Melania Trump faces backlash after revealing new White House tennis pavilion

First lady’s announcement sparked a slew of Twitter responses including a terse ‘282,345’ from Washington DC journalist David Corn

Melania Trump drew backlash on Monday after announcing that a new tennis pavilion is set to be unveiled on the south grounds of the White House, as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations continue to surge across the country.

“It is my hope that this private space will function as both a place of leisure and gathering for future first families,” the first lady said in a written statement on Monday, which came just weeks before the Trump family turns the White House over to his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, who handily won the 2020 presidential election.

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Jerrold Post, CIA psychiatrist who profiled Trump, dies of Covid aged 86

  • Family salutes ‘insatiable, roving curiosity, probing empathy’
  • Pioneer in field predicted Trump would not concede defeat

Jerrold M Post, a psychiatrist who profiled dictators for the CIA and who declared Donald Trump a “dangerous, destructive charismatic leader”, has died of Covid-19. He was 86.

Related: 'Saddam, tell me about your mum'

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Rudy Giuliani has coronavirus, Donald Trump says

Multiple US media reports say the lawyer is in hospital, as Arizona closes state legislature for a week in wake of his recent visit

Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, has tested positive for Covid-19, the president tweeted on Sunday, prompting Arizona to close its legislature after the lawyer visited the state last week.

Related: Trump's attacks on election integrity 'disgust me', says senior Georgia Republican

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Trump’s attacks on election integrity ‘disgust me’, says senior Georgia Republican

Donald Trump’s attacks on Republican officials in Georgia and insistence his defeat by Joe Biden must be overturned are disgusting, the Republican lieutenant governor of the southern state said on Sunday.

Related: Just 27 of 249 Republicans in Congress willing to say Trump lost, survey finds

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‘If I lost, I’d be a very gracious loser’: Trump pushes false fraud claims in Georgia – video

Donald Trump campaigned for two Republican senators in Georgia on Saturday, at a rally that some in the party feared could end up hurting their chances by focusing on his efforts to reverse his own election defeat. In his first rally appearance since he lost to Joe Biden, Trump repeated baseless claims of widespread fraud in the presidential election. The crucial January runoff will determine which party controls the Senate

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Iran nuclear deal: Saudi Arabia says Gulf states must be consulted if US revives accord

Prince Faisal bin Farhan warns kingdom and its regional allies’ involvement is only way to achieve ‘sustainable’ outcome

Saudi Arabia says the Gulf states must be consulted if a US nuclear agreement with Iran is revived, warning it is the only path towards a sustainable agreement.

President-elect Joe Biden has signalled he will return the US to a nuclear accord with Iran and that he still backed the 2015 deal negotiated under Barack Obama, from which Donald Trump withdrew.

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Trump rails against election result at rally ahead of crucial Georgia Senate runoff

President falsely claims he was ‘cheated’ and calls for people to vote in coming Senate races that will decide control of chamber

Donald Trump has held his first political rally since losing the presidential election, delivering an incoherent speech laced with baseless conspiracies theories about election fraud and attacks on Republican state officials in Georgia who have refused to help him subvert the results.

In front of a crowd of thousands of mostly maskless, non-socially distanced supporters in south Georgia, Trump repeatedly claimed, falsely, that he had won the presidential election, and called for those in government with “courage and wisdom” to help him reverse the result.

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Just 26 of 249 Republicans in Congress willing to say Trump lost, survey finds

Only 26 of 249 Republicans in Congress are willing to admit Joe Biden won the presidential election, a survey found on Saturday.

Related: Trump heads for Georgia but claims of fraud may damage Senate Republicans

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Trump heads for Georgia but claims of fraud may damage Senate Republicans

Donald Trump will return to the campaign trail on Saturday – not, notionally at least, in his quixotic and doomed attempt to deny defeat by Joe Biden, but in support of two Republicans who face January run-offs which will decide control of the US Senate.

Related: I beg your pardon? Does Trump really plan to absolve himself and his family?

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Trump’s latest batch of election lawsuits fizzle as dozens of losses pile up

President no closer to overturning result, with just one small victory in a month’s worth of cases

For a man obsessed with winning, Donald Trump is losing a lot.

In the month since the election, the president and his legal team have come no closer in their frantic efforts to overturn the result, notching up dozens of losses in courts across the country, with more rolling in by the day.

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US faces grim winter as Covid cases and deaths set new records again – live

The need for federal guidance and money for states to deploy vaccines is real and urgent. Here’s a bit more from NBC News, which reports the bulk of planning for how to distribute the vaccine is still not finished nine months into the pandemic.

Yet beyond the guidelines advising states about how to deploy their vaccines — and a large Defense Department operation to deliver them — the Trump administration hasn’t prepared for a major federal role, a lack of planning that is causing significant anxiety among state and local health officials.

The significant checklist of unmet federal responsibilities underscores the challenges ahead for President-elect Joe Biden, who inherits most of the burden for executing a successful nationwide campaign to vaccinate all Americans, potentially without the billions of dollars in additional funding that will be needed.

One of the major sticking points of the relief bill is liability protections, especially for hard-hit long-term care homes. Although long-term care homes represent less than 1% of the US population, residents and staff represent 40% of Covid-19 deaths.

“We cannot sign off on Mitch McConnell’s idea of, like, a blanket liability, which will open up the floodgates to a whole host of bad conduct, putting in danger the American people,” said Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., a Pelosi deputy. “So nothing is agreed upon until everything is agreed upon. But we’re working hard to arrive at a bipartisan agreement.”

