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
Marjorie Taylor Greene reveals she spoke to Donald Trump
Russia cultivated Donald Trump as asset for 40 years – ex-KGB spy
Second police officer died by suicide following Capitol attack
Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio was an FBI informant
Anleger
Republican snorted cocaine with escort who had ‘No Show’ government job
When Matt Gaetz attended a 2019 GOP fundraiser in Orlando, his date that night was someone he knew well: a paid escort and amateur Instagram model who led a cocaine-fueled party after the event. The Florida congressman’s one-time wingman, Joel Greenberg, will identify that escort to investigators as one of more than 15 young women Gaetz paid for sex. But what distinguishes this woman, Megan Zalonka, is that she turned her relationship with Greenberg into a taxpayer-funded no-show job that earned her an estimated $7,000 to $17,500.
Kevin McCarthy should testify about Trump’s views on Capitol attack
The Republican House minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, should testify before the commission to investigate the 6 January Capitol attack, the Wyoming representative Liz Cheney said on Friday, because he has “said publicly that he’s got information about the president’s state of mind that day”.
Matt Gaetz scandal deepens as associate admits paying 17-year-old for sex
Biden kills Trump’s sculpture garden of ‘American heroes’
Marjorie Taylor Greene is ‘deeply unwell’ after 2019 video surfaces
Senate Democrats urge not to fight court order to release Trump obstruction memo
A group of Senate Democrats are urging Attorney General Merrick Garland not to fight a court order demanding the release of a 2019 Justice Department (DOJ) memo that essentially cleared former President Trump of criminal wrongdoing following the special counsel's investigation.
Elise Stefanik eventually voted in as House Republican's new No. 3 leader
Elise Stefanik cruised to victory in a vote to replace Liz Cheney as House Republicans' third-ranked leader, capping off a tumultuous month in the GOP conference sparked by its bitter divisions over Donald Trump. Stefanik won in a 134-46 secret-ballot vote, defeating her sole challenger Rep. Chip Roy of Texas — an unsurprising outcome after she aggressively campaigned for the No. 3 spot, scooping up endorsements from top party leaders and Trump. The 36-year-old New Yorker, known as a moderate turned Trump ally who's used her fundraising skills to help elect a new class of GOP women.
Republicans removed Cheney from leadership role over Trump ‘big lie’ criticism
House Republicans voted quickly on Wednesday to remove Liz Cheney as their No. 3 leader over her repeated criticism of Donald Trump, a massive shakeup that ties the party tighter to Trump and threatens to create a new litmus test in the GOP. The fast-moving campaign to dump Cheney, Congress' highest-ranking Republican woman, and replace her with a Trump loyalist was orchestrated by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and his top deputies. The California Republican and his allies complained that Cheney’s constant readiness to call out Trump’s lies.
Bombshell Claim: Does Britney Spears have dementia?
Last week, Britney Spears posted a video of herself dancing on Instagram, accompanied by an uncharacteristically long, emoji-filled caption. While the post covered an eclectic array of topics—her love of travel, her desire to install a koi pond in her backyard, her pride in her garden—it was her blunt reaction to the recent spate of documentaries about her life and controversial conservatorship that made headlines.
Gasoline demand spikes in several states after pipeline hack
A growing number of gas stations along the East Coast are without fuel as nervous drivers aggressively fill up their tanks following a ransomware attack that shut down the Colonial Pipeline, a critical artery for gasoline. The panic-buying threatens to exacerbate the supply shock."Panicked buying" is "running stations in the region dry," Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told CNN Business.
Judge dismisses NRA bankruptcy case
A federal bankruptcy judge dismissed an effort by the National Rifle Association to declare bankruptcy on Tuesday, ruling that the gun rights group had not filed the case in good faith. The ruling slams the door on the NRA's attempt to use bankruptcy laws to evade New York officials seeking to dissolve the organization. In his decision, the federal judge said that "using this bankruptcy case to address a regulatory enforcement problem" was not a permitted use of bankruptcy.
