New Jersey officials close restaurant, blast GOP's Gaetz after party

Florida congressman joins Shannon Bream to respond to backlash on 'Fox News @ Night'

Latest Stories

  • Lawyers' group calls for disciplining Trump legal team over 'dangerous' fraud allegations

    More than 1,000 current and former attorneys, retired judges and justices, law professors, former bar association presidents and concerned citizens have signed an open letter calling on bar associations to disavow the Trump campaign attorneys’ conduct.

  • Waiting for a COVID-19 vaccine? Don't get rid of your mask yet.

    While Pfizer’s drug overwhelmingly prevents people from getting sick with COVID-19, we still don’t know if it prevents them from getting infected without showing symptoms — and then silently spreading the virus to others. 

  • After Giuliani visit, Michigan House says nearly 30 have tested positive for Covid this year

    The chamber reported the numbers a week after Rudy Giuliani testified in Lansing and just days after he tested positive for Covid-19.

  • 'Very low' rates of coronavirus in schools, British study finds

    A study that analyzed school reopenings across the United Kingdom last spring and early summer found “very low” rates of infection, as well as a lack of major outbreaks, at all education levels.

  • Iran keeps death sentence for France-based journo

    Iran's top court said Tuesday it would uphold a death sentence against a high-profile dissident journalist. Ruhollah Zam was captured in the capital Tehran last year after years of exile in France. Iran called the arrest an intelligence operation. Zam's social media feed had more than 1 million followers - he was convicted of fomenting violence during anti-government protests in 2017. Iranian officials have accused government opponents living in exile of stirring the unrest, which began as protests about economic hardship and spread nationwide. Zam was the son of a pro-reform Shi'ite cleric. He fled Iran and was given asylum in France. Last year Iran's Revolutionary Guards said it had "trapped" the journalist in a "complex operation using intelligence deception." It did not say where the operation took place. Zam's Amadnews feed was suspended by messaging service Telegram in 2018 for fomenting violence - but it has reappeared under another name.

  • Pete Buttigieg reportedly really wants a Cabinet spot — but not just any Cabinet spot

    Pete Buttigieg is reportedly ready to make his political return — if President-elect Joe Biden can find a suitable place for him.The former South Bend, Indiana, mayor proved a strong contender in the crowded 2020 Democratic primaries before dropping out and endorsing Biden. He's now seeking a spot in the Biden administration, and is a little picky about where he ends up, people familiar with the matter tell Axios.Buttigieg's top choice in a Biden administration was reportedly ambassador to the United Nations — a Cabinet-level post in Buttigieg's preferred arena of foreign policy. But Biden passed Buttigieg over for that role, giving it to Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who has worked in Foreign Service almost as long as Buttigieg has been alive.It's not that Biden isn't fond of Buttigieg; He has gone so far as to compare the former mayor to his late son Beau. Instead, Biden has been focused on picking women and people of color for his top spots — something that has frustrated those looking for LGBTQ leaders in the Democratic administration, Washington Blade reports. And Buttigieg hasn't made it easy for Biden to include him either. Buttigieg shook off talks of being Biden's Office of Management and Budget director because he wanted a "real Cabinet" position and not a "staff-level" job, a Democratic insider tells Washington Blade. He also reportedly squashed talks of leading the Department of Veterans Affairs.Now, Biden is considering giving Buttigieg a high-profile ambassadorship, potentially even sending him to China, Axios reports. Buttigieg is also reportedly being considered for some remaining domestic roles — something his supporters see as a way to build his profile before another presidential run.More stories from theweek.com 7 criminally funny cartoons about Trump's potential pardon spree Trump's jaw-dropping vaccine screwup The Trumps are reportedly preparing to move out of the White House

  • Portland police and protestors clash in broad daylight

    Protesters outraged with the arrests of seven people at a home where a family was removed in September hurled rocks at officers, sprayed a fire extinguisher at them and damaged police vehicles on Tuesday. The violence happened in broad daylight, and by evening, Mayor Ted Wheeler sent out a statement saying he was authorizing Portland Police “to use all lawful means to end the illegal occupation ... There will be no autonomous zone in Portland." “It’s time for the encampment and occupation to end,” Wheeler said in a statement that also acknowledged the issues the protesters want to fix, such as housing and health care.

