Russia Jails Kremlin Critic Navalny For 3.5 Years; Hundreds Detained
A Moscow court has sentenced Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny to 3 ½ years as the Kremlin defied Western calls for his release.
Trump
Blinken: Iran could be weeks away from enough nuclear material for bomb
Iran could be “weeks away” from having sufficient material to develop a nuclear weapon if it continues to violate the 2015 nuclear deal, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Monday in an interview with NBC News.
Trump announces new legal team to head impeachment defense
Former President Donald Trump announced a new legal team to head his impeachment defense after reports of five lawyers leaving the team.
Russia’s Kremlin Critic Navalny Condemns Detention Amid More Protests
Russia’s most prominent opposition leader, who survived poisoning with a nerve agent, has condemned his detention as “blatantly illegal.” Alexei Navalny commented at an appeal hearing via a video ahead of planned protests.
Obstruction boomerang: FBI knew DOJ was preparing to fire Comey long before Trump ordered it
Newly declassified FBI memos provide startling new details that undercut the frenzied 2017 effort to investigate Donald Trump for obstruction, revealing the FBI knew Director James Comey’s firing had been conceived by Justice Department leadership long before the president pulled the trigger during a key moment in the Russia probe.
Conservatives fear Kevin Clinesmith sentencing could be the last word from John Durham
A federal judge will decide Friday whether to send former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith to prison for lying so the agency could continue court-approved spying on a 2016 Trump campaign aide.
Biden rescinds abortion restrictions on US foreign aid
President Joe Biden on Thursday rescinded a regulation that barred U.S. foreign aid from being used to perform or promote abortions. His decision, while expected, was cheered by abortion-choice advocates and some humanitarian groups and denounced by anti-abortion groups.
Biden temporarily suspends arms sales to UAE, Saudi Arabia
The newly inaugurated Biden administration announced Wednesday it has temporarily suspended arms sales to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, DW reports. Noting it is standard practice for a new administration to review arms deals worth billions of dollars, a US State Department official described the suspension as “routine administrative action.”
Iran Will Take Steps Next Month to Curb Short-Notice IAEA Inspections: Official
Iran threatened on Tuesday to block short-notice inspections of its nuclear facilities, demanding Washington reverse economic sanctions before it returns to compliance with a nuclear deal that President Joe Biden aims to restore.
New Gallup Poll: 11% of Americans satisfied with country’s direction
A new Gallup poll taken before the Jan. 20 inauguration of President Joe Biden shows 11% of Americans are satisfied with the condition of the US. Reporting its poll results, Gallup specifies it found Republicans’ satisfaction with the US tied with Independents’ at 14%, compared to Democrats’ level of 5%.
Trump’s Conviction Unlikely Vote Shows
A conviction of former U.S. President Donald J. Trump appeared unlikely as 45 Republican senators voted against holding an impeachment trial.
U.S. announces restoration of relations with Palestinians
U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration announced Tuesday it was restoring relations with the Palestinians and renewing aid to Palestinian refugees, a reversal of the Trump administration’s cutoff and a key element of its new support for a two-state solution to the decades-old conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
Declassified U.S. intelligence bolsters Wuhan lab theory in coronavirus outbreak
U.S. intelligence findings recently declassified by the State Department provide fresh evidence for the theory that the COVID-19 pandemic likely began at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, China’s sole high-security laboratory that has links to the country’s military.
Seattle and Portland finally decide they don’t want rioting, but bail reform could hurt clampdown
Leaders in Oregon and Washington are finally pledging an end to near-nightly chaos caused by antifa and other radical groups they gave free rein to while former President Donald Trump was in office.
Declassified! The Russia informant transcript the FBI didn’t want Americans to see
Four days before the FBI secured a surveillance warrant against him in fall 2016, Trump campaign adviser Carter Page repeatedly knocked down the key allegations at the heart of the Russia collusion investigation while talking to a government informant who was wearing a wire.
All border wall construction to be stopped Tuesday night
Construction workers on the U.S.-Mexico border were notified to stop all border wall projects by the end of Tuesday, according to a congressman whose district sits on the international boundary.
Biden issues executive order allowing transgender people to join US military
President Joe Biden has issued an executive order that reverses the Trump administration’s ban on transgender people joining the US military, Voice of America reports. Transgender citizens had been allowed to serve in the military and receive transitioning treatment under former President Barack Obama, but new transgender recruits were subsequently banned under former President Donald Trump.
House Sends Impeachment Article Against Trump Amid Tight Security
Donald J. Trump’s political fate was in the hands of Republican senators Monday as the House sent an article of impeachment against the former U.S. President.
International advocacy group calls for immediate release of Cuban pastor detained on “trumped-up charges”
The international Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) human rights organization has called for the immediate release of a pastor who is in custody in Cuba on what the group says are “trumped-up charges.” Cuban pastor Karel Parra Rosabal was arrested in Las Tunas on January 12 apparently because of his involvement with the Apostolic Movement, a network of independent churches that the Cuban government refuses to register, rendering them effectively illegal.
‘Victory smoke in the Capitol, boys’: Affidavits reveal Capitol rioters trail of videos, media posts
A group of right-wing militia members arrived in Washington bent on breaching the U.S. Capitol and booked a room for two in a motel in Arlington, Virginia, for at least six fellow Oath Keepers.