Cut to the News
Cut through the clutter to today's top news
January 5, 2021
Good morning
Welcome to today's top news.
Leading the News . . .
With US Senate at stake and Trump raging, Georgia votes in runoff elections . . . Control of the U.S. Senate - and with it the ability to block or advance Democratic President-elect Joe Biden’s agenda - is on the line in a pair of runoff elections in Georgia on Tuesday after a dizzying campaign that shattered spending and early turnout records. Republican Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler are trying to hold off Democratic
challengers Jon Ossoff, a documentary filmmaker, and the Rev. Raphael Warnock, a pastor at a historic Black church in Atlanta, in a state Biden narrowly carried on Nov. 3. Reuters
FBI aware of threats related to Georgia Senate races . . . Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office said a 'threatening email' was sent to several county employees . . . The FBI and Georgia state law enforcement officials are "aware" of "specific threats" to the state's Senate runoff election on Tuesday, Fox News has learned. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation on Monday said that the threats apply to "various counties"
in the state. Fox News
The latest gory details: The U.S. reported more than 180,000 new cases. Hospitalizations in the U.S. rose to 128,210. California's governor said logistical hiccups in vaccine distribution meant the majority of doses sent to the state hadn’t been administered.
England and Scotland started another national lockdown as hospitals warned of being overwhelmed within three weeks. European nations weighed further lockdowns to slow the virus's spread. More than 4.5 million people have been given given first vaccine dose, with more than 15 million total doses distributed Wall Street Journal
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Trump urges Georgia voters to preserve GOP control of Senate, pressures VP . . . While urging Georgia voters to preserve Republican control of the U.S. Senate, President Donald Trump, at a campaign rally Monday, protested his own election defeat and put pressure on VP Pence to try and overrule. Joe Biden's victory. "I hope Mike Pence comes through for us, I have to tell you," Trump told supporters in Dalton,
Ga., one day before two pivotal Senate runoffs in Georgia and two days before Congress meets to count the Electoral College votes that elected Biden. Pence lacks that legal power, and is in the awkward position of having to announce Biden's electoral victory once the votes are counted. USA
Today
Republican infighting on election intensifies . . . Senate Republicans are going to war with each other over the upcoming Electoral College vote in Congress as lawmakers try to fill a post-Trump power vacuum. The public infighting is putting a spotlight on simmering divisions and setting up the scenario Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) — who watched GOP squabbling cost him seats in previous election cycles — wanted to avoid
when he warned members not to object to Wednesday’s counting of the electoral votes. Instead, in a rare act of defiance, at least 13 Republican senators are supporting an effort to overturn the election results, offering a glimpse of what may lie ahead for a caucus with competing political ambitions heading into 2024. The
Hill
Trump criticizes some Republicans as "surrender caucus" . . . President Trump disparaged Senate Republicans who aren’t backing further challenges to Democrat Joe Biden’s presidential victory, further roiling a party that has split over whether to support Mr. Trump’s attempts to stay in power or accept the reality of the election results. “The ‘Surrender Caucus’ within the Republican Party will go down in infamy as weak and
ineffective ‘guardians’ of our Nation,” Mr. Trump tweeted Monday of Republicans who wanted to certify the results and move on. He called them “willing to accept the certification of fraudulent presidential numbers!” Wall Street Journal
Loeffler to object to certification of election results . . . . Georgia Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler will object to certifying the results of at least one state during Wednesday's Electoral College vote count by Congress. The joint session of Congress to certify the Electoral College result is set to occur just a day after Georgia’s highly anticipated Senate runoff elections, pitting Loeffler against Democrat Raphael Warnock, and Sen. David
