'Today is game changer,' mayor says as first responders get vaccinated

First responders in Massachusetts are starting to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

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  • Thousands of Yale and Harvard law school alumni and students petition for Cruz and Hawley to be disbarred

    Petition says senators ‘fundamentally unfit for membership of legal profession’

  • Biden reportedly 'frustrated' with his coronavirus team as advisers worry 100 million vaccinations goal won't be met

    President-elect Joe Biden has said he'll get "at least 100 million COVID vaccine shots into the arms of the American people" during his first 100 days. But before his term begins, some advisers are reportedly worried this promise will ultimately be broken.Biden has "grown frustrated with the team in charge of plotting his coronavirus response" as there is increasing concern among some of his advisers that the 100 million vaccinations in 100 days goal won't be met, Politico reported on Monday."While some Biden advisers insist it's possible to make good on the 100-million vow, others are privately worried that the federal response is already so chaotic that it will take a herculean effort to pull it off," according to the report.Biden reportedly confronted COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients and his deputy to tell them "their team was underperforming," Politico says. Transition officials blame a "lack of long-term planning" by the Trump administration, which didn't come close to meeting its goal of vaccinating 20 million Americans by the end of 2020, as the vaccine rollout got off to a far slower-than-expected start in the United States."They're inheriting a mess," former Obama administration acting Medicare and Medicaid chief Andy Slavitt told Politico. "I think they're uncovering how bad it is."Biden, Politico notes, has suggested that whether the 100 million vaccinations goal is reached will be dependent on further COVID-19 relief legislation, previously saying "if Congress provides" additional funding for state and local governments, "we'd be able to meet this incredible goal." But Politico writes that some in the transition are "questioning whether Biden's first big pandemic pledge placed too much confidence" in the Trump administration, and allies are warning transition officials about "the overriding political consequences of breaking one of Biden's first major promises." Read more at Politico.More stories from theweek.com 7 scathing cartoons about Trump's Capitol riot Most of the pro-Trump Capitol mob figures infamously captured on film have already been arrested Sympathy for Ashli Babbitt

  • Indonesian plane crew did not report emergency before it plunged into sea, investigator says

    The crew of the Indonesian passenger jet that crashed off Jakarta at the weekend with 62 people aboard did not declare an emergency or report technical problems before it suddenly plunged into the sea, an investigator said Monday. Authorities have so far been unable to explain why the 26-year-old plane crashed just four minutes after takeoff, but say they've pinpointed the location of the black boxes. A recording of conversations with air traffic control pointed to routine exchanges, and there was no communication as the Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737-500 plunged about 10,000 feet (3,000 metres) in less than a minute before slamming into the Java Sea, said National Transportation Safety Committee investigator Nurcahyo Utomo. "It's like a normal conversation and nothing suspicious," he told AFP. "There's no talk of an emergency or something like that." The preliminary data suggested it was "most likely" the plane was intact when it hit the water Saturday, he added. "But we don't know at this stage" what caused the crash, Utomo said. There were 62 Indonesian passengers and crew aboard the half-full flight, including 10 children.

  • Supreme Court rejects fast track for Trump election cases

    The Supreme Court on Monday formally refused to put on a fast track election challenges filed by President Donald Trump and his allies. The court rejected pleas for quick consideration of cases involving the outcome in five states won by President-elect Joe Biden: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The justices had previously taken no action in those cases in advance of last week's counting of the electoral votes in Congress, which confirmed Biden's victory.

  • Scottish nationalists demand billions in 'Brexit compensation' for Scotland

    Brexit has strained the bonds that tie together the United Kingdom: England and Wales voted to leave but London, Northern Ireland and Scotland voted to stay. The SNP, which wants independence for Scotland and is pushing for a second referendum, said Scottish fishermen faced grave disruption due to Brexit.

