Rep. Spartz on Capitol riot: ‘We couldn’t even protect ourselves’

Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., argues Speaker Pelosi and police officials should have been better prepared for potential security concerns during Congress’ joint session.

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  • Texas newspapers call for resignation of state’s senator Ted Cruz after Capitol riots

    'Resign and deliver Texas from the shame of calling you our senator,' wrote the Houston Chronicle editorial board

  • Experts express concern about Biden's plan to release nearly all available vaccine doses

    President-elect Joe Biden plans to release nearly every available dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines when he takes office later this month rather than holding back millions of second doses, his transition team said Friday. The decision is meant to "ensure the Americans who need it most get it as soon as possible."The Trump administration has insisted it's necessary to retain second doses, with Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Friday expressing concern that Biden's plan could backfire if there are any manufacturing mishaps.Outside of the White House, Dr. Leana Wen of George Washington University, was also apprehensive, noting that there is "an ethical consideration" since those who volunteered for the initial dose were reasonably expecting to receive the second in the proper amount of time. Biden does not intend to delay the second shot for those patients, and is instead counting on an increased production to keep pace. But, Wen says, not only is there no guarantee of a smooth manufacturing process, much of the slowdown has occurred between distribution and injection, so until that stage improves the risk of delay remains.> First, the bottleneck now is not supply, but the "last mile" between getting the vaccine to distribution sites & injecting it into people's arms. Speeding up this process should be the focus, or else vaccines will just sit in different freezers. > > (2/6)> > -- Leana Wen, M.D. (@DrLeanaWen) January 9, 2021Harvard University's Juliette Kayyem, however, is more on board with the plan. She believes it's unlikely there will be a supply problem and is encouraged by recent upticks in actual vaccinations. > Quick thoughts: we are unlikely to have a supply problem by Feb with Biden announcement (he is not changing FDA standards, only distribution timing of first vaccine because of reliance on supply chain per @ScottGottliebMD good idea) and other vaccines (johnson and johnson). 2/> > -- Juliette Kayyem (@juliettekayyem) January 9, 2021More stories from theweek.com 7 scathing cartoons about Trump's Capitol riot There will be no Trump heir Trump's phone call with Raffensperger reportedly wasn't the only one he made in hopes of overturning Georgia vote

  • Petition to Recall California Gov. Gavin Newsom Draws 1 Million Signatures

    The latest effort to recall California governor Gavin Newsom has gained more than 1 million signatures, with nine weeks left to collect the additional 500,000 that would enable the measure to be placed on the ballot.Should the recall effort receive 1.5 million total signatures by mid-March, a mid-year election would take place."The people are being heard loud and clear, and it is not a matter of IF we are going to reach our goal necessary that will trigger a recall election of Newsom, it is just when we cross the finish line," Orrin Heatlie, the Lead Proponent of the official RecallGavin2020.com, said in a statement.A senior adviser to the recall campaign, Randy Economy, previously told Fox News that it hoped to meet the benchmark required to place the measure on the ballot by mid-to late-January.He told the outlet the effort is nonpartisan, with supporters of both Senator Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and President Trump backing the cause.While recall initiatives in the Golden State seldom make it onto the ballot, Newsom’s public image has been marred recently by a series of controversies, including his attendance at a mask-less, not-socially-distanced indoor dinner party late last year even as he enacted strict coronavirus restrictions in the state.Economy said a number of the movement’s supporters believe the governor has mismanaged the state’s coronavirus response, particularly as it relates to small businesses.Many small business owners in the state have lost their livelihoods while big-box stores have been allowed to remain open, he said. Newsom "put corporate interests before the people of California," Economy said.In 2003, Gray Davis became the first governor to be recalled in the U.S. since 1921. The vacancy was ultimately filled by Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger.

  • Pope Francis, speaking of U.S. Capitol assault, condemns people working against democracy

    Pope Francis said on Saturday people working against democracy must be condemned whoever they are, and lessons should be learned from this week's attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump. Rioters surged into the building on Wednesday after Trump urged them to go the Capitol and press his baseless claims that he won re-election in November. "I was astonished because they are people so disciplined in democracy," the pontiff told Italy's Canale 5 news channel in his first public comments on the events.

  • Latest message from North Korea's Kim meant to light 'a fire under' Biden administration, experts say

    North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called the United States his biggest enemy and vowed to subdue Washington while enhancing Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal, the state's Korean Central News Agency reported Saturday, per Bloomberg.Kim's aggressive remarks, especially those related to nuclear weapons, are viewed by experts as a message to the incoming Biden administration. "It lights a fire under the Biden administration," Ankit Panda, a Stanton Senior Fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told Bloomberg. "Kim is making clear that if Biden decides not to prioritize North Korea policy, Pyongyang will resume testing and qualitatively advancing its nuclear capabilities in ways that would be seriously detrimental for Washington and Seoul."Cheon Seong-whun, a former president of the government-funded Korea Institute for National Unification think tank in Seoul, added that Kim is trying to pressure Biden into accepting North Korea as a nuclear state, and he expects Pyongyang to move forward with a series of provocations after the White House transition.It's not a new strategy for Pyongyang, which has a history of trying to rattle new American presidents, Bloomberg notes. Former President Barack Obama and President Trump both saw North Korea test a series of weapons upon taking office. Read more at Bloomberg.More stories from theweek.com 7 scathing cartoons about Trump's Capitol riot Experts express concern about Biden's plan to release nearly all available vaccine doses There will be no Trump heir

