Ticker
Jack Palladino on life support after attempted robbery in front of his home
Movement nominated for Nobel peace prize
Facebook letting fake news spreaders profit, investigators claim
Russia cultivated Donald Trump as asset for 40 years – ex-KGB spy
Apple, Facebook report increase in earnings at the end of 2020
World is at its hottest for at least 12,000 years
YouTube extends ban
24Plus
Wisconsin hunters kill 216 wolves in less than 60 hours
Hunters and trappers in Wisconsin killed 216 gray wolves last week during the state’s 2021 wolf hunting season – more than 82% above the authorities’ stated quota, sparking uproar among animal-lovers and conservationists, according to reports. The kills all took place in less than 60 hours, quickly exceeding Wisconsin’s statewide stated limit of 119 animals.


Opinion: Maybe Donald Trump is just a huge asshole
Getting vaccinated publicly could have gone a long way toward dispelling Republican doubts about the Covid vaccine — so of course Trump didn’t do it. Former President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump both received the Covid-19 vaccine. They just didn’t tell anyone about it.
What next after her tearful Australian Open exit?

US could have averted 40% of Covid deaths, says panel examining Trump's policies
The US could have averted 40% of the deaths from Covid-19, had the country’s death rates corresponded with the rates in other high-income G7 countries, according to a Lancet commission tasked with assessing Donald Trump’s health policy record. Almost 470,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus so far, with the number widely expected to go above half a million in the next few weeks. At the same time some 27 million people in the US have been infected. Both figures are by far the highest in the world.

Fox News movie brought back memory of sex with Trump
Stormy Daniels has said she could not remember key details of the sexual liaison she claims to have had with Donald Trump, until seeing a film about Roger Ailes’ sexual harassment of women at Fox News prompted her to remember.

Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers win 31-9 over Chiefs
Tom Brady won his seventh Super Bowl, 31-9, on Sunday night as he powered the Tampa Bay Buccaneers past the reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs in a game staged in the shadow of a deadly pandemic and a nation roiled by political and racial division.

The story behind the famous Yanks' logo
The interlocking “NY” of the Yankees’ logo is arguably the most recognizable in all of professional sports, spotted on streets from The Bronx to Beijing, Manhattan to Melbourne. Their navy blue and white caps have transcended baseball, becoming a global cultural touchstone.

Biden administration drops Trump-era discrimination lawsuit against Yale
The Biden administration announced on Wednesday it had dropped a discrimination lawsuit against Yale University, which alleged that the institution was illegally discriminating against Asian American and white applicants.

Heirs to Jewish art dealers lose fight at Supreme Court
The Supreme Court delivered a major defeat Wednesday to the heirs of Jewish German art dealers in a lawsuit claiming a famous collection of religious relics was effectively stripped from them as the Nazis came to power in the 1930s.

Why did an Olympic champion invade the US Capitol?
Klete Keller was somebody, a two-time Olympic gold medallist who swam in three Games. Then he was nobody, aimless, penniless and reduced to sleeping in his car. Now he is “Person 1” in court documents, identified by the FBI as a participant in the storming of the US Capitol and charged with federal crimes.

Gold medalist Olympic swimmer recognized amid Capitol mob
Klete Keller, a swimmer and two-time Olympic gold medal winner for the United States, was recognized by former teammates and coaches as one of the participants in the deadly pro-Trumb mob that overtook the Capitol last week.

Coach Bill Belichick says he won't accept Presidential Medal of Freedom
New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick declined to accept the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Monday after last week's deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

New Jersey: Bedminster stripped of 2022 US PGA
The R&A has appeared to rule out Turnberry hosting the Open golf championship while it remains in the hands of Donald Trump - with its chief executive warning that they will not return to the Scottish course until they are “convinced that the focus will be on the championship”.

Riots at the Capitol could be a coronavirus superspreader event
Wednesday, pro-Trump rioters stormed into the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. Prior to that, many in that crowd attended a rally put on by the president and stood around outside the Capitol. Many videos and photos of the people at the Capitol have surfaced, often showing people without masks or face coverings and standing in close proximity to others who were also maskless. Some health experts think this riot could be a superspreader event for COVID-19.

You un-American, anti-democracy, lying sack of shit
Liar or believer? I’ve asked that a lot these past four years, as Republican politicians and media figures spout falsehood after Trump-supporting falsehood. Do they really believe it? Or are they cynically going along with claims they know have no basis in reality — or are even the opposite of reality — because they don’t value truth, don’t respect their supporters, and see personal advantage in the lies?

