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'Has to happen now': House seeks to impeach Trump

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the House will proceed with legislation to impeach President Donald Trump as she pushes the vice president and the Cabinet to invoke constitutional authority to force him out, warning that Trump is a threat to democracy after the deadly assault on the Capitol.

The House action could start as soon as Monday as pressure increases on Trump to step aside.

A Republican senator, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, joined Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska in calling for Trump to "resign and go away as soon as possible."

READ MORE: Democrats grapple with impact of Trump impeachment

A stunning end to Trump's final 10 days in office was underway as lawmakers warned of the damage the president could still do before Joe Biden was inaugurated January 20.

Trump, holed up at the White House, was increasingly isolated after a mob rioted in the Capitol in support of his false claims of election fraud.

Judges across the country, including some nominated by Trump, repeatedly dismissed cases and Attorney General William Barr, a Trump ally, said there was no sign of any widespread fraud.

Pelosi emphasised the need for quick action.

"We will act with urgency, because this President represents an imminent threat," Pelosi said in a letter late Sunday to colleagues.

A letter from Nancy Pelosi, detailing plans for President Donald Trump's possible impeachment.https://twitter.com/LexiDaish/status/1348424136780107777?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

"The horror of the ongoing assault on our democracy perpetrated by this President is intensified and so is the immediate need for action."

On Monday, Pelosi's leadership team will seek a vote on a resolution calling on Vice President Mike Pence and Cabinet officials to invoke the 25th Amendment, with a full House vote expected on Tuesday.

After that, Pence and the Cabinet would have 24 hours to act before the House would move toward impeachment.

READ MORE: US Capitol police officer dies after being attacked during riots

During an interview on 60 Minutes aired Sunday, Pelosi invoked the Watergate era when Republicans in the Senate told President Richard Nixon, "It's over."

"That's what has to happen now," she said.

With impeachment planning intensifying, Toomey said he doubted impeachment could be done before Biden is inaugurated, even though a growing number of lawmakers say that step is necessary to ensure Trump can never hold elected office again.

"I think the president has disqualified himself from ever, certainly, serving in office again," Toomey said. "I don't think he is electable in any way."

Murkowski, long exasperated with the president, told the Anchorage Daily News on Friday that Trump simply "needs to get out." A third, Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., did not go that far, but on Sunday he warned Trump to be "very careful" in his final days in office.

House Democrats were expected to introduce articles of impeachment on Monday. The strategy would be to condemn the president's actions swiftly but delay an impeachment trial in the Senate for 100 days. That would allow President-elect Joe Biden to focus on other priorities as soon as he is inaugurated January 20.

Rep. Jim Clyburn, the third-ranking House Democrat and a top Biden ally, laid out the ideas Sunday as the country came to grips with the siege at the Capitol by Trump loyalists trying to overturn the election results.

"Let's give President-elect Biden the 100 days he needs to get his agenda off and running," Clyburn said.

https://twitter.com/davidcicilline/status/1348342833502167045?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Corporate America began to show its reaction to the Capitol riots by tying them to campaign contributions.

Blue Cross Blue Shield Association's CEO and President Kim Keck said it will not contribute to those lawmakers — all Republicans — who supported challenges to Biden's Electoral College win. The group "will suspend contributions to those lawmakers who voted to undermine our democracy," Kim said.

Citigroup did not single out lawmakers aligned with Trump's effort to overturn the election, but said it would be pausing all federal political donations for the first three months of the year. Citi's head of global government affairs, Candi Wolff, said in a Friday memo to employees, "We want you to be assured that we will not support candidates who do not respect the rule of law."

Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has said an impeachment trial could not begin under the current calendar before Inauguration Day, January 20.

While many have criticised Trump, Republicans have said that impeachment would be divisive in a time of unity.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said that instead of coming together, Democrats want to "talk about ridiculous things like 'Let's impeach a president'" with just days left in office.

Still, some Republicans might be supportive.

Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse said he would take a look at any articles that the House sent over. Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a frequent Trump critic, said he would "vote the right way" if the matter were put in front of him.

The Democratic effort to stamp Trump's presidential record — for the second time — with the indelible mark of impeachment had advanced rapidly since the riot.

Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I, a leader of the House effort to draft impeachment articles accusing Trump of inciting insurrection, said Sunday that his group had 200-plus co-sponsors.

The articles, if passed by the House, could then be transmitted to the Senate for a trial, with senators acting as jurors to acquit or convict Trump. If convicted, Trump would be removed from office and succeeded by the vice president. It would be the first time a US president had been impeached twice.

Potentially complicating Pelosi's decision about impeachment was what it meant for Biden and the beginning of his presidency. While reiterating that he had long viewed Trump as unfit for office, Biden on Friday sidestepped a question about impeachment, saying what Congress did "is for them to decide."

A violent and largely white mob of Trump supporters overpowered police, broke through security lines and windows and rampaged through the Capitol on Wednesday, forcing lawmakers to scatter as they were finalising Biden's victory over Trump in the Electoral College.

Toomey appeared on CNN's "State of the Union" and NBC's "Meet the Press." Clyburn was on "Fox News Sunday" and CNN. Kinzinger was on ABC's "This Week," Blunt was on CBS' "Face the Nation" and Rubio was on Fox News Channel's "Sunday Morning Futures."

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US Customs Announces $65M Caribbean Coke Bust

The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency says security personnel recovered some 1.9 tonnes of cocaine valued about US$65 million in Caribbean waters last month. 

CBP said on December 18, an Airborne Early Warning crew detected a  45-foot go fast vessel and coordinated with law enforcement officials to interdict it.

The crew later  recovered 66 bales of cocaine, totalling 3,781 pounds.

“The President and Secretary of Defense announced the Enhanced Counter Narcotics mission on  April 1, 2020; and, since then, the Department of State, Department of Defense and other federal agencies have strengthened our methods and improved operations in order to obstruct the drug shipments from transnational criminal organisations,” said CBP in a statement.

“Air and Marine Operations (AMO) safeguard our nation by anticipating and confronting security threats through our aviation and maritime law enforcement expertise, innovative capabilities, and partnerships at the border and beyond, with about 1,800 US federal agents and mission support personnel, 240 aircraft and 300 marine vessels operating throughout the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.”

In 2020, CBP said AMO enforcement actions resulted in the seizure or disruption of 194,220 pounds of cocaine; 278,492 pounds of marijuana; 15,985 pounds of methamphetamine; 952 weapons and US$51.5 million. Some 1,066 arrests and 47,872 apprehensions of illegal immigrants from the Caribbean and other places were also made.

 

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Only 9 Days to Go, But Dems Want Trump Out Now

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., holds a news conference on the day after violent protesters loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Congress, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the House will proceed with legislation to impeach President Donald Trump as she pushes the vice president and the Cabinet to invoke constitutional authority force him out, warning that Trump is a threat to democracy after the deadly assault on the Capitol.

The House action could start as soon as Monday as pressure increases on Trump to step aside. A Republican senator, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, joined Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska in calling for Trump to “resign and go away as soon as possible.”

A stunning end to Trump’s final 10 days in office was underway as lawmakers warned of the damage the president could still do before Joe Biden was inaugurated Jan. 20. Trump, holed up at the White House, was increasingly isolated after a mob rioted in the Capitol in support of his false claims of election fraud.

Judges across the country, including some nominated by Trump, repeatedly dismissed cases and Attorney General William Barr, a Trump ally, said there was no sign of any widespread fraud. Pelosi emphasized the need for quick action.

“We will act with urgency, because this President represents an imminent threat,” Pelosi said in a letter late Sunday to colleagues.

“The horror of the ongoing assault on our democracy perpetrated by this President is intensified and so is the immediate need for action.”

On Monday, Pelosi’s leadership team will seek a vote on a resolution calling on Vice President Mike Pence and Cabinet officials to invoke the 25th Amendment, with a full House vote expected on Tuesday.

After that, Pence and the Cabinet would have 24 hours to act before the House would move toward impeachment.

During an interview on “60 Minutes” aired Sunday, Pelosi invoked the Watergate era when Republicans in the Senate told President Richard Nixon, “It’s over.”

“That’s what has to happen now,” she said.

With impeachment planning intensifying, Toomey said he doubted impeachment could be done before Biden is inaugurated, even though a growing number of lawmakers say that step is necessary to ensure Trump can never hold elected office again.

