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Trump slams the F.D.A. ahead of expected vaccine authorization.Dec. 11, 2020,NY times.
Trump is trying to use his influence as president to make the fda to stop playing games and focus on making a vaccine that actually works

That the FDA is deliberately slowing it down to attempt to make the president look bad because he has been pressuring them.

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President Trump lashed out anew at the Food and Drug Administration in a Friday morning tweet, attacking the agency's commissioner, Dr. Stephen M. Hahn, by name for not approving a Covid-19 vaccine faster.

Continuing his practice of publicly upbraiding subordinates with whom he is displeased, Mr. Trump told Dr. Hahn to "stop playing games and start saving lives!!!" He called the F.D.A. "a big, old, slow turtle," flush with funds but mired in bureaucracy.

The F.D.A. has been walking a thin line, trying to fast-track vaccine approval without undercutting public confidence in the process. Dr. Hahn has repeatedly said regulators will not approve a vaccine that has not been proven safe and effective.

The president's tirade came the morning after an outside advisory panel of experts voted overwhelmingly to recommend that F.D.A. regulators approve a vaccine developed by Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech, for emergency use.

The regulators are expected to issue the authorization as early as Friday, and in a statement on Friday said it put the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and those involved with Operation Warp Speed on notice "so they can execute their plans for timely vaccine distribution."

Mr. Trump has said little about the pandemic in recent weeks, as cases and deaths have been mounting across the country. On Thursday, 2,923 people in the United States died from the virus, according to a Times database. More than 3,000 deaths were reported on Wednesday.

The president has repeatedly accused the F.D.A. and the vaccine-makers themselves of deliberately slowing the approval process in order to harm him politically. Allies of Dr. Hahn have been on tenterhooks for weeks, expecting him to be fired any day.

The president wrote that with "my pushing," the administration had shaved years off the development of vaccines. "Get the dam vaccines out NOW, Dr. Hahn," he wrote, misspelling the expletive.

One minute after the president's tweet posted, Alex M. Azar, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, posted a "BREAKING" message on his official Twitter account, saying the F.D.A. had informed Pfizer that it was moving "rapidly" toward authorizing its vaccine. He was echoing a statement from Dr. Hahn and Dr. Peter Marks, the agency's top vaccine regulator that officials say was posted before the president's tweet.

Eileen Sullivan contributed reporting.

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Trump slams the F.D.A. ahead of expected vaccine authorization.

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President Trump lashed out anew at the Food and Drug Administration in a Friday morning tweet, attacking the agency's commissioner, Dr. Stephen M. Hahn, by name for not approving a Covid-19 vaccine faster. Continuing his practice of publicly upbraiding subordinates with whom he is displeased, Mr. Trump told Dr. Hahn to "stop playing games and start saving lives!!!"

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FADY_---Senate Sends Military Bill to Trump’s Desk, Spurning His Veto Threat

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FADY_---Senate Sends Military Bill to Trump’s Desk, Spurning His Veto Threat

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New York times december 11
3 they passed down a bill
4. i dont know

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WASHINGTON - The Senate overwhelmingly passed a sweeping military policy bill on Friday that would require that Confederate names be stripped from American military bases, clearing the measure for enactment and sending it to President Trump's desk in defiance of his threats of a veto.

The 84-13 vote to approve the legislation reflected broad bipartisan support for the measure that authorizes pay for American troops and was intended to signal to Mr. Trump that lawmakers, including many Republicans, were determined to pass the critical bill even if it meant potentially delivering the first veto override of his presidency.

The margin surpassed the two-thirds majority needed in both houses to force enactment of the bill over Mr. Trump's objections. The House also met that threshold in passing the measure on Tuesday, raising the prospect of a potential veto showdown during Mr. Trump's final weeks in office.

The scene that played out on the Senate floor on Friday underscored how Republicans, who have been reluctant to challenge the president on any other issue during his four years in office, have been extraordinarily willing to break with Mr. Trump over one of the party's key orthodoxies - projecting military strength.

"I encourage all of us to do what we have to do to get this bill done,"Senator James M. Inhofe, Republican of Oklahoma and the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, told his colleagues in a speech from the floor. "There's no one more deserving in America than our troops that are out there in harm's way, and we're going to make sure we do the right thing for them."

Thirteen senators, split evenly among party lines, voted against the bill, with Republicans supporting Mr. Trump's objections and Democrats chafing at the bill's topline number. Three senators, Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, Mike Rounds, Republican of South Dakota, and Kamala Harris, Democrat of California and the vice president-elect, did not vote.

Congress has succeeded in passing the military bill each year for 60 years. But Mr. Trump has threatened to upend that tradition, pledging since the summer to veto the legislation even as leaders in his own party privately implored him to support it.

Mr. Trump first objected to a provision supported overwhelmingly by lawmakers in both parties in both chambers that would strip the names of Confederate leaders from military bases. In recent weeks, his attention shifted, and he demanded that the bill include an unrelated repeal of a legal shield for social media companies.

That demand, registered late in the legislative process, found little support among lawmakers in either party, who regard shoehorning a major unrelated policy move into defense bill as untenable. They have hoped that strong votes in both chambers would cow Mr. Trump into retreating from his veto threat. But the president has given no indication to date that he will do so.

Included in the legislation are a number of noncontroversial, bipartisan measures, including new benefits for tens of thousands of Vietnam-era veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange, a 3 percent increase in pay for service members and a boost in hazardous duty incentive pay.

It would also take steps to slow or block Mr. Trump's planned drawdown of American troops from Germany and Afghanistan, and would make it more difficult for the president to deploy military personnel to the southern border.

The legislation also directly addresses the protests for racial justice spurred over the summer by the killing of Black Americans, including George Floyd, at the hands of the police. It would require all federal officers enforcing crowd control at protests and demonstrations to identify themselves and their agencies. And it contains the bipartisan measure that directs the Pentagon to begin the process of renaming military bases named after Confederate leaders, a provision that Democrats fought to keep in the bill.

If Mr. Trump were to follow through with his threatened veto, the House would be the first to try at an override.

Emily Cochrane contributing reporting.

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Senate Sends Military Bill to Trump's Desk, Spurning His Veto Threat

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WASHINGTON - The Senate overwhelmingly passed a sweeping military policy bill on Friday that would require that Confederate names be stripped from American military bases, clearing the measure for enactment and sending it to President Trump's desk in defiance of his threats of a veto.

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1. Include the link in the LINK SPOT!!
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3. Why is this an example of the Legislative branch using its powers? 
4. What is your opinion of this? 

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Sen. Mike Lee Blocks Legislation For Latino, Women's Museums 

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Sen. Mike Lee Blocks Legislation For Latino, Women's Museums 

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December 11, 2020

I believe that this is the legislative branch using its powers because they are blocking a law.

I do not believe in blocking this law because I believe that Latino women deserve a museum to show how strong they are.

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In a move that infuriated supporters of museums to be dedicated to Latinos and women on the National Mall, Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah blocked legislation Thursday that would lead to the creation of both.

"The last thing we need," Lee said, "is to further divide an already divided nation with an array of segregated, separate-but-equal museums for hyphenated identity groups."

Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey was incensed. Menendez, who hoped to pass the bill on a voice vote, said Lee's action could jeopardize "the hopes and dreams and aspirations of seeing Americans of Latino descent having their dreams fulfilled and recognized."

As far back as 1994 the Smithsonian, in the report Willful Neglect, acknowledged that it "almost entirely excludes and ignores Latinos in nearly every aspect of its operations."

The movement to create a Latino Museum as part of the Smithsonian Institution has been decades in the making, eventually gaining bipartisan support. When Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, introduced legislation last July he wrote:

"By creating a new museum in the Smithsonian Institution, we can honor American Latino contributions and highlight their stories for future generations."

Calling Lee's decision "dismissive, condescending and misguided," the advocacy organization The Friends of the American Latino Museum vowed to keep fighting. In a statement to NPR, President and CEO Estuardo Rodriguez said: "We are committed to getting this through before the Senate recesses and will be working with Republican and Democratic sponsors in the House and Senate to have this included in the omnibus."

Sen. Lee also squashed legislation that would establish a national women's museum, an initiative that's also been years in the making. When Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine tried to get passage of the Smithsonian Women's History Museum Act, which also has bipartisan support, Sen. Lee once again voted no.

Collins called it "a sad moment."

"Surely in a year where we are celebrating the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage," she said, "this is the time, this is the moment to finally pass the legislation unanimously recommended by an independent commission to establish an American women's history museum in our nation's capital."

Sen. Lee said that, while he respected his colleagues' efforts and even shared "their interests in ensuring that these stories are told," he didn't believe women or Latinos deserved their own museums within the Smithsonian.

The controversy is likely to come up at The Smithsonian Board of Regents' annual public forum next week, on Dec. 15. The governing committee's agenda for the virtual webcast is the Institution's response to COVID-19 and its initiative "Race, Community and Our Shared Future."

Just last week, Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III said in a statement: "Creating new museums is challenging, but, with appropriate funding, the Smithsonian has the skill and expertise to do it right. We can, and have, created museums that meet the needs of the nation and showcase the U.S. to the world."

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Sen. Mike Lee Blocks Legislation For Latino, Women's Museums

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In a move that infuriated supporters of museums to be dedicated to Latinos and women on the National Mall, Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah blocked legislation Thursday that would lead to the creation of both. "The last thing we need," Lee said, "is to further divide an already divided nation with an array of segregated, separate-but-equal museums for hyphenated identity groups."

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Nicholas Drummond-Senate Approves Defense-Policy Bill Despite Trump Veto Threat-The Wall Street Journal-December, 11 2020

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Nicholas Drummond-Senate Approves Defense-Policy Bill Despite Trump Veto Threat-The Wall Street Journal-December, 11 2020

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1. Include the link in the LINK SPOT!!
2. Put title of the article, Source of the article and date of the article.
3. Why is this an example of the Legislative branch using its powers?-The Legislative Branch is voting to override Trump's veto of a bill that gives more money to the military.
4. What is your opinion of this? I think it is a good thing the veto was overridden because if the US military is to continue being the best military it needs a lot of funding.

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WASHINGTON-The U.S. Senate voted 84-13 on Friday to advance a bipartisan defense-policy bill, over President Trump's objections, with support for the legislation exceeding the two-thirds majority needed to override any potential veto.

The National Defense Authorization Act is an annual bill that sets pay rates for troops and authorizes funds for military construction projects, aircraft, ships, nuclear weapons and other national-security programs. Congress has passed it on a bipartisan basis for 59 years in a row. Earlier this week, the House approved final passage by a veto-proof 335-78 majority. The Senate will now take a final vote on Friday afternoon, which will send it to the president's desk.

Mr. Trump has said he would veto the NDAA unless Congress eliminates language that creates a commission to rename military installations, monuments and paraphernalia honoring Confederate commanders. He also has insisted on including language in the bill to terminate Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which grants social-media companies broad immunity for the content they publish from users on their sites.

In a statement of opposition issued Tuesday, the Trump administration said it strongly opposes the NDAA because it "fails to include critical national-security measures, includes provisions that fail to respect our veterans and our military's history, and contradicts efforts by this Administration to put America first in our national-security and foreign-policy actions."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) urged his colleagues to pass the NDAA in a speech on the Senate floor Thursday, despite Mr. Trump's repeated veto threats. Mr. McConnell argued the $740.5 billion annual defense-policy bill "will secure President Trump's major progress in modernizing our capabilities, our technologies and our strategic nuclear deterrence."

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Senate Advances Defense-Policy Bill Despite Trump Veto Threat

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WASHINGTON-The U.S. Senate voted 84-13 on Friday to advance a bipartisan defense-policy bill, over President Trump's objections, with support for the legislation exceeding the two-thirds majority needed to override any potential veto.

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Wall Street Journal, Dec. 8, 2020 5:51 pm ET.
The Legislative branch could have refused to accept Trump's nominee.

4. I'm not exactly sure of my opinion. I am pretty sure that the Democrats are going to be angrier than the Republicans.

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President Trump's nominee to join the Federal Communications Commission was confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday, setting up a possible partisan deadlock at the telecommunications regulator when Democrats take power next year.

The Republican-led Senate voted 49-46 along party lines to approve Nathan Simington for a five-year term on the FCC.

Mr. Simington, a 41-year-old Republican lawyer currently serving in the Trump administration, appears likely to clash with Democrats over issues from "net neutrality" rules to the agency's role in overseeing social-media content moderation under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, a Republican, has said he is leaving the agency on Jan. 20, President-elect Joe Biden 's inauguration day.

That could leave the bipartisan commission with two Democratic and two Republican members, including Mr. Simington. Mr. Biden can immediately designate one of the sitting Democratic commissioners as chair. But the agency's new leader wouldn't hold a 3-2 majority until Mr. Biden names, and the Senate approves, a fifth FCC member-a process that could stretch months if Republicans control the Senate.

" 'The FCC should be truly an independent agency that serves the public interest, not a political football.' "

- Richard Blumenthal, Democratic senator from Connecticut

An FCC deadlocked along partisan lines could take longer than usual to approve telecommunications-related mergers or to make additional wireless frequencies available for next-generation networks, policy analysts at New Street Research wrote in a note to clients this week.

Democrats have criticized Republicans for moving forward with the nomination during a lame-duck session of Congress, rather than allowing Mr. Biden to make the choice.

The moves to advance Mr. Simington "break all the rules and norms, and the FCC should be truly an independent agency that serves the public interest, not a political football," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.) during a virtual event Monday hosted by the advocacy group Fight for the Future, which opposes Mr. Simington's nomination.

Sen. Roger Wicker (R., Miss.) said Mr. Simington's confirmation "will help ensure a balanced FCC and continued light-touch regulatory approach that has kept the internet free and open for all Americans."

Since mid-2020, Mr. Simington has served as a senior adviser in the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration, working on issues including opening up radio frequency spectrum for commercial use.

Before that, he held associate positions at several law firms, working on financial matters. His most recent position before entering government was senior corporate counsel at Brightstar Corp. a wireless-services company in Miami.

Mr. Simington told the Senate Commerce Committee last month he saw "no reason" to change the FCC's approach to the regulation of internet-access services, a signal he could oppose Democrats' expected efforts to restore net-neutrality rules that Republicans recently dismantled. The rules, if reinstated, would require internet-access providers to treat content equally. Cable and telephone companies have opposed them.

The FCC "must be thoughtful about potential chilling effects on development if its regulatory efforts go over the line and become intrusive, disruptive and burdensome," Mr. Simington said.

Democrats at the FCC have also said they don't believe the agency should be involved in interpreting Section 230, a law shielding internet companies from liability for user-generated content. Mr. Trump has pushed for the FCC to write a rule interpreting Section 230, a move that could lead to the FCC exercising more oversight over how companies moderate content.

Mr. Simington told the Senate panel that during his time at the NTIA, he helped edit and discuss public-relations strategy regarding a petition the NTIA sent to the FCC asking for the Section 230 rule making, in support of Mr. Trump's efforts. He declined to take a position on what the FCC should do and resisted the notion that he would be acting at the White House's behest, saying that while he discussed Section 230 briefly with the White House before he was nominated, that discussion didn't pertain to any specific FCC action.

Democrats have said that Mr. Simington's work on Section 230 appears to be his main qualification for the job, noting his relatively brief previous government service and the fact that he was nominated only after Mr. Trump withdrew the nomination of Mike O'Rielly, an outgoing Republican FCC commissioner who had raised concerns about the Trump administration's efforts to regulate social-media companies.

Mr. Simington has previously told Senators his experience in the public and private sector prepares him for the post.

Write to Ryan Tracy at ryan.tracy@wsj.com

Copyright ©2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

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President Trump's nominee to join the Federal Communications Commission was confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday, setting up a possible partisan deadlock at the telecommunications regulator when Democrats take power next year. The Republican-led Senate voted 49-46 along party lines to approve Nathan Simington for a five-year term on the FCC.

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Senate sends Trump defense bill he has vowed to veto

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Senate sends Trump defense bill he has vowed to veto

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AP NEWS- an hour ago
This is an example because it shows the senate sending president Donald Trump even though he threat to veto the bill.
My opinion is that when Trump threatened to veto the bill it was because the bill does not clamp down on big tech companies he claims were biased during the election, and that to me was a good reason to veto the bill.

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WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate on Friday approved a wide-ranging defense policy bill, sending it to President Donald Trump, despite his threat to veto the bill because it does not clamp down on big tech companies he claims were biased during the election.

The 84-13 vote mirrored an earlier, overwhelming margin in the House, suggesting that both chambers have enough votes to override a potential veto.

The Senate vote had been expected Thursday but was delayed after Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky objected to the measure, saying it could limit Trump's ability to draw down U.S. troops from Afghanistan and Germany.

Congress has approved the bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, for nearly 60 years in a row. The current version affirms 3% pay raises for U.S. troops and authorizes more than $740 billion in military programs and construction.

Trump has vowed to veto the bill unless lawmakers impose limits on social media companies he claims were biased against him during the election. Trump has also said he wants Congress to strip out a provision of the bill that allows renaming of military bases such as Fort Benning and Fort Hood that honor Confederate leaders.

Paul said Friday that his main point in filibustering the bill "was to point out that the president should have the prerogative to end a war, not just to start wars.″

Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, hailed the bill's passage, calling it "the most important bill we'll do all year."

The defense authorization law "is what the Constitution tells us we have to do″ in Congress, Inhofe said. "We must protect freedom, democracy and peace, and support our troops. I look forward to it becoming law before the end of the year."

The bill's approval was never in doubt, although Paul's actions cast uncertainty on the timing. Paul said Friday that "neoconservatives" such as Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., "are inconsistent in saying they want ... to give the commander-in-chief powers to begin war, but then they want to restrain and hamstring a president from ending a war. I think it's a pretty important principle to discuss so we did hold things up for a day.″

Two amendments addressing troop deployment could create "535 commanders-in-chief in Congress," Paul said, hampering the president's ability to draw down troops in Afghanistan and Germany. Democrats support the measure because they oppose Trump, Paul said, but the amendment would also apply to future presidents, including President-elect Joe Biden.

One amendment, co-sponsored by Cheney and Democratic Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado, an Afghanistan veteran, would block troop withdrawals in Afghanistan unless the Pentagon submits inter-agency reports certifying that the drawdowns would not jeopardize national security. A separate provision pushed by Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and other lawmakers would limit planned troop withdrawals in Germany.

Paul singled out Cheney by name in a floor speech, saying she and her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, share a neoconservative belief in "perpetual war."

"The philosophy of these people is about war and substantiating war and making sure that it becomes and is perpetual war,″ Paul said.

Cheney called Paul's actions "inexcusable" and charged that he was risking delay of hazardous duty pay to hundreds of thousands of service members and blocking Congress from completing its greatest duty: providing for the nation's defense.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, in a rare break with Trump, urged passage of the measure despite Trump's threat to veto it. McConnell, R-Ky., said it was important for Congress to continue a nearly 60-year streak of passing the National Defense Authorization Act.

"This NDAA will unlock more than $740 billion for the training, tools and cutting-edge equipment that our service members and civilian employees need to defend American lives and American interests,″ McConnell said. "It will give our troops the 3% pay raise they deserve. It'll keep our forces ready to deter China and stand strong in the Indo-Pacific.″

The Democratic-controlled House overwhelmingly approved the defense bill on Tuesday, defying Trump's veto threat and setting up a possible showdown with the Republican president in the waning days of his administration.

A total of 140 Republicans joined 195 Democrats in backing the bill, which received support from more than 80% of the House - well above the two-thirds support required to override a potential veto.

Trump tweeted Tuesday that he will veto "the very weak" defense bill unless it repeals Section 230, a part of the communications code that shields Twitter, Facebook and other tech giants from content liability. The White House said in a policy statement that "Section 230 facilitates the spread of disinformation online and is a serious threat to our national security and election integrity. It should be repealed.″

The dispute over social media content - a battle cry of conservatives who say the social media giants treat them unfairly - interjects an unrelated but complicated issue into a bill that Congress takes pride in having passed unfailingly for nearly 60 years. It follows Trump's bid over the summer to sabotage the package with a veto threat over Confederate base names.

"The administration respects the legacy of the millions of American servicemen and women who have served with honor at these military bases, and who, from these locations, have fought, bled and died for their country,″ the White House statement said.

If he does veto the defense bill, Congress could cut short its Christmas recess to hold override votes.

"I think we can override the veto, if in fact he vetoes," said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md. "I hope he does not veto. I hope he reconsiders.″

The defense measure guides Pentagon policy and cements decisions about troop levels, new weapons systems and military readiness, military personnel policy and other military goals. Many programs can only go into effect if the bill is approved, including military construction.

Romney called Trump's plan to remove thousands of U.S. troops from Germany "a grave error" and "a gift to Russia" that undermines the mutual commitment of Europe and the U.S. to deter Russian and Chinese aggression.

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Senate sends Trump defense bill he has vowed to veto

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WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate on Friday approved a wide-ranging defense policy bill, sending it to President Donald Trump, despite his threat to veto the bill because it does not clamp down on big tech companies he claims were biased during the election.

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apnews- The Latest: Biden’s picks point to their diverse backgrounds December 11, 2020

He is telling people about the vaccine and how it will be safe to use.

I think this is a good idea since many people are sceptic and this will give people hope.

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WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on President-elect Joe Biden (all times local):

3:05 p.m.

President-elect Joe Biden says the American public should have confidence in a coronavirus vaccine that may soon begin to become available.

Biden said during remarks Friday in Wilmington that combatting the pandemic is "serious business" that requires "presidential leadership."

On Thursday, a U.S. government advisory panel endorsed widespread use of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine, putting the country just one step away from launching an epic vaccination campaign against the outbreak that has killed close to 300,000 Americans.

Shots could begin within days, depending on how quickly the Food and Drug Administration signs off, as expected, on the expert committee's recommendation.

Arguing that "there is no political influence" in the vaccine, Biden stressed the scientific research that has "led us to this point." He also reiterated his "bold and doable" commitment to trying to vaccinate 100 million Americans in the first 100 days of his administration.

Of the virus, Biden said, "We can wish this away, but we need to face it."

___

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PRESIDENT-ELECT JOE BIDEN'S TRANSITION TO THE WHITE HOUSE:

President-elect Joe Biden's historically challenging transition to power is becoming even more complicated as a federal investigation into his son's finances threatens to embolden congressional Republicans, who have already shown little willingness to work with him or even acknowledge his clear victory in last month's election.

Read more:

- Obama reunion? Biden fills Cabinet with former White House leaders

- Hundreds of GOP members sign onto Texas-led election lawsuit

- Joe Biden, Kamala Harris named Time magazine's Person of the Year

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The Latest: Biden urges public to have confidence in vaccine

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WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on President-elect Joe Biden (all times local): 3:05 p.m. President-elect Joe Biden says the American public should have confidence in a coronavirus vaccine that may soon begin to become available. Biden said during remarks Friday in Wilmington that combatting the pandemic is "serious business" that requires "presidential leadership."

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Senate Sends Military Bill to Trump’s Desk, Spurning His Veto Threat,Dec. 11, 2020,NY times

They are trying to intimidate the president into not vetoing it
The president is well in his right to veto the bill as even though the confederates lost we should still honor the dead and those who served.

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WASHINGTON - The Senate overwhelmingly passed a sweeping military policy bill on Friday that would require that Confederate names be stripped from American military bases, clearing the measure for enactment and sending it to President Trump's desk in defiance of his threats of a veto.

The 84-13 vote to approve the legislation reflected broad bipartisan support for the measure that authorizes pay for American troops and was intended to signal to Mr. Trump that lawmakers, including many Republicans, were determined to pass the critical bill even if it meant potentially delivering the first veto override of his presidency.

The margin surpassed the two-thirds majority needed in both houses to force enactment of the bill over Mr. Trump's objections. The House also met that threshold in passing the measure on Tuesday, raising the prospect of a potential veto showdown during Mr. Trump's final weeks in office.

The scene that played out on the Senate floor on Friday underscored how Republicans, who have been reluctant to challenge the president on any other issue during his four years in office, have been extraordinarily willing to break with Mr. Trump over one of the party's key orthodoxies - projecting military strength.

"I encourage all of us to do what we have to do to get this bill done,"Senator James M. Inhofe, Republican of Oklahoma and the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, told his colleagues in a speech from the floor. "There's no one more deserving in America than our troops that are out there in harm's way, and we're going to make sure we do the right thing for them."

Thirteen senators, split evenly among party lines, voted against the bill, with Republicans supporting Mr. Trump's objections and Democrats chafing at the bill's topline number. Three senators, Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, Mike Rounds, Republican of South Dakota, and Kamala Harris, Democrat of California and the vice president-elect, did not vote.

Congress has succeeded in passing the military bill each year for 60 years. But Mr. Trump has threatened to upend that tradition, pledging since the summer to veto the legislation even as leaders in his own party privately implored him to support it.

Mr. Trump first objected to a provision supported overwhelmingly by lawmakers in both parties in both chambers that would strip the names of Confederate leaders from military bases. In recent weeks, his attention shifted, and he demanded that the bill include an unrelated repeal of a legal shield for social media companies.

That demand, registered late in the legislative process, found little support among lawmakers in either party, who regard shoehorning a major unrelated policy move into defense bill as untenable. They have hoped that strong votes in both chambers would cow Mr. Trump into retreating from his veto threat. But the president has given no indication to date that he will do so.

Included in the legislation are a number of noncontroversial, bipartisan measures, including new benefits for tens of thousands of Vietnam-era veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange, a 3 percent increase in pay for service members and a boost in hazardous duty incentive pay.

It would also take steps to slow or block Mr. Trump's planned drawdown of American troops from Germany and Afghanistan, and would make it more difficult for the president to deploy military personnel to the southern border.

The legislation also directly addresses the protests for racial justice spurred over the summer by the killing of Black Americans, including George Floyd, at the hands of the police. It would require all federal officers enforcing crowd control at protests and demonstrations to identify themselves and their agencies. And it contains the bipartisan measure that directs the Pentagon to begin the process of renaming military bases named after Confederate leaders, a provision that Democrats fought to keep in the bill.

If Mr. Trump were to follow through with his threatened veto, the House would be the first to try at an override.

Emily Cochrane contributing reporting.

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Senate Sends Military Bill to Trump's Desk, Spurning His Veto Threat

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WASHINGTON - The Senate overwhelmingly passed a sweeping military policy bill on Friday that would require that Confederate names be stripped from American military bases, clearing the measure for enactment and sending it to President Trump's desk in defiance of his threats of a veto.

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1. Include the link in the LINK SPOT!!
2. Put title of the article, Source of the article and date of the article.

Senate passes stopgap government funding bill ahead of deadline

3. Why is this an example of the Legislative branch using its powers? because the senate is using there power to block voices in the stopgap.
4. What is your opinion of this? i feel like they need to keep the funding so they can keep using it experimenting for the vaccine for corona virus

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Independent Senator Bernie Sanders and Republican Senator Josh Hawley temporarily blocked a voice vote to approve a stopgap government funding measure on Friday afternoon, arguing that Congress needs to provide another round of direct checks to Americans.

"This Congress must address the economic emergency facing the American people," Sanders said in a speech on the Senate floor, arguing that senators should not return home for the holidays until they help American families. "I am prepared to withdraw my objection at this moment, but I will not be prepared to withdraw an objection next week. We will deal with the financial crisis facing tens of millions of Americans."

Sanders and Hawley, unlikely partners typically on opposite ends of the ideological spectrum, proposed adding an amendment to the must-pass legislation in an attempt to force a vote on providing Americans with a second round of $1,200 direct checks. Sanders withdrew his objection, and Hawley said in a speech that he was reserving his right to object until next week.

"If the Senate of the united states can find hundreds of billions of dollars to give to big government and big business, surely it can find some relief for working families and working individuals," Hawley said. "And I would just submit to you that it is working families and working people who should be first in line for COVID relief, not last, and that is why the amendment that Senator Sanders and I have proposed is so common sense."

After Sanders and Hawley spoke, the Senate then passed the continuing resolution by a voice vote, hours ahead of the midnight deadline to avoid a government shutdown. The resolution, which was approved in the House this week, then must be signed by President Trump to prevent a shutdown. The short-term measure extends the government funding deadline to December 18, giving lawmakers only one week to negotiate a larger spending bill and resolve their differences over a relief proposal, as talks appear to be crumbling.

Senator Rand Paul objected to swift passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on Thursday, preventing the Senate from passing the bill with unanimous consent. Senators had hoped to pass the NDAA on Thursday, so holding up the vote on the NDAA also meant delaying the vote to avert a shutdown. Paul told reporters on Friday that he would not try to stall a vote on the continuing resolution.

"Our main point in filibustering the defense authorization bill was to point out that the president should have the prerogative to end a war, not just to start wars," Paul said. "I think it's a pretty important principle to discuss, so we did hold things up for a day on that, but we're not going to on the CR." He added that he therefore did not "have a choice" to continue to stall the vote on the NDAA.

The Senate passed the NDAA with a veto-proof majority on Friday afternoon, after the House did earlier this week. But Mr. Trump has still threatened to veto the bill, meaning that Congress may have to stay in Washington to override the bill later in December.

Paul told reporters on Friday that he would not block the continuing resolution, but he isn't the only senator whose actions could hold up passage of the stopgap funding bill.

Meanwhile, promising negotiations between a bicameral, bipartisan group of lawmakers appear to lack support from Senate leadership. The group introduced a $908 billion framework which includes $160 billion for state and local aid and a temporary liability shield for companies and institutions. The state and local funding is critical to Democratic support, while the liability protections are a priority of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

But McConnell's staff communicated to other congressional leadership staff on Wednesday that the majority leader does not believe that any deal reached by the group on state and local aid and liability protections would be acceptable to Republicans, a senior Democrat familiar with the conversations told CBS News.

Lawmakers have left the door open to continuing talks through late December, even as several relief programs and policies are expected to expire after Christmas. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said that she would want any relief bill to be attached to an omnibus funding bill, but that requires that omnibus to be ready by the December 18 deadline.

"In order to have the COVID added to omnibus, you have to have an omnibus, and so we're working dual tracks on that," Pelosi told reporters on Thursday. "I would hope that it would honor the December 18 deadline, but we can't go before the package is ready and the votes are there, as well as the fact that people do want to get home for the holidays, such as that is. But what's more important is that we get the job done for the American people before the holidays."

More than 290,000 Americans have died from COVID-19, and over 15.5 million have contracted the virus.

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Senate passes stopgap government funding bill ahead of deadline

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Independent Senator Bernie Sanders and Republican Senator Josh Hawley temporarily blocked a voice vote to approve a stopgap government funding measure on Friday afternoon, arguing that Congress needs to provide another round of direct checks to Americans.

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2. Florida Just Passed A $15 Minimum Wage. Is The Time Right For A Big Nationwide Hike?

source: npr
date: Nov. 18, 2020

3. This is an example of the legislative branch using its power because the law of a $15 minimum wage is being passed in Florida.
4. I think that it's a great idea and I like that people were fighting for this peacefully. Now that the minimum wage is rising, more people will be able to provide for their families and themselves.

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When news broke that Florida voters had approved a ballot measure raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, Terrence Wise celebrated from 1,000 miles away.

"If we can get it in the Deep South, you know, down there in Florida, it's bringing all workers closer to $15 an hour minimum wage on a national level," says Wise, a McDonald's worker in Kansas City, Mo., and a leading voice of the Fight for $15 movement.

Eight years after fast-food workers walked off the job in New York City and began calling for a $15 minimum wage, the passage of the Florida ballot initiative came as a big victory. Florida is the first state in the South and the eighth state overall to adopt such a measure.

But the wage hike is a gradual one. It won't reach $15 until 2026. And the path forward for a nationwide $15 minimum wage is uncertain. In a year when both low-wage workers and small businesses are struggling, there is no shortage of optimism or dread surrounding the issue.

