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Brad Schneider, one of trio infected, condemns ‘selfishness and arrogance of the anti-maskers’ he shared secured room with

Ex-officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck will stand trial alone in March due to pandemicA former Minneapolis police officer who knelt on George Floyd’s neck for several minutes will be tried separately from three other former officers accused in his death, according to scheduling orders filed on Tuesday.Derek Chauvin will stand trial alone in March due to the coronavirus pandemic while the other three former officers will be tried together in the summer, according to the orders filed in Hennepin county district court. Continue reading...

Melania Trump was inspired to see such ‘passion and enthusiasm’ around the elections and saved her ire for the ‘unwarranted personal attacks’ on her in the press. It’s typical behaviour for snowflake TrumpersMelania Trump was fiddling with furniture when the Capitol was stormed. While pro-Trump rioters were bludgeoning a police officer to death, she was reportedly overseeing a photoshoot of her rugs. As the mayhem escalated, aides asked her if she would release a statement urging calm. But, no, White House sources told CNN, the first lady was firmly focused on her photo project; it seems she hopes to release a coffee table book about all the lovely decorative objects she has collected. As for everything else going on, CNN reports, she was completely “checked out”.Well, it looks like Melania has checked back in and she wants us to know the real victim of the 6 January attack on the US Capitol was herself. On Monday she issued a bizarre statement about the riots; while she vaguely condemned the violence she also wrote how “inspiring” it was to see such “passion and enthusiasm” about the election. What was really “shameful”, however, was the way she was treated. “Surrounding these tragic events there has been salacious gossip, unwarranted personal attacks, and false misleading accusations on me – from people who are looking to be relevant and have an agenda,” she said. As usual, it’s hard to understand exactly what Melania is going on about. However, the consensus seems to be that she’s upset about the media reporting on her mid-insurrection photoshoot. Continue reading...

As Trump falls, rightwing figures such as Fraser Nelson and Douglas Murray have suddenly discovered their consciencesAs smoke billowed out of the Capitol, some of Donald Trump’s US apologists – the appeasers, the opportunistic cheerleaders, even some true believers – suddenly discovered consciences. In Britain, rightwing commentators had even less reason to embrace the man who remains US president: domestic support for him here has always been negligible. Cheerleading for Trump in Britain has always been a conscious choice, and it is all the more striking because it comes without the excuse of external pressure or cynical self-interest: indeed, it carries the price of damaging the cheerleaders’ credibility even among many Conservative voters.Those who made that choice in Britain are now attempting to walk away whistling from the crime scene, but apologism for the figurehead of the international far right – including the self-confessed Nazis who stormed the US legislature – should come with accountability. Fraser Nelson is editor of the Spectator, which presents itself as a respectable centre-right publication – its summer party is attended by senior Tory and Labour figures and BBC journalists alike – even as it publishes columns bemoaning there is “not nearly enough Islamophobia within the Tory party”. Continue reading...

From Facebook and Twitter to Reddit and Amazon, tech firms are moving to silence the president, and his QAnon supportersTwitter’s decision to suspend Donald Trump’s account on Wednesday evening has opened the floodgates for tech companies and platforms to remove the outgoing US president from their services.Twitter’s suspension was followed by Facebook, which a day later announced the move would be “indefinite”. Twitter then announced a “permanent” suspension of Trump’s account. Continue reading...

Given his dismal blame-shifting record on the pandemic, the further away he is from the seat of power, the better

Detainees also faced retaliation for raising safety concerns over lack of basic prevention measures at facilitiesImmigrants lacked access to the most basic Covid-19 prevention measures, such as soap for hand-washing, and were retaliated against for raising safety concerns as the pandemic spread through detention facilities last year, according to a new report on the grim conditions at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) facilities.Ice, which oversees immigration detention, created unacceptable health risks and violated constitutional and human rights during the pandemic, said researchers from Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and Harvard Medical School, who interviewed 50 former detainees for the report. Continue reading...

The underlying causes of Trump’s rise to power must be addressed, from taming social media to tackling inequalityThe assault on the US Capitol by Donald Trump’s supporters, incited by the president himself, was the predictable outcome of his four-year-long assault on democratic institutions, aided and abetted by so many in the Republican party. And no one can say that Trump had not warned us: he was not committed to a peaceful transition of power.Many who benefited as he slashed taxes for corporations and the rich, rolled back environmental regulations and appointed business-friendly judges knew they were making a pact with the devil. Either they believed they could control the extremist forces he unleashed, or they didn’t care. Continue reading...