“I think the president has disqualified himself from ever, certainly, serving in office again,” Toomey said. “I don’t think he is electable in any way.”

Murkowski, long exasperated with the president, told the Anchorage Daily News on Friday that Trump simply “needs to get out.” A third, Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., did not go that far, but on Sunday he warned Trump to be “very careful” in his final days in office.

House Democrats were expected to introduce articles of impeachment on Monday. The strategy would be to condemn the president’s actions swiftly but delay an impeachment trial in the Senate for 100 days. That would allow President-elect Joe Biden to focus on other priorities as soon as he is inaugurated Jan. 20.

Rep. Jim Clyburn, the third-ranking House Democrat and a top Biden ally, laid out the ideas Sunday as the country came to grips with the siege at the Capitol by Trump loyalists trying to overturn the election results.

“Let’s give President-elect Biden the 100 days he needs to get his agenda off and running,” Clyburn said.

Corporate America began to show its reaction to the Capitol riots by tying them to campaign contributions.

Blue Cross Blue Shield Association’s CEO and President Kim Keck said it will not contribute to those lawmakers — all Republicans — who supported challenges to Biden’s Electoral College win. The group “will suspend contributions to those lawmakers who voted to undermine our democracy,” Kim said.

Citigroup did not single out lawmakers aligned with Trump’s effort to overturn the election, but said it would be pausing all federal political donations for the first three months of the year. Citi’s head of global government affairs, Candi Wolff, said in a Friday memo to employees, “We want you to be assured that we will not support candidates who do not respect the rule of law.”

Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has said an impeachment trial could not begin under the current calendar before Inauguration Day, Jan. 20.

While many have criticized Trump, Republicans have said that impeachment would be divisive in a time of unity.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said that instead of coming together, Democrats want to “talk about ridiculous things like ‘Let’s impeach a president’” with just days left in office.

Still, some Republicans might be supportive.

Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse said he would take a look at any articles that the House sent over. Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a frequent Trump critic, said he would “vote the right way” if the matter were put in front of him.

The Democratic effort to stamp Trump’s presidential record — for the second time — with the indelible mark of impeachment had advanced rapidly since the riot.

Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I, a leader of the House effort to draft impeachment articles accusing Trump of inciting insurrection, said Sunday that his group had 200-plus co-sponsors.

The articles, if passed by the House, could then be transmitted to the Senate for a trial, with senators acting as jurors to acquit or convict Trump. If convicted, Trump would be removed from office and succeeded by the vice president. It would be the first time a U.S. president had been impeached twice.

Potentially complicating Pelosi’s decision about impeachment was what it meant for Biden and the beginning of his presidency. While reiterating that he had long viewed Trump as unfit for office, Biden on Friday sidestepped a question about impeachment, saying what Congress did “is for them to decide.”

A violent and largely white mob of Trump supporters overpowered police, broke through security lines and windows and rampaged through the Capitol on Wednesday, forcing lawmakers to scatter as they were finalizing Biden’s victory over Trump in the Electoral College.

Toomey appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” and NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Clyburn was on “Fox News Sunday” and CNN. Kinzinger was on ABC’s “This Week,” Blunt was on CBS’ “Face the Nation” and Rubio was on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures.”

___

Superville reported from Wilmington, Delaware. Associated Press writers Alexandra Jaffe, Alan Fram and Zeke Miller contributed to this report.

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Canada on Verge of More COVID-19 Restrictions

Ottawa (CNN)- Canada continues to set new daily records for Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths as officials plead with Canadians to follow public health guidance aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus.

“Frankly, it’s frightening to see cases rise at home and around the world, day after day,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during a press conference in Ottawa on Friday, as he asked Canadians to follow health guidelines while vaccines are rolled out across the country.
“Quantities of both the Pfizer and the Moderna vaccine will scale up in February,” he said. “Remember that Canada has the most vaccines secured per capita in the world, which means that, by September, we will have enough vaccines for every Canadian who wants one.”
Some provincial leaders have said that federal authorities have not yet delivered enough doses to meet the demand for vaccinations for priority groups like healthcare workers and residents of long-term care centers.
According to government data, Canada has vaccinated less than 1% of its population, and most of those people have received just a single dose. Both vaccines developed by Moderna and Pfizer call for two doses to reach about 95% efficacy.
Anxiety over vaccinations comes as Canada’s second wave of the pandemic takes a grave toll on hospitals, with admissions now surpassing hospitalizations during the first wave.
According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, the country’s 7-day average for new daily cases stands at about 7,600. There are more than 4,300 people currently hospitalized and more than 800 patients in critical care — a record number.