At Walkabout Outfitter, an outdoor equipment and clothing retailer based in Lexington, Va., Tina Miller pays an entry-level wage of $10 an hour. Most of the employees earning that wage are students working part time, she says.

But she's already trying to figure out how she's going to accommodate state-mandated wage hikes that are headed her way. Virginia's minimum wage, currently $7.25, is set to rise to $12 an hour by 2023, and to $15 an hour by 2026, pending reauthorization by the state Legislature.

"We've run the numbers, and you know, it would potentially put us out of business," Miller says.

In big metropolitan areas, a $15 starting salary might make sense, she says, but not in rural Virginia.

"Here in our area, you can buy a house for $60,000 to $70,000, so it's a very different area," she says. "Mandating it across the board is frightening."

Miller and her husband, Kirk, started the business in 2005 and have since grown to six locations across southern and central Virginia, fending off competition from big-box stores and retail giants such as Amazon. The pandemic nearly broke them.

At one point, business was down 90%. To keep their doors open, they took out loans and laid off most of their staff. Miller and her husband haven't paid themselves since March, dipping into savings to cover living expenses.

"We always had to work hard to keep a small business afloat. But certainly, it's been beyond challenging," Miller says.

How soon other business owners will have to confront higher wage mandates depends on where they are.

More than two dozen states and nearly 50 localities have a wage floor that is higher than the federal minimum wage, which has been stagnant at $7.25 since 2009. The East and West coasts have the highest minimum wages, whereas the lowest are found throughout the South.

Last year, the House of Representatives passed a bill to raise the federal minimum to $15 by 2025, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declined to take it up, calling it a jobs killer. As it is, fewer than 2% of hourly paid workers actually earn the federal minimum wage, according to the Labor Department.

Louisiana is one of five Southern states that haven't set their own wage floors, so the $7.25 federal minimum wage stands. Efforts to set a higher minimum wage or even to remove a state ban on localities setting their own have been blocked by Republicans in the state Legislature.

"There have been any number of different ways that we've tried to move the needle on this issue and have just been unsuccessful," says Ashley Shelton, executive director of the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice in Baton Rouge, which has been advocating for a higher minimum wage.

It's not for lack of popular support. A Louisiana State University poll found 81% of Louisiana residents support raising the minimum wage to $8.50, and 59% support raising it to $15. But unlike in Florida, ballot measures in Louisiana require approval from two-thirds of the state Legislature, both chambers of which are controlled by Republicans.

Still, Shelton is encouraged by what happened in Florida - a state that went for President Trump also voted 61% in favor of a $15 minimum wage.

"There's an awakening that's happening," she says. "There's certainly a growing conversation about what's next and how can people survive."

Wise, the McDonald's worker, has been with the Fight for $15 campaign almost since the beginning. He is now a guest services manager at McDonald's, but he has yet to get an hourly wage of $15. In the nine years he's worked there his wages have risen gradually, but it's not enough. Earlier this year, he says, his family was evicted and spent several months living with his brother-in-law.

Stories such as his have led people to recognize that the minimum wage is far short of a living wage, says Allynn Umel, organizing director of the Fight for $15.

"[It] really comes down to the power of workers' voices who have absolutely been strengthened during this pandemic, where so many of them have put their lives on the line to keep our economy going," she says.

President-elect Joe Biden supports a $15 federal minimum wage. At his campaign kickoff rally last year in Pittsburgh, he told a crowd of union workers that it was "well past time" the minimum wage rise to $15 nationally.

But as with so many campaign promises, what happens next may not be within his control. The fate of the $15 federal minimum wage almost certainly lies with the next Senate.

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Florida Just Passed A $15 Minimum Wage. Is The Time Right For A Big Nationwide Hike?

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When news broke that Florida voters had approved a ballot measure raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, Terrence Wise celebrated from 1,000 miles away.

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Biden Selects Denis McDonough As VA Secretary

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Biden Selects Denis McDonough As VA Secretary

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December 10, 2020

This is an example of the Executive branch because Joe Biden is our president. I believe it talks about the executive branch because Joe Biden is using his power as the new president to hire people.

I believe that this is choice is a little risky because the person that he is selecting as VA secretary doesn't have experience with the military. But he is good at the ability to navigate crises.

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President-elect Joe Biden intends to nominate Denis McDonough to run Veterans Affairs, a position that requires Senate confirmation.

McDonough is a longtime aide of former President Barack Obama and served as his chief of staff from 2013 to 2017.

McDonough, who did not serve in the military, was chosen because of his ability to navigate crises and sort through the complex morass of government programs that can support veterans, a source familiar with the president-elect's thinking told NPR. The source spoke about private conversations on the condition of anonymity.

Joe Chenelly, executive director of AMVETS, said the veterans group thought Biden would go in a different direction.

"We were expecting a veteran, maybe a post-9/11 veteran. Maybe a woman veteran. Or maybe a veteran who knows the VA exceptionally well," Chenelly said in a statement. "We are looking forward to hearing from President-Elect Biden on his thinking behind this nomination."

Former VA Secretary David Shulkin, the only previous VA secretary who was not a veteran, stressed that the job was just as much about managing a huge organization - with over 300,000 staff - and the nearly constant crises that require congressional and executive branch coordination.

"Being able to manage a complex environment with many issues coming at you is what this job takes. It's not an easy job, but somebody with Denis' experience of being in the white house and managing so many issues I think is going to be a real asset," Shulkin told NPR.

Shulkin, who worked at VA under presidents Trump and Obama, said McDonough had been closely involved in responding to the 2014 VA wait-times scandal.

The VA is second only to the Pentagon in size and budget. It provides benefits and runs the largest health care network in the country, with about 9 million veterans enrolled.

News of McDonough's selection was first reported by Politico and later confirmed by NPR.

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Biden Selects Denis McDonough As VA Secretary

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President-elect Joe Biden intends to nominate Denis McDonough to run Veterans Affairs, a position that requires Senate confirmation. McDonough is a longtime aide of former President Barack Obama and served as his chief of staff from 2013 to 2017.

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2.

Bipartisan group in Congress pushes $908 billion Covid-19 relief bill,NBC new, December 1st 2020
3.The legislative branch are coming together to pass a relief bill for the unemployed people because of Covid-19. This is congress using there power, because they are creating a bill and if majority agree it could help many citizens
4. I think it is a good idea because there are still many people struggling to get work because of covid-19 and this bill will help them.

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WASHINGTON - A bipartisan group of lawmakers outlined a temporary $908 billion coronavirus relief proposal on Tuesday, far less than Democrats had hoped for, aimed at breaking a stalemate that has persisted for months.

The proposal, which includes more unemployment benefits, must still get the approval of Republican and Democratic leadership and is designed to include elements that will satisfy both parties. It doesn't include some popular provisions, like another round of direct payments to families, and lasts through March 31.

The plan was described as a "bridge" and faces a steep uphill climb as party leaders remain far apart on the price tag and details. In recent months, House Democrats have passed a $2.2 trillion relief package while Senate Republican leaders have pursued a $500 billion package that has faltered amid a lack of bipartisan support.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Tuesday he's working with the White House to see what the president will sign on Covid-19 relief. He also said he plans to attach any agreement to a government funding bill ahead of the Dec. 11 deadline to avoid a shutdown.

"Given the challenges of moving things across the Senate floor speedily, that would be a vehicle to add on whatever coronavirus relief bill we know will get a presidential signature," he told reporters. "Obviously, as was discussed earlier, you have to have Democratic votes to get through the House. I think it will all likely come in one package."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she spoke to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin on Tuesday about government funding and Covid-19 aid, and added that additional virus relief should be passed before the end of the year.

Rolling out his economic team, President-elect Joe Biden urged legislators to provide aid to state and local governments to preserve "vital public services" such as police, firefighters and teachers.

"The full Congress should come together and pass a robust package for relief to address these urgent needs. But any package passed in the lame duck session is likely to be, at best, just a start," he said.

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said the bipartisan group has "communicated with Secretary Mnuchin about our negotiations," but added he doesn't know whether he will support the deal.

"I don't have any prediction how the White House would react," Romney said at a news conference Tuesday announcing the plan. "Covid has created a crisis. And in the crisis the people expect Congress to act."

The proposal includes $160 billion in aid to state and local governments, a priority for Democrats that Republicans have resisted. It includes liability protections for businesses and organizations from coronavirus-related lawsuits on a "short-term" basis - a top priority of McConnell that many Democrats oppose.

Another member of the group, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said the lawmakers "have not had assurances" from McConnell or Pelosi that they'll allow a vote on the package, but he said "the American people will put the pressure" on them.

The framework provides $288 billion in support for small businesses like restaurants, and $180 billion to renew unemployment insurance, according to a summary obtained by NBC News.

The package excludes another round of the $1,200 direct payments that were sent out under the CARES Act in March.

The plan would provide an extra $300 in unemployment insurance for 18 weeks, including for gig workers and people covered under the CARES Act, Manchin said, adding that it would be retroactive to Tuesday, Dec. 1.

"It would be stupidity on steroids if Congress left for Christmas without doing an interim package," Warner said.

The working group pushing the new deal includes several Republicans: Rep. Tom Reed of New York and Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska; as well as Democrats: Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey and Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, both of New Hampshire, and Mark Warner of Virginia; and one independent, Sen. Angus King of Maine.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., faulted McConnell for the logjam on Covid-19 relief, saying that he "continues to negotiate in a partisan way."

Schumer told reporters he encourages the bipartisan talks on the $908 billion proposal.

"This is a good effort," he said. "I hope Leader McConnell will heed that call."

Lauren Egan and Julie Tsirkin contributed.

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Bipartisan group in Congress pushes $908 billion Covid-19 relief bill

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WASHINGTON - A bipartisan group of lawmakers outlined a temporary $908 billion coronavirus relief proposal on Tuesday, far less than Democrats had hoped for, aimed at breaking a stalemate that has persisted for months. The proposal, which includes more unemployment benefits, must still get the approval of Republican and Democratic leadership and is designed to include elements that will satisfy both parties.

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Congress passes military authorization, one-week funding bill to avert government shutdown.

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Congress passes military authorization, one-week funding bill to avert government shutdown.

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12/11/20
It shows the ability that the congress can override a veto and that the president can demand changes on the law.
I feel like it's really unfair because they didn't get their paychecks on time.

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WASHINGTON - The Senate passed a one-week stopgap bill to keep the government running through next Friday, buying time to hammer out deals on full-year funding and coronavirus aid.

Also Friday, the Senate passed a major defense authorization bill by a vote of 84-13 - giving final approval to the measure with a veto-proof majority after President Donald Trump threatened to spike it unless it included his demands to change internet liability laws.

The National Defense Authorization Act passed the House earlier by a vote of 335-78. It is unclear if Congress would override Trump's veto if he makes good on his vow to reject the measure.

Trump demanded that it include a repeal of an internet liability law commonly known as Section 230. He also opposed provisions in the bill to strip military bases of the names of Confederate leaders from the Civil War.

The government funding bill averts a government shutdown but sets up a new deadline next week.

The chamber passed the measure by a voice vote Friday, meaning no senator objected to its passage. The bill had a slight delay after Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., objected to the defense authorization measure and delayed all the Senate work.

The House already passed the one-week bill Wednesday. It now goes to Trump's desk for his signature.

Coronavirus aid negotiations continue, although they've faltered in recent days over disagreements between involving liability protections for employers, a Republican priority, and aid to state and local governments, a Democratic demand.

It is unclear whether a deal can be struck in time, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., have said they want to attach one to the government funding bill that they hope to complete next week.

Both have said it's not an option to leave for Christmas without a Covid-19 relief deal. Cases have skyrocketed in recent weeks and the United States on Thursday saw a record 3,110 confirmed Covid-19 deaths.

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Congress passes one-week funding bill to avert government shutdown

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WASHINGTON - The Senate passed a one-week stopgap bill to keep the government running through next Friday, buying time to hammer out deals on full-year funding and coronavirus aid.

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2. Why do so many places in Texas have 'negro' in their name, despite a law against it. Dec 11TH
3. This shows legislative branch because it is talking about passing a law. How they should pass a law against the word being everywhere.
4.Honestly I wouldn't care because this doesn't have to do with me but if say it did and something happened then I would start to question.

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Editor's note: This is a story about the pervasive nature of racial insensitivity in America and how it persists to this day, and contains terms some might find offensive.
In 1991, Texas passed a law to remove the word "Negro" from its place names. But today, over two dozengeographic places in the state - think creeks, valleys and other small features - still have the word in their names.

That's because the federal government blocked the name changes.

In almost 30 years, only one of the places mentioned in the bill has been renamed, according to an NPR review. And the most vocal advocates of this law weren't aware the changes had never been made until NPR contacted them earlier this year.

Rodney Ellis, a Harris County commissioner and the bill's sponsor in 1991, said it is time to make sure these place names are changed for good.

"After the George Floyd incident in particular, we're in an era of racial reckoning. We're looking at a lot of wrongs that we just ignored and oftentimes perpetrated for decades, for centuries," Ellis said, referring to the death of Black man at the hands of police in May that tipped off nationwide protests.
Why weren't the names changed?
"We're really trying to see what we can do to be more inclusive and make everybody feel a part of the fabric of America. And that's why it's important to get rid of those old racially offensive terms."

Scattered across the state, there are places named "Negro Bend," "Negro Hollow" and "Negrohead Bluff," among others. The 1991 bill sought to ban the word from all Texas geographic features, listing 19 examples.

The places were to be renamed after African Americans who made significant contributions to the state.

But the federal board in charge said no.

It turns out that states do not have theauthorityto officially rename their geographic features. That authority lies with the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, which is part of the Department of Interior.

The state submitted proposals for each of the places it identified. But the proposals were rejected because they did not have a historical connection to the geography they would name, USBGN researcher Jennifer Runyon said.

And there was no evidence of county support or input, she said, which the board takes seriously when renaming features.

"We spent a lot of time reaching out to the counties," she said, "and a lot of them said, 'No, don't change those names. And we were not consulted.' "

One by one, each proposal was dismissed.

And the board didn't revisit them. It doesn't seek out names to change - it simply reacts to proposals, Runyon said.

That isn't acceptable, said Texas NAACP President Gary Bledsoe, one of the most vocal and active supporters of the legislation before it was passed.

"Negro is still offensive. It's outrageous," he said. "Offensive names have no place in the public domain."

He said many of the places were named haphazardly with racist overtones. Those names don't carry historic value either, he added.

Bledsoe, who spent years advocating against these place names, did not know the changes were never made.

He and Ellis both thought that once then-Texas Gov. Ann Richards signed the bill into law in 1991, the issue was resolved, until NPR contacted them for this story.

Harris County, where Ellis lives and works, houses Negrohead Lake. The lake was listed in the bill, but the federal board rejected the plan to rename it because the board " did not observe any evidence that there was any local involvement in the renaming process."

He said he's making it a priority now to push to get the names changed.

"We are writing to express our serious concerns with the numerous racially offensive names of creeks, rivers, cliffs and other geographic features in Texas," Ellis and state Rep. Ron Reynolds said in a Nov. 16 letter to the Texas Department of Transportation and the Texas Geographic Names Committee.

"Given the current moment in our history and our collective efforts to reconcile a racist past, now is the time to change these names and I hope that we can work with both of your offices to do so," the two stated in the letter.

By early December, Ellis' office has not received a response, but both departments confirmed that they received the email.
'A sign of disrespect'
A transportation departmentspokesperson said the department will research the bill and set up a meeting with Ellis and Reynolds at another date.

The term "Negro" has a complicated history. The way Black communities identify - and the way the U.S. government identifies them - has shifted over time. While it was once used as a common descriptor in the U.S., many people today find the term antiquated and offensive.

Using the word "Negro" for place names like these isn't appropriate, said Minkah Makalani, an associate professor of African and African Diaspora studies at the University of Texas at Austin.

"It's an outdated word that didn't really identify anything. And so if you think about the history of the enslavement of Africans in the Americas, it is part of the process of stripping away history," Makalani said.

"From my perspective, to maintain for place names the word Negro - it could be a sign of disrespect," he added. "It could be a sign of wanting to maintain a set of relationships from a bygone era."

Ellis said he believed the place namestoday could cause divisions in the community and promote outdated and prejudiced views.
Approved name changes
He considers the term in today's context to be a slur.

Only one of the 19 places mentioned in the 1991 bill was eventually changed to the proposed name. That didn't happen until 2018, according to federal records.

In Montgomery County, a property developer requested that the legislature's name change be made official. The federal board honored his request and Negro Pond became Emancipation Pond.

The board has granted other similar small-scale requests. One of the more alarming examples in the state was an area located in northwest Texas named Dead Negro Draw.

The board approved a proposal in April this year from Garza County Judge Lee Norman to rename the area Buffalo Soldier Draw.

Runyon, from thefederal board, said this proposal went through easily because it had historical context and came from the county judge.
A federal push to change many place names?
The process can be straightforward, if local communities put forward the proposals, Runyon said.

Across the U.S., there are at least 600 geographic features with "Negro" in the names, according to a search on U.S. Geological Survey's website. It's worth noting that "negro" is the Spanish word for the color black, and some of these do not appear to have a racial meaning. And some are structures still bearing segregation-era names, such as historical schools.

There are 26 places in Texas listed on the federal database with the term in their names, not counting names that are in Spanish.

There are also at least 800 places with the term Squaw, and dozens with Asian pejoratives, a search of the USGS website shows.

"It's past time to change many of these offensive names," U.S. Rep. Debra Haaland told NPR. "All visitors to our public lands deserve to feel welcome."

The Democrat from New Mexico introduced a bill called the Reconciliation in Place Names Act in the House at the end of September to address racially offensive names. The bill calls for the "review and revise offensive names of Federal land units" and for an advisory board to be established.

She said these place names effectively "restrict access to certain groups of people."

Her bill says the federal board's current process "[is] time-consuming, lacks transparency and public involvement, and fails to address the scope and breadth of inappropriate place names." It proposes a more proactive approach, seeking out and changing these names without the need for a proposal.

There's a precedent for widespread name changes in the U.S. The board changed all mentions of the N-word in geographic place namesto Negro in 1963 and substituted Japanese for the racial slur "Jap" in 1974.

Ellis said he was pleased to see Haaland's bill emerge. He said if it hadn't, he would have worked to get similar legislation introduced.
Reese Oxner is an intern on NPR's News Desk.
"To change the name would mean we're moving away from those racially offensive terms," he said, "that were a throwback to our dark prejudiced racist pasts."

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Why Do So Many Places In Texas Have 'Negro' In Their Name, Despite A Law Against It?

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Editor's note: This is a story about the pervasive nature of racial insensitivity in America and how it persists to this day, and contains terms some might find offensive. In 1991, Texas passed a law to remove the word "Negro" from its place names.

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A Single Senator Dashes Hopes for Latino and Women’s Museums — For Now

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A Single Senator Dashes Hopes for Latino and Women’s Museums — For Now

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1. Include the link in the LINK SPOT!!
2. 12-11-20
3. Its an example of the legislative branch using its powers because its the senate of utah taking the museum away.
4. I don't think this is a good idea because the museum is there to honor influential, women and latinos and if it were to be a museum that honored men in some way then i doubt it would be getting taken down.

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Senator Mike Lee, Republican of Utah, blocked the creation of Smithsonian museums honoring women and Latinos, warning they would worsen societal divides.

Senator Mike Lee of Utah, right, quickly made his objections to the museums known on broad philosophical grounds. Credit... Anna Moneymaker for The New York Times

For more than two decades, Latinos and their allies in Congress have been fighting to approve the creation of a National Museum of the American Latino in Washington. The push to create a national women's history museum has taken about as long.

There have been studies and commissions, and this year, bipartisan bills authorizing their creation under the Smithsonian umbrella passed the House for the first time by overwhelming margins.

So on Thursday night, as their congressional term dwindles to just days, Republican and Democratic senators gathered on the Senate floor in hopes of capturing overwhelming support to push both over the finish line. Instead, their attempt set off a rare and tense debate in the halls of Congress - over what the nation's museums stand for and the role of ethnic and gender identity in American life.

In the end, the objections of a single senator out of 100, Mike Lee of Utah, were enough to stop both measures and ensure that for now, their proponents will keep waiting. In a week where lawmakers have struggled, once more, to find agreement on stimulus money to help suffering Americans and small businesses, it was a fitting punctuation mark for an institution gripped with paralysis.

The dispute began shortly before dinnertime when Senators John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, and Bob Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, tried to advance the legislation setting up the Latino museum on the National Mall. They lauded the history and contributions of 60 million Americans, and painted the creation of a museum as a proper and symbolically significant recognition in the nation's capital of a diverse segment of Americans.

Mr. Lee, a conservative with libertarian leanings who often finds himself at odds with his colleagues and does not bend, quickly made his disapproval known on broad philosophical grounds.

"My objection to the creation of a new Smithsonian museum or series of museums based on group identity - what Theodore Roosevelt called hyphenated Americanism - is not a matter of budgetary or legislative technicalities," Mr. Lee said. "It's a matter of national unity and cultural inclusion."

Because his colleagues were trying to pass the bill by unanimous consent, a practice reserved for noncontroversial measures that speeds up the normal legislative process, his reservations alone were enough to block it.

Mr. Lee argued that creating the museums would drive wedges among Americans. He conjured dire scenes of societal strife.

"The so-called critical theory undergirding this movement does not celebrate diversity; it weaponizes diversity," he said. "It sharpens all those hyphens into so many knives and daggers. It has turned our college campuses into grievance pageants and loose Orwellian mobs to cancel anyone daring to express an original thought."

Addressing Mr. Menendez, he said that the history of Latinos and women should be a part of existing Smithsonian museums, and because those topics were not adequately represented there, that should be Congress's focus, not building new institutions.

Mr. Menendez, fuming, was far from convinced.

"I'm sorry," he said. "Sixty million Latinos in this country are watching tonight because this is a much-expected moment. Univision, Telemundo, affiliates across the country, national organizations and others have been waiting for this moment - a moment that everybody in the Congress of the United States agrees to, except for one colleague."

He argued that Latinos were just as entitled to their own cultural institution as African-Americans and Native Americans, to whom Smithsonian museums have been dedicated in recent years. When Mr. Lee said those groups had had their stories "virtually erased" by the government that sought to enslave or eradicate them, giving them a unique claim to dedicated federal facilities, Mr. Menendez said Latinos, too, had been "systemically excluded."

Mr. Lee is not the first to raise concerns about the Smithsonian being fractured into multiple identity-based museums. That concern, along with budgetary ones, has been one of the main points of opposition to a Latino museum in recent years amid extensive lobbying campaigns in its favor.

But Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, who tried to pass the bill creating a women's history museum, lamented that "it seems wrong" for a single senator to subvert a clear majority that favored the institutions.

"Surely in a year where we are celebrating the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage, this is the time, this is the moment to finally pass the legislation unanimously recommended by an independent commission to establish an American women's history museum in our nation's capital," Ms. Collins said. "I regret that will not occur this evening, but we will not give up the fight."

Senators in favor of the museums could still push to have them included in a must-pass year-end spending package. But with only days remaining in the congressional session, it was unclear whether they would succeed.

Proponents of the museums had already overcome another last-minute hurdle put up this week by Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, who said she supported their creation but wanted changes to how museum sites on the National Mall would be selected.

The effort to establish a museum dedicated to Latinos traces back to the early 1990s, when an institutional report concluded that the Smithsonian "displays a pattern of willful neglect" toward Latinos. The institution's leaders tried to change that, establishing the Smithsonian Latino Center. In 2008, Congress authorized a commission that ultimately recommended the creation of a 310,000-square-foot museum on the National Mall to function like the African-American museum.

The road for the women's history museum has been nearly as long. Ms. Collins noted on Thursday that she had introduced a bill in 2003, along with Ms. Murkowski and Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, to create one. Congress established a commission in 2014 to study the issue, and it also recommended building a full American Museum of Women's History at a prominent location in Washington, if not on the National Mall.

Even if Congress approved the museums, it would likely take about another decade to open their doors. Lawmakers would still have to allocate funds to supplement private fund-raising to begin building collections and physical structures for both.

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A Single Senator Dashes Hopes for Latino and Women's Museums - For Now

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Senator Mike Lee, Republican of Utah, blocked the creation of Smithsonian museums honoring women and Latinos, warning they would worsen societal divides. For more than two decades, Latinos and their allies in Congress have been fighting to approve the creation of a National Museum of the American Latino in Washington.

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Congress vows to watch Army response to Fort Hood violence by: AP News 12/9/20

The legislative branch is being used because they plan on investing more into the branch and also investigating more into other things.
4. What is your opinion of this?

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WASHINGTON (AP) - Members of Congress pledged on Wednesday to deepen their investigations into sexual assault, harassment and other problems at Fort Hood, Texas, and explore legislation, zeroing in on what officials say are glaring deficiencies in the Army criminal investigations unit at the base.

A day after Army officials released an independent panel's report on chronic leadership failures and widespread violence at Fort Hood, lawmakers said they will ensure the Army makes long-delayed changes. They praised the five-member panel and the initial response of Army leaders, who on Tuesday fired or suspended 14 officers and enlisted soldiers at the base.

"Red flags" have been ignored at the base for years, said Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., who leads the House Armed Services subcommittee on military personnel. She said she will hold Army leaders accountable as they move to address the failures.

Speier's panel and the House Oversight and Reform subcommittee on national security, headed by Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., are conducting their own investigations into the recent deaths of soldiers at Fort Hood, gathering thousands of pages of documents.

The investigations come after a year that saw as many as 28 soldiers assigned to Fort Hood die due to suicide, homicide or accidents, and included the bludgeoning death of Spc. Vanessa Guillen. Investigators say Guillen, 20, was killed by Spc. Aaron Robinson, who killed himself July 1 as police were trying to take him into custody.

Guillen was missing for more than two months before her remains were found. Her family has said Robinson sexually harassed her; the Army has said there is no evidence supporting that claim.

The independent panel found there was a permissive environment for sexual assault and harassment at the base. Panel members said in testimony before Speier's subcommittee that there was an alarming lack of knowledge about and confidence in the Army's sexual assault and harassment response and prevention program.

They said soldiers, particularly women, didn't know basic information about reporting incidents or what services there were to help them, and that female soldiers feared retaliation if they did file a report.

As an example, Chris Swecker, chairman of the independent panel, said just 20% of the soldiers in one of the base's larger units got all five "very easy" questions correct in a quiz on the sexual assault prevention program. In most units soldiers got just 45% to 60% correct.

Lawmakers questioned panel members about the Army's criminal investigators and what must be done to improve their ability to effectively work cases of assault, harassment or missing soldiers.

Swecker said that more civilian agents, with longer experience, should be moved to the Army Criminal Investigations Command, or CID, unit at the base. He said the base is used as a training ground for new agents who lack experience and often don't use key technology tools to locate missing solders.

For example, he said agents should immediately seek permission to ping a missing soldier's cellphone to determine their whereabouts, particularly if it's someone who isn't chronically away without leave, or AWOL.

Lynch said the report is a good first step in rectifying what he called a "toxic command climate" at the base. He said he believes CID investigators rely too heavily on polygraph tests to check assault and harassment claims. He pointed to the case of Sgt. Elder Fernandes, who was missing for more than a week before he was found dead about 28 miles from Fort Hood.

Fernandes, who was from Lynch's congressional district, had complained of sexual harassment, but the case was determined to be unsubstantiated after the accused passed a polygraph test. Swecker and other panel members said cases should not be decided by polygraph tests and that experienced agents would know better.

Lynch said his subcommittee will continue to investigate the deaths of Guillen and Fernandes and "ensure that Army leaders restore a climate at Fort Hood that respects, values, and protects the men and women under their command."

Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy on Tuesday fired three top commanders and suspended two others pending a further investigation. He also ordered a separate investigation into staffing and procedures at the base's CID unit. The Guillen family's lawyer said CID agents were among the 14 affected by McCarthy's administrative actions.

Army leaders concluded that leadership failures contributed to the widespread crime problems at Fort Hood. They accepted the review panel's recommendations and pledged to enact the changes.

The five-member panel spent three weeks at Fort Hood and conducted more than 2,500 interviews, including 647 in person. More than 500 of those were with female soldiers. They also collected more than 31,000 responses to a sexual assault and harassment survey.

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Congress vows to watch Army response to Fort Hood violence

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WASHINGTON (AP) - Members of Congress pledged on Wednesday to deepen their investigations into sexual assault, harassment and other problems at Fort Hood, Texas, and explore legislation, zeroing in on what officials say are glaring deficiencies in the Army criminal investigations unit at the base.

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2.Biden Names Two Obama White House Veterans To New Roles. New York Times Dec 10/20
3. This shows Executive Branch using it's power because the president is changing things up. Enforcing people to new roles and things to do.
4. In my opinion it doesn't bother me much but hearing my family talk about these things kind of scare me. They say things might change big due to a new resident running the house.

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Susan Rice, who was President Barack Obama's national security adviser, will lead the Domestic Policy Council. Denis McDonough, Mr. Obama's chief of staff, was nominated secretary of veterans affairs.

Susan Rice, a lifelong national security professional, is being placed in a top domestic policy job. Credit... Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

WASHINGTON - President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. named two senior officials from the Obama White House to key jobs on Thursday, putting Susan Rice, a former national security adviser, in charge of his Domestic Policy Council and nominating President Barack Obama's chief of staff, Denis McDonough, to be secretary of veterans affairs.

Both choices came as surprises, particularly the decision to place a lifelong national security professional like Ms. Rice into a top domestic policy job. At the same time, they reflect Mr. Biden's desire to populate the upper levels of his incoming administration with people he knows well, and with whom he has worked closely in the past.

The appointment of Ms. Rice also helps Mr. Biden meet his commitment to diversity by installing a Black woman in a White House post with major influence over a wide range of federal policies, from education to health care to racial equity.

Like Ms. Rice, Mr. McDonough, who if confirmed will take over the Department of Veterans Affairs, a politically important agency long known for dysfunction and scandal, has a national security background. He served as a foreign policy aide on Capitol Hill and then as President Barack Obama's deputy national security adviser before becoming his chief of staff.

During the Obama administration, both Mr. McDonough and Ms. Rice spent countless hours with Mr. Biden, then the vice president, in the Oval Office and the Situation Room. People familiar with their selection said the president-elect sees them both as tenacious managers with a deep understanding of the federal bureaucracy.

Ms. Rice's friendship with Mr. Biden led to speculation that he would choose her as his running mate, but he picked Senator Kamala Harris of California instead.

Though Mr. McDonough's selection was unexpected, former colleagues said he took an intense interest in military families during the Obama administration, as well as the notorious case backlog at the sprawling department that manages health care and other benefits for veterans. He also traveled regularly to combat zones, and often visited with wounded soldiers at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Mr. McDonough's wife, Kari, is the co-founder and president of an organization that assists veterans reintegrating into their communities.

"If you know Denis McDonough, there is nothing at all surprising about the idea that the V.A. would literally be the guy's dream government position," said Ben Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser in the Obama White House. "He's animated by veterans' issues in a way that he's not animated by anything else, including national security issues."

Mr. Rhodes recalled many instances when he would "round a turn in the West Wing at like 9 p.m. on a Tuesday and the guy was giving a tour to 10 wounded warriors."

Mr. McDonough, 51, would be just the second leader of the Department of Veterans Affairs since it supplanted the Veterans Administration in 1989 not to have served in the military. The other was President Trump's first secretary, David Shulkin, whom the Senate confirmed by unanimous consent.

The appointment of Ms. Rice, 56, was an even greater surprise. Many longtime domestic policy experts within the Democratic Party complained privately on Thursday that Mr. Biden had passed over candidates with direct experience on issues like education and the economy.