FBI says far-right extremist groups planning armed protests in all 50 state capitals as well as in WashingtonUS officials are strengthening security measures in Washington DC and across the country as the FBI said far-right groups – many using social media – were continuing to threaten plots before Joe Biden’s inauguration as president on 21 January.As the National Park Service closed the Washington Monument, and the grounds of the US Capitol – which were stormed by a mob of pro-Trump extremists last week – were closed to visitors, with some 10,000 national guard being deployed across DC, the FBI said far-right extremist groups were planning armed protests in all 50 state capitals and in Washington, DC. Continue reading...

The ‘free speech’ app used by US Capitol rioters is an unsettling place where the far right encounters mainstream conservatives“Civil war is coming.”I saw this message on the social media platform Parler in November, about two weeks after the election was called for Joe Biden. The ominous post followed an even more harrowing message from a different user. “[O]ur people have guns too … it’s time for us to use it!!! Just like in old days.” The poster embedded a photograph of a noose. Continue reading...

Democrats have formally charged President Trump with a count of impeachment over his incitement of last week’s Capitol siege. Plus, tensions with North Korea heat upGood morning.The Democrats have launched impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump, formally charging him with “incitement of insurrection”. If the impeachment goes ahead, Trump will be the first president in history to be impeached twice. The move yesterday follows last week’s riot at the Capitol, when Trump supporters stormed the building in an attempt to stop lawmakers from ratifying Joe Biden’s election win, incited by the president. Continue reading...

Privacy advocates have sounded the alarm over the technology which is also used by federal government agenciesNew legislation proposed in California aims to put limitations on law enforcement’s use of automated license plate readers (ALPRs), a technology used to collect large amounts of data and track the real-time movement of hundreds of millions of people without a warrant. Continue reading...

Over the years, the NFL’s most successful coach has earned plenty of criticism. On Monday he scored perhaps the greatest victory of his careerLet’s start with a simple truth: Bill Belichick is a damn good football coach. Let’s take that further: after leading the New England Patriots to nine Super Bowls, and winning six, Belichick has built a very strong case to be the greatest head coach in NFL history. Here is another unavoidable truth: Belichick has also earned a staggering amount of criticism in his 46-year career. Then, on Monday he did what many thought unthinkable. Belichick, a taciturn old-school curmudgeon who seemed the very opposite of the progressive movement that has opposed Donald Trump, turned down the presidential medal of freedom after a Maga mob’s violent assault on the Capitol.On Monday night, Belichick released a statement saying that he would be passing on the honor. “Recently, I was offered the opportunity to receive the presidential medal of freedom,” the statement read, “which I was flattered by out of respect for what the honor represents and admiration for prior recipients. Subsequently, the tragic events of last week occurred and the decision has been made not to move forward with the award.” Continue reading...

Los Angeles sees a person infected every six seconds. In a predominantly Latino neighborhood, Martin Luther King Jr community hospital faces ‘a sea of illness’Husbands and wives, twin brothers in their 20s, parents and their children. Family members are turning up one after another at Martin Luther King Jr community hospital (MLKCH) in South Los Angeles. The deaths have been piling up.Patients have been arriving at MLKCH terribly sick, and at higher rates than anywhere else in the region – the impoverished Latino and Black neighborhood is one of the worst Covid hotspots in America. Inside the hospital, staff face a dire scramble to ensure they have the supplies, the healthcare workers and the physical space needed to take care of the overwhelming crush of Covid victims. Continue reading...

People with chronic illnesses are being forced to make hard decisions about delaying vital care or sacrificing basic necessities in order to pay for health insuranceThroughout the United States, Americans with chronic illnesses have been forced to navigate a healthcare system battered by the coronavirus pandemic while trying to afford medical treatment and resolve health insurance issues.That has led to many Americans making difficult decisions about delaying vital care, or sacrificing other basic necessities – such as transport costs or food – in order to pay for health insurance so that they can get the treatment they need. Continue reading...