Provinces lock down amid surge

Canada is experiencing a post-holiday surge, even though most Canadians were told not to gather with anyone outside their household for the holidays.
Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, has warned its hospital system is at a breaking point and it may soon become necessary to transfer patients from region to region as beds fill up.
“There’s going to be a wake-up call, a real wake-up call,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said during a press conference Friday.
The province of Quebec announced earlier this week that it would impose a strict lockdown for four weeks, including an 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew, beginning Saturday.
And Ontario could be next, Ford suggested, saying people need to “stay home to save lives.”
“If these basic measures continue to be ignored, the consequences will be more dire. The shutdown won’t end at the end of January and we will have to look at more extreme measures,” he said.
The province of Manitoba, like most other Canadian provinces, extended its lockdown for two weeks Friday, citing 355 new Covid-19 cases directly related to holiday gatherings. Officials noted that those positive cases could have potentially infected more than 1,900 other people, with some disclosing that they had been at gatherings with more than two dozen people.
For the first time during this pandemic, Canadian health officials in many provinces are beginning to exhaust surge capacity at hospitals, with Ontario in particular scrambling to create and staff more ICU beds.
“Today’s numbers are, to be frank, scary. It’s going the wrong way,” said Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Ontario’s associate chief medical officer of health, during a press conference Friday, as Ontario broke a single day record for new cases.
“We have more and more people hospitalized, more and more people on ventilators. Hospitals are starting to have to cut back on surgeries and other important procedures that require ICU. We have more and more outbreaks in congregate care, particularly long-term care. We have increased rates of positivity, even in children now,” she said.

CNN’s Dakin Andone contributed to this report.

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Cuba to Test its Corona Vaccine in Iran

Cuba said it has signed an accord with Iran to transfer the technology for its most advanced coronavirus vaccine candidate and carry out last-stage clinical trials in humans in Iran.

The allies are both under fierce US sanctions that exempt medicine yet often put foreign pharmaceutical companies off trading with them and as such they seek to be self-reliant. Both are also strapped for cash.

Iran launched human trials of its first domestic Covid-19 vaccine candidate late last month, while Cuba has four candidates currently in trials although none yet in humans.

Once its most advanced candidate, Soberana (Sovereign) 2, has completed Phase II trials that started on Dec. 22, it will be tested in human trials on around 150,000 people in Havana, officials have said, Reuters reported.

Yet the Caribbean country will need to conduct more human trials abroad, as given it does not have a high infection rate due to its successful management of the viral outbreak, they said. Iran, meanwhile, has been the worst-hit country in the Middle East.

Cuba’s Finlay Vaccine Institute said on Friday it has signed an accord with Iran’s Pasteur Institute to collaborate on testing of Soberana 2.

“This synergy will enable both countries to advance more rapidly in the immunization against the SARS-CoV-2 virus,” it said on its Twitter account.

Cuba says several countries have expressed interest in its coronavirus vaccines but this is the first such accord it has reached.

Kianoush Jahanpur, an Iranian health official, has said 50,000 volunteers would be recruited to carry out the Phase III clinical trials.

Technology transfer and joint production were preconditions for allowing human testing in the country, he added.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said he was “impressed” by the biotech achievements of its old ally Cuba in the fight against Covid-19 during a visit to Havana on a Latin American tour last November.

In addition to developing its own vaccine, Iran is participating in the COVAX scheme that aims to secure fair access to Covid-19 vaccines for low- and middle-income countries.

However, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Friday banned the Iranian government from importing Covid-19 vaccines from the United States and Britain, calling the western powers “untrustworthy”.

Cuba has not talked of importing vaccines from elsewhere and said it intends to start vaccinating its population against Covid-19 with its own vaccine in the first half of the year.

