC pic.twitter.com/WYFhzlSVCdThen again, maybe the flow of jokes on the subject isn’t quite over yet. In 2017, Colbert visited the hotel and even rented out the specific room. “It just washes over you.”Former FBI director James Comey said Trump denied the incident in 2017.

My sense was that few Republican senators would vote to convict Trump. The Patriot Party! Trump has convinced himself that the threat of a third party will discipline Senate Republicans to vote against convicting him. It takes an epochal event, such as the anti-slavery movement in the 1850s allowing the new Republican Party to displace the Whigs. For four awful years, Trump’s wrecking ball was aimed at American democracy.

× Expand From UNC Campus Y UNC's Campus Y BuildingSomeone tagged offices with antisemitic vandalism and wrote a racist message on a whiteboard at the Campus Y at UNC-Chapel Hill. The sandy pink building has been the site of social justice work at the university for the last 160 years. Aside from its 31 committees, the Campus Y has been a meeting place for activists for decades. The Anti-Defamation League has reported 18 antisemitic incidents (not including the one at the Campus Y) since the start of 2021. UNC Campus Police are looking for more information about the event.

The training firm Positive Management Leadership (PML), based in South Carolina, boasts some of Canada’s biggest companies among its clients, including household names like Canadian Tire, Staples, Best Buy, and juggernaut fast-food coffee purveyor, Tim Hortons. Michelin North America, for example, is infamous in Eastern Canada for its fight with the United Rubber Workers’ Union. These companies include JCPenney, Canadian Tire, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Gap, Hallmark Cards, Best Buy, and Tim Hortons. Best Buy, via email, has denied being a PML client. Last Spring, Vice leaked an anti-union video that Best Buy had posted internally for members of its HR team.