  • Some of those involved in killing of Iranian nuclear scientist arrested, official says

    DUBAI (Reuters) -Some of those involved in the assassination of Iran's top nuclear scientist last month have been arrested, an adviser to the Iranian parliament speaker said on Tuesday, according to the semi-official news agency ISNA. Iran has blamed Israel for the Nov. 27 killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was seen by Western intelligence services as the mastermind of a covert Iranian nuclear weapons programme.

  • Chuck Schumer had to tell Dianne Feinstein that she should step down as the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee twice because she forgot the first conversation they had, new report alleges

    One source told the New Yorker that Feinstein, "wasn't really all that aware of the extent to which she'd been compromised."

  • Biden reportedly picks Tom Vilsack for another stint as agriculture secretary

    President-elect Joe Biden has selected Tom Vilsack, a former Iowa governor and agriculture secretary for all eight years of the Obama administration, as his nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Politico and The Washington Post report. "One person familiar with Biden’s thinking said Vilsack’s previous experience running the department was instrumental in the decision because the president-elect wanted someone who could immediately tackle the hunger and farm crises that have been exacerbated by the pandemic," Politico reports.Several Black leaders civil rights advocates had urged Biden to pick Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), a member of the House Agriculture Committee, to head the USDA, looking for a fresh direction, and former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) and former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) had also been under consideration. Biden chose Fudge to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development instead. The USDA "has been almost exclusively led by white men since the Civil War," Politico notes.Vilsack, who currently leads the U.S. Dairy Export Council trade group, is expected to easily win confirmation, and Biden's plans to use the USDA as a tool against climate change "likely made the job more attractive for Vilsack to return," Politico reports. Agriculture groups have warmed to the idea of the federal government paying farmers to capture and store carbon dioxide in the soil.The next agriculture secretary will also have to decide whether to continue President Trump's welfare program for farmers hit by his trade wars — payments that hit $37 billion in 2020 — and grapple with rising demand for food aid during the COVID-19 economic downturn. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) makes up about half of the USDA's budget.More stories from theweek.com 7 criminally funny cartoons about Trump's potential pardon spree Trump's jaw-dropping vaccine screwup The Trumps are reportedly preparing to move out of the White House

  • Venezuela's Guaidó: Time to revise international sanctions

    Opposition leader Juan Guaidó is vowing to stay in Venezuela and press for an end to President Nicolás Maduro's rule despite threats, while working with the administrations of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden and other world leaders to revise sanctions aimed at forcing a transfer in power. “We must review these mechanisms at the international level to exert pressure on this dictatorship and find a solution,” Guaidó said. Guaido talked with The Associated Press on Wednesday at the Caracas home he shares with his wife and 3-year-old daughter.

  • UAE official lauds efforts to strengthen Gulf unity

    The United Arab Emirates appreciates efforts by Kuwait and the United States to strengthen Gulf Arab unity, a senior Emirati official said on Tuesday in a reference to a row with Qatar that Washington says hampers a united Gulf front against Iran. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia said last Friday that progress had been made towards resolving the dispute that has seen Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt sever diplomatic, trade and travel ties with Qatar since mid-2017.

  • Rep. Eric Swalwell refused to say if he had sex with a suspected Chinese spy who slept with 2 mayors for an intelligence campaign

    Fox News' Tucker Carlson said Swalwell's office declined to comment when his show asked about a claim that he had sex with a suspected Chinese spy.

  • Rudy Giuliani, hospitalized with the coronavirus, says he has 'exactly the same view' on COVID-19

