Microblogging site Twitter has locked US president Trump’s account for 12 hours and threatened to permanently ban him from the platform for flouting its civic integrity rules, ordering him to remove three rule-breaking tweets.

Twitter said that it had required the removal of at least three of Trump's tweets that were posted earlier regarding the situation in Washington.

"As a result of the unprecedented and ongoing violent situation in Washington, DC, we have required the removal of three @realDonaldTrump Tweets that were posted earlier today for repeated and severe violations of our Civic Integrity policy," Twitter said in a post.

"If the Tweets are not removed, the account will remain locked."

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As a result of the unprecedented and ongoing violent situation in Washington, D.C., we have required the removal of three <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> Tweets that were posted earlier today for repeated and severe violations of our Civic Integrity policy. <a href="https://t.co/k6OkjNG3bM">https://t.co/k6OkjNG3bM</a>
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) <a href="https://twitter.com/TwitterSafety/status/1346970430062485505?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2021</a></blockquote>
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The decision comes after Trump tweeted a video that Twitter said posed a “risk of violence.”

Twitter also said that it will continue to evaluate the situation, including examining activity on the ground and statements made off Twitter.

For the first time, Twitter officially removed three of Trump's tweets, where he spoke on the violent protests at the US Capitol, while another deleted tweet had him saying Vice President Mike Pence lacked the "courage" to do what was necessary.

The removal comes after Facebook and YouTube removed Trump's video to supporters, and amid calls by the Anti-Defamation League and the NAACP for Trump's social media accounts to be suspended outright, reported CNN.

In a tweet, Facebook's VP of integrity Guy Rosen called this 'an emergency situation', and said that the video contributes to the risk of ongoing violence.

"This is an emergency situation and we are taking appropriate emergency measures, including removing President Trump's video. We removed it because on balance we believe it contributes to rather than diminishes the risk of ongoing violence," tweeted Rosen.

In the one-minute video on Twitter, Trump said: "I know you are pained, I know you are hurt. We had an election that was stolen from us. That was a landslide election and everyone knows it, especially the other side. But you have to go home now. We have to have peace. We've to have law and order. We don't want anybody hurt."

"This was a fraudulent election, but we can't play in the hands of these people. We have to have peace. So go home. We love you. You're very special. You've seen what happens. You see the way others are treated that are so bad and so evil. I know how you feel. But go home and go home in peace," he added.

The tweet was immediately flagged by the microblogging site as the claim of election fraud was disputed. Twitter also restricted the post from being liked, retweeted or replied to, due to a risk of stoking violence.

This comes amid a violent and unprecedented situation in Washington where Trump supporters stormed in the Capitol building, seeking to overturn the Electoral vote count that certified President-elect Joe Biden's victory. The scuffle led to several people being injured, a lockdown of the Capitol building and evacuation of the Congressional buildings.

(With inputs from agencies)

Microblogging site Twitter has locked US president Trump’s account for 12 hours and threatened to permanently ban him from the platform for flouting its civic integrity rules, ordering him to remove three rule-breaking tweets.

Microblogging site Twitter has locked US president Trump’s account for 12 hours and threatened to permanently ban him from the platform for flouting its civic integrity rules, ordering him to remove three rule-breaking tweets. Twitter said that it had required the removal of at least three of Trump's tweets that were posted earlier regarding the situation in Washington. "As a result of the unprecedented and ongoing violent situation in Washington, DC, we have required the removal of three @realDonaldTrump Tweets that were posted earlier today for repeated and severe violations of our Civic Integrity policy," Twitter said in a post. "If the Tweets are not removed, the account will remain locked." As a result of the unprecedented and ongoing violent situation in Washington, D.C., we have required the removal of three @realDonaldTrump Tweets that were posted earlier today for repeated and severe violations of our Civic Integrity policy. https://t.co/k6OkjNG3bM — Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) January 7, 2021 × The decision comes after Trump tweeted a video that Twitter said posed a “risk of violence.” Twitter also said that it will continue to evaluate the situation, including examining activity on the ground and statements made off Twitter. For the first time, Twitter officially removed three of Trump's tweets, where he spoke on the violent protests at the US Capitol, while another deleted tweet had him saying Vice President Mike Pence lacked the "courage" to do what was necessary. The removal comes after Facebook and YouTube removed Trump's video to supporters, and amid calls by the Anti-Defamation League and the NAACP for Trump's social media accounts to be suspended outright, reported CNN. In a tweet, Facebook's VP of integrity Guy Rosen called this 'an emergency situation', and said that the video contributes to the risk of ongoing violence. "This is an emergency situation and we are taking appropriate emergency measures, including removing President Trump's video. We removed it because on balance we believe it contributes to rather than diminishes the risk of ongoing violence," tweeted Rosen. In the one-minute video on Twitter, Trump said: "I know you are pained, I know you are hurt. We had an election that was stolen from us. That was a landslide election and everyone knows it, especially the other side. But you have to go home now. We have to have peace. We've to have law and order. We don't want anybody hurt." "This was a fraudulent election, but we can't play in the hands of these people. We have to have peace. So go home. We love you. You're very special. You've seen what happens. You see the way others are treated that are so bad and so evil. I know how you feel. But go home and go home in peace," he added. The tweet was immediately flagged by the microblogging site as the claim of election fraud was disputed. Twitter also restricted the post from being liked, retweeted or replied to, due to a risk of stoking violence. This comes amid a violent and unprecedented situation in Washington where Trump supporters stormed in the Capitol building, seeking to overturn the Electoral vote count that certified President-elect Joe Biden's victory. The scuffle led to several people being injured, a lockdown of the Capitol building and evacuation of the Congressional buildings. (With inputs from agencies)

Twitter blocks Trump, threatens permanent ban over inciting violence

Unprecedented scenes were witnessed at Capitol Hill as hundreds of Donald Trump supporters surrounded and stormed the Capitol Building just when US lawmakers were gathered to certify Joe Biden's victory in US Presidential Elections 2020.

As Trump supporters surged through halls of the Congress, both the Houses were forced to halt proceedings. US Congress members were evacuated. Security inside the Congress had to even draw guns to deter the protesters.One protester occupied the Senate dais and yelled, "Trump won that election." Protesters overturned barricades and clashed with police as thousands descended on the Capitol grounds.

<img alt="US Capitol hill violence" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a5850403-7e80-4ba2-a668-0b5131d2c194" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/000_8YA9D3.jpg" />

Video showed protesters breaking windows and police deploying teargas inside the building. Local media reported that one person had been shot and video showed a person being wheeled from the building on a stretcher.

Vice President Mike Pence, who had presided over the joint session of Congress, had already been escorted from the Senate.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/democrats-take-control-of-us-senate-as-they-win-second-race-in-georgia-354952">Democrats take control of U.S. Senate as they win second race in Georgia</a> 
 
The chaotic scenes unfolded after Trump, who before the election refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he lost, addressed thousands of protesters, repeating unfounded claims that the contest was stolen from him due to widespread election fraud and irregularities.&nbsp;

<img alt="US Capitol hill violence" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="186b705b-69e1-486d-93b7-f2a18638f16e" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/000_8YA8P8.jpg" />

Lawmakers had been debating a last-ditch effort by pro-Trump lawmakers to challenge the results, an effort that was unlikely to succeed.

After situation at the Capitol Hill areas grew tense and violent, Washington Mayor&nbsp;Muriel Bowser ordered a citywide curfew of 6 pm local time (2300 GMT)

This is an 'insurrection': Joe Biden

US President-elect in a LIVE address to the media denounced the event as an "insurrection". He said that this was not a protest.

"I call on President Trump to go on national television now to... demand an end to this siege," Biden said. "To storm the Capitol, to smash windows, to occupy offices, the floor of the United States Senate... threatening the safety of duly elected officials? It's not a protest, it's insurrection."

He asked President Trump to "step up" to end the violence.

Shortly after his LIVE address Trump tweeted a recorded video and asked his supporters to "go home" but also said that he loved them.

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&nbsp;

Police overwhelmed

The security around the Capitol Building was beefed up anyway as the US Congress session was set to take place but sheer number of hundreds of Trump supporters overwhelmed police and other security services.

After the situation worsened, US National Guard was mobilised in Washington and neighboring states.

International condemnation

Developments at Capitol Hill drew international attention.

"Disgraceful scenes in U.S. Congress. The United States stands for democracy around the world and it is now vital that there should be a peaceful and orderly transfer of power," tweeted UK PM Boris Johnson.

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Disgraceful scenes in U.S. Congress. The United States stands for democracy around the world and it is now vital that there should be a peaceful and orderly transfer of power.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson/status/1346926138057220103?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2021</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

&nbsp;French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian termed the developments "attack against&nbsp;democracy"

"The violent acts against American institutions are a grave attack against democracy. I condemn them. The American people's will and vote must be respected," he tweeted.

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The violent acts against American institutions are a grave attack against democracy. I condemn them. The American people's will and vote must be respected
— Jean-Yves Le Drian (@JY_LeDrian) <a href="https://twitter.com/JY_LeDrian/status/1346945178561609728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2021</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said that the situation in US was "shocking"

"Shocking scenes in Washington, D.C. The outcome of this democratic election must be respected," he tweeted.

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Shocking scenes in Washington, D.C. The outcome of this democratic election must be respected.
— Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) <a href="https://twitter.com/jensstoltenberg/status/1346917585535823872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Election officials of both parties and independent observers have said there was no significant fraud in the Nov. 3 contest, which Biden won by more than 7 million votes in the national popular vote.

(With agency inputs)

Unprecedented scenes were witnessed at Capitol Hill as hundreds of Donald Trump supporters surrounded and stormed the Capitol Building just when US lawmakers were gathered to certify Joe Biden's victory in US Presidential Elections 2020.

Unprecedented scenes were witnessed at Capitol Hill as hundreds of Donald Trump supporters surrounded and stormed the Capitol Building just when US lawmakers were gathered to certify Joe Biden's victory in US Presidential Elections 2020. As Trump supporters surged through halls of the Congress, both the Houses were forced to halt proceedings. US Congress members were evacuated. Security inside the Congress had to even draw guns to deter the protesters.One protester occupied the Senate dais and yelled, "Trump won that election." Protesters overturned barricades and clashed with police as thousands descended on the Capitol grounds. Video showed protesters breaking windows and police deploying teargas inside the building. Local media reported that one person had been shot and video showed a person being wheeled from the building on a stretcher. Vice President Mike Pence, who had presided over the joint session of Congress, had already been escorted from the Senate. Also Read | Democrats take control of U.S. Senate as they win second race in Georgia The chaotic scenes unfolded after Trump, who before the election refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he lost, addressed thousands of protesters, repeating unfounded claims that the contest was stolen from him due to widespread election fraud and irregularities. Lawmakers had been debating a last-ditch effort by pro-Trump lawmakers to challenge the results, an effort that was unlikely to succeed. After situation at the Capitol Hill areas grew tense and violent, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser ordered a citywide curfew of 6 pm local time (2300 GMT) This is an 'insurrection': Joe Biden US President-elect in a LIVE address to the media denounced the event as an "insurrection". He said that this was not a protest. "I call on President Trump to go on national television now to... demand an end to this siege," Biden said. "To storm the Capitol, to smash windows, to occupy offices, the floor of the United States Senate... threatening the safety of duly elected officials? It's not a protest, it's insurrection." He asked President Trump to "step up" to end the violence. Shortly after his LIVE address Trump tweeted a recorded video and asked his supporters to "go home" but also said that he loved them. pic.twitter.com/Pm2PKV0Fp3 — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2021 × Police overwhelmed The security around the Capitol Building was beefed up anyway as the US Congress session was set to take place but sheer number of hundreds of Trump supporters overwhelmed police and other security services. After the situation worsened, US National Guard was mobilised in Washington and neighboring states. International condemnation Developments at Capitol Hill drew international attention. "Disgraceful scenes in U.S. Congress. The United States stands for democracy around the world and it is now vital that there should be a peaceful and orderly transfer of power," tweeted UK PM Boris Johnson. Disgraceful scenes in U.S. Congress. The United States stands for democracy around the world and it is now vital that there should be a peaceful and orderly transfer of power. — Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) January 6, 2021 × French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian termed the developments "attack against democracy" "The violent acts against American institutions are a grave attack against democracy. I condemn them. The American people's will and vote must be respected," he tweeted. The violent acts against American institutions are a grave attack against democracy. I condemn them. The American people's will and vote must be respected — Jean-Yves Le Drian (@JY_LeDrian) January 6, 2021 × NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said that the situation in US was "shocking" "Shocking scenes in Washington, D.C. The outcome of this democratic election must be respected," he tweeted. Shocking scenes in Washington, D.C. The outcome of this democratic election must be respected. — Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) January 6, 2021 × Election officials of both parties and independent observers have said there was no significant fraud in the Nov. 3 contest, which Biden won by more than 7 million votes in the national popular vote. (With agency inputs)

Donald Trump supporters storm US Capitol building during Joe Biden certification

A visibly distraught but steely US President-elect Joe Biden appeared on US television and asked President Donald Trump to "step-up" and end the violent and unprecedented development at US Capitol Hill involving Trump supporters breaking into Capitol Hill to disrupt certification of Biden. Capitol Hill was a scene of unprecedented and surprsing events as Donald Trump-supporters stormed the area and broke into Capitol Building while US Lawmakers were certifying US Presidential Election 2020.

"This is not protest, this is insurrection," said Biden during his address.

"This has to end now," he added.

"At this hour, our democracy is under unprecedented assault," the veteran Democrat said in Wilmington, after hundreds of Trump supporters protesting his election defeat swarmed the Capitol building and put the nation's lawmakers at risk.

Shortly after Biden's LIVE address to media,&nbsp;Donald Trump tweeted a recorded video message in which he was seen asking his supporters to "go home" but he also said that he loved them.

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<a href="https://t.co/Pm2PKV0Fp3">pic.twitter.com/Pm2PKV0Fp3</a>
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Hundreds of Trump supporters gathered near the Capitol Building and broke in during early hours of Thursday, January 7 (Indian time). The situation went so out of hand that security persons inside the building had to&nbsp;draw guns.

Prior to that US Senate and House of Representatives went into an emergency recess.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/democrats-take-control-of-us-senate-as-they-win-second-race-in-georgia-354952">Democrats take control of U.S. Senate as they win second race in Georgia</a>

An AFP photographer described a smoky substance in the air in the large circular space under the Capitol dome as 100 or more protesters gathered.

"Police have asked us to get gas masks out as there has been tear gas used in the rotunda," House Democrat Jim Himes said on Twitter.

A visibly distraught but steely US President-elect Joe Biden appeared on US television and asked President Donald Trump to "step-up" and end the violent and unprecedented development at US Capitol Hill involving Trump supporters breaking into Capitol Hill to disrupt certification of Biden.

A visibly distraught but steely US President-elect Joe Biden appeared on US television and asked President Donald Trump to "step-up" and end the violent and unprecedented development at US Capitol Hill involving Trump supporters breaking into Capitol Hill to disrupt certification of Biden. Capitol Hill was a scene of unprecedented and surprsing events as Donald Trump-supporters stormed the area and broke into Capitol Building while US Lawmakers were certifying US Presidential Election 2020. "This is not protest, this is insurrection," said Biden during his address. "This has to end now," he added. "At this hour, our democracy is under unprecedented assault," the veteran Democrat said in Wilmington, after hundreds of Trump supporters protesting his election defeat swarmed the Capitol building and put the nation's lawmakers at risk. Shortly after Biden's LIVE address to media, Donald Trump tweeted a recorded video message in which he was seen asking his supporters to "go home" but he also said that he loved them. pic.twitter.com/Pm2PKV0Fp3 — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2021 × Hundreds of Trump supporters gathered near the Capitol Building and broke in during early hours of Thursday, January 7 (Indian time). The situation went so out of hand that security persons inside the building had to draw guns. Prior to that US Senate and House of Representatives went into an emergency recess. Also Read | Democrats take control of U.S. Senate as they win second race in Georgia An AFP photographer described a smoky substance in the air in the large circular space under the Capitol dome as 100 or more protesters gathered. "Police have asked us to get gas masks out as there has been tear gas used in the rotunda," House Democrat Jim Himes said on Twitter.

Capitol Hill violence: President Trump 'step up' and end this, says Biden

An Indian flag was spotted at the pro-Trump rally outside the US Capitol in Washington on Friday.&nbsp;

Amid the massive protests, which saw people carrying flags of the United States and of 'Trump 2020' and 'Trump 2024', one person also waived Indian tricolour.

Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-finally-concedes-defeat-pledges-orderly-transition-after-congress-affirms-biden-win-355120">Trump finally concedes defeat, pledges 'orderly transition' after Congress affirms Biden win</a>

The video of this incident went viral, with several people criticising the act as it was the US's internal matter and the protesters caused vandalisation in the Capitol Hill.&nbsp;

A user wrote that he appreciates "national pride", but the act is "ridiculous".

"What moron was waving the Indian flag there????? I'm all for national pride but this is ridiculous," he wrote on Twitter.

BJP Member of Parliament Varun Gandhi also slammed the act, saying it's a "fight, we definitely don't need to participate in".

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Why is there an Indian flag there??? This is one fight we definitely don’t need to participate in... <a href="https://t.co/1dP2KtgHvf">pic.twitter.com/1dP2KtgHvf</a>
— Varun Gandhi (@varungandhi80) <a href="https://twitter.com/varungandhi80/status/1347060127845634053?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Senior Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said one must feel "ashamed" for holding the tricolour "in such violent &amp; criminal acts in another country".&nbsp;

"Whoever is waving this Indian flag should feel ashamed. Don't use our tricolour to participate in such violent &amp; criminal acts in another country," Chaturvedi wrote on Twitter.&nbsp;

Here are more comments.

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This Indian flag amongst this mob is very disturbing. Punish the culprit for disrespecting my country's flag. <a href="https://t.co/m93tyLTrrI">https://t.co/m93tyLTrrI</a>
— ElsaMarie D'Silva (she/her) (@elsamariedsilva) <a href="https://twitter.com/elsamariedsilva/status/1347135026610126848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Does the person with the Indian flag even *know* what they’re doing? <a href="https://t.co/6NWiKNIBMd">https://t.co/6NWiKNIBMd</a>
— Ew 2020! (@itsmethemaniacc) <a href="https://twitter.com/itsmethemaniacc/status/1347112547254640642?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2021</a></blockquote>
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But, in a hilarious post, comedian Vir Das advised the flag bearer that a large crowd does not imply a "cricket match".&nbsp;

"Dear random Indian dude waving Indian flag at the #CapitolRiots. Every large crowd IS NOT A CRICKET MATCH," Das tweeted.

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Dear random Indian dude waving Indian flag at the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CapitolRiots?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CapitolRiots</a> 
Every large crowd IS NOT A CRICKET MATCH!
— Vir Das (@thevirdas) <a href="https://twitter.com/thevirdas/status/1347070675157184513?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Meanwhile, following pro-Trump protesters storming the Capitol Hill which caused mayhem, US Congress finally certified Joe Biden as the winner of 2020 presidential election.

President Donald Trump also conceded his defeat, despite implying that the election was not fair, saying there will be an "orderly transition".&nbsp;

"Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th," Trump said in a statement.&nbsp;

 
&nbsp;

An Indian flag was spotted at the pro-Trump rally outside the US Capitol in Washington on Friday. Amid the massive protests, which saw people carrying flags of the United States and of 'Trump 2020' and 'Trump 2024', one person also waived Indian tricolour.