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Denis McDonough has been chosen to take over a politically important agency long known for dysfunction and scandal. Credit... Doug Mills/The New York Times

A graduate of Stanford and a Rhodes scholar, Ms. Rice joined President Bill Clinton's National Security Council staff in 1993 and went on to become an assistant secretary of state for African affairs. She returned to government under Mr. Obama, first as his ambassador to the United Nations and then as national security adviser, a job she held for four years.

After leaving government with the election of Mr. Trump, Ms. Rice became a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times for three years. Her last column for The Times was published on Dec. 1.

She has twice been a finalist for secretary of state, first under Mr. Obama and more recently as Mr. Biden assembled his national security team. But she was twice passed over, in part because of concern over a potentially bloody confirmation fight.

Republicans targeted Ms. Rice for comments she made shortly after the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on a U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, downplaying terrorism as a motive. In an election year, they turned the attack into a major political issue, singling out her and Hillary Clinton, then the secretary of state. Allies of Ms. Rice said she was the victim of smears and discrimination and noted that congressional inquiries found no wrongdoing on her part.

Ms. Rice's new position does not require Senate confirmation. In a statement announcing her appointment, Mr. Biden's transition team said that she "knows government inside and out and will carry through the president-elect's vision of a newly empowered Domestic Policy Council and turbocharge the effort to build back better."

Established in 1993, the Domestic Policy Council - much like its national security counterpart that Ms. Rice managed - coordinates domestic policymaking across the federal government, with the exception of the many economic matters overseen by the National Economic Council.

Mr. Rhodes said that Ms. Rice had worked extensively as national security adviser on issues that straddled the foreign and domestic realms during the Obama administration, including a flood of migrant families at the southern American border and an Ebola outbreak in Africa. "National security and domestic lines have been blurred," particularly since the advent of the coronavirus, sure to be one of her top priorities, he said.

Melody Barnes, who led the Domestic Policy Council under Mr. Obama, said Ms. Rice had the essential bureaucratic know-how required to run the body effectively and noted that she would be supported by a formidable staff of experts.

"She's an intellectual powerhouse," Ms. Barnes said. "She has extensive government experience and knows how to manage a process, and work with departments and agencies, which is an essential part of the director's job."

Ms. Rice comes from a family of domestic policy enthusiasts. Her mother, Lois Rice, was an education policy expert often called "the mother of the Pell grant" because of her key lobbying role behind the federal college subsidy created in 1965.

A pioneering Black woman in government, Ms. Rice also has a keen issue in racial justice. Ms. Barnes noted that the Domestic Policy Council would play a central role in Mr. Biden's efforts to advance racial equity.

A tour of duty in domestic affairs could also help position Ms. Rice for a future run for office. She recently contemplated a run for Senate in Maine, a state where she has family roots, and was a finalist to become Mr. Biden's vice-presidential running mate.

Like Ms. Rice, Mr. McDonough, a graduate of St. John's University in Minnesota and the Georgetown School of Foreign Service, is known as a demanding, hard-nosed manager impatient with confusion and delay. If confirmed, he will oversee a department whose vast size is matched only by its seemingly intractable problems.

It is the government's second-largest department, with around 375,000 employees and a budget of more than $200 billion that funds a troubled health care system that underwent immense strain after the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. Mr. Biden's hope is that Mr. McDonough can apply the management acumen he developed as chief of staff to making the troubled department more efficient and effective.

During the Obama administration, officials at a Phoenix medical center were found to have manipulated data concerning long wait times for veterans that may have led to patient deaths. That led to the departure of Eric Shinseki, the secretary at the time, and Mr. McDonough helped shepherd legislation to give veterans access to care outside the department's system.

Mr. Rhodes said Mr. McDonough became "obsessed" with cruelly long wait times for health care and made it a top priority when he served as chief of staff.

Mr. Trump put the troubled department at the center of his own political agenda, and pushed hard to expand veterans' access to private care. His most recent secretary, Robert L. Wilkie, shunned traditional veterans organizations and many lawmakers in favor of conservative groups that championed private care, notably Concerned Veterans for America, an advocacy group with ties to the billionaire industrialist brothers Charles G. and David H. Koch.

The department became deeply politicized and faced additional problems caused by an expensive electronic medical records system, the rollout of its expanded community care program and an inspector general's report highly critical of Mr. Wilkie's handling of a reported sexual assault case at a department hospital.

In a statement, Will Fischer, a senior adviser to the liberal veterans' group VoteVets, acknowledged that few had seen Mr. McDonough's selection coming. "Some may say this pick is unexpected and out of left field," he said, but called the choice "a grand slam."

"What the V.A. needs, more than anything, is an experienced manager, with deep depth of knowledge about how the agency works, how it interacts with other agencies and how to quickly build the agency back, even better," he said.

Mr. Biden plans to introduce Mr. McDonough and Ms. Rice at a public event in Wilmington, Del., on Friday afternoon.

Michael D. Shear, Jennifer Steinhauer and Jim Tankersley contributed reporting.

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Biden Names Two Obama White House Veterans to New Roles

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Susan Rice, who was President Barack Obama's national security adviser, will lead the Domestic Policy Council. Denis McDonough, Mr. Obama's chief of staff, was nominated secretary of veterans affairs. WASHINGTON - President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.

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Senate Rejects Attempted Blockade of Weapons Sale to U.A.E.

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Senate Rejects Attempted Blockade of Weapons Sale to U.A.E.

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December 9, 2020

NY Times

Its a example of the Legislative branch using its powers when it talks about how the Senate rejected the efforts to block the sale of munitions. It shows that the Senate has the power to stop continuous efforts  for a cause.

I overall agree with the choice of the Senate. If the senate was to stop the sale of munitions to other countries, that would not be good because of money intake. I can see the other side of the debate, but I still think that money for our country is better that stopping this sale.

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The Senate endorsed the Trump administration's last-minute push to sell a $23 billion arms package including armed drones and stealth fighter jets to the Emirati military.

The intended $23 billion sale includes 50 F-35 jets in a deal championed by Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law. Credit... Getty Images

WASHINGTON - The Senate on Wednesday rejected efforts to block the sale of munitions worth $23 billion to the United Arab Emirates, overcoming concerns about sending weapons to Gulf Arab nations.

The pair of votes, forced by a bipartisan group of senators, highlighted growing unease in Congress with sending large tranches of sophisticated weapons that could sharply alter the military balance to a region facing simmering proxy wars. But in a victory for President Trump, the majority voted against the blockade, endorsing his last-minute push to send armed drones and stealth fighter jets to the Emirati military and arguing that bolstering the country's arsenal would help nations allied against Iran.

"This would continue the 20 years of growth in our relationship, working side by side against common concerns and common enemies," Senator Roy Blunt, Republican of Missouri, said. "The U.A.E. has consistently been willing to stand with us in at least six long-term deployments. They come, they stay, they are side by side with us in the field."

The administration formally notified Congress last month of the intended $23 billion sale, a deal that included up to 50 F-35 jets, as many as 18 Reaper drones and other precision weapons. That push, championed by Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, came as he and other administration officials completed the Abraham accord, a joint agreement in which the United Arab Emirates became the third Arab nation to recognize Israel.

A vote to block the sale of F-35 jets failed 47 to 49, and a separate vote to block the sale of the drones failed 46 to 50, with Senators Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, both Democrats, voting in favor of the drone package. Mr. Kelly opposed the F-35 sale.

Administration officials have insisted that the arms sale - particularly the transfer of the coveted F-35 fighter jets - is not a direct reward for the Emirates' recognition of Israel. But they have acknowledged that it is linked to the broader diplomatic initiative, and Mr. Kushner briefed Senate Republicans on Tuesday on his work with the Emiratis, according to a person familiar with the discussion.

Emirati diplomats, led by the United Arab Emirates' ambassador, Yousef al-Otaiba, lobbied senators in the days leading up to the vote, running a rapid-response Twitter feed as lawmakers debated the provision and arguing that the sale "is critical to protecting our shared interests against common adversaries," referencing Iran.

"The UAE has purchased & operated some of the most advanced US defense systems including F-16s, Patriot & THAAD. @usairforce F-35 squadrons are based in the UAE," embassy officials wrote. "The UAE has never compromised or shared this technology with an adversary or without US knowledge & approval."

Democrats had accused Trump administration officials of rushing the sales through in the final months of Mr. Trump's term, and pointed to reports indicating the Emirates had previously misused American-made weapons.

"There is no doubt that the U.A.E.'s recent normalization agreement with Israel is a big deal, and there is a level of arms transfer that could make sense for an important partner in the region," said Senator Christopher S. Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut and one of the sponsors of the legislation to block the sales. "But the Emiratis' recent behavior in Yemen and Libya, where U.S. weapons were misused and given to radical militias, on top of their active and growing defense relationships with China and Russia, should give everyone pause."

Congressional efforts to block arms sales are rarely successful. After the administration last year circumvented Capitol Hill to allow the sale of billions of dollars of munitions to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, lawmakers tried to derail the deal but were unable to override the president's veto.

Still, the sale, which experts believe could take six to eight years to deliver, could be reversed by the incoming Biden administration. Several advisers to President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. are wary of sending munitions to the Gulf Arab nations because of the Saudi-led war in Yemen, which has created the world's greatest humanitarian disaster.

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Senate Rejects Attempted Blockade of Weapons Sale to U.A.E.

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The Senate endorsed the Trump administration's last-minute push to sell a $23 billion arms package including armed drones and stealth fighter jets to the Emirati military. WASHINGTON - The Senate on Wednesday rejected efforts to block the sale of munitions worth $23 billion to the United Arab Emirates, overcoming concerns about sending weapons to Gulf Arab nations.

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Senate Approves Defense-  Policy Bill Despite Trump Veto Threat

wall street journal

Updated Dec. 11, 2020 3:00 pm ET
the senate voted and Approved a bill
my agree with this bill because the best offence is a good defense

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The U.S. Senate voted 84-13 on Friday to approve a bipartisan defense-policy bill over President Trump's objections, with support for the legislation exceeding the two-thirds majority needed to override any eventual veto.

The National Defense Authorization Act is an annual bill that sets pay rates for troops and authorizes funds for military construction projects, aircraft, ships, nuclear weapons and other national-security programs. Congress has passed it on a bipartisan basis for 59 years in a row. Earlier this week, the House approved final passage by a veto-proof 335-78 majority. The bill will now go to the president's desk

The lopsided votes in both chambers came in the face of Mr. Trump's strong opposition, as most GOP lawmakers-including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) and other Republican leaders-rejected his demands to alter the bill's text in the waning weeks of his presidency. Among the exceptions were a few Republican senators whose names have been floated as possible future presidential contenders: Sens. Ted Cruz (R., Texas), Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) and Josh Hawley (R., Mo.). A total of 7 Republicans and 6 Democrats voted no.

Mr. Trump has said he would veto the NDAA unless Congress eliminates language that creates a commission to rename military installations, monuments and paraphernalia honoring Confederate commanders. He also has insisted on including language in the bill to terminate Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which grants social-media companies broad immunity for the content they publish from users on their sites.

In a statement of opposition issued Tuesday, the Trump administration said it strongly opposes the NDAA because it "fails to include critical national-security measures, includes provisions that fail to respect our veterans and our military's history, and contradicts efforts by this Administration to put America first in our national-security and foreign-policy actions."

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Senate Approves Defense-Policy Bill Despite Trump Veto Threat

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The U.S. Senate voted 84-13 on Friday to approve a bipartisan defense-policy bill over President Trump's objections, with support for the legislation exceeding the two-thirds majority needed to override any eventual veto.

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Latest: Biden urges public to have confidence in vaccine

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Latest: Biden urges public to have confidence in vaccine

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AP NEWS- 25 minutes ago
It is an example because it says what the president- elect Joe Biden has to do to transfer into the White House.
I think it was good for him to tell people to have confidence in the vaccine and to not loose hope because it reassures them that things are going to be okay in the future.

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WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on President-elect Joe Biden (all times local):

3:05 p.m.

President-elect Joe Biden says the American public should have confidence in a coronavirus vaccine that may soon begin to become available.

Biden said during remarks Friday in Wilmington that combatting the pandemic is "serious business" that requires "presidential leadership."

On Thursday, a U.S. government advisory panel endorsed widespread use of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine, putting the country just one step away from launching an epic vaccination campaign against the outbreak that has killed close to 300,000 Americans.

Shots could begin within days, depending on how quickly the Food and Drug Administration signs off, as expected, on the expert committee's recommendation.

Arguing that "there is no political influence" in the vaccine, Biden stressed the scientific research that has "led us to this point." He also reiterated his "bold and doable" commitment to trying to vaccinate 100 million Americans in the first 100 days of his administration.

Of the virus, Biden said, "We can wish this away, but we need to face it."

___

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PRESIDENT-ELECT JOE BIDEN'S TRANSITION TO THE WHITE HOUSE:

President-elect Joe Biden's historically challenging transition to power is becoming even more complicated as a federal investigation into his son's finances threatens to embolden congressional Republicans, who have already shown little willingness to work with him or even acknowledge his clear victory in last month's election.

Read more:

- Obama reunion? Biden fills Cabinet with former White House leaders

- Hundreds of GOP members sign onto Texas-led election lawsuit

- Joe Biden, Kamala Harris named Time magazine's Person of the Year

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The Latest: Biden urges public to have confidence in vaccine

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WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on President-elect Joe Biden (all times local): 3:05 p.m. President-elect Joe Biden says the American public should have confidence in a coronavirus vaccine that may soon begin to become available. Biden said during remarks Friday in Wilmington that combatting the pandemic is "serious business" that requires "presidential leadership."

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2.

Seattle Police Ruled In Contempt For Firing Less Lethal Weapons At BLM Protesters

source: NPR
Date: december 8 2020

3. This is an example of the executive branch because police are in charge of executing laws and in this case, they somewhat seem to be abusing their power.
4. I think that there should be new ways developed that can better control protests when they start to get violent.

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A federal judge has found the Seattle Police Department in contempt for violating an order to stop the "indiscriminate" use of chemical irritants or projectiles against protesters except in cases where officers faced imminent danger.

The Monday ruling by Judge Richard Jones of the Western District of Washington in Seattle said the department had failed to prove that its use of pepper spray, pepper balls, blast balls and paint balls during four Black Lives Matter protests was warranted.

However, after reviewing a trove of evidence, including videos and police reports, Jones said officers were justified in responding with those weapons in another four instances.

"Surely, compared to its uses of less lethal weapons earlier this year when this action was first brought, SPD's uses at these four protests appear to be more restrained," Jones wrote in a 27-page order.

He noted the department's "more targeted and proportional" use of the weapons since the initial injunction was issued, but added, "the court cannot ignore the clear violations."

Jones also dismissed the city's argument that it cannot be held liable for the individual actions of police officers. He said it had already agreed to an earlier order that outlined when and how lethal weapons may be used.

The judge said of the four types of less lethal weapons deployed by the department, he is "most concerned" over the use of rubber-coated blast balls - also called flashbang grenades - that generate a loud noise and bright light when detonated. He said they are the most "indiscriminate of the four."

"SPD has often hurled blast balls into crowds of protesters. In many cases, the accuracy of these baseball-style throws is suspect," Jones explained. He added that "they pose a greater collateral danger" to peaceful protesters than projectiles fired from a semi-automatic launcher.

He found that on at least two occasions SPD officers indiscriminately threw blast balls into crowds. During a protest on Sept. 7, two officers hurled them into two separate groups of BLM protesters after a glass shattered near the officers' feet. Neither was responding to an imminent threat, Jones said.

Then at a Sept. 23 protest, another officer who was walking several rows back from the front of a police line, grabbed a blast ball and threw it overhand into a crowd of protesters, according to the court documents.

The SPD had justified the blast balls, pepper spray, pepper balls and paint balls saying they are imperative to creating separation between protesters and officers. But Jones said that's not an authorized basis to use the weapons.

Jones did find the department was in compliance with the order in four confrontations, including after an officer was hit in the head with a bat. He sprayed several protesters with pepper spray while making his way back behind police lines. In another incident, an officer threw a blast ball into a crowd to reroute protesters after a Molotov cocktail was thrown, nearly hitting a demonstrator.

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Seattle Police Ruled In Contempt For Firing Less Lethal Weapons At BLM Protesters

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A federal judge has found the Seattle Police Department in contempt for violating an order to stop the "indiscriminate" use of chemical irritants or projectiles against protesters except in cases where officers faced imminent danger.

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Congress passes military authorization, one-week funding bill to advert government shutdown, NBC News, Dec 11, 2020
3. Why is this an example of the Legislative branch using its powers?
4. What is your opinion of this?

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WASHINGTON - The Senate passed a one-week stopgap bill to keep the government running through next Friday, buying time to hammer out deals on full-year funding and coronavirus aid.

Also Friday, the Senate passed a major defense authorization bill by a vote of 84-13 - giving final approval to the measure with a veto-proof majority after President Donald Trump threatened to spike it unless it included his demands to change internet liability laws.

The National Defense Authorization Act passed the House earlier by a vote of 335-78. It is unclear if Congress would override Trump's veto if he makes good on his vow to reject the measure.

Trump demanded that it include a repeal of an internet liability law commonly known as Section 230. He also opposed provisions in the bill to strip military bases of the names of Confederate leaders from the Civil War.

The government funding bill averts a government shutdown but sets up a new deadline next week.

The chamber passed the measure by a voice vote Friday, meaning no senator objected to its passage. The bill had a slight delay after Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., objected to the defense authorization measure and delayed all the Senate work.

The House already passed the one-week bill Wednesday. It now goes to Trump's desk for his signature.

Coronavirus aid negotiations continue, although they've faltered in recent days over disagreements between involving liability protections for employers, a Republican priority, and aid to state and local governments, a Democratic demand.

It is unclear whether a deal can be struck in time, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., have said they want to attach one to the government funding bill that they hope to complete next week.

Both have said it's not an option to leave for Christmas without a Covid-19 relief deal. Cases have skyrocketed in recent weeks and the United States on Thursday saw a record 3,110 confirmed Covid-19 deaths.

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Congress passes one-week funding bill to avert government shutdown

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WASHINGTON - The Senate passed a one-week stopgap bill to keep the government running through next Friday, buying time to hammer out deals on full-year funding and coronavirus aid.

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1. Include the link in the LINK SPOT!!
2. Put title of the article, Source of the article and date of the article.
3. Why is this an example of the Legislative branch using its powers? the congress is negotiating the pandemic relief
4. What is your opinion of this? this is extremely important because hundreds of people are dying from covid and we as a country need help handling the virus.

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Americans call on Congress for pandemic relief

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Another 853,000 people filed for first-time unemployment claims last week. Pandemic unemployment assistance is set to expire after Christmas and negotiations are ongoing in Congress for more relief.

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Can Trump Pre-emptively Pardon Allies or Himself? Clemency Power, Explained

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Can Trump Pre-emptively Pardon Allies or Himself? Clemency Power, Explained

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December 6, 2020
NY Times

This is a example of the Executive branch, because it questions the power the Trump has, and states the borderlines of his power. The presidential pardon is one of his powers, and this article is interesting because it talks about how what he wants to do with his allies is close to the borderline of presidential power.

I really have no opinion, I guess I am neutral. One thing I can say, is that this article is very interesting because it talks about the powers and the president has, and what is over the line.

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The president has discussed potential pardons that could test the boundaries of his constitutional power to nullify criminal liability.

President Trump has claimed that he has "the absolute right to pardon myself." Credit... Erin Schaff/The New York Times

WASHINGTON - As President Trump enters the endgame of his time in power, he is said to have consulted advisers about the possibility of granting pre-emptive pardons to his relatives and to allies like his personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani.

Mr. Trump has also claimed that he has "the absolute right to pardon myself," raising the possibility that he may try to impose roadblocks against any future federal prosecution of himself. And a federal judge this week unsealed heavily redacted documents revealing that the F.B.I. has been investigating an unidentified person for a potential pardon-for-bribe scheme.

The rising chatter about pardon issues follows closely on the heels of Mr. Trump's pardon last week of his former national security adviser Michael T. Flynn and has heightened interest in the scope and limits of his clemency power. Here is what you need to know.

It is an executive power that acts as a check and balance on the federal criminal justice system, enabling a president to bestow mercy upon offenders.

The Constitution gives the president clemency powers "to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment." This could be either a commutation, which reduces or eliminates a sentence imposed after a conviction for a crime, or a pardon - a broader nullification of all legal consequences for an offense.

Yes. In Ex parte Garland, an 1866 case involving a former Confederate senator who had been pardoned by President Andrew Johnson, the Supreme Court said the pardon power "extends to every offense known to the law, and may be exercised at any time after its commission, either before legal proceedings are taken or during their pendency, or after conviction and judgment."

It is unusual for a president to issue a prospective pardon before any charges are filed, but there are examples, perhaps most famously President Gerald R. Ford's pardon in 1974 of Richard M. Nixon to prevent him from being prosecuted after the Watergate scandal. And in 1977, on his first day in office, President Jimmy Carter pardoned hundreds of thousands of men who had dodged the draft during the Vietnam War, enabling many who had fled to Canada to return home without fear of prosecution.

No. For one thing, Mr. Trump only has clemency power over federal offenses. Some types of offense - like tax evasion and financial fraud - are offenses under both federal and state law. Mr. Trump does not have the authority to prevent state prosecutors from pursuing charges over such a matter. State prosecutors in New York are investigating various matters related to Mr. Trump's financial dealings.

Moreover, a pardon could increase one type of risk: When a pardon eliminates the possibility that the recipient might be prosecuted for a purely federal crime, it also eliminates the ability of that person to invoke the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in order to avoid testifying about it. Thus, pardon recipients subpoenaed before Congress or a grand jury would be compelled to talk; if they lied or refused to testify, that would be a new crime.

Yes. The Constitution does not bar pardons that raise the appearance of self-interest or a conflict of interest, even if they may provoke a political backlash and public shaming.

Shortly before leaving office in 1993, President George Bush pardoned six Reagan administration officials over " their conduct related to the Iran-contra affair," including Caspar W. Weinberger, the former defense secretary who was about to go to trial on charges that he had lied to Congress. The independent prosecutor, Lawrence E. Walsh, had been planning in the trial to explore whether Bush had played a greater role than he had acknowledged when he was the vice president, and Mr. Walsh accused Bush of a "cover-up."

In 2001, shortly before leaving office, President Bill Clinton issued several controversial pardons, including to his half brother, Roger Clinton, over a 1985 cocaine conviction for which he had served about a year in prison, and to Susan H. McDougal, a onetime Clinton business partner who had been jailed as part of the Whitewater investigation.

This is unclear. Usually, pardons are written in a way that specifically describes which crimes or sets of activities they apply to. There is little precedent laying out the degree to which a pardon can be used to instead foreclose criminal liability for anything and everything.

Notably, Ford's " full, free and absolute pardon " of Nixon was extraordinarily broad. It covered all federal crimes Nixon "committed or may have committed" during his presidency, rather than listing particular matters or categories of activities. But because prosecutors did not try to charge Nixon, the validity of this rare, open-ended clemency was untested.

In a law journal article this year, Aaron Rappaport, a law professor at the University of California, Hastings, argued that pardons must be specific about what they are covering. He cited English common-law principles that informed the founders' understanding of pardons, as well as fundamental democratic values. Still, he also acknowledged that "the existence of a specificity requirement has never been acknowledged by the Supreme Court."

This is unclear. There is no definitive answer because no president has ever tried to pardon himself and then faced prosecution anyway. As a result, there has never been a case that gave the Supreme Court a chance to resolve the question. In the absence of any controlling precedent, legal thinkers are divided about the matter.

Those who believe a president can pardon himself point out that the relevant text in the Constitution is broadly written and contains no explicit exception precluding a self-dealing use or abuse of that power. Because the founders did make an explicit exception for cases of impeachment, they argued, that implies they did not intend there to be any other exceptions.

But other legal thinkers have come up with theories for why the Supreme Court might nevertheless reject a purported self-pardon if it ever came up. For example, some scholars have argued that the founders' use of the word "grant" should be interpreted as meaning one person giving something to another, so a president cannot grant a pardon to himself.

In August 1974, four days before Nixon resigned, Mary C. Lawton, then the acting head of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, issued a terse legal opinion stating that "it would seem" that he could not pardon himself "under the fundamental rule that no one may be a judge in his own case." But she did not explain what transformed that principle into an unwritten legal limit on the power the Constitution bestows on presidents.

Yes. He could get Vice President Mike Pence to do it for him, using the 25th Amendment.

This part of the Constitution provides a mechanism for temporarily making the vice president the "acting president" when a president is disabled from carrying out his duties. In 2002 and 2007, for example, when President George W. Bush was preparing to be sedated for colonoscopies, he briefly handed the powers of the presidency to Vice President Dick Cheney.

In her 1974 memo, Ms. Lawton argued that it would be lawful for a president to declare himself temporarily disabled, receive a pardon from the vice president and then resume his role as president.

Probably. The Constitution does not create any explicit exception that invalidates pardons that were granted under dubious circumstances - like if a president took money in exchange, or was buying the silence of a witness to his own wrongdoing. Grants of clemency are widely understood to be irrevocable.

Still, a president who grants a pardon under corrupt circumstances could open himself up to prosecution for acts like bribery or obstruction of justice after he leaves office. Even Attorney General William P. Barr, who embraces a maximalist ideology of executive power, testified during his confirmation hearing that if a president pardoned someone in exchange for a promise not to incriminate him, "that would be a crime."

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Can Trump Pre-emptively Pardon Allies or Himself? Clemency Power, Explained

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The president has discussed potential pardons that could test the boundaries of his constitutional power to nullify criminal liability. WASHINGTON - As President Trump enters the endgame of his time in power, he is said to have consulted advisers about the possibility of granting pre-emptive pardons to his relatives and to allies like his personal lawyer Rudolph W.

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Ghost-Gun Company Raided by Federal Agents

wall street journal
Updated Dec. 11, 2020 7:40 am ET

this is a violation of illegal guns something or other so federal agents stormed this storage place thing and concinnated all the weapons

the bad guys where doing dad stuff so they got in trouble

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Federal agents on Thursday raided one of the nation's largest manufacturers of ghost-gun parts, a sign that federal law enforcement is cracking down on kits that allow people to make weapons at home.

The raid target, Nevada-based Polymer80, is suspected of illegally manufacturing and distributing firearms, failing to pay taxes, shipping guns across state lines and failing to conduct background investigations, according to an application for a search warrant unsealed Thursday after the raid took place.

The probe focuses on Polymer80's "Buy Build Shoot Kit," which includes the parts to build a "ghost" handgun. The kit, which Polymer80 sells online, meets the definition of a firearm, ATF investigators determined according to the warrant application. That means it would have to be stamped with a serial number and couldn't be sold to consumers who haven't first passed a background check.

Polymer80 chief executive David Borges didn't return phone calls or texts seeking comment Thursday evening.

Agents seized records and other evidence in Thursday's raid in Dayton, close to Carson City, a law-enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation said. No Polymer80 employees were arrested and no charges have been filed.

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Ghost-Gun Company Raided by Federal Agents

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Federal agents on Thursday raided one of the nation's largest manufacturers of ghost-gun parts, a sign that federal law enforcement is cracking down on kits that allow people to make weapons at home.

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1. Include the link in the LINK SPOT!!2. Put title of the article, Source of the article and date of the article.3. Why is this an example of the Legislative branch using its powers? 4. What is your opinion of this? 

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1. Include the link in the LINK SPOT!!2. Put title of the article, Source of the article and date of the article.3. Why is this an example of the Legislative branch using its powers? 4. What is your opinion of this? 

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1. Include the link in the LINK SPOT!!
2. Put title of the article, Source of the article and date of the article.

Trump threatens to veto defense bill unless social media shield is repealed-CBS News-December ,2 20202

3. Why is this an example of the Legislative branch using its powers?-President Trump is saying that he will not pass a bill into law until another bill is repealed.
4. What is your opinion of this?-I feel like the President should just let them go into law because the military needs the defense bill for more money.

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Washington - President Trump threatened Tuesday to veto a must-pass annual defense policy bill unless Congress agrees to end a federal law that provides social media companies with a crucial legal shield.

Mr. Trump made his threat in a pair of late-night tweets, in which he said Congress must include a repeal of the law known as Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act in the $740 billion National Defense Authorization Act for it to receive his signature. The president has for months been pressuring Congress to strip social media companies of the protections they receive under the 24-year-old law, claiming platforms like Twitter and Facebook censor and suppress conservative speech.

"Section 230, which is a liability shielding gift from the U.S. to 'Big Tech' (the only companies in America that have it - corporate welfare!), is a serious threat to our National Security & Election Integrity. Our Country can never be safe & secure if we allow it to stand," Mr. Trump tweeted. "Therefore, if the very dangerous & unfair Section 230 is not completely terminated as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), I will be forced to unequivocally VETO the Bill when sent to the very beautiful Resolute desk."

Section 230, which is a liability shielding gift from the U.S. to "Big Tech" (the only companies in America that have it - corporate welfare!), is a serious threat to our National Security & Election Integrity. Our Country can never be safe & secure if we allow it to stand.....
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 2, 2020

.....Therefore, if the very dangerous & unfair Section 230 is not completely terminated as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), I will be forced to unequivocally VETO the Bill when sent to the very beautiful Resolute desk. Take back America NOW. Thank you!
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 2, 2020

But the president is bumping up against opposition to his pledge to nix the defense bill without changes to Section 230, including from House and Senate leaders of the Armed Services Committees.

Senator Jim Inhofe, a Republican from Oklahoma who chairs the Senate panel, said the law has "nothing to do with the military."

"I agree with his sentiments, we ought to do away with 230, but you can't do it in this bill. That's not a part of the bill," he told reporters on Capitol Hill, adding he conveyed that to Mr. Trump.

Congressman Adam Smith, a Democrat from Washington and chair of the House Armed Services Committee, said the president's desire to do away with Section 230 is rooted in his dislike of Twitter.

"To be clear, Mr. President, Section 230 repeal wasn't included in the House OR Senate version of the NDAA. You're mad at Twitter. We all know it. You're willing to veto the defense bill over something that has everything to do with your ego, and nothing to do with defense," he tweeted.

To be clear, Mr. President, Section 230 repeal wasn't included in the House OR Senate version of the NDAA.

You're mad at Twitter. We all know it.

You're willing to veto the defense bill over something that has everything to do with your ego, and nothing to do with defense. https://t.co/qsELyzU9O0
- Rep. Adam Smith (@RepAdamSmith) December 2, 2020

Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon who co-authored Section 230, lambasted Mr. Trump for his threat.

"I'd like to start for the Blazers, but it's not going to happen either," he said in a statement, referencing the Portland Trail Blazers NBA team. "It is pathetic that Trump refuses to help unemployed workers, while he spends his time tweeting unhinged election conspiracies and demanding Congress repeal the foundation of free speech online."

Mr. Trump's 11th-hour demand came as lawmakers from both parties and the White House were negotiating the terms of the final military package. The House and Senate passed with bipartisan support their own versions of the bill, which addresses weapons procurement, pay for service members and troop levels, this summer.

On Wednesday afternoon, Smith and Congressman Mac Thornberry of Texas, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, said a bicameral agreement on the defense package has been reached.

"For 59 straight years, the NDAA has passed because members of Congress and presidents of both parties have set aside their own policy objectives and partisan preferences and put the needs of our military personnel and America's security first. The time has come to do that again," Smith and Thornberry said in a joint statement.

The lawmakers said the bill authorizes hazardous duty pay for service members and improvements to military housing, and provides $8.4 billion in military construction projects, among other provisions.

An earlier sticking point for the president was the inclusion in the bill of a provision that requires the Pentagon to rename bases and other military assets named for Confederate leaders. Mr. Trump threatened in July to kill the package if the measure was included.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters the president is serious about his veto threat and criticized Twitter for what she said was disparate treatment of Republicans on the platform.

