Biden blames 'cold' after cough steals show during victory address

Fox News contributor Raymond Arroyo joins 'The Ingraham Angle' for a Monday edition of 'Seen and Unseen'

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  • Biden coughs his way through first speech since being confirmed as president-elect: ‘Hand him a glass of water!’

    President-elect Biden blamed his throat clearing and coughing on a little cold

  • Iran's Rouhani defends execution of dissident journalist

    Iranian President Hassan Rouhani defended on Monday the execution of a prominent dissident journalist based in France and captured by Iran last year, saying the death sentence passed on Ruhollah Zam was carried out lawfully. European countries "have the right to comment, but Zam was executed upon a court's ruling," Rouhani told a televised news conference, noting that the judiciary was independent. "I think it's unlikely that this will hurt Iran-Europe relations."

  • Army Cancels 3rd Cavalry’s Rotation to NTC in Response to Fort Hood Review

    The move is to allow it time to rebuild unit cohesion, a problem identified in the independent review of Fort Hood.

  • Georgia man who lied to employer about having Covid pleads guilty

    The claim prompted the company to shut down the facility for cleaning, causing a loss of around $100,000, prosecutors said.

  • Biden: 'Not even a pandemic or an abuse of power' can extinguish the 'flame of democracy'

    President-elect Joe Biden addressed the country on Monday night after the Electoral College finalized his victory, saying the election was "honest, free, and fair" and "once again, the American rule of law, our Constitution, and the will of the people prevailed. Our democracy — pushed, tested, threatened — proved to be resilient, true and strong."Biden celebrated that "more Americans voted this year than have ever voted in the history of the United States of America," with over 155 million people "determined to have their voices heard and their votes counted." This "clear victory" should be "celebrated, not attacked," Biden said. Politicians are granted power by the voters, and "the flame of democracy was lit in this nation a long time ago. We now know nothing, not even a pandemic or an abuse of power, can extinguish that flame."Biden thanked "courageous" state and local officials and election workers for refusing to be "bullied" into saying the election was anything but "honest, free, and fair." These "patriotic Americans" were subject to "enormous political pressure, verbal abuse, [and] threats of physical violence," he said, but democracy "survived because of them."Biden touched on President Trump's dozens of attempts to overturn the election, saying more than 80 judges heard from his lawyers and "in every case, no cause or evidence was found to reverse or question or dispute the results." He called out the Republican attorneys general and members of Congress who signed onto the Texas election lawsuit, which was unanimously shot down by the Supreme Court. This was "a position so extreme, we've never seen it before," Biden said, and was "immediately and completely rejected."The president-elect called for unity, and asked people to work with him to "lower the temperature" so the country can move forward amid the pandemic. "Faith in our institutions held," he said. "The integrity of our elections remains intact. And so, now it is time to turn the page. To unite. To heal."More stories from theweek.com Joe Biden still doesn't get it Fauci: Americans without underlying conditions could get COVID-19 vaccine by late March, early April Donald Trump's defeat is good. Why does it feel so bad?

  • Epstein confidante Ghislaine Maxwell proposes $28.5 million bail package

    Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite facing criminal charges that she helped procure girls for financier Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse, on Monday proposed a $28.5 million bail package.

  • Turkey condemns 'unjust' U.S. sanctions, threatens response

    Turkey on Monday condemned U.S. sanctions over its purchase of Russian S-400 missile defences as a "grave mistake" and threatened to retaliate over a move it said would harm ties between the NATO allies. Washington imposed the long-anticipated sanctions on Turkey's top defence procurement and development body, its chairman and three other employees. Turkey's Foreign Ministry called the decision "inexplicable" given that Washington repeatedly rejected Ankara's offer to form a joint working group to allay U.S. concerns that the S-400s threatened NATO defences.

