McEnany: Supreme Court ‘dodged’ Texas lawsuit, 'hid behind procedure'

White House press secretary joins 'Hannity' to react to high court turning aside bid to overturn results in key states

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  • Trump's desperate gambit to stay in office alarms Europeans, who know about coups

    Europeans were bewildered at first by the chaos unleashed by Trump’s desperate efforts to stay in power. But they are paying attention now.

  • US schedules first federal execution of woman since 1953

    Lisa Montgomery is due to become the first woman to face federal execution in the US in 67 years.

  • US attorney general troubled by Mexican limits on agents

    U.S. Attorney General William Barr said Friday the United States is troubled by legislation pending in Mexico that would limit foreign agents and remove their immunity. In a statement, Barr said the proposed law that before the lower house of congress would hurt cross-border cooperation and would benefit drug cartels. The measure "would have the effect of making cooperation between our countries more difficult,” Barr wrote.

  • Australia abandons Covid-19 vaccine due to false HIV positives

    Australia has cancelled the production of a locally made Covid-19 vaccine after trial volunteers falsely tested positive for HIV, meaning the drug could interfere with diagnosis of that virus. Antibodies generated by the jabs developed by the University of Queensland (UQ) and biotech firm CSL led to trial subjects wrongly testing positive for the virus that causes AIDS. Further trials have been stopped. Scientists said the results were a blow to Australia's vaccine development and was likely to force the country to buy more doses of imported shots. "While this is a tough decision to take, the urgent need for a vaccine has to be everyone's priority," said UQ professor Paul Young. Australia has ordered a total of 140 million shots from different suppliers, to inoculate its 25 million people, making it one of the most highly stocked countries in the world. "We want to ensure that Australians ... have full confidence, absolute full confidence that when it gets the tick, they can get the jab, and they can make that decision for themselves and for their families, confidently,” said Scott Morrison, prime minister. Prof Sarah Palmer, from the faculty of medicine at the University of Sydney, said: “Sadly, this is a set-back for the development of Covid-19 vaccines. Generating a false positive for HIV is entirely unexpected for this vaccine, but underscores the critical necessity of testing the safety of newly-developed vaccines in large numbers of volunteers.” She said the Australian government, which was a major backer of the UQ vaccine effort, would have to consider funding other alternatives, including imported vaccine from firms such as Pfizer and Moderna.” Australia's strict quarantine regime has seen the country quash earlier outbreaks and its tally of 28,000 infections is far fewer than in many other developed countries Its success in keeping a lid on infections has meant the country is not racing to start vaccinations like countries in Europe and jabs are not scheduled to begin until March. CSL, had been under a contract to produce 51 million doses of the UQ vaccine, and will instead produce an extra 20 million doses of the Oxford vaccine being developed with Britain's AstraZeneca.

  • Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms reportedly went from Biden's VP list to being offered a Bahamas ambassadorship

    Talk about a demotion.Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) played a big advocacy role in President-elect Joe Biden's 2020 bid, no doubt helping him lock up the typically red state of Georgia. Bottoms was expected to be offered a White House role in return, perhaps as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development or the head of the Small Business Administration, or even Biden's vice president.After the naming of Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) as Biden's running mate over the summer, and after Biden slotted Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) into the HUD spot, Bottoms' choices seemed to be slimming. But as sources tell The New Yorker's Charles Bethea, Bottoms was offered a role as the U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas, which she declined.> Mayor Bottoms' Press Secretary did not immediately offer comment when reached this morning. gapol (2/2)> > — Charles Bethea (@charlesbethea) December 11, 2020An ambassadorship to the Bahamas is typically given to apolitical Foreign Service professionals or, in some cases, top political donors. In either case, it's generally not considered a spot for a rising star in the Democratic party.More stories from theweek.com The Constitution has an answer for seditious members of Congress 5 scathing cartoons about Congress' stimulus gridlock Joe Biden's agriculture appointment is a slap in the face to Black voters

  • Republican congressman rips Texas GOP for suggesting secession and says 'my guy Abraham Lincoln and the Union soldiers already told you no'

    Kinzinger said the Texas GOP chairman should be fired for suggesting some states should "form a Union of states that will abide by the constitution."

  • Texas man whose sentence was commuted by Obama arrested

    A Texas man released from prison after his sentence was commuted by former President Barack Obama has again been indicted on federal drug trafficking charges, according to Department of Justice officials. Hilario Nieto, 41, of San Antonio, is among eight people indicted on charges of conspiracy to possess and distribute methamphetamine and heroin in the San Antonio area, federal officials announced Thursday. John Convery, who is representing Nieto, said it is early in the case and there is no additional information he can provide but presumes his client innocent.

