Melania Trump: ‘Disappointed and Disheartened’ by Storming of US Capitol 

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U.S. first lady Melania Trump on Monday said she was “disappointed and disheartened” by the storming of the U.S. Capitol by a mob of supporters of her husband looking to overturn his loss for re-election, but also said it was “shameful” that she was the subject of what she characterized as “salacious gossip” and “unwarranted personal attacks.” In a statement from the White House, the first lady voiced her grief at the deaths of six people linked to last Wednesday’s mayhem at the Capitol, including Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, and a second officer, Howard Liebengood, who had responded to themore

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Biden to Tap Veteran Diplomat William Burns as CIA Chief

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U.S. President-elect Joe Biden announced Monday he will nominate career diplomat William Burns to be his director of the Central Intelligence Agency.In a statement Monday, Biden’s transition team said Burns is a 33-year U.S. State Department veteran who has served under both Republican and Democratic presidents.Burns rose through the ranks of the diplomatic corps and served as ambassador to Jordan under former U.S President Bill Clinton and ambassador to Russia under former U.S. President George W. Bush. The 64-year old diplomat was named deputy secretary of state in 2011 by U.S. President Barack Obama before retiring in 2014 to runmore

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Parler Social Network Service Loses Web Hosting

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Parler, a social network service popular with conservatives, went offline Monday after its web hosting service Amazon suspended it for allowing posts that encourage violence.   Before the site went down, Parler CEO John Matze accused Amazon and other tech giants of a “war on free speech.”   Google banned Parler’s smartphone app from its app store on Friday, also citing Parler’s allowance of posts that seek to incite violence in the United States.   Apple instituted its own Parler ban on Saturday.   The two-year-old Parler saw an increase in users in recent months as social media giants Facebookmore

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Sets Out Plans to Call for Trump’s Removal

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U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the House of Representatives will offer a resolution Monday calling on President Donald Trump’s Cabinet to invoke the 25th amendment, removing him from office.In a letter to her Democratic colleagues, Pelosi said if Vice President Mike Pence does not respond within 24 hours, the House will proceed with impeachment.“In protecting our Constitution and our democracy, we will act with urgency, because this president represents an imminent threat to both. As the days go by, the horror of the ongoing assault on our democracy perpetrated by this President is intensified and so is the immediatemore

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Schwarzenegger Invokes Post-Nazi Europe in Video Condemning Capitol Violence

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In an emotional video message with intimate references to his childhood in post-Nazi Austria, former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger condemned the recent violence on Capitol Hill, and what he called President Donald’s Trump’s lies which incited the revolt.   “President Trump sought to overturn the results of an election, and of a fair election. He sought a coup by misleading people with lies,” Schwarzenegger, the 73-year-old former actor who most notably played the role of the Terminator during his Hollywood career, said in a seven-minute video posted on social media Sunday.   “My father and our neighbors were misled alsomore

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US Senate’s Top Democrat Warns of Possible Violence at Biden Inauguration

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U.S. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer warned Sunday about the threat of violence at the January 20 inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, especially in the aftermath of last week’s storming of the U.S. Capitol by thousands of supporters of President Donald Trump trying to block Biden’s ascension to power.Schumer, soon to be the Senate majority leader, said he spoke with FBI Director Christopher Wray on Saturday “to urge him to relentlessly pursue the mob of violent insurrectionists, incited by President Trump, who attacked the United States Capitol and killed a police officer, as well as guard against potential additional attacks.”Schumermore

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Major Corporations Suspend Donations to US Lawmakers Who Voted Against Biden Certification

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WASHINGTON/NEW YORK/BANGALORE — Marriott International, the world’s largest hotel company and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) said Sunday they will suspend donations to U.S. lawmakers who voted last week against certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.”We have taken the destructive events at the Capitol to undermine a legitimate and fair election into consideration and will be pausing political giving from our Political Action Committee to those who voted against certification of the election,” Marriott spokeswoman Connie Kim said, confirming a report in Popular Information, a political newsletter.BCBSA, the federation of 36 independent companies that provide health care coverage formore

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In Extraordinary Rebuke, US Diplomats Blast Trump for Capitol Riot