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Trump threatens to veto defense bill unless social media shield is repealed

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Washington - President Trump threatened Tuesday to veto a must-pass annual defense policy bill unless Congress agrees to end a federal law that provides social media companies with a crucial legal shield.

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VP Mike Pence heads to Georgia Friday for vaccine update and Republican rally

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VP Mike Pence heads to Georgia Friday for vaccine update and Republican rally

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December 4th, Fox5 Atlanta.

This is an example of the Executive branch using it's powers because the Coronavirus Task Force was created by trump and the CDC works for the Executive branch, not the Legislative.

I personally like that the vaccine is so close to completion, because then life will probably return to a more normal state.

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All eyes on Georgia -- home to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and twin Senate runoffs, which both will be playing a role in the vice president's visit Friday.

Vice President Mike Pence will touch down in the Peach State in the early afternoon and head to the CDC in Atlanta. As head of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, Pence will be briefed on the COVID-19 vaccine and its distribution, which Gov. Brian Kemp has said Georgia is fully prepared to roll out once given approval.

No vaccine has been authorized for use in the U.S. yet, but preliminary results in several clinical trials are promising, setting the stage for probable availability by the end of the year.

Pence's scheduled stop Friday at the CDC comes on the heels of a grim record this week; U.S. deaths from the outbreak topped 3,100 in a single day.

But Pence remained optimistic in a visit in Tennessee Thursday.

"Help is on the way," Pence said. "We are just a matter, we believe, of days away from when we will begin to distribute tens of millions of doses of a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine for the American people."

Switching hats, Pence will then travel to Georgia's coast for a 'Defend the Majority Rally,' stumping for Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, just under a month out from the twin Senate runoffs.

In Savannah, he'll likely try to sing the same tune as his November visit, pitching the incumbents as the last line of defense in Washington for the GOP and encouraging Georgians to get out the vote, despite in-party fighting casting doubt about the elections system.

The Republican incumbents both face fierce opponents, Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff as they battle for control of the Senate.

The Democrats will also be receiving a boost from a big headliner. Former President Barack Obama will appear in a virtual campaign event on their behalf.

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VP Mike Pence heads to Georgia Friday for vaccine update and Republican rally

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All eyes on Georgia -- home to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and twin Senate runoffs, which both will be playing a role in the vice president's visit Friday. Vice President Mike Pence will touch down in the Peach State in the early afternoon and head to the CDC in Atlanta.

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Unveiling economic team, Biden pledges, ‘Help is on the way’

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Unveiling economic team, Biden pledges, ‘Help is on the way’

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December 1, 2020
The president is using his power to help rebuild the economy after this pandemic
I think that what he's doing is good, he's using his power to help benefit the country.

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WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) - President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday introduced top advisers he says will help his administration rebuild an economy hammered by the coronavirus pandemic, declaring, "I know times are tough, but I want you to know that help is on the way."

Biden said he'd chosen a "first-rate team" that is "tested and experienced" to tackle the country's economic crisis. He picked liberal advisers who have long prioritized the nation's workers and government efforts to address economic inequality.

Unemployment remains high as the COVID-19 outbreak widens the gulf between average people and the wealthiest Americans. The virus, which has claimed more than 269,000 lives nationwide, is resurgent across the country amid holiday travel and colder weather sending people indoors.

As he did frequently while campaigning, Biden promised that the U.S. would eventually emerge with an economy that is dramatically reshaped to better stamp out economic inequality.

"From the most unequal economic and job crisis in modern history, we can build a new American economy that works for all Americans, not just some," Biden said as he introduced his choices for some of the government's top economic posts during a speech at a theater in Wilmington, Delaware, where he has led his transition to the presidency.

Tuesday also marked the president-elect's first appearance since breaking two small bones in his right foot while playing with one of his dogs over the weekend. He wore a black walking boot and moved gingerly but tried to keep things light. As he emerged from his motorcade, Biden pointed to his boot and lifted his leg briefly to show it off.

Asked about his foot by reporters, Biden responded only, "Good, thanks for asking."

The injury, while not serious, again intensifies scrutiny on Biden's age, given that he just turned 78 and is the oldest president ever to be in his first term. Still, his team has tried to keep the focus on building out its government and upcoming policy challenges, chief among them the pandemic and the economy.

Biden repeatedly evoked his work as vice president when the Obama administration oversaw the economic recovery following the 2008 financial crisis, noting that many of those on his newly formed economic team worked closely with him then.

Most of his choices will require confirmation from the deeply divided Senate, where some top Republicans have already begun voicing opposition. Biden said he hopes "that we will be able to work across the aisle in good faith, move forward as one country."

Janet Yellen, Biden's nominee for treasury secretary, served as chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018, when she placed a greater emphasis than previous Fed chairs on maximizing employment and less focus on price inflation. Biden also named Cecilia Rouse as chair of his Council of Economic Advisers, and Heather Boushey and Jared Bernstein as members of the council.

Yellen called the economic havoc the pandemic has wrought "an American tragedy."

"To the American people: We will be an institution that wakes up every morning thinking about you," Yellen said of the Treasury Department, "Your jobs, your paychecks, your struggles, your hopes, your dignity and your limitless potential."

If confirmed by the Senate, Yellen would be the first woman to serve as treasury secretary, after breaking ground as the first woman to chair the Fed.

"We might have to ask Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote a musical about the first secretary of the treasury, Hamilton, to write another musical about the female secretary of the treasury," Biden joked.

Rouse would be the first Black woman to lead the CEA in its 74 years of existence. The president-elect also selected Wally Adeyemo to be Yellen's deputy, which would make him the first Black deputy treasury secretary. Neera Tanden, Biden's pick for director of the Office of Management and Budget, would be the first South Asian American in that job.

Rouse, Tanden and Adeyemo will all require Senate confirmation, and Tanden, in particular, is already drawing heavy Republican criticism.

"Budgets are not abstractions. They are a reflection of our values," Tanden said during Tuesday's event.

All of Biden's picks are outspoken supporters of more government stimulus spending to boost growth - which Biden embraced on the campaign trail - though their proposals could face a difficult reception in Congress, which has stalemated on a new round of economic relief for months.

The prospects for a large-scale deal could hang on the outcome of runoff elections for both Georgia Senate seats. Victories in both would give Democrats control of the chamber - and its agenda -- by the slimmest of margins, but Republican victories will quickly test Biden and his team's ability to negotiate across the aisle to deliver on their promised relief for Americans.

As he has in recent weeks, Biden repeated calls for Congress to pass immediate pandemic relief funding even before he takes office.

"Right now, the full Congress should come together and pass a robust package for relief," he said. But Biden added that any package passed during the lame-duck session before the end of the year is "likely to be at best just a start" and said his transition team is "already working on what I'll put forward in the next Congress to address the multiple crises we're facing."

In the meantime, grim economic news is piling up. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Monday that the pace of improvement in the economy has moderated in recent months with future prospects remaining "extraordinarily uncertain."

And Steven Mnuchin, President Donald Trump's treasury secretary, announced last month that, over the objections of the Fed, he would not grant extensions for five lending programs being operated jointly by the Fed and the Treasury Department that are scheduled to expire on Dec. 31 - including backstops for corporate and municipal debt and the purchase of loans for small businesses and nonprofits.

___

Weissert reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Christopher Rugaber, Aamer Madhani and Martin Crutsinger contributed to this report.

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Unveiling economic team, Biden pledges, 'Help is on the way'

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WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) - President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday introduced top advisers he says will help his administration rebuild an economy hammered by the coronavirus pandemic, declaring, "I know times are tough, but I want you to know that help is on the way."

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U.S. plans to execute second federal inmate in as many days-nbcnews
dec 11,2020

3. Why is this an example of the Legislative branch using its powers?
Because the Legislative branch is using it's power  to sentence someone to death when the attorney said it unconstitutionally held evidence.

4. What is your opinion of this?
i believe this unfair, he has a intellectual disability that should prevent him from being put to death and his attorneys claimed the prosecution didn't contain enough evidence that would lead jurors to give him a life sentence.

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Dec 11, 2020
Congress passes military authorization, one-week funding bill to avert government shutdown-nbc news

3. Why is this an example of the Legislative branch using its powers?
This is an example because it talks about how congress could override the veto if trump rejects it.
4. What is your opinion of this?
i think it's good that they're giving covid relief because the numbers are really high right now and the people that have been majorly effected by or have been unemployed could use the extra fundings.

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WASHINGTON - The Senate passed a one-week stopgap bill to keep the government running through next Friday, buying time to hammer out deals on full-year funding and coronavirus aid.

Also Friday, the Senate passed a major defense authorization bill by a vote of 84-13 - giving final approval to the measure with a veto-proof majority after President Donald Trump threatened to spike it unless it included his demands to change internet liability laws.

The National Defense Authorization Act passed the House earlier by a vote of 335-78. It is unclear if Congress would override Trump's veto if he makes good on his vow to reject the measure.

Trump demanded that it include a repeal of an internet liability law commonly known as Section 230. He also opposed provisions in the bill to strip military bases of the names of Confederate leaders from the Civil War.

The government funding bill averts a government shutdown but sets up a new deadline next week.

The chamber passed the measure by a voice vote Friday, meaning no senator objected to its passage. The bill had a slight delay after Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., objected to the defense authorization measure and delayed all the Senate work.

The House already passed the one-week bill Wednesday. It now goes to Trump's desk for his signature.

Coronavirus aid negotiations continue, although they've faltered in recent days over disagreements between involving liability protections for employers, a Republican priority, and aid to state and local governments, a Democratic demand.

It is unclear whether a deal can be struck in time, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., have said they want to attach one to the government funding bill that they hope to complete next week.

Both have said it's not an option to leave for Christmas without a Covid-19 relief deal. Cases have skyrocketed in recent weeks and the United States on Thursday saw a record 3,110 confirmed Covid-19 deaths.

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Congress passes one-week funding bill to avert government shutdown

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WASHINGTON - The Senate passed a one-week stopgap bill to keep the government running through next Friday, buying time to hammer out deals on full-year funding and coronavirus aid.

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nytimes- Senate Approves Bill to Avoid Shutdown December 11, 2020

They passed a bill to avoid the shut down of the U.S.

I think this is a good idea because a vaccine is on the way and our economy is falling apart already

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transcript

"Small businesses need saving right now, unemployed people need relief extended right now, vaccine distribution networks need funding right now. None of that should be held hostage over intergovernmental bailouts for states that are currently raking in revenue faster than they can spend it. And yet the speaker and the Democratic leader have persuaded their entire conference that nothing should pass unless the governors of California and New York get to cut the line and jump in front of millions of Americans who are trying to figure out how to pay their bills each and every month." "As 15 million Americans got sick, and as 292,001 Americans died, the Senate Republican majority, led by the majority leader, made sure the Senate could not do anything of significance to help the American people. May, June, July, August - pause, we don't need to do anything, said the leader. Let's wait and see what happens. Democrats didn't say that, the leader did - waited and waited and waited. Now it's December, and we still, because of the leader's intransigence, have nothing of significance to help the American people during the worst economic crisis in 75 years and the greatest public health crisis in a century." "The question is on passage of the bill. All in favor, say 'aye.'" "Aye." "All opposed say 'no.' The 'ayes' appear to have it. The 'ayes' do have it. And the bill is passed."

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Video: Senate Approves Bill to Avoid Shutdown

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transcript "Small businesses need saving right now, unemployed people need relief extended right now, vaccine distribution networks need funding right now. None of that should be held hostage over intergovernmental bailouts for states that are currently raking in revenue faster than they can spend it.

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1. Include the link in the LINK SPOT!!2. Put title of the article, Source of the article and date of the article.3. Why is this an example of the Legislative branch using its powers? because he made a declaration that people need to get the vaccine 4. What is your opinion of this? i feel that he shouldnt be rusihing thevaccines going out because there isnt much logic backing up the vaccines and nobody knows the long term effects of the vaccine

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1. Include the link in the LINK SPOT!!2. Put title of the article, Source of the article and date of the article.3. Why is this an example of the Legislative branch using its powers? because he made a declaration that people need to get the vaccine 4. What is your opinion of this? i feel that he shouldnt be rusihing thevaccines going out because there isnt much logic backing up the vaccines and nobody knows the long term effects of the vaccine

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Washington - Operation Warp Speed, the government's vaccine effort, is instructing clinics administering the Pfizer vaccine to wait until later this month to inoculate elderly residents at long-term care facilities, even though doses will be arriving in all 50 states this week and despite the CDC's recommendation that the elderly be prioritized given their vulnerability to the coronavirus.

CBS News has obtained two Operation Warp Speed documents produced by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) with guidance for CVS and Walgreens, the pharmacy partners charged with carrying out the vaccination of residents at long-term care facilities. HHS explicitly instructs providers that the "earliest the program can turn on is Dec 21st," referring to administering the Pfizer vaccine. The rate of infection at nursing homes has been spiking in recent weeks, which makes that a potentially costly delay.

On "Face the Nation" on Sunday, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar the rollout as a "turnkey vaccination" effort and denied delaying the start date for long-term care facilities. CBS News obtained the HHS documents spelling out the December 21 start date following the interview.

"We're not actually asking the nursing homes to wait. And we were able to have a really good discussion with CVS leadership about this misunderstanding that they had at the president's vaccine distribution summit," Azar said, stating that vaccinations can start "really any day" and adding that all nursing home residents could be vaccinated by Christmas.

Hackensack Meridian Health CEO Robert Garrett, who runs one of New Jersey's largest hospital systems, confirmed on "Face the Nation" that the long-term care facilities his company operates were told again this morning to wait to vaccinate nursing home residents.

"I did hear the secretary's interview, but the latest information I have from CVS and Walgreens is that they would start on the week of the 21st," Garrett said. He added that it was unclear to him why the elderly would have to wait, given that the CDC recommendation is for the first group of recipients to be front-line health care workers and long-term care residents.

"So, I just assumed that that would start at the same time," Garrett told "Face the Nation." His hospitals expect to receive vaccine doses on Monday and plan to begin vaccinating front-line medical staff the following day.

Former FDA Commissioner Dr Scott Gottlieb also confirmed the delay and said it was due to the fact that nursing home residents or their families must still provide consent for the vaccine.

"It's a very costly delay. There [are] 50,000 new infections in nursing homes every week right now, probably more than that. And we know 20% of people in the nursing homes who are infected will succumb to the infection. So, there's a lot of death happening in these nursing homes," he said on "Face the Nation."

Gottlieb, a former Trump administration official who now advises a number of governors, estimated that it would take about a week to get consent from patients. He also estimated it would three weeks total for CVS and Walgreens to inoculate nursing home residents. Gottlieb also serves on Pfizer's board of directors.

It is not clear why Operation Warp Speed did not arrange in advance to help obtain consent. Gottlieb said it should have been done ahead of time.

"I think they could have. They could have provided a fact sheet. They could have cleared a fact sheet with the FDA, maybe provided a limited emergency use authorization just for the nursing homes to get that information cleared so they could have properly consented patients. That wasn't done," Gottlieb said.

CVS declined to comment on Azar's remarks. Last month, Larry Merlo, the CEO of CVS Health, told "Face the Nation" that he expected to begin the vaccination process within 48 hours of receiving the vaccine supply. All 50 states are scheduled to begin receiving vaccine doses on Monday.

The HHS document obtained by CBS News further states that jurisdictions must select just one vaccine, made by either Pfizer or Moderna. Those who select the Moderna vaccine - which has not yet been approved by the FDA for emergency use - cannot distribute it to nursing homes until December 28.

Staff at those long-term care facilities can also receive vaccinations at the on-site clinics. The HHS document is labeled as a "draft - pre-decisional & deliberative."

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Trump administration pushing delay in nursing home vaccinations

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Washington - Operation Warp Speed, the government's vaccine effort, is instructing clinics administering the Pfizer vaccine to wait until later this month to inoculate elderly residents at long-term care facilities, even though doses will be arriving in all 50 states this week and despite the CDC's recommendation that the elderly be prioritized given their vulnerability to the coronavirus.

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Unveiling economic team, Biden pledges, ‘Help is on the way’

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Unveiling economic team, Biden pledges, ‘Help is on the way’

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December 1, 2020

It talks about Biden and his plan to restore the country's economy. He also made promises that he will use his power to restore this economy.

I just hope he goes through with what he said for the country.

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WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) - President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday introduced top advisers he says will help his administration rebuild an economy hammered by the coronavirus pandemic, declaring, "I know times are tough, but I want you to know that help is on the way."

Biden said he'd chosen a "first-rate team" that is "tested and experienced" to tackle the country's economic crisis. He picked liberal advisers who have long prioritized the nation's workers and government efforts to address economic inequality.

Unemployment remains high as the COVID-19 outbreak widens the gulf between average people and the wealthiest Americans. The virus, which has claimed more than 269,000 lives nationwide, is resurgent across the country amid holiday travel and colder weather sending people indoors.

As he did frequently while campaigning, Biden promised that the U.S. would eventually emerge with an economy that is dramatically reshaped to better stamp out economic inequality.

"From the most unequal economic and job crisis in modern history, we can build a new American economy that works for all Americans, not just some," Biden said as he introduced his choices for some of the government's top economic posts during a speech at a theater in Wilmington, Delaware, where he has led his transition to the presidency.

Tuesday also marked the president-elect's first appearance since breaking two small bones in his right foot while playing with one of his dogs over the weekend. He wore a black walking boot and moved gingerly but tried to keep things light. As he emerged from his motorcade, Biden pointed to his boot and lifted his leg briefly to show it off.

Asked about his foot by reporters, Biden responded only, "Good, thanks for asking."

The injury, while not serious, again intensifies scrutiny on Biden's age, given that he just turned 78 and is the oldest president ever to be in his first term. Still, his team has tried to keep the focus on building out its government and upcoming policy challenges, chief among them the pandemic and the economy.

Biden repeatedly evoked his work as vice president when the Obama administration oversaw the economic recovery following the 2008 financial crisis, noting that many of those on his newly formed economic team worked closely with him then.

Most of his choices will require confirmation from the deeply divided Senate, where some top Republicans have already begun voicing opposition. Biden said he hopes "that we will be able to work across the aisle in good faith, move forward as one country."

Janet Yellen, Biden's nominee for treasury secretary, served as chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018, when she placed a greater emphasis than previous Fed chairs on maximizing employment and less focus on price inflation. Biden also named Cecilia Rouse as chair of his Council of Economic Advisers, and Heather Boushey and Jared Bernstein as members of the council.

Yellen called the economic havoc the pandemic has wrought "an American tragedy."

"To the American people: We will be an institution that wakes up every morning thinking about you," Yellen said of the Treasury Department, "Your jobs, your paychecks, your struggles, your hopes, your dignity and your limitless potential."

If confirmed by the Senate, Yellen would be the first woman to serve as treasury secretary, after breaking ground as the first woman to chair the Fed.

"We might have to ask Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote a musical about the first secretary of the treasury, Hamilton, to write another musical about the female secretary of the treasury," Biden joked.

Rouse would be the first Black woman to lead the CEA in its 74 years of existence. The president-elect also selected Wally Adeyemo to be Yellen's deputy, which would make him the first Black deputy treasury secretary. Neera Tanden, Biden's pick for director of the Office of Management and Budget, would be the first South Asian American in that job.

Rouse, Tanden and Adeyemo will all require Senate confirmation, and Tanden, in particular, is already drawing heavy Republican criticism.

"Budgets are not abstractions. They are a reflection of our values," Tanden said during Tuesday's event.

All of Biden's picks are outspoken supporters of more government stimulus spending to boost growth - which Biden embraced on the campaign trail - though their proposals could face a difficult reception in Congress, which has stalemated on a new round of economic relief for months.

The prospects for a large-scale deal could hang on the outcome of runoff elections for both Georgia Senate seats. Victories in both would give Democrats control of the chamber - and its agenda -- by the slimmest of margins, but Republican victories will quickly test Biden and his team's ability to negotiate across the aisle to deliver on their promised relief for Americans.

As he has in recent weeks, Biden repeated calls for Congress to pass immediate pandemic relief funding even before he takes office.

"Right now, the full Congress should come together and pass a robust package for relief," he said. But Biden added that any package passed during the lame-duck session before the end of the year is "likely to be at best just a start" and said his transition team is "already working on what I'll put forward in the next Congress to address the multiple crises we're facing."

In the meantime, grim economic news is piling up. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Monday that the pace of improvement in the economy has moderated in recent months with future prospects remaining "extraordinarily uncertain."

And Steven Mnuchin, President Donald Trump's treasury secretary, announced last month that, over the objections of the Fed, he would not grant extensions for five lending programs being operated jointly by the Fed and the Treasury Department that are scheduled to expire on Dec. 31 - including backstops for corporate and municipal debt and the purchase of loans for small businesses and nonprofits.

___

Weissert reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Christopher Rugaber, Aamer Madhani and Martin Crutsinger contributed to this report.

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Unveiling economic team, Biden pledges, 'Help is on the way'

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WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) - President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday introduced top advisers he says will help his administration rebuild an economy hammered by the coronavirus pandemic, declaring, "I know times are tough, but I want you to know that help is on the way."

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Trump on course to complete UAE arms deal after Senate fails to block him

- Washington Post, Dec. 9, 2020

This shows the president passing on an arms deal, which shows how the president works by passing laws.
I do not like this idea at all, because the arms deal can get dangerous at times, and it could also fuel an enemy as well.

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A F-35 Lightning II flown by Air Force Capt. Kristin "BEO" Wolfe performs during this year's Fort Lauderdale Air Show in Florida. (Capt. Kip Sumner/U.S. Air Force/Reuters)

The Trump administration remains on course to complete a controversial $23 billion arms sale to the United Arab Emirates after bipartisan Senate efforts to block the deal failed to gain enough support to clear a critical procedural hurdle Wednesday.

A majority of senators voted against two motions to block the sale of F-35 fighter jets, Reaper drones and other military equipment, stymying the effort to stop - or at least slow - the sale of cutting-edge weaponry to a country with which the United States has an exceptionally tense alliance.

Senators backing the legislation have raised alarms about the speed with which the Trump administration has tried to complete the sale, which was announced in the wake of the Emiratis signing a peace deal with Israel. They have also warned that the administration's end-run around Congress sets a dangerous precedent of cutting lawmakers out of national security deliberations.

"Why the rush?" said Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking Democrat Robert Menendez (N.J.), who sponsored the resolutions along with panel senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.). "Are they trying to lock in the sale before President-elect Biden is inaugurated, regardless of the possible cost to U.S. and Israeli national security?"

Peace deal or arms race? Proposed sale of F-35 to UAE raises fears in Israel.

Advocates of the arms deal have argued that selling the attack aircraft and munitions to the Emirates will improve Israel's regional security and is a necessary reward to Abu Dhabi for signing the peace deal.

"The UAE is worthy of this sale because it is strongly aligned with the United States in the Middle East," Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.) said Tuesday. "Voting down this sale would signal to our partners that even when they do everything we ask . . . the U.S. won't have their backs."

But the senators who tried to block the deal aren't convinced that the UAE is yet a reliable enough ally to handle the United States' most sensitive military equipment. They pointed out that the UAE has a troubling record when it comes to addressing the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, fomented for years by the Saudi-led bombing campaign there.

Citing evidence that the weapons sold to the UAE previously ended up in the hands of al-Qaeda-linked militias inside Yemen, they also questioned whether the UAE had proved itself capable of protecting some of the most sensitive American military technology. And they noted that the UAE's defense relationships with Russia and China make the stakes of the UAE's trustworthiness particularly steep.

"They are still a barrier to peace," Murphy said of the UAE on Wednesday, questioning whether the United States "can be absolutely certain that the technology on board those fighter jets, those drones, are going to stay in the right hands."

When the sale is completed, the UAE will become the first Arab country to acquire F-35s, setting a standard that other deep-pocketed buyers will probably seek to follow.

Emirati purchases of U.S. materiel have more than tripled annually under the Trump administration, to $3.5 billion authorized in fiscal year 2020, a number that will be dwarfed if the $23 billion F-35 sale goes through. But Saudi Arabia has for years been the most lucrative American market worldwide, purchasing a whopping $173 billion worth of weapons since 1950 - quadruple the total purchased by Israel, its closest competitor.

The Saudis have previously expressed interest in buying F-35s. But weapons sales to Riyadh have recently taken a nosedive, falling from $15 billion in fiscal 2019 to just $1.2 billion in fiscal 2020, in the face of revelations about Saudi culpability in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and increased scrutiny of the devastation in Yemen.

Last year, the Senate and House voted to block several arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, but Trump vetoed the measures and lawmakers could not muster enough support for an override. During those votes, a handful of Republicans joined all Democrats in voting to block the arms deals; during Wednesday's votes, two Democrats - Arizona Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly - joined all Republicans but Paul in voting to sustain them.

The latest attempt to protest Trump's arms sales comes as Democrats begin to examine how a Biden administration will approach arms sales to the Middle East. Such concerns were punctuated by the president-elect's decision this week to nominate Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III as his defense secretary. Austin sits on the board of Raytheon, a defense contracting giant that stands to profit from the latest UAE arms deals and produced the precision-guided munitions that were used to target civilians in Yemen.

Austin is expected to face questioning about his Raytheon ties when he testifies before the Senate and House, both of which must approve a waiver to clear the way for his confirmation. Last month, Reps. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) sent a letter to Biden, asking him not to appoint a defense secretary with ties to defense contractors.

But at least one of Congress's key voices advocating against arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE has dismissed the notion that Austin's Raytheon affiliation will be cause for concern.

"There have been past cases of high-profile people who have served in positions where they have extensive financial holdings, or extensive ties in industry," Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said in an interview. "The key to that is to have clear recusal and conflicts of interest disclosure standards, and to have the high ethical standards."

Karen DeYoung contributed to this report.

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Trump on course to complete UAE arms deal after Senate fails to block him

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The Trump administration remains on course to complete a controversial $23 billion arms sale to the United Arab Emirates after bipartisan Senate efforts to block the deal failed to gain enough support to clear a critical procedural hurdle Wednesday.

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2.

Supreme Court sides with Colorado church over COVID attendance caps-Cbs News-December 15, 2020

3. The Supreme court is in a case on weather or not they should put COVID restrictions on houses of war ship.

4. I don't really know what my opinion is on this. I would understand if the government cannot put restrictions in churches but I would also understand if it would be declared unconstitutional because it goes against the first amendment in a way.

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Washington - The Supreme Court on Tuesday sided with a Colorado church challenging the state's capacity restrictions on houses of worship during the coronavirus pandemic, the latest order from the high court, now with a 6-3 conservative majority, in favor of churches and synagogues seeking to hold worship services during the ongoing crisis.

In an order with three dissents, the high court tossed out an August decision from the federal district court in Colorado that kept the attendance limits in place and sent the dispute back to the lower courts for further consideration in light of its November order barring New York from enforcing capacity restrictions at houses of worship.

In that case, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of churches and synagogues that argued New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's limitations on attendance at religious institutions in coronavirus hotspots were unconstitutional.

Justice Elena Kagan, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Stephen Breyer dissented in the Colorado case, writing it is moot because Colorado lifted the attendance limits in response to the Supreme Court's ruling in the challenge to New York's coronavirus restrictions.

"Absent our issuing different guidance, there is no reason to think Colorado will reverse course - and so no reason to think Harvest Church will again face capacity limits," Kagan wrote. "When 'subsequent events' thus show that a challenged action cannot 'reasonably be expected to recur,' a case is well and truly over. "

In a similar case involving New Jersey's limits on attendance at houses of worship, the Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the lower courts to revisit the dispute in light of its decision blocking the restrictions in the New York case.

The dispute over the capacity restrictions was brought by High Plains Harvest Church, a church in Ault, Colorado, and its pastor, Mark Hotaling. Colorado capped attendance at houses of worship to 25% of their posted occupancy limit, not to exceed 50 people, in specific geographic zones as part of its efforts to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. But the church argued the limitations violated the First Amendment and claimed the state was discriminating against religious gatherings in favor of secular gatherings.

But the federal district court in August and the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in November declined to block enforcement of the capacity restrictions.

In its filing with the Supreme Court asking it to lift the cap, High Plains Harvest Church said "it is difficult to imagine more blatantly unconstitutional discrimination against religious gatherings in favor of secular gatherings."

"Applicants feel as though they have stepped through the looking glass into a world where the right to shop for gardening supplies is a favored activity, while meeting as a body to worship God corporately has been relegated to the category of unnecessary of even superfluous," lawyers for the church wrote in their request.

But the state told the court it amended the public health order setting the restrictions to remove attendance limits from all houses of worship in response to the Supreme Court's recent decisions in similar disputes.

"All houses of worship remain categorized as critical businesses in Colorado, they now have no more restrictions than any other critical business in the state, and, indeed, have the maximum degree of flexibility permitted to any organization under Colorado public health law. As such, High Plains already has the relief it seeks," they said.

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Supreme Court sides with Colorado church over COVID attendance caps

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Washington - The Supreme Court on Tuesday sided with a Colorado church challenging the state's capacity restrictions on houses of worship during the coronavirus pandemic, the latest order from the high court, now with a 6-3 conservative majority, in favor of churches and synagogues seeking to hold worship services during the ongoing crisis.

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1. The link is below

2. Ohio governor signs controversial gun

bill expanding "stand your ground" right-Cbs news-January 5,2021

3. This has to do with federalism because gun rights are things that are controlled by the state and National government.

4. In the article, it says there are these restrictions on people who were convicted of a crime that say they cannot buy a gun. To me this is understandable but this also infringes upon the right to "bear arms".

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An individual's duty to retreat before using force has been eliminated in Ohio under a gun rights bill signed by Ohio's Republican governor on Monday. Gov. Mike DeWine signed the bill despite his vocal concerns that GOP lawmakers were ignoring his own legislation proposed following the 2019 mass shooting in Dayton.

The measure expands the so-called "stand your ground" right from an individual's house and car to any place, "if that person is in a place in which the person lawfully has a right to be."

As recently as last month DeWine hinted he might veto the bill, saying lawmakers should focus on what he sent them instead. But on Monday, he signed the bill in "the spirit of cooperation" with the General Assembly.

"I look forward to working with members of the legislature in the future to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and to protect the rights of citizens who follow the law," DeWine said.

He said he was disappointed lawmakers didn't add the measures he sought for more than a year that would toughen background checks and boost penalties for felons committing new crimes with guns.

The governor has pushed these proposals since the Aug. 4, 2019, Dayton massacre that killed nine and wounded more than two dozen.

Nan Whaley, the Democratic mayor of Dayton and a sometime ally of the governor, said she couldn't "express my level of disappointment" and accused him of giving into extremists in his own party. Shortly after the Dayton shooting, she and DeWine pledged to work together on a bipartisan effort to change gun laws.

"Our state needs principled leaders who will stand up for what is right - not what is politically easy," Whaley tweeted.

Sen. Kenny Yuko of Cleveland, the top Senate Democrat, called Monday "a sad day."

"This is not what people meant when they asked us to 'do something' last year after the deadly mass shooting in Dayton," Yuko said in a tweet.

Rep. Emilia Sykes of Akron, the top House Democrat, went further, calling DeWine "a coward."

"Only cowards would pass and sign a bill that has been proven to disproportionately harm Black people," added Sykes, who is Black.

The Buckeye Firearms Association praised the move, saying DeWine kept multiple promises, both publicly and privately with the association, to sign the bill.

"We're very pleased the Governor kept his promise to sign the repeal of Ohio's duty to retreat law that forces victims of violent crime to retreat before they're legally able to defend themselves," said Dan Rieck, the group's executive director.

Rep. Kyle Koehler, a Springfield Republican who championed the change, also noted that DeWine's action kept a promise to enact the legislation. He called the measure a simple fix of existing law "that will protect law-abiding gun owners."

Ohio becomes the 36th state with a similar measure, said two Republican supporters, state Sen. Tim Schaffer of Lancaster and state Sen. Terry Johnson of McDermott in southern Ohio.