  • Man who posed at Pelosi’s desk arrested, says he’s ready for violent death

    The man seen sitting at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk has been arrested and made interesting comments about his death on Facebook. Richard Barnett of Gravette, Ark. has been identified as the man in the viral image that displays him kicking his feet up on the House Speaker’s desk during Wednesday’s Capitol riots.

  • National Guard Troops Deploying to DC Will Come With Lethal Weapons

    National Guard troops deploying to Washington, D.C., will have access to lethal weapons.

  • Black woman says group of Trump supporters attacked her

    The Los Angeles Police Department said it is investigating Wednesday's attack as a hate crime.

  • Trump supporters, counter-protesters clash in San Diego

    Supporters of President Donald Trump clashed with counter-protesters in San Diego on Saturday, prompting police to declare the gathering an unlawful assembly because of acts of violence. Officers were hit with rocks, bottles and eggs, police said, and the crowd directed pepper spray at them. KSWB-TV tweeted video of counter demonstrators, most of them dressed in black and waving an antifa flag, throwing a folding chair and spraying a chemical irritant at a smaller group of people participating in the march on the Pacific Beach boardwalk.

  • Inside the Charming Parisian Apartment of French Designer Sarah Poniatowski

    Located directly under the roof, Poniatowski’s idyllic Right Bank apartment is flooded with light, flea market finds, and the designer’s very own collectionOriginally Appeared on Architectural Digest

  • Fellow soldier faces military trial in sex assault of soldier from NC who later died

    A private first class will be arraigned on a sex assault charge before a military judge.

  • Josh Hawley Is Calling You Stupid

    Are you a Republican voter? Do you plan to participate in the 2024 presidential primary? If your answer to these first two questions is “yes,” I have a third: Aren’t you angry?Almost daily, Josh Hawley, the lean and hungry legislator who helped incite an attack on his own place of work, intimates that a majority of Republicans are stupid. Make no mistake: The senator from Missouri is guilty of far more than pandering or misleading to appeal to “the base” on occasion. Your presumed ignorance and gullibility are the driving forces behind his every move.The latest insult came on Thursday, only a day after a conspiracy theory not only boosted by, but acted upon by Hawley -- a Yale Law School graduate who didn’t believe for a moment that the election was stolen by Democrats, or that it could be stolen by Republicans in Congress during the certification process -- resulted in an attack on the U.S. Capitol building. But for Josh Hawley, the greatest tragedy of this past week is not that there was a failed insurrection egged on by the president of the United States. It’s that Simon & Schuster, the erstwhile publisher of Hawley’s forthcoming book, The Tyranny of Big Tech (Big Tech is another issue where Hawley assumes your ignorance), announced it would not move forward with the project. Here was Hawley’s response:> This could not be more Orwellian. Simon & Schuster is canceling my contract because I was representing my constituents, leading a debate on the Senate floor on voter integrity, which they have now decided to redefine as sedition. Let me be clear, this is not just a contract dispute. It’s a direct assault on the First Amendment. Only approved speech can now be published. This is the Left looking to cancel everyone they don’t approve of. I will fight this cancel culture with everything I have. We’ll see you in court.If it’s a constitutional claim that Hawley is planning on making in court, he can expect to have about as much luck as the Trump campaign has had in recent months. Simon & Schuster’s decision is neither Orwellian nor a violation of the First Amendment, much less a “direct assault” on it. The government is not restricting Hawley’s speech. He is free to find a publisher willing to associate itself with him. I believe that Simon & Schuster should not have canceled this contract, as America is better off when its institutions abide by the spirit and not just the letter of the First Amendment. But the company is under no constitutional obligation to associate with Hawley. I can certainly understand why it would not want to after Wednesday’s events.The objective of Hawley’s statement is obvious: to take this personal event, which has occurred as a direct result of his own behavior, and to make Republicans feel as if this was a personal attack on them and their beliefs. It was not. But remember: Hawley’s political fortunes are tied to a bet that voters won’t think clearly. A bet that he is all-in on after continuing to object to the certification of the election by Congress even after the assault on the Capitol.Most insidious about Hawley’s assumption is that it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. When conservative officials such as Hawley and the disgraced Ted Cruz -- leaders we’re supposed to be able to trust -- propagate conspiracy theories, that signals to voters that these theories are or may be true. Conspiracy theories are natural, and laymen’s belief in them does not automatically make them stupid. We all have busy lives, and most Americans are unable to spend their every waking moment staying apprised of every political going-on. They rely on officials of their own ideological bent to tell them the truth. When those officials lie for perceived political benefit, it has consequences. Consequences made more serious by motivated reasoning and an inclination to believe the worst of “the enemy.” Consequences that are sometimes even bloody.Much is made these days, especially by Senator Hawley, of “the elites” and their supposed disdain for regular Americans. For many years, and particularly since Donald Trump secured the Republican nomination in 2016, Senator Mitt Romney has been branded such an elitist. But Romney spoke far more wisely on this subject than Hawley on Wednesday: “The best way we can show respect for the voters who are upset is by telling them the truth!” Indeed. The older you get, the more facts of life your parents let you in on. It starts with Santa Claus, and it only gets more depressing from there.I have one more question, then. What’s more condescending and scornful: truth or deceit?

