Good morning.
Democrats have launched impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump, formally dismissing him with a “terrorist incitement”. If the impeachment goes ahead, Trump will be the first president in history to be twice inducted. Yesterday’s move follows last week’s riot at the Capitol, when Trump supporters blocked the building in a bid to stop lawmakers from consolidating Joe Biden’s election victory, on encouraged by the president.
Video footage emerged yesterday showing how close the mob came to a potentially violent conflict with members of Congress. Capitol police officer Eugene Goodman has been named as a hero for leading the protesters away from the Senate floor as they storm through the building near the room, buying time emergency for the police to secure the area. However, two other officers were fired for their actions: one for taking a selfie with a member of the mob and another for wearing the Make America Great Again ad.
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Major corporations have cut funding for Republicans following Capitol siege, with companies such as Citigroup and the Marriott hotel chain suspending grants for those who voted against confirming the results of the primary election.
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Senator Josh Hawley seems to want himself as a political heir Trump, and is expected to run for president in 2024. But his attempt to win over diehard Trump supporters has caused a backlash against the Capitol attack – so will he pay off?
The acting head of homeland security has resigned
Homeland security secretary Chad Wolf resigned unexpectedly last night. Wolf said he planned to stay in the job until Biden was formed, but would stand at the end of Monday due to “recent events”; including a court ruling that he was found to be illegally serving as a secretary. His resignation letter does not mention last week’s Capitol siege, which he described as “attractive and ill”, but Wolf is the third retired cabinet secretary.
The decision comes amid higher security threats in the U.S. following the Capitol attack. Michigan banned the carrying of guns openly in its capitol building yesterday in a bid to stop further violence, with reports suggesting the FBI is planning for “armed protests” and “storm” of the buildings. government if Trump is removed from office prematurely. The Secret Service is expected to begin its security preparations for Biden’s establishment almost a week earlier than expected, but the president said he was not afraid to take his oath.
Experts have warned that the threat of violence could intensify, with fears that Trump supporters could be drawn into even more far-flung groups believed to be recruiting supporters. are broken down. Rightler’s social media site parler, used by the Capitol mob to communicate, went down yesterday after Amazon refused to provide its services, following similar moves by Apple and Google.
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Facebook limits the phrase “stop theft”, which has been the rallying cry of Trump supporters as they continue to compete baselessly in U.S. election results. The policy is the company’s latest attempt to prevent the dissemination of false information and incite violence on their site.
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Twitter has shut down more than 70,000 QAnon accounts from Friday for the proliferation of conspiracy theories. QAnon’s theories include the accusation that Trump is secretly fighting in a ring of predators of child abuse.
North Korea has escalated tensions with the US
North Korea named the U.S. the “biggest enemy” at a rare meeting of their ruling party less than two weeks before Biden took over. Director Kim Jong-un used tensions with the U.S. as a justification to push ahead with their nuclear weapons program, saying that progress on denuclearization would only happen if America ended its invasion.
Our foreign political activities should be focused and refocused on taking control of the US, the biggest enemy and the main obstacle to our innovative development, ”said Kim. “Whoever is in power in the US will not change the true nature of the US and its fundamental policies towards North Korea. The key to developing new relationships between [North Korea] and it is the United States that the United States is withdrawing from its hostile policy. “
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The head of Hong Kong has been blaming the U.S. for eternity for criticizing the uprising at the U.S. Capitol last week but backing protests against democracy in Hong Kong. “I urge foreign audiences to put aside their double standards,” Carrie Lam said.
In other news…
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The same woman on a federal death row was given another stay ahead of what was expected to be the first person to be executed in nearly seven decades. Judge Patrick Hanlon said he had to test Lisa Montgomery’s mental capacity as he stopped the execution late last night.
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Israel is not a democracy but a “apartheid regime” exercising Jewish sovereignty over Palestinians, Israel’s human rights group has said. Israeli authorities have described the report as “propaganda”.
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Insect numbers are declining at “scary” rates which “separates the tapestry of life”, scientists have said. Insects are endangered from all corners, including the destruction of wild habitats, urbanization and the use of poisons, leading to population decline.
Stat of the day: One person in LA contracts with Covid every six seconds
Los Angeles is the epicenter of the U.S. coronavirus pandemic, with one person contracting Covid every six seconds and one dying every eight minutes. The poor Latino and Black neighborhood served by Martin Luther King Jr. community hospital has become disproportionately affected, becoming one of America’s worst dangerous Covid hotspots. Sam Levine talks to hospital healthcare workers about the battle facing the community.
Don’t miss this: I survived a China ‘re-education’ camp for Uighurs
Gulbahar Haitiwaji was lured back to Xinjang, the Uighur-populated and systemically controlled area, to sign pension documents. After five months in police cells, she was transported to a “re-education camp”, where she was put through military-style training and an ideological brain scan. Sleeping on wooden planks and living under the silence of rape, Haitiwaji was held for two years. Here, she tells her story.
The last thing: Brexit costs Britons sandwiches
This may not have been what Britons meant when they voted for Brexit: Dutch customs officials have been importing ham and cheese sandwiches from drivers arriving by ferry from the UK , under new post-Brexit rules banning personal imports of meat and milk. One heavy driver asked if he could give up the meat from his sandwich just to keep the bread, and one customs officer replied: “No, everything will be taken away. Welcome to Brexit, sir, I’m sorry. “
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