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Ohio governor signs controversial gun bill expanding "stand your ground" right

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An individual's duty to retreat before using force has been eliminated in Ohio under a gun rights bill signed by Ohio's Republican governor on Monday. Gov. Mike DeWine signed the bill despite his vocal concerns that GOP lawmakers were ignoring his own legislation proposed following the 2019 mass shooting in Dayton.

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2.

Representative Jim Clyburn on the future for Democrats in Georgia-Cbs news-January 5, 2021.

3. This would have to do with popular sovereignty of republicanism because it has to do with Georgia voting on who will represent them in the senate.

4. I think it is very interesting but it makes me wonder why the electoral college system is not implemented in these events.

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Votes continue to be counted in Georgia's two Senate runoff elections. For the first time in decades, Democrats have become competitive in the Peach State, which flipped to President-elect Joe Biden in the general election. South Carolina Representative Jim Clyburn joins CBSN's Elaine Quijano on "Red & Blue" to discuss his party's future in Georgia and across the country -- and possible criminal charges for President Trump when he leaves office.

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Representative Jim Clyburn on the future for Democrats in Georgia

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Votes continue to be counted in Georgia's two Senate runoff elections. For the first time in decades, Democrats have become competitive in the Peach State, which flipped to President-elect Joe Biden in the general election.

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2.

The 25th Amendment Can Remove Trump, but We Shouldn’t Stop There-Nytimes-January 7,2021

3. This is an example of checks and balances because the president is facing impeachment and congress can impeach the president.

4. I feel like the president should be given the shame of being impeached because in the end five people died in the riot at the capital building.

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After a mob incited by President Trump stormed and occupied the Capitol, American democracy needs protecting now - and not just now but in the coming weeks and years as well.

There are reports of preliminary discussions within the administration about invoking the 25th Amendment, a provision in the Constitution that provides a process to declare a sitting president no longer capable of fulfilling his duties. Another call is coming from a surprising source: The National Association of Manufacturers, not normally an organization known for this kind of political activism, said that Vice President Mike Pence "should seriously consider working with the cabinet" to invoke the amendment to remove President Trump and "preserve democracy." People are invoking the 25th Amendment on the grounds that Mr. Trump is not fit to hold office and incited the chaos that unfolded on Capitol Hill - and may unfold again.

There are also calls from a number of Democratic representatives to impeach and remove the president for his actions around the illegal and violent takeover of one of the most hallowed traditions in American democracy.

The magnitude of the current crisis calls for both of these measures. The threat the president poses to our democracy is not short-lived and must be cut off urgently and decisively - before it leads to even greater degradation to American democratic processes and traditions. It will need to happen quickly, even with other demands pressing on our country's leadership like certifying the election results, rolling out the coronavirus vaccine and calming a nation in crisis.

To do this, the cabinet and Congress must deploy the 25th Amendment and impeachment in sequence.

First, Vice President Pence and a majority of the cabinet should invoke Section 4 of the 25th Amendment in order to make a declaration that Mr. Trump is "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office." This would immediately suspend, but not remove, Mr. Trump from the exercise of his presidential duties and appoint Mr. Pence as acting president. The 25th Amendment would not and should not be used as a lasting solution in a case of this kind, but rather as a temporary measure to sideline a demonstrably unfit and dangerous actor who is fueling anti-democratic action.

Second, the House should quickly draw up and pass articles of impeachment. And then the Senate should hold a fair - but immediate and efficient - trial both to remove President Trump from office and, as important, to disqualify him from serving in public office in the future. Precedent suggests that the Senate would likely need to hold two separate votes on removal and disqualification, although the disqualification vote may require only a simple majority to be approved, as opposed to the two-thirds vote necessary for removal from office.

Disqualification is necessary given Mr. Trump's anti-democratic response to the 2020 election and the continuing danger that he will pose to constitutional norms if allowed to flirt with a return to power in 2024. Indeed, the importance of disqualification in this case is such that the Congress should proceed with impeachment even if Mr. Trump's term in office has already concluded.

A public vote and rapid trial in the Senate would give much-needed legitimacy to actions to remove Mr. Trump from office. By forcing Republicans to stand up for democracy and against the president's actions, it would also reaffirm bipartisan support for the fundamental principles of American democracy. Further, while the 25th Amendment is intended mainly for illness or other objective incapacities, impeachment offers an appropriate moral response to the president's conduct, including incitement to violence and attacks on basic democratic norms.

Why do this with only about two weeks left in President Trump's term? Because we must defend our democracy for all Americans, now. And we must preserve our democracy for future Americans. We must ensure a field of potential Republican presidential hopefuls in 2024 who have integrity. And we must reassure the world, and especially would-be authoritarian regimes, about what United States policy will be on questions of freedom and self-rule now and in the future.

The Constitution does not protect against every threat currently facing our democracy. But it contains a range of useful safeguards. And it is high time to deploy them - with urgency.

David Landau is a professor and associate dean for international programs at Florida State University College of Law. Rosalind Dixon is professor of law at the Gilbert and Tobin Center of Public Law at UNSW Sydney, Australia, and was recently a visiting professor at Harvard Law School.

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Opinion | The 25th Amendment Can Remove Trump, but We Shouldn't Stop There

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After a mob incited by President Trump stormed and occupied the Capitol, American democracy needs protecting now - and not just now but in the coming weeks and years as well. There are reports of preliminary discussions within the administration about invoking the 25th Amendment, a provision in the Constitution that provides a process to declare a sitting president no longer capable of fulfilling his duties.

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2. -GOP sen. Pat Toomey calls on trump to resign.
-NBC news
- Jan 10,2021

3. This is an example of checks and Balances because its talking about how president trump needs to resign because he is causing madness.
4. This to me is bad because if it keeps gong bad everything will go into flames.

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WASHINGTON - Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Pat Toomey joined calls from a handful of his GOP colleagues Sunday for President Donald Trump to resign for "recruiting thousands of Americans" and "inciting them to attack the Capitol building" last week.

Toomey, who on Saturday said he believed Trump has committed impeachable offenses, argued that resignation is the only realistic option for Trump's departure before his term ends on Jan. 20 because he doesn't believe Trump's Cabinet would remove him from office under the 25th Amendment and believes there is not enough time for Congress to impeach him before he's set to leave office.

"The best way for our country," Toomey told NBC News' "Meet the Press" is "for the president to resign and go away as soon as possible. I acknowledge that may not be likely but that would be best."

Toomey said that apart from Trump's comments surrounding the riots, the president's conduct since he lost his re-election bid in November has been "madness."

"After the election, he took this to an entirely different place, orders of magnitude different," Toomey said. "Recruiting thousands of Americans from around the country to descend on the Capitol, promising a 'wild ride' and inciting them to attack the Capitol building so as to prevent the constitutional responsibility of the vice president and the Congress to complete the peaceful transfer of power."

The Republican senator, who is not seeking re-election in 2022, said the president should face consequences for the riots last week, where Trump supporters left a rally to storm the Capitol, sparking clashes that ultimately led to five deaths.

Despite Trump's track record of pushing false information and lies, his focus on settling scores with those who oppose him and charges of pressuring a foreign government to investigate a political opponent that led to his impeachment last year, Toomey called the president's more recent conduct a significant escalation. "I don't think his unbelievable behavior from Wednesday could have been reasonably expected," Toomey said.

"The president spiraled down into a kind of madness that was different. I'm sorry if people don't acknowledge that, I think what he did this past week is wildly different from the offensive tweets that were common during his presidency."

Two pipe bombs were recovered during the scene at the Republican and Democratic party headquarters, and police uncovered weapons including Molotov cocktails and guns during arrests of some of the alleged rioters.

Hours before the attack on the Capitol, Trump spoke at a rally meant to correspond with Congress' counting of the Electoral College, and called on Vice President Mike Pence to use his ceremonial role to declare him the winner, describing the country as "under siege," and warning that Republican lawmakers should "fight" for him or face a primary challenge in their re-election.

Trump remained silent for hours as lawmakers, staff and reporters sheltered in the Capitol building, which was at times overrun by a mob of the president's supporters.

By Wednesday evening, he tweeted that the riot was a result of what happens "when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long. Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever." He later tweeted a video where he condemned the violence at the Capitol, and has since been banned on Twitter and other social media platforms.

Wednesday's riots have prompted the majorities of both House and Senate Democrats to support Trump's removal from office, with some Republicans, including Toomey, joining calls for Trump's removal or resignation and some administration staff resigning in protest.

"The assault on the Capitol was a violent insurrection that was incited and encouraged by Donald Trump," New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, a member of House Democratic leadership, told "Meet the Press," adding that Trump is a "clear and present danger to the health and safety of the American people."

But even if Trump doesn't leave office early, either by removal or by resignation, Toomey believes the episode has dealt an irrecoverable blow to Trump, who has floated the idea of running for president again in 2024.

"There's no good way to deal with this, it's a terrible situation he put us in. But it is appropriate there would be consequences," Toomey said.

"He's disqualified himself, I don't think he can be the Republican nominee and I certainly don't think he could win a general election."

It's not just the president facing criticism for Wednesday - many Democrats, and some Republicans too, have criticized Sens. Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz of Missouri and Texas for their vocal support for the president's push to object to the Electoral College.

When asked if he would like to see either man resign from the Senate, Toomey said "that's their judgment" but that "they're going to have rough sledding ahead."

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GOP Sen. Toomey calls on Trump to resign

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WASHINGTON - Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Pat Toomey joined calls from a handful of his GOP colleagues Sunday for President Donald Trump to resign for "recruiting thousands of Americans" and "inciting them to attack the Capitol building" last week.

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2. -With Senate on the line, Georgia activists are sliding into voters DMs before election.
-Newsela
- Dec 20,2020
3. This is an example of Sovereignty and Republicanism because it has to do with the people going around in person and on social media getting people and runoff to register to vote.
4. This makes me wonder are these people trying to prove something or are they up to something.

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Newsela | With Senate on the line, Georgia activists are sliding into voters' DMs before election

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Social media is critical for reaching the 23,000 soon-to-be 18-year-olds who are eligible to vote for the first time.

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Fla. Representative-Elect Says Trump Has 'Every Right' To Challenge Election Results

NPR
November 11, 2020
3. It has business of the reasoning of voting, it explains that "Trump should have every right to challenge the votes"
4. Yes, I feel like everyone has a right to an opinion and Trump is expressing his in another way, just as long as what he is doing is legal.

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Carlos Giménez, the Republican representative-elect for Florida's 26th district, said he supports President Trump's legal fight to contest the results of the White House race, days after it has been called for Democrat Joe Biden with a healthy lead in both the popular and electoral vote.

Speaking to NPR's All Things Considered, Giménez, who currently serves as the mayor of Miami-Dade County, Fla., said he thought the president had "every right" to contest the race's results and seek resolution through the courts. Asked if he thought Trump should concede, he answered no.

"If they think that there's some kind of irregularities in different states, pursue it through the courts, the same way that Al Gore pursued in Florida," Giménez said. There has been no evidence of widespread irregularities , and so far the Trump campaign's court challenges have mostly failed.

"There's a process, and that process needs to be played out. And at the end, that process will work. And in the end, a winner will be determined, and that will be the next president of the United States."

Giménez won his congressional seat in a race against freshman Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, flipping the previously Democratic district.

During the Wednesday interview, Giménez also spoke to Republicans' successful Latino outreach in Florida this election cycle, contributing the GOP's success to the party's messaging against allowing communism and socialism.

A lot of South Florida's Latino and Hispanic voters, he believes, "are people that came escaping from socialism, communism."

"That particular message resonated with them. They know what things look like, and they don't want any part of it."

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Fla. Representative-Elect Says Trump Has 'Every Right' To Challenge Election Results

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Carlos Giménez, the Republican representative-elect for Florida's 26th district, said he supports President Trump's legal fight to contest the results of the White House race, days after it has been called for Democrat Joe Biden with a healthy lead in both the popular and electoral vote.

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1. Include the link or upload
2. Put title of the article, Source of the article and date of the article.
3. Why is this an example of this principle?
4. What is your opinion of this?

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1. Include the link or upload
2. Put title of the article, Source of the article and date of the article.
House backs increasing coronavirus stimulus checks to $2,000-
Dec. 28, 2020, 10:56 AM CST / Updated Dec. 29, 2020, 6:22 AM CST

-By Dareh Gregorian

3. Why is this an example of this principle?
the house of reps. are voting to increase relief payments.
4. What is your opinion of this? i mean i don't want my parents to pay for the relief payment, i want them to pay for things they need.

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The Democratic-controlled House narrowly passed a bill Monday evening to increase direct coronavirus relief payments to some people to $2,000, although the measure faces an uphill battle in the Republican-run Senate despite support from President Donald Trump.

The legislation would increase the $600 in direct payments to those who earned less than $75,000 last year to $2,000. Because the bill was brought up using an expedited procedure, it required a two-thirds majority to pass. It passed 275 to 134, just two votes more than the 273 needed.

Trump insisted on increasing the payments after his administration struck a deal for the $600 checks as part of a coronavirus relief and government spending package, which passed both chambers of Congress last week and which his administration helped to negotiate.

"I simply want to get our great people $2,000, rather than the measly $600 that is now in the bill," Trump tweeted over the weekend from his Florida resort.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., applauded the vote Monday, saying: "The House and the president are in agreement: We must deliver $2,000 checks to American families struggling this Holiday Season. The House just passed the #CASHAct - it's time for the Senate to do the same."

Trump cited the scheduled House vote in a statement Sunday announcing that he had finally signed the $2.3 trillion Covid-19 relief and government funding package.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he would try to pass the bill Tuesday by unanimous consent - a procedure that would allow it to advance only if there are no objections.

"Every Senate Democrat is for it, but unfortunately, we don't have the Republicans on board," Schumer told reporters ahead of Monday's vote before urging Trump to change the dynamic.

"These Senate Republicans have followed you through thick and thin. Get them now to act and to support the $2,000 checks," Schumer said.

The $600 payments are still expected to be made as early as the end of this week despite Trump's delay, a senior Treasury Department official said. Checks might clear the following Monday, because of the federal and bank holiday on Friday.

If the Senate also greenlights the $2,000 stimulus checks, Americans who have already received the original $600 will get a second payment of $1,400 to bring them to $2,000.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., praised Trump for signing the bill Sunday night but made no mention of a possible vote on the additional relief in his statement.
Download the NBC News app for breaking news and politics
Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri, chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee, told reporters last week that even if the measure came up for a vote in the Senate, it would not reach the 60-vote threshold needed to pass.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., later Monday threatened to delay a separate vote this week to override Trump's veto of the annual defense authorization bill if McConnell doesn't take action on the new relief bill.

"Let me be clear: If Senator McConnell doesn't agree to an up or down vote to provide the working people of our country a $2,000 direct payment, Congress will not be going home for New Year's Eve," Sanders said in a statement. "Let's do our job."

At least one Senate Republican, Marco Rubio of Florida, has indicated that he would support the additional payments.

"I share many of my colleagues' concern about the long-term effects of additional spending, but we cannot ignore the fact that millions of working-class families across the nation are still in dire need of relief," Rubio said in a statement Monday.

Josh Lederman and Leigh Ann Caldwell contributed.

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House backs increasing coronavirus stimulus checks to $2,000

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The Democratic-controlled House narrowly passed a bill Monday evening to increase direct coronavirus relief payments to some people to $2,000, although the measure faces an uphill battle in the Republican-run Senate despite support from President Donald Trump. The legislation would increase the $600 in direct payments to those who earned less than $75,000 last year to $2,000.

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What is the 25th Amendment, and how could a president be removed from office?

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What is the 25th Amendment, and how could a president be removed from office?

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CBS News JANUARY 7, 2021
This is an example of checks and balances because it is talking about the Judicial branch against the Executive branch to impeach the president.
I don't think they should impeach him because he did nothing wrong against the 25th amendment.

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In the wake of Wednesday's violent storming of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters who breached security and forced Congress to evacuate as lawmakers counted electoral votes to certify President-elect Joe Biden's victory, some are calling for President Trump to be removed from office for his role in inciting the unrest.

The chaos erupted shortly after Mr. Trump gave a speech once again falsely claiming to have won a second term and vowing "we will never concede." He encouraged supporters to march to the Capitol. As the chaos ensued, Mr. Trump told his supporters to go home but repeated the false, inflammatory claim that the election had been stolen.

Now it's not just Democrats denouncing his behavior and considering taking action. Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois said Thursday, "It's time to invoke the 25th Amendment and end this nightmare." Some members of Mr. Trump's own Cabinet are discussing the possibility of invoking the 25th Amendment, CBS News senior foreign affairs correspondent and "Face The Nation" moderator Margaret Brennan reports.

"People around the president, some of the highest members of our government, are discussing the possibility of invoking the 25th Amendment, which would remove the president from office and would make the vice president commander-in-chief for the remaining days of the Trump presidency," Brennan said during special coverage of the protests Wednesday.

"That is the theory they talked about, that is the idea of their level concern right now, frankly, of what has happened during the past 24 to 48 hours, what may happen in the remaining days, remaining weeks of the Trump presidency and any related national security concerns," she said.

What is the 25th Amendment?

The 25th Amendment was ratified on February 10, 1967. It is broken up into four sections, which detail the steps and policies for removing or replacing a president, either temporarily or permanently. The first section states that if a president dies or resigns or is removed from office, the vice president shall become president.

Section 2 explains that the if the office of the vice president is vacant, the president should nominated a new one, who must be confirmed by Congress.

Section 3 allows the president to temporarily transfer power to the vice president, and Section 4 explains how Cabinet members and the vice president can invoke the amendment to remove a president who is unable to fulfill his role.

"Section 4 addresses the dramatic case of a President who may be unable to fulfill his constitutional role but who cannot or will not step aside," write law professors Brian C. Kalt of Michigan State University and David Pozen of Columbia Law School, for the National Constitution Center.

Kalt and Pozen explain that the group that can invoke the 25th Amendment is made up of the vice president and a majority of president's Cabinet, or another body that Congress may designate.

If this group determines the president is "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office," the vice president immediately becomes acting president. The president can object by pronouncing himself able, in which case the deciding group has four days to disagree.

If the group disagrees with the president's assertion that he is fit to serve, the vice president keeps control and Congress has 48 hours to vote on it. If two-thirds majorities of both chambers agree that the president is unable to serve, the vice president continues acting as commander-in-chief.

Still, there are several challenges in invoking the 25th Amendment - mainly, what counts as presidential "inability," Kalt and Pozen explain.

The framers of the Constitution didn't specify what would constitute as presidential disability, but did decide that the vice president and Congress had important and distinct roles in determining it.

History of the 25th Amendment

The 25th Amendment was adopted in the aftermath of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy to help clarify the chain of events required if the president or vice president needs to be replaced.

It was invoked for short periods of time when Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush underwent medical procedures. Mr. Reagan and Mr. Bush transmitted letters to Congress that temporarily delegated authority to their vice presidents. The transfer of power only lasted several hours until the presidents claimed it back.

Section 2 of the amendment has also been used to fill a vacancy in the vice presidency, when Gerald Ford was nominated after the resignation of Spiro T. Agnew in 1973, and again after Ford succeeded Richard Nixon as president and nominated Nelson Rockefeller as his replacement.

In 2017, Congressman Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland, sponsored legislation that sought to define the "other body" mentioned in the 25th Amendment.

The act would create a commission empowered to examine the sitting president and report to Congress on the president's capacity. This commission would bypass the need for the vice president and a majority of Cabinet members to go to Congress and declare the president unfit. Raskin re-introduced a similar bill in 2020.

Possibility of invoking the 25th Amendment

Brennan reported that invoking the 25th Amendment has been discussed by Cabinet members but has not been brought to the vice president as a formal proposal.

"These are early discussions of it, but it is incredible that it is even at that level. I am not talking about Democrats speculating, I'm not talking about political pundits doing so. These are members of the Trump Cabinet," she said Wednesday night.

Furthermore, it is unclear if there would be support for such an action by two-thirds of the members of the House and Senate in the event it were attempted and President Trump chose to fight it.

The idea of removing Mr. Trump from office in the final days of his term has gotten the backing of a major business group, the National Manufacturers Association, which represents some of the biggest corporations in the country. The group's president and CEO Jay Timmons condemned the violence and said in a statement, "Vice President Pence, who was evacuated from the Capitol, should seriously consider working with the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment to preserve democracy."

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twenty-fifth amendment to the united states constitution

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What is the 25th Amendment, and how could a president be removed from office?

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In the wake of Wednesday's violent storming of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters who breached security and forced Congress to evacuate as lawmakers counted electoral votes to certify President-elect Joe Biden's victory, some are calling for President Trump to be removed from office for his role in inciting the unrest.

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1. Include the link or upload
2. Put title of the article, Source of the article and date of the article.
3. Why is this an example of this principle?
4. What is your opinion of this?

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2. -Apple and Google play suspend parler for failure to moderate post that incite violence.
- Jan 9, 2021
- CBS News
3. This is an example of the judicial branch because they are suspending Parler.
4. I think this was a good idea because they are doing everything they can to try to stop the violence that is going on right now.

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Parler, a social media site that prides itself on allowing unrestricted freedom of speech, has been suspended from Apple's app store and Google Play for failing to moderate content that incites violence. The suspensions come as multiple social media companies are cracking down on posts that promote violence in the wake of the assault on the U.S. Capitol.

Apple said on Saturday that while it has "always supported diverse points of view" on the app store, "there is no place on our platform for threats of violence and illegal activity."

"Parler has not taken adequate measures to address the proliferation of these threats to people's safety," the company said in a statement. "We have suspended Parler from the App Store until they resolve these issues."

Prior to its removal from the app store, Apple told Parler's developers that their measures for addressing "dangerous and objectionable content" are "inadequate."

"Parler has not upheld its commitment to moderate and remove harmful or dangerous content encouraging violence and illegal activity," Apple told Parler. "...You referenced that Parler has been taking this content 'very seriously for weeks.' However, the processes Parler has put in place to moderate or prevent the spread of dangerous and illegal content have proved insufficient."

According to Apple, Parler said that it would initiate a moderation plan "for the time being" and that they would create a temporary "task force."

Parler will not be reinstated in the app store unless Apple receives "an update that is compliant with the App Store Review Guidelines and you have demonstrated your ability to effectively moderate and filter the dangerous and harmful content on your service."

A Google spokesperson said the suspension initiated on Friday was made "in order to protect user safety."

"Our longstanding policies require that apps displaying user-generated content have moderation policies and enforcement that removes egregious content like posts that incite violence," a company spokesperson said. "All developers agree to these terms and we have reminded Parler of this clear policy in recent months."

The company said it's aware of "continued posting" in the app that "seeks to incite ongoing violence in the U.S," adding that "In light of this ongoing and urgent public safety threat, we are suspending the app's listings from the Play Store until it addresses these issues."

There have been dozens of posts on the app that encourage users to partake in actions similar to those of Trump supporters rioting at the Capitol on Wednesday.

One post that was published on Thursday includes a banner for a "million militia march" to be held on January 20, the day President-elect Joe Biden will be inaugurated.

"The time for peaceful protests has past they're stealing this election," the post reads. "...#CallToArms take back our country."

The Google spokesperson said that the company recognizes content policies are debatable and that immediately removing content that violates the policy can be "difficult," but that moderating "egregious content" is required by apps nonetheless.

The suspension comes hours after many pointed out how calls for violence on the app have intensified since Wednesday.

What are @Apple and @GooglePlay doing about this? https://t.co/Upb2BxZOQZ
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 8, 2021

One post, highlighted by New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, calls the rioters "patriots" who were "carrying banners of support for the greatest President the world has ever known" and said they will return to the area on January 19, weapons in tow.

"What are @Apple and @GooglePlay doing about this?" Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.

California Representative Ro Khanna called on Amazon to follow in Google Play's footsteps, as the app is hosted by Amazon Web Services."Amazon should deny Parler services until Jan 21 unless they commit to removing all posts related to incitement of violence concerning inauguration," Khanna tweeted. "This will help prevent further violence and save lives."

The suspension on the app store came soon after Twitter announced that President Trump has been permanently banned from using his personal Twitter account.

Twitter's announcement sparked fury on Parler, leading some users to call for war. "The United States of America has been taken over by the Communist Party today. You no longer have freedom of speech. They're coming for your guns next," one post says. "Civil War is coming."

"This might seem like a harsh call, but WAR is upon us. We didn't want this, but when the enemy shuts down every form of communication for patriots to get our story out to the public unfiltered there really is no other option. This is our time for #civilwar2," another post reads.

Parler CEO John Matze posted on his Parler account Friday afternoon that "we will not cave to pressure from anti-competitive actors."

"We will and always have enforced our rules against violence and illegal activity. But we WONT cave to politically motivated companies and those authoritarians who hate free speech," he said.

Matze also posted a photo from the Apple app store Resolution Center regarding "serious App Store guideline violations."

"We want to be clear that Parler is in fact responsible for all the user generated content present on your service and for ensuring that this content meets App Store requirements for the safety and protection of our users. We won't distribute apps that present dangerous and harmful content," Apple said, according to the screenshot.

Anyone who buys an Apple phone is apparently a user. Apperently they know what is best for you by telling you which apps you may and may not use. Apparently they believe Parler is responsible for ALL user generated content on Parler. Therefor by the same logic, Apple must be responsible for ALL actions taken by their phones. Every car bomb, every illegal cell phone conversation, every illegal crime committed on an iPhone, Apple must also be responsible for.... Standards not applied to Twitter, Facebook or even Apple themselves, apply to Parler.
-- John Matze 🇺🇸 John Friday, January 8, 2021

Matze mocked the message, saying "apparently they know what is best for you by telling you which apps you may and may not use."

"Apparently they believe Parler is responsible for ALL user generated content on Parler. Therefor by the same logic, Apple must be responsible for ALL actions taken by their phones. Every car bomb, every illegal cell phone conversation, every illegal crime committed on an iPhone," Matze said.
Musadiq Bidar contributed reporting.

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Apple and Google Play suspend Parler for failure to moderate posts that incite violence

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Parler, a social media site that prides itself on allowing unrestricted freedom of speech, has been suspended from Apple's app store and Google Play for failing to moderate content that incites violence. The suspensions come as multiple social media companies are cracking down on posts that promote violence in the wake of the assault on the U.S.

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2. -The G.O.P. can no longer be relied on to protect democracy.
-New Yorker
- Dec 12, 2020
3. This is an example of Federalism because the law is changing and people are now not aloud to relay on protecting our democracy.
4. It kind of scares me because without the protection that can cause many massive changes in how we do things.

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How low has the Party of Lincoln fallen? In answering this question, it is instructive to look at the example of Kevin McCarthy, a seven-term California congressman who, since 2019, has served as the House Minority Leader. Until Donald Trump appeared on the scene, McCarthy wasn't regarded as particularly conservative-at least by the standards of today's Republican Party. When, in 2015, he abandoned a bid to become Speaker of the House, some Tea Party activists celebrated.

In the summer of 2016, McCarthy endorsed Trump for President, but only after the interloper from New York had sewn up the nomination. A year later, it emerged that, in June of 2016, McCarthy had told some of his fellow-members of the House Republican leadership that he believed-"swear to God"-that Trump was in the pay of the Russian President, Vladimir Putin. When the Washington Post eventually reported about these comments, McCarthy tried to laugh them off as a joke.

The nature of the accommodation that McCarthy made with his conscience, when he jumped onto the Trump train, can only be speculated upon. It's perhaps fair to assume that he didn't realize exactly where the tracks would lead, but, given his comments in 2016, it's also clear that he didn't harbor any illusions about the man he was endorsing.

In any case, after McCarthy took over as House Minority Leader, he followed Trump's wishes so slavishly that the President started to refer to him as " my Kevin." On Friday, McCarthy took the ultimate Trump-loyalist move and threw his backing behind the President's outlandish bid to overthrow the 2020 election result. Along with a hundred and twenty-five other Republican representatives, McCarthy added his name to an amicus brief supporting the lawsuit filed by Ken Paxton, the attorney general of Texas, and backed by seventeen other Republican state attorneys general, that requested the Supreme Court throw out the duly certified election results from Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

On Friday night, the Court dismissed this scurrilous lawsuit on the grounds that Texas had no standing to challenge election results in other states. (My colleague Amy Davidson Sorkin has more on the Supreme Court ruling.) And how did McCarthy respond to this rebuke from the Court? On Friday night, he said nothing. On Saturday morning, he maintained his silence, but tweeted out a video of himself talking to Senator Tim Scott, of South Carolina, the lone Black Republican senator. "The Republican Party is the Party of Lincoln, grounded in the values of freedom and equality for all people," McCarthy said in the tweet.

The gall of McCarthy and his fellow Trump toadies in the Republican Party is only surpassed by their irresponsibility and fecklessness. In taking their oaths of office as members of Congress, they swore that they would "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic." And, yet, here they were, supporting a Trump venture that the attorney general of Pennsylvania, in a brief opposing the Texas lawsuit, described as a "seditious abuse of the judicial process." The gambit amounted to a flagrant effort to overturn the most basic liberty enshrined in the Constitution: the right of the people to choose their leaders. In the unlikely event that the lawsuit had succeeded, the country would have been plunged into chaos, and Trump would have succeeded in his reckless effort to defy the rules of democracy.

The only conceivable defense for the actions of the Republican signatories is that they supported the Texas lawsuit in the sure knowledge that it would fail. Terrified of incurring the wrath of an enraged Bully-in-Chief, they postured for him, and for the MAGA mob. But what sort of defense is this for politicians elected to a body that likes to see itself as a model for the world? A pitiful one at best, and not one that would stand up in any court of law or any court of history. One lesson of failed democracies is that when officials or institutions genuflect before would-be authoritarians, in the hope that somebody else will head them off, or control them, the results can be disastrous.

After the events of the past few weeks, it is easy to sympathize with the editorial writers of the Orlando Sentinel, who published a column on Friday expressing regret to their readers for the support they afforded one of the Trump minions, Representative Michael Waltz, of Florida's Sixth District, going into November 3rd. "We apologize to our readers for endorsing Michael Waltz in the 2020 general election for Congress," the editorial said. "We had no idea, had no way of knowing at the time, that Waltz was not committed to democracy."

A fair reading of the G.O.P.'s record of gerrymandering and voter suppression over the past couple of decades, and its abject servility toward Trump during the past four years, is that its commitment to democracy has long been subservient to its desire to retain power. But even for an organization as tarnished as this one, the decision by so many Republican congressmen, and so many state attorneys general, to support the Texas lawsuit marked a new low.

And it's not over yet-it never is when you put your lot in with a pathological narcissist who has no regard for you, your party, or democracy, beyond the services that they can render to him. On Saturday morning, Trump tweeted, "WE HAVE JUST BEGUN TO FIGHT!!!" Later in the day, en route to the Army-Navy football game, the President's Marine One helicopter flew over Freedom Plaza, at Pennsylvania Avenue and Fourteenth Street, where thousands of alt-right activists were holding a "Stop the Steal" rally, demanding that the results of the election be overturned.

On Monday, the Electoral College will meet and officially cast its votes to elect Joe Biden, who won by three hundred and six votes to two hundred and thirty-two. But Trump isn't quite done. His eyes are on January 6th, when Congress will hold a joint session to ratify the work of the Electoral College. In the coming days and weeks, he will, doubtless, demand that Republicans in Congress reject the vote counts from a number of states, which could cause bedlam. How will McCarthy and his colleagues react to Trump's next entreaties? Anyone hoping for a belated display of character and commitment to democracy is likely to be disappointed.

Read More About the Presidential Transition

Donald Trump has survived impeachment, twenty-six sexual-misconduct accusations, and thousands of lawsuits. His luck may well end now that Joe Biden is the next President.

With litigation unlikely to change the outcome of the election, Republicans are looking to strategies that might remain even after rebuffs both at the polls and in court.