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In a highly unusual move, American diplomats have drafted two cables condemning President Donald Trump’s incitement of the deadly assault on the Capitol and calling for administration officials to support invoking the 25th Amendment to remove him from office.  Using what is known as the State Department’s “dissent channel,” the career foreign service officers said they fear last Wednesday’s siege may badly undermine U.S. credibility to promote and defend democratic values abroad.  “Failing to publicly hold the president to account would further damage our democracy and our ability to effectively accomplish our foreign policy goals abroad,” according to the secondmore

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Arnold Schwarzenegger Invokes Post-Nazi Europe in Video Condemning Capitol Violence

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In an emotional video message with intimate references to his childhood in post-Nazi Austria, former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger condemned the recent violence on Capitol Hill, and what he called President Donald’s Trump’s lies which incited the revolt.   “President Trump sought to overturn the results of an election, and of a fair election. He sought a coup by misleading people with lies,” Schwarzenegger, the 73-year-old former actor who most notably played the role of the Terminator during his Hollywood career, said in a seven-minute video posted on social media Sunday.   “My father and our neighbors were misled alsomore

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US Lawmakers Likely Exposed to Coronavirus During Riot Lockdown, Official Warns

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U.S. lawmakers who were in lockdown when a violent mob breached security at the Capitol last week likely have been exposed to the coronavirus, Congress’ attending physician warned Sunday.   “On Wednesday January 6, many members of the House community were in protective isolation in a room located in a large committee hearing space,” Dr. Brian Monahan wrote in an email to lawmakers.   “The time in this room was several hours for some and briefer for others. During this time, individuals may have been exposed to another occupant with coronavirus infection.”Here’s the letter from Dr. Brian Monahan to allmore

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White House Pushed Top Federal Prosecutor in Atlanta to Resign, Paper Says

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The White House pushed the top federal prosecutor in Atlanta to resign before Georgia’s U.S. Senate runoff because President Donald Trump was unhappy that he wasn’t doing enough to investigate Trump’s unfounded claims of election fraud, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.The Justice Department on Tuesday tapped a new federal prosecutor to lead the Atlanta office, a day after the Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, Byung J. “BJay” Pak, abruptly resigned.Pak’s resignation drew attention because Trump appeared to refer to him in a recent phone call with Georgia’s secretary of state in which the outgoing Republicanmore

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House Likely to Offer Articles of Impeachment Against Trump on Monday

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Efforts to hold President Donald Trump accountable for his role in inciting the mob that overran the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday gained momentum Saturday, with Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives announcing they will offer articles of impeachment as early as Monday.Rep. Ted Lieu, a Democrat from the state of California, who helped draft the charges against Trump, tweeted Saturday afternoon that the articles had 180 co-sponsors, although no Republicans were among them.UPDATE to the update: We’ve just hit 180 cosponsors of the Article of Impeachment drafted by Rep District of Columbia National Guardsmen stand outside the Capitolmore

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Pro-Trump State Lawmaker Resigns After Riot; More Arrests Announced

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A pro-Trump state lawmaker who filmed himself storming the U.S. Capitol has resigned and more arrests were announced Saturday as part of an investigation into Wednesday’s attack on the Capitol.Derrick Evans, a Republican member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, announced his resignation Saturday in a one-sentence letter to West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice.Evans was charged with entering a restricted area on the Capitol grounds and disorderly conduct. If convicted, he faces a year and a half in federal prison. Evans broadcast a Facebook Live video of himself breaking into the building with a crowd of rioters, at onemore

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Twitter Bans Trump, Removes Tweet by Iran’s Khamenei on Same Day, Sparking ‘Double Standards’ Backlash

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U.S. tech giant Twitter took sharply different actions against the leaders of the U.S. and Iran on Friday, permanently banning President Donald Trump’s personal account while removing one tweet from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s apparent English account and suspending new posts on it.The greater severity of Twitter’s action against the @realdonaldtrump account, compared with the social media company’s treatment of Khamenei, prompted both critics and supporters of the U.S. president to post dozens of Twitter messages accusing the platform of double standards.Many of Twitter’s critics said the @Khamenei_IR account, which is not Twitter-verified but regularly shares his statements, has a historymore