‘Inappropriately close’ to Secret Service agents
Two Trump family members got “inappropriately – and perhaps dangerously – close” to agents protecting them while Donald Trump was president, according to a new book on the US Secret Service. Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service, by the Washington Post reporter Carol Leonnig, is published next week. The Guardian obtained a copy.
Anti-Maskers ready to start masking — to protect themselves from the vaccinated
A conspiracy ripping through the anti-vax world may finally drive some anti-maskers to do the unthinkable: wear a mask and keep their distance. The conspiracy — which comes in several shapes and sizes — more or less says the vaccinated will “shed” certain proteins onto the unvaccinated who will then suffer adverse effects. The main worry is the “shedding” will cause irregular menstruation, infertility, and miscarriages. The entirely baseless idea is a key cog in a larger conspiracy that COVID-19 was a ploy to depopulate the world, and the vaccine is what will cull the masses.
Trump's blog isn't lighting up the internet
Four months after former President Donald Trump was banished from most mainstream social media platforms, he returned to the web last Tuesday with “From the Desk of Donald J. Trump,” essentially a blog for his musings. A week since the unveiling, social media data suggests things are not going well. The ex-president’s blog has drawn a considerably smaller audience than his once-powerful social media accounts.
Rand Paul clashes with Dr. Anthony Fauci over coronavirus origins
Anthony Fauci on Tuesday clashed with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) over the role of the Wuhan, China, virology lab in the origins of COVID-19. During a Senate hearing on the pandemic response, Paul alleged that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) had been sending funding to the Wuhan lab, which then "juiced up" a virus that was originally found in bats to create a supervirus that can infect human cells.
Sally Buzbee new executive editor
Sally Buzbee, executive editor and senior vice president of The Associated Press, has been named the new executive editor of The Washington Post, the paper reported on Tuesday. Buzbee will become the first woman to lead the Post’s newsroom when she begins work next month, replacing former executive editor Martin Baron, who retired in February.
Federal investigators seeking cooperation from former Gaetz girlfriend, second key witness
Federal investigators scrutinizing Rep. Matt Gaetz are seeking the cooperation of a former Capitol Hill intern who was once a girlfriend of the Florida Republican, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN. Investigators could also soon gain the formal cooperation of a second key witness, former Florida county tax collector Joel Greenberg, who is approaching a deadline this week to strike a plea agreement with the government on more than two dozen charges he's facing. The pursuit of the cooperation comes as investigators are nearly finished collecting evidence, one source said.
New study estimates more than 900,000 people have died of COVID-19
A new study estimates that the number of people who have died of COVID-19 in the U.S. is more than 900,000, a number 57% higher than official figures. Worldwide, the study's authors say, the COVID-19 death count is nearing 7 million, more than double the reported number of 3.24 million.
New York AG sues Jacob Wohl for $2.75 million over robocalls
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Thursday that her office has filed a lawsuit against bumbling right-wing conspiracy theorists Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman over robocalls the pair allegedly made to suppress the Black vote ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
Money problems: Rudy Giuliani cuts down his entourage
Rudy Giuliani, the former personal lawyer for ex-president Donald Trump, has reduced the size of his personal entourage. Giuliani laid off several staffers and independent contractors in the last few weeks, according to one of the people, who said the ousted employees had been told that the former New York mayor was seeking to cut costs.
Tucker Carlson makes BS claim ‘30 people every day’ are dying from vaccines
Fox News host Tucker Carlson continued his reckless mission to mainstream vaccine skepticism on Wednesday night by dangerously speculating that thousands of Americans have died from COVID-19 vaccinations, citing a faulty open-sourced database that has become a haven for misinformation.
Donald Trump’s Navy Chief blew $2M on eight-month traveling spree
Former Navy Secretary Kenneth Braithwaite traversed the globe in his brief tenure under the Trump administration, spending about $2.4 million in air travel, according to figures and documents obtained by USA TODAY. Braithwaite spent $232,000 the week before President Joe Biden's inauguration to fly to Wake Island, a tiny Pacific atoll, where, according to Navy spokesman Capt. Jereal Dorsey, no sailors or Marines are stationed.