An Indian flag was spotted at the pro-Trump rally outside the US Capitol in Washington on Friday. Amid the massive protests, which saw people carrying flags of the United States and of 'Trump 2020' and 'Trump 2024', one person also waived Indian tricolour. Also read | Trump finally concedes defeat, pledges 'orderly transition' after Congress affirms Biden win The video of this incident went viral, with several people criticising the act as it was the US's internal matter and the protesters caused vandalisation in the Capitol Hill. A user wrote that he appreciates "national pride", but the act is "ridiculous". "What moron was waving the Indian flag there????? I'm all for national pride but this is ridiculous," he wrote on Twitter. BJP Member of Parliament Varun Gandhi also slammed the act, saying it's a "fight, we definitely don't need to participate in". Why is there an Indian flag there??? This is one fight we definitely don’t need to participate in... pic.twitter.com/1dP2KtgHvf — Varun Gandhi (@varungandhi80) January 7, 2021 × Senior Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said one must feel "ashamed" for holding the tricolour "in such violent & criminal acts in another country". "Whoever is waving this Indian flag should feel ashamed. Don't use our tricolour to participate in such violent & criminal acts in another country," Chaturvedi wrote on Twitter. Here are more comments. This Indian flag amongst this mob is very disturbing. Punish the culprit for disrespecting my country's flag. https://t.co/m93tyLTrrI — ElsaMarie D'Silva (she/her) (@elsamariedsilva) January 7, 2021 × Does the person with the Indian flag even *know* what they’re doing? https://t.co/6NWiKNIBMd — Ew 2020! (@itsmethemaniacc) January 7, 2021 × But, in a hilarious post, comedian Vir Das advised the flag bearer that a large crowd does not imply a "cricket match". "Dear random Indian dude waving Indian flag at the #CapitolRiots. Every large crowd IS NOT A CRICKET MATCH," Das tweeted. Dear random Indian dude waving Indian flag at the #CapitolRiots Every large crowd IS NOT A CRICKET MATCH! — Vir Das (@thevirdas) January 7, 2021 × Meanwhile, following pro-Trump protesters storming the Capitol Hill which caused mayhem, US Congress finally certified Joe Biden as the winner of 2020 presidential election. President Donald Trump also conceded his defeat, despite implying that the election was not fair, saying there will be an "orderly transition". "Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th," Trump said in a statement.

Video of Indian flag spotted in pro-Trump rally at US Capitol goes viral

Hours after hundreds of President Donald Trump's supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in a harrowing assault on American democracy, a shaken Congress on Thursday formally certified Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory.

US Congress certifies Biden win hours after harrowing Capitol Hill assault

Hundreds of President Donald Trump's supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday in a bid to overturn his election defeat, occupying the symbol of American democracy and forcing Congress to suspend a session to certify President-elect Joe Biden's victory.

Twitter blocks Donald Trump's account, threatens permanent ban over inciting violence

“If the Democratic Party wants to stand with anarchists, agitators, rioters, looters and flag burners, that is up to them. But I as your president will not be part of it. The Republican Party will remain the voice of the patriotic heroes who keep America safe.”

— Donald Trump, Aug. 28, 2020

Wednesday was a horrifying and shameful moment in American history. I’ve covered attempted coups in many countries around the world, and now I’m finally covering one in the United States.

Trump and his enablers talk a good game about patriotism. They denounced President Barack Obama for sometimes not wearing a flag lapel pin. They criticized Colin Kaepernick for protesting police brutality by taking a knee rather than standing during the national anthem — and then Trump incited a mob on Wednesday to invade the United States Capitol. The rioters encountered a minimal police response, not the kind that Black Lives Matter protesters received.

Many of those pro-Trump rioters probably dispute the idea of white privilege. But the fact that they were allowed to overrun the police and invade the Senate and House chambers was evidence of that privilege.

“We are witnessing absolute banana republic crap in the United States Capitol right now,” Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., tweeted, adding an appeal to Trump: “You need to call this off.”

What the pro-Trump rioters attacked was not only a building but also the Constitution, the electoral system, our democratic process. They humiliated the United States before the world and left America’s enemies chortling. They will be remembered as Benedict Arnolds.

“Our democracy is under unprecedented assault, unlike anything we have seen in modern times,” President-elect Joe Biden said. He described it as “an assault on the citadel of liberty, the Capitol itself.”

“Our Constitution was the product of centuries of tradition, wisdom and experience. … A radical movement is attempting to demolish this treasured and precious inheritance. Left-wing mobs have torn down statues of our founders, desecrated our memorials.”

— Trump, Sept. 17, 2020

Patriotism is not about words. It is not about waving flags or singing “America the Beautiful.” It is about struggling, imperfectly and inadequately, to make this country we love a better one.

It is not about a president supporting an illegal insurrection or trying to win another term despite having lost both the popular vote and the Electoral College.

Whatever a president’s rhetoric, he betrays the Constitution when he oversees a campaign to overturn a free election guaranteed by that Constitution, and when he galvanizes rioters to overpower our democratic process.

Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, isn’t someone I usually agree with. But he was right when he finally stood up to Trump and warned the Senate that legislative moves to overrule voters by excluding some states in the Electoral College count “would damage our republic forever.”

The bankruptcy of the extremist GOP position was evident as Sen. Kelly Loeffler of Georgia joined in sabotaging the election by trying to negate the Arizona vote. Having just been rejected by voters, she in turn rejected voters.

“President Trump is promoting national unity through renewing understanding of and commitment to America’s shared founding principles.”

— White House “fact sheet,” Nov. 2, 2020

After a year in which Trump presented himself as the law-and-order president and denounced protesters as rioters, he summoned supporters to Washington and unleashed them as rioters on the Capitol as votes were counted. “Be there, will be wild,” he tweeted.

“Let’s have trial by combat,” his lawyer Rudy Giuliani told a rally of Trump supporters shortly before the attack on the Capitol.

So pro-Trump crowds dismantled security fences and invaded the Capitol. You can call them rioters or terrorists or coup plotters, but they were not Making America Great Again.

In Portland, Oregon, last summer, I saw federal authorities periodically use tear gas even against protesters who were peaceful and outside — so it was astonishing to see waves of protesters invade the Capitol with almost no response. Leftist protests sometimes did become violent and destructive in Portland and other cities, and when that happened Joe Biden repeatedly denounced them; he stood up to his base. Trump in contrast incited violence by his base and on Wednesday morning encouraged his supporters to head to the Capitol.

There have been whispers that Trump might try to take advantage of disorder at home or a crisis abroad by invoking the Insurrection Act and deploy military forces to interrupt the presidential transition. We should all be on alert and remember the warning of every living former U.S. defense secretary that the military should stay out of such a crisis.

Trump’s assaults on truth are not as visible as assaults on the Capitol, but they are also damaging. Some 62% of Republicans say they do not accept Biden’s election, and that is toxic for democracy and lays the groundwork for this kind of violence.

Trump and other Republicans talk about personal responsibility and obeying the law. So Tanya McDowell, a homeless African American mom, was imprisoned after misleading school officials about where she lived so that she could send her young son to a better school district and give him a better life. But, hypocritically, Trump fails to take any responsibility after a term in which he has lost the House, the presidency and the Senate — and then unleashes mobs to terrorize the Capitol.

As I said, I’ve covered other attempted coups, and history usually catches up to autocrats and thugs — eventually. They end up in prison, exile or disgrace, whining about the unfairness of it all, monuments to the perils of demagoguery and authoritarianism.

“If the Democratic Party wants to stand with anarchists, agitators, rioters, looters and flag burners, that is up to them. But I as your president will not be part of it.

“If the Democratic Party wants to stand with anarchists, agitators, rioters, looters and flag burners, that is up to them. But I as your president will not be part of it. The Republican Party will remain the voice of the patriotic heroes who keep America safe.” — Donald Trump, Aug. 28, 2020 Wednesday was a horrifying and shameful moment in American history. I’ve covered attempted coups in many countries around the world, and now I’m finally covering one in the United States. Trump and his enablers talk a good game about patriotism. They denounced President Barack Obama for sometimes not wearing a flag lapel pin. They criticized Colin Kaepernick for protesting police brutality by taking a knee rather than standing during the national anthem — and then Trump incited a mob on Wednesday to invade the United States Capitol. The rioters encountered a minimal police response, not the kind that Black Lives Matter protesters received. Many of those pro-Trump rioters probably dispute the idea of white privilege. But the fact that they were allowed to overrun the police and invade the Senate and House chambers was evidence of that privilege. “We are witnessing absolute banana republic crap in the United States Capitol right now,” Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., tweeted, adding an appeal to Trump: “You need to call this off.” What the pro-Trump rioters attacked was not only a building but also the Constitution, the electoral system, our democratic process. They humiliated the United States before the world and left America’s enemies chortling. They will be remembered as Benedict Arnolds. “Our democracy is under unprecedented assault, unlike anything we have seen in modern times,” President-elect Joe Biden said. He described it as “an assault on the citadel of liberty, the Capitol itself.” “Our Constitution was the product of centuries of tradition, wisdom and experience. … A radical movement is attempting to demolish this treasured and precious inheritance. Left-wing mobs have torn down statues of our founders, desecrated our memorials.” — Trump, Sept. 17, 2020 Patriotism is not about words. It is not about waving flags or singing “America the Beautiful.” It is about struggling, imperfectly and inadequately, to make this country we love a better one. It is not about a president supporting an illegal insurrection or trying to win another term despite having lost both the popular vote and the Electoral College. Whatever a president’s rhetoric, he betrays the Constitution when he oversees a campaign to overturn a free election guaranteed by that Constitution, and when he galvanizes rioters to overpower our democratic process. Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, isn’t someone I usually agree with. But he was right when he finally stood up to Trump and warned the Senate that legislative moves to overrule voters by excluding some states in the Electoral College count “would damage our republic forever.” The bankruptcy of the extremist GOP position was evident as Sen. Kelly Loeffler of Georgia joined in sabotaging the election by trying to negate the Arizona vote. Having just been rejected by voters, she in turn rejected voters. “President Trump is promoting national unity through renewing understanding of and commitment to America’s shared founding principles.” — White House “fact sheet,” Nov. 2, 2020 After a year in which Trump presented himself as the law-and-order president and denounced protesters as rioters, he summoned supporters to Washington and unleashed them as rioters on the Capitol as votes were counted. “Be there, will be wild,” he tweeted. “Let’s have trial by combat,” his lawyer Rudy Giuliani told a rally of Trump supporters shortly before the attack on the Capitol. So pro-Trump crowds dismantled security fences and invaded the Capitol. You can call them rioters or terrorists or coup plotters, but they were not Making America Great Again. In Portland, Oregon, last summer, I saw federal authorities periodically use tear gas even against protesters who were peaceful and outside — so it was astonishing to see waves of protesters invade the Capitol with almost no response. Leftist protests sometimes did become violent and destructive in Portland and other cities, and when that happened Joe Biden repeatedly denounced them; he stood up to his base. Trump in contrast incited violence by his base and on Wednesday morning encouraged his supporters to head to the Capitol. There have been whispers that Trump might try to take advantage of disorder at home or a crisis abroad by invoking the Insurrection Act and deploy military forces to interrupt the presidential transition. We should all be on alert and remember the warning of every living former U.S. defense secretary that the military should stay out of such a crisis. Trump’s assaults on truth are not as visible as assaults on the Capitol, but they are also damaging. Some 62% of Republicans say they do not accept Biden’s election, and that is toxic for democracy and lays the groundwork for this kind of violence. Trump and other Republicans talk about personal responsibility and obeying the law. So Tanya McDowell, a homeless African American mom, was imprisoned after misleading school officials about where she lived so that she could send her young son to a better school district and give him a better life. But, hypocritically, Trump fails to take any responsibility after a term in which he has lost the House, the presidency and the Senate — and then unleashes mobs to terrorize the Capitol. As I said, I’ve covered other attempted coups, and history usually catches up to autocrats and thugs — eventually. They end up in prison, exile or disgrace, whining about the unfairness of it all, monuments to the perils of demagoguery and authoritarianism.

Trump incites rioters

WASHINGTON — So this is how it ends. The presidency of Donald John Trump, rooted from the beginning in anger, division and conspiracy-mongering, comes to a close with a violent mob storming the Capitol at the instigation of a defeated leader trying to hang onto power as if America were just another authoritarian nation.

The scenes in Washington would have once been unimaginable: A rampage through the citadel of American democracy. Police officers brandishing guns in an armed standoff to defend the House chamber. Tear gas deployed in the Rotunda. Lawmakers in hiding. Extremists standing in the vice president’s spot on the Senate dais and sitting at the desk of the speaker of the House.

The words used to describe it were equally alarming: Coup. Insurrection. Sedition. Suddenly the United States was being compared to a “banana republic” and receiving messages of concern from other capitals. “American carnage,” it turned out, was not what Trump would stop, as he promised upon taking office, but what he wound up delivering four years later to the very building where he took the oath.

The convulsion in Washington capped 1,448 days of Twitter storms, provocations, race-baiting, busted norms, shock-jock governance and truth-bending from the Oval Office that have left the country more polarized than in generations. Those who warned of worst-case scenarios only to be dismissed as alarmists found some of their darkest fears realized. By day’s end, even some Republicans discussed removing Trump under the 25th Amendment rather than wait two weeks for the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.

The extraordinary invasion of the Capitol was a last-ditch act of desperation from a camp facing political eviction. Even before the mob set foot in the building on Wednesday afternoon, Trump’s presidency was slipping away. Democrats were taking control of the Senate with a pair of Georgia runoff election victories that Republicans angrily blamed on the president’s erratic behavior.

Two of his most loyal allies, Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, broke with Trump as never before, refusing to go along with his bid to overturn a democratic election after remaining behind him or standing quiet through four years of toxic conflict, scandal and capriciousness.

And following the attack on the Capitol, even more Republicans abandoned him. While most Republicans in the House stuck with him, he lost more than half of the Republican senators who started the day on his side of the battle, leaving him just six on the first Senate vote when deliberations resumed after the rioters were removed.

“What we have seen today is unlawful and unacceptable,” said Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., who reversed plans to join Trump’s effort. “I have decided I will vote to uphold the Electoral College results, and I encourage Donald Trump to condemn and put an end to this madness.”

Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the third-ranking Republican in the House, said Trump was responsible for the violence. “There’s no question that the president formed the mob, the president incited the mob, the president addressed the mob,” she told Fox News in comments she then posted online. “He lit the flames. This is what America is not.”

Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri, another senior Republican, said he had no more interest in what Trump had to say after the events that forced lawmakers to flee their own chambers. “I don’t want to hear anything,” he told reporters. “It was a tragic day and I think he was part of it.”

The cascade of criticism came even from within Trump’s circle, as advisers expressed deepening concern about how far he has been willing to go to undo an election he lost. At least three aides, Stephanie Grisham, Sarah Matthews and Rickie Niceta, resigned, with more expected to follow. After he initially offered only mild statements calling on the mob in the Capitol to be peaceful, several members of Trump’s team publicly implored him to do more.

“The best thing @realDonaldTrump could do right now is to address the nation from the Oval Office and condemn the riots,” Mick Mulvaney, who served as his chief of staff and still served as a special envoy, wrote on Twitter. “A peaceful transition of power is essential to the country and needs to take place on 1/20.”

Others debunked their own former boss’s brazenly false fraud allegations. “Dear MAGA- I am one of you,” wrote Alyssa Farah, who just stepped down as Trump’s communications director last month, noting that she has worked not just for Trump but also the conservative Freedom Caucus in the House. “I campaigned w/ Trump &amp;amp; voted for him. But I need you to hear me: the Election was NOT stolen. We lost.”

Moments after Biden went on live television to deplore the “insurrection” at the Capitol and call on Trump to go before cameras, the president posted a recorded video online that offered mixed messages. Even as he told supporters it was time to withdraw, he praised them rather than condemning their actions and repeated his grievances against people who were “so bad and so evil.”

“I know you’re hurt,” he told the rioters. “We had an election that was stolen from us. It was a landslide election and everyone knows it, especially the other side. But you have to go home now.” He added: “We love you. You’re very special.” Rather than calming the waters, the video was seen as further roiling them — so much so that Facebook and Twitter took it down and temporarily suspended Trump’s accounts.

Tom Bossert, the president’s former homeland security adviser, called out his former boss. “This is beyond wrong and illegal,” he said on Twitter. “It’s un-American. The President undermined American democracy baselessly for months. As a result, he’s culpable for this siege, and an utter disgrace.”

While Washington has seen many protests over the years, including some that turned violent, the uprising on Wednesday was unlike anything that the capital has seen during a transition of power in modern times, literally interrupting the constitutional acceptance of Biden’s election victory.

The assault on the Capitol was the first by a large, hostile group of invaders since the British sacked the building in 1814, according to the U.S. Capitol Historical Society. Four Puerto Rican nationalists entered peacefully in 1954 and sat in the House visitors gallery, at which point they pulled out guns and opened fire, injuring five lawmakers. In 1998, a gunman walked into the Capitol and killed two members of the Capitol Police.

But none of them was egged on by an American president the way that Trump seemed to do on Wednesday during a “Save America March” on the Ellipse south of the White House just as Congress was convening to validate Biden’s election.

“We will never give up,” Trump had declared. “We will never concede. It doesn’t happen. You don’t concede when there’s theft involved. Our country has had enough. We will not take it anymore, and that’s what this is all about."

As the crowd on the Ellipse chanted, “Fight for Trump! Fight for Trump!” the president lashed out at members of his own party for not doing more to help him cling to power. “There are so many weak Republicans,” he growled and then vowed to take revenge against those he deemed insufficiently loyal. “You primary them,” he said.

He singled out Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia, a Republican who angered him by not intervening in the election, calling him “one of the dumbest governors in the United States.” And he went after William Barr, the attorney general who debunked his false election complaints. “All of a sudden, Bill Barr changed,” he groused.

Other speakers, including his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, castigated Republican lawmakers for not standing up for the president. “Let’s have trial by combat,” exhorted Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor who has served as the president’s personal lawyer.

“The people who did nothing to stop the steal — this gathering should send a message to them,” Donald Trump Jr. said. “This isn’t their Republican Party anymore. This is Donald Trump’s Republican Party.”

But the question is for how long. Trump faced the end of his reign much as he began it, with a fervent hard-core base but without the support of most Americans. He won in 2016 through the Electoral College with nearly 3 million fewer votes in the popular tally than his opponent and lost by 7 million in November. He did not earn the approval of a majority of Americans in major surveys for a single day of his tenure, unlike any of his predecessors in the history of polling.

Had it not been for the attack on the Capitol, the break by Pence and McConnell would have been a political earthquake by itself. Pence rebuffed the president’s demand that he use his role as presiding officer over the Electoral College count to reject electors for Biden. And McConnell gave a forceful speech repudiating Trump’s effort to nullify the election.

“If this election were overturned by mere allegations from the losing side, our democracy would enter a death spiral,” McConnell said before the Capitol was overrun.

Pence released a letter saying he did not have the power to do what the president wanted him to do. “Vesting the vice president with unilateral authority to decide presidential contests would be entirely antithetical” to the constitutional design, he wrote.