 

Coronavirus in Iran

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Capitol assault a more sinister attack than first appeared

By JAY REEVES, LISA MASCARO and CALVIN WOODWARDan hour ago
Trump supporters try to break through a police barrier, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Under battle flags bearing Donald Trump’s name, the Capitol’s attackers pinned a bloodied police officer in a doorway, his twisted face and screams captured on video. They mortally wounded another officer with a blunt weapon and body-slammed a third over a railing into the crowd.

“Hang Mike Pence!” the insurrectionists chanted as they pressed inside, beating police with pipes. They demanded House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s whereabouts, too. They hunted any and all lawmakers: “Where are they?” Outside, makeshift gallows stood, complete with sturdy wooden steps and the noose. Guns and pipe bombs had been stashed in the vicinity.

Only days later is the extent of the danger from one of the darkest episodes in American democracy coming into focus. The sinister nature of the assault has become evident, betraying the crowd as a force determined to occupy the inner sanctums of Congress and run down leaders — Trump’s vice president and the Democratic House speaker among them.

This was not just a collection of Trump supporters with MAGA bling caught up in a wave.

That revelation came in real time to Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., who briefly took over proceedings in the House chamber as the mob closed in Wednesday and the speaker, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, was spirited to safer quarters moments before everything went haywire.

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“I saw this crowd of people banging on that glass screaming,” McGovern told The Associated Press on Sunday. “Looking at their faces, it occurred to me, these aren’t protesters. These are people who want to do harm.”

“What I saw in front of me,” he said, “was basically home-grown fascism, out of control.”

Pelosi said Sunday “the evidence is that it was a well-planned, organized group with leadership and guidance and direction. And the direction was to go get people.” She did not elaborate on that point in a ”60 Minutes” interview on CBS.

The scenes of rage, violence and agony are so vast that the whole of it may still be beyond comprehension. But with countless smartphone videos emerging from the scene, much of it from gloating insurrectionists themselves, and more lawmakers recounting the chaos that was around them, contours of the uprising are increasingly coming into relief.

___

THE STAGING

The mob got explicit marching orders from Trump and still more encouragement from the president’s men.

“Fight like hell,” Trump exhorted his partisans at the staging rally. “Let’s have trial by combat,” implored his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, whose attempt to throw out election results in trial by courtroom failed. It’s time to “start taking down names and kicking ass,” said Republican Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama.

Criminals pardoned by Trump, among them Roger Stone and Michael Flynn, came forward at rallies on the eve of the attack to tell the crowds they were fighting a battle between good and evil and they were on the side of good. On Capitol Hill, Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri gave a clenched-fist salute to the hordes outside the Capitol as he pulled up to press his challenge of the election results.

The crowd was pumped. Until a little after 2 p.m., Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was at the helm for the final minutes of decorum in partnership with Pence, who was serving his ceremonial role presiding over the process.

Both men had backed Trump’s agenda and excused or ignored his provocations for four years, but now had no mechanism or will to subvert the election won by Biden. That placed them high among the insurrectionists’ targets, no different in the minds of the mob than the “socialists.”

“If this election were overturned by mere allegations from the losing side, our democracy would enter a death spiral,” McConnell told his chamber, not long before things spiraled out of control in what lawmakers call the “People’s House.”

___

THE ASSAULT

Thousands had swarmed the Capitol. They charged into police and metal barricades outside the building, shoving and hitting officers in their way. The assault quickly pushed through the vastly outnumbered police line; officers ran down one man and pummeled him.

In the melee outside, near the structure built for Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20, a man threw a red fire extinguisher at the helmeted head of a police officer. Then he picked up a bullhorn and threw it at officers, too.

The identity of the officer could not immediately be confirmed. But Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who was wounded in the chaos, died the next night; officials say he had been hit in the head with a fire extinguisher.

Shortly after 2 p.m., Capitol Police sent an alert telling workers in a House office building to head to underground transportation tunnels that criss-cross the complex. Minutes later, Pence was taken from the Senate chamber to a secret location and police announced the lockdown of the Capitol. “You may move throughout the building(s) but stay away from exterior windows and doors,” said the email blast. “If you are outside, seek cover.”