Judge's decision on Bill Barr memo puts spotlight on secretive DOJ office
A small but powerful section of the Department of Justice (DOJ) is under renewed scrutiny after a federal judge tore into former Attorney General William Barr and ordered the DOJ to release a memo that let former President Trump claim he was exonerated by the Mueller probe. Critics of the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), which provides legal advice to the White House and Cabinet agencies, have long argued it acts as a rubber stamp for the president and essentially drafts laws behind closed doors.
Liz Cheney faces the boot in Washington - Wyoming isn’t looking much better
Rep. Liz Cheney’s colleagues are set to boot her from House GOP leadership this month. Now Republicans back in her home state of Wyoming are plotting how to remove her from Congress entirely. There is no shortage of Republicans eager to take on Cheney in a 2022 primary since her vote to impeach President Donald Trump and her subsequent criticism of him tanked her popularity in Wyoming. But the crowded field is also a risk for the anti-Cheney forces, making it more possible for her to win with a plurality.
Donald Trump's 'Big Lie' is working, may cost GOP votes
Veteran GOP pollster Frank Luntz warned that former President Trump’s repeated assertions that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against him could hurt Republican efforts to take back the House in 2022. Luntz noted in an interview on the New York Times podcast “Sway” released Thursday that “more than two-thirds of Republicans believe that the election was stolen,” warning that a widespread and unproven belief that there was rampant fraud last November could turn Republicans off from voting in the midterm elections.
Shortnews
One Capitol Police officer in critical condition
One Capitol Police officer is in critical condition and 15 were hospitalized after up to 60 officers were injured after a violent pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol on Wednesday. "I'm livid about the whole thing," said Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), who added that several police were hit in the lead with lead pipes.
Joe Biden has more respect for military than Trump
A majority of respondents said that they believe Democratic nominee Joe Biden has more respect for the military than President Trump. The ABC News/Ipsos poll found that 61 percent of respondents said Biden had more respect for the U.S. military, compared to 37 percent who said Trump had more respect. The results were split among partisan lines, with 81 percent of Republicans believing Trump has more respect for the military, and 16 percent of Republicans siding with Biden. Among Democrats, 93 percent said Biden was more respectful of the military, while 7 percent said Trump held the high ground.
Inmate found dead with face mask tied around his neck
A Connecticut prison inmate was found dead this week with a cloth mask intended to prevent the spread of the coronavirus tied around his neck. His death was ruled as a suicide by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Daniel Ocasio, 32, was found early on Wednesday with a ligature around his neck. "The ligature was made from the cloth mask issued to the offender population to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus," the statement added. Prison staff tried to help Ocasio by giving him medical attention before he was sent to a hospital and pronounced dead.
Keine Bestechlichkeit
Die Generalstaatsanwaltschaft Berlin sieht beim CDU-Bundestagsabgeordneten Philipp Amthor keinen Anfangsverdacht einer Bestechlichkeit und einer Bestechung von Mandatsträgern. Das Verfahren wurde eingestellt, ohne Ermittlungen aufzunehmen. Amthor war wegen seiner Nebentätigkeit und Lobbyarbeit für das US-amerikanische IT-Unternehmen Augustus Intelligence in die Kritik geraten. Der 27-Jährige hat die Zusammenarbeit nach eigenen Angaben inzwischen beendet. Seine Kandidatur für den CDU-Vorsitz in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern zog er zurück.
Befragung im Libanon
Carlos Ghosn will an seinem Aufenthaltsort Beirut im Libanon befragt werden: "Mein Pass ist in den Händen des Generalstaatsanwalts im Libanon, da Japan einen internationalen Haftbefehl gegen mich ausgestellt hat." Japan bemüht sich um die Auslieferung. Ghosn verlangt Sicherheit. Der Architekt des französisch-japanischen Autobündnisses Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi war am 19. November 2018 in Tokio unter anderem wegen Verstoßes gegen Börsenauflagen festgenommen und angeklagt worden. Im April 2019 wurde er auf Kaution entlassen. Ghosn floh in einem Privatjet nach Beirut. Ghosn hatte die Vorwürfe gegen ihn in Japan mehrmals zurückgewiesen.