  • California Congresswoman Who Once Questioned Mask-Wearing Catches COVID-19

    Rep. Michelle Steel (R-CA), who once expressed skepticism about the mask mandate in Orange County last spring, has tested positive for COVID-19. Although she does not show any symptoms, the 65-year-old Korean American politician learned she had been in contact with someone positive with the virus, Steel’s statement said via Associated Press. “At the advice of the Attending Physician, and to protect the health of my colleagues, I will be quarantining,” Steel said via Los Angeles Times.

  • Fox & Friends' Ainsley Earhardt says Trump supporters stormed Capitol because 'they don't want to be forgotten'

    Fox & Friends' Ainsley Earhardt says fear was at the root of Trump supporters' Wednesday attack on the Capitol and refusal to accept the election results.Since Election Day, President Trump and his allies have insisted something must have gone wrong to cost Trump re-election. They've spread false claims of fraud and insisted the 74 million people who voted for Trump had to be listened to, despite the fact that President-elect Joe Biden got 7 million more votes and elections are usually decided by who gets the most votes. So on Wednesday, several thousand of those supporters took their anger out on the U.S. Capitol and the people tasked with protecting it.But as Earhardt put it on Friday's episode of Fox News' morning show, those Trump voters are just "scared" and "worried" about the future of the country. "They are confused and heartbroken that their candidate didn't win and they don't want to be forgotten," Earhardt said, with co-host Steve Doocy agreeing with her "confused" assessment.> Ainsley Earhardt: “There are 75 million people that voted for President Trump. And they are scared. They are worried about what the future of this country looks like. They are confused and heartbroken that their candidate didn't win and they don't want to be forgotten.” pic.twitter.com/OcqMYGjJtG> > — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 8, 2021Fear of "being forgotten" — or rather, of being "replaced" — has been a common theme among white supremacists, who have held high-profile, sometimes deadly demonstrations over the past few years.More stories from theweek.com 7 scathing cartoons about Trump's Capitol riot Experts express concern about Biden's plan to release nearly all available vaccine doses There will be no Trump heir

  • Indonesian divers spot parts of Boeing 737-500 wreckage after signal detected

    Indonesia's military chief said on Sunday divers have spotted parts of the wreckage of a Boeing 737-500 at a depth of 23 meters (75 feet) in the Java Sea, a day after the aircraft with 62 people onboard crashed. "We received reports from the diver team that the visibility in the water is good and clear, allowing the discovery of some parts of the plane," Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto said in a statement. He said: "We are sure that is the point where the plane crashed." He said the objects included broken pieces of fuselage with aircraft registration parts. Earlier, rescuers pulled out body parts, pieces of clothing and scraps of metal from the surface. "As of this morning, we've received two (body) bags, one with passenger belongings and the other with body parts," Jakarta police spokesman Yusri Yunus told Metro TV.

  • Chicago police union president: Saying riots are ‘treason’ is ‘beyond ridiculous’

    ‘They get to do what they want,’ John Catanzara said of people whose efforts left a police officer dead. John Catanzara, who was elected last May as the president of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police, is defending the people who participated in the violent siege of the U.S. Capitol that resulted in the death of a police officer.

  • U.S. attorney's office: FBI agents search Tenn. lawmakers' offices and homes

    Federal prosecutors in Tennessee said Friday that FBI agents have searched the homes and offices of multiple state lawmakers.

  • Voting machine company sues pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell over 'wild accusations'

    A voting machine company sued former Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell on Friday, accusing her of spreading false conspiracy theories about November's election that Republican President Donald Trump lost to Democratic President-elect Joe Biden. Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems Inc filed the case in federal court in Washington, alleging defamation and seeking $1.3 billion in damages. Powell, a conservative activist and former federal prosecutor, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

  • Indonesia Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737 crash site found, navy says

    Ships with navy divers are sent to the site where a plane is believed to have plunged into the sea.

  • Rioter Seen on Senate Floor in Body Armor Is Retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel

    A Capitol building rioter captured in news photographs wearing full body armor and brandishing zip tie handcuffs on the floor of the Senate has been identified as a retired Air Force officer.