At 2:15 p.m., the Senate recessed its Electoral College debate and a voice was heard over the chamber’s audio system: “The protesters are in the building.” The doors of the House chamber were barricaded and lawmakers inside it were told they may need to duck under their chairs or relocate to cloakrooms off the House floor because the mob has breached the Capitol Rotunda.

Even before the mob reached sealed doors of the House chamber, Capitol Police pulled Pelosi away from the podium, she told “60 Minutes.”

“I said, ‘No, I want to be here,’”she said. “And they said, ‘Well, no, you have to leave.’ I said, ‘No, I’m not leaving.’ They said, ‘No, you must leave.’” So she did.

At 2:44 p.m., as lawmakers inside the House chamber prepared to be evacuated, a gunshot was heard from right outside, in the Speaker’s Lobby on the other side of the barricaded doors. That’s when Ashli Babbit, wearing a Trump flag like a cape, was shot to death on camera as insurrectionists railed, her blood pooling on the white marble floor.

The Air Force veteran from California had climbed through a broken window into the Speaker’s Lobby before a police officer’s gunshot felled her.

Back in the House chamber, a woman in the balcony was seen and heard screaming. Why she was doing that only became clear later when video circulated. She was screaming a prayer.

Within about 10 minutes of the shooting, House lawmakers and staff members who had been cowering during the onslaught, terror etched into their faces, had been taken from the chamber and gallery to a secure room. The mob broke into Pelosi’s offices while members of her staff hid in one of the rooms of her suite.

“The staff went under the table barricaded the door, turned out the lights, and were silent in the dark,” she said. “Under the table for two and a half hours.”

On the Senate side, Capitol Police had circled the chamber and ordered all staff and reporters and any nearby senators into the chamber and locked it down. At one point about 200 people were inside; an officer armed with what appeared to be a semi-automatic weapon stood between McConnell and the Democratic leader, Sen. Chuck Schumer.

Authorities then ordered an evacuation and rushed everyone inside to a secure location, the Senate parliamentary staff scooping up the boxes holding the Electoral Collage certificates.

Although the Capitol’s attackers had been sent with Trump’s exhortation to fight, they appeared in some cases to be surprised that they had actually made it in.

When they breached the abandoned Senate chamber, they milled around, rummaged through papers, sat at desks and took videos and pictures. One of them climbed to the dais and yelled, “Trump won that election!” Two others were photographed carrying flex cuffs typically used for mass arrests.

But outside the chamber, the mob’s hunt was still on for lawmakers. “Where are they?” people could be heard yelling.

That question could have also applied to reinforcements — where were they?

At about 5:30 p.m., once the National Guard had arrived to supplement the overwhelmed Capitol Police force, a full-on effort began to get the attackers out.

Heavily armed officers brought in as reinforcements started using tear gas in a coordinated fashion to get people moving toward the door, then combed the halls for stragglers. As darkness fell, they pushed the mob farther out onto the plaza and lawn, using officers in riot gear in full shields and clouds of tear gas, flash-bangs and percussion grenades.

At 7:23 p.m., officials announced that people hunkered down in two nearby congressional office buildings could leave “if anyone must.”

Within the hour, the Senate had resumed its work and the House followed, returning the People’s House to the control of the people’s representatives. Lawmakers affirmed Biden’s election victory early the next morning, shell-shocked by the catastrophic failure of security.

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Ca., told AP on Sunday it was as if Capitol Police “were naked” against the attackers. “It turns out it was the worst kind of non-security anybody could ever imagine.”

Said McGovern: “I was in such disbelief this could possibly happen. These domestic terrorists were in the People’s House, desecrating the People’s House, destroying the People’s House.”

___

Associated Press writers Dustin Weaver in Washington and Michael Casey in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this report. Reeves reported from Birmingham, Alabama.

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Cases Surge: Mass Corona Vaccination Centres Open in UK

Elderly people and healthcare workers have begun to be immunised against COVID-19 at seven new mass vaccination sites across England.

The new centres in Bristol, Surrey (Epsom), London, Newcastle, Manchester, Stevenage and Birmingham will have the capacity to vaccinate four people a minute.

Moira Edwards, 88, was the first to receive a dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine at Epsom racecourse and said it was “extremely important” to get it.