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Americans Struggle to Process US Capitol Assault

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Politically motivated mob violence in Washington, D.C., has sent a shockwave through the country, where Americans continue to grapple with the assault on the U.S. Capitol, and what it means for the country moving forward. VOA’s Kane Farabaugh has more from the Midwest state of Illinois. Camera: Kane Farabaugh     Producer: Kane Farabaugh …

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US Judge Blocks Trump Administration’s Sweeping Asylum Rules

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A U.S. judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration’s most sweeping set of asylum restrictions less than two weeks before President-elect Joe Biden takes office.The rules had been set to take effect Monday. The court order has limited immediate impact because the government has largely suspended asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border during the coronavirus pandemic, citing public health concerns.Still, letting the rules take effect would have been felt by some who can still claim asylum and make it significantly more difficult for all asylum-seekers once pandemic-related measures are lifted.President Donald Trump’s administration argued that the measures were an appropriate responsemore

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Google Suspends Parler App From Its Play Store; Apple Gives 24-hour Warning 

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Alphabet’s Google on Friday suspended the Parler social networking app from its Play Store until the app adds robust content moderation, while Apple gave the service 24 hours to submit a detailed moderation plan.Parler is a social network to which many supporters of President Donald Trump have migrated after being banned from services including Twitter, which on Friday permanently suspended Trump’s account.In a statement, Google cited continued posts in the Parler app that seek “to incite ongoing violence in the U.S.”Google said, “For us to distribute an app through Google Play, we do require that apps implement robust moderation formore

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Twitter Bans Trump, Others, Citing Risk of Violent Incitement

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Twitter banned President Donald Trump’s account Friday, citing “the risk of further incitement of violence.”The social platform has been under growing pressure to take further action against Trump following Wednesday’s deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.Later Friday night, the president responded in a tweet on the official @potus account. Trump said Twitter’s action was predictable and that he was working with other sites to build a platform where he and his followers would not be silenced.The official account for the President of the United States, @potus, remains live.Twitter initially suspended Trump’s account for 12 hours after he posted a videomore

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Pro-Trump State Lawmaker Among Rioters Charged with Storming US Capitol

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A pro-Trump state lawmaker who filmed himself storming the U.S. Capitol and an Arkansas man who was photographed with his foot on the desk of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are among more than a dozen rioters charged so far by federal prosecutors as part of a far-ranging investigation into Wednesday’s attack on the Capitol, federal officials announced Friday.Derrick Evans, a Republican member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, was charged with entering a restricted area on the Capitol grounds. Evans broadcast a Facebook Live video of himself breaking into the building with a crowd of rioters, at one pointmore

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US Law Enforcement Authorities Step Up Investigation of Capitol Hill Riots

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U.S. law enforcement authorities are stepping up a criminal investigation into Wednesday’s attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump that could include his role in instigating the mob. Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Michael Sherwin said a total of 55 people have been charged with various crimes, including 15 people in connection with rioting at the Capitol. Trump has been widely condemned for inciting the violence by imploring supporters angry over his electoral loss to march on the Capitol. In a rare rebuke, former Attorney General William Barr, a staunch Trump ally while in office,more

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Pelosi, Top General Discuss Preventing Trump Military Actions

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Amid growing concerns about what U.S. President Donald Trump might do during his last days in office, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday that she had asked a top Pentagon general what measures were in place to prevent the president from launching a nuclear weapons attack.The possibility, while seemingly remote, may be a consideration in a drive by Pelosi and some other national leaders to remove Trump from office even before his term in office ends on January 20.FILE – In this Sept. 22, 2020, photo Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley listens during a meeting at the Pentagon inmore

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Black Leaders Cheer Georgia Success, Push for More Progress

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What started as a day of celebration for Black organizers, voters and other Georgians who helped deliver two historic Senate runoff victories was overshadowed Wednesday when a violent, mostly white mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.But Black leaders and organizers say the rioters’ insurrection won’t deter the momentum achieved after the hard-fought victories of Georgia Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. Instead, it serves as a harsh reminder of the work that lies ahead for the nation to truly grapple with white supremacy and racism, which Trump’s presidency emboldened.”It’s a little bit bittersweet because on onemore

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