He added: “It is my considered judgment that my oath to support and defend the Constitution constrains me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not.”

With Pence unwilling and unable to stop the count, the president’s supporters made it their mission to do it themselves. And for several hours, they succeeded. But after they were finally cleared out of the ransacked Capitol, lawmakers resumed the process of ending the Trump presidency.

Even Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, one of his strongest allies, essentially declared the Trump era done as he opposed the attempt to override the election results. “Enough’s enough,” he said on the floor. “It is over.”

WASHINGTON — So this is how it ends. The presidency of Donald John Trump, rooted from the beginning in anger, division and conspiracy-mongering, comes to a close with a violent mob storming the Capitol at the instigation of a defeated leader trying to hang onto power as if America were just another authoritarian nation.

WASHINGTON — So this is how it ends. The presidency of Donald John Trump, rooted from the beginning in anger, division and conspiracy-mongering, comes to a close with a violent mob storming the Capitol at the instigation of a defeated leader trying to hang onto power as if America were just another authoritarian nation. The scenes in Washington would have once been unimaginable: A rampage through the citadel of American democracy. Police officers brandishing guns in an armed standoff to defend the House chamber. Tear gas deployed in the Rotunda. Lawmakers in hiding. Extremists standing in the vice president’s spot on the Senate dais and sitting at the desk of the speaker of the House. The words used to describe it were equally alarming: Coup. Insurrection. Sedition. Suddenly the United States was being compared to a “banana republic” and receiving messages of concern from other capitals. “American carnage,” it turned out, was not what Trump would stop, as he promised upon taking office, but what he wound up delivering four years later to the very building where he took the oath. The convulsion in Washington capped 1,448 days of Twitter storms, provocations, race-baiting, busted norms, shock-jock governance and truth-bending from the Oval Office that have left the country more polarized than in generations. Those who warned of worst-case scenarios only to be dismissed as alarmists found some of their darkest fears realized. By day’s end, even some Republicans discussed removing Trump under the 25th Amendment rather than wait two weeks for the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden. The extraordinary invasion of the Capitol was a last-ditch act of desperation from a camp facing political eviction. Even before the mob set foot in the building on Wednesday afternoon, Trump’s presidency was slipping away. Democrats were taking control of the Senate with a pair of Georgia runoff election victories that Republicans angrily blamed on the president’s erratic behavior. Two of his most loyal allies, Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, broke with Trump as never before, refusing to go along with his bid to overturn a democratic election after remaining behind him or standing quiet through four years of toxic conflict, scandal and capriciousness. And following the attack on the Capitol, even more Republicans abandoned him. While most Republicans in the House stuck with him, he lost more than half of the Republican senators who started the day on his side of the battle, leaving him just six on the first Senate vote when deliberations resumed after the rioters were removed. “What we have seen today is unlawful and unacceptable,” said Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., who reversed plans to join Trump’s effort. “I have decided I will vote to uphold the Electoral College results, and I encourage Donald Trump to condemn and put an end to this madness.” Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the third-ranking Republican in the House, said Trump was responsible for the violence. “There’s no question that the president formed the mob, the president incited the mob, the president addressed the mob,” she told Fox News in comments she then posted online. “He lit the flames. This is what America is not.” Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri, another senior Republican, said he had no more interest in what Trump had to say after the events that forced lawmakers to flee their own chambers. “I don’t want to hear anything,” he told reporters. “It was a tragic day and I think he was part of it.” The cascade of criticism came even from within Trump’s circle, as advisers expressed deepening concern about how far he has been willing to go to undo an election he lost. At least three aides, Stephanie Grisham, Sarah Matthews and Rickie Niceta, resigned, with more expected to follow. After he initially offered only mild statements calling on the mob in the Capitol to be peaceful, several members of Trump’s team publicly implored him to do more. “The best thing @realDonaldTrump could do right now is to address the nation from the Oval Office and condemn the riots,” Mick Mulvaney, who served as his chief of staff and still served as a special envoy, wrote on Twitter. “A peaceful transition of power is essential to the country and needs to take place on 1/20.” Others debunked their own former boss’s brazenly false fraud allegations. “Dear MAGA- I am one of you,” wrote Alyssa Farah, who just stepped down as Trump’s communications director last month, noting that she has worked not just for Trump but also the conservative Freedom Caucus in the House. “I campaigned w/ Trump &amp; voted for him. But I need you to hear me: the Election was NOT stolen. We lost.” Moments after Biden went on live television to deplore the “insurrection” at the Capitol and call on Trump to go before cameras, the president posted a recorded video online that offered mixed messages. Even as he told supporters it was time to withdraw, he praised them rather than condemning their actions and repeated his grievances against people who were “so bad and so evil.” “I know you’re hurt,” he told the rioters. “We had an election that was stolen from us. It was a landslide election and everyone knows it, especially the other side. But you have to go home now.” He added: “We love you. You’re very special.” Rather than calming the waters, the video was seen as further roiling them — so much so that Facebook and Twitter took it down and temporarily suspended Trump’s accounts. Tom Bossert, the president’s former homeland security adviser, called out his former boss. “This is beyond wrong and illegal,” he said on Twitter. “It’s un-American. The President undermined American democracy baselessly for months. As a result, he’s culpable for this siege, and an utter disgrace.” While Washington has seen many protests over the years, including some that turned violent, the uprising on Wednesday was unlike anything that the capital has seen during a transition of power in modern times, literally interrupting the constitutional acceptance of Biden’s election victory. The assault on the Capitol was the first by a large, hostile group of invaders since the British sacked the building in 1814, according to the U.S. Capitol Historical Society. Four Puerto Rican nationalists entered peacefully in 1954 and sat in the House visitors gallery, at which point they pulled out guns and opened fire, injuring five lawmakers. In 1998, a gunman walked into the Capitol and killed two members of the Capitol Police. But none of them was egged on by an American president the way that Trump seemed to do on Wednesday during a “Save America March” on the Ellipse south of the White House just as Congress was convening to validate Biden’s election. “We will never give up,” Trump had declared. “We will never concede. It doesn’t happen. You don’t concede when there’s theft involved. Our country has had enough. We will not take it anymore, and that’s what this is all about." As the crowd on the Ellipse chanted, “Fight for Trump! Fight for Trump!” the president lashed out at members of his own party for not doing more to help him cling to power. “There are so many weak Republicans,” he growled and then vowed to take revenge against those he deemed insufficiently loyal. “You primary them,” he said. He singled out Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia, a Republican who angered him by not intervening in the election, calling him “one of the dumbest governors in the United States.” And he went after William Barr, the attorney general who debunked his false election complaints. “All of a sudden, Bill Barr changed,” he groused. Other speakers, including his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, castigated Republican lawmakers for not standing up for the president. “Let’s have trial by combat,” exhorted Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor who has served as the president’s personal lawyer. “The people who did nothing to stop the steal — this gathering should send a message to them,” Donald Trump Jr. said. “This isn’t their Republican Party anymore. This is Donald Trump’s Republican Party.” But the question is for how long. Trump faced the end of his reign much as he began it, with a fervent hard-core base but without the support of most Americans. He won in 2016 through the Electoral College with nearly 3 million fewer votes in the popular tally than his opponent and lost by 7 million in November. He did not earn the approval of a majority of Americans in major surveys for a single day of his tenure, unlike any of his predecessors in the history of polling. Had it not been for the attack on the Capitol, the break by Pence and McConnell would have been a political earthquake by itself. Pence rebuffed the president’s demand that he use his role as presiding officer over the Electoral College count to reject electors for Biden. And McConnell gave a forceful speech repudiating Trump’s effort to nullify the election. “If this election were overturned by mere allegations from the losing side, our democracy would enter a death spiral,” McConnell said before the Capitol was overrun. Pence released a letter saying he did not have the power to do what the president wanted him to do. “Vesting the vice president with unilateral authority to decide presidential contests would be entirely antithetical” to the constitutional design, he wrote. He added: “It is my considered judgment that my oath to support and defend the Constitution constrains me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not.” With Pence unwilling and unable to stop the count, the president’s supporters made it their mission to do it themselves. And for several hours, they succeeded. But after they were finally cleared out of the ransacked Capitol, lawmakers resumed the process of ending the Trump presidency. Even Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, one of his strongest allies, essentially declared the Trump era done as he opposed the attempt to override the election results. “Enough’s enough,” he said on the floor. “It is over.”

A mob and the breach of democracy: The violent end of the Trump era

Democrat Raphael Warnock has won one of Georgia’s two Senate runoffs -- becoming the first Black senator in his state’s history and putting the Senate majority within the Democrats’ reach.

Warnock defeated Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler. It was a stinging rebuke of outgoing President Donald Trump, who made one of his final trips in office to Georgia to rally his loyal base behind Loeffler and the Republican running for the other seat, David Perdue.

The focus now shifts to the second race between Perdue and Democrat Jon Ossoff.

If Ossoff wins, Democrats will have complete control of Congress, strengthening President-elect Joe Biden’s standing as he prepares to take office on January 20.

The showdown on the two seats will decide whether President-elect Joe Biden enjoys control of Congress or faces stiff Republican opposition to his reform plans.

"Georgia, I am honoured by the faith that you have shown in me," Warnock, a Black pastor, said in a televised address shortly after midnight as he claimed victory.

"And I promise you this tonight, I am going to the Senate to work for all of Georgia."

An Edison exit poll of more than 5,200 voters found half had voted for Trump in November and half for Biden.&nbsp;

The voters were also evenly split on whether Democrats or Republicans should control the Senate.

The survey included both early voters and voters who cast ballots on Tuesday.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/polls-close-in-georgias-critical-senate-runoffs-candidates-in-close-call-354707">Also read |&nbsp;Polls close in Georgia's critical Senate runoffs, candidates in close call</a>

Democrats must win both contests in Georgia to take control of the Senate. A double Democratic win would create a 50-50 split in the Senate and give Vice President-elect Kamala Harris the tie-breaking vote after she and Biden take office on January 20. The party already has a narrow majority in the House of Representatives.

If Republicans hold even one of the two seats, they would effectively wield veto power over Biden`s political and judicial appointees as well as many of his legislative initiatives in areas such as economic relief, climate change, healthcare and criminal justice.

(with inputs)

Democrat Raphael Warnock has won one of Georgia’s two Senate runoffs -- becoming the first Black senator in his state’s history and putting the Senate majority within the Democrats’ reach.

Democrat Raphael Warnock has won one of Georgia’s two Senate runoffs -- becoming the first Black senator in his state’s history and putting the Senate majority within the Democrats’ reach. Warnock defeated Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler. It was a stinging rebuke of outgoing President Donald Trump, who made one of his final trips in office to Georgia to rally his loyal base behind Loeffler and the Republican running for the other seat, David Perdue. The focus now shifts to the second race between Perdue and Democrat Jon Ossoff. If Ossoff wins, Democrats will have complete control of Congress, strengthening President-elect Joe Biden’s standing as he prepares to take office on January 20. The showdown on the two seats will decide whether President-elect Joe Biden enjoys control of Congress or faces stiff Republican opposition to his reform plans. "Georgia, I am honoured by the faith that you have shown in me," Warnock, a Black pastor, said in a televised address shortly after midnight as he claimed victory. "And I promise you this tonight, I am going to the Senate to work for all of Georgia." An Edison exit poll of more than 5,200 voters found half had voted for Trump in November and half for Biden. The voters were also evenly split on whether Democrats or Republicans should control the Senate. The survey included both early voters and voters who cast ballots on Tuesday. Also read | Polls close in Georgia's critical Senate runoffs, candidates in close call Democrats must win both contests in Georgia to take control of the Senate. A double Democratic win would create a 50-50 split in the Senate and give Vice President-elect Kamala Harris the tie-breaking vote after she and Biden take office on January 20. The party already has a narrow majority in the House of Representatives. If Republicans hold even one of the two seats, they would effectively wield veto power over Biden`s political and judicial appointees as well as many of his legislative initiatives in areas such as economic relief, climate change, healthcare and criminal justice. (with inputs)

Democrat Raphael Warnock wins one of two crunch US Senate runoffs

Former President George W. Bush, who became one of the first key Republicans to acknowledge the electoral victory of President-elect Joe Biden in November, will attend Biden’s inauguration this month — even as President Donald Trump and his GOP allies refuse to accept the results.

A spokesperson for Bush, the only other living Republican president, announced Tuesday night that Bush and former first lady Laura Bush would travel to Washington for the Jan. 20 ceremony.

“I believe this will be the eighth inauguration they’ve had the privilege of attending — President Trump’s being the most recent — and witnessing the peaceful transfer of power is a hallmark of our democracy that never gets old,” the spokesperson, Freddy Ford, said on Twitter.

On the same day that Bush’s office confirmed that he would attend Biden’s swearing-in, a spokeswoman for the oldest living former president, Jimmy Carter, said Tuesday that the Democrat would miss the inaugural.

“President and Mrs. Carter will not travel to Washington for the inauguration but have sent their best wishes to President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris and look forward to a successful administration,” Deanna Congileo, a spokeswoman for the Carter Center, said in an email Tuesday night.

Traveling to Washington for the ceremony, one that has been significantly scaled back because of the coronavirus pandemic, would likely pose a considerable risk to the 96-year-old former president.

In 2019, Carter underwent surgery for a broken hip after a fall at his home and needed stitches above his brow later that year after another fall.

In 2015, Carter announced that he was cancer free after undergoing treatment for metastatic melanoma that had spread to his brain.

Four years ago, Carter, whom the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported has attended every inauguration since his own in 1977, went to Trump’s swearing-in ceremony.

It was still unclear whether Trump would attend Biden’s inauguration.

Former President George W. Bush, who became one of the first key Republicans to acknowledge the electoral victory of President-elect Joe Biden in November, will attend Biden’s inauguration this month — even as President Donald Trump and his GOP allies refuse to accept the results.

Former President George W. Bush, who became one of the first key Republicans to acknowledge the electoral victory of President-elect Joe Biden in November, will attend Biden’s inauguration this month — even as President Donald Trump and his GOP allies refuse to accept the results. A spokesperson for Bush, the only other living Republican president, announced Tuesday night that Bush and former first lady Laura Bush would travel to Washington for the Jan. 20 ceremony. “I believe this will be the eighth inauguration they’ve had the privilege of attending — President Trump’s being the most recent — and witnessing the peaceful transfer of power is a hallmark of our democracy that never gets old,” the spokesperson, Freddy Ford, said on Twitter. On the same day that Bush’s office confirmed that he would attend Biden’s swearing-in, a spokeswoman for the oldest living former president, Jimmy Carter, said Tuesday that the Democrat would miss the inaugural. “President and Mrs. Carter will not travel to Washington for the inauguration but have sent their best wishes to President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris and look forward to a successful administration,” Deanna Congileo, a spokeswoman for the Carter Center, said in an email Tuesday night. Traveling to Washington for the ceremony, one that has been significantly scaled back because of the coronavirus pandemic, would likely pose a considerable risk to the 96-year-old former president. In 2019, Carter underwent surgery for a broken hip after a fall at his home and needed stitches above his brow later that year after another fall. In 2015, Carter announced that he was cancer free after undergoing treatment for metastatic melanoma that had spread to his brain. Four years ago, Carter, whom the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported has attended every inauguration since his own in 1977, went to Trump’s swearing-in ceremony. It was still unclear whether Trump would attend Biden’s inauguration.

George W Bush will attend Biden’s inauguration, while Carter will miss it

Republican former US president George W Bush will attend the inauguration of Democrats Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in Washington on January 20.

"President and Mrs. Bush look forward to returning to the Capitol for the swearing in of President Biden and Vice President Harris," Freddy Ford tweeted.&nbsp;

"Witnessing the peaceful transfer of power is a hallmark of our democracy that never gets old," he added, in a seeming jab at President Donald Trump who refuses to concede defeat and has not confirmed if he will attend Biden's inauguration.

It will be the eighth swearing-in ceremony the Bushs have attended.

The statement from Bush, the only living former Republican president, came during a week of high political tensions in the United States, with Trump desperately scheming to reverse his election loss.

On Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence is to preside over a joint session of Congress to certify the Electoral College vote that confirmed Biden as the winner of the White House.

Trump is planning to address a rally called in protest at the certification, and he urged Pence to "reject fraudulently chosen electors" -- a move the vice president has no legal authority to make.

Bush called Biden on November 8, the day after US media called the election for the Democrat, to offer his "warm congratulations."

Republican former US president George W Bush will attend the inauguration of Democrats Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in Washington on January 20. "President and Mrs.

Republican former US president George W Bush will attend the inauguration of Democrats Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in Washington on January 20. "President and Mrs. Bush look forward to returning to the Capitol for the swearing in of President Biden and Vice President Harris," Freddy Ford tweeted. "Witnessing the peaceful transfer of power is a hallmark of our democracy that never gets old," he added, in a seeming jab at President Donald Trump who refuses to concede defeat and has not confirmed if he will attend Biden's inauguration. It will be the eighth swearing-in ceremony the Bushs have attended. The statement from Bush, the only living former Republican president, came during a week of high political tensions in the United States, with Trump desperately scheming to reverse his election loss. On Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence is to preside over a joint session of Congress to certify the Electoral College vote that confirmed Biden as the winner of the White House. Trump is planning to address a rally called in protest at the certification, and he urged Pence to "reject fraudulently chosen electors" -- a move the vice president has no legal authority to make. Bush called Biden on November 8, the day after US media called the election for the Democrat, to offer his "warm congratulations."

George W Bush, wife to attend Joe Biden inauguration on Jan 20

All polls in Georgia officially closed on Tuesday&nbsp;after a day of in-person voting in Georgia's closely watched US Senate elections that will determine which party controls the chamber and how Congress could impact Joe Biden's incoming administration.

The runoffs for two Senate seats follow the November 3 election that saw Democrat Biden narrowly win Georgia and defeat President Donald Trump in their bitter White House race.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/i-will-fight-like-hell-to-hold-on-to-presidency-donald-trump-354509" hreflang="en">I will 'fight like hell' to hold on to presidency: Donald Trump</a>

After polls closed at 7:00 pm (0000 GMT Wednesday) in the southern state, US news outlets reported the races were too close to call, with Georgia officials saying results may not be known until Wednesday or later.

Georgia's unusual runoff for two Senate seats pits Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff against incumbent Republicans Kelly Loeffler and David Purdue respectively.

As polls closed Tuesday evening, preliminary results showed Warnock and Ossoff had jumped to narrow early leads.

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Ossoff, a documentary filmmaker, and Warnock, a pastor at a historic Black church in Atlanta, are challenging Republican incumbents David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler.

With about 49 per cent&nbsp;of the estimated vote counted, Warnock led Loeffler by 6.8 percentage points, while Ossoff was ahead of Perdue by 6.4 percentage points, according to Edison Research. The early results still heavily reflect Democratic-leaning areas.

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Looks like they are setting up a big “voter dump” against the Republican candidates. Waiting to see how many votes they need?
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The races appeared headed to a close finish, with an Edison exit poll of more than 5,200 voters finding half had voted for Republican President Donald Trump in November and a half for Biden. The voters were also evenly split on whether Democrats or Republicans should control the Senate.

The survey included both early voters and voters who cast ballots on Tuesday.

