Trump news – live: Latest updates as McConnell and Pelosi homes vandalised over Covid checks

Ted Cruz will lead 11 GOP senators to demand an ‘emergency audit’ of the election lead to Congress on 

The group of Republicans say they may object to the 6 January certification of Joe Biden’s win until there may be an emergency 10-day audit of the outcomes by an election fee.

Mr Cruz is being joined by Ron Johnson, James Lankford, Steve Daines, John Kennedy,  Marsha Blackburn, Mike Braun, in addition to Senators.-elect Cynthia Lummis, Roger Marshall, Invoice Hagerty, and Tommy Tuberville.

The US has successfully banned nameless shell firms from working within the nation with a brand new anti-corruption regulation, included within the annual Nationwide Defence Authorisation Act.

Advocacy group Transparency Worldwide referred to as the brand new regulation “historic” and “one of the crucial vital anti-corruption measures ever handed by the US Congress”.

Did you do not forget that in 2020, individuals thought World Warfare III would possibly materialise from escalated tensions between the US and Iran; Donald Trump was impeached; and Joe Biden advised the president to “shut up”?

Griffin Connolly and John T. Bennett take you thru the wildest political moments within the US prior to now 12 months:

One in all 4 former Blackwater contractors pardoned by president Donald Trump has defended his actions throughout a 2007 capturing rampage in Baghdad that killed greater than a dozen Iraqi civilians.

Evan Liberty advised The Related Press in his first interview since being launched from jail: “I remorse any harmless lack of life, however I’m simply assured in how I acted and I can principally really feel peace with that.”

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Iranian overseas minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has warned president Donald Trump on Saturday to not be “trapped” by an alleged Israeli plot to impress a battle by way of assaults on US forces in Iraq.

The US blames Iran-backed militia for normal assaults on us amenities in Iraq, together with close to the US embassy – although no identified Iran-backed teams have claimed accountability.

Mr Zarif mentioned on the anniversary of the assassination of prime Iranian normal Qassem Soleimani by US drone strike in Iraq that “Israeli agent-provocateurs” are behind plans for assaults towards Individuals.

He wrote in a tweet: “New intelligence from Iraq point out(s) that Israeli agent-provocateurs are plotting assaults towards Individuals placing an outgoing Trump in a bind with a faux casus belli (act justifying battle).

“Watch out of a entice, @realDonaldTrump. Any fireworks will backfire badly.”

Senate Majority Chief Mitch McConnell’s house in Louisville, Kentucky, has been vandalised, a day after a house belonging to Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi was additionally sprayed with graffiti.

The vandalism on each properties referred to the Senate’s rejection of US$2,000 Covid-19 stimulus checks for Individuals.

The phrases “Weres [sic] my cash” had been spray-painted onto the entrance door of Mr McConnell’s house final evening, together with different specific messages on his entrance porch.

In a press release on Saturday, he mentioned: “I’ve spent my profession preventing for the First Modification and defending peaceable protest. I respect each Kentuckian who has engaged within the democratic course of whether or not they agree with me or not.

“That is completely different. Vandalism and the politics of concern don’t have any place in our society.

“My spouse and I’ve by no means been intimidated by this poisonous playbook. We simply hope our neighbours in Louisville aren’t too inconvenienced by this radical tantrum.”

It comes after Ms Pelosi’s house had the phrases “$2K”, “Cancel hire!” and “We wish all the things” graffitied on the storage door.

According to ABC7, the vandals additionally left faux blood and what seemed to be a pig’s head exterior the property in San Francisco.

San Francisco police confirmed they had been referred to as to a report of vandalism at 2am on 1 January.

China has mentioned it would take essential countermeasures in response to the New York Inventory Change’s announcement that it will delist three main Chinese language telecoms – China Telecom Corp Ltd, China Cell Ltd and China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd.

The transfer to delist the businesses comes from an govt order by Donald Trump issued final November, which bars funding in publicly traded firms that the US authorities says are owned or managed by the Chinese language army.

Virginia state Sen. Ben Chafin has died after contracting the coronavirus, Senate Republicans mentioned Friday.

Chafin represented southwest Virginia and was from Russell County. A Republican, he was first elected to the Home of Delegates in 2013 after which moved to the state Senate in 2014. He was 60.

Lawmakers from across the state mourned Chafin’s demise late Friday.

“I knew Ben as a lawmaker, an lawyer, a banker, and a farmer elevating beef cattle in Moccasin Valley, working the land simply as generations of his household had accomplished earlier than him,” Gov. Ralph Northam mentioned. “He cherished the outside, and he cherished serving individuals much more.”

“He served to make sure that his area and neighborhood, and the individuals he cherished, would by no means be forgotten,” Senate Republicans mentioned in a press release.

Chafin is the primary Virginia lawmaker to die from the virus.

Right here’s so much at how two key Georgia elections pushed into 2021, who’s working and what’s at stake:

Runoff elections for Georgia that may decide partisan management of the US Senate and the way lawmakers cope with a brand new White Home will probably be preceded by a rally held by Donald Trump, in assist of Republican Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler.

The outgoing president urged followers to “get able to vote on Tuesday” on Twitter.

He added, for good measure: