Posts

On Monday, Trump wrote to WHO director-general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus threatening to withdraw the U.S. from the U.N. health agency, citing a series of alleged “failings” on how it has dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic. In the letter, Trump stated the WHO “consistently ignored credible reports of the virus spreading in Wuhan in early December 2019 or even earlier, including reports from the Lancet medical journal. The World Health Organization failed to independently investigate credible reports that conflicted directly with the Chinese government’s official accounts, even those that came from sources within Wuhan itself....

“The January 6 Committee investigating the insurrection just subpoenaed Donald Trump to testify and Donald Trump responded, sort of, with a letter. A letter that is deeply and sharply self-incriminating,” Kirschner said. The select committee on Thursday unanimously agreed to subpoena Trump for documents and testimony related to the insurrection that unfolded on January 6, 2021, saying that the former president “is required to answer for his actions.” “We have left no doubt—none—that Donald Trump led an effort to upend American democracy that directly resulted in the violence of January 6,” the committee’s chairman Bennie Thompson said....

Former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman said Trump’s actions were irresponsible on Tuesday, tweeting, “@realDonaldTrump’s irresponsibility is shocking. Leaving 1 of the best hospitals, having received drugs the average person doesn’t have access to, going home w/ full medical staff, he has the audacity to say don’t fear #COVID19 & he feels better than ever? THIS is our President?!” Whitman, a Republican, has endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and is leading efforts by Republicans and independents to oppose Trump’s re-election....

Even while the White House contests the 2020 election in battleground states, Trump has marched forward as leader of the free world. That means another showing at the Army-Navy football battle this weekend. It will be the third-straight year Trump has attended the game, and fourth since getting elected in 2016. He attended the 2016 game as president-elect and joined the CBS play-by-play tandem in the broadcast booth that year....

Back on the campaign trail after coming down with COVID-19, Trump told Florida rally attendees he was possibly elected in 2016 in order to put conservative justices on the Supreme Court. He noted that some presidents weren’t in a position to nominate any justices and expressed surprise that he was already on his third pick in his first term. Trump is correct that nominating a Supreme Court justice isn’t guaranteed in a presidency, and two of the 44 presidents in U....

Brett McGurk—who resigned as the U.S. envoy to the anti-ISIS coalition after Trump said in 2018 that he would withdraw all American troops from Syria—reacted angrily to the president’s suggestion that Syrian Kurds should “start heading to the Oil Region” following the Turkish invasion of the country’s northeast. A ceasefire has ended the worst of the fighting in the area, which was sparked earlier this month by a Turkish military operation to clear Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces from an 18-mile deep zone along the border between the two countries....

One of Trump’s Saturday executive memorandums would boost unemployment benefits by $400 per week until the week ending December 27. However, some people will only receive $300 if their state counts local benefits as the 25 percent contribution the executive memorandum requires. Coming up with the funds for expanded unemployment benefits will be shared between the state and federal government, with the federal government paying $300 per week. The remaining $100 has to be covered by states, either through money they received in the Coronavirus Relief Fund or other state funding....

Trump’s greeting about five hours before midnight on the east coast included “lamestream media,” the FBI and the “Radical Left Marxists.” Trump finalized his brief message with “LOVE TO ALL!” Here’s what Trump wrote on Christmas Eve. “Merry Christmas to EVERYONE, including the Radical Left Marxists that are trying to destroy our Country, the Federal Bureau of Investigation that is illegally coercing & paying Social and LameStream Media to push for a mentally disabled Democrat over the Brilliant, Clairvoyant, and USA LOVING Donald J....

Pence will be in charge of the White House Coronavirus Task Force and report directly to Trump. The task force will be comprised of members of the Centers for Disease Control, Health and Human Services, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Transportation and the State Department. HHS Secretary Alex Azar has been tapped as the task force’s chairman. “I’m going to be putting Vice President Mike Pence in charge,” Trump said, “and he’s going to be working with the professionals, doctors and everybody else that is working....

Sununu, who is currently running for re-election in 2022, on Sunday came out strongly against Trump’s suggestion that he may pardon rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, if he decides to run for president and wins in 2024. The GOP governor has also previously been critical of the pro-Trump efforts to alienate Republican lawmakers opposed to the former president. Corey Lewandowski, who served as Trump’s campaign manager in 2016, spoke to radio host Howie Carr on Wednesday, explaining that the former president is against Sununu’s re-election....