Democrats must win both contests in&nbsp;Georgia&nbsp;to take control of the Senate. A double Democratic win would create a 50-50 split in the Senate and give Vice President-elect Kamala Harris the tie-breaking vote after she and Biden take office on January&nbsp;20. The party already has a narrow majority in the House of Representatives.

If Republicans hold onto the Senate, they would effectively wield veto power over Biden's political and judicial appointees as well as many of his policy initiatives in areas such as economic relief, climate change, healthcare and criminal justice.

The state already had relatively complete results for 27 counties in&nbsp;Georgia&nbsp;with about 197,000 total votes. Ossoff has done about 0.2 percentage point better than Biden did in those counties, while Warnock is doing about 0.8 percentage point better than Biden did.

The outcome may remain in doubt for days if the margins are razor-thin.

Both Biden and Trump campaigned in the state on Monday, underscoring the stakes.

No Democrat has won a US&nbsp;Senate race in&nbsp;Georgia&nbsp;in 20 years, but opinion surveys show both races as exceedingly close. The head-to-head runoff elections, a quirk of state law, became necessary when no candidate in either race exceeded 50 per cent&nbsp;of the vote in November.

Biden's narrow statewide win in the November&nbsp;3 election,&nbsp;the first for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1992, has given the party reason for optimism in a state dominated by Republicans for decades.

More than 3 million&nbsp;Georgians voted early by mail or in person, shattering the record for runoff elections even before Election Day arrived. The two races drew nearly half a billion dollars in advertising spending since November&nbsp;3, a staggering total that fueled a tsunami of television commercials.

(With input from agencies)

All polls in Georgia officially closed on Tuesday after a day of in-person voting in Georgia's closely watched US Senate elections that will determine which party controls the chamber and how Congress could impact Joe Biden's incoming administration.

All polls in Georgia officially closed on Tuesday after a day of in-person voting in Georgia's closely watched US Senate elections that will determine which party controls the chamber and how Congress could impact Joe Biden's incoming administration. The runoffs for two Senate seats follow the November 3 election that saw Democrat Biden narrowly win Georgia and defeat President Donald Trump in their bitter White House race. Also read: I will 'fight like hell' to hold on to presidency: Donald Trump After polls closed at 7:00 pm (0000 GMT Wednesday) in the southern state, US news outlets reported the races were too close to call, with Georgia officials saying results may not be known until Wednesday or later. Georgia's unusual runoff for two Senate seats pits Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff against incumbent Republicans Kelly Loeffler and David Purdue respectively. As polls closed Tuesday evening, preliminary results showed Warnock and Ossoff had jumped to narrow early leads. Ossoff, a documentary filmmaker, and Warnock, a pastor at a historic Black church in Atlanta, are challenging Republican incumbents David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler. With about 49 per cent of the estimated vote counted, Warnock led Loeffler by 6.8 percentage points, while Ossoff was ahead of Perdue by 6.4 percentage points, according to Edison Research. The early results still heavily reflect Democratic-leaning areas. Looks like they are setting up a big “voter dump” against the Republican candidates. Waiting to see how many votes they need? — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2021 × The races appeared headed to a close finish, with an Edison exit poll of more than 5,200 voters finding half had voted for Republican President Donald Trump in November and a half for Biden. The voters were also evenly split on whether Democrats or Republicans should control the Senate. The survey included both early voters and voters who cast ballots on Tuesday. Democrats must win both contests in Georgia to take control of the Senate. A double Democratic win would create a 50-50 split in the Senate and give Vice President-elect Kamala Harris the tie-breaking vote after she and Biden take office on January 20. The party already has a narrow majority in the House of Representatives. If Republicans hold onto the Senate, they would effectively wield veto power over Biden's political and judicial appointees as well as many of his policy initiatives in areas such as economic relief, climate change, healthcare and criminal justice. The state already had relatively complete results for 27 counties in Georgia with about 197,000 total votes. Ossoff has done about 0.2 percentage point better than Biden did in those counties, while Warnock is doing about 0.8 percentage point better than Biden did. The outcome may remain in doubt for days if the margins are razor-thin. Both Biden and Trump campaigned in the state on Monday, underscoring the stakes. No Democrat has won a US Senate race in Georgia in 20 years, but opinion surveys show both races as exceedingly close. The head-to-head runoff elections, a quirk of state law, became necessary when no candidate in either race exceeded 50 per cent of the vote in November. Biden's narrow statewide win in the November 3 election, the first for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1992, has given the party reason for optimism in a state dominated by Republicans for decades. More than 3 million Georgians voted early by mail or in person, shattering the record for runoff elections even before Election Day arrived. The two races drew nearly half a billion dollars in advertising spending since November 3, a staggering total that fueled a tsunami of television commercials. (With input from agencies)

Polls close in Georgia's critical Senate runoffs, candidates in close call

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un admitted on Wednesday&nbsp;that the country's economic plan had failed to meet its goals in a rare congress of the ruling Workers' Party.

The gathering is the first of its kind in five years, only the eighth in the nuclear-armed country's history, and comes weeks before US President-elect Joe Biden takes office.

In his opening speech, Kim said the country had achieved a "miraculous victory" by bolstering its power and global prestige since the last meeting, referring to military advances that culminated in successful tests in 2017 of intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of striking the US&nbsp;mainland.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/kim-jong-un-deliberately-faked-his-death-to-expose-traitors-in-his-circle-report-296811">Kim Jong-un deliberately faked his death to expose traitors in his circle: Report</a>

Relations with Washington have been deadlocked since talks between Kim and President Donald Trump stalled over sanctions relief and what Pyongyang would be willing to give up in return.

At the same time, the North is more isolated than ever after closing its borders last January to protect itself against the coronavirus that first emerged in neighbour and key ally China.

"The 8th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) opened in Pyongyang," the official Korean Central&nbsp;News&nbsp;Agency&nbsp;(KCNA) said.

On the first day of his work review, Kim said the results of the last five-year economic development strategy "fell extremely short of our goals in almost all areas", KCNA reported.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/after-months-of-claiming-to-have-no-cases-north-korea-requests-covid-vaccine-354496">After months of claiming to have no&nbsp;cases, North Korea requests Covid vaccine</a>

On the global pandemic, Kim lauded party workers for ensuring "stable situations against the coronavirus from beginning to end."

They had "resolutely overcome difficulties in the face of an unprecedentedly prolonged, unparalleled global health crisis," he added.

The coronavirus pandemic has added to the pressures on the North, with Pyongyang blockading itself far more effectively than even the most hawkish backer of sanctions could ever hope to achieve.

North Korea has not officially confirmed any coronavirus cases, although it reported thousands of "suspected cases" to the World Health Organization.

South Korean authorities have said an outbreak in the North cannot be ruled out as it had active trade and people movement with China before closing its border last January.

The congress, the country's eighth and the second under Kim, was attended by 4,750 delegates and 2,000 spectators, Kim said.

In KCNA images, no one was seen wearing masks and participants did not sit apart, unlike at some other recent public events.

Kim was accompanied by top aides, including his sister and senior party official Kim Yo Jong, nominal head of state Choe Ryong Hae and Premier Kim Tok Hun.

The meeting will last some days, during which Kim is also expected to announce leadership changes - potentially involving his sister - and discuss other organisational, budget and audit issues.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un admitted on Wednesday that the country's economic plan had failed to meet its goals in a rare congress of the ruling Workers' Party.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un admitted on Wednesday that the country's economic plan had failed to meet its goals in a rare congress of the ruling Workers' Party. The gathering is the first of its kind in five years, only the eighth in the nuclear-armed country's history, and comes weeks before US President-elect Joe Biden takes office. In his opening speech, Kim said the country had achieved a "miraculous victory" by bolstering its power and global prestige since the last meeting, referring to military advances that culminated in successful tests in 2017 of intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of striking the US mainland. Also read: Kim Jong-un deliberately faked his death to expose traitors in his circle: Report Relations with Washington have been deadlocked since talks between Kim and President Donald Trump stalled over sanctions relief and what Pyongyang would be willing to give up in return. At the same time, the North is more isolated than ever after closing its borders last January to protect itself against the coronavirus that first emerged in neighbour and key ally China. "The 8th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) opened in Pyongyang," the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. On the first day of his work review, Kim said the results of the last five-year economic development strategy "fell extremely short of our goals in almost all areas", KCNA reported. Also read: After months of claiming to have no cases, North Korea requests Covid vaccine On the global pandemic, Kim lauded party workers for ensuring "stable situations against the coronavirus from beginning to end." They had "resolutely overcome difficulties in the face of an unprecedentedly prolonged, unparalleled global health crisis," he added. The coronavirus pandemic has added to the pressures on the North, with Pyongyang blockading itself far more effectively than even the most hawkish backer of sanctions could ever hope to achieve. North Korea has not officially confirmed any coronavirus cases, although it reported thousands of "suspected cases" to the World Health Organization. South Korean authorities have said an outbreak in the North cannot be ruled out as it had active trade and people movement with China before closing its border last January. The congress, the country's eighth and the second under Kim, was attended by 4,750 delegates and 2,000 spectators, Kim said. In KCNA images, no one was seen wearing masks and participants did not sit apart, unlike at some other recent public events. Kim was accompanied by top aides, including his sister and senior party official Kim Yo Jong, nominal head of state Choe Ryong Hae and Premier Kim Tok Hun. The meeting will last some days, during which Kim is also expected to announce leadership changes - potentially involving his sister - and discuss other organisational, budget and audit issues.

Kim Jong-un admits economic failure as rare party congress begins

President-elect Joe Biden’s choice for Treasury secretary, Janet L. Yellen, collected more than $7 million in speaking fees over the past two years from major corporations and Wall Street banks that have a keen interest in the financial policies she will oversee after her expected confirmation to lead the Treasury Department.

Yellen’s paid speaking appearances — which included $992,000 from investment bank Citi for nine appearances — were among the lucrative payments from a range of Wall Street, Big Tech and corporate interests to three prominent prospective members of the incoming Biden administration.

The payments, revealed in disclosure statements covering the previous two years and released on New Year’s Eve, have caused consternation among progressive activists concerned about the influence of special interests around Biden, who they see as part of a Democratic establishment that has not sufficiently embraced liberal priorities.

Biden’s choice for secretary of state, Antony J. Blinken, was paid nearly $1.2 million by a consulting firm he helped found, WestExec Advisors, where he advised a range of corporations including Facebook, Boeing, private equity giant Blackstone and asset management company Lazard.

Biden’s choice for director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, was paid $180,000 to consult for data-mining company Palantir, which has raised liberal hackles for providing data and surveillance services to law enforcement, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Along with their disclosure statements, Yellen, Blinken and Haines each filed ethics agreements pledging to avoid involvement in specific matters that could affect any holding they still own, or with which they had worked in the past year, unless they receive a written waiver from ethics officials.

The three may have to extend the conflict of interest window beyond a year if Biden enacts an expected ethics policy barring officials in his administration from participating for two years in policies that could affect their former business interests.

Yellen and Blinken also indicated they would divest their interests in companies, including stock owned by Yellen in major corporations such as AT&amp;amp;T, ConocoPhillips, Dow, Pfizer and Raytheon. Blinken said he would sell his stake in WestExec Advisors as well as a venture capital firm linked to it.

Blinken indicated in his disclosure filing that those stakes are worth a total of $1.5 million to $6 million.

David Segal, the executive director of the progressive group Demand Progress, said that he still had concerns even though the officials had pledged to abide by conflict of interest rules.

“There are almost too many corporate clients to count who have relationships to the respective ambits these designees would steward if confirmed,” he said, adding that “this is an unfortunate circumstance,” particularly as Biden strives to strike a difference between his administration and President Donald Trump’s.

In the Trump administration, representatives from corporate America and Wall Street held prominent posts, and conflicts of interest abounded.

The filings by Biden’s team offer another glimpse of Washington’s longtime revolving door. Officials whose parties have lost power monetize their insider expertise and connections in the private sector, then head back into government when their party retakes the White House.

Yellen, a former Federal Reserve chair, started giving paid speeches in February 2018, which was within a year of the conclusion of her term at the Fed. She was also a consultant to Magellan Financial Group Ltd., an Australia-based investment fund manager, which paid her $125,000.

Haines left her position as deputy national security adviser to President Barack Obama at the end of his term in 2017, and within about six months she was working as a consultant for Palantir. When Haines joined Biden’s transition team over the summer, a spokesperson sought to distance her from Palantir’s data collection and surveillance, saying that the vast majority of her work for the company was related to diversity and inclusion.

The biggest share of Haines’ income came from Columbia University, which paid her more than $440,000 to help run an international research project and to lecture at the university’s law school. She also was paid $150,000 to consult for the applied physics lab at Johns Hopkins University, and nearly $55,000 to consult and make introductions for WestExec Advisors, the firm Blinken helped found.

Blinken, who served as deputy secretary of state in the Obama administration, formed WestExec Advisors about eight months after he left office with three other Obama administration officials.

The firm, which takes its name from the small street that runs between the West Wing of the White House and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, was hired by clients looking for advice in navigating the federal government. The firm also paired with venture capital funds that helped companies it advised expand to take on federal contracts or other new work.

Blinken’s disclosure forms show that he worked with 17 WestExec clients, including Microsoft, Uber, AT&amp;amp;T, FedEx, LinkedIn, Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences and McKinsey &amp;amp; Co., a global consulting firm.

WestExec said in a statement after Blinken emerged as the likely secretary of state pick that he helped business leaders “make the best decisions in a complex and volatile international landscape.”

Blinken also publicly defended tech companies, while Facebook was a client of WestExec. When tech companies came under fire for failing to adequately fight disinformation during the 2016 election — including Facebook posts that were part of a Russian effort to boost Trump’s presidential campaign — Blinken said the blame should be directed primarily at Russia.

Tech platforms “have to do better to defend against malicious actors, but let’s not lose sight of the forest for the trees: The problem is Russia and other actors who use our openness against us, not the platforms,” Blinken said in an interview with Fast Company published in October 2017. “The biggest mistake we can make is to get into a circular firing squad with government and the tech companies,” Blinken told the publication, which identified him as an adviser to both Facebook and Alphabet, the parent company of Google.

José Castañeda, a Google spokesperson, said that the company hired WestExec for one month in 2018 to provide advice on tech policy, but added that the advice was “provided by others in the firm, not by Mr. Blinken.”

In 2009, Obama prohibited all of his appointees from participating for two years in “any particular matter” as a government official that “directly and substantially” related to a former employer or former client, including a federal regulation that might affect the former client.

Biden has not yet released details on what type of restrictions he will impose on his political appointees.

President-elect Joe Biden’s choice for Treasury secretary, Janet L. Yellen, collected more than $7 million in speaking fees over the past two years from major corporations and Wall Street banks that have a keen interest in the financial policies she will oversee after her expected confirmation to lead the Treasury Department.

President-elect Joe Biden’s choice for Treasury secretary, Janet L. Yellen, collected more than $7 million in speaking fees over the past two years from major corporations and Wall Street banks that have a keen interest in the financial policies she will oversee after her expected confirmation to lead the Treasury Department. Yellen’s paid speaking appearances — which included $992,000 from investment bank Citi for nine appearances — were among the lucrative payments from a range of Wall Street, Big Tech and corporate interests to three prominent prospective members of the incoming Biden administration. The payments, revealed in disclosure statements covering the previous two years and released on New Year’s Eve, have caused consternation among progressive activists concerned about the influence of special interests around Biden, who they see as part of a Democratic establishment that has not sufficiently embraced liberal priorities. Biden’s choice for secretary of state, Antony J. Blinken, was paid nearly $1.2 million by a consulting firm he helped found, WestExec Advisors, where he advised a range of corporations including Facebook, Boeing, private equity giant Blackstone and asset management company Lazard. Biden’s choice for director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, was paid $180,000 to consult for data-mining company Palantir, which has raised liberal hackles for providing data and surveillance services to law enforcement, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Along with their disclosure statements, Yellen, Blinken and Haines each filed ethics agreements pledging to avoid involvement in specific matters that could affect any holding they still own, or with which they had worked in the past year, unless they receive a written waiver from ethics officials. The three may have to extend the conflict of interest window beyond a year if Biden enacts an expected ethics policy barring officials in his administration from participating for two years in policies that could affect their former business interests. Yellen and Blinken also indicated they would divest their interests in companies, including stock owned by Yellen in major corporations such as AT&amp;T, ConocoPhillips, Dow, Pfizer and Raytheon. Blinken said he would sell his stake in WestExec Advisors as well as a venture capital firm linked to it. Blinken indicated in his disclosure filing that those stakes are worth a total of $1.5 million to $6 million. David Segal, the executive director of the progressive group Demand Progress, said that he still had concerns even though the officials had pledged to abide by conflict of interest rules. “There are almost too many corporate clients to count who have relationships to the respective ambits these designees would steward if confirmed,” he said, adding that “this is an unfortunate circumstance,” particularly as Biden strives to strike a difference between his administration and President Donald Trump’s. In the Trump administration, representatives from corporate America and Wall Street held prominent posts, and conflicts of interest abounded. The filings by Biden’s team offer another glimpse of Washington’s longtime revolving door. Officials whose parties have lost power monetize their insider expertise and connections in the private sector, then head back into government when their party retakes the White House. Yellen, a former Federal Reserve chair, started giving paid speeches in February 2018, which was within a year of the conclusion of her term at the Fed. She was also a consultant to Magellan Financial Group Ltd., an Australia-based investment fund manager, which paid her $125,000. Haines left her position as deputy national security adviser to President Barack Obama at the end of his term in 2017, and within about six months she was working as a consultant for Palantir. When Haines joined Biden’s transition team over the summer, a spokesperson sought to distance her from Palantir’s data collection and surveillance, saying that the vast majority of her work for the company was related to diversity and inclusion. The biggest share of Haines’ income came from Columbia University, which paid her more than $440,000 to help run an international research project and to lecture at the university’s law school. She also was paid $150,000 to consult for the applied physics lab at Johns Hopkins University, and nearly $55,000 to consult and make introductions for WestExec Advisors, the firm Blinken helped found. Blinken, who served as deputy secretary of state in the Obama administration, formed WestExec Advisors about eight months after he left office with three other Obama administration officials. The firm, which takes its name from the small street that runs between the West Wing of the White House and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, was hired by clients looking for advice in navigating the federal government. The firm also paired with venture capital funds that helped companies it advised expand to take on federal contracts or other new work. Blinken’s disclosure forms show that he worked with 17 WestExec clients, including Microsoft, Uber, AT&amp;T, FedEx, LinkedIn, Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences and McKinsey &amp; Co., a global consulting firm. WestExec said in a statement after Blinken emerged as the likely secretary of state pick that he helped business leaders “make the best decisions in a complex and volatile international landscape.” Blinken also publicly defended tech companies, while Facebook was a client of WestExec. When tech companies came under fire for failing to adequately fight disinformation during the 2016 election — including Facebook posts that were part of a Russian effort to boost Trump’s presidential campaign — Blinken said the blame should be directed primarily at Russia. Tech platforms “have to do better to defend against malicious actors, but let’s not lose sight of the forest for the trees: The problem is Russia and other actors who use our openness against us, not the platforms,” Blinken said in an interview with Fast Company published in October 2017. “The biggest mistake we can make is to get into a circular firing squad with government and the tech companies,” Blinken told the publication, which identified him as an adviser to both Facebook and Alphabet, the parent company of Google. José Castañeda, a Google spokesperson, said that the company hired WestExec for one month in 2018 to provide advice on tech policy, but added that the advice was “provided by others in the firm, not by Mr. Blinken.” In 2009, Obama prohibited all of his appointees from participating for two years in “any particular matter” as a government official that “directly and substantially” related to a former employer or former client, including a federal regulation that might affect the former client. Biden has not yet released details on what type of restrictions he will impose on his political appointees.