With the Trump Presidency ending, we need to talk about how to prevent the moral injuries of the past four years from happening again.

If 2020 has demonstrated anything, it is the need to rebalance the economy to benefit the working class. There are many ways a Biden Administration can start.

Trump is being forced to give up his attempt to overturn the election. But his efforts to build an alternative reality around himself will continue.

Sign up for our daily newsletter for insight and analysis from our reporters and columnists.

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The G.O.P. Can No Longer Be Relied On to Protect Democracy

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How low has the Party of Lincoln fallen? In answering this question, it is instructive to look at the example of Kevin McCarthy, a seven-term California congressman who, since 2019, has served as the House Minority Leader. Until Donald Trump appeared on the scene, McCarthy wasn't regarded as particularly conservative-at least by the standards of today's Republican Party.

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2. Warnock Beats Loeffler in Georgia Senate Race, nytimes, January 5, 2021
3. This is an example of the principle because the people voted for their representative and he's now in office.
4. I think this is good because the people are using their power.

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The victory is a landmark breakthrough for African-Americans in politics. Mr. Warnock becomes the first Black Democrat to be elected to the Senate from the South.

The Rev. Raphael Warnock at a campaign event in Columbus, Ga., last month. Credit... Audra Melton for The New York Times

ATLANTA - Democrats moved a major step closer to gaining control of the U.S. Senate on Wednesday morning as Georgia voters elected the Rev. Raphael Warnock, the pastor at the storied Ebenezer Baptist Church, in a hard-fought runoff contest that became roiled by President Trump's false claims of voter fraud in the state.

Mr. Warnock's victory over the Republican incumbent, Kelly Loeffler, represented a landmark breakthrough for African-Americans in politics as well as for Georgia: He became the first Black Democrat elected to the Senate from the South.

For Democrats to take the Senate, which is crucial to enacting President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s first-term agenda, they also need to win Georgia's other Senate runoff held on Tuesday. The votes were still being counted in that race between the Republican candidate, David Perdue, and his Democratic rival, Jon Ossoff.

But turnout in rural, overwhelmingly white counties where Republicans needed a strong showing was lagging without Mr. Trump on the ballot, and many of Georgia's heavily Black localities saw turnout levels that neared those of the presidential race in November.

"May my story be an inspiration to some young person who is trying to grasp and grab hold to the American dream," Mr. Warnock, who grew up in poverty, said in an online video just before 1 a.m. Wednesday. Invoking his mother, he said: "Because this is America, the 82-year-old hands that used to pick somebody else's cotton went to the polls and picked her youngest son to be a United States Senator."

With about 97 percent of the vote counted in the early hours of Wednesday, Mr. Warnock held a lead of roughly 47,000 votes over Ms. Loeffler, after surging ahead late Tuesday night when heavily Democratic DeKalb County reported a trove of ballots.

While Mr. Warnock's win was a major gain for his party - he is the first Democrat to be elected to the Senate from Georgia since 2000 - both political parties remained on edge over the unresolved Ossoff-Perdue race and its implications for the next two years in American politics. Whichever party wins that race will control the Senate, with Republicans counting on Mr. Perdue to prevail and give them the ability to constrain Mr. Biden's policy ambitions.

After Mr. Biden's triumph in November, Mr. Warnock's victory provides yet another comeuppance for the Trumpist politics that have come to define the Republican Party over the past four years. Ms. Loeffler had rebranded herself as a hard-line Trump loyalist to fend off a challenge from the right in the first round of voting. In recent weeks, she has continued to embrace the president, even using an election-eve rally with Mr. Trump in Northwest Georgia to proudly declare that she will oppose certifying his loss to Mr. Biden when Congress meets on Wednesday.

Mr. Warnock and Mr. Ossoff ran as a virtual package deal, as did the two Republicans, often appearing at events together and crafting similar messages about the stark consequences for the nation if the other side won.

Republicans used much of the runoff to focus on Mr. Warnock's sermons, a line of attack that appeared to mobilize African-American voters, especially in more conservative rural Georgia where the church is a pillar of many communities.

Mr. Trump's refusal to acknowledge his defeat also robbed Ms. Loeffler of what might have been her best argument in what is still a slightly right-leaning state - that she would be a check on the liberal excesses in a government fully controlled by Democrats.

Even before polls closed on Tuesday, senior Republican campaign officials were pinning the blame on the president, noting that their polling testified to the power of the "check-and-balance" argument that the party was unable to make because of Mr. Trump's denial of the election results.

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Senator Kelly Loeffler was appointed in 2019 to fill the remainder of Johnny Isakson's term after he retired. Credit... Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

The election was a tumultuous coda to Mr. Trump's presidency, with control of the Senate and the first two years of Mr. Biden's term in the balance. The runoffs were also an important bellwether for a Deep South state where once-dominant Republicans have begun to see their advantage slip because of an increasingly diverse electorate and the changing preferences of suburban voters.

Election-day turnout was pivotal for Republicans, who were playing catch-up to Democrats. During an early-voting period that ended last week, more than three million Georgians cast their ballots, and turnout was heavy among African-Americans and in liberal bastions around Atlanta.

For voters, the choice between the two pairs of candidates was stark: Mr. Perdue, 71, and Ms. Loeffler, 50, are both white millionaires who leaned into more conservative policy positions like gun rights and opposition to abortion. They also made the case to voters that their business success gave them real-world experience in handling economic matters.

Mr. Warnock, 51, and Mr. Ossoff, 33, were a more diverse team. Mr. Warnock is a prominent pastor at the church in Atlanta where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once preached. Mr. Ossoff, who is Jewish, is the head of a video production company and worked as a congressional aide.

Both men promised a more robust response to the coronavirus pandemic and an expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, and they embraced the national Democratic Party.

They also railed against Mr. Trump, who ensured that he was regularly on Georgia voters' minds with his incessant - and groundless - insistence that he was robbed of victory in the state by a "rigged" general election in November.

Soon after his narrow defeat, Mr. Trump spurred a Republican civil war in Georgia, lashing out at two fellow Republicans, Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, when they refused to take steps to alter the presidential results. Mr. Perdue and Ms. Loeffler, both ardent defenders of Mr. Trump, chose sides early, accusing Mr. Raffensperger of incompetence and calling on him to resign a few days after the election.

Domonique Walker brought her children with her to a polling place at Henry Baptist Church in McDonough, Ga., on Tuesday. Credit... Audra Melton for The New York Times

Right up to the eve of the runoff vote, Republicans worried about the potential fallout from Mr. Trump's efforts to overturn his defeat, particularly the revelation that he had called Mr. Raffensperger on Saturday and pressured him to "find" the votes that would help the president declare victory. Mr. Trump's spurious claims of fraud stoked fears among some in his own party that his supporters would take him literally and sit out the election on the grounds that their votes would not amount to much in a compromised system.

Even on Tuesday afternoon, when his party was fervently pushing election-day turnout, Mr. Trump was calling into question the integrity of Georgia's election system. He asserted via Twitter that voting machines "are not working in certain Republican strongholds." Mr. Raffensperger said the issues were minor and resolved by 10 a.m.

Well before Tuesday, the president left the two Republican senators with a tricky task: arguing that Republican control of the Senate was crucial to constraining Mr. Biden, without conceding that Mr. Biden had actually won the presidency, which would punch a hole in Mr. Trump's false narrative.

To the end, though, both candidates hitched themselves to Mr. Trump, calculating that the party's rank and file would sit out the runoff if they distanced themselves in the slightest.

David Perdue appeared via video at a rally that President Trump held for the Republican candidates in Dalton, Ga., on Monday. Credit... Erin Schaff/The New York Times

If the Republican hopefuls contorted themselves to accommodate Mr. Trump's die-hard supporters - and risked alienating Biden-backing suburbanites in the process - the two Democrats did little to defy their own party.

In a state where Republicans hold every statewide office, Mr. Warnock and Mr. Ossoff ran as national Democrats rather than emphasizing any differences they had with party orthodoxy, in the fashion of an earlier generation of Georgia Democrats. While resisting some of the ambitions of the far left, like defunding the police, the two candidates expressed support for abortion rights and gun control.

Republicans seized on these issues, as well as the biographies of Mr. Ossoff and particularly Mr. Warnock, as they argued that the two men were too liberal for Georgia.

Mr. Ossoff was mostly known for having run and lost in an expensive, hotly contested special House election at the outset of the Trump era in 2017. Among Mr. Warnock's main challenges, by contrast, was the length of his record as a public figure and an activist preacher.

After Mr. Warnock largely escaped criticism in the November election, when Ms. Loeffler was focused on fending off a challenge from her right, he came in for particularly harsh criticism.

Republicans spotlighted Mr. Warnock's most controversial sermons and portrayed him as a critic of the military and law enforcement. Mr. Warnock sought to defuse the criticism and soften his image by airing tongue-in-cheek commercials featuring him with a puppy.

Jon Ossoff was mostly known for having run and lost in an expensive, hotly contested special House election at the outset of the Trump era in 2017. Credit... Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

Mr. Ossoff also took some hard shots at Mr. Perdue, calling him a "crook" over controversial stock trades the senator made, while accusing him of trying to profit off the coronavirus pandemic, something Mr. Perdue denies.

Neither party lacked for resources to make its arguments. These were the most expensive Senate contests in U.S. history. Including the campaigning before the runoff, more than $469 million was spent in the Perdue-Ossoff contest, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, and more than $362 million was dedicated to the Loeffler-Warnock race.

That the races were competitive at all was a testament to the changing nature of Georgia.

Though dominated by Republicans for much of the past two decades, the state is shifting because of an influx of newcomers, immigrants and American-born voters, chasing warm weather and Sun Belt opportunity. Democratic hopes were buoyed not only by Mr. Biden's victory, but by the 2018 campaign of Stacey Abrams, who ran a competitive but unsuccessful race for governor.

And the two Senate aces were pushed into runoffs by some of the defining forces shaping national politics.

Mr. Ossoff made his political debut in 2017 as a fresh-faced and virtually unknown candidate vying for an open House seat in suburban Atlanta. The special election served as one of the first major referendums on Mr. Trump; Mr. Ossoff, despite his obscurity, was inundated with money from energized liberals across the country.

Mr. Ossoff lost the 2017 race, but he carried his experience and name recognition into the 2020 battle, where he forced Mr. Perdue into a runoff.

In the other race, Ms. Loeffler was appointed to the Senate by Mr. Kemp in December 2019 to fill the seat of Senator Johnny Isakson, who retired because of health concerns.

But his choice displeased Mr. Trump, who had wanted Mr. Kemp to tap Doug Collins, then a hard-right congressman from Georgia who had served as one of Mr. Trump's most loyal defenders during his impeachment.

Mr. Collins jumped into the race anyway, forcing Ms. Loeffler far to the right; at one point she aired an ad in which she said she was more conservative than Attila the Hun.

The strategy helped Ms. Loeffler win a place in the runoff, but seemed to invalidate Mr. Kemp's original rationale for appointing her as she rebranded herself as a hard-line Trump loyalist.

Rick Rojas, Astead W. Herndon and Sean Keenan contributed reporting.

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Warnock Beats Loeffler in Georgia Senate Race

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The victory is a landmark breakthrough for African-Americans in politics. Mr. Warnock becomes the first Black Democrat to be elected to the Senate from the South. ATLANTA - Democrats moved a major step closer to gaining control of the U.S. Senate on Wednesday morning as Georgia voters elected the Rev.

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Georgia voters to decide whether Democrats or Republicans will control the Senate

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Georgia voters to decide whether Democrats or Republicans will control the Senate

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JAN 5, 2021
3. This is an example of popular Sovereignty because it is talking about voting
4. I believe that democrats should control the senate because Biden won as presedent.

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The future of the U.S. Senate is at stake as voters in Georgia head to the polls to cast ballots in two key runoff elections. This comes as President Trump ramps up baseless voter fraud claims and pushes Senate Republicans to challenge the Electoral College results. CBSN political reporter Caitlin Huey-Burns reports on latest developments and Politico's Senate campaign reporter James Arkin joins CBSN with in-depth analysis.

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Georgia voters to decide whether Democrats or Republicans will control the Senate

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The future of the U.S. Senate is at stake as voters in Georgia head to the polls to cast ballots in two key runoff elections. This comes as President Trump ramps up baseless voter fraud claims and pushes Senate Republicans to challenge the Electoral College results.

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1. Include the link or upload
2. Put title of the article, Source of the article and date of the article.
3. Why is this an example of this principle? because they are using their power to impeach him
4. What is your opinion of this? i feel like for the ongoing situation it is the right thing to do.

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Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House, called on Thursday for President Trump to be removed from office over his role in spurring on a violent mob that stormed the Capitol and broke into the House floor a day earlier.

Ms. Pelosi called on Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment, which allows him and the Cabinet to take the power of the presidency from Mr. Trump. Her remarks echoed a similar statement made earlier by Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader.

If Mr. Pence did not move to do so, Ms. Pelosi said that she and other members of Congress "may be prepared" to move forward with impeaching the president for a second time.

"The president of the United States incited an armed insurrection against America," Ms. Pelosi said at a news conference in Washington. "In calling for this seditious act, the president has committed an unspeakable assault on our nation and our people."

Ms. Pelosi said she was hoping to have a response from Mr. Pence within the day.

Mr. Trump has just 13 days left in his presidency. Since Wednesday's attack on the Capitol, a number of Democrats and a few Republicans have publicly stated that Mr. Trump should not be allowed to finish his term.

During the siege, Ms. Pelosi's office was invaded and vandalized. Intruders in her suite overturned desks and smashed photos, and at least one person ripped a piece of a wooden plaque that marked the entrance to the speaker's office off a wall.

Ms. Pelosi, a frequent target of Mr. Trump's, described the events as "horrors that will forever stain our nation's history, instigated by the president of the United States."

She said that she was calling for the resignation of the chief of the Capitol Police, which has been criticized over its response to the mob. Officers appeared to be easily overwhelmed by the crush of people outside the Capitol.

Ms. Pelosi also said that the House's sergeant-at-arms, Paul Irving, who is responsible for security in the chamber and its office buildings, would be resigning from his position.

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Pelosi calls on Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Trump from office.

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Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House, called on Thursday for President Trump to be removed from office over his role in spurring on a violent mob that stormed the Capitol and broke into the House floor a day earlier.

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Adam Kinzinger is first GOP congressman calling for invoking 25th Amendment to remove Trump - BY KATHRYN WATSON

JANUARY 7, 2021 / 12:12 PM / CBS NEWS

This is an example because it shows how he's using his powers and he has the 25th amendment for evidence.
I feel like what Trump did was totally unnecessary and soldiers didn't fight for our rights for the capital to be stormed. I agree with Kinzinger.

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Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois has become the first GOP member of Congress to publicly call for the removal of President Trump from office with the invocation of the 25th Amendment, after Mr. Trump encouraged his supporters to march on the Capitol and failed to condemn the violence when those supporters carried out an assault on the U.S. Capitol.

Kinzinger, who has been critical of the president at times, said Mr. Trump is "unfit" and "unwell," and it's time for the vice president and Cabinet to step up to the task at hand. The 25th Amendment allows for the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet to relieve the president of his duties.

"It's time to invoke the 25th Amendment and to end this nightmare," Kinzinger said in a video he posted to Twitter Thursday morning.

It's with a heavy heart I am calling for the sake of our Democracy that the 25th Amendment be invoked. My statement: pic.twitter.com/yVyQrYcjuD
- Adam Kinzinger (@RepKinzinger) January 7, 2021

Kinzinger was among the minority of House Republicans who did not vote to object to states' election results overnight.

A growing number of Democrats are also calling for the invocation of the 25th Amendment, or for impeachment, removal and a permanent ban from running for office. As CBS News has reported, some Cabinet members have begun to whisper about whether to invoke the 25th Amendment.

It was Vice President Pence, not Mr. Trump, who was most visible during the violence Wednesday and worked with the Pentagon and various entities to help secure the U.S. Capitol after pro-Trump rioters stormed it. Mr. Trump lashed out at Pence on Twitter while the Capitol was under siege because Pence didn't try to stop Congress from counting states' Electoral votes. Pence ultimately announced President-elect Joe Biden as the winner in the early morning hours of Thursday.

Here is the transcript of what Kinzinger said in his video statement:

Yesterday was a sad day, as we all know. It was the day where fires stoked by the president and other leaders finally leapt out of the pit, and it lit the trees. Thankfully, the strength of our Constitution and democracy help, and we emerge today a little battered, but resolved.

What happened yesterday is a wake-up call to many, but it's a call to accountability for others. In the past few presidencies, the administrations have been so concerned about even a moment of weakness that the 25th Amendment was invoked during minor surgeries, passing the duties to the vice president while the president was under anesthesia, because even for that moment to have the captain of the ship absent could cause a major catastrophe.

Sadly, yesterday it became evident that not only has the president abdicated his duty to protect the American people and the people's house, he invoked and inflamed passions that only gave fuel to the insurrection that we saw here. When pressed to move and denounce the violence, he barely did so, while of course, victimizing himself and seeming to give a wink and a nod to those doing it, all indications that the president has become unmoored, not just from his duty or even his oath, but from reality itself. It is for this reason that I call for the vice president and members of the Cabinet to ensure the next few weeks are safe for the American people and that we have a sane captain of the ship.

Section 4 of the 25th Amendment allows a majority of the Cabinet and the vice president to assume the duties of the office of presidency until the president is able to himself. It's time to invoke the 25th Amendment and to end this nightmare. We will rise from this, but we cannot forget what led us here. The liars and the conspiracy authors are already at it again this morning with false narratives about yesterday's disaster.

Here's the truth - the president caused this. The president is unfit and the president is unwell, and the president must now relinquish control of the executive branch voluntarily or involuntarily. God bless you, and God bless our enduring democracy.

- CBS News' Melissa Quinn contributed to this report.

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twenty-fifth amendment to the united states constitution

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Adam Kinzinger is first GOP congressman calling for invoking 25th Amendment to remove Trump

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Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois has become the first GOP member of Congress to publicly call for the removal of President Trump from office with the invocation of the 25th Amendment, after Mr. Trump encouraged his supporters to march on the Capitol and failed to condemn the violence when those supporters carried out an assault on the U.S.

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Trump Selects Amy Coney Barett to Fill Ginsburg's Seat on the Supreme Court

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Trump Selects Amy Coney Barett to Fill Ginsburg's Seat on the Supreme Court

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NY Times
October 15, 2020

It is a example of Checks and Balances because it shows the Executive branch interacting with the Judicial branch.

I personally want this to be approved by the Senate, because of my views on abortion. The new judge is Catholic like me, and was chosen because of her views. Because of my beliefs, I have lead myself to believe that this a good decision

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The president's nomination of Judge Barrett, a favorite of conservatives, to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, will kick off a furious and unprecedented scramble to confirm her in the Senate before Election Day.

President Trump plans to announce on Saturday that Judge Amy Coney Barrett is his choice for the Supreme Court. Credit... Samuel Corum for The New York Times

WASHINGTON - President Trump has selected Judge Amy Coney Barrett, the favorite candidate of conservatives, to succeed Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and will try to force Senate confirmation before Election Day in a move that would significantly alter the ideological makeup of the Supreme Court for years.

Mr. Trump plans to announce on Saturday that she is his choice, according to six people close to the process who asked not to be identified disclosing the decision in advance. As they often do, aides cautioned that Mr. Trump sometimes upends his own plans.

But he is not known to have interviewed any other candidates and came away from two days of meetings with Judge Barrett this week impressed with a jurist he was told would be a female Antonin Scalia, referring to the justice she once clerked for. On Friday night, Judge Barrett was photographed getting out of her car outside her home in South Bend, Ind.

"I haven't said it was her, but she is outstanding," Mr. Trump told reporters who asked about Judge Barrett's imminent nomination at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington after CNN and other news outlets reported on his choice.

The president's political advisers hope the selection will energize his conservative political base in the thick of an election campaign in which he has for months been trailing former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., his Democratic challenger. But it could also rouse liberal voters afraid that her confirmation could spell the end of Roe v. Wade, the decision legalizing abortion, as well as other rulings popular with the political left and center.

The nomination will kick off an extraordinary scramble by Senate Republicans to confirm her for the court in the 38 days before the election on Nov. 3, a scenario unlike any in American history. While other justices have been approved in presidential election years, none has been voted on after July. Four years ago, Senate Republicans refused to even consider President Barack Obama's nomination to replace Justice Scalia with Judge Merrick B. Garland, announced 237 days before Election Day, on the grounds that it should be left to whoever was chosen as the next president.

In picking Judge Barrett, a conservative and a hero to the anti-abortion movement, Mr. Trump could hardly have found a more polar opposite to Justice Ginsburg, a pioneering champion of women's rights and leader of the liberal wing of the court. The appointment would shift the center of gravity on the bench considerably to the right, giving conservatives six of the nine seats and potentially insulating them even against defections by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who on a handful of occasions has sided with liberal justices.

Mr. Trump made clear this week that he wanted to rush his nominee through the Senate by Election Day to ensure that he would have a decisive fifth justice on his side in case any disputes from the vote reached the high court, as he expected to happen. The president has repeatedly made baseless claims that the Democrats are trying to steal the election and appears poised to challenge any result of the balloting that does not declare him the winner.

Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, has enough votes to push through Judge Barrett's nomination if he can make the tight time frame work. Republicans are looking at holding hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee the week of Oct. 16 and a floor vote by late October.

Democrats have expressed outrage at the rush and accused Republicans of rank hypocrisy given their treatment of Judge Garland, but they have few options for slowing the nomination, much less stopping it. Instead, they have focused on making Republicans pay at the ballot box and debated ways to counteract Mr. Trump's influence on the court if they win the election.

Mr. Trump met with Judge Barrett at the White House on Monday and Tuesday and was said to like her personally. While he said he had a list of five finalists, he never interviewed anyone else for the job and passed over Judge Barbara Lagoa of the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, who appealed to campaign advisers in particular because of her Cuban-American heritage and roots in Florida, a critical battleground state in the presidential contest.

Despite Mr. Trump's penchant for drama and the intrigue that surrounded his first two picks for seats on the Supreme Court, the selection process since Justice Ginsburg died last Friday has been fairly low-key and surprisingly predictable. The president has long signaled that he expected to put Judge Barrett on the court and has been quoted telling confidants in 2018 that he was "saving her for Ginsburg."

If confirmed, Judge Barrett would become the 115th justice in the nation's history and the fifth woman ever to serve on the Supreme Court. At 48, she would be the youngest member of the current court as well its sixth Catholic. And she would become Mr. Trump's third appointee on the court, more than any other president has installed in a first term since Richard M. Nixon had four, joining Justices Neil M. Gorsuch and Brett M. Kavanaugh.

Judge Barrett graduated from Notre Dame Law School and later joined the faculty. She clerked for Justice Scalia and shares his constitutional views. She is described as a textualist who interprets the law based on its plain words rather than seeking to understand the legislative purpose and an originalist who applies the Constitution as it was understood by those who drafted and ratified it.

She has been a judge for only three years, appointed by Mr. Trump to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in 2017. Her confirmation hearing produced fireworks when Democratic senators questioned her public statements and Catholicism. That made her an instant celebrity among religious conservatives, who saw her as a victim of bias on the basis of her faith.

Judge Barrett and her husband, Jesse Barrett, a former federal prosecutor, are reported to be members of a small and relatively obscure Christian group called the People of Praise. The group grew out of the Catholic charismatic renewal movement that began in the late 1960s and adopted Pentecostal practices like speaking in tongues, belief in prophecy and divine healing. The couple have seven children, all under 20, including two adopted from Haiti and a young son with Down syndrome.

In a 2006 speech to Notre Dame graduates, she spoke of the law as a higher calling. "If you can keep in mind that your fundamental purpose in life is not to be a lawyer, but to know, love and serve God, you truly will be a different kind of lawyer," she said.

But during her 2017 confirmation hearing, she affirmed that she would keep her personal views separate from her duties as a judge. "If you're asking whether I take my faith seriously and I'm a faithful Catholic, I am," she told senators. "Although I would stress that my personal church affiliation or my religious belief would not bear in the discharge of my duties as a judge." She was confirmed on a 55-to-43 vote, largely along party lines.

As a law professor, Judge Barrett was a member of Faculty for Life, an anti-abortion group, and wrote skeptically about precedent in Supreme Court rulings, which both sides in the abortion debate took to mean she would be open to revisiting Roe v. Wade.

"I tend to agree with those who say that a justice's duty is to the Constitution and that it is thus more legitimate for her to enforce her best understanding of the Constitution rather than a precedent she thinks clearly in conflict with it," she wrote in a Texas Law Review article in 2013.

She later criticized Chief Justice Roberts for his opinion preserving Mr. Obama's Affordable Care Act, saying he went beyond the plausible meaning of the law. As an appellate judge, she joined an opinion arguing on behalf of an Indiana law banning abortions sought solely because of the sex or disability of a fetus, disagreeing with fellow judges who struck it down as unconstitutional.

Conservative and liberal interest groups did not wait for Mr. Trump's announcement to open the battle over Judge Barrett's confirmation. Each side prepared multimillion-dollar campaigns to introduce her to the public and frame the debate to come in the Senate, with an eye on the November contest.

Several polls over the past week have shown that most Americans, including many Republicans, believe the next justice should be selected by the winner of the November election, not by Mr. Trump in the meantime.

A survey released Friday by The Washington Post and ABC News suggested the fight may drive Democrats even more than Republicans to the polls. About 64 percent of Mr. Biden's supporters told pollsters that the vacancy made it "more important" that the Democrat win the election, while just 37 percent of Mr. Trump's supporters said the same for him.

Peter Baker reported from Washington, and Maggie Haberman from New York. Carl Hulse contributed reporting from Washington.

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Trump Selects Amy Coney Barrett to Fill Ginsburg's Seat on the Supreme Court

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The president's nomination of Judge Barrett, a favorite of conservatives, to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, will kick off a furious and unprecedented scramble to confirm her in the Senate before Election Day.

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1. Include the link or upload
2. Put title of the article, Source of the article and date of the article.
3. Why is this an example of this principle?
4. What is your opinion of this?

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Democrats gained control of the Senate on Wednesday by winning both of Georgia's runoff races, an electoral repudiation of President Trump that will give the incoming Democratic administration broader policy latitude even as the victory was temporarily overshadowed by the violent Trump supporters storming the United States Capitol in the name of the ousted incumbent.

The election of the Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff was a political triumph for the Democratic Party in a state that has stymied it for decades. It was also a jarring split-screen encapsulation of the politics of progress and grievance that have defined Mr. Trump's administration and the changing country he is sworn to serve.

On the same day that Georgia elected Mr. Ossoff, a 33-year-old Jewish documentary filmmaker, and Mr. Warnock, a 51-year-old pastor who will become the state's first Black senator, an almost entirely white crowd of aggrieved Trump supporters, some carrying Confederate flags, descended on Washington to defy political reality.

Mr. Warnock's own Twitter feed showed how quickly the mood among Democrats had shifted. At 1:55 p.m. Eastern, he toasted his victory by thanking Georgia voters, saying he was "forever grateful." Within two hours, he was quoting another pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church - the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - with a message of togetherness in the face of hatred and bigotry.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that," Mr. Warnock wrote. "Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." He added, in his own words, "Let each of us try to be a light to see our country out of this dark moment."

Georgia has not sent a Democrat to the Senate in two decades, and the party succeeded this year by focusing heavily on voter registration and turnout, particularly in suburban counties and in Atlanta and Savannah. It was a strategy engineered in part by Stacey Abrams, the former state House leader and candidate for governor, who has focused on combating voter suppression in the state.

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Wins in Georgia give Democrats control of the Senate.

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Democrats gained control of the Senate on Wednesday by winning both of Georgia's runoff races, an electoral repudiation of President Trump that will give the incoming Democratic administration broader policy latitude even as the victory was temporarily overshadowed by the violent Trump supporters storming the United States Capitol in the name of the ousted incumbent.

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2. Senate Overrides Trump’s Veto of Defense Bill, Dealing a Legislative Blow, nytimes, January 1, 2021.
3. This is an example of checks and balances because the senate is overriding the presidents veto.
4. I think this is good because the people protecting our country and sacrificing themselves for us should be paid fairly.

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Republicans joined Democrats to deliver President Trump the first veto override of his presidency in the last days of his term in an overwhelming, bipartisan vote.

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transcript

Senate Votes to Override Trump's Veto of Defense Bill

Republicans joined Democrats on Friday to override President Trump's veto of the annual defense bill, delivering him the first such legislative rebuke of his presidency.

Is there any further debate? If not, the question is. Shall the bill pass the objections of the President of the United States to the contrary notwithstanding? Yeas and nays are required and the clerk will call the roll. Are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their votes? Seeing none on this vote? The yeas are 81, the nays are 13. 2/3 of the senators voting quorum being present. Having voted in the affirmative, the bill on reconsideration has passed the objections of the President of the United States to the contrary notwithstanding.

Republicans joined Democrats on Friday to override President Trump's veto of the annual defense bill, delivering him the first such legislative rebuke of his presidency. Credit Credit... Stefani Reynolds for The New York Times

WASHINGTON - The Senate on Friday voted overwhelmingly to override President Trump's veto of the annual military policy bill as most Republicans joined Democrats to rebuke Mr. Trump in the final days of his presidency.

The 81-to-13 vote was the first time lawmakers have overridden one of Mr. Trump's vetoes. It reflected the sweeping popularity of a measure that authorized a pay raise for the nation's military.

The margin surpassed the two-thirds majority needed to force enactment of the bill over Mr. Trump's objections, and only seven Republicans voted to sustain the veto. The House passed the legislation on Monday in a similarly lopsided 322-to-87 vote that also mustered the two-thirds majority required.

The vote ended a devastating legislative week for Mr. Trump, effectively denying him two of the last demands of his presidency. Senate Republican leaders on Wednesday had declared that there was "no realistic path" for a vote on increasing stimulus checks to $2,000 from the current $600, a measure Mr. Trump had pressed lawmakers to take up.

Republicans have also divided over supporting the president's determination to make one last and futile attempt to overturn the 2020 election results in Congress next week.

Senator James M. Inhofe, Republican of Oklahoma and the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, typically a strong ally of the president, took to the Senate floor on Friday to encourage his colleagues to override Mr. Trump's veto, calling the passage of the bill "the most significant vote lawmakers take."

"This year especially so, in light of all of the disruptions and problems that we've had," Mr. Inhofe said.

The main disruption Mr. Inhofe was referring to was the president. Making good on a monthslong series of threats, the president vetoed the bipartisan legislation last week, citing a shifting list of reasons, including his objection to a provision directing the military to strip the names of Confederate leaders from bases. He also demanded that the bill include the repeal of what is known as Section 230, a legal shield for social media companies that he has tangled with. Republicans and Democrats alike have said that the repeal, a significant legislative change, is irrelevant to a bill that dictates military policy.

Mr. Trump took to Twitter on Friday shortly after the vote to register his anger at Republican lawmakers' unwillingness to meet his demands.

"Our Republican Senate just missed the opportunity to get rid of Section 230, which gives unlimited power to Big Tech companies. Pathetic!!!" Mr. Trump wrote. "Now they want to give people ravaged by the China Virus $600, rather than the $2000 which they so desperately need. Not fair, or smart!"

Those objections, registered late in the legislative process, infuriated lawmakers, who had labored for months to put together a bipartisan bill. They had prided themselves on passing the military bill each year for 60 years, and lawmakers in Mr. Trump's own party ultimately moved to mow over his concerns and advance the legislation. It was a sharp departure from the deference Mr. Trump has normally been shown on Capitol Hill by members of his party.