  • Trump rioter in full body armour and carrying zip-ties ‘is bartender who broke into Capitol with his mother’

    Mr Munchel said his intention was not to fight with the police but ‘to show them that we can, and we will’

  • Arnold Schwarzenegger has a pointed, personal warning about the 'broken men' who believed Nazi lies

    Actor and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) posted a video Sunday about Wednesday's assault on the U.S. Capitol, and he made some not-so-subtle comparisons to the Nazis. He said the "Nazi equivalent of the Proud Boys" had terrorized and rampaged against the Jews in the 1938 "Night of the Broken Glass," or Kristallnacht, and "Wednesday was the Day of Broken Glass right here in the United States. The broken glass was in the windows of the United States Capitol. But the mob did not just shatter the windows of the Capitol, they shattered the ideas we took for granted."Then Schwarzenegger got personal, noting that he was born in 1947 Austria, "in the ruins of a country that suffered the loss of its democracy." He shared a "painful story" about his father — and the other war-torn fathers who lived next door — getting drunk and beating their families."Growing up, I was surrounded by broken men drinking away their guilt over their participation in the most evil regime in history," Schwarzenegger said. "Not all of them were rabid anti-Semites or Nazis. Many just went along, step by step, down the road. They were the people next door," and they got violently drunk because "they were in physical pain because of the shrapnel in their bodies and in emotional pain from what they saw or did. It all started with lies, and lies, and lies, and intolerance.""President Trump sought to overturn the results of an election, and of a fair election!" Schwarzenegger said. "He sought a coup by misleading people with lies. My father and our neighbors were misled also with lies, and I know where such lies lead." He called "a number of members of my own party" spineless cowards and said while Trump is "a failed leader" who "will go down in history as the worst president ever," the elected leaders who "enabled his lies and his treachery" should remember that patriotism means to stand by the country, not the president.The video could have gone off the rails when Schwarzenegger pulled out out his sword from Conan the Barbarian, but he used it to illustrate a hopeful message about the strength and resilience of American democracy.More stories from theweek.com Biden reportedly 'frustrated' with his coronavirus team as advisers worry 100 million vaccinations goal won't be met 7 scathing cartoons about Trump's Capitol riot Most of the pro-Trump Capitol mob figures infamously captured on film have already been arrested

  • New York City mayor hopeful Andrew Yang fled 'too small' apartment during pandemic

    New York City mayor hopeful Andrew Yang’s campaign, expected to be formally announced this week, has hit a speedbump after he said he found his Manhattan home too small to work from during the pandemic. Mr Yang, a former Democratic presidential candidate, has come under fire after admitting that he and his family relocated from the city during the spring to have more space. “We live in a two-bedroom apartment in Manhattan. And so, like, can you imagine trying to have two kids on virtual school in a two-bedroom apartment, and then trying to do work yourself?” Mr Yang said in an interview with the New York Times. The 45-year-old entrepreneur has a two-bedroom flat in Hell’s Kitchen and a larger residence in the small town of New Paltz in upstate New York’s Hudson Valley, according to reports. Asked by the NYT to respond to voters who expect their future mayor to have stayed in the city in its darkest moments, Mr. Yang suggested that his location was not relevant to his work at the time, and that New Yorkers would prioritize plans to move the city forward.

  • Lawmakers who voted against Biden are denounced back home

    Republican members of Congress who voted against certifying Joe Biden’s presidential victory, even after a mob broke into the Capitol, are being denounced by critics in their home districts who demand that they resign or be ousted. Protesters, newspaper editorial boards and local-level Democrats have urged the lawmakers to step down or for their colleagues to kick them out. The House and Senate can remove members with a two-thirds vote or censure or reprimand with a majority.

  • India wants Serum Institute to lower price of AstraZeneca shot -sources

    The Indian government has been negotiating with the Serum Institute of India to bring down the price of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, people close to the matter said, delaying the roll-out of the country's immunisation programme. India's drug regulator has approved emergency use of the vaccine developed by Oxford University as well as another developed by Indian firm Bharat Biotech, but the government has not placed firm orders with either firm.