Washington has been lucrative for some on Biden’s team

The outgoing US President <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a> has only a few days left in the White House, but it looks like scandals are not ready to give up on him. This time, Trump is back in news for a leaked audio tape in which he can be heard asking his aides to "find votes" for him in the recently concluded <a href="https://www.wionews.com/us-election">US election 2020</a>.

Local US media has released an audio tape on Sunday in which Trump can be heard pressurising the Georgia's secretary of state to "find" enough votes for him to overturn his dreaded defeat in the elections against the President-elect Joe Biden.

"There's nothing wrong with saying, you know, um, that you've recalculated (the vote tally)," Trump can be heard saying on the tape. "You're off by hundreds of thousands of votes."

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/kamala-harris-lambasts-trumps-georgia-phone-call-as-abuse-of-power-354263" hreflang="en">Kamala Harris lambasts Trump's Georgia phone call as 'abuse of power'</a>

Much to Trump's disappointment, the other person present in the room can be geard replying "Well, Mr. President, the challenge that you have is, the data you have is wrong."

Trump's audio tape also points towards his threats towards&nbsp;Republican Brad Raffensperger, telling him that they face "a big risk" if his state fails to take steps to flip the election result in favour of Trump.

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Trouble has further mounted for <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a>, as in a new audio recording that has come to light, he can be heard pressurising Georgia's top election officials to help overturn the election result. <a href="https://twitter.com/PriyankaSh25?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PriyankaSh25</a> speaks to <a href="https://twitter.com/Jags_Dave?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Jags_Dave</a> for more <a href="https://t.co/VsvJcg9h3W">pic.twitter.com/VsvJcg9h3W</a>
— WION (@WIONews) <a href="https://twitter.com/WIONews/status/1345963166035918849?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2021</a></blockquote>
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His disappointment and much-desperate attempt of finding votes came as Biden created history by winning the Republican-majority state. "The current margin is only 11,779. Brad, I think you agree with that, right?"&nbsp;Trump says. "So look. All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes."

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I spoke to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger yesterday about Fulton County and voter fraud in Georgia. He was unwilling, or unable, to answer questions such as the “ballots under table” scam, ballot destruction, out of state “voters”, dead voters, and more. He has no clue!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1345731043861659650?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2021</a></blockquote>
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After the release of the tape, Trump, expectedly, took to Twitter to say that he had a conversation with the Raffensperger who was unwilling to answer questions about voter scam. "I spoke to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger yesterday about Fulton County and voter fraud in Georgia. He was unwilling, or unable, to answer questions such as the “ballots under table” scam, ballot destruction, out of state “voters”, dead voters, and more. He has no clue!," Trump tweeted.

However, the Georgia leader tweeted back denying these accusations. "Respectfully, President Trump: What you're saying is not true. The truth will come out," he said.

The interesting thing to note in this controversy is that even if Georgia would have been successfull in this&nbsp;hypothetical reversal, Biden would have secured the win by&nbsp;a margin of 306 to 232.

The outgoing US President Donald Trump has only a few days left in the White House, but it looks like scandals are not ready to give up on him. This time, Trump is back in news for a leaked audio tape in which he can be heard asking his aides to "find votes" for him in the recently concluded US election 2020.

The outgoing US President Donald Trump has only a few days left in the White House, but it looks like scandals are not ready to give up on him. This time, Trump is back in news for a leaked audio tape in which he can be heard asking his aides to "find votes" for him in the recently concluded US election 2020. Local US media has released an audio tape on Sunday in which Trump can be heard pressurising the Georgia's secretary of state to "find" enough votes for him to overturn his dreaded defeat in the elections against the President-elect Joe Biden. "There's nothing wrong with saying, you know, um, that you've recalculated (the vote tally)," Trump can be heard saying on the tape. "You're off by hundreds of thousands of votes." Also read| Kamala Harris lambasts Trump's Georgia phone call as 'abuse of power' Much to Trump's disappointment, the other person present in the room can be geard replying "Well, Mr. President, the challenge that you have is, the data you have is wrong." Trump's audio tape also points towards his threats towards Republican Brad Raffensperger, telling him that they face "a big risk" if his state fails to take steps to flip the election result in favour of Trump. Trouble has further mounted for @realDonaldTrump, as in a new audio recording that has come to light, he can be heard pressurising Georgia's top election officials to help overturn the election result. @PriyankaSh25 speaks to @Jags_Dave for more pic.twitter.com/VsvJcg9h3W — WION (@WIONews) January 4, 2021 × His disappointment and much-desperate attempt of finding votes came as Biden created history by winning the Republican-majority state. "The current margin is only 11,779. Brad, I think you agree with that, right?" Trump says. "So look. All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes." I spoke to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger yesterday about Fulton County and voter fraud in Georgia. He was unwilling, or unable, to answer questions such as the “ballots under table” scam, ballot destruction, out of state “voters”, dead voters, and more. He has no clue! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2021 × After the release of the tape, Trump, expectedly, took to Twitter to say that he had a conversation with the Raffensperger who was unwilling to answer questions about voter scam. "I spoke to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger yesterday about Fulton County and voter fraud in Georgia. He was unwilling, or unable, to answer questions such as the “ballots under table” scam, ballot destruction, out of state “voters”, dead voters, and more. He has no clue!," Trump tweeted. However, the Georgia leader tweeted back denying these accusations. "Respectfully, President Trump: What you're saying is not true. The truth will come out," he said. The interesting thing to note in this controversy is that even if Georgia would have been successfull in this hypothetical reversal, Biden would have secured the win by a margin of 306 to 232.

Donald Trump's leaked audio tape reveals he wanted to 'find' votes to win US election

Democrat Nancy Pelosi on Sunday was&nbsp;re-elected as the&nbsp;United States Speaker of the House with a slim majority in a deeply divided new Congress that convened in the final weeks of Donald Trump's presidency.

Pelosi was&nbsp;reinstated after the House&nbsp;voted 216-209&nbsp;after Democrats lost 11 seats in the November elections to command a narrower 222-212 majority.

She&nbsp;faced a scare when five fellow Democrats defected and voted "present" or for someone else during the floor vote.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/nancy-pelosis-house-vandalised-with-graffiti-and-pigs-head-353988">Nancy Pelosi's house vandalised with graffiti and pig's head</a>

"As we are sworn in today, we accept responsibility as daunting and demanding as any that previous generations of leadership have faced. We begin the new Congress during a time of extraordinary difficulty,"&nbsp;Pelosi&nbsp;said in a floor speech that noted the deaths of more than 350,000 Americans from the COVID-19 pandemic.

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As we are sworn in today, we accept a responsibility as daunting and demanding as any that previous generations of leadership have faced. 
 
Our most urgent priority will continue to be defeating the coronavirus - and defeat it, we will! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/117thCongress?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#117thCongress</a> <a href="https://t.co/HD5w1OUfx3">pic.twitter.com/HD5w1OUfx3</a>
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerPelosi/status/1345893278500212742?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2021</a></blockquote>
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"Our most urgent priority will continue to be defeating the coronavirus. And defeat it, we will," she added, pledging that further aid would follow the latest $892 billion package that Congress passed in December.

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Our work <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ForThePeople?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ForThePeople</a> continues, even in the face of this unprecedented national crisis. Tune in as I swear in Members of the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/117thCongress?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#117thCongress</a>. <a href="https://t.co/ATx5aPEaWa">https://t.co/ATx5aPEaWa</a>
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerPelosi/status/1345857232437727234?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2021</a></blockquote>
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The Senate remains Republican-run ahead of twin elections in Georgia on Tuesday, giving its members a platform to again air President Donald Trump's baseless claims that his loss to Democratic President-elect Joe Biden was the result of fraud.

Multiple state and federal reviews have found no evidence of the sort of widespread fraud Trump claims, but Republican senators and House members plan to challenge the election result when Congress certifies it on Wednesday.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/nancy-pelosi-wants-a-commission-to-evaluate-trumps-mental-and-physical-health-333817">Nancy Pelosi wants a commission to evaluate Trump's mental and physical health</a>

Pelosi, 80, the only woman to serve as US Speaker of the House,&nbsp;has been Trump's chief nemesis in Congress, and the two clashed bitterly over the past two years, particularly as she levelled impeachment charges against the president.

Trump was impeached in December 2019, but the Senate acquitted him early in 2020. His successor, Joe Biden, takes office on January 20.

With Pelosi scrambling to keep her post, it was a handful of progressive lawmakers and members-elect who have been critical of her leadership but ultimately voted for her on Sunday.

Among them was Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the most high-profile Democrats in Washington, and incoming lawmaker Cori Bush, who is the first African-American woman to represent Missouri in Congress.

There are normally 435 members of the House, but just 427 votes were cast Sunday as a few congressmen-elect are in quarantine due to Covid-19 and a tight House race in New York has yet to be formally decided.

One congressman-elect from Louisiana, Luke Letlow, died of complications from Covid-19 last week, days before he was due to be sworn in.

That leaves Democrats with one of the slimmest House majorities in two decades, 222 to 211 with two vacancies, as they navigate the remaining few weeks of Trump and carry into the Biden presidency.

On a day that was anything but conventional, Republican Chip Roy interrupted the swearing-in process to ask that the delegations from the six swing states where Trump has contested the election results not be seated Sunday as House members.

Pelosi dispensed with the effort by holding a vote that affirmed her right to swear in all members.

Democrat Nancy Pelosi on Sunday was re-elected as the United States Speaker of the House with a slim majority in a deeply divided new Congress that convened in the final weeks of Donald Trump's presidency.

Democrat Nancy Pelosi on Sunday was re-elected as the United States Speaker of the House with a slim majority in a deeply divided new Congress that convened in the final weeks of Donald Trump's presidency. Pelosi was reinstated after the House voted 216-209 after Democrats lost 11 seats in the November elections to command a narrower 222-212 majority. She faced a scare when five fellow Democrats defected and voted "present" or for someone else during the floor vote. Also read: Nancy Pelosi's house vandalised with graffiti and pig's head "As we are sworn in today, we accept responsibility as daunting and demanding as any that previous generations of leadership have faced. We begin the new Congress during a time of extraordinary difficulty," Pelosi said in a floor speech that noted the deaths of more than 350,000 Americans from the COVID-19 pandemic. As we are sworn in today, we accept a responsibility as daunting and demanding as any that previous generations of leadership have faced. Our most urgent priority will continue to be defeating the coronavirus - and defeat it, we will! #117thCongress pic.twitter.com/HD5w1OUfx3 — Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) January 4, 2021 × "Our most urgent priority will continue to be defeating the coronavirus. And defeat it, we will," she added, pledging that further aid would follow the latest $892 billion package that Congress passed in December. Our work #ForThePeople continues, even in the face of this unprecedented national crisis. Tune in as I swear in Members of the #117thCongress. https://t.co/ATx5aPEaWa — Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) January 3, 2021 × The Senate remains Republican-run ahead of twin elections in Georgia on Tuesday, giving its members a platform to again air President Donald Trump's baseless claims that his loss to Democratic President-elect Joe Biden was the result of fraud. Multiple state and federal reviews have found no evidence of the sort of widespread fraud Trump claims, but Republican senators and House members plan to challenge the election result when Congress certifies it on Wednesday. Also read: Nancy Pelosi wants a commission to evaluate Trump's mental and physical health Pelosi, 80, the only woman to serve as US Speaker of the House, has been Trump's chief nemesis in Congress, and the two clashed bitterly over the past two years, particularly as she levelled impeachment charges against the president. Trump was impeached in December 2019, but the Senate acquitted him early in 2020. His successor, Joe Biden, takes office on January 20. With Pelosi scrambling to keep her post, it was a handful of progressive lawmakers and members-elect who have been critical of her leadership but ultimately voted for her on Sunday. Among them was Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the most high-profile Democrats in Washington, and incoming lawmaker Cori Bush, who is the first African-American woman to represent Missouri in Congress. There are normally 435 members of the House, but just 427 votes were cast Sunday as a few congressmen-elect are in quarantine due to Covid-19 and a tight House race in New York has yet to be formally decided. One congressman-elect from Louisiana, Luke Letlow, died of complications from Covid-19 last week, days before he was due to be sworn in. That leaves Democrats with one of the slimmest House majorities in two decades, 222 to 211 with two vacancies, as they navigate the remaining few weeks of Trump and carry into the Biden presidency. On a day that was anything but conventional, Republican Chip Roy interrupted the swearing-in process to ask that the delegations from the six swing states where Trump has contested the election results not be seated Sunday as House members. Pelosi dispensed with the effort by holding a vote that affirmed her right to swear in all members.

Democrat Nancy Pelosi wins re-election as US Speaker of the House with slim majority

US Presidential election 2020 drama does not seem to be over as Republican Senators' efforts to scuttle Joe Biden's certification in US Senate has got support from US Vice President Mike Pence himself. 11 Republican senators and senator-elect led by Senator Ted Cruz have declared that they would not vote to endorse Joe Biden as the next US President. Pence's Chief of Staff Marc Short said that Pence 'welcomes' the effort of Senators.

Mr Pence "welcomes the efforts of members of the House and Senate to use the authority they have under the law to raise objections and bring forward evidence before the Congress and the American people", Short was quoted as saying by BBC.

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&nbsp;

The latest move from Republicans is seen as yet another attempt to delay or even prevent Joe Biden from taking over as US President this month. The US Election has been called in favour of Biden who has amassed enough Electoral College votes to secure the Oval Office. But outgoing US President Donald Trump has continued allegations of widespread fraud in voting. He has not provided any evidence and he himself along with Republican Party has received setbacks in courts across USA including in US Supreme Court which refused to overturn the result.

Trump's claims of election fraud have continued even after all these setbacks.

Now Ted Cruz and others have targetted US courts.

Signed by Ted Cruz and six others, the statement accuses that all the court rulings which have concluded the elections were fair have been given a wrong decision and asserts that all "allegations of fraud and irregularities in the 2020 election exceed any in our lifetimes".

The lawmakers are planning to demand the creation of a special commission to carry an "emergency 10-day audit" of the results. They plan to protest the Pro-forma certification of Biden's victory o Wednesday when the Congress convenes in a joint session.

This can then later be revised for total votes by individual states by convening special legislative sessions.

US Presidential election 2020 drama does not seem to be over as Republican Senators' efforts to scuttle Joe Biden's certification in US Senate has got support from US Vice President Mike Pence himself.

US Presidential election 2020 drama does not seem to be over as Republican Senators' efforts to scuttle Joe Biden's certification in US Senate has got support from US Vice President Mike Pence himself. 11 Republican senators and senator-elect led by Senator Ted Cruz have declared that they would not vote to endorse Joe Biden as the next US President. Pence's Chief of Staff Marc Short said that Pence 'welcomes' the effort of Senators. Mr Pence "welcomes the efforts of members of the House and Senate to use the authority they have under the law to raise objections and bring forward evidence before the Congress and the American people", Short was quoted as saying by BBC. × The latest move from Republicans is seen as yet another attempt to delay or even prevent Joe Biden from taking over as US President this month. The US Election has been called in favour of Biden who has amassed enough Electoral College votes to secure the Oval Office. But outgoing US President Donald Trump has continued allegations of widespread fraud in voting. He has not provided any evidence and he himself along with Republican Party has received setbacks in courts across USA including in US Supreme Court which refused to overturn the result. Trump's claims of election fraud have continued even after all these setbacks. Now Ted Cruz and others have targetted US courts. Signed by Ted Cruz and six others, the statement accuses that all the court rulings which have concluded the elections were fair have been given a wrong decision and asserts that all "allegations of fraud and irregularities in the 2020 election exceed any in our lifetimes". The lawmakers are planning to demand the creation of a special commission to carry an "emergency 10-day audit" of the results. They plan to protest the Pro-forma certification of Biden's victory o Wednesday when the Congress convenes in a joint session. This can then later be revised for total votes by individual states by convening special legislative sessions.

US VP Mike Pence 'welcomes' Senate Republican efforts to derail Joe Biden victory certification

The veteran US lawmaker Ted Cruz and a few others have declared they would not be willing to vote next week to certify the President-elect Joe Biden's US election 2020 win, which is being considered one last try by the Republican party to&nbsp;make the outgoing President Donald Trump spin the election result.

This is being studied as one last and desperate move by the Republican Party, which experts believe will surely lead to another failed attempt.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-sets-a-new-record-marks-277000-covid-cases-in-24-hours-354101" hreflang="en">US sets a new record, marks 277,000 Covid cases in 24 hours</a>

Signed by Ted Cruz and six others, the statement accuses that all the court rulings which have concluded the elections were fair have been given a wrong decision and asserts that all "allegations of fraud and irregularities in the 2020 election exceed any in our lifetimes".

The lawmakers are planning to demand the creation of a special commission to carry an "emergency 10-day audit" of the results. They plan to protest the Pro-forma certification of Biden's victory o Wednesday when the Congress convenes in a joint session.

This can then later be revised for total votes by individual states by convening special legislative sessions.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/be-careful-of-trap-israel-may-provoke-war-with-attacks-on-us-forces-iran-to-trump-354076" hreflang="en">Be careful of trap, Israel may provoke war with attacks on US forces: Iran to Trump</a>

Cruz's legal protest has, predictably, gained support from the defeated US President Donald Trump who took to Twitter, to express his support to Cruz. "An attempt to steal a landslide win. Can't let it happen!," he tweeted.

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An attempt to steal a landslide win. Can’t let it happen! <a href="https://t.co/sKn4iTjUy0">https://t.co/sKn4iTjUy0</a>
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1345508977031974918?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 2, 2021</a></blockquote>
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He also tweeted a list of 11 senators and assured, "And after they see the facts, plenty more to come...Our Country will love them for it!".

This opposition has come weeks after the electoral college has ruled in favour of Democratic candidate Joe Biden. This has been labelled as yet another defeat as the House is majorly controlled by the Democrats.&nbsp;

The veteran US lawmaker Ted Cruz and a few others have declared they would not be willing to vote next week to certify the President-elect Joe Biden's US election 2020 win, which is being considered one last try by the Republican party to make the outgoing President Donald Trump spin the election result.

The veteran US lawmaker Ted Cruz and a few others have declared they would not be willing to vote next week to certify the President-elect Joe Biden's US election 2020 win, which is being considered one last try by the Republican party to make the outgoing President Donald Trump spin the election result. This is being studied as one last and desperate move by the Republican Party, which experts believe will surely lead to another failed attempt. Also read| US sets a new record, marks 277,000 Covid cases in 24 hours Signed by Ted Cruz and six others, the statement accuses that all the court rulings which have concluded the elections were fair have been given a wrong decision and asserts that all "allegations of fraud and irregularities in the 2020 election exceed any in our lifetimes". The lawmakers are planning to demand the creation of a special commission to carry an "emergency 10-day audit" of the results. They plan to protest the Pro-forma certification of Biden's victory o Wednesday when the Congress convenes in a joint session. This can then later be revised for total votes by individual states by convening special legislative sessions. Also read| Be careful of trap, Israel may provoke war with attacks on US forces: Iran to Trump Cruz's legal protest has, predictably, gained support from the defeated US President Donald Trump who took to Twitter, to express his support to Cruz. "An attempt to steal a landslide win. Can't let it happen!," he tweeted. An attempt to steal a landslide win. Can’t let it happen! https://t.co/sKn4iTjUy0 — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2021 × He also tweeted a list of 11 senators and assured, "And after they see the facts, plenty more to come...Our Country will love them for it!". This opposition has come weeks after the electoral college has ruled in favour of Democratic candidate Joe Biden. This has been labelled as yet another defeat as the House is majorly controlled by the Democrats.

