Cut to the News
Cut through the clutter to today's top news
January 14, 2021
Good morning
Welcome to today's top news.
First, I wanted share a note from one of our readers, Andy Fuller. Every year for the last two decades he has hosted a Christmas Day barbecue for Marines at Camp Pendleton who cannot see their families. This year, because of your help, the dinner turned out extra special. Keith had asked if some of you would contribute this year, as Andy was having trouble raising funds for the benefit. I am happy to report that our generous and patriotic Cut to the News readers helped
make the dinner a smashing success!
Andy is very grateful and wanted me to say thank you to you and to share this report: “Christmas Day went well! The best estimate for marines fed is 220. I know we ran short of gift bags, & there was 200 of those. “The day’s menu wound up being NY Strip, BBQ pulled pork, Brisket burnt ends, tater salad, cole slaw, some really good beers, & cake from Nothing Bundt. “Gift bags included everything from regulation masks (yes, there is a defined uniform code for masks),
hand sanitizers, lottery tix, gift cards, & some sweets. “By all reports, a good time was had by all. From the SgtMaj that was skeptical about the event to the green pea that had only been in the barracks a few weeks and didn’t seem to have any friends til Friday. The surprise (to me) of the day was the number of to go boxes put together for marines that were on duty, and could not stay (or even get to) and eat in person.
“Fifteen volunteers gave up their Christmas Day to help make this project work. Without them, it would have never come off. “The same goes for all the generous donations that came to help pay for everything to make the day complete. From food to gift bags, the entire day was made incredible thanks to those donations.
Leading the News . . .
House impeaches Trump for second time . . . House lawmakers on Wednesday impeached President Trump for his role in last week’s deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol, capping an extraordinary week of violence, apprehension and partisan brawling in Congress just as Washington cranks up security in preparation for Joe Biden’s inauguration, just a week away. The 232-197 vote was historic: It made Trump the first president in the country’s history to
be impeached twice. And unlike the first debate, this time the president’s Democratic critics had support across the aisle. Ten Republicans joined every voting Democrat to approve the single impeachment article, which accuses Trump of inciting violence against the same federal government he leads. The Hill
Biden tweets about impeachment vote, reminds Senate of other urgent business . . . After the House voted to impeach President Trump Wednesday, President-elect Biden said the chamber had held the president "accountable" and asked the Senate to do their "constitutional responsibilities" on impeachment – along with "other urgent business." Fox News
Newly-elected GOP Rep. Green vows to file articles of impeachment against Biden . . . Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the newly elected Republican from Georgia, took to Twitter Wednesday to announce that she will be filing articles of impeachment against President-elect Joe Biden a day after the inauguration. She said her motivation is to stand up for the 75 million Americans who are "fed up with inaction" in government. "It’s time to take a
stand," she said. "I’m proud to be the voice of Republican voters who have been ignored." Fox News
Florida's COVID-19 vaccines draw foreigners, snowbirds . . . Visitors from Toronto to New York to Buenos Aires have long flocked to Florida for sun, surf and shopping. Now they are coming for the Covid-19 vaccine. Some of the arrivals are Americans or foreigners who own second homes in the state and reside here part-time. Others are making short-term visits, seizing the opportunity provided by Florida’s decision to make
the vaccine available to people age 65 and older, including nonresidents. Interest in the "vaccine tourism" is up sharply from Canadians. Wall Street Journal
U.S. tops 10 million COVID vaccinations as California expands eligibility for shots . . . More than 10 million Americans had received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of Wednesday, according to the CDC, as the year-old pandemic roared on unchecked. The United States reached 10.2 million inoculations one day after the CDC and Trump administration gave new guidance to U.S. states on who should receive the shots first. Strict
rules putting healthcare workers first in line had slowed the rollout. Now states are urged to vaccinate anyone over 65 as well. Reuters
Study: COVID-19 infection gives some immunity, but virus can still be spread . . . People who have had COVID-19 are highly likely to have immunity to it for at least five months, but there is evidence that those with antibodies may still be able to carry and spread the virus, a study of British healthcare workers has found.