The centres will be joined by hundreds more GP sites and a small number of new pharmacy-led centres this week, taking the total number of places offering the coronavirus vaccine to around 1,200, according to NHS England.

But with the number of COVID-19 patients in hospital at a record high and the NHS buckling under the pressure, government ministers are doing all they can to get people to stay at home.

They are considering tightening the national lockdown in England even further, according to reports in The Daily Telegraph, banning people from exercising with people they don’t live with.

The paper claims a government source said the current rules around physical activity are “being used as an excuse for people to go for a coffee in the park with their friends.

Every adult in the UK will be offered a coronavirus vaccination by the autumn, the Health Secretary has said.

Speaking to BBC1’s The Andrew Marr Show, Matt Hancock said the UK would have more than enough to vaccinate everyone, with 350 million doses on order across various vaccines and candidates.

He said the vaccines would still be offered “according to need”, first of all targeting the elderly and people with underlying health issues.

But Mr Hancock stressed: “Every adult will be offered a vaccine by the autumn.”

He said the Government was “accelerating the rollout” of the vaccine, with more people vaccinated in the last week than in the whole of December.

So far, more than 80,000 people have died from coronavirus, with the total number of cases in the UK now exceeding three million, at 3,017,409.

On target

Covid-19 vaccines being prepared for Health and social care workers at the Life Science Centre International Centre for Life in Newcastle, one of the seven mass vaccination centres, which will open on Monday to the general public as the government continues to ramp up the vaccination programme against Covid-19. PA Photo. Picture date: Saturday January 9, 2021. See PA story HEALTH Coronavirus. Photo credit should read: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire
Covid-19 vaccines being prepared for Health and social care workers at the Life Science Centre International Centre for Life in Newcastle, one of the seven mass vaccination centres, which will open on Monday to the general public as the government continues to ramp up the vaccination programme against Covid-19 (Photo: Owen Humphreys/PA)

Referencing the vaccination rollout, Mr Hancock added: “I really hope that everybody will take that up, and the take up so far has been absolutely fantastic – and the take up of the flu jab this year has been over 80 per cent… which is good news and a good indicator.”

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Arrested woman pleads innocence to cameras

A woman has been charged in relation to the alleged murder of her neighbour, whose body was discovered inside a South Coogee unit in Sydney's east just before Christmas.

Retired solicitor Peter McCarthy, 77, was found dead with severe head injuries inside his Elphinstone Road, on December 20.

Today homicide detectives arrested Narelle Fiona Smith, 46, in the unit block next door to where Mr McCarthy lived.

READ MORE: Police release last CCTV footage of South Coogee man found murdered

As Ms Smith was led away in handcuffs she told 9News she had nothing to do with his death.  

"I didn't do this," Ms Smith said.

"Peter was my friend, I was there on my birthday," she said.

Ms Smith was taken to Maroubra police station where she was charged with murder and dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception.

Neighbour Michelle Turneley said she was relieved police had made an arrest.

"Peter was a nice old guy, and he was very frail," Ms Turneley said.

A 46-year-old woman has been arrested and is expected to be charged after the alleged murder of an elderly man in South Coogee.

"I'm glad they've got someone because Peter didn't deserve that."

Mr McCarthy was last seen on security footage leaving Club York in Sydney on December 16.

He visited the club every day and after failing to show up for several days, his ex-wife went to his unit to check on him on December 20.

She discovered Mr McCarthy dead, his phone and satchel nowhere to be seen.

"Mr McCarthy suffered severe head and facial injuries but I won't go into circumstances of what was used," NSW Police Homicide Commander Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty told media this afternoon.

"There's very significant forensic and physical evidence to make this a strong and compelling case," he said.

Police informed Mr McCarthy's family of the arrest as Ms Smith was held in custody at Maroubra police station.

"It's mixed emotions for them, they've just gone through Christmas without a father and a grandfather," Superintendent Doherty said.

Ms Smith will appear in court tomorrow.

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Explainer: What is QAnon and how did it start?

Q-Anon banners were unfurled and hoisted high last week as the US Capitol was breached by a violent mob that left five people dead.

Several prominent supporters of the extremist movement were spotted inside the building.