Ted Cruz and other US senators plan to oppose Joe Biden's certification

Growing number of Republicans backing Donald Trump

KABUL, Afghanistan — After four decades of grinding combat in Afghanistan, peace negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban have raised at least a possibility that the long cycle of violence might someday end.

But that milestone is a long way off. The most recent round of discussions, which began in September, has been riddled with bureaucratic hang-ups and monthslong debates over minor issues.

Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/afghanistan-radio-journalist-shot-dead-in-ghor-province-353909">Afghanistan: Radio journalist shot dead in Ghor province</a>

And though those talks resulted in an agreement on the principles and procedures that will guide the next round of peace negotiations, they came with a price. While the two sides met in Doha, Qatar, bloodletting on battlefields and in Afghan cities surged.

Now with peace talks scheduled to reconvene Jan. 5, the details of what is being negotiated next remain murky.

While both the Afghan government and the Taliban have said they will not publicly release their lists of priorities for the next round of negotiations, here is what security analysts, researchers, and government and Taliban officials expect to be on the docket — and what hurdles these talks must overcome.

<h2>What are the end goals of these talks?</h2>

The ultimate goal of the negotiations is the creation of a political road map for a future government. The head of the government negotiation team, Masoom Stanikzai, said Wednesday that a cease-fire would be the delegation’s top priority. The Taliban, who have used attacks against security forces and civilians as leverage, seek instead to negotiate a form of governance based on strict Islamic law before discussing any cease-fire.

But getting to these larger fundamental issues will not be easy, as the two sides remain stuck on the meaning of basic terms like “cease-fire” and “Islamic.” There are many forms of cease-fire, from permanent and nationwide to partial and conditional, yet the public portion of the February agreement between the United States and the Taliban calling for the complete withdrawal of U.S. troops mentions but does not specifically mandate or fully define what it should look like.

The Taliban also refuse to specify what they mean by “Islamic,” and the government’s own insistence on an “Islamic” republic has been a subject of intense debate.

“The Taliban say they want an Islamic system, but they don’t specify what kind,” said Abdul Haifiz Mansoor, a member of Afghanistan’s negotiating team, pointing out that there are nearly as many systems as there are Islamic countries.

Also complicating the next round of talks is a Taliban demand that the government release more Taliban prisoners. The government’s release of more than 5,000 prisoners removed the last obstacle to negotiations in September, but President Ashraf Ghani has thus far refused to release any others.

<h2>Where does the fighting stand?</h2>

Both sides exploited violence on the ground in Afghanistan for leverage during negotiations in Doha, but the Taliban have been more aggressive in their assaults than the government, whose troops tend to stay on bases and at checkpoints, responding to persistent attacks.

The killing of security force members and civilians surged while talks were underway this fall, according to a New York Times tally, before dropping once Afghan government and Taliban negotiators announced in early December that they had reached an agreement on the procedures for future talks, though cold weather likely also contributed to the decline. At least 429 pro-government forces were killed in September, and at least 212 civilians were in October — the worst tolls in each category in more than a year.

“Killing and bloodshed have reached new peaks,” said Atiqullah Amarkhel, a military analyst in Kabul. “What kind of will for peace is this?”

Ibraheem Bahiss, an independent Afghan research analyst, said the Taliban are pursuing two tracks simultaneously: violence and negotiation.

“Their aim is to get into power and have a particular type of government system,” Bahiss said. “Whether they achieve it through talks or through fighting, both entail costs they are willing to bear.”

<h2>What role is the U.S. playing right now?</h2>

Although the Taliban have greatly reduced direct attacks on U.S. forces since February, the insurgent group has inexorably expanded the territory it controls by besieging local security forces.

In response, the Americans have launched airstrikes in instances where Afghan troops were under extreme duress during Taliban onslaughts. A Taliban official framed the group’s levels of violence as a direct response to airstrikes by the United States or to military and ill-received diplomatic moves by the Afghan government.

U.S. airstrikes salvaged the crumpling defenses of Afghan units in Kandahar and Helmand provinces this fall, exposing, once more, deficiencies in Afghan ground and air forces that are under constant attack. The forces’ slumping morale has drawn increasing concern from Gen. Austin Miller, commander of the U.S.-led mission in the country, according to U.S. officials.

At the same time, U.S. troop numbers have dropped from about 12,000 in February to a projected 2,500 by mid-January, with a complete withdrawal planned by May if the agreement holds. That has left Afghan officials unsure of how their forces can hold ground without U.S. support.

The importance of the talks to the United States was underscored in November, when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Doha and met with negotiators, and again in mid-December, when the chair of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Mark Milley, did the same.

A Pentagon statement said Milley had pressed the Taliban for “an immediate reduction of violence,” a term U.S. officials have used several times this year that is open to a wide range of interpretations. U.S. officials are trying to establish an equilibrium on the battlefield.

Both sides are also waiting to see whether President-elect Joe Biden will honor the troop withdrawal schedule or, conceivably, move to renegotiate the entire deal.

If Biden decides to leave a residual U.S. military counterterrorism force in Afghanistan after May 2021, as some U.S. lawmakers are proposing, Bahiss said, “the Taliban have made it clear that would nullify the entire agreement.”

<h2>What other obstacles could stall the negotiations?</h2>

Given the recriminations and suspicions in Doha, some Afghan analysts fear the talks could remain deadlocked for months.

“Mistrust between the two sides has led to an increase in violence, but nothing has been done to eliminate that mistrust,” said Syed Akbar Agha, a former leader of the Taliban’s Jaish-ul-Muslimeen group.

That could indefinitely delay serious attempts to address core government concerns like human rights, a free press, rights for women and religious minorities, and democratic elections, among others.

Taliban negotiators have said they support women’s rights, for example, but only under strict Islamic law. Many analysts interpret that to mean the same harsh oppression of women practiced by the Taliban when they governed Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.

The deeply divided government in Kabul also worries that the Taliban will try to run out the clock until all U.S. forces leave, whereas the Taliban contend that Ghani, who was reelected in a bitterly disputed election last spring, is stalling to serve out his five-year term. If some form of government of national unity or a transitional government were agreed upon, Ghani would be unlikely to continue as president.

Another complication is division within the Taliban, from hard-line commanders in Afghanistan to political negotiators in Doha’s hotels. Some Taliban factions believe they should fight and defeat the Americans and the Afghan government, not negotiate with them.

Agha, the former Taliban leader, said little progress was likely unless an impartial mediator emerged who could break down the lack of trust in Doha.

“If not,” he said, “I don’t think the next round of talks will end with a positive result.”

Some analysts fear an even more ominous outcome. Torek Farhadi, a former Afghan government adviser, said, “One thing is clear: Without a settlement, we are headed for a civil war.” 
&nbsp;

KABUL, Afghanistan — After four decades of grinding combat in Afghanistan, peace negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban have raised at least a possibility that the long cycle of violence might someday end.

KABUL, Afghanistan — After four decades of grinding combat in Afghanistan, peace negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban have raised at least a possibility that the long cycle of violence might someday end. But that milestone is a long way off. The most recent round of discussions, which began in September, has been riddled with bureaucratic hang-ups and monthslong debates over minor issues. Also read | Afghanistan: Radio journalist shot dead in Ghor province And though those talks resulted in an agreement on the principles and procedures that will guide the next round of peace negotiations, they came with a price. While the two sides met in Doha, Qatar, bloodletting on battlefields and in Afghan cities surged. Now with peace talks scheduled to reconvene Jan. 5, the details of what is being negotiated next remain murky. While both the Afghan government and the Taliban have said they will not publicly release their lists of priorities for the next round of negotiations, here is what security analysts, researchers, and government and Taliban officials expect to be on the docket — and what hurdles these talks must overcome. What are the end goals of these talks? The ultimate goal of the negotiations is the creation of a political road map for a future government. The head of the government negotiation team, Masoom Stanikzai, said Wednesday that a cease-fire would be the delegation’s top priority. The Taliban, who have used attacks against security forces and civilians as leverage, seek instead to negotiate a form of governance based on strict Islamic law before discussing any cease-fire. But getting to these larger fundamental issues will not be easy, as the two sides remain stuck on the meaning of basic terms like “cease-fire” and “Islamic.” There are many forms of cease-fire, from permanent and nationwide to partial and conditional, yet the public portion of the February agreement between the United States and the Taliban calling for the complete withdrawal of U.S. troops mentions but does not specifically mandate or fully define what it should look like. The Taliban also refuse to specify what they mean by “Islamic,” and the government’s own insistence on an “Islamic” republic has been a subject of intense debate. “The Taliban say they want an Islamic system, but they don’t specify what kind,” said Abdul Haifiz Mansoor, a member of Afghanistan’s negotiating team, pointing out that there are nearly as many systems as there are Islamic countries. Also complicating the next round of talks is a Taliban demand that the government release more Taliban prisoners. The government’s release of more than 5,000 prisoners removed the last obstacle to negotiations in September, but President Ashraf Ghani has thus far refused to release any others. Where does the fighting stand? Both sides exploited violence on the ground in Afghanistan for leverage during negotiations in Doha, but the Taliban have been more aggressive in their assaults than the government, whose troops tend to stay on bases and at checkpoints, responding to persistent attacks. The killing of security force members and civilians surged while talks were underway this fall, according to a New York Times tally, before dropping once Afghan government and Taliban negotiators announced in early December that they had reached an agreement on the procedures for future talks, though cold weather likely also contributed to the decline. At least 429 pro-government forces were killed in September, and at least 212 civilians were in October — the worst tolls in each category in more than a year. “Killing and bloodshed have reached new peaks,” said Atiqullah Amarkhel, a military analyst in Kabul. “What kind of will for peace is this?” Ibraheem Bahiss, an independent Afghan research analyst, said the Taliban are pursuing two tracks simultaneously: violence and negotiation. “Their aim is to get into power and have a particular type of government system,” Bahiss said. “Whether they achieve it through talks or through fighting, both entail costs they are willing to bear.” What role is the U.S. playing right now? Although the Taliban have greatly reduced direct attacks on U.S. forces since February, the insurgent group has inexorably expanded the territory it controls by besieging local security forces. In response, the Americans have launched airstrikes in instances where Afghan troops were under extreme duress during Taliban onslaughts. A Taliban official framed the group’s levels of violence as a direct response to airstrikes by the United States or to military and ill-received diplomatic moves by the Afghan government. U.S. airstrikes salvaged the crumpling defenses of Afghan units in Kandahar and Helmand provinces this fall, exposing, once more, deficiencies in Afghan ground and air forces that are under constant attack. The forces’ slumping morale has drawn increasing concern from Gen. Austin Miller, commander of the U.S.-led mission in the country, according to U.S. officials. At the same time, U.S. troop numbers have dropped from about 12,000 in February to a projected 2,500 by mid-January, with a complete withdrawal planned by May if the agreement holds. That has left Afghan officials unsure of how their forces can hold ground without U.S. support. The importance of the talks to the United States was underscored in November, when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Doha and met with negotiators, and again in mid-December, when the chair of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Mark Milley, did the same. A Pentagon statement said Milley had pressed the Taliban for “an immediate reduction of violence,” a term U.S. officials have used several times this year that is open to a wide range of interpretations. U.S. officials are trying to establish an equilibrium on the battlefield. Both sides are also waiting to see whether President-elect Joe Biden will honor the troop withdrawal schedule or, conceivably, move to renegotiate the entire deal. If Biden decides to leave a residual U.S. military counterterrorism force in Afghanistan after May 2021, as some U.S. lawmakers are proposing, Bahiss said, “the Taliban have made it clear that would nullify the entire agreement.” What other obstacles could stall the negotiations? Given the recriminations and suspicions in Doha, some Afghan analysts fear the talks could remain deadlocked for months. “Mistrust between the two sides has led to an increase in violence, but nothing has been done to eliminate that mistrust,” said Syed Akbar Agha, a former leader of the Taliban’s Jaish-ul-Muslimeen group. That could indefinitely delay serious attempts to address core government concerns like human rights, a free press, rights for women and religious minorities, and democratic elections, among others. Taliban negotiators have said they support women’s rights, for example, but only under strict Islamic law. Many analysts interpret that to mean the same harsh oppression of women practiced by the Taliban when they governed Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. The deeply divided government in Kabul also worries that the Taliban will try to run out the clock until all U.S. forces leave, whereas the Taliban contend that Ghani, who was reelected in a bitterly disputed election last spring, is stalling to serve out his five-year term. If some form of government of national unity or a transitional government were agreed upon, Ghani would be unlikely to continue as president. Another complication is division within the Taliban, from hard-line commanders in Afghanistan to political negotiators in Doha’s hotels. Some Taliban factions believe they should fight and defeat the Americans and the Afghan government, not negotiate with them. Agha, the former Taliban leader, said little progress was likely unless an impartial mediator emerged who could break down the lack of trust in Doha. “If not,” he said, “I don’t think the next round of talks will end with a positive result.” Some analysts fear an even more ominous outcome. Torek Farhadi, a former Afghan government adviser, said, “One thing is clear: Without a settlement, we are headed for a civil war.”

What to know as troubled Afghan peace talks enter a new phase

The outgoing president of the United States, Donald Trump, has issued a video, looking back on what he called "historic victories" and said, "We have to be remembered for what's been done."

Trump, who has yet to formally concede his November election defeat to Democrat Joe Biden, posted the message on Twitter after returning to Washington early from his Florida resort amid a fight with Congress over a defence bill and coronavirus aid checks.

Trump praised his administration's accomplishments, which he said included its handling of the coronavirus pandemic and rebuilding the economy.

Trump said the United States has produced a COVID-19 vaccine in record time and he had correctly predicted this would come before the year ended. The president has frequently played down the severity of the pandemic and overseen a response many health experts have criticised as disorganised, cavalier and sometimes ignored the science behind virus transmission.

The United States has been one of the countries worst-hit by COVID-19 and leads the world in fatalities, with more than 340,000 deaths officially attributed to the virus.

Trump was originally scheduled to attend a New Year's Eve party at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

The White House has given no reason for why he returned to Washington early, but it coincides with Trump's fight with Congress over his veto of a major defense bill and his demand for increased COVID-19 stimulus checks, as well as a spike in tensions with Iran.

Trump ignored shouted questions from reporters about Iran and whether he would attend Biden's Jan. 20 inauguration when he arrived back at the White House.

President-elect Biden is expected to see in the New Year at his beach house in Delaware, although he is due to appear on the long-running ABC special "Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2021."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in the chamber, dealt a likely death blow on Wednesday to Trump's bid to boost coronavirus aid to Americans, declining to schedule a swift vote on a bill to raise relief checks to $2,000 from the $600 included in a $892 billion relief package passed by Congress earlier this month.

Trump's fellow Republicans in Congress have largely stuck with him through four turbulent years, but he lashed out at them in recent days for not fully backing his unsupported claims of election fraud, rejecting his demand for bigger checks and for moving toward the veto override.

The House voted to overturn Trump's veto on Monday. The Senate will convene again on Friday at noon EST (1700 GMT) for a rare New Year's Day session in which lawmakers are expected to cast the first of two procedural votes aimed at overriding the veto. If that succeeds, the Senate is expected to hold a second procedural vote on Saturday followed by a final vote on passage.

The outgoing president of the United States, Donald Trump, has issued a video, looking back on what he called "historic victories" and said, "We have to be remembered for what's been done.

The outgoing president of the United States, Donald Trump, has issued a video, looking back on what he called "historic victories" and said, "We have to be remembered for what's been done." Trump, who has yet to formally concede his November election defeat to Democrat Joe Biden, posted the message on Twitter after returning to Washington early from his Florida resort amid a fight with Congress over a defence bill and coronavirus aid checks. Trump praised his administration's accomplishments, which he said included its handling of the coronavirus pandemic and rebuilding the economy. Trump said the United States has produced a COVID-19 vaccine in record time and he had correctly predicted this would come before the year ended. The president has frequently played down the severity of the pandemic and overseen a response many health experts have criticised as disorganised, cavalier and sometimes ignored the science behind virus transmission. The United States has been one of the countries worst-hit by COVID-19 and leads the world in fatalities, with more than 340,000 deaths officially attributed to the virus. Trump was originally scheduled to attend a New Year's Eve party at his Mar-a-Lago resort. The White House has given no reason for why he returned to Washington early, but it coincides with Trump's fight with Congress over his veto of a major defense bill and his demand for increased COVID-19 stimulus checks, as well as a spike in tensions with Iran. Trump ignored shouted questions from reporters about Iran and whether he would attend Biden's Jan. 20 inauguration when he arrived back at the White House. President-elect Biden is expected to see in the New Year at his beach house in Delaware, although he is due to appear on the long-running ABC special "Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2021." Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in the chamber, dealt a likely death blow on Wednesday to Trump's bid to boost coronavirus aid to Americans, declining to schedule a swift vote on a bill to raise relief checks to $2,000 from the $600 included in a $892 billion relief package passed by Congress earlier this month. Trump's fellow Republicans in Congress have largely stuck with him through four turbulent years, but he lashed out at them in recent days for not fully backing his unsupported claims of election fraud, rejecting his demand for bigger checks and for moving toward the veto override. The House voted to overturn Trump's veto on Monday. The Senate will convene again on Friday at noon EST (1700 GMT) for a rare New Year's Day session in which lawmakers are expected to cast the first of two procedural votes aimed at overriding the veto. If that succeeds, the Senate is expected to hold a second procedural vote on Saturday followed by a final vote on passage.

Trump looks back at his 'historic victories' in the pandemic year

The next few months will be hell in terms of politics, epidemiology and economics. But at some point in 2021 things will start getting better. And there’s good reason to believe that once the good news starts, the improvement in our condition will be much faster and continue much longer than many people expect.

OK, one thing that probably won’t get better is the political scene. Day after day, Republicans — it’s not just Donald Trump — keep demonstrating that they’re worse than you could possibly have imagined, even when you tried to take into account the fact that they’re worse than you could possibly have imagined. One of our two major political parties no longer accepts the legitimacy of elections it loses, which bodes ill for the fate of the Republic.

But on other fronts there’s a clear case for optimism. Science has come to our rescue, big time, with the miraculously fast development of vaccines against the coronavirus. True, the United States is botching the initial rollout, which should surprise nobody. But this is probably just a temporary hitch, especially because in less than three weeks we’ll have a president actually interested in doing his job.

And once we’ve achieved widespread vaccination, the economy will bounce back. The question is, how big will the bounce be?

Our last economic crisis was followed by a sluggish recovery. Employment didn’t return to 2007 levels until 2014; real median household income didn’t regain the lost ground until 2016. And many observers expect a replay of that story, especially if Republicans retain control of the Senate and engage, once again, in economic sabotage under the pretense of being fiscally responsible.