  • A new migrant wave pleads for answers in Mexico

    Cries of desperation on Mexico's southern border. This is the town of Tapachula, where migrants who have crossed over from Guatemala are demanding humanitarian visas. Mexico's national guard is deployed in full riot gear. Guatemala and Honduras have now announced they're deploying their own troops, after news surfaced that new caravans of migrants are forming in Central America with the eventual goal of reaching the United States. ''We just want them to give us an answer," this woman says, who is originally from Cuba. "We just want answers, without excuses." This man, also from Cuba, says "Nobody will leave until we get some answers, to see what happens to us." The new caravans forming have caught the attention of U.S. officials, which have called on the Central American countries to stop them. In recent years many migrants have chosen to form up in massive caravans instead of trekking alone, because staying in a group helps protect them from criminals who would prey on them. Luis Rey Garcia Villagran works for the migrant support center in the town. "Human mobility has to do with the serious problems that are occurring in their countries and that is why people are moving more than ever. (...) People are literally drowning. The problems with injustice, the problems with insecurity continue as well as problems with organized gangs who capture and kill people who are over there." On Friday (January 8) a federal court in California blocked a last-ditch effort from the outgoing Trump administration to dramatically harden the U.S. asylum system even further. It would have cut off most access to migrants who reach the border, and broadly deny some types of asylum claims including domestic abuse and gang violence.

  • On-duty Memphis police officer charged with kidnapping and killing a man

    Patric Ferguson, 29, was taken into custody on charges of kidnapping and killing 30-year-old Robert Howard after forcing him in the backseat of a squad car, police said.

  • Most of the pro-Trump Capitol mob figures infamously captured on film have already been arrested

    Many of the people who broke into and ransacked the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday acted like they did not think there would be any consequences. For many of them, there have been consequences. Some of them have lost work. And many of the people whose photos went viral online and on TV have been arrested. The FBI says it is searching for the rest.CNN's Evan Perez notes that the big arrests so far have been the low-hanging fruit, the people who "were on social media boasting about this."Public records for more than 120 people arrested so far document that "the insurrectionist mob that showed up at the president's behest and stormed the U.S. Capitol was overwhelmingly made up of longtime Trump supporters, including Republican Party officials, GOP political donors, far-right militants, white supremacists, members of the military, and adherents of the QAnon myth that the government is secretly controlled by a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophile cannibals," The Associated Press reports. "Records show that some were heavily armed and included convicted criminals."Jake Chansley, the "QAnon Shaman," surrendered to the FBI in Phoenix on Saturday.Embed from Getty ImagesFederal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., Sunday evening charged two men believed to have worn tactical gear and carried plastic restraints in the Senate chamber. Eric Gavelek Munchel was arrested in Tennessee.Embed from Getty ImagesAnd Larry Rendell Brock, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, was picked up in Texas.> UPDATE: Spokesman for Hillwood Airways confirmed to me tonight Larry Rendall Brock Jr. "no longer works for the company." The @USAirForce Lt. Col. was IDed w/ zip-ties & combat gear on the Senate floor during the armed riot at the U.S. Capitol Wed. that killed 5 @CourthouseNews pic.twitter.com/pubhmiboeb> > — David Lee (@davejourno) January 10, 2021The FBI arrested Doug Jensen, photographed in a QAnon shirt, in Des Moines, Iowa, on Friday.> CAPITOL RIOT ARREST UPDATE: > Iowa man who was videeotaped chasing a cop up the steps has been booked on 5 federal charges.https://t.co/yy4aZIKdW4 pic.twitter.com/Srwk45b6yT> > — Jim Roberts (@nycjim) January 10, 2021Adam Johnson, arrested in Florida on Friday, was allegedly the man photographed carrying the House speaker's lectern.Embed from Getty ImagesThe FBI is seeking help identifying numerous other Capitol raiders, including the guy photographed carrying the Confederate battle flag. Others been identified but not arrested, like Josiah Colt of Idaho.> To the best of my knowledge, Josiah Colt (also pictured here) has not been arrested. pic.twitter.com/P9KgBdw8qG> > — Austin Kellerman (@AustinKellerman) January 11, 2021CNN identified the man in a "Camp Auschwitz" sweatshirt as Robert Keith Packer of Virginia.> We're very close to IDing this guy thanks to tipsters. pic.twitter.com/XKgDLhlZLR> > — Adam Goldman (@adamgoldmanNYT) January 10, 2021One of the evident planners of the assault on the Capitol, Ali Alexander, says he's in hiding and needs money for armed guards, The Daily Beast reports.More stories from theweek.com Biden reportedly 'frustrated' with his coronavirus team as advisers worry 100 million vaccinations goal won't be met 7 scathing cartoons about Trump's Capitol riot Sympathy for Ashli Babbitt