The vote on Friday ensures that the legislation will be enacted into law over Mr. Trump's objections, including the provision requiring the Pentagon to strip the names of Confederates from military bases that so riled the president. The bill also takes steps to slow or block Mr. Trump's planned drawdown of American troops from Germany and Afghanistan, and would make it more difficult for the president to deploy military personnel to the southern border.

All of the Republican conference leaders voted to override the veto on Friday, including Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader. He called the legislation "a tremendous opportunity to direct our national security priorities to reflect the resolve of the American people."

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Senator Bernie Sanders called for votes on the House-passed bill authorizing larger stimulus payments and a separate measure that lumped together three of President Trump's demands. Credit... Stefani Reynolds for The New York Times

Just seven Republicans voted to sustain the veto, including Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, a longtime defense hawk who criticized the legislation as the product of a rushed and faulty process that failed to satisfy Mr. Trump's demand to repeal the legal protections for social media companies.

"Some seem to have forgotten to consult with the commander in chief or recall that he has a veto power," Mr. Cotton said last month in a speech on the Senate floor. "The bill stiff-arms the president: not a word in more than 4,500 pages about Section 230."

Lawmakers over the past four years tried but failed to override Mr. Trump's vetoes of legislation cutting off arms sales to Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf nations, and to overturn his emergency declaration at the southwestern border.

But his attempt to derail the widely popular defense bill, seen by lawmakers in both parties as an opportunity to secure wins for their communities and support the military, proved to be a bridge too far. That was especially the case for those in his party who proudly championed their commitment to national security and have grown weary of the president's mercurial demands.

Senator Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont, tried on Friday to take up Mr. Trump's demand to increase the size of pandemic relief checks to $2,000. He called for votes on both a House-passed bill authorizing larger checks and a separate measure by Mr. McConnell that lumped together three of Mr. Trump's demands: the larger payments, a repeal of legal protections for social media platforms and the creation of a bipartisan panel to investigate the integrity of the 2020 election.

Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the No. 2 Republican, blocked the request, underscoring the scant appetite in the party for increasing the size of the checks. The chamber then moved on to override Mr. Trump's veto on the defense bill.

The bill contains a 3 percent increase in pay for service members and a boost in hazardous duty incentive pay, new benefits for tens of thousands of Vietnam-era veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange and a landmark provision aimed at preventing the use of shell companies to evade anti-money-laundering rules.

The last time Congress overrode a presidential veto was in 2016, the final year of Barack Obama's presidency, after he vetoed legislation allowing families of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to sue the government of Saudi Arabia.

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Senate Overrides Trump's Veto of Defense Bill, Dealing a Legislative Blow

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Republicans joined Democrats to deliver President Trump the first veto override of his presidency in the last days of his term in an overwhelming, bipartisan vote. WASHINGTON - The Senate on Friday voted overwhelmingly to override President Trump's veto of the annual military policy bill as most Republicans joined Democrats to rebuke Mr. Trump in the final days of his presidency.

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Schumer, Pelosi calls for Trump's removal after capitol riot-WSJ
Jan 7,2021
3. Why is this an example of this principle?
this is an example of checks and balances because the house and senate are about to have the president removed with the 25th amendment because of the violent acts yesterday.
4. What is your opinion of this?
I'm not really sure why the Trump Supporters were at the white house but if it was to overturn the election they did the exact opposite because after breaching the building, the cabinet members signed off on having trump removed because they found it unacceptable and i agree. I believe trump definitely encouraged it and should take some blame.

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WASHINGTON-Democratic congressional leaders called for President Trump to be removed from office while two cabinet officials resigned, a day after the Capitol was stormed by rioters encouraged by the president to try to block Congress from certifying President-elect Joe Biden 's election win.

"What happened at the U.S. Capitol yesterday was an insurrection against the United States, incited by the president," said Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, the chamber's Democratic leader. He and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) led calls in the party for Mr. Trump's immediate removal, even with less than two weeks left in his term, with Mr. Schumer calling for use of the 25th amendment, and failing that, impeachment.

Mr. Trump acknowledged his loss in a video Thursday night while saying he was outraged by the "lawlessness and mayhem" at the Capitol. "Tempers must be cooled," Mr. Trump said, a day after he had encouraged his supporters to march on Congress because of his false allegations that fraud had denied him re-election.

On Thursday, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said they were resigning their posts with just under two weeks left in the administration, with Ms. DeVos saying in a letter, "There is no mistaking the impact your rhetoric had on the situation." Mick Mulvaney, a former White House chief of staff who is now U.S. special envoy for Northern Ireland, quit as well.

The developments highlighted the alarm Wednesday's riot set off and the belief among many lawmakers from both parties that Mr. Trump, a Republican, provoked it and didn't condemn the actions strongly enough once the protests turned violent. On Wednesday night, with Congress reconvened after the riot, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) called the attack a "failed insurrection."

Vice President Mike Pence ultimately confirmed Mr. Biden, a Democrat, as the election winner early Thursday morning.

The head of the Capitol Police and the sergeants at arms for the House and Senate resigned after lawmakers demanded accountability from officials responsible for the security of the complex. Congressional leaders from both parties and both chambers said they had started an investigation into why police were quickly overwhelmed, letting rioters roam through the building and forcing Congress to delay its count of states' results.

The Capitol Police said some officers were hospitalized as a result of the melee, and one officer, Brian D. Sicknick, died Thursday night from injuries suffered "while physically engaging with protesters." Four Trump supporters also died during the riots, including a woman who was shot in the Capitol building.

Hundreds of rioters, pushing past security barriers and Capitol Police officers, breached the Capitol on Wednesday afternoon as both the House and Senate were meeting inside, forcing the evacuation of some lawmakers, while others barricaded themselves against the crowds.

The Justice Department said 15 criminal complaints would be filed Thursday in connection with the riot, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation was seeking the public's help in identifying more suspects.

Former Attorney General William Barr, who resigned just before Christmas, said that Mr. Trump's conduct on Wednesday was a "betrayal of his office and supporters."

A number of White House officials had resigned Wednesday. Among them were Matthew Pottinger, the deputy national security adviser, and Stephanie Grisham, chief of staff and press secretary to first lady Melania Trump.

After Mr. Pence, presiding over a joint session of Congress that was interrupted for hours due to the rioters, confirmed Mr. Biden as the winner early Thursday morning, Mr. Trump released a statement at 3:49 a.m. saying he "totally" disagreed with the outcome but "nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th."

"While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it's only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!" he said in the statement, which was released through an aide as the president's Twitter account was locked at the time due to postings Wednesday the social media network said could spread violence.

Twitter said the president would be allowed to resume tweeting on Thursday, but Facebook and Instagram said Mr. Trump would be blocked indefinitely, saying the risks are "simply too great."

Mr. Biden characterized the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday as domestic terrorists. "Don't dare call them protesters," Mr. Biden said in remarks from Wilmington, Del. "They were a riotous mob. Insurrectionists. Domestic terrorists. It's that basic. It's that simple."

Mr. Schumer, poised to become the Senate majority leader when Democrats take control of the chamber from Republicans later this month, said that Mr. Pence and the cabinet should work to remove Mr. Trump by invoking the 25th amendment.

Some administration officials have had preliminary discussions about the 25th amendment, according to a senior administration official and others familiar with the matter. However, any move to remove Mr. Trump is unlikely to happen so close to the inauguration, and neither Mr. Pence nor any cabinet members have expressed support for such a move. Impeachment of Mr. Trump, for what would be the second time, is also unlikely as Congress is out of session.

"I think we have to hold our breath," until Mr. Biden's inauguration on Jan. 20, said Sen. Mitt Romney (R., Utah), saying it was too late to begin proceedings to remove the president.

A number of other Democrats also called for the move, and one Republican, Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, joined them on Thursday.

"Here's the truth: the president caused this. The president is unfit and the president is unwell. And the president must relinquish control of the executive branch voluntarily or involuntarily."

The 25th amendment says that if the vice president and a majority of the officers of the sitting cabinet secretaries decide that the president is unable to do the duties of his office, the vice president can immediately take on the duties of the acting president. To officially remove the president, Congress would then vote, and two-thirds of each chamber would be required to officially remove the president. If that threshold isn't reached, the president resumes office.

Congressional leaders expressed alarm at how quickly the Capitol was infiltrated. By the end of Thursday, the three top security officials in the Capitol had resigned. Mr. McConnell called the breach a "massive failure" for the Capitol's security and accepted the resignation of Senate Sergeant at Arms Michael Stenger. Mrs. Pelosi said that House Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving would also be resigning after Wednesday's events.

Mrs. Pelosi also called for the resignation of Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund. He submitted his resignation late Thursday.

The union representing Capitol Police officers had also called for a leadership change, criticizing the lack of preparation.

"Our officers are experienced and they are dedicated, but they lacked the immediate backup and equipment needed to control the surging crowd," said union leader Gus Papathanasiou.

A Capitol Police officer shot the woman who later died of her injuries.

Other cabinet officials expressed concerns about the violence. Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf called the actions of the rioters "unacceptable" and urged Mr. Trump to condemn the violence. He said he would remain in his position until the end of the administration.

National-security adviser Robert O'Brien was considering resigning but hadn't made up his mind to do so, according to people familiar with the situation. Republican allies in Congress also criticized the president's actions and his rhetoric claiming a rigged election.

"Millions of Americans were misled on this vote," said South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace, a freshman Republican who campaigned with the president. Mr. Trump, she said, "went too far" on his rhetoric and it led to violence.

"The president needs to understand that his actions were the problem not the solution, that the rally yesterday was unseemly, it got out of hand," said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.).

-Kristina Peterson and Andrew Duehren contributed to this article.

Write to Natalie Andrews at Natalie.Andrews@wsj.com, Alex Leary at alex.leary@wsj.com and Josh Mitchell at joshua.mitchell@wsj.com

Copyright ©2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

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After Capitol Riot, Resignations and Calls for Trump's Removal

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WASHINGTON-Democratic congressional leaders called for President Trump to be removed from office while two cabinet officials resigned, a day after the Capitol was stormed by rioters encouraged by the president to try to block Congress from certifying President-elect Joe Biden 's election win. "What happened at the U.S.

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1. Include the link or upload
2. Put title of the article, Source of the article and date of the article.
3. Why is this an example of this principle? 
4. What is your opinion of this? 

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1. Include the link or upload2. Put title of the article, Source of the article and date of the article.3. Why is this an example of this principle? because it is california being able to choose what is right for the state 4. What is your opinion of this? i mean, i dont have a say because i do not live in california

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1. Include the link or upload2. Put title of the article, Source of the article and date of the article.3. Why is this an example of this principle? because it is california being able to choose what is right for the state 4. What is your opinion of this? i mean, i dont have a say because i do not live in california

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Video: California Will Offer Financial Incentives to Reopen School Districts

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Gov. Gavin Newsom of California unveiled a $2 billion plan on Wednesday aimed at getting elementary school students back in the classroom safely starting in February, creating incentives of at least $450 per student to a phased-in reopening of classrooms for those who want to return.

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1.https://ballotpedia.org/Donald_Trump:_Vetoed_legislation      2.Donald Trump: Vetoed legislation December 23, 2020 .3. the president using his power to veto bills from congress? 4. I believe that the president should be able to veto laws he thinks or bad

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1.https://ballotpedia.org/Donald_Trump:_Vetoed_legislation      2.Donald Trump: Vetoed legislation December 23, 2020 .3. the president using his power to veto bills from congress? 4. I believe that the president should be able to veto laws he thinks or bad

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Pence Announces Biden's After Congress Completes the Electoral Count

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Pence Announces Biden's After Congress Completes the Electoral Count

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CBS News
January 7, 2021

This article is a example of this principle because it shows the Senate verifying Biden's victory.

I have no personal opinions on this article. I think its good that congress verified Biden's win, because now i know who our next president is, but I have strong opinions with and against this article that I do not feel comfortable sharing withe people.

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4:16 AM / January 7, 2021
Trump says he "totally disagrees" with results but there will be "orderly transition"

President Trump issued a statement early Thursday after Congress affirmed President-elect Joe Biden's victory and it was announced by Vice President Mike Pence. Mr. Trump said that while he "totally disagrees with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th." Mr. Trump also vowed to keep fighting to make America great again.

The statement was tweeted by White House senior official Dan Scanvio, since Mr. Trump has been restricted from Twitter after his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.

There were a number of resignations among White House staff on Wednesday, including deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger and first lady Melania Trump's chief of staff Stephanie Grisham. Republicans, including Vice President Mike Pence and some of President Trump's own Cabinet members, have been whispering about whether to move forward with formal proceedings to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove him from office days before his term ends.

3:49 AM / January 7, 2021
Pence announces Biden's victory after Electoral College count is completed

At 3:33 a.m., Mr. Biden received 270 electoral votes. At 3:39, the count was finished. Klobuchar read the results - Mr. Biden's victory - to a standing ovation from both sides of the aisle.

The final results are 306-232 for Biden. Vice President Mike Pence completed his duties and announced Mr. Biden as the winner just after 3:40 a.m.

Senate Chaplain Barry Black closed out the session with a prayer in his sonorous tones.

3:18 AM / January 7, 2021
House rejects objection to Pennsylvania vote count

In a 282-138 vote, the House rejected the objection to Pennsylvania's vote count. That means 138 Republicans voted to object to the Pennsylvania results, even more than objected to Arizona's results (121).

Pennsylvania, one of the key battleground states, could be the final objection of the night.

3:12 AM / January 7, 2021
Cruz calls for peaceful transition of power to occur

Senator Ted Cruz, one of the few Republican senators to support objecting to the election results in Arizona and in Pennsylvania, said in a statement early Thursday morning that he

believed it was time to commence with the peaceful transfer of power.

Cruz acknowledged disappointment that Congress had not voted to appoint an electoral commission, but appeared ready to take the next step in the transition process.

"I very much wish Congress had not set aside these concerns, but I respect the position each of my colleagues took. Debate in the two houses of Congress is the proper way to resolve our political differences, not through violent attacks," Cruz said. "Now, Congress must fulfill our constitutional responsibility to complete the Electoral College certification process. We must, and I am confident we will, have a peaceful and orderly transition of power, pursuant to the Constitution."

Cruz did not mention Mr. Biden by name in his statement.

2:03 AM / January 7, 2021
Chaos briefly breaks out on House floor when Lamb says GOP lied about election

Chaos briefly broke out when Democratic Congressman Conor Lamb said Republicans had lied about the election. A Republican asked for Lamb's words to be stricken from the record. After some back and forth, there was a brief confrontation in the middle of the aisle. GOP Representative Andy Harris and Democrat Representative Colin Allred appeared to be on the brink of a fistfight.

"These objections don't deserve an ounce of respect. Not an ounce," Lamb said in his brief speech, which received applause from Democrats.

GOP Representative Jeff Van Drew, a former Democrat, then castigated Democrats for accusing Republicans of lying, to applause from the GOP side of the aisle.

1:39 AM / January 7, 2021
Capitol police give all clear

The Capitol police early Thursday gave the all clear after the "external security threat incident located within the Capitol Complex."

The U.S. Capitol was breached by an angry mob of rioters Wednesday, sending members of Congress fleeing and delaying the Electoral College count.

12:59 AM / January 7, 2021
Senate rejects objection to Pennsylvania vote

The Senate rejected the objection to Pennsylvania's vote in a 92-7 vote. Senators Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Cindy Hyde-Smith, Cynthia Lummis, Roger Marshall, Rick Scott and Tommy Tuberville voted in favor of the objection, which Hawley had signed onto.

GOP Senator Mike Lee said "hell no" when called on, and then laughed sheepishly. Montana Democratic Senator Tester didn't hear his name called, and only responded after Mark Warner called "Tester!"

The debate has moved to the House.

12:34 AM / January 7, 2021
Hawley and GOP House members object to Pennsylvania vote

Republican Senator Josh Hawley and a number of Republican members of the House have objected to the vote count in Pennsylvania, halting the joint session of Congress as the House and Senate return to their respective chambers.

Now, members have opportunities to give five-minute speeches. The joint session adjourned for up to two hours of debate before voting on the objection.

12:15 AM / January 7, 2021
Former Congressman Will Hurd on violent protests on Capitol Hill

Former Rep. Will Hurd on violent protests on Capitol Hill 10:23

Former Republican Congressman Will Hurd of Texas joined "Red and Blue" to discuss the violent pro-Trump protesters who stormed Capitol Hill, and what he'd like to see from his party and the president going forward.

12:09 AM / January 7, 2021
No senators object to votes of Michigan or Nevada

No senators signed on to join the 70 House members who objected to Michigan's results, meaning the attempt failed.

Newly minted Congresswoman Marjorie Greene announced 70 House votes in protest but admitted that she lacked a senator's signature to accompany the House effort.

Thus, the attempt to object to Michigan's results failed, Pence announced.

Mr. Biden won Michigan by roughly 150,000 votes, which isn't a particularly close race.

Moments later, no senator signed on to House Republicans' objections to the results in Nevada. That move, too, failed.

12:03 AM / January 7, 2021
No Senators object to Georgia's votes

No Senators raised objections to President-elect Joe Biden's victory in Georgia, one of the several states that President Trump had targeted. Senator Kelly Loeffler of Georgia had said she planned to object to her state's results, but she withdrew her objection earlier after protesters seized the U.S. Capitol earlier Wednesday.

Vice President Mike Pence said the objections had been withdrawn. Objections in the House cannot move forward without a signature from a senator.

11:53 PM / January 6, 2021
Joint session of Congress reconvenes

The joint session of Congress reconvened shortly after 11:30 p.m., with senators filtering back into the House chamber. Lawmakers will now continue the tally of Electoral College votes.

The timing of the next few hours is dependent on whether a senator joins House Republicans in challenging the results in other states. If so, then both chambers will once again have to go into session for two hours of debate before another vote on the objections.

11:47 PM / January 6, 2021
Gaetz booed on the House floor

Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida was booed on the House floor on Wednesday night when he said "some of the people who breached the Capitol today were not Trump supporters — they were masquerading as Trump supporters."

The Republican congressman defended President Trump, claiming that while members of Congress may "moan and groan," Mr. Trump was "far more explicit about his calls for peace than some of the BLM and left-winged rioters were this summer when we saw violence across this nation."

Gaetz was cheered for those comments, but those cheers turned to boos when he alleged without evidence that the people who stormed the Capitol were members of "antifa" who were "masquerading as Trump supporters."

Mr. Trump spoke to supporters before the Capitol was under siege, telling his supporters to "walk down to the Capitol" and "you'll never take back our country with weakness." Many of the rioters at the Capitol waved Trump flags and called for the election results to be overturned for him.

11:24 PM / January 6, 2021
121 House Republicans vote to object to Arizona results, but objection is rejected

In the House, 121 Republicans voted to throw out Arizona's electors' votes for President-elect Joe Biden. That's well over half of the Republicans in the House.

GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy and House Republican Whip Steve Scalise were among those voting to object.

Only 83 House Republicans did not object to approving Arizona's results. The objection was ultimately defeated 121-303.

11:18 PM / January 6, 2021
D.C. police say 4 people died at the Capitol on Wednesday

Four people died during the violent protest at the Capitol, according to Metro D.C. police. One woman was shot by police, and three others died as a result of medical emergencies.

So far, more than 52 people have been arrested. Of those, 47 were related to curfew violations.

Law enforcement officials said they also found two pipe bombs, one at the Republican National Committee and one at the Democratic National Committee. A molotov cocktail was also found not far from the Capitol.

11:05 PM / January 6, 2021
D.C. mayor extends public emergency order for 15 days

Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has extended the city's public emergency order for a total of 15 days. In announcing the extension, Bowser wrote that some people who breached the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday are "expected to continue their violent protests through the inauguration" on January 20.

"Today, First Amendment protests turned violent. Many persons came to the District armed and for the purpose of engaging in violence and destruction and have engaged in violence and destruction," Bowser said in a statement. "They have fired chemical irritants, bricks, bottles, and guns. They have breached the security of the Capitol and their destructive and riotous behavior has the potential to spread beyond the Capitol. Their motivation is ongoing."

A curfew went into effect in the capital city at 6 p.m. ET, and will remain in place through 6 a.m. Thursday.

11:02 PM / January 6, 2021
Some Trump Cabinet members begin to whisper about invoking the 25th Amendment

After President Trump whipped up his supporters with falsehoods about the election he claims was stolen from him and called on them to fight for his presidency at the Capitol on Wednesday — at one point urging his supporters to go to the Capitol to challenge "weak" Republicans including Vice President Mike Pence —  some of Mr. Trump's own Cabinet members have been whispering about whether to move forward with formal proceedings to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove him from office days before his term ends.

These conversations are in early stages and as of this writing have not been formally presented to Pence. There are unconfirmed reports that some Cabinet members are also considering resignation.

Trump Cabinet members discuss possibility of invoking 25th Amendment 03:40

Because Pence has been presiding over the joint session of Congress to affirm the outcome of the presidential election, he has not had much recent contact with the other members of the Cabinet, although he did speak with Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley about activating National Guard troops to staff the protests in Washington, D.C. It was Pence and not Mr. Trump who activated those troops.

National Security Adviser Ambassador Robert O'Brien spent the early part of the day in Miami with a routine visit to SOUTHCOM but made clear in a series of subsequent statements that he was in contact with both Senate leaders and the vice president. He praised Pence for exhibiting courage in the face of today's violence and said he was "proud to serve with him."

After world leaders from dictatorships and democracies issued scathing statements about what they were witnessing in the seat of power of the world's most powerful democracy, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued three tweets regarding the violence but did not mention the president by name nor what incited the acts.

But violence, putting at risk the safety of others including those tasked with providing security for all of us, is intolerable both at home and abroad. Let us swiftly bring justice to the criminals who engaged in this rioting.
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) January 6, 2021

America is better than what we saw today at a place where I served as a member of Congress and saw firsthand democracy at its best.
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) January 6, 2021

10:14 PM / January 6, 2021
Senate overwhelmingly votes to accept Arizona's electoral votes

The Senate overwhelmingly rejected the objection to the Electoral College votes from Arizona, made by Gosar and Cruz, in a 6-93 vote.

A simple majority was needed to sustain the objection. Cruz, Hawley, Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, John Kennedy of Louisiana, Roger Marshall of Kansas and Tommy Tuberville  of Alabama, all Republicans, voted to reject Arizona's electoral votes.

The Senate completed its maximum two hours of debate just before 10 p.m., after proceedings were interrupted for several hours when the violent mob of Mr. Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol building.

Both chambers are needed to sustain an objection, meaning it will fail and Arizona's results will stand.

10:06 PM / January 6, 2021
Lindsey Graham: "Count me out. Enough is enough"

Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee and one of the president's most stalwart allies, reiterated his opposition to rejecting states' electoral votes, saying Republican efforts to overrule the will of the people fly in the face of democracy.

"i think it's a uniquely bad idea to delay this election. Trump and I, we had a hell of a journey. I hate it being this way. I hate it being this way," he said. "All I can say is count me out. Enough is enough."

Senator Lindsay Graham on Biden: "I prayed he would lose. He won! He's the legitimate president" 05:41

"I don't buy this. Enough's enough. We've got to end it," Graham continued. "Vice President Pence, what they are asking you to do you won't do because you can't ... If you're a conservative, this is the most offensive concept in the world, that a single person could disenfranchise 155 million people."

Graham concluded by saying that "Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are lawfully elected and will be the president and vice president of the United States on January the 20th," earning applause from his colleagues.

9:38 PM / January 6, 2021
Romney: Those objecting to election are "complicit" in "unprecedented attack" on democracy

Senator Mitt Romney thanked his Republican colleagues who have decided against objecting to state election results, accusing those who continue to challenge those results of being "complicit in an unprecedented attack against our democracy."

Senator Mitt Romney calls on colleagues to tell voters the truth 03:57

"For any who remain insistent on an audit in order to satisfy the many people who believe that the election was stolen, I'd offer this perspective — no congressional audit is ever going to convince these voters, particularly when the president will continue to say that the election was stolen. The best way we could show respect for the voters who were upset is by telling them the truth!" Romney said, eliciting sustained applause in the Senate chamber.

"That's the burden, that's the duty of leadership. The truth is that President-elect Biden won the election. President Trump lost. I've had that experience myself. It's no fun," said Romney, the 2012 GOP presidential nominee.

Romney urged his colleagues to move forward with finalizing the election.

9:33 PM / January 6, 2021
Hawley says "violence is not how you achieve change"

Senator Josh Hawley, who intended to object to the electoral votes for Mr. Biden from Pennsylvania, did not indicate whether he intends to proceed with his challenge, but raised concerns with the state's policies regarding mail-in ballots during debate on Arizona's results.

"I submit to my colleagues that what we're doing here tonight is actually very important, because for those who have concerns about the integrity of the election, those who have concerns about what happened in November, this is the appropriate means, this is the lawful place where those objections and concerns should be heard. This is the forum that the law provides for," he said.

Hawley called on the Senate to take "affirmative action" to address concerns about election irregularities and enact election security reform.

The senator condemned the actions of the violent protesters who attacked the U.S. Capitol.

"Violence is not how you achieve change," he said. "Violence is not how you achieve something better.

9:19 PM / January 6, 2021
More White House aides resign in wake of Capitol violence

White House deputy press secretary Sarah Matthew has resigned, sources familiar with her resignation confirm to CBS News. White House social secretary Rickie Niceta has also resigned, two sources said.

The immediate departures come hours after violent protesters stormed the Capitol, and the president failed to condemn the riots. Stephanie Grisham, the first lady's chief of staff, also resigned on Wednesday.

Sara Cook and Kristin Brown

8:49 PM / January 6, 2021
Loeffler reverses course on objecting to electoral votes

Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler of Georgia announced on the Senate floor she will not object to the counting of electoral votes after initially planning to do so, citing the assault on the U.S. Capitol.

"The events that have transpired today have forced me to reconsider and I cannot now in good conscience object to the certification of these electors," Loeffler said. "The violence, the lawlessness and siege of the halls of Congress are abhorrent and stand as a direct attack on the very institution my objection was intended to protect — the sanctity of the American democratic process."

Senator Kelly Loeffler drops her objection to the electoral count 01:49

Loeffler thanked law enforcement for ensuring the safety of lawmakers.

"There is no excuse for the events that took place in these chambers today, and I pray that America never suffers such a dark day again," she said, garnering applause from her fellow Republicans as she concluded her remarks.

CBS News projected earlier Wednesday that Democrat Raphael Warnock defeated Loeffler in the runoff election for the Senate in Georgia.

8:48 PM / January 6, 2021
Lankford, who challenged tally, says election audit no longer feasible

Republican Senator James Lankford said that an election audit sought by a group of 11 GOP senators, including himself, is now off the table after rioters stormed the Capitol.

"Obviously the commission that we had asked for is not going to happen at this point. And I understand that. And we're headed towards, tonight, towards the certification of Joe Biden to be the president," Lankford said on the Senate floor Wednesday night.

Lankford was part of a coalition of senators, led by Senator Ted Cruz, who vowed to reject the Electoral College tallies unless Congress launched a commission to immediately conduct an audit of the election results.

Earlier in the day, the Oklahoma Republican was speaking on the floor when an aide was heard telling him, "Protesters are in the building." More than six hours later, Lankford concluded his interrupted time by calling for peace.

"We will work together in this body to be able to set a peaceful example for the days ahead," he said.

8:46 PM / January 6, 2021
Sense of relief fills Senate chamber as work resumes

The Senate chamber was abuzz with conversation before Pence entered. Ted Cruz flittered between senators, chatting first with Steve Daines, then Ron Johnson. Kelly Loeffler — who just lost her race — had a brief discussion with McConnell. The mood was one of almost palpable relief.

But as soon as Pence hit the gavel, there was silence. There was no fidgeting from senators, even some of the clearly skeptical Democrats. The atmosphere was somber and heavy, weighted down with knowledge that today would not be soon forgotten. In a rare show of bipartisanship, both Democrats and Republicans gave Pence a standing ovation, although Democrats stood maybe a millisecond after Republicans.

That somber mood continued through speeches by McConnell and Schumer. Interestingly, McConnell appeared to largely be addressing Republicans, particularly when talking about how thugs will not prevent the Senate from doing its duty.

Schumer also appeared to be addressing Republicans in his speech. When he condemned Mr. Trump, John Cornyn shot a look at Lindsey Graham, who shook his head.

When James Lankford stood to resume his remarks, which were interrupted when the Senate abruptly recessed in the afternoon, the severe atmosphere had mostly lifted. Senators on both sides of the aisle had started to become restless again, looking at their phones more intently.

8:25 PM / January 6, 2021
Schumer says Capitol assault "will be a stain on our country"

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the violent assault on the Capitol will "be a stain on our country."

Schumer mourned the loss of one woman who lost her life during the violent protests, and praised the police for their efforts.

"These images were projected to the world," Schumer said. "Foreign embassies cabled their home capitals to report the harrowing scenes at the very heart of our democracy. This will be a stain on our country, not so easily washed away."

Schumer called the violent protesters "rioters and insurrectionists, goons and thugs, domestic terrorists."

"They must and should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, hopefully by this administration. If not, certainly by the next. They should be provided no leniency," Schumer said.

The Senate minority leader placed much of the blame with Mr. Trump.

"This president bears a great deal of the blame. This mob was in good part President Trump's doing, incited by his words, his lies," Schumer said.

"January 6th will go down as one of the darkest days in recent American history," Schumer said.

8:14 PM / January 6, 2021
McConnell: Senate "will not be intimidated" by "failed insurrection"

Speaking on the Senate floor, McConnell described those who breached the Capitol as "thugs," and vowed that the Senate "will not be intimidated."

"The United States and the United States Congress have faced down much greater threats than the unhinged crowd we saw today. We've never been deterred before. And we'll not be deterred today. They tried to disrupt our democracy. They failed," McConnell said. "This failed insurrection only underscores how crucial the task before us is for our republic."

"We will certify the winner of the 2020 presidential election," McConnell added.

8:24 PM / January 6, 2021
Pence: "Let's get back to work"

The vice president returned to preside over the Senate nearly six hours after the chamber abruptly recessed, saying it was a "dark day."

"To those who wreaked havoc in our Capitol today, you did not win," Pence said. "Violence never wins. Freedom wins, and this is still the people's house."

The vice president, who remained in the Capitol complex during the assault, hailed the decision of lawmakers to reconvene in the wake of the day's remarkable events, saying the building is secure once again and the work of the Congress will continue.

"The elected representatives of the people of the United States have assembled again on the very same day to support and defend the Constitution of the United States," he said. "So may God bless the lost, the injured and the heroes forged on this day."

8:09 PM / January 6, 2021
Obama says GOP has "a choice made clear in the desecrated chambers of democracy"

Former President Barack Obama decried the violence at the U.S. Capitol Wednesday, saying, "we'd be kidding ourselves if we treated it as a total surprise." The former president said Republican leaders now have a choice to make.

"For two months now, a political party and its accompanying media ecosystem has too often been unwilling to tell their followers the truth — that this was not a particularly close election and that President-Elect Biden will be inaugurated on January 20. Their fantasy narrative has spiraled further and further from reality, and it builds upon years of sown resentments. Now we're seeing the consequences, whipped up into a violent crescendo," Mr. Obama said.

"Right now, Republican leaders have a choice made clear in the desecrated chambers of democracy," Mr. Obama continued. "They can continue down this road and keep stoking the raging fires. Or they can choose reality and take the first steps toward extinguishing the flames. They can choose America."

Mr. Obama said he has been "heartened" to see so many Republicans speak out forcefully.

"We need more leaders like these — right now and in the days, weeks, and months ahead as President-Elect Biden works to restore a common purpose to our politics. It's up to all of us as Americans, regardless of party, to support him in that goal," Mr. Obama said.

7:55 PM / January 6, 2021
Mattis says assault on Capitol was "fomented by Mr. Trump"

Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, the president's first secretary of defense, said Mr. Trump is responsible for the attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of his supporters.