But the crisis of 2020 was very different from the crisis of 2008, in ways that make our prospects look much better this time around.

The last economic crisis involved a Wile E. Coyote moment: The private sector suddenly looked down, realized that there was nothing supporting extravagant housing prices and extremely high levels of household debt, and plunged. The result was an extended period of depressed spending. The only way to have avoided multiple years of high unemployment would have been sustained, large-scale fiscal stimulus — and the GOP prevented that.

This 2020 crisis, by contrast, was brought on by a headwind out of nowhere, in the form of the coronavirus. The private sector doesn’t seem to have been particularly overextended before the pandemic. And while we shouldn’t minimize the hardships faced by millions of families, on average Americans have been saving like crazy, and will emerge from the pandemic with stronger balance sheets than they had before.

So I’m in the camp that expects rapid growth once people feel safe going out and spending money. Mitch McConnell and company will, no doubt, do what they always do when a Democrat occupies the White House, and try to sabotage the recovery. But this time the economy won’t need support as badly as it did during the Obama years.

And I suspect, although with less confidence, that the boom will go on for a long time. Why? Because like a number of other people, I’m getting optimistic about the future of technology.

The years that followed the 2008 crisis weren’t just marked by sluggish job growth. They also coincided with a period of technological disappointment. As entrepreneur Peter Thiel — whose politics I loathe, but who’s a good phrasemaker — put it, it was an era in which we wanted flying cars but got 140 characters instead. (It’s a mark of how trivial this stuff is that raising the limit to 280 characters seemed like a big deal.) That is, we were doing some flashy stuff pushing information around, but not making much progress in the material world, which is still where we mainly live.

Lately, however, I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz around new physical technologies that reminds me of the buzz about information technology in the early 1990s, which presaged the productivity surge from 1995 to 2005. Biotechnology finally seems to be coming into its own — hence those miraculous vaccines. There has been incredible progress in renewable energy; I’m old enough to remember when solar power was considered a hippie fantasy, and now it’s cheaper than fossil fuels. There’s room for more skepticism about the near-term prospects for things like self-driving vehicles and lab-grown meat, but the fact that we’re even talking about such innovations is a good sign for the future.

This new wave of innovation doesn’t have much to do with policy, although progress in renewables can be partly attributed to the Obama administration’s promotion of green energy. But the Biden administration, unlike its predecessor, won’t be anti-science and won’t try desperately to preserve the coal-burning past. That will help us take advantage of progress.

I’m less confident in my techno-optimism than I am in my expectations for a rapid employment recovery once we’ve been vaccinated. But all in all, there’s a pretty good chance that Joe Biden will preside over an economy that surprises many people on the upside. Happy New Year. 
&nbsp;

The next few months will be hell in terms of politics, epidemiology and economics. But at some point in 2021 things will start getting better. And there’s good reason to believe that once the good news starts, the improvement in our condition will be much faster and continue much longer than many people expect.

The next few months will be hell in terms of politics, epidemiology and economics. But at some point in 2021 things will start getting better. And there’s good reason to believe that once the good news starts, the improvement in our condition will be much faster and continue much longer than many people expect. OK, one thing that probably won’t get better is the political scene. Day after day, Republicans — it’s not just Donald Trump — keep demonstrating that they’re worse than you could possibly have imagined, even when you tried to take into account the fact that they’re worse than you could possibly have imagined. One of our two major political parties no longer accepts the legitimacy of elections it loses, which bodes ill for the fate of the Republic. But on other fronts there’s a clear case for optimism. Science has come to our rescue, big time, with the miraculously fast development of vaccines against the coronavirus. True, the United States is botching the initial rollout, which should surprise nobody. But this is probably just a temporary hitch, especially because in less than three weeks we’ll have a president actually interested in doing his job. And once we’ve achieved widespread vaccination, the economy will bounce back. The question is, how big will the bounce be? Our last economic crisis was followed by a sluggish recovery. Employment didn’t return to 2007 levels until 2014; real median household income didn’t regain the lost ground until 2016. And many observers expect a replay of that story, especially if Republicans retain control of the Senate and engage, once again, in economic sabotage under the pretense of being fiscally responsible. But the crisis of 2020 was very different from the crisis of 2008, in ways that make our prospects look much better this time around. The last economic crisis involved a Wile E. Coyote moment: The private sector suddenly looked down, realized that there was nothing supporting extravagant housing prices and extremely high levels of household debt, and plunged. The result was an extended period of depressed spending. The only way to have avoided multiple years of high unemployment would have been sustained, large-scale fiscal stimulus — and the GOP prevented that. This 2020 crisis, by contrast, was brought on by a headwind out of nowhere, in the form of the coronavirus. The private sector doesn’t seem to have been particularly overextended before the pandemic. And while we shouldn’t minimize the hardships faced by millions of families, on average Americans have been saving like crazy, and will emerge from the pandemic with stronger balance sheets than they had before. So I’m in the camp that expects rapid growth once people feel safe going out and spending money. Mitch McConnell and company will, no doubt, do what they always do when a Democrat occupies the White House, and try to sabotage the recovery. But this time the economy won’t need support as badly as it did during the Obama years. And I suspect, although with less confidence, that the boom will go on for a long time. Why? Because like a number of other people, I’m getting optimistic about the future of technology. The years that followed the 2008 crisis weren’t just marked by sluggish job growth. They also coincided with a period of technological disappointment. As entrepreneur Peter Thiel — whose politics I loathe, but who’s a good phrasemaker — put it, it was an era in which we wanted flying cars but got 140 characters instead. (It’s a mark of how trivial this stuff is that raising the limit to 280 characters seemed like a big deal.) That is, we were doing some flashy stuff pushing information around, but not making much progress in the material world, which is still where we mainly live. Lately, however, I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz around new physical technologies that reminds me of the buzz about information technology in the early 1990s, which presaged the productivity surge from 1995 to 2005. Biotechnology finally seems to be coming into its own — hence those miraculous vaccines. There has been incredible progress in renewable energy; I’m old enough to remember when solar power was considered a hippie fantasy, and now it’s cheaper than fossil fuels. There’s room for more skepticism about the near-term prospects for things like self-driving vehicles and lab-grown meat, but the fact that we’re even talking about such innovations is a good sign for the future. This new wave of innovation doesn’t have much to do with policy, although progress in renewables can be partly attributed to the Obama administration’s promotion of green energy. But the Biden administration, unlike its predecessor, won’t be anti-science and won’t try desperately to preserve the coal-burning past. That will help us take advantage of progress. I’m less confident in my techno-optimism than I am in my expectations for a rapid employment recovery once we’ve been vaccinated. But all in all, there’s a pretty good chance that Joe Biden will preside over an economy that surprises many people on the upside. Happy New Year.

Things will get better. Seriously

US President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden will campaign next week in Georgia on the eve of runoff elections.

The two leaders are set to hold dueling events, which will determine who controls the US Senate and the fate of Biden's legislative agenda.

The visits come as Trump escalates his fight with fellow Republican leaders in the state for not supporting his bid to overturn the election results. On Wednesday, he called for the states Republican governor, Brian Kemp, to resign.

Biden, who takes office on January 20, will travel to Atlanta on Monday to campaign on behalf of Democratic Senate candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, his transition team said on Wednesday. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will go to Savannah, Georgia, a day earlier.

Meanwhile, Trump will travel to Dalton, Georgia, to hold a "victory rally" to support Republican incumbent Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue.

The candidates will square off in an election on Tuesday.

If the Democrats win both seats, the Senate would be split 50-50 with the Republican Party, giving the tie-breaking vote to Harris and control of both congressional chambers to the Democratic Party.

More than 2.5 million votes have already been cast in the runoff races, according to the Georgia secretary of states office.

If the Republicans win one or both of the Georgia seats, they will retain a slim majority in the Senate, giving them an opportunity to block Bidens legislative goals and judicial nominees.

Biden gave a speech in Georgia last month urging voters there to oust Republican Senator Mitch McConnell as majority leader by electing the two Democratic candidates.

Kemp dismissed Trumps call for his resignation on Wednesday, saying the demands and stream of complaints were a distraction from more pressing issues.

Trump, who has claimed without evidence that Democrats stole the election through fraud, has repeatedly attacked Kemp for refusing to acknowledge him as the rightful victor in Georgia. Biden won the state by roughly 12,000 votes. He called for Kemps resignation in a tweet Wednesday morning in which he called the governor an "obstructionist."

Kemp said the election process should be allowed to play out, noting that the U.S. Congress was set to meet to validate the results on January 6.

(with input from Reuters)

US President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden will campaign next week in Georgia on the eve of runoff elections. The two leaders are set to hold dueling events, which will determine who controls the US Senate and the fate of Biden's legislative agenda.

US President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden will campaign next week in Georgia on the eve of runoff elections. The two leaders are set to hold dueling events, which will determine who controls the US Senate and the fate of Biden's legislative agenda. The visits come as Trump escalates his fight with fellow Republican leaders in the state for not supporting his bid to overturn the election results. On Wednesday, he called for the states Republican governor, Brian Kemp, to resign. Biden, who takes office on January 20, will travel to Atlanta on Monday to campaign on behalf of Democratic Senate candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, his transition team said on Wednesday. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will go to Savannah, Georgia, a day earlier. Meanwhile, Trump will travel to Dalton, Georgia, to hold a "victory rally" to support Republican incumbent Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue. The candidates will square off in an election on Tuesday. If the Democrats win both seats, the Senate would be split 50-50 with the Republican Party, giving the tie-breaking vote to Harris and control of both congressional chambers to the Democratic Party. More than 2.5 million votes have already been cast in the runoff races, according to the Georgia secretary of states office. If the Republicans win one or both of the Georgia seats, they will retain a slim majority in the Senate, giving them an opportunity to block Bidens legislative goals and judicial nominees. Biden gave a speech in Georgia last month urging voters there to oust Republican Senator Mitch McConnell as majority leader by electing the two Democratic candidates. Kemp dismissed Trumps call for his resignation on Wednesday, saying the demands and stream of complaints were a distraction from more pressing issues. Trump, who has claimed without evidence that Democrats stole the election through fraud, has repeatedly attacked Kemp for refusing to acknowledge him as the rightful victor in Georgia. Biden won the state by roughly 12,000 votes. He called for Kemps resignation in a tweet Wednesday morning in which he called the governor an "obstructionist." Kemp said the election process should be allowed to play out, noting that the U.S. Congress was set to meet to validate the results on January 6. (with input from Reuters)

Biden, Trump to campaign in Georgia on eve of Senate runoffs

Out of its target to fulfil 20 million coronavirus vaccinations, only about 2.8 million Americans had received a COVID-19 vaccine going into the last day of December.

Shots are reaching nursing home residents at an even slower pace than others first in line even though they are most at risk of dying of the virus.

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Only 170,000 people in long-term care facilities received a shot as of December&nbsp;30 even though 2.2 million doses were distributed for residents, according to data released from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

About 14 million doses of Pfizer's and Moderna's vaccines have been distributed to states so far, federal officials told reporters on Wednesday, shy of its goal to ship 20 million doses this month.

As late as early December, officials maintained they would have 40 million doses available this month, enough to vaccinate 20 million Americans with a two-dose regimen.

On December&nbsp;4, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn told Reuters that vaccinating 20 million Americans by year-end was realistic, depending on the vaccination campaign.

Since then, officials have said they are committed to making enough doses available without commenting on targets for actual vaccinations as it has become clear that inoculations are falling short of the number of doses distributed.

"The rapid availability and distribution of so many doses – with 20 million first doses allocated for distribution just 18 days after the first vaccine was granted emergency use authorisation – is a testament to the success of Operation Warp Speed," a US&nbsp;Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said in a statement. Doses that have been allocated but not distributed will ship in January.

The government has said that for every dose shipped, it is keeping the second dose in reserve as well as safety stock, which would bring the total number of vaccine doses closer to 40 million.

Even as the number of doses distributed neared the goal of reaching 20 million people, the pace of actual vaccinations has been far slower than anticipated, according to CDC data.

"The Federal Government has distributed the vaccines to the states. Now it is up to the states to administer. Get moving!" U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted.

Local public heath officials told Reuters that the lack of federal funding for vaccine distribution has prevented them from hiring needed staff.[L1N2JA1GB]

"We know that it should be better and we are working hard to make it better," Operation Warp Speed chief adviser Dr. Moncef Slaoui said on a media briefing.

U.S. vaccinations of the country's 21 million healthcare workers began on Dec. 14. Inoculations of the country's 3 million nursing home residents, who are also in the first priority group, shortly followed.

Some 51 million U.S. frontline essential workers, like fire fighters, police, and teachers, as well as people over 75 should be next to receive a vaccine, a CDC advisory panel has recommended.

Out of its target to fulfil 20 million coronavirus vaccinations, only about 2.8 million Americans had received a COVID-19 vaccine going into the last day of December.

Out of its target to fulfil 20 million coronavirus vaccinations, only about 2.8 million Americans had received a COVID-19 vaccine going into the last day of December. Shots are reaching nursing home residents at an even slower pace than others first in line even though they are most at risk of dying of the virus. Only 170,000 people in long-term care facilities received a shot as of December 30 even though 2.2 million doses were distributed for residents, according to data released from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 14 million doses of Pfizer's and Moderna's vaccines have been distributed to states so far, federal officials told reporters on Wednesday, shy of its goal to ship 20 million doses this month. As late as early December, officials maintained they would have 40 million doses available this month, enough to vaccinate 20 million Americans with a two-dose regimen. On December 4, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn told Reuters that vaccinating 20 million Americans by year-end was realistic, depending on the vaccination campaign. Since then, officials have said they are committed to making enough doses available without commenting on targets for actual vaccinations as it has become clear that inoculations are falling short of the number of doses distributed. "The rapid availability and distribution of so many doses – with 20 million first doses allocated for distribution just 18 days after the first vaccine was granted emergency use authorisation – is a testament to the success of Operation Warp Speed," a US Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said in a statement. Doses that have been allocated but not distributed will ship in January. The government has said that for every dose shipped, it is keeping the second dose in reserve as well as safety stock, which would bring the total number of vaccine doses closer to 40 million. Even as the number of doses distributed neared the goal of reaching 20 million people, the pace of actual vaccinations has been far slower than anticipated, according to CDC data. "The Federal Government has distributed the vaccines to the states. Now it is up to the states to administer. Get moving!" U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted. Local public heath officials told Reuters that the lack of federal funding for vaccine distribution has prevented them from hiring needed staff.[L1N2JA1GB] "We know that it should be better and we are working hard to make it better," Operation Warp Speed chief adviser Dr. Moncef Slaoui said on a media briefing. U.S. vaccinations of the country's 21 million healthcare workers began on Dec. 14. Inoculations of the country's 3 million nursing home residents, who are also in the first priority group, shortly followed. Some 51 million U.S. frontline essential workers, like fire fighters, police, and teachers, as well as people over 75 should be next to receive a vaccine, a CDC advisory panel has recommended.

US falling short of coronavirus vaccination target by a wide margin

United States President-elect Joe Biden will take over the presidential duties from Donald Trump starting January 20, 2021. On December 28, Biden announced members of the core team responsible for digital strategy at the White House.

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Part of the Digital Strategy team is India-born Aisha Shah, who will work as the Partnerships Manager. Prior to this, she had served the Digital Partnerships Manager on the Biden-Harris election campaign.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/new-coronavirus-variant-hits-us-as-biden-vows-all-out-effort-353244" hreflang="en">New coronavirus variant hits US as Biden vows all-out effort</a>

Currently, Shah works as an “Advancement Specialist” for the Smithsonian Institution. Earlier, she worked as the Assistant Manager for the Corporate Fund of the John F Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. 
 
Shah has also worked as a strategic communications specialist at Buoy, which is an integrated marketing firm.

Aisha Shah was born in Kashmir, India and was raised in Louisiana, USA. She is an alumni of Davidson College.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/biden-says-trump-aides-setting-roadblocks-for-his-transition-team-353070" hreflang="en">Biden says Trump aides setting 'roadblocks' for his transition team</a>

"This team of diverse experts has a wide range of experience in digital strategy and will help connect the White House to the American people in new and innovative ways. They bring a shared commitment to building our nation back better, and I am thrilled to have them on our team,” Biden said in a statement ahead of the revelation.

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris had earlier claimed how important it is to be inclusive for this administration. 
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United States President-elect Joe Biden will take over the presidential duties from Donald Trump starting January 20, 2021. On December 28, Biden announced members of the core team responsible for digital strategy at the White House.

United States President-elect Joe Biden will take over the presidential duties from Donald Trump starting January 20, 2021. On December 28, Biden announced members of the core team responsible for digital strategy at the White House. Part of the Digital Strategy team is India-born Aisha Shah, who will work as the Partnerships Manager. Prior to this, she had served the Digital Partnerships Manager on the Biden-Harris election campaign. Also read: New coronavirus variant hits US as Biden vows all-out effort Currently, Shah works as an “Advancement Specialist” for the Smithsonian Institution. Earlier, she worked as the Assistant Manager for the Corporate Fund of the John F Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. Shah has also worked as a strategic communications specialist at Buoy, which is an integrated marketing firm. Aisha Shah was born in Kashmir, India and was raised in Louisiana, USA. She is an alumni of Davidson College. Also read: Biden says Trump aides setting 'roadblocks' for his transition team "This team of diverse experts has a wide range of experience in digital strategy and will help connect the White House to the American people in new and innovative ways. They bring a shared commitment to building our nation back better, and I am thrilled to have them on our team,” Biden said in a statement ahead of the revelation. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris had earlier claimed how important it is to be inclusive for this administration.

India-born Aisha Shah part of the upcoming Digital Strategy White House team under Biden

President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday criticized the speed of vaccine distribution under the Trump administration and promised to step up the pace when he takes office, while delivering a sober warning about the toll of the coronavirus pandemic.

Biden offered a bleak assessment of the months ahead, saying they would be “a very tough period for our nation,” and he exhorted Americans to make the sacrifices necessary to overcome the devastation of the virus.

“It’s going to take all the grit and determination we have as Americans to get it done,” he said.

He warned that if the current pace of administering vaccines under President Donald Trump continued, “it’s going to take years, not months,” to vaccinate the nation. And he said he had directed his team to prepare a more aggressive effort once he takes office in three weeks, pledging “to move heaven and earth to get us going in the right direction.”

“This is going to be the greatest operational challenge we’ve ever faced as a nation,” Biden said during an address in Wilmington, Delaware, “but we’re going to get it done.”

Biden will assume the presidency amid a health crisis that has already killed more than 336,000 people in the United States and inflicted widespread economic disruption. Distributing vaccines to the American people will pose an early test for him.

Earlier this month, federal officials had said their goal was for 20 million people to get their first shots of a vaccine by the end of the year. As of Monday morning, 11.4 million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines had been sent out across the country, but just 2.1 million people in the United States had received their first dose, according to a dashboard maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which most likely reflects a reporting lag of several days.

Biden has vowed to get 100 million vaccine shots into the arms of Americans in his first 100 days in office; vaccination currently requires two shots, which would suggest that about 50 million people would be vaccinated in that time.

On Tuesday, Biden announced new members of his COVID-19 response team, including coordinators to handle vaccinations, testing and supply chain management.

Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration’s effort to fast-track the development and rollout of vaccines, spent billions of dollars to help drug companies test and manufacture their vaccines and ensure that they would have a buyer. Those investments helped vaccines become available much faster than many experts had predicted.

Still, getting those vaccines into arms has gotten off to a slower start than federal officials had hoped.

“We certainly are not at the numbers that we wanted to be at the end of December,” Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, said on CNN on Tuesday. But he added, “I believe that as we get into January, we are going to see an increase in the momentum.”

Moncef Slaoui, the scientific adviser to Operation Warp Speed, said as recently as last week that the odds were high that the first 100 million people in the United States would be immunized by the end of March.

Michael Pratt, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, defended the pace of the vaccine rollout. He said in a statement that it was “a testament to the success of Operation Warp Speed” that 20 million doses had already been made available to states and other jurisdictions. (Not all of the doses have been shipped.) And Trump said in a tweet that it was “up to the States to distribute the vaccines once brought to the designated areas by the Federal Government.”

The pace of inoculation in the United States is expected to pick up in the first months of next year as more vaccine supply became becomes available and more facilities begin giving it out to a wider swath selection of Americans. So far, vaccines have been given primarily to health care workers at hospitals and to residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.

In his remarks Tuesday, Biden said he could “see a return to normalcy in the next year,” but he also offered an ominous forecast for the near future. “We need to steel our spines for what’s ahead,” he said, adding that the next few months could be “the toughest during this entire pandemic.”

“I know it’s hard to hear, but it’s the truth,” he said.

He expressed hope that Trump, who has resisted wearing a mask and mocked Biden during the campaign for wearing one, could still influence the public in a positive way.

“It would make a huge difference for President Trump to say, ‘Wear masks,’” Biden said. “I hope the president will clearly and unambiguously urge all Americans to take the vaccine once it’s available.”

Hours before Biden spoke, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris received her first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The shot was administered on live television, just as Biden’s was last week when he received the Pfizer vaccine at a hospital in Delaware.

Harris received the Moderna vaccine at United Medical Center, a public hospital in southeast Washington. She encouraged Americans to get vaccinated as well, saying: “It is relatively painless. It happens really quickly. It is safe.” Her husband, Doug Emhoff, also received the vaccine on Tuesday.

State and local officials have long said they need more money to distribute and administer vaccines. The $900 billion relief package that Trump signed into law on Sunday sets aside more than $8 billion for vaccine distribution, roughly in line with the $8.4 billion that health departments requested from Congress. The CDC in September had sent $200 million to the states for the effort, followed by another $140 million this month.

The government has said the goal is to allow anyone who wants a vaccine to get one by June, but it has not yet secured enough supply of vaccines that have been authorized for use. The United States has secured commitments for enough vaccine to vaccinate 200 million of the roughly 260 million adult Americans who are eligible to be inoculated.

Moderna has agreed to provide 200 million doses of its vaccine to the United States, with the first half coming by the end of March and the second half coming by the end of June.

Pfizer has also agreed to provide 200 million doses. With each person requiring two shots, it leaves the supply 120 million doses short.

Over the summer, before its vaccine had been shown to be effective, Pfizer agreed to provide an initial 100 million doses to the United States. At the time, the government passed on an offer from Pfizer to lock in additional supplies.

But as it became clear that more doses were needed, the government resumed talks with Pfizer. In a deal announced last week, Pfizer agreed to provide an additional 70 million doses by the end of June and another 30 million by the end of July.

As part of the deal, the government agreed to invoke the Defense Production Act, a Korean War-era law that allows the government to more quickly secure key supplies by forcing suppliers to prioritize orders from a specific contractor. Operation Warp Speed has so far used the Defense Production Act 18 times, including to help produce glass vials and syringes, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

Biden said on Tuesday that he would also make use of the Defense Production Act upon taking office, saying he would “order private industry to accelerate the making of the materials needed for the vaccines as well as protective gear.”

The government has a few avenues for providing vaccines to the 60 million American adults not covered by the existing deals with Pfizer and Moderna.

It may be able to exercise options to buy more doses from Pfizer or Moderna. The government could also turn to vaccines from other manufacturers expected to report late-stage results in the coming weeks. Johnson &amp;amp; Johnson is expecting results late next month from a trial of its single-shot vaccine, a format that would make it easier to deliver than the vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. And a U.S. trial evaluating a two-shot vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford could have results in February.

On Tuesday, Biden acknowledged he was not yet in control of the government’s virus response, saying, “My ability to change the direction of this pandemic starts in three weeks.” And he made clear that he would need help from Congress next year to provide additional funding to carry out his plans.

But even as he warned about the difficult weeks and months ahead, he struck an optimistic note about the longer term.

“We’re going to get through this,” he said. “Brighter days are coming.”

President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday criticized the speed of vaccine distribution under the Trump administration and promised to step up the pace when he takes office, while delivering a sober warning about the toll of the coronavirus pandemic.

President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday criticized the speed of vaccine distribution under the Trump administration and promised to step up the pace when he takes office, while delivering a sober warning about the toll of the coronavirus pandemic. Biden offered a bleak assessment of the months ahead, saying they would be “a very tough period for our nation,” and he exhorted Americans to make the sacrifices necessary to overcome the devastation of the virus. “It’s going to take all the grit and determination we have as Americans to get it done,” he said. He warned that if the current pace of administering vaccines under President Donald Trump continued, “it’s going to take years, not months,” to vaccinate the nation. And he said he had directed his team to prepare a more aggressive effort once he takes office in three weeks, pledging “to move heaven and earth to get us going in the right direction.” “This is going to be the greatest operational challenge we’ve ever faced as a nation,” Biden said during an address in Wilmington, Delaware, “but we’re going to get it done.” Biden will assume the presidency amid a health crisis that has already killed more than 336,000 people in the United States and inflicted widespread economic disruption. Distributing vaccines to the American people will pose an early test for him. Earlier this month, federal officials had said their goal was for 20 million people to get their first shots of a vaccine by the end of the year. As of Monday morning, 11.4 million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines had been sent out across the country, but just 2.1 million people in the United States had received their first dose, according to a dashboard maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which most likely reflects a reporting lag of several days. Biden has vowed to get 100 million vaccine shots into the arms of Americans in his first 100 days in office; vaccination currently requires two shots, which would suggest that about 50 million people would be vaccinated in that time. On Tuesday, Biden announced new members of his COVID-19 response team, including coordinators to handle vaccinations, testing and supply chain management. Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration’s effort to fast-track the development and rollout of vaccines, spent billions of dollars to help drug companies test and manufacture their vaccines and ensure that they would have a buyer. Those investments helped vaccines become available much faster than many experts had predicted. Still, getting those vaccines into arms has gotten off to a slower start than federal officials had hoped. “We certainly are not at the numbers that we wanted to be at the end of December,” Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, said on CNN on Tuesday. But he added, “I believe that as we get into January, we are going to see an increase in the momentum.” Moncef Slaoui, the scientific adviser to Operation Warp Speed, said as recently as last week that the odds were high that the first 100 million people in the United States would be immunized by the end of March. Michael Pratt, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, defended the pace of the vaccine rollout. He said in a statement that it was “a testament to the success of Operation Warp Speed” that 20 million doses had already been made available to states and other jurisdictions. (Not all of the doses have been shipped.) And Trump said in a tweet that it was “up to the States to distribute the vaccines once brought to the designated areas by the Federal Government.” The pace of inoculation in the United States is expected to pick up in the first months of next year as more vaccine supply became becomes available and more facilities begin giving it out to a wider swath selection of Americans. So far, vaccines have been given primarily to health care workers at hospitals and to residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. In his remarks Tuesday, Biden said he could “see a return to normalcy in the next year,” but he also offered an ominous forecast for the near future. “We need to steel our spines for what’s ahead,” he said, adding that the next few months could be “the toughest during this entire pandemic.” “I know it’s hard to hear, but it’s the truth,” he said. He expressed hope that Trump, who has resisted wearing a mask and mocked Biden during the campaign for wearing one, could still influence the public in a positive way. “It would make a huge difference for President Trump to say, ‘Wear masks,’” Biden said. “I hope the president will clearly and unambiguously urge all Americans to take the vaccine once it’s available.” Hours before Biden spoke, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris received her first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The shot was administered on live television, just as Biden’s was last week when he received the Pfizer vaccine at a hospital in Delaware. Harris received the Moderna vaccine at United Medical Center, a public hospital in southeast Washington. She encouraged Americans to get vaccinated as well, saying: “It is relatively painless. It happens really quickly. It is safe.” Her husband, Doug Emhoff, also received the vaccine on Tuesday. State and local officials have long said they need more money to distribute and administer vaccines. The $900 billion relief package that Trump signed into law on Sunday sets aside more than $8 billion for vaccine distribution, roughly in line with the $8.4 billion that health departments requested from Congress. The CDC in September had sent $200 million to the states for the effort, followed by another $140 million this month. The government has said the goal is to allow anyone who wants a vaccine to get one by June, but it has not yet secured enough supply of vaccines that have been authorized for use. The United States has secured commitments for enough vaccine to vaccinate 200 million of the roughly 260 million adult Americans who are eligible to be inoculated. Moderna has agreed to provide 200 million doses of its vaccine to the United States, with the first half coming by the end of March and the second half coming by the end of June. Pfizer has also agreed to provide 200 million doses. With each person requiring two shots, it leaves the supply 120 million doses short. Over the summer, before its vaccine had been shown to be effective, Pfizer agreed to provide an initial 100 million doses to the United States. At the time, the government passed on an offer from Pfizer to lock in additional supplies. But as it became clear that more doses were needed, the government resumed talks with Pfizer. In a deal announced last week, Pfizer agreed to provide an additional 70 million doses by the end of June and another 30 million by the end of July. As part of the deal, the government agreed to invoke the Defense Production Act, a Korean War-era law that allows the government to more quickly secure key supplies by forcing suppliers to prioritize orders from a specific contractor. Operation Warp Speed has so far used the Defense Production Act 18 times, including to help produce glass vials and syringes, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Biden said on Tuesday that he would also make use of the Defense Production Act upon taking office, saying he would “order private industry to accelerate the making of the materials needed for the vaccines as well as protective gear.” The government has a few avenues for providing vaccines to the 60 million American adults not covered by the existing deals with Pfizer and Moderna. It may be able to exercise options to buy more doses from Pfizer or Moderna. The government could also turn to vaccines from other manufacturers expected to report late-stage results in the coming weeks. Johnson &amp; Johnson is expecting results late next month from a trial of its single-shot vaccine, a format that would make it easier to deliver than the vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. And a U.S. trial evaluating a two-shot vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford could have results in February. On Tuesday, Biden acknowledged he was not yet in control of the government’s virus response, saying, “My ability to change the direction of this pandemic starts in three weeks.” And he made clear that he would need help from Congress next year to provide additional funding to carry out his plans. But even as he warned about the difficult weeks and months ahead, he struck an optimistic note about the longer term. “We’re going to get through this,” he said. “Brighter days are coming.”

Biden criticizes Trump on vaccine distribution and pledges to pick up pace

China had thought Biden would be soft on Beijing. It was mistaken. U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has promised to hold China accountable and build alliances with like-minded nations. Palki Sharma brings you a report.

Gravitas: Biden promises to hold China accountable

US&nbsp;President-elect Joe&nbsp;Biden&nbsp;said on Monday slammed China for its abuses on trade, technology, and human rights and stressed upon the ''security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region''.

Biden said that his administration will shift from the policies of Donald Trump and its focus&nbsp;is on “rebuilding our alliances to close ranks with our partners and bring to bear the full benefits of our shared strength for the American people”.

One of his toughest tasks will be rebuilding US&nbsp;alliances that have frayed under four years of Trump's "America First" agenda.

“(As) we compete with China and hold China’s government accountable for its abuses on trade, technology, human rights, and other fronts, our position will be much stronger when we build coalitions of like-minded partners and allies to make common cause with us in defence of our shared interests and values,” the president-elect said.

He added, "On any issue that matters to the US and China relationship, from pursuing a foreign policy for the middle class, including a trade and economic agenda that produces and protects American workers, our intellectual prosperity and the environment, to ensuring security and prosperity in Indo-Pacific region, to championing human rights, we're stronger and more effective when we're flanked by nations that share our vision in the future of our world.''&nbsp;

Biden has also triggered nervousness among some China-watchers who fear he may opt for a conciliatory approach that could encourage China to step up its expansionism, as seen widely in the South China Sea and most recently along the border with India, and in its relationship with Australia.

When Biden&nbsp;takes office, he will inherit a wide range of foreign policy and national security challenges, including China, Iran, and North Korea, as well as the coronavirus pandemic raging across the globe.

Biden's remarks came after a meeting with his team of foreign policy and national security nominees and officials of his transition team. They&nbsp;will be scrutinised closely both at home in the US and abroad in India, Japan, and Australia for clarity on how he will run this most crucial relationship.

US President-elect Joe Biden said on Monday slammed China for its abuses on trade, technology, and human rights and stressed upon the ''security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region''.

US President-elect Joe Biden said on Monday slammed China for its abuses on trade, technology, and human rights and stressed upon the ''security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region''. Biden said that his administration will shift from the policies of Donald Trump and its focus is on “rebuilding our alliances to close ranks with our partners and bring to bear the full benefits of our shared strength for the American people”. One of his toughest tasks will be rebuilding US alliances that have frayed under four years of Trump's "America First" agenda. “(As) we compete with China and hold China’s government accountable for its abuses on trade, technology, human rights, and other fronts, our position will be much stronger when we build coalitions of like-minded partners and allies to make common cause with us in defence of our shared interests and values,” the president-elect said. He added, "On any issue that matters to the US and China relationship, from pursuing a foreign policy for the middle class, including a trade and economic agenda that produces and protects American workers, our intellectual prosperity and the environment, to ensuring security and prosperity in Indo-Pacific region, to championing human rights, we're stronger and more effective when we're flanked by nations that share our vision in the future of our world.'' Biden has also triggered nervousness among some China-watchers who fear he may opt for a conciliatory approach that could encourage China to step up its expansionism, as seen widely in the South China Sea and most recently along the border with India, and in its relationship with Australia. When Biden takes office, he will inherit a wide range of foreign policy and national security challenges, including China, Iran, and North Korea, as well as the coronavirus pandemic raging across the globe. Biden's remarks came after a meeting with his team of foreign policy and national security nominees and officials of his transition team. They will be scrutinised closely both at home in the US and abroad in India, Japan, and Australia for clarity on how he will run this most crucial relationship.

Joe Biden lambasts Chinese abuses and stresses significance of Indo-Pacific ties

Leading by example: Political leaders who got vaccinated for Coronavirus

President-elect Joe Biden said on Monday many of America`s security agencies had been "hollowed out" under President Donald Trump and the lack of information being provided to his transition team by the outgoing administration was an "irresponsibility." 
 
"We`ve encountered roadblocks from the political leadership at the Department of Defense and the Office of Management and Budget," Biden said after a meeting with his foreign policy team. 
 
"Right now we just aren`t getting all of the information that we need from the outgoing administration in key national security areas. It`s nothing short, in my view, of irresponsibility," he added. 
 
After Biden beat Trump in the Nov. 3 election, the Democrat’s team only began meeting with administration officials in late November to coordinate the handover. 
 
Trump, a Republican, has refused to concede defeat and his administration only authorized cooperation with Biden on Nov. 23. Biden takes office on Jan. 20. 
 
Earlier this month, Biden`s team said they had met resistance to requests for information from some Pentagon officials. 
 
The Pentagon pushed back. 
 
In a statement, acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller said the Pentagon had conducted 164 interviews with over 400 officials and provided more than 5,000 pages of documents. 
 
"Our (Department of Defense) political and career officials have been working with the utmost professionalism to support transition activities in a compressed time schedule and they will continue to do so in a transparent and collegial manner that upholds the finest traditions of the department," Miller said. 
 
But Biden reiterated his team`s concerns on Monday. When he takes office, he will inherit a wide range of foreign policy and national security challenges, including China, Iran and North Korea, as well as the coronavirus pandemic raging across the globe. 
 
One of his toughest tasks will be rebuilding U.S. alliances that have frayed under four years of Trump`s "America First" agenda. 
 
"My team needs a clear picture of our force posture around the world and our operations to deter our enemies," Biden said. "We need full visibility to the budget planning under way at the Defense Department and other agencies in order to avoid any window of confusion or catch up that our adversaries may try to exploit." 
 
But Biden said his team, while securing cooperation from some federal agencies, had "encountered obstruction from the political leadership" at the Pentagon. 
 
"And the truth is that many of the agencies that are crucial to our security have incurred enormous damage. Many of them have been hollowed out – in personnel, capacity and in morale," he said. "There’s policy processes that have atrophied or have been sidelined to the despair of our alliances."

President-elect Joe Biden said on Monday many of America`s security agencies had been "hollowed out" under President Donald Trump and the lack of information being provided to his transition team by the outgoing administration was an "irresponsibility.

President-elect Joe Biden said on Monday many of America`s security agencies had been "hollowed out" under President Donald Trump and the lack of information being provided to his transition team by the outgoing administration was an "irresponsibility." "We`ve encountered roadblocks from the political leadership at the Department of Defense and the Office of Management and Budget," Biden said after a meeting with his foreign policy team. "Right now we just aren`t getting all of the information that we need from the outgoing administration in key national security areas. It`s nothing short, in my view, of irresponsibility," he added. After Biden beat Trump in the Nov. 3 election, the Democrat’s team only began meeting with administration officials in late November to coordinate the handover. Trump, a Republican, has refused to concede defeat and his administration only authorized cooperation with Biden on Nov. 23. Biden takes office on Jan. 20. Earlier this month, Biden`s team said they had met resistance to requests for information from some Pentagon officials. The Pentagon pushed back. In a statement, acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller said the Pentagon had conducted 164 interviews with over 400 officials and provided more than 5,000 pages of documents. "Our (Department of Defense) political and career officials have been working with the utmost professionalism to support transition activities in a compressed time schedule and they will continue to do so in a transparent and collegial manner that upholds the finest traditions of the department," Miller said. But Biden reiterated his team`s concerns on Monday. When he takes office, he will inherit a wide range of foreign policy and national security challenges, including China, Iran and North Korea, as well as the coronavirus pandemic raging across the globe. One of his toughest tasks will be rebuilding U.S. alliances that have frayed under four years of Trump`s "America First" agenda. "My team needs a clear picture of our force posture around the world and our operations to deter our enemies," Biden said. "We need full visibility to the budget planning under way at the Defense Department and other agencies in order to avoid any window of confusion or catch up that our adversaries may try to exploit." But Biden said his team, while securing cooperation from some federal agencies, had "encountered obstruction from the political leadership" at the Pentagon. "And the truth is that many of the agencies that are crucial to our security have incurred enormous damage. Many of them have been hollowed out – in personnel, capacity and in morale," he said. "There’s policy processes that have atrophied or have been sidelined to the despair of our alliances."

Biden says Trump aides setting 'roadblocks' for his transition team

Setting the tone for the US-China ties for the next four years, President-elect Joe Biden said that Washington needs to build a coalition of like-minded nations to confront Beijing.

US-China ties: Biden says coalition needed of like-minded  nations to confront Beijing

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