Perdue against Democrat Jon Ossoff. Fox News
Republican AGs unveil new initiative to undercut Biden-Harris agenda . . . Republican attorneys general across the country are gearing up an initiative to undercut the liberal agenda of the Biden-Harris administration. They say it will be the last line of defense against massive government overreach. With Democrats potentially controlling all the levers of power in Washington after Tuesday’s Senate runoff elections in Georgia,
Republicans are looking to their 26 state attorneys general to keep in check Biden‘s policies on business, the environment and immigration. Washington Times
Democrats objected three times over past 20 years to Electoral College certifications . . . Recent precedents for challenging Electoral College certification in Congress have come not from Republican lawmakers, but from Democrats. Over the past 20 years, Democrats have on three separate occasions objected to the validity of electoral votes on the floor of Congress. Wednesday, Jan. 6, will mark the first time Republicans choose do so in the past two
decades. Daily Signal
Newsmax, OAN vie for Trump loyalists . . . As candidates face off in Georgia on Tuesday in contests that will determine the balance of power in the U.S. Senate, another race is underway between cable news networks catering to conservative audiences. For One America News Network and Newsmax, the Georgia runoffs present an opportunity to capitalize on post-presidential election audience gains, which they’ve boosted thanks to promotion from
President Donald Trump. Trump ramped up his criticism of Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Corp-owned Fox News and began to promote Newsmax and OAN on Twitter instead, helping the two outlets to the right of Fox grow. On Dec. 30 Trump tweeted: “Watching @FoxNews is almost as bad as watching Fake News @CNN. New alternatives are developing!” Reuters
DC mayor mobilizes National Guard To police gatherings Of Trump supporters . . . Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Monday that she was mobilizing roughly 100 D.C. National Guard troops to help police the thousands of Trump supporters expected to descend on the city in the coming days. Daily Caller
Proud Boys leader arrested in DC ahead of protests . . . The leader of the Proud Boys Enrique Tarrio was arrested in Washington, D.C., on Monday after being charged for burning a Black Lives Matter banner last month while he was in town. The Metropolitan Police Department said Tarrio, who resides in Miami, was charged with one misdemeanor count of destruction of property in connection to a Dec. 12 incident. Washington Examiner
Gun-toting U.S. Representative Boebert aims to pack more than her lunch on D.C. streets . . . Newly elected Representative Lauren Boebert, has vowed to carry her Glock pistol when she is at work in the U.S. Capitol, bu has so far failed to fulfill that promise and earned a rebuke on Monday from the D.C. police chief. Boebert boasted that on her first day as a newly sworn-in member of the highly secured U.S. Congress: “I will
carry my firearms in DC and in Congress. Reuters
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South Korean tanker was boarded by armed Iran Guard forces . . . Armed Iranian Revolutionary Guard troops stormed a South Korean tanker and forced the ship to change course and travel to Iran, the vessel’s owner said Tuesday, the latest maritime seizure by Tehran amid heightened tensions with the West over its nuclear program. The military raid on Monday on the MT Hankuk Chemi was at odds with Iranian explanations that they stopped the
vessel for polluting the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. Instead, it appeared the Islamic Republic sought to increase its leverage over Seoul ahead of negotiations over billions of dollars in Iranian assets frozen in South Korean banks amid a U.S. pressure campaign targeting Iran. Associated Press
Marines prepare for rising challenge from China’s military . . . The Marine Corps is stepping up training in Japan for island-based conflict in the Western Pacific, putting it at the leading edge of a pivot by the U.S. to face the military challenge from China. The Marines are preparing for a far larger and more sophisticated adversary than extremists in the Middle East and Afghanistan, the focus of their operations in recent years.