Preliminary findings by scientists at Public Health England (PHE) showed that reinfections in people who have COVID-19 antibodies from a past infection are rare - with only 44 cases found among 6,614 previously infected people in the study. But experts cautioned that the findings mean people who contracted the disease in the first wave of the pandemic in the early months of 2020 may now be vulnerable to catching it again. Reuters
CDC: College re-openings led to bigger COVID outbreaks . . . Cases of COVID-19 have been rising among children and young adults since October, the CDC said in new research that suggests that college reopenings may have worsened outbreaks. The agency said that while opening elementary and high schools does not lead to a surge in new cases, reopening colleges and universities might. The study, released Wednesday, examined cases
from March 1 until Dec. 12 and found that cases were highest among young people in December. In the week of Dec 6-12, reported infections ranged from 99.9 cases per 100,000 among ages 0-4 to 379.3 among ages 18-24. Washington Examiner
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McConnell undecided on whether to vote to convict POTUS . . . Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) sent a note to Republican colleagues Wednesday afternoon informing them that he remains undecided on whether to convict President Trump on an article of impeachment expected to be passed by the House.
“While the press has been full of speculation, I have not made a final decision on how I will vote and I intend to listen to the legal arguments when they are presented to the Senate,” McConnell wrote in a note to colleagues, an excerpt of which was made public by his office. McConnell made his statement after The New York Time reported Tuesday that the GOP leader has told associates he believes Trump has committed impeachable offenses. The Hill
Cotton: Senate lacks authority to hold impeachment trial once Trump leaves office . . . Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), an influential conservative and possible contender for the White House in 2024, says the Senate lacks constitutional authority to hold an impeachment trial for President Trump once he leaves office.
“The Senate lacks constitutional authority to conduct impeachment proceedings against a former president. The Founders designed the impeachment process as a way to remove officeholders from public office — not an inquest against private citizens,” Cotton said in a statement Wednesday evening. The Hill
Ten House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump . . . Unlike Trump’s first impeachment in early 2020, 10 House Republicans ultimately supported the Democrat-led effort the second time around and voted to impeach the president. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi introduced the sole article of impeachment on Tuesday accusing President Donald Trump of inciting insurrection. On Jan. 6, a pro-Trump mob clashed with Capitol Police and
stormed the Capitol itself, forcing lawmakers into hiding and resulting in the deaths of five people. See the names of House Republicans who voted to impeach the president. Daily Caller
Trump considering lawyer who spoke at rally for impeachment defense . . . President Donald Trump may hire a law professor who spoke at his rally before the riot at the U.S. Capitol to help defend him in an impeachment trial over a charge that he incited the violence, according to two people familiar with the matter. John Eastman, who joined Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani on stage at the Jan. 6 rally, is being considered for a role
on Trump’s defense team, the people said. Eastman, 60 would neither confirm nor deny whether he will represent Trump, citing attorney-client privilege. Asked whether he would be willing, Eastman said: “If the President of the United States asked me to consider helping him, I would certainly give it consideration.” Reuters
Republican party faces rage from both pro- and anti- Trump voters . . . After riots at the U.S. Capitol by President Donald Trump’s supporters, the Republican Party is facing defections from two camps of voters it can’t afford to lose: those saying Trump and his allies went too far in contesting the election of Democrat Joe Biden - and those saying they didn’t go far enough, according to new polling and interviews with two dozen voters. Reuters
House conservatives plot to oust Liz Cheney . . . A group of conservative lawmakers are plotting to oust House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney (Wyo.) from her leadership role, citing issues with her announcement that she would vote to impeach President Trump for inciting last week's riot at the Capitol.
GOP lawmakers behind the effort, which are largely made up of members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, have begun circulating a petition led by Reps. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) and Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) on Wednesday to remove Cheney — who is the highest-ranking Republican woman in leadership — from her role. The
Hill
Oversight group presses Justices to remove Cruz, Hawley from Supreme Court Bar . . . A judicial oversight group is pressing to disqualify Sens. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) and Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) from the Supreme Court bar because of their connection to the Capitol riot. Fix the Court, a nonpartisan watchdog, wrote in a letter Wednesday that the lawmakers engaged in conduct unbecoming an officer of the Court by "baselessly objecting to the
certification of the Electoral College results." The justices have the power to remove members of the Supreme Court bar for misconduct, and a few dozen members are usually disbarred each year. Cruz and Hawley are both well-credentialed members of the legal elite, having graduated from top law schools and clerked for legal luminaries. Removing them from the Supreme Court bar would amount to a stunning rebuke, especially as SCOTUS lawyers and justices alike prize collegiality and respect
despite deep disagreements. Washington Free Beacon
Republicans decry "progressive purge" of Trump backers . . . It started with President Trump getting kicked off Twitter, but the rush to banish him from the public square over the U.S. Capitol riot is threatening to engulf vast swaths of the right as conservatives gird themselves for what they describe as a political purge. In the week since the attack, dozens of major U.S. corporations have halted donations to Republican lawmakers
who objected to the 2020 election certification. Warnings about hiring Trump administration officials are circulating, while right-tilting Twitter accounts are being de-amplified with dramatic declines in their followers. From libertarians to social conservatives, leaders on the right are sounding the alarm about what has been dubbed the “progressive purge,” “reign of terror.” Washington Times
Soviet-style war is waged on the conservative movement and freedom of speech by the Big Tech, in collusion with the media and the "democratic" party.