    Speaking from his hospital room, Rudy Giuliani said Tuesday he hasn't changed his mind regarding the coronavirus or mask use, despite his recent COVID-19 diagnosis.Giuliani, President Trump's personal lawyer and a former mayor of New York City, was admitted to a Washington, D.C., hospital on Sunday, after traveling across the country in his futile attempt to overturn the election results. Giuliani did not wear a mask during meetings last week in Arizona, Michigan, and Georgia, exposing lawmakers and others to the virus.During an interview with New York radio station 77 WABC, the hosts asked Giuliani if his views on the virus have changed, now that he is sick and in the hospital. They mentioned former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), who contracted the virus after attending a super-spreader event at the White House; Christie later said it was "wrong" to be there without a mask."No," Giuliani responded. "I have exactly the same view. You know, I've also been through cancer, a couple of other things — very serious, very serious, emergency knee operation. Things happen in life, and you have to go with them. You can't overreact to them. Otherwise, you let the fear of illness drive your entire life." Regarding face coverings, which provide protection to the wearer and those around them, Giuliani said he thinks "you can overdo the masks."Giuliani revealed that he has received two of the same medications Trump took during his hospitalization for COVID-19: remdesivir and dexamethasone. One of the radio hosts told Giuliani the drugs are "not something that the normal American is going to be able to get, because it's quite expensive." Giuliani deflected, saying he "didn't know that. I mean, they give it to us here at the hospital."Giuliani did admit that his high profile is why he's receiving treatment that the average American can't get, saying: "I think if it wasn't me, I wouldn't have been put in the hospital. Sometimes, when you're — you know, when you're a celebrity — they're worried if something happens to you, they're going to examine it more carefully, and they do everything right." He said his advice to people is "get early treatment," falsely claiming that "the earlier you get treated for this, No. 1, you totally eliminate the chance of dying."More stories from theweek.com Trump's jaw-dropping vaccine screwup The Trumps are reportedly preparing to move out of the White House SpaceX Starship test flight ends in a fiery crash

  • 18 Gifts Under $100 for the Design Lover

    Not your average stocking stuffersOriginally Appeared on Architectural Digest

  • Pompeo unloads on US universities for China ties

    Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday accused U.S. universities of caving to Chinese pressure to blunt or bar criticism of the Chinese Communist Party. The attack, which included identifying two university administrators by name, comes as the Trump administration seeks to cement its anti-China policies before leaving office in January. Pompeo took aim at universities across the U.S., claiming they refused to address the Trump administration’s concerns about China’s attempts to influence students and academics.

  • Saudi crown prince's lawyer seeks dismissal of ex-spy chief case in U.S. court

    Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's lawyer has asked a U.S. court to dismiss a case filed by a former top-ranking Saudi intelligence official, claiming it has no jurisdiction over the prince, according to court documents viewed by Reuters. The filing rejects claims that Mohammed bin Salman, also known as MbS, sent a hit squad to kill former spy chief Saad al-Jabri, and says the crown prince is immune from prosecution in the United States. The lawsuit against MbS and 24 others was filed in federal court in the District of Columbia.

  • Biden is reportedly considering nominating Pete Buttigieg, his former presidential opponent, to be ambassador to China

    Axios reported that President-elect Joe Biden was considering Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, to be his China ambassador.

  • Georgia GOP Senate staffer sent dossier on critic of GOP donor to FBI

    Two FBI agents visited the critic at his home in 2017, the agency confirmed. The critic said they told him to stop threatening the donor on social media.