  • 'We have no oxygen': First journalist to access Yemen after Covid discovers major cover up in country of her birth

    Like many others in March I was spending my days locked down in my London flat, listening to reports about how overwhelmed the NHS was and the struggle to get essential supplies. However where I differed is that all I could think about was Yemen. I am British, but I’m originally Yemeni, and regularly report from it for BBC News and the World Service. If the UK was struggling to cope, I thought to myself, just how would the authorities in Yemen fare? I was terrified for them: my family, my friends, the nation. But I mainly feared for my grandmother. She is in her late 70’s and ticked all the vulnerable categories. I began calling my sister who lives in northern Yemen every day asking her if there were any cases. But while I was terrified, she, like so many others in the war-torn country was oblivious to the threat. The Houthi authorities in the north hadn’t announced a single case. From London I set about trying to find out what was truly happening, but it was near impossible. The Houthis had imposed a blanket restriction on all Covid reporting from areas they control.

  • U.S. Sanctions Iranian Intel Officers for Kidnapping Ex-FBI Man Who Died in Their Custody

    The Treasury Department says it knows the Iranian intelligence officers who kidnapped the former FBI agent Robert Levinson who died in their custody. U.S. officials announced on Monday that two members of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) would be sanctioned for their alleged role in Levinson’s kidnapping and detention.“Senior Iranian officials authorized Levinson’s abduction and detention and launched a disinformation campaign to deflect blame from the Iranian regime,” the statement reads.Trump Says He ‘Won’t Accept’ That Ex-FBI Agent Robert Levinson Died in Iran, Despite Family’s StatementThe Treasury Department identified Mohammad Baseri and Ahmad Khazai as senior Iranian intel officials involved in Levinson’s kidnapping and disappearance. Baseri is allegedly a “high-ranking MOIS officer involved in counterespionage activities in and outside of Iran” who has “worked directly with intelligence officials from other countries in order to harm U.S. interests,” according to the Treasury statement. Khazai is a “high-ranking member of the MOIS” who has allegedly worked with Iran’s intel program in foreign countries.In a statement released alongside the sanctions designation, FBI Director Christopher Wray accused Iran of lying about its role in Levinson’s disappearance in 2007. “The government of Iran pledged to provide assistance in bringing Bob Levinson home, but it has never followed through. The truth is that Iranian intelligence officers—with the approval of senior Iranian officials—were involved in Bob’s abduction and detention.”Levinson, a former FBI agent, flew to Kish Island off the southern Iran coast while ostensibly pursuing an investigation into counterfeit cigarettes on behalf of a tobacco company at a meeting with Dawud Salahuddin. Salahuddin, an American convert to Islam, fled to Iran after killing an Iranian diplomat from the shah-era government who had become a dissident.U.S. law-enforcement officials had reached out to Salahuddin after the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in an attempt to learn more about global terrorism and began a back-channel dialogue, during which Salahuddin discussed the possibility of returning to the U.S. and facing criminal charges.As the AP later reported, Levinson’s cigarette-counterfeiting investigation was a cover for his work as a contractor at the CIA, and his meeting with Salahuddin was part of an attempt to turn him into an informant for the agency. Levinson disappeared after the meeting, only to surface in proof-of-life videos and a photograph received in 2010 and 2011.In the images, a gaunt Levinson pleads for help from the U.S. government to “answer the requests of the group that has held me for three and a half years” while making no mention of the “group” holding him or his whereabouts. In the subsequent photos, Levinson appeared in an orange prison jumpsuit holding signs with “help me” and “why you can not help me” printed on them.Iran Can’t Find an American Hostage, U.S. Officials SayLevinson’s family waged a 13-year search for him until the Trump administration told family members in 2020 that intelligence indicated Levinson had likely died in Iranian custody at some point prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, The New York Times reported.Iran has denied holding Levinson in detention or any connection to Levinson’s disappearance.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet 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.