Allegedly among those was "QAnon Shaman" Jacob Anthony Chansley.

Chansley was arrested yesterday. Authorities believe he is the man wearing a painted face, fur hat and horns; whose picture has since become synonymous with the riots.

A protester is seen inside the US Capitol Building.

So, what is QAnon?

QAnon all stems from a completely unfounded conspiracy theory about a global "Deep State" cabal of satanic pedophile elites.

According to the believers, President Donald Trump is waging a secret war against the Satan-worshipping paedophiles in government, business and the media.

READ MORE: How a dangerous virtual cult is going global

QAnon believers have been anticipating a day of reckoning led by Mr Trump, when thousands of members of the cabal will be arrested, including prominent Democrats such as Hillary Clinton and Hollywood celebrities

QAnon followers have also falsely claimed Robert Mueller's inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 US election was really an elaborate cover story so he and Mr Trump could work together to expose paedophiles.

How did it all start?

In October 2017, someone put up a post on the message board 4chan.

The user claimed to have a level of US security approval known as "Q clearance" and signed off with the letter Q.

Q claimed to have access to classified information involving the Trump administration and its opponents in the US.

A man wearing a QAnon shirt jeers at a CNN reporter at a Donald Trump rally.

Three people then took the original Q post and spread it across multiple media platforms, according to NBC News.

What does Trump have to say about QAnon?

QAnon adherents began appearing at Trump re-election campaign rallies in August 2018.

While Mr Trump has never officially endorsed the conspiracy theory, he has described QAnon activists as "people who love our country" and said he appreciates their support.

"I know nothing about it," Mr Trump said of QAnon movement in a televised Town Hall event last October.

"I do know they are very much against pedophilia. They fight it very hard, but I know nothing about it," he added.

Donald Trump

The president's response was met with jubilation online from QAnon followers who saw it as a ringing endorsement.

Mr Trump has, whether knowingly or not, retweeted QAnon supporters many times.

Before the election his son Eric Trump posted a QAnon meme on Instagram.

More wild QAnon conspiracy theories

To delve into the world of QAnon is to go down a rabbit role of outlandish, and often contradictory, conspiracy theories.

Many of the prophecies put forward by QAnon followers never came to pass, but that has seemingly done little to dissuade the true believers.

The Atlantic executive editor, Adrienne LaFrance, wrote an in-depth analysis of the movement called "The Prophecies Of Q."

LaFrance said many QAnon believers were obsessed with John F. Kennedy Jr. – who was killed in a plane crash in 1999.

John F. Kennedy, Jr., and his wife Carolyn Bessette pictured before their wedding in 1995.

"One idea is that he didn't actually die in a plane crash but rather that Hillary Clinton had him killed because she was a political opponent," LaFrance said.

"Another idea is that he faked his own death and is actually alive and a secret Trump supporter.

"For a while, people were saying that he was going to reveal himself as Trump's running mate in this presidential election."

Unsurprisingly, layer upon layer of fabrications have been weaved into QAnon's messaging around the coronavirus.

At one point, many QAnon believers were fixated on a yellow tie Mr Trump wore to some of his coronavirus briefings, LaFrance said.

Some QAnon believers saw a yellow tie worn by Mr Trump as a secret message.

"(At) one of President Trump's daily briefings in the spring at a time when the death toll was really spiking, President Trump wears a yellow tie.

"And people seize on this in the Q crowd and say that yellow is a colour that, in maritime flags, signifies an all-clear. And therefore, the yellow tie is a signal that everything is OK and the virus isn't real."

How many people believe in this stuff?

While the conspiracy theories forming the basis of QAnon may sound ridiculous and far-fetched, its audience is growing rapidly.

As Corncordia University academic Marc Andre Argentino – who has studied the group for the past two years – pointed out in a piece for The Conversation, the 2020 pandemic has provided fertile ground for QAnon.

The growth of QAnon membership in Facebook groups and pages between January and September 2020, courtesy of CrowdTangle.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has played a significant role in popularizing the QAnon movement," Mr Argentino wrote.

"Facebook data since the start of 2020 shows QAnon membership grew by 581 per cent — most of which occurred after the United States closed its borders last March as part of its coronavirus containment strategy."