The constitution demands that electors formally cast votes for president – but what is the electoral college?
Yes, Joe Biden has won and all US states have certified their election results. But the constitution demands that the electoral college formally cast its vote for president. The constitution requires “electors” to cast those votes – 538 such electors make up the electoral college.
Continue reading...Analysis: eavesdropping on high-value targets is labour intensive so hackers may not have made most of access
If there is one silver lining to the months-long global cyber-espionage campaign discovered when a prominent cybersecurity firm learned it had been breached, it might be that the sheer numbers of potentially compromised entities offers them some protection.
By compromising one piece of security software – a security tool called Orion developed by the Texan company SolarWinds – the attackers gained access to an extraordinary array of potential targets in the US alone: more than 425 of the Fortune 500 list of top companies; all of the top 10 telecommunications companies; all five branches of the military; and all of the top five accounting firms.
Continue reading...Duke’s spokeswoman declines to comment on report contradicting his claim in Newsnight interview
Prince Andrew’s spokeswoman has refused to comment on a report that he stayed in the New York mansion of the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in April 2001, despite the duke denying doing so in his infamous Newsnight interview.
The refusal to repeat the denial comes after the Daily Mail uncovered a fax that said the prince had stayed at a “private address in New York” on 11 April and its sources confirmed this was Epstein’s £60m home in Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
Continue reading...Lindsey Boylan tweeted that Cuomo ‘sexually harassed me for years. Many saw it, and watched’
A former aide to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo now running for Manhattan borough president accused him of sexual harassment in a series of tweets on Sunday, saying he made inappropriate comments about her appearance.
The allegation comes as the 63-year-old Democrat is reported to be under consideration for attorney general under Joe Biden.
Continue reading...Kelly Loeffler spokesman disavows photo of her posing with white supremacist Chester Doles at campaign event
The campaign of the Georgia Republican senator Kelly Loeffler is disavowing a photo circulating on social media of her posing with a longtime white supremacist at a recent campaign event, with less than a month to go until the runoff elections that will determine the balance of the US Senate.
Loeffler did not know who Chester Doles was when she took a picture with him, her campaign spokesman, Stephen Lawson, said on Sunday. The picture was taken on Friday at a campaign event in Dawsonville, Georgia.
Continue reading...FBI to investigate after treasury and commerce departments believed to have been targeted
Suspected Russian hackers have carried out the biggest cyber-raid against the US for more than five years, US officials have said, targeting key government networks including the Treasury and commerce departments.
The hackers were able to monitor internal email traffic and may have compromised other government bodies, in what is being described as a highly sophisticated state-level attack. The situation is so grave it led on Saturday to a national security council meeting at the White House.
Continue reading...From December 2019, when an unknown virus was found in China, to the release of vaccines for Covid-19 – here are the points where momentum shifted
From December 2019, when an unknown virus was found in China, to the release of vaccines for Covid-19, it has been an extraordinary year. Here’s how the momentum shifted
Continue reading...Dutch PM to speak to the nation tonight; ministers to recommend restrictions are extended in Poland
The US has reported 16,113,148 cases of new coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic, with 1,476,230 cases reported in the last seven days.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Monday that 17,184 people had died from Covid-19 in the previous week, taking the total US death toll so far to 298,266.
Turkish president has said Turkey will impose a five-day full lockdown beginning on 31 December, as official data showed new daily coronavirus deaths hit a record 229.
Recep Tayip Erdoğan, speaking after a cabinet meeting, said the stay-home order would begin at 9pm on New Year’s Eve and run to 4 January.
Continue reading...Gunman died in hospital after shooting at Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine
A man has been shot dead by police after opening fire from the steps of New York City’s Cathedral Church of St John the Divine just after an outdoor choir performance.
New York police department spokesman, Sergeant Edward Riley, said the gunman had fired on police, but no officers or bystanders were believed to have been injured in the late-afternoon violence on Manhattan’s upper west side.
Continue reading...Jill Biden says writer of opinion article is ‘diminishing’ the achievements of women as presidential transition team demands apology
The Wall Street Journal has come under a torrent of denunciation for publishing a “sexist” opinion article that calls Jill Biden, the first lady-in-waiting, “kiddo”, and questions her right to use “Dr” in front of her name.