  • Iran's president says country would rejoin nuclear deal within an hour of U.S. signing on

    Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Monday said if the United States returns to the Iran nuclear deal, his country will follow within an hour.The deal was made during the Obama administration in 2015, lifting sanctions on Tehran in exchange for Iran reducing its uranium stockpile and dismantling its centrifuges. Rouhani said he will not discuss any changes to the accord or restrictions on Iran's ballistic missile program, The Guardian reports. President Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018, and Rouhani made his comments on the same day the Trump administration sanctioned two Iranian intelligence officials for allegedly playing a role in the 2007 disappearance and presumed death of retired FBI agent Robert Levinson. President-elect Joe Biden has said he will rejoin the deal, believing it is one way to avert a nuclear crisis in the Middle East.More stories from theweek.com Joe Biden still doesn't get it Fauci: Americans without underlying conditions could get COVID-19 vaccine by late March, early April Donald Trump's defeat is good. Why does it feel so bad?

  • 5 years and counting: Ex-treasure hunter still stuck in jail

    Research scientist Tommy Thompson isn't incarcerated for breaking the law. Despite an investors lawsuit and a federal court order, Thompson still won't cooperate with authorities trying to find those coins, according to court records, federal prosecutors and the judge who found Thompson in contempt. “He creates a patent for a submarine, but he can’t remember where he put the loot,” federal Judge Algenon Marbley said during a 2017 hearing.

  • Biden, Harris Call for Gun Reforms to ‘Honor’ Sandy Hook Victims

    President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Monday called for “common sense” gun reforms in honor of the eight-year anniversary of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary that killed 20 children and six adults.Biden, who was vice president when the shooting occurred in 2012, called it the “saddest day we had in the White House.”The president-elect said in a statement that he remains in awe of the “grandparents, parents, siblings, children, spouses, and fellow broken and healing hearts of Sandy Hook.”“I have heard from and watched as so many of you turned pain into purpose, working to change our laws and our culture around gun violence and how we protect and nurture our children,” he said.He praised those who became activists in the wake of the shooting, saying they “helped us forge a consensus that gun violence is a national health crisis and we need to address its total cost to fully heal families, communities, and our nation.”“Eight years later, there have been plenty of thoughts and prayers, but we know that is not enough,” Biden said. “Together with you and millions of our fellow Americans of every background all across our nation, we will fight to end this scourge on our society and enact common sense reforms that are supported by a majority of Americans and that will save countless lives.”In a tweet Vice President-elect Kamala Harris called for gun reform to “honor” the victims of the shooting.> Today marks 8 years since 20 first-graders and 6 educators were murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School. > > To honor the lives lost in this terrible tragedy, it’s past time we implement common-sense gun safety reforms to keep our children safe. pic.twitter.com/YmsIWM6dDG> > -- Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) December 14, 2020“To honor the lives lost in this terrible tragedy, it’s past time we implement common-sense gun safety reforms to keep our children safe,” she said.Since the Sandy Hook shooting — which was the second-deadliest school shooting and the fourth-deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history — more than 20 state legislatures have expanded background check requirements on some types of firearms, according to The Hill.Senator Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.,) said in a tweet that the victims should be honored with "positive action" and to "redouble efforts against gun violence under a new administration."> We mark this painful 8th anniversary of the shooting at Sandy Hook with renewed resolve—to honor the beautiful lives lost with positive action, & redouble efforts against gun violence under a new administration.> > -- Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) December 14, 2020"We mark this painful 8th anniversary of the shooting at Sandy Hook with renewed resolve—to honor the beautiful lives lost with positive action & redouble efforts against gun violence under a new administration," he wrote.

  • Half a million Muslims forced to pick cotton as scale of Chinese slave labour exposed

    China is forcing hundreds of thousands of Uighurs and other minorities to pick cotton by hand in the western region of Xinjiang, a key source of the world’s cotton, according to a report by a Washington-based think tank. Rights activists have estimated that Chinese authorities have detained more than one million Uighurs and other, mostly Muslim, minorities in detention camps in Xinjiang since 2017. Beijing denies that Uighurs’ rights are abused and says re-education centres provide vocational training to help people gain employment, and are necessary to curb extremism. Now, information from Chinese government documents and state media reports provides evidence that at least half a million people have been forced to pick cotton through a coercive state-mandated labour transfer and poverty alleviation scheme, the Center for Global Policy says. In 2018, three majority-Uighur areas within Xinjiang alone mobilised at least 570,000 people to pick cotton through the scheme, according to the think tank report published Monday. It estimates that the total number of people from ethnic minorities sent to pick cotton “likely exceeds that figure by several hundred thousand”.

  • The Trump administration turned down more vaccine doses 'as recently as November,' former FDA commissioner says

    "There were multiple conversations with the US government about taking more supply in the second quarter," said Scott Gottlieb, a Pfizer board member.

  • Congress reportedly close to announcing spending bill compromise to avoid shutdown

    Congress could announce a $1.4 trillion spending deal as soon as Monday that would avoid a government shutdown ahead of Friday's midnight deadline, three sources told Politico. The legislative text is reportedly expected Tuesday.One GOP aide told Politico that debate remains open on just a "few small items," but otherwise a compromise looks like it's in place.Politico notes the omnibus deal is expected to be the last major piece of legislation pushed through Congress in the lame-duck session, and the hope is that lawmakers will attach a COVID-19 relief package, in some form, to the larger bill. A bipartisan group of lawmakers is trying to get colleagues to sign up for a $908 billion stimulus that would be split into two pieces, but it has faced resistance from Senate Republicans and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) who plans to reject it because it doesn't include stimulus checks. Read more at Politico.More stories from theweek.com Joe Biden still doesn't get it Fauci: Americans without underlying conditions could get COVID-19 vaccine by late March, early April Donald Trump's defeat is good. Why does it feel so bad?

  • Brazil cops nabbed after images capture arrest of two men later found dead

    Two Brazilian police officers have been arrested in Rio de Janeiro after security camera images showed them shooting at two young men on a motorbike, before taking them away in a car. Saturday's incident in the poor Rio suburb of Belford Roxo shines a fresh light on aggressive tactics of Brazilian police, who critics allege often target poor young Black men in deadly raids. Critics say Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right former army captain, has empowered police to be more aggressive than ever, offering them his full support to take out criminals in the country's drug-riddled slums.

  • Trump signs executive order making Christmas Eve a federal holiday in 2020

    All federal employees will be excused from duty on 24 December

  • Army Suspends Battalion Commander, Sergeant Major in Korea Amid Racism Allegations

    The Army has suspended a battalion commander and command sergeant major in South Korea while an investigation is being conducted into allegations of racism, bigotry and discrimination.

  • Hunter Biden told to disclose information related to Ukrainian energy company Burisma as part of his tax investigation

    Hunter Biden, the President-elect's son, has been asked to disclose information related to Burisma as part of a tax investigation.

  • Warnock Labeled Senators ‘Gangsters and Thugs’ for Backing Tax Cuts, Said They’re ‘Willing to Kill Children’

    Georgia Senate candidate Raphael Warnock compared U.S. senators to "gangsters and thugs" in a 2017 sermon after the body passed the Tax Cuts and Job Act, the Washington Free Beacon reported.Warnock, the head pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, has drawn criticism from Republicans over other remarks from sermons as well as his defense of President Obama's former pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright."While others were sleeping, members of the United States Senate declared war, launched a vicious and evil attack on the most vulnerable people in America," Warnock told congregants regarding the tax legislation. "Herod is on the loose. Herod is a cynical politician, who's willing to kill children and kill the children's health program in order to preserve his own wealth and his own power."Warnock went on, "On Friday night, the United States Senate decided by a slim majority to pick the pockets of the poor, the sick, the old, and the yet unborn in order to line the pockets of the ultra-rich. Don't tell me about gangsters and thugs on the streets, there are more gangsters and thugs in Washington, D.C., in the Capitol than there are…" The pastor paused as congregants applauded the sermon.The legislation was passed without the support of any Democratic senator. While Warnock's opponent Kelly Loeffler was not in the Senate at the time, Georgia Republican senator David Perdue cast his vote in favor of the bill.Republicans and Democrats are focusing resources toward the Senate runoff elections on January 5, pitting Warnock against Loeffler, as well the incumbent Perdue against progressive challenger Jon Ossoff. If Democrats are able to win both seats, the Senate will be split 50-50 along party lines, with incoming vice president Kamala Harris as the tie-breaking vote.