Cohen turned against Trump and was given a three-year sentence in December 2018 for lying to Congress, tax evasion and campaign finance violations. He has consistently criticized and condemned his former boss since then. In a Saturday morning interview with MSNBC, he gave his assessment of some of the current drama occurring within Trump’s “inner circle,” specifically discussing Trump’s former chief of staff, Meadows. “I’ve been very vocal about Mark Meadows for a multitude of reasons,” Cohen said....

The Serbs weren’t buying it. Last Monday’s surprise seizure of the Trepca smelter was part of a coordinated assault ordered by Kouchner against the main symbols of hard-line Serb resistance to U.N. authority in Kosovo. Hours later dozens of U.N. police shut down a Serb-run radio station with close ties to Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in the town of Zvecan, just north of Mitrovica. Funded by an ally of Milosevic in Belgrade, Radio S had refused an order to broadcast U....

The top seed lost his first ATP decider on the red dirt against Rafael Nadal last year, but defeated Cuevas 6-3 7-6 (7-4) on Sunday. Next Gen ATP Finals champion Tsitsipas served more assertively than his experienced opponent and overcame second-set jitters to secure the third ATP Tour title of his career – and a second this season. Tsitsipas did not face a single break point in the first set, but Cuevas fought back from 2-0 down in the second and had a point to level the match....

Coronation of Sir Michael: What a Weekend! By Bob Verdi CHICAGO — How do you have more fun in one weekend? On Saturday afternoon, Michael Jordan of the hometown Bulls reports to the NBA slam-dunk competition at Chicago Stadium and wins. On Sunday, he scores 40 points and collects the award as most valuable player in the 38th All-Star Game. Then he awakens the Monday morning after to the realization that he’s received gold card status from the league’s admiralty, that he’s no longer an outsider looking in....

Mbappe & Dybala will show post-Messi-Ronaldo future Ahead of his side’s trip to face Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga, Tuchel was positive about his own wellbeing but would not be drawn on how his players were faring following the attack. Since the explosions occurred near the Dortmund team bus as it was travelling to Signal Iduna Park for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Monaco, Tuchel’s men have beaten Eintracht Frankfurt 3-1 in the Bundesliga but lost 6-3 to the French side over two legs....

Carlson told his audience that Luntz, who has long been a consultant and adviser to the Republican Party, should no longer have any role with the GOP because his views don’t align with average Republican voters. “That explains all the angry, misspelled messages in my inbox tonight,” Luntz tweeted on Friday, sharing a tweet showing a still from Carlson’s show and featuring an image of Luntz. “Luntz — Dr. Frank I....

During the conference, a reporter asked the vice president if “the United States is willing to make a specific allocation for Ukrainian refugees?” while also asking the Polish president if he asked the U.S. to “specifically accept more refugees.” Harris then laughed briefly as she looked at Duda and said “a friend in need is a friend indeed.” The Polish president responded to the reporter’s question by saying that Poland needs international assistance as it faces the Ukrainian refugee crisis....

Otis (w/Tucker) lost his Money in the Bank contract at the event against The Miz (w/John Morrison). The finish to the match saw Tucker betray his tag team partner of four years by hitting him with the Money in the Bank briefcase. Speaking on the What Do You Call It? Podcast, Tucker revealed he was only informed about the heel turn two hours before the event. In hindsight, the 31-year-old wishes he questioned WWE’s decision-makers about the storyline development....

Lightfoot drew a backlash after she sent a letter to local Chicago media on Wednesday saying she’d have interviews only with journalists of color. She was marking her second-year anniversary as the city’s first Black and openly lesbian mayor. While much of the backlash came from right-wing critics, Gabbard—a Hawaii Democrat who unsuccessfully sought her party’s 2020 presidential nomination—slammed the mayor’s decision. “Mayor Lightfoot’s blatant anti-white racism is abhorrent. I call upon President Biden, Kamala Harris, and other leaders of our county [sic]—of all races—to join me in calling for Mayor Lightfoot’s resignation....