China’s military satellites, cyberwarfare capabilities, use of artificial intelligence and narrowing gap with U.S. firepower make it what the Pentagon calls a “near-peer” rival. Wall Street Journal
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10 people to stand trial over deadly 2016 Brussels attacks . . .Ten people including the lone known surviving suspect in the 2015 deadly Paris attacks have been ordered to stand trial in connection with the suicide bombings, which killed 32 people and injured hundreds in the Brussels subway and airport nearly five years ago. The Brussels Chamber of the Council also decided on Tuesday that charges against three others suspects should be
dismissed. Earlier this year, prosecutors requested that eight of the 13 main suspects should be referred to the criminal court of assizes — the court that tries the most serious crimes — for charges of assassinations and attempted assassinations in a terrorism context, and for belonging to a terror group. Associated Press
Zimbabwean teenage girl teaches taekwondo to fight child marriage . . . In Zimbabwe, where girls as young as 10 are forced to marry due to poverty or traditional and religious practices, a teenage taekwondo enthusiast is using the sport to give girls in an impoverished community a fighting chance at life. The 17-year old Natsiraishe Maritsa, a martial arts fan since the age of 5 is now using taekwondo to rally young girls and
mothers to join hands and fight child marriage. Children as young as four and some of Natsiraishe’s former schoolmates who are now married, line up on the tiny, dusty yard outside her parents’ home. They enthusiastically follow her instructions to stretch, kick, strike, punch and spar. Associated Press
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Big Four airlines may become Big Three . . . U.S. airlines need more than a little help. The “Big Four” – Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines – have been pleading for additional bailouts as Covid-19 continues to crimp travel. More cheap money is an option. But consolidation would also help, and probably leave taxpayers – if not consumers – better off. In 2021, the big carriers will
shrink from four to three. Reuters
Drugmakers kick off 2021 with 500 US price hikes . . . The hikes come as drugmakers are reeling from effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has reduced doctor visits and demand for some drugs. They are also fighting new drug price-cutting rules from the Trump administration, which would reduce the industry’s profitability. They include more than 300 price increases from companies like Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline. Reuters
Google workers form small union, eye more protests over working conditions . . . More than 200 workers at Google and other Alphabet Inc units on Monday formed a labor union for U.S. and Canadian offices, building on years of protests over working conditions and business practices but falling far short of the support needed to force the tech giant to the bargaining table. Backers believe the “Alphabet Workers Union,” which evolved from an
informal group of activist employees, will better shield members from firings or other forms of retaliation. Reuters
NYSE reverses plan to delist Chinese telecom groups . . . The New York Stock Exchange has backtracked on plans to delist three Chinese state-run telecoms groups, reversing a decision that had threatened to further inflame tensions between Washington and Beijing. The exchange had begun proceedings to delist China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom to comply with a Trump administration executive order that bars US investors from
holding stakes in companies with alleged ties to the Chinese military. Financial times
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Real estate moguls allegedly help rich pals jump COVID vaccine line . . . NYC real estate brothers Bill and David S. Mack allegedly personally arranged for a host of their wealthy friends from Manhattan and the ritzy Palm Beach Country Club to get the COVID-19 vaccine at a Florida retirement home.
While elderly Florida residents line up overnight for the vaccine, the Macks allegedly “made a list” of one-percenters given the chance to receive the vaccine, and some even allegedly flew in on private jets from NYC for the jab. The vaccine was administered at the not-for-profit nursing home Joseph L. Morse Health Center in
Palm Beach — conveniently located on David S. Mack Drive in West Palm Beach, where — wait for it — David S. Mack is the chairman. Reuters
UFO report set to be released . . . A law buried in the 5,600-page emergency relief bill requires the US intel agencies to deliver an unclassified report on UFOs. A report revealing more details about the US government's taskforce researching Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs), more commonly known as UFOs, is set to be released. The report must include "a detailed analysis of unidentified aerial phenomena data and intelligence reporting collected or held" by almost
all of the country's intelligence agencies. It is to be released to the Senate intelligence committee within 180 days. Sky News
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Man files lawsuit over Hawaiian rolls not being made in Hawaii . . . A New York state man filed a class action lawsuit against the makers of King’s Hawaiian sweet rolls, alleging the company misled him into believing the California-manufactured sweet rolls are made in Hawaii. Robert Galinsky of Yonkers said in his lawsuit against King’s Hawaiian that the packaging prominently features “Hilo, Hawaii” on the front, but the back
reveals they are actually made in Torrance, Calif. Galinsky said the packaging misled him into purchasing the product, believing the rolls to be made in Hawaii. UPI
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