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Iran begins research on key nuclear weapons material . . . Iran has started research on the production of uranium metal, an important component used to produce nuclear weapons, a top Iranian official announced Wednesday. Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Kazem Gharib Abadi, claimed the country plans to produce uranium metal at its nuclear facility in Tehran in order to develop a new type of fuel for the
country’s civilian research reactor. ” Daily Caller
But, no worries, it's for "peaceful" use.
IWhite House declassifies key China Strategy doc . . . The White House declassified a strategy document that lays out the Trump administration's effort to counter the rise of China, providing the public with a rare glimpse into the inner workings of national security operations. The disclosure of documents related to national security strategy from a sitting administration is very rare, and without last week's order, the previously
unknown 10-page document, drafted in 2018, would not have been available to the public until 2043. National security adviser Robert O'Brien said that the decision indicates the importance of the commitments made by American foreign policy to confront China. Washington Free Beacon
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Russia's 'Children of the Gulag' battle to return home after exile . . . Living in a wooden hut 300 km from Moscow, Elizaveta Mikhaylova feels trapped in the same forced exile imposed on her family during Josef Stalin’s Great Terror when her father was sent to the Gulag prison camps. The 72-year-old is one of a dwindling group of about 1,500 pensioners or “Children of the Gulag” who were promised housing in their families’ home
cities by the government after the Soviet Union broke up in 1991 but have received nothing 30 years later. Reuters
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Unemployment claims rose as pandemic weighs on economy . . . The number of applications for unemployment benefits edged up last week, another sign that the economic recovery is sputtering, as coronavirus infections hit record levels nationwide. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect the government to report that new unemployment claims, a proxy for layoffs, came in at a seasonally adjusted 800,000
last week. That is up slightly from the 787,000 filed a week earlier. Today’s report will likely add to the evidence that the rapid rise in Covid-19 cases and fresh business restrictions in some places are weighing on the labor market. Leisure and hospitality workers bore the brunt of the decline. Wall
Street Journal
Netflix announces 70 films in 2021 as COVID hammers movie theaters. . . After its 2020 slate of 30 films was hailed as "massively ambitious," Netflix announced an unprecedented 70 original films that will be released over the course of 2021 as movie theaters across the country are hammered by the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdowns that followed. The list includes one of Netflix's most expensive films to date — a star-studded
action film called Red Notice that features Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot. This year's lineup also includes works from award-winning filmmakers and it will include films starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Sandra Bullock, and Idris Elba among other Hollywood stars. Washington Examiner
The Obamas must be pleased with their Netflix business —aka leftist propaganda — deal.
Parler CEO: social media platform may never return . . . The CEO of Parler, a social media platform favored by supporters of President Trump, said it might not come back after it was taken offline following the deadly Capitol Hill siege. CEO John Matze told Reuters on Wednesday that much about the app and website is still up in the air after businesses cut ties to the company. Amazon said it removed Parler from its cloud-hosting service
because the social media platform was not effectively moderating and removing violent content. Now Matze says the company’s fate is uncertain.
“It could be never,” he said when asked about if and when Parler will be back online for its millions of users. “We don’t know yet.” Washington Examiner
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Rep. Eric Swalwell likens Trump to Osama bin Laden . . . Rep. Eric Swalwell said President Trump and the man who orchestrated the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks have much in common when it comes to radicalizing supporters. He made the following comments while speaking with PBS NewsHour. “Well, Osama Bin Laden did not enter U.S. soil on September 11, but it was widely acknowledged that he was responsible for
inspiring the attack on our country and the president, with his words [Jan. 6 at the Capitol], using the word ‘fight,’ with the speakers that he assembled that day who called [for] trial by combat … that is hate speech that inspired and radicalized people to storm the Capitol.” Washington Times
Is the Congressman trying to divert attention from the real scandal of him getting into a "fang-fang" with a Chinese spy?