New: Capitol Hill is buzzing with fresh optimism about a Covid-19 relief deal.

Party leaders are converging on a price tag and negotiating after months of deadlock.

But some policy disputes linger—primarily on state/local aid and liability protections.https://t.co/mEqQfKK6GL

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China hits back at US spy chief’s ‘greatest threat to freedom’ claim

Chinese official says article labelling it as biggest threat to democracy since WW2 is ‘concoction of lies’

China has rejected as a “concoction of lies” an incendiary article by the US’s most senior intelligence official, who labelled China the biggest threat to democracy and freedom since the second world war.

In a Wall Street Journal column, John Ratcliffe, the US director of national intelligence, said China was bent on world domination and the US needed to prepare for an “open-ended period of confrontation”.

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US sets records for Covid deaths and hospitalizations as it nears 14m cases – live updates

Senator Marsha Blackburn invokes Chinese stereotype a racist tweet

Republican senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee received swift backlash Thursday for a racist tweet invoking the history of China to allude to a stereotype of cheating.

China has a 5,000 year history of cheating and stealing. Some things will never change...

While recognizing Republican criticism, Donald Trump still refused to back down from earlier calls to repeal Section 230, a provision of the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that protects tech firms from liability over third-party content. In a tweet, the president called it a “must.”

Looks like certain Republican Senators are getting cold feet with respect to the termination of Big Tech’s Section 230, a National Security and Election Integrity MUST. For years, all talk, no action. Termination must be put in Defense Bill!!!

.@realDonaldTrump I fully support you on this. Please don’t back down. The freedom and future of our country is at stake. https://t.co/A5EPgvAuqX

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Donald Trump releases video statement repeating baseless vote fraud claims

  • President claims electoral system ‘under coordinated assault’
  • Justice department found no evidence of significant fraud

Facebook and Twitter have placed warnings on a 46-minute video statement released by Donald Trump on Wednesday, in which the president repeats baseless claims of voter fraud in November’s election, which he lost to Joe Biden.

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Covid deaths at highest level since April as Biden pledges to ‘fight like hell’ for US investment – live

Several properties owned by the Trump Organization, and by Kushner Companies, owned by the family of Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, received millions of dollars in Paycheck Protection Program loans, NBC News reports.

Data from the program were released last night after several news organizations sued the federal government to release the data from the PPP and Economist Injury Disaster Loans.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger stood by comments one of his officials made to Donald Trump yesterday, saying that the president is “inspiring people to commit potential acts of violence” by continuing to call the results of the election into question despite multiple recounts.

Gabriel Sterling, a Republican who helped to oversee the implementation of the state’s new voting system, pleaded with Trump during a press conference yesterday that the president stop his rhetoric for fear of violence.

"It's about time more people are out there speaking with truth," Brad Raffensperger says.

Also:

"Our investigators have seen no widespread fraud, either." pic.twitter.com/uLT1u4BK6E

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US justice department investigates alleged ‘bribery for pardon’ scheme at White House

Heavily redacted court filing, which does not name Trump, comes as president reportedly is considering sweeping pardons

An alleged “bribery for pardon” scheme at the White House is under investigation by the justice department, according to a court filing unsealed on Tuesday.

The heavily redacted document does not name Donald Trump or other individuals and leaves many unanswered questions, but comes amid media reports that the US president is considering sweeping pardons before he leaves office next month.

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Donald Trump suggests 2024 presidential bid: ‘I’ll see you in four years’

President makes comments to Republicans at a White House reception, where video shows dozens of people crammed together without masks

Donald Trump has floated the idea of running for president again in 2024 at a holiday reception at the White House on Tuesday evening.

“It’s been an amazing four years,” Trump told the crowd, which included many Republican National Committee members. “We’re trying to do another four years. Otherwise, I’ll see you in four years.”

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‘It has to stop’: Georgia election official condemns Trump after worker’s death threat – video

Georgia's voting system implementation manager, Gabriel Sterling, has criticised President Donald Trump for not condemning threats of violence against election workers in the state. Sterling, a Republican official who oversees voting systems in Georgia, called on Trump at a news conference to 'stop inspiring people to commit potential acts of violence'. He warned that 'someone's going to get shot, someone's going to get killed, and it's not right'

William Barr: no evidence of voter fraud that would change election outcome

Barr says no evidence of fraud that would change US election outcome – live

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US justice department investigating ‘bribery-for-pardon’ scheme – live

What is it about the French Laundry?

Another California politician, San Francisco mayor London Breed, is under fire after it was revealed that she attended a birthday party at the three-star Michelin restaurant in Napa Valley – just one night after governor Gavin Newsom did the same.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to shorten its recommendation for how long individuals should quarantine after being exposed to someone with Covid-19, the AP reports.

Since the pandemic began, the CDC has recommended that individuals quarantine for 14 days after exposure. The new recommendations, which could be released later tonight, will recommend that individuals quarantine for 10 days after exposure, or seven days if they test negative for the disease.

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Trump lawyer: ex-election security chief Krebs should be ‘taken out and shot’

Joe DiGenova condemned for ‘mob attorney’ remark made on podcast shown on conservative Newsmax TV

A former head of US election security who said Donald Trump’s defeat by Joe Biden was not subject to voter fraud should be “taken out at dawn and shot”, a Trump campaign lawyer said.

Related: Trump's fraud claims undermine democracy, ex-US election security chief says

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