  • Mexican archaeologists find remains of 119 more people in Aztec 'tower of skulls'

    Mexican archaeologists said on Friday they had found remains of 119 more people, including women and several children, in a centuries-old Aztec "tower of skulls" in the heart of the capital. The new discovery was announced after an eastern section of the Huei Tzompantli was uncovered along with the outer facade, five years after the northeastern side was found. Archaeologists believe that many of the skulls belonged to captured enemy warriors and that the tower was intended as a warning to rivals of the Aztec empire, which was overthrown by Spanish conquistadors in 1521. Some of the remains could be of people who were killed in ritual sacrifices to appease the gods, according to experts quoted in a statement released by the National Anthropology and History Institute. "Although we cannot determine how many of these individuals were warriors, perhaps some were captives set aside for sacrificial ceremonies," archaeologist Barrera Rodriguez said.

  • Barr Worked to Keep Hunter Biden Investigations from Public During Election: Report

    Attorney General William Barr has known about investigations into Hunter Biden’s business and financial dealings since at least spring, but tried to conceal the investigations from the public during the presidential election, according to a new report.One investigation surfaced this week after federal investigators served Hunter Biden with a subpoena seeking financial information in connection with a criminal tax investigation by the U.S. attorney’s office in Delaware, according to the Wall Street Journal.Federal prosecutors in Manhattan also scrutinized Biden’s business and financial dealings in connection with a broader international financial investigation that has been ongoing for a year, according to the Journal. While Biden is implicated in that investigation, he was not a specific target for criminal prosecution.Neither investigation implicates President-elect Joe Biden."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," Hunter Biden said in a statement Wednesday. "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 advisors."Barr did not budge under pressure from Congressional Republicans who pressed him for more information into the investigations. Investigators worked to keep the cases out of the public eye ahead of the November election, in line with Justice Department guidelines, concerned about the impact their work could have on its outcome, sources told the Journal.Trump on Thursday criticized the “Fake News Media, the FBI and the DOJ” in a tweet, asking why they did not “report the Biden matter BEFORE the Election.”In the weeks before the election, a number of Republicans issued calls to investigate Hunter Biden, particularly after a Republican Senate investigation in September released a report on the younger Biden’s finances and overseas business interests.Ranking member of the House Judiciary panel Representative Jim Jordan (R., Ohio) wrote to Federal Bureau of Investigation director Christopher Wray asking what the FBI had done to investigate the “explosive report.”A number of Republicans in Congress pressed Barr on October 19 to appoint a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden and his father, demanding that Barr issue a response within five days.Investigators began looking into Hunter Biden following reports of suspicious activity filed by a bank that handled foreign transactions related to him, according to the Journal. Biden previously sat on the board of Ukranian gas company Burisma Holdings, where he made $50,000 per month for his work until April 2019. He also served as an advisor to China CEFC Energy Co. to the company’s dealings in Europe and the Middle East. in 2017 he was a shareholder in a venture with the Chinese company while it looked to gain a foothold in the U.S.. That joint venture never took off, but the Senate Republican report found that an entity linked to CEFC paid Biden's law firm millions of dollars for legal and advisory work.The Manhattan U.S. attorney's office began investigating CEFC's activity as part of a corruption case that resulted in the conviction of a former Hong Kong official in 2018. The official was charged with bribing African officials for CEFC's benefit. The company was not charged.President-elect Biden said in a statement Wednesday after news of the tax investigation broke that he is “proud of his son, who has fought through difficult challenges, including the vicious personal attacks of recent months, only to emerge stronger.”

  • Most US voters don't want Trump to run in 2024 and 42% say he is 'one of the worst presidents' ever, Fox News poll finds

    Voters disapprove of President Trump's handling of COVID-19, immigration, and healthcare. When it comes to economics, Trump is viewed more positively.

  • North Carolina police officer killed in overnight shootout

    A North Carolina police officer was killed in a shootout early Friday while responding to a breaking and entering call, authorities said. Mount Holly police officer Tyler Herndon was one of several officers to respond to a call at Mount Holly Car Wash and Arcade around 3:30 a.m. Friday, according to a news release from Charlotte-Mecklenburg police.