DC locks down a week before inauguration, expecting trouble . . . All through downtown Washington, the primary sound for several blocks was the beeping of forklifts unloading more fencing.
There were no cars or scooters and seemingly no tourists Wednesday, just the occasional jogger and multiple construction crews at work. The U.S. Capitol that proved such a soft target last week was visible only through lines of tall, black fence. Two blocks from the White House, a group of uniformed National Guard troops emerged from a tour bus and headed into a hotel as a state of lockdown descended on Washington that will last through the Jan. 20 inauguration. Associated Press
Biden names Samantha Power as pick to lead USAID . . . Joe Biden on Wednesday named Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during the Obama administration, as his pick to lead the U.S. Agency for International Development. Mr. Biden also elevated the position to be in the National Security Council. “As USAID administrator, Ambassador Power will be a powerful force for lifting up the vulnerable, ushering in a
new era of human progress and development, and advancing American interests globally,” Mr. Biden said. Washington Times
Continued return of the Obama team that brought you ISIS, the Iran deal, Russia influence in the Middle East, and many other foreign policy disasters.
Biden restores deleted donor list after criticism . . . President-elect Biden restored a page on his website that lists top campaign bundlers following criticism from conservative groups, only for the website to crash on Wednesday afternoon. Biden recently pulled a list of individuals who raised at least $100,000 for his campaign from his site, with the URL showing an error message and prompting users to purchase Biden-branded
merchandise as of Tuesday afternoon. After conservative groups criticized the decision, however, the list was restored, again disclosing the more than 800 individuals who raised six figures for the Democrat's presidential bid. The website briefly crashed Wednesday as the Biden team scrambled to update the list. Washington
Examiner
Well-known Virginia public school could be renamed after George Floyd or Kamala, Harris . . . A Virginia school district is considering a slew of progressive icons as candidates to become the new namesake of T.C. Williams High School, whose football team was the subject of the hit
film Remember the Titans. In Nov. 2020, the Alexandria City Public Schools Board unanimously voted to change the school's name because its namesake, Thomas Chambliss Williams, was a segregationist. Community activists
initiated calls for a name change following the death of George Floyd at the hands of the police. The district introduced a poll that allows students and members of the community to nominate new names for the school. Among the choices are "George Floyd Memorial High School," "Kamala Harris High School," and "Megan [sic] Markle High
School." Washington Free Beacon
No comment.
Pro-life groups cheer Supreme Court ruling restricting access to abortion pills. . . Pro-life advocates praised the Supreme Court for restoring a federal prohibition against at-home abortions.The Supreme Court on Tuesday overruled lower-court decisions blocking Food and Drug Administration requirements that patients obtain abortion drugs in person. Mallory Quigley, vice president of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, said that clinics
exploited the coronavirus pandemic to increase business amid lockdowns, encouraging the self-administered abortions that pro-choice advocates once characterized as dangerous "back-alley" procedures. Washington Free Beacon
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Siberian tiger ferociously ‘attacks’ snowman at Finland zoo . . . Frosty was no match for the King of the Jungle. Wild photos show the moment a tiger mauled a snowman to nothing but a pathetic pile of powder at a zoo in Finland. “Animal attacks on snowmen have continued in Korkeasaari,” the Korkeasaari Zoo in Helinksi wrote in a playful Facebook post Wednesday. “For safety reasons, we recommend that snowmen do not hide pieces of
meat, blood or animal hair in their pockets.” The snowman appears to be wearing a wig before the male Siberian tiger pounces — chopping its head in half with his grrr-eat big paw. “Amur tiger, a beautiful but ferocious beast,” one user posted. It wasn’t immediately clear if the zoo had actually stuffed meat or another kind of reward inside the snowman, but it’s generally considered good for tigers in captivity to work for their food. New York Post
First Look at Trump’s ‘Transition’ Letter to Joe Biden . . . President Donald J. Trump will follow tradition by writing a formal letter to his successor, President-elect Joe Biden, congratulating him on his electoral victory and wishing him luck following his inauguration on Jan. 20. See a "draft copy" of Trump's letter "obtained" by Washington Free Beacon
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Rebekah Koffler
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