  • The Seeds of Hunter Biden’s Current Legal Woes Were Found on His Stolen Laptop

    The Justice Department’s announcement on Wednesday that it was investigating Hunter Biden, for what he deemed to be “tax affairs,” took root several years ago with a much broader inquiry that included possible money laundering, according to a report by CNN.That inquiry reportedly fizzled, leading instead to a probe on tax matters that is now being led by the U.S. attorney’s office in Delaware. But evidence of the larger probe was apparent in the markings on a series of documents that were made public—but went largely unnoticed—in the days leading up to the November election, according to two individuals familiar with the matter.Hunter Biden Says He’s Under Federal Investigation Over His TaxesHunter Biden’s business dealings were always a ripe target for President Donald Trump and his allies. But they became the primary focus of their attacks after the president’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani, claimed in the election’s closing weeks to have obtained a copy of the younger Biden’s laptop from a computer repairman in Delaware named John Paul MacIsaac. According to MacIsaac, Biden had dropped off several devices at the store in 2019 for repair. MacIsaac told The Daily Beast that Biden never returned and that he eventually turned the devices over to the FBI for fear of his personal safety.MacIsaac also said he copied the contents of one of the laptops for Giuliani. And, sure enough, those contents quickly made their way to conservative media personalities and outlets. Giuliani and others, including Steve Bannon, appeared on network television, stirring conspiracy theories and pushing unsubstantiated claims about Hunter’s overseas business dealings.One of the main outlets pushing emails and pictures from the hard drive was the New York Post. And for one of its stories, the paper published what appeared to be federal law enforcement documents given to MacIsaac in return for his handing over the Biden laptops.One of those documents—from the FBI— included a case number that had the code associated with an ongoing federal money laundering investigation in Delaware, according to several law enforcement officials who reviewed the document. Another document—one with a grand jury subpoena number—appeared to show the initials of two assistant U.S. attorneys linked to the Wilmington, Delaware, office.At the time, law enforcement officials in the state would not confirm or deny the existence of such a probe and individuals associated with the Biden team also rebuffed Daily Beast inquiries about the existence of such a probe.Giuliani: Even if Hunter Laptop Story ‘Isn’t Accurate,’ Americans ‘Are Entitled to Know It’On Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney’s office declined to comment on what they called an ongoing probe. It is unclear if federal investigators are relying on the contents of the laptop as part of their probe.According to CNN, federal authorities at the FBI and the IRS Criminal Investigation Agency have been working with prosecutors in Delaware to investigate Biden’s business dealings in foreign countries, primarily in China, and that the probe started back in 2018. One of the lines of inquiry probed by DOJ was a 2.8-carat diamond Hunter received during a business meeting with a Chinese oil and gas conglomerate executive. According to those two individuals familiar, the contents of one of Biden’s laptops deal extensively with Biden’s work in China. One of those sources said a recording of Hunter speaking about the Chinese executive who gifted the ring, Ye Jianming, is on the device. Biden has previously said publicly that he did not keep the diamond. The New York Times reported that “the money-laundering aspect of the inquiry appears to have died out” but that “investigators with the Internal Revenue Service continued to examine Mr. Biden’s taxes.” Hunter Biden had owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes in addition to facing credit card debt and two mortgages. The IRS issued a lien on him and his estranged wife for $112,805 in unpaid taxes from 2015.In anticipation of the announcement of an investigation, the Biden presidential transition team put out a statement on Wednesday under Hunter Biden’s name.“I learned yesterday for the first time that the U.S. attorney’s office in Delaware advised my legal counsel, also yesterday, that they are investigating my tax affairs,” it read. “I take this matter very seriously, but I am confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisers.”Those close to the transition subsequently insisted to reporters that the investigation was “not related” to the allegations leveled against Hunter Biden during the presidential campaign. But that explanation appears to leave off the origins of the probe into the younger Biden, which overlapped with his attempts to partner with a Chinese energy and finance company called CEFC China Energy and which seem evident in those FBI documents from his laptop.Pressed on the discrepancies in the statement, a transition spokesperson declined to speak on the record.Fox News Reportedly Turned Down Hunter Biden Laptop Story FirstThe announcement of the investigation on Wednesday all but guarantees that the elder Biden will become president while the Justice Department is investigating his son. And it could complicate both his efforts to reform that department—amid widespread worry that it has been used by Trump as a tool for carrying out political vendettas—as well as the start of his time in office.The president-elect’s team has bristled at the notion that Hunter Biden’s exploits are material to their agenda. And, for that reason, they have had a pushmi-pullyu approach to discussing questions about him with the press. Speaking on CNN shortly after the transition’s statement was released, reporter Evan Pérez said that he and colleague Pamela Brown had been in contact with Hunter Biden’s legal team since Monday about the investigation. The attorneys, Pérez said, told CNN that they would get back to them but instead released the brisk statement from the transition instead.The Biden transition would not confirm whether the notification to Hunter Biden’s legal team by the U.S. attorney’s office was a request for information or a target notification—the means by which the federal government informs individuals that they are targets for potential criminal prosecution. The statement released by the transition gives the impression that the Department of Justice did not make any requests of Hunter Biden, but rather simply notified his team of the investigation’s existence.“Target letters are basically, ‘We have you, come talk if you’d like to make it worse,’” a federal law enforcement official familiar with the distinction told The Daily Beast.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.