  • No deal on Brexit trade 'very very likely', British PM Johnson says

    LONDON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Britain is likely to complete its journey out of the European Union in three weeks without a trade deal, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday. Britain quit the EU in January but remains an informal member until Dec. 31 - the end of a transition period during which it has remained in the EU single market and customs union. Both sides say they want to agree arrangements to cover nearly $1 trillion in annual trade but negotiations are at an impasse, with Britain standing to lose zero-tariff and zero-quota access to the huge European single market.

  • Sexual misconduct shakes FBI's senior ranks with little to no discipline

    An Associated Press investigation has identified at least six sexual misconduct allegations involving senior FBI officials over the past five years, including two new claims brought this week by women who say they were sexually assaulted by ranking agents.

  • Biden's latest Cabinet picks slammed for lack of relevant experience

    President-elect Joe Biden announced Thursday he'll nominate Denis McDonough to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, and will name Susan Rice his head of the White House Domestic Policy Council. And while both of the nominees have lots of Washington experience, they're receiving criticism for their lack of experience in the departments they've been named to.McDonough was a chief of staff to former President Barack Obama, and was reportedly chosen for his skill in crisis management and deep experience in government operations, a source familiar with the choice tells Military Times. And while he did handle the aftermath of the Obama administration's VA wait times scandal, McDonough isn't a veteran, and wasn't known for his work in veterans issues under Obama. AMVETS National Executive Director Joe Chenelly told Military Times he was "surprised by this pick," while others were more explicit with their criticism.> I’ve met McDonough and have always been impressed by him. But there’s no world in which I would have ever envisioned him as @DeptVetAffairs Sec. For an incoming Biden administration that says representation is a priority, this pick is the ultimate opposite of that commitment.> > — Paul Rieckhoff (@PaulRieckhoff) December 10, 2020Rice was meanwhile ambassador to the United Nations and National Security Adviser under Obama. She was on Biden's vice presidential shortlist, and was also expected to be a top contender for secretary of state. But Rice has long been the target of Republican opposition, perhaps influencing Biden to pick her for a spot that doesn't require Senate confirmation. Still, the decision is surprising considering Rice has spent her career in foreign policy and doesn't have high-level experience in domestic policy roles.More stories from theweek.com Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms reportedly went from Biden's VP list to being offered a Bahamas ambassadorship Joe Biden's agriculture appointment is a slap in the face to Black voters Democratic congressmember demands House leaders refuse to seat Republicans who support Texas election lawsuit

  • Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ripped into GOP Sen. Mike Lee after he blocked the creation of Latino and women's history museums during a dramatic Senate session

    Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez and GOP Sen. Susan Collins both pushed back against Lee, who said Americans didn't need "separate but equal" museums.

  • Police searching for British hiker said they can't rule out a 'voluntary disappearance'

    Police searching for Esther Dingley, the British hiker who vanished in the Pyrenees last month, said they could not rule out that she had organised her own "voluntary disappearance" in order to continue her nomadic lifestyle, according to reports. The comments came a day after reports that someone was spotted sleeping in the hiker's campervan 10 days after she vanished. Police in France and Spain have had to call off searches of mountains where she was last seen three weeks ago due to heavy snow. Ms Dingley, 37, had gone off on a month-long tour of the Pyrenees without her partner, Daniel Colegate, who had decided to take a break from their nomadic life after six years roaming Europe in a campervan. The Oxford graduates had given up their high-flying academic careers for a life on the road. She went hiking alone at the end of October and was last seen on November 22.

  • U.S. executes Louisiana truck driver who killed daughter, 2

    The Trump administration continued its unprecedented series of post-election federal executions Friday by putting to death a Louisiana truck driver who severely abused his 2-year-old daughter for weeks in 2002, then killed her by slamming her head against a truck’s windows and dashboard. Alfred Bourgeois, 56, was pronounced dead at 8:21 p.m. Eastern time after receiving a lethal injection at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. Victor J. Abreu, said it was “shameful” to execute his client “without fair consideration of his intellectual disability.”

  • Under fire for strong-arm tactics, DeSantis lashes out at former data scientist Rebekah Jones

    Gov. Ron DeSantis lashed out at the ex-Florida data chief turned whistleblower. What Jones is accused of doing is “clearly a felony offense," he said.

  • In leaked recording, Biden says GOP used 'defund the police' to 'beat the living hell' out of Democrats

    The president-elect told civil rights leaders he wants to move ahead on police reform — but cautiously.

  • 40 people were charged with orchestrating murder, kidnapping, trafficking drugs, and selling guns in the largest federal racketeering conspiracy in South Carolina history

    The Justice Department said inmates affiliated with the Insane Gangster Disciples used contraband cellphones to run a drug empire from inside prison.