The article, written by a former adjunct professor at Northwestern University Joseph Epstein, purports to offer Biden “a bit of advice”. Opening on the provocative note of calling her “Madame (sic) First Lady – Mrs Biden – Jill – kiddo”, the author goes on to recommend that she drop the honorific of “Dr” before her name.
Continue reading...Formality to cement outcome of election takes on real political significance as Trump continues efforts to undermine results
Donald Trump on Monday could suffer a withering blow to his increasingly hopeless effort to overturn the results of the US presidential election when 538 members of the electoral college will cast their ballots and formally send Joe Biden to the White House.
Under the arcane formula which America has followed since the first election in 1789, Monday’s electoral college vote will mark the official moment when Biden becomes the 46th president-in-waiting. Electors, including political celebrities such as both Bill and Hillary Clinton, will gather in state capitols across the country to cement the outcome of this momentous race.
Continue reading...Scientists find aberrant immune system in patients with virus could also be cause of ‘long Covid’
Dramatic levels of “friendly fire” from the immune system may drive severe Covid-19 disease and leave patients with “long Covid” – when medical problems persist for a significant time after the virus has been beaten – scientists have said.
Researchers at Yale University found that Covid-19 patients had large numbers of misguided antibodies in their blood that targeted the organs, tissues and the immune system itself, rather than fighting off the invading virus.
Continue reading...Germany introduces new restrictions to combat spread of virus; Turkey changes counting method, almost doubling cases
Here are some striking images of Dr. Luigi Cavanna visiting his patients in their homes in small towns and rural areas in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy.
He checks his patients’ oxygen levels, uses ultrasound to scan their lungs and tests them and their relatives for coronavirus.
Residents in Jersey care homes are receiving Covid vaccinations a day earlier than expected, the island’s government has announced.
Officials said the government made the call to start on Sunday rather than Monday “in view of the positive Covid cases in care homes”, which have seen a recent 400% surge, from four on Thursday to 19 by Saturday.
Continue reading...States will soon begin distributing a vaccine with plans that vary widely, lack federal funding and are often opaque
Eleven hospitals in Kentucky will receive doses of a Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer, perhaps as soon as Monday. Dr Nichelle Jadhav’s hospital is not one of them and she is confused. And she is not alone.
Continue reading...Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is using her millennial’s instinct for social media and her star quality to get her message across
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Or talk up a storm about the minimum wage, healthcare and the existential struggle for democracy.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s latest Instagram live stream found the youngest woman ever elected to the US Congress standing at a chopping board with two lemons and a plastic jug as she expounded her political philosophy.
Continue reading...Far-right groups, including Proud Boys, clashed with counter-protesters after a largely peaceful march against US president-elect Joe Biden’s election victory on Saturday.
Donald Trump made three passes over the cheering protesters in the Marine One helicopter on his way to the New York annual Army-Navy football game before the violence began.
Trump supporters are alleging widespread voter fraud during the 3 November election without evidence.
Continue reading...Four people reportedly stabbed and 23 arrested in the aftermath of a march to denounce Joe Biden’s election victory
Violence has broken out in the streets of Washington DC after far-right groups clashed with counter-protesters in the aftermath of a march by conservatives protesting against US president-elect Joe Biden’s election victory.
The trouble flared as darkness fell and crowds began to disperse in the wake of a largely peaceful demonstration on Saturday by Trump supporters who allege without evidence that the 3 November election was tainted by fraud.
Continue reading...Supporters continue to insist election was ‘stolen’ even as electoral college prepares to confirm Joe Biden’s victory
Donald Trump lost a federal court challenge on Saturday in Wisconsin while judges said yet another case being fought there “smacks of racism”.
Continue reading...Pride, the first black inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame, died from complications related to coronavirus
The singer Charley Pride, the first black superstar of country music, died on Saturday at the age of 86.
His publicist confirmed that Pride died on 12 December in Dallas, Texas from complications related to coronavirus.
Continue reading...Firefighters are often thrust into frontline health emergencies. During the pandemic, they’ve paid an especially high price
As a boy, Robert Weber chased the blazing lights and roaring sirens of fire engines down the streets of Brooklyn, New York.
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