  • Analysis: A GOP reckoning after turning blind eye to Trump

    At the heart of the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was a lie, one that was allowed to fester and flourish by many of the same Republicans now condemning President Donald Trump for whipping his supporters into a frenzy with his false attacks on the integrity of the 2020 election. Each time Trump promoted a conspiracy theory or openly flirted with extremist groups, Republicans assumed there were still some limits to how far he and his most loyal supporters would go.

  • Malaysia's PM Muhyiddin denies cancer rumours amid power struggle

    The office of Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who is grappling with discontent in his ruling coalition, denied on Monday that he was undergoing treatment for cancer. Muhyiddin was declared free of cancer in June after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2018. "Rumours saying that the prime minister requires treatment for cancer are not true and are ill intentioned," Muhyiddin's office said in a statement.

  • Italy's 'Black Widow' speaks candidly of hiring hitman to murder her Gucci heir husband

    An Italian socialite nicknamed “the Black Widow” has revealed that she was so desperate to murder her husband, an heir to the Gucci fashion empire, that she “went around asking everyone if they could do it, even the local grocer”. Patrizia Reggiani is out of prison, having served 17 years for hiring a hitman to shoot dead her husband, Maurizio Gucci, on the steps of his office in Milan in 1995. She was furious that after 13 years of marriage he had abandoned her for another woman, leaving her to bring up their two young daughters. She was also angry over his management of the $170 million fortune he had accrued after selling the family business in 1993 to an investment group.

  • Israel announces new settler homes, risking Biden's anger

    Israel on Monday advanced plans to build 800 new settler homes in the occupied West Bank, a move that could strain ties with the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced the move, saying it would include 100 homes in a settlement where an Israeli woman was killed last month in an attack allegedly carried out by a Palestinian assailant. The announcement will burnish Netanyahu's right-wing credentials in a tough campaign ahead of March elections, but it could anger Biden, who is opposed to settlement expansion and has clashed with Israel over it in the past.

  • Scarce doses and empty vaccination centres: Germany's vaccine rollout headache

    Proud of their national reputation for efficiency, Germans are growing increasingly frustrated by the slow rollout of a COVID-19 vaccine its scientists helped develop. Scarce vaccine supply, cumbersome paperwork, a lack of healthcare staff and an aged and immobile population are hampering efforts to get early doses of a vaccine made by U.S.-based Pfizer and German partner BioNTech into the arms of the people. Germany has set up hundreds of vaccination centres in sports halls and concert arenas and has the infrastructure to administer up to 300,000 shots a day, Health Minister Jens Spahn said.

  • American Airlines pilot says he will drop Trump supporters in Kansas

    An American Airlines pilot on flight 1242 from Washington D.C. to Phoenix threatened to divert his plane to Kansas if passengers didn’t behave. “We will do that if that’s what it takes, so behave, please.”

  • China goes into 'wartime mode' after 103 new Covid cases detected in city of 11 million

    A year after the coronavirus first erupted in Wuhan, China has declared “wartime mode” and has locked down another city of 11 million to combat a resurgence of infections. Authorities in Shijiazhuang, a city in northeastern China, have barred people and vehicles from leaving in efforts to curb infection spread after the country reported its biggest one-day increase in five months with 103 new cases. The city has been among the hardest hit after a handful of infections first cropped up in Beijing mid-December and spread across at least four surrounding provinces, including Hebei, where Shijiazhuang is located. Since then, China has discovered 727 infections - although hundreds of asymptomatic cases have also been found, which aren't included in the official daily tally of cases.