His behaviour was unbelievably irresponsible – but no politician was better at postingOn 8 January, Twitter indefinitely suspended the account of one Donald J Trump, president of the United States. Banning Trump from Twitter is a little like banning E coli from your large intestine: even if he never comes back, the memories will be enough.Trump used the social media platform in a way that no figure in American government has ever managed before. Between last November and 6 January, when a mob of his supporters briefly overran the US Capitol and interrupted the certification of the 2020 electoral college vote, he used it to whip his followers into a frenzy. The riot was the reprehensible end to an extraordinary online career. Over the course of his presidency, Trump did for Twitter what James Dean did for the open-top sports car, making a cultural touchstone of a vehicle that ultimately destroyed him. Continue reading...

In a message on his website, the Canadian rock star said social media manipulation and Donald Trump had combined to ‘foment hatred’Neil Young has called for empathy towards those who stormed the US Capitol building in Washington DC, arguing they had been “manipulated” into doing so.In a message posted to his website, Young writes: Continue reading...

Companies such as Citigroup and Marriott are deserting lawmakers who backed Trump’s bid to overturn Biden’s victoryRepublicans who voted to block Joe Biden’s confirmation as president have been deserted by some of the biggest corporations in the US, as some leading rightwing politicians begin to face potential consequences for the Capitol riot on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Several gorillas at the San Diego zoo have tested positive for Covid-19, with the cases believed to be the first outbreak among primates in captivity.After showing mild symptoms of the virus including coughing, the presence of Covid-19 was confirmed through fecal testing.The animals will remain in their habitat in the park and have been quarantined together, with the zoo hopeful of a full recovery

President-elect Joe Biden has said he is not afraid to take the oath of office outside on 20 January following the violent riots at the US Capitol. Speaking after receiving his second Covid-19 vaccination, the 78-year-old added the focus now was on holding those who engaged in the riot to account Continue reading...

Republican senator who positioned himself as a political heir to the president is now facing fierce backlash after pro-Trump mob stormed the CapitolJosh Hawley, a 41-year-old US senator from Missouri, has spent the last four years positioning himself as one of the political heirs to Donald Trump – a more polished successor who can unite rightwing nationalism with populist economic policies. He is widely expected to run for president in 2024.Hawley was the first Republican senator – soon joined by Ted Cruz – to announce that he would challenge the certification of the election results in Congress last Wednesday. Democrats, as well as several of Hawley’s Republican colleagues in the Senate, lambasted Hawley’s decision as irresponsible, inflammatory and politically cynical. Continue reading...

Officer identified as Eugene Goodman induced the crowd to chase him toward officers and away from the Senate chambers

Senator says one officer took selfie with rioter and another wore Maga hat, as concerns grow over inauguration securityTwo Capitol police officers have been suspended as a result of their actions during the storming of the US Capitol, as pressure mounts on law enforcement to hold rioters accountable and to secure Washington DC from further violence ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration next week.Tim Ryan, a Democratic senator of Ohio, told reporters on Monday that one of the officers took a selfie with someone and the other put on a “Make America Great Again” hat. He says of the latter that the “interim chief determined that to be qualifying for immediate suspension”. Continue reading...

Wolf, who played key role in president’s hardline immigration policies, says exit prompted in part by ‘recent events’Chad Wolf, the acting homeland security secretary, who helped enact key pieces of the Trump administration’s hardline immigration agenda, resigned on Monday, as the nation confronts heightened security threats after an attack on the US capitol by supporters of the president.Wolf said in a letter to staff at the Department of Homeland Security that he had intended to remain in office until the inauguration of Joe Biden but would instead step down at 11.59pm on Monday night. Continue reading...

Los Angeles to turn Dodger Stadium from testing center into giant vaccination siteCalifornia’s coronavirus catastrophe reached a staggering new level Monday as Johns Hopkins University data showed the nation’s most populous state has recorded more than 30,000 deaths since the pandemic started nearly a year ago.Deaths have exploded since a Covid-19 surge began in October. It took California six months to record its first 10,000 deaths. But in barely a month, the total rose from 20,000 to 30,000, with an average of 476 deaths a day in the last week. Continue reading...

FBI bulletin reportedly details calls for ‘storming’ of buildings and courthouses if Trump is removed from power before inauguration

Actions spark debate on free speech and whether chief executives of tech firms are fit to act as judge and juryAs rioters were gathering around the US Capitol last Wednesday, a familiar question began to echo around the offices of the large social networks: what should they do about Donald Trump and his provocative posts?The answer has been emphatic: ban him. Continue reading...

A group of House Democrats has formally introduced an article of impeachment against Donald Trump. They have charged the president with 'incitement to insurrection' in connection to the violent riot at the Capitol last week

Group distances itself from robocall sent by fundraising arm that encouraged Trump supporters to ‘call on Congress to stop the steal’Leaders from the Republican Attorneys General Association face mounting criticism after sending out a robocall that urged supporters of Donald Trump to join the 6 January march on the US Capitol that resulted in a deadly insurrection.Related: Trump impeachment: House charges president with inciting an insurrection – live Continue reading...

Former ambassador to Russia and Jordan led outreach to Iran over its nuclear efforts in 2013 and has been highly critical of TrumpThe veteran diplomat William Burns is to become the new director of the CIA, Joe Biden announced on Monday, in an “apolitical” appointment that marks a clear break with the partisan use of intelligence under Donald Trump.The US president-elect hailed Burns as an “exemplary diplomat” and said that the American people will be able to “sleep soundly with him as our next CIA director”. If confirmed, Burns would become the first leader in the agency’s history whose career was spent at the US state department. Continue reading...

First woman of color elected vice-president is February cover star but users complain about lightingVogue magazine became embroiled in a “whitewashing” controversy on Sunday when it tweeted photographs of its February cover star, Kamala Harris.Related: ‘Racism doesn’t dissolve once it’s out of the headlines’: is the fashion industry doing enough to address diversity? Continue reading...

Trump administration’s 11th-hour decision greeted with dismay by aid agencies working in YemenThe Trump administration has made an 11th-hour decision to designate Yemen’s Houthi rebels as a foreign terrorist organisation in a move that is likely to severely worsen the war-torn country’s humanitarian crisis.The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, announced the decision late on Sunday, despite bipartisan opposition and months of warnings from UN officials and aid organisations that the designation – part of the White House’s “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran and its allies – would lead to shortages and delays for aid and commercial shipments and undermine the peace process. Continue reading...

Do surprised pundits and politicians not recall militias storming the Michigan capitol last year? Or neo-Nazis marching in Charlottesville?

Trump to give highest US civilian honour to Ohio representative, who objected to electoral college results following Capitol riot

Facebook, Google and Twitter peddle extremism for profit. They must be broken up - if not, worse is comingIn the wake of Donald Trump’s instigation of a shocking attack on the US Capitol, it’s easy to demand that Trump be barred from social media.Related: Trump attempted a coup: he must be removed while those who aided him pay Continue reading...

Voters have given Democrats a mandate. The party must pursue ambitious, concrete policy change

The House Speaker said Democrats would launch impeachment proceedings if Mike Pence did not remove the president. Plus, how will Biden tackle nuclear weapons?

Steven Sund also claims senior officials expressed concerns over the ‘optics’ of declaring emergency

Universities have always been happy to exploit unpaid workers for monetary gain. Covid-19 has only magnified the distasteful spectacleAt half-time of the national college football semifinal between Clemson and Ohio State, OSU coach Ryan Day said something that encapsulated everything wrong with the 2020 college football season, though it had nothing whatsoever to do with Covid-19.He confidently told a national television audience that his star quarterback Justin Fields, who had just suffered a nasty rib injury, was that “he’s gotta play for 30 more minutes.” Fields did not receive an X-ray at half-time and returned to play in the second half. For his part, Fields said medical staff “didn’t really give me a diagnosis,” although he did receive multiple shots to get him through the game. He also said, “Even throwing 10 yards, it would hurt.” Day would receive $100,000 as a bonus for Ohio State’s victory over Clemson – and his team will play Alabama for the national title on Monday night. Fields, on the other hand, received no compensation at all. Continue reading...

The Browns last won a postseason game 26 years ago, were ravaged by Covid-19 and faced their bitter rivals on Sunday. So of course they strolled to victoryFor almost the entire modern NFL era the Cleveland Browns have been synonymous with Very Bad Things: embarrassed fans covering their faces with paper bags, a litany of tragic quarterbacks, and a painful string of lost seasons.Yet here we are in a pandemic full of oddities, including Cleveland’s transformation into a normal, respectable franchise. Helmed by first-year head coach Kevin Stefanski they went 11-5 in the regular season by not crumbling during the last second of games, by having a legitimate quarterback in Baker Mayfield who continues to evolve, and by instilling a cultural shift. Continue reading...