Covid vaccine falsehoods still thriving on Facebook and Instagram
Under pressure to contain an avalanche of falsehoods, Facebook announced on 3 December that it would ban debunked claims about the safety and efficacy of vaccines now being distributed worldwide. The company said it removed more than 12m pieces of content from Facebook and Instagram between March and October, and that it worked with factcheckers to place labels on 167 million more pieces of content over the same period.

Arnold Schwarzenegger on why Republicans must stop Trump
The United States of America was my first love. I fell for this country long before I was lucky enough to live here. From the moment I was exposed to my first images of skyscrapers, huge bridges, Cadillacs, beaches and Hollywood in grade school, I felt that I belonged here.

Hamilton says 'horrifying' Grosjean crash a reminder of danger
Lewis Hamilton praised Formula One and motor racing's governing body for its constant push for greater safety after Romain Grosjean limped away from a fiery crash at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday.

And the loser is ... Rudy Giuliani
All cheer! The longest and most grueling presidential campaign in history is finally over. Those who haven’t already voted go to the polls today. But while it may be days before we know who the actual winner is, Donald Trump or Joe Biden, we already know who the big loser is: Rudy Giuliani!

Turner rebuked by MLB for returning to field after positive Covid-19 test
Major League Baseball issued a scathing rebuke to Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner after he returned to the field with his team-mates following their World Series-clinching Game 6 win having tested positive for Covid-19.

The polls point to a Biden victory but can they be trusted this time?
For months, activists and Democratic party officials have been telling Joe Biden supporters that the only answer to the question “can we trust the polls?” is to go out and vote for Biden, and then get others to do the same.

I predict that Trump will lose the election
If we want to predict the vote, we must know what is on voters' minds. We need to ask questions like: Is there anything in particular about [candidate X] that might make you want to vote for him/her?" "…against him/her?" "What do you think are the most important problems facing the country?" "Which political party do you think would be the most likely to do a better job in dealing with the problem?"

Boris Becker accused of hiding tennis trophies
Boris Becker has been charged with concealing trophies and medals won during his illustrious tennis career, including two from his three Wimbledon singles victories, from bankruptcy trustees.
Shortnews
Supreme Court reinstates restrictions on abortion pill
The Supreme Court on Tuesday night granted the Trump administration’s request to reinstate federal rules requiring people seeking medication abortions to obtain the pills in-person from a medical provider. The court’s 6-3 decision along ideological lines halted a lower court ruling that waived Food and Drug Administration rules to allow abortion pills to be distributed by mail during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Vaccine is ‘unlikely’ by U.S. election
White House coronavirus advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday a coronavirus vaccine probably won’t be ready by the U.S. presidential election even as the Centers for Disease and Prevention asks states to ready distribution facilities by Nov. 1. At a health conference, Fauci said it’s more likely a vaccine will be ready by “the end of the year” as drug companies Moderna and Pfizer race to complete patient enrollment for their late-stage vaccine trials by the end of September.
Pentagon forms new task force
The Pentagon is forming a new task force to investigate UFO sightings that have been observed on several occasions by U.S. military aircraft. The creation of the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, or UAPTF, continues an effort begun in recent years to investigate unexplained aerial incidents encountered by the U.S. military. “The Department of Defense established the UAPTF to improve its understanding of, and gain insight into, the nature and origins of UAPs. The mission of the task force is to detect, analyze and catalog UAPs that could potentially pose a threat to U.S. national security,” the Pentagon wrote in a statement late Friday.
Jürgen Klopp zum Fußball-Manager des Jahres gewählt
Jürgen Klopp ist nach dem Gewinn der Meisterschaft mit dem FC Liverpool von seinen Trainerkollegen zum Fußball-Manager des Jahres in England gewählt worden. Der Coach erhielt die Sir Alex Ferguson Trophy für seine herausragenden Leistungen. Klopp hatte Liverpool in der abgelaufenen Saison zum ersten Meistertitel seit 30 Jahren geführt. "Das ist sehr besonders für mich, weil ich von meinen Kollegen gewählt worden bin", sagte Klopp. Ferguson, der einst Manchester United zur Weltmarke formte, hob die "außerordentliche" Leistung von Klopps Team hervor. "Du hast es absolut verdient".
Lovren und Lallana verlassen Liverpool
Der kroatische Nationalspieler Dejan Lovren und Adam Lallana verlassen den von Jürgen Klopp trainierten englischen Fußballmeister FC Liverpool. Nach sechs Jahren bei den Reds wechselt der 31 Jahre alte Innenverteidiger Lovren in die russische Premjer-Liga zu Zenit St. Petersburg. Das gaben beide Clubs bekannt. Beim russischen Meister unterschrieb Lovren einen Dreijahresvertrag bis 2023. Lallana zieht es indes zu Brighton and Hove Albion. Beim Premier-League-15. erhält der 32-Jährige einen Dreijahresvertrag.