"Today's violent assault on our Capitol, an effort to subjugate American democracy by mob rule, was fomented by Mr. Trump," Mattis said in a statement. "His use of the presidency to destroy trust in our election and to poison our respect for fellow citizens has been enabled by pseudo political leaders whose names will live in infamy as profiles in cowardice."

Mattis said that while the Constitution and the nation will "overcome this stain," and the American people will unite, the president will "deservedly be left a man without a country."

7:50 PM / January 6, 2021
Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene says she "will still object"

Freshman Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a staunch ally of President Trump's who has promoted QAnon conspiracy theories, tweeted that she will still object to the Electoral College count.

"I will still object to fraudulent electoral votes. Despicable violence committed by fringe agitators will not silence my voice or derail the Constitutional process that Congress must complete," Taylor Greene wrote. "It's our duty as members of the People's House to ensure election integrity."

Greene's comment comes after Republican Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers said she would no longer object.

7:42 PM / January 6, 2021
Stephanie Grisham, first lady's chief of staff, resigns from White House

Stephanie Grisham, a former White House communications director and press secretary, resigned from her role as first lady Melania Trump's chief of staff on Wednesday amid the violent assault on the Capitol.

"It has been an honor to serve the country in the White House. I am very proud to have been a part of Mrs. Trump's mission to help children everywhere, and proud of the many accomplishments of this Administration," Grisham said in a statement to CBS News.

CNN first reported Grisham's resignation. Grisham has been a fierce Trump loyalist and one of the longest-serving White House aides.

A senior White House official tells CBS News that Grisham's resignation was "a long time coming" but that the attack at the Capitol was "the tipping point" that prompted her departure.

7:32 PM / January 6, 2021
House and Senate given all clear to return

The House and Senate have been given the all clear to return and the tunnels connecting the Capitol complex have reopened, roughly five hours after lawmakers evacuated from their respective chambers.

7:20 PM / January 6, 2021
Pence returns to Senate to "finish the People's business"

The vice president "never left the Capitol" and has now returned to the Senate to continue the process of counting electoral votes, his press secretary says:

Vice President @Mike_Pence has returned to the Senate. He never left the Capitol.@VP was in regular contact w/ House & Senate leadership, Cap Police, DOJ, & DoD to facilitate efforts to secure the Capitol & reconvene Congress.

And now we will finish the People’s business.
— Devin O’Malley (@VPPressSec) January 7, 2021

7:17 PM / January 6, 2021
Twitter locks Trump's account for first time over tweets about Capitol assault

Twitter announced Mr. Trump's account will be locked for 12 hours due to a trio of tweets he posted about the attack on the U.S. Capitol perpetrated by a violent mob of his supporters that the social media company said violated its policies.

"As a result of the unprecedented and ongoing violent situation in Washington, D.C., we have required the removal of three @realDonaldTrump Tweets that were posted earlier today for repeated and severe violations of our Civic Integrity policy," Twitter said in a series of posts. "This means that the account of @realDonaldTrump will be locked for 12 hours following the removal of these Tweets."

The company said that if Mr. Trump does not remove the tweets, his account will remain locked, and further violations of its Civic Integrity or Violent Threats policies will lead to the permanent suspension of his account.

7:09 PM / January 6, 2021
GOP rep reverses course, won't object to Electoral College results

Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington issued a statement Wednesday evening saying she will no longer object to the Electoral College results. She is the first member of Congress to reverse course after saying she would challenge the results.

"The only reason for my objection was to give voice to the concern that governors and courts unilaterally changed election procedures without the will of the people and outside of the legislative process," she said in a statement. "I have been consistent in my belief that Americans should utilize the Constitutional tools and legal processes available to seek answers to their questions about the 2020 election. What we have seen today is unlawful and unacceptable. I have decided I will vote to uphold the Electoral College results and I encourage Donald Trump to condemn and put an end to this madness."

On Tuesday, McMorris Rodgers issued a statement saying she would object to the results "in states where there have been allegations of voter fraud and questions raised about the legality of changes to state election law."

McMorris Rodgers' statement on Tuesday said she would "fight for answers for the people I represent and make sure their voices are heard."

7:05 PM / January 6, 2021
Senate plans to reconvene at 8 p.m. to resume proceedings

Congressional staffers in the secure area where senators are huddled said the Senate plans to return to the Capitol imminently and reconvene at 8 p.m. to resume debate over the objection to the Electoral College results.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters "8 o'clock" when asked if there were any updates.

6:55 PM / January 6, 2021
Trade group says Pence "should seriously consider" invoking 25th Amendment

The National Association of Manufacturers is calling on Pence to consider invoking the 25th amendment of the Constitution, which transfers power to the vice president should the president be incapacitated or deemed unable to carry out the duties of the presidency.

"Vice President Pence, who was evacuated from the Capitol, should seriously consider working with the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment to preserve democracy," the association's  president and CEO Jay Timmons said in a statement Wednesday.

"The outgoing president incited violence in an attempt to retain power, and any elected leader defending him is violating their oath to the Constitution and rejecting democracy in favor of anarchy. Anyone indulging conspiracy theories to raise campaign dollars is complicit," reads Timmons' statement.

Timmons' said in his statement "this is not the vision of America that manufacturers believe in and work so hard to defend." He added that, while the president continues to dispute the certified election, "millions of manufacturing workers are helping our nation fight the deadly pandemic that has already taken hundreds of thousands of lives."

"We are trying to rebuild an economy and save and rebuild lives," he wrote. "But none of that will matter if our leaders refuse to fend off this attack on America and our democracy — because our very system of government, which underpins our very way of life, will crumble."

6:41 PM / January 6, 2021
Pelosi says Congress should "proceed tonight at the Capitol once it is cleared for use"

In a letter to colleagues on Wednesday evening, Pelosi condemned the "shameful" riots in the Capitol, and said she believed Congress should proceed with tallying Electoral College votes once the Capitol is secured.

"Today, a shameful assault was made on our democracy.  It was anointed at the highest level of government. It cannot, however, deter us from our responsibility to validate the election of Joe Biden," Pelosi said. "To that end, in consultation with Leader Hoyer and Whip Clyburn and after calls to the Pentagon, the Justice Department and the Vice President, we have decided we should proceed tonight at the Capitol once it is cleared for use. Leader Hoyer will be sending out more guidance later today."

Pelosi also expressed hope that "this instigation to violence will provide an epiphany for our country to heal."

"We always knew this responsibility would take us into the night. The night may still be long but we are hopeful for a shorter agenda, but our purpose will be accomplished," Pelosi said. "We also knew that we would be a part of history in a positive way, today, despite ill-founded objections to the Electoral College vote. We now will be part of history, as such a shameful picture of our country was put out to the world, instigated at the highest level."

6:40 PM / January 6, 2021
National security adviser hails Pence's "courage," does not mention Trump

National security adviser Robert O'Brien tweeted that he had recently spoken to Vice President Mike Pence, but he did not mention President Trump.

"I just spoke with Vice President Pence," O'Brien tweeted. "He is a genuinely fine and decent man. He exhibited courage today as he did at the Capitol on 9/11 as a Congressman. I am proud to serve with him."

Pence defied the president earlier Wednesday when he told lawmakers he did not have the authority to overturn the election results, as the president had insisted. After the assault on the Capitol, Pence tweeted that "violence and destruction taking place at the US Capitol Must Stop and it Must Stop Now."

6:27 PM / January 6, 2021
Bush calls demonstrations "sickening and heartbreaking sight"

Former President George W. Bush, the only living Republican former president, issued a statement denouncing the assault on the U.S. Capitol. Mr. Bush said he is "appalled by the reckless behavior of some political leaders since the election" without calling out anyone directly.

"This is how election results are disputed in a banana republic — not our democratic republic," Mr. Bush said. "The violent assault on the Capitol — and disruption of a Constitutionally-mandated meeting of Congress — was undertaken by people whose passions have been inflamed by falsehoods and false hopes."

Mr. Bush ended the statement with a note to those disappointed by the results of the election, saying "our country is more important than the politics of the moment."

6:23 PM / January 6, 2021
Romney blames Trump for "insurrection" at the Capitol

In a scathing statement Wednesday evening, GOP Senator Mitt Romney blamed Mr. Trump for encouraging the "insurrection" at the Capitol.

"We gather today due to a selfish man's injured pride and the outrage of his supporters whom he has deliberately misinformed for the past two months and stirred to action this very morning. What happened here today was an insurrection, incited by the President of the United States," Romney said.

He also took a shot at his Republican colleagues who supported objecting to the Electoral College results, saying that they will "forever be seen as being complicit in an unprecedented attack against our democracy." He mocked the idea — floated by Senator Ted Cruz and 10 other Republican senators — that Congress should establish a commission to review the election results.

"The objectors have claimed they are doing so on behalf of the voters. Have an audit, they say, to satisfy the many people who believe that the election was stolen. Please! No Congressional led audit will ever convince those voters, particularly when the President will continue to claim that the election was stolen," Romney said. "The best way we can show respect for the voters who are upset is by telling them the truth. That is the burden, and the duty, of leadership."

"We must not be intimidated or prevented from fulfilling our constitutional duty. We must continue with the count of electoral college votes," Romney continued. "In light of today's sad circumstances, I ask my colleagues: Do we weigh our own political fortunes more heavily than we weigh the strength of our Republic, the strength of our democracy, and the cause of freedom? What is the weight of personal acclaim compared to the weight of conscience?"

6:17 PM / January 6, 2021
Woman shot in Capitol dies of injuries, police say

A woman who was shot inside the Capitol earlier Wednesday has died of her injuries, according to Alaina Gertz, a spokeswoman from the Metropolitan Police Department.

The unidentified woman was a civilian, not a member of law enforcement, according to Gertz. Earlier, police said the woman was among six people taken to the hospital after the breach at the Capitol.

6:00 PM / January 6, 2021
Curfew takes effect in D.C. as police try to disperse protesters

A curfew ordered by the mayor of Washington, D.C., took effect at 6 p.m., and police at the Capitol warned demonstrators to disperse or face arrest.

A warning over loudspeakers said that "all individuals must leave the U.S. Capitol grounds, or be subject to arrest."

5:49 PM / January 6, 2021
Acting attorney general condemns "intolerable attack" on Capitol

Jeffrey Rosen, the acting attorney general, said the crisis at the Capitol was an "unacceptable situation" and the Justice Department "intend[s] to enforce the laws of our land."

"The violence at our Nation's Capitol Building is an intolerable attack on a fundamental institution of our democracy," Rosen, the top federal law enforcement officer, said in a statement. "From the outset,  the Department of Justice has been working in close coordination with the Capitol Police and federal partners from the Interior Department,  the Department of Homeland Security, and the National Guard, as well as the Metropolitan Police and other local authorities."

Rosen assumed leadership of the Justice Department just before Christmas after the resignation of Attorney General William Barr.

5:42 PM / January 6, 2021
Twitter says it flagged Trump tweet to "protect the health of the public conversation"

Mr. Trump's video about the election has been restricted by Twitter and can't be retweeted, liked or replied to. Twitter also put a notice on it that "this claim of election fraud has been disputed."

In a statement, Twitter said "In regard to the ongoing situation in Washington, D.C., we are working proactively to protect the health of the public conversation occurring on the service and will take action on any content that violates the Twitter Rules." Any threats to safety are against Twitter rules, the social media giant said.

"In addition, we have been significantly restricting engagement with Tweets labeled under our Civic Integrity Policy due to the risk of violence. This means these labeled Tweets will not be able to be replied to, Retweeted, or liked," Twitter continued.

The company said it is "exploring escalated enforcement actions."

5:28 PM / January 6, 2021
Sasse blames Trump for violence by mob at U.S. Capitol

Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska placed the blame for the violence at the U.S. Capitol perpetrated by Mr. Trump's supporters on Mr. Trump, saying "lies have consequences."

"This violence was the inevitable and ugly outcome of the president's addiction to constantly stoking division," Sasse said in a statement.

The senator excoriated the president, saying that while the Capitol was "ransacked" by those attempting to thwart Congress's efforts to count the electoral votes, Mr. Trump "cowered behind his keyboard — tweeting against his vice president for fulfilling the duties of his oath to the Constitution."

"This is not how we peacefully transfer power," he said.

5:14 PM / January 6, 2021
Officers begin clearing mob from Capitol steps

Supporters of President Trump clash with police officers in front of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. LEAH MILLIS / REUTERS

Law enforcement officers have begun deploying flash-bang grenades and tear gas in an effort to disperse rioters from the steps on the west end of the Capitol. Plumes of smoke could be seen rising around demonstrators as they retreated from a balcony where they had broken a window and entered an office.

.@jeffpeguescbs reports on law enforcement's increased efforts to clear pro-Trump demonstrators from the steps of the U.S. Capitol. pic.twitter.com/sb183mEhwo
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) January 6, 2021

Hundreds of law enforcement personnel from federal, state and local jurisdictions in and around Washington are responding to the crisis as officials struggle to get the situation under control.

5:06 PM / January 6, 2021
"Quick-thinking" staffer secured electoral votes before rioters stormed Capitol

Senator Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois, told CBS News that a Senate staffer managed to secure the wooden chests containing the Electoral College certificates before senators were evacuated from the Senate chamber.

"The good news is that one of the staff members was very, very quick-thinking, and was able to grab and secure the Electoral College ballots and bring them with her to this location," Duckworth said in a phone interview. "So we have them with us, and we will be able to proceed as long as Mitch McConnell calls us back into session."

Sen. Tammy Duckworth says that a staffer secured the electoral college ballots and brought them with her when lawmakers and staffers were moved to a secure location in the U.S. Capitol. pic.twitter.com/b4W4UFINjM
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) January 6, 2021

Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon tweeted a photo of the chests from the secure location where senators are being held:

Electoral college ballots rescued from the Senate floor. If our capable floor staff hadn’t grabbed them, they would have been burned by the mob. pic.twitter.com/2JCauUIlvg
— Senator Jeff Merkley (@SenJeffMerkley) January 6, 2021

4:57 PM / January 6, 2021
Hawley, GOP senator leading election challenge, calls for end to violence

Senator Josh Hawley, who was the first Senator to announce his intent to challenge the Electoral College vote count, called for an end to the violence brought by a mob of the president's supporters protesting the count.

"Thank you to the brave law enforcement officials who have put their lives on the line," Hawley said in a statement posted on Twitter after rioters breached the Capitol building. "The violence must end, those who attacked police and broke the law must be prosecuted, and Congress must get back to work and finish its job."

Hawley was photographed greeting protesters outside the Capitol earlier in the day.

The Missouri senator's planned objection included claims of widespread voter fraud and election interference that have been proven false.

4:53 PM / January 6, 2021
Omar says she will draw up articles of impeachment

Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar said on Wednesday she would draw up articles of impeachment against the president. It has been almost exactly one year since Mr. Trump was cleared of all charges in his impeachment trial.

"I am drawing up Articles of Impeachment. Donald J. Trump should be impeached by the House of Representatives & removed from office by the United States Senate. We can't allow him to remain in office, it's a matter of preserving our Republic and we need to fulfill our oath," Omar said in a tweet.

Omar's tweet comes moments after the president released a video calling on the rioters to go home, but also saying that he "loved" them.

4:43 PM / January 6, 2021
Inside the Senate chamber as lawmakers evacuated and rioters stormed the Capitol

I was sitting inside the Senate press gallery Wednesday afternoon, crafting an email to send to the CBS News bureau describing the events of the past half hour of debate over objections to Arizona's slate of electors, when Vice President Mike Pence was swiftly evacuated from the Senate chamber. I assumed it was for security purposes, given the crowds of rowdy demonstrators that had gathered outside the building.

I quickly devised an email to shoot to my editors letting them know that Pence had left, figuring it was a false alarm. But soon, Senate gallery staffers were shouting "lock the doors," and it was clear that the situation was serious. Reporters were ushered into the press gallery above the Senate chamber, and the doors were locked. We could hear the muffled sound of the rioters outside.

Electronics aren't allowed in the chamber, but I brought my laptop and cell phone inside to let my editors know I was safe. Senators were on their phones, presumably calling loved ones, as police officers eyed the locked doors. At one point, Senator Amy Klobuchar shouted that there had been shots fired, urging her colleagues to stay away from the doors and take the situation seriously.

Suddenly, senators began filing out to be evacuated. Reporters were initially stuck in the gallery on the third floor overlooking the chamber. Senator Cory Booker called up to the reporters on the balcony, asking how we were doing. I laughed, probably with a tinge of hysteria. "We're doing great," I called back down.

Reporters were shuffled out of the chamber and guided by Capitol police officers alongside the senators to a secure location. The Senate went into recess, and the rioters gained access to the chamber soon after.

4:33 PM / January 6, 2021
Trump tells supporters at Capitol to "go home now"

Mr. Trump, in a one-minute video posted to Twitter, told the rioters they are "special" but "need to go home now." The president spent about as much time calling the election stolen as saying the situation should come to an end.

Not once in the video did Mr. Trump condemn the violence caused by his supporters, but instead sympathized with their anger.

"I know your pain, I know your hurt," Mr. Trump said. "We had an election that was stolen from us. it was a landslide election and everyone knows it, especially the other side. But you have to go home now. We have to have peace. We have to have law and order, we have to respect our great people in law and order. We don't want anybody hurt. It's a very tough period of time."

"There's never been a time like this where such a thing happened where they could take it away from all of us. From me, from you, from our country. This was a fraudulent election. But we can't play into the hands of these people. We have peace. So go home, we love you, you're very special. You've seen what happens. And you see the way others are treated that are so bad and so evil. I know how you feel. But go home and go home in peace," the president said.

4:29 PM / January 6, 2021
Biden calls on Trump to "step up" and "demand an end to this siege"

Biden: "Our democracy is under unprecedented assault" 09:29

Shortly before Mr. Trump released a video telling protesters to go home, Mr. Biden called on the president to go on national television and speak out against the mob that breached the U.S. Capitol Wednesday.

"I call on president Trump to go on national television now to fulfill his oath and defend the Constitution, and demand an end to this siege," Biden said during a televised address from Delaware. The president encouraged supporters during a rally earlier in the day, but later wrote on Twitter that those at the Capitol should "remain peaceful. No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!"

Mr. Biden called the day's events "a reminder, a painful one, that democracy is fragile."

"President Trump, step up," he said.

Read more here.

4:20 PM / January 6, 2021
Suspicious device found at RNC detonated by bomb squad

A suspicious device found at Republican National Committee headquarters has been safely detonated by a bomb squad, RNC communications director Michael Ahrens tweeted.

"Earlier today, a suspicious device was found at RNC headquarters. RNC staff was safely evacuated from the building and the device has been successfully detonated by a bomb squad," Ahrens wrote.

4:19 PM / January 6, 2021
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemns violence at U.S. Capitol

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson became one of the first world leaders to condemn what is happening at the U.S. Capitol, calling the scenes "disgraceful."

"Disgraceful scenes in the U.S. Congress," Johnson tweeted. "The United States stands for democracy around the world and it is now vital that there should be a peaceful and orderly transfer of power."

4:18 PM / January 6, 2021
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemns violence at U.S. Capitol

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson became one of the first world leaders to condemn what is happening at the U.S. Capitol, calling the scenes "disgraceful."

"Disgraceful scenes in the U.S. Congress," Johnson tweeted. "The United States stands for democracy around the world and it is now vital that there should be a peaceful and orderly transfer of power."

4:07 PM / January 6, 2021
Woman shot, 5 taken to hospital from violence at Capitol, D.C. officials say

D.C. Fire and EMS said a woman was shot and in critical condition at a nearby hospital, and at least five people have been transported to the hospital as pro-Trump demonstrators swarmed the U.S. Capitol, prompting a lockdown and evacuations of lawmakers, staff and journalists.

4:05 PM / January 6, 2021
Pence goes further than Trump, says "attack on our Capitol" must stop

Vice President Mike Pence went further than the president on Wednesday afternoon, saying the violence must stop and the "attack on our Capitol will not be tolerated."

"The violence and destruction taking place at the US Capitol Must Stop and it Must Stop Now. Anyone involved must respect Law Enforcement officers and immediately leave the building," Pence tweeted. "Peaceful protest is the right of every American but this attack on our Capitol will not be tolerated and those involved will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

Mr. Trump has been frustrated with Pence, who says he lacks the power to overturn the election.

Thus far, Mr. Trump has not urged the demonstrators to leave, nor condemned the violence at the Capitol.

3:53 PM / January 6, 2021
Pelosi and Schumer urge Trump to call for supporters to leave Capitol

In a brief one-line statement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer urged the president to call on his supporters to vacate the Capitol and end the crisis.

"We are calling on President Trump to demand that all protestors leave the U.S. Capitol and Capitol Grounds immediately," the Democratic leaders said.

3:47 PM / January 6, 2021
House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy calls for an end to violence

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told CBS News that he condemned the violence in the Capitol, and said that he had spoken to Mr. Trump.

"I've spoken to the president," McCarthy said. "I asked him to talk to the nation, to tell them to stop this."

He said that the violence has "got to stop" and that it is "unacceptable."

Mr. Trump has yet to explicitly condemn the demonstrators, but has asked them to "remain peaceful." The protesters violently entered the Capitol, threatening the safety of lawmakers and staffers.

3:45 PM / January 6, 2021
Trump orders National Guard to Capitol, McEnany says

The National Guard is on the way to the U.S. Capitol, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a tweet. Mr. Trump did not make the announcement himself.

"At President @realDonaldTrump's direction, the National Guard is on the way along with other federal protective services," McEnany tweeted. "We reiterate President Trump's call against violence and to remain peaceful."

3:43 PM / January 6, 2021
Virginia governor sends National Guard, state troopers to D.C.

Members of the Virginia National Guard and 200 Virginia state troopers are being deployed to Washington, D.C., to assist with the response to pro-Trump demonstrators who have breached the U.S. Capitol, Governor Ralph Northam said.

"My team and I are working closely with @MayorBowser, @SpeakerPelosi, and @SenSchumer to respond to the situation in Washington, D.C.  Per the Mayor's request, I am sending members of the Virginia National Guard along with 200 Virginia State Troopers," he tweeted.

My team and I are working closely with @MayorBowser, @SpeakerPelosi, and @SenSchumer to respond to the situation in Washington, D.C.

Per the Mayor's request, I am sending members of the Virginia National Guard along with 200 Virginia State Troopers.
— Ralph Northam (@GovernorVA) January 6, 2021

3:24 PM / January 6, 2021
Secret Service, Federal Protective Service being deployed to Capitol

Federal Protective Service and Secret Service agents are being deployed to the U.S. Capitol, Acting Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Ken Cuccinelli confirmed.

The presence of the U.S. Capitol Police was clearly insufficient to stop the storm of demonstrators.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser's request for D.C. National Guard troops was approved earlier this week, and were mobilized Wednesday afternoon.

3:21 PM / January 6, 2021
D.C. attorney general urges Trump to call for end to violence

D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine issued a statement urging the president to tell his supporters to stand down and leave the Capitol. Mr. Trump thus far has not condemned the violence, or called on his supporters to disband, tweeting only that demonstrators should "remain peaceful."

"We call on President Trump to immediately tell his supporters, who are trampling on the District of Columbia and have breached the U.S. Capitol, to cease and desist and return from whence they came in a peaceful manner," Racine said in a statement. "The United States of America is the world's greatest democracy, and that rests on a peaceful transition of power."

"We urge President Trump to do what he has not yet done, but what he must do: order his supporters to leave the District of Columbia and fully embrace the transition of power to President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris," Racine continued.

Racine said all D.C. residents "must remain at home," and "under no circumstance should anyone travel downtown nor be in the vicinity of federal buildings."

The curfew in D.C. goes into effect at 6 p.m.

3:25 PM / January 6, 2021
Trump calls for demonstrators to "remain peaceful" amid violent breach at Capitol

Mr. Trump took to Twitter to call for peace as swarms of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol and made their way inside, prompting law enforcement to evacuate lawmakers, staff and journalists from the House and Senate chambers.

"I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!" he tweeted.

The president did not urge his supporters to leave the premises.

I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2021

Mr. Trump's tweet comes after his supporters breached several layers of security barriers, charged up the steps of the Capitol and pushed their way inside. Demonstrators made their way to the floor of the Senate, and images showed Capitol Police in the House chamber with their guns drawn and the doors to the floor barricaded.

2:45 PM / January 6, 2021
Protesters breach Capitol building as lawmakers told to use gas masks

U.S. Capitol police officers point their guns at a door that was vandalized in the House Chamber during a joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021 in Washington, D.C. / Getty Images

Protesters reached the interior of the Capitol building, prompting the evacuation of senators and causing House members to take cover under their seats in the House chamber. Lawmakers were told to use gas masks to protect themselves from tear gas before being escorted out.

Congressman Gerry Connolly of Virginia tweeted that tear gas had been used in the Capitol Rotunda.

2:46 PM / January 6, 2021
Trump calls for support of law enforcement as supporters siege U.S. Capitol

As pro-Trump demonstrators stormed the steps of the U.S. Capitol and made their way inside, the president broke his silence on the violent protests and called for support of law enforcement.

"Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!" Mr. Trump tweeted.

The president did not urge his supporters to withdraw from the Capitol.

Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2021

2:39 PM / January 6, 2021
D.C. mayor orders 6 p.m. curfew

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has ordered a 6 p.m. curfew, as the crisis at the Capitol intensifies.

"Today, I'm ordering a citywide curfew for the District of Columbia from 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 6, until 6:00 a.m. on Thursday, January 7," Bowser tweeted.

The sun sets at roughly 5 p.m. in Washington, so the curfew still comes after dark.

2:19 PM / January 6, 2021
Senate recesses abruptly as protesters swarm Capitol

As Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma delivered remarks, the Senate abruptly recessed and lawmakers left the chamber. An aide could be heard telling the senator "protesters are in the building."

Pence was also rushed off the Senate floor, and the U.S. Capitol is on lockdown.

Videos showed protesters inside the Capitol building.

In the House, members abruptly left the floor amid the debate there.

2:02 PM / January 6, 2021
Cruz pushes for 10-day emergency audit of election

During the debate over the objection to Arizona's results, Senator Ted Cruz stepped up to rationalize his opposition to tallying the Electoral College not on the basis of specific facts, but by stating that much of the country believes the election was rigged.

Both sides of the aisle are doing lots of "moralizing," Cruz said, "but I would urge to both sides perhaps a bit less certitude and a bit more recognition that we are gathered at a time when democracy is in crisis."

"Recent polling shows that 39% of Americans believe the election that just occurred was rigged," Cruz said.

Still, Cruz said he isn't trying to set aside the results of an election, saying instead there should be a commission to study the integrity of the election. There should be a 10-day emergency audit, the senator argued.

1:54 PM / January 6, 2021
Schumer on Republican objectors: "They will embarrass themselves"

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer excoriated the efforts from Republican lawmakers to object to the electoral ballots cast in Arizona, saying they will be an embarrassment and risk harming the view of American democracy.

"In the process, they will embarrass themselves. They will embarrass their party. And worst of all, they will embarrass their country," Schumer, a Democrat from New York, said during remarks in response to the objection from Gosar and Cruz.

The Senate's top Democrat called the efforts an "insurrection" and a "coup," and questioned the message their actions will send to the rest of the world that look to the United States as a beacon of democracy.

"What will we show those people? Will we show those people that there is a better way to ensure liberty and opportunity of humankind?" Schumer said. "Sadly, a small band of Republican objectors may darken the view of our democracy today, but a larger group of senators and House members from both sides of the aisle can send a message, too, that democracy beats deep in the hearts of our citizens and elected representatives, that we are a country of laws and not men."

Schumer noted the slew of losses the Trump campaign has suffered in court, with many of their legal challenges dismissed because they did not present evidence to support allegations of fraud.

1:44 PM / January 6, 2021
McConnell rejects GOP effort to challenge election in blistering speech from Senate floor

In a remarkable speech from the Senate floor, Senate Majority Leader Mitch castigated his fellow Republicans who challenged Arizona's election results, arguing they were subverting the Constitution by attempting to overturn the election results.

"I've served 36 years in the Senate. This will be the most important vote I've ever cast," McConnell said. "The voters, the courts and the states have all spoken. They've all spoken. If we overrule them, it will damage our republic forever."

McConnell addressed senators as they gaveled in to debate the objection over Arizona's slate of electors in a session presided over by Pence.

He also noted that the election was "not unusually close," as Mr. Biden defeated Mr. Trump with 306 electoral votes.

"If this election was overturned by allegations from the losing side, our democracy would enter a death spiral," McConnell said, predicting that every election would become a free-for-all in which the loser would try to overturn the will of the voters.

"Self-government, my colleagues, requires a shared commitment to the truth. And a shared respect for the ground rules of our system. We cannot keep drifting apart into two separate tribes with a separate set of facts and separate realities," he continued.

The Senate majority leader was impassioned, his voice trembling at moments. Meanwhile, outside the Capitol, crowds of angry pro-Trump protesters pushed back against barricades set by Capitol police officers in their demonstration against the count.

"It would be unfair and wrong to disenfranchise American voters and overrule the court and the states," McConnell said. "I will not pretend such a vote will be a harmless protest gesture, while relying on others to do the right thing. I will vote to respect the people's decision and defend our system of government as we know it."

1:37 PM / January 6, 2021
Congressional office buildings ordered evacuated

The Capitol Police ordered the evacuation of the Cannon House Office Building, which is part of the Capitol complex, as supporters of the president confronted police outside of the Capitol building. A Library of Congress building next to Cannon was also evacuated.

Staffers received an alert instructing them to "remain calm and move in a safe manner to the exits."

Protesters have gathered on Capitol grounds, waving flags and cheering for lawmakers to "stop the steal." Mr. Trump has said he will walk the two miles down Pennsylvania Avenue to join the protests there.

Footage from the Capitol showed protesters attempting to charge up the steps of the Capitol and being met by police.

1:19 PM / January 6, 2021
GOP lawmakers object to Arizona results, prompting round of debate in each chamber

Arizona Republican Congressman Paul Gosar objected to the counting of electoral ballots from his home state, and his objection was joined by Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas. Sixty GOP House members joined the objection, as did seven Republican senators: Mike Braun of Indiana, John Kennedy of Louisiana, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Steve Daines of Montana, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee.

Both the House and Senate will now separate and debate for up to two hours the objection. The objection is not expected to be sustained once they each vote.

"Objecting to counting the electoral votes of the state of Arizona, we, a member of the House of Representatives and a United States senator object to the counting of the electoral votes of the state of Arizona on the ground that they were not under all of the known circumstances regularly given," the objection read.

The electoral votes from Alabama and Alaska were read aloud and counted first, with no objections.

Republicans applaud Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) after he objects to counting the electoral votes for Arizona, which will go to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris https://t.co/wTKxzqAo9U pic.twitter.com/eFHCAs2PhZ
— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 6, 2021

1:06 PM / January 6, 2021
Pence rebuffs Trump's pressure to reject electoral votes

Just before the joint session convened, Pence sent a letter to Congress confirming he does not have the authority to reject states' electoral votes, as Mr. Trump has been pressuring him to do.

"As a student of history who loves the Constitution and reveres its Framers, I do not believe that the Founders of our country intended to invest the vice president with unilateral authority to decide which electoral votes should be counted during the joint session of Congress, and no vice president in American history has every asserted such authority," Pence wrote in a letter released by the White House.

"It is my considered judgment that my oath to support and defend the Constitution constrains me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not," Pence continued.

Pence's letter, dated January 6, was released as the president delivered remarks to supporters outside the White House, during which he continued to push the vice president to reject the Electoral College votes from states he lost.

Pence, however, wrote that he wanted to reassure the American people that while presiding over the joint session, he will uphold the oath he made to them and to God.

"When the joint session of Congress convenes today, I will do my duty to see to it that we open the certificates of the electors of the several states, we hear objections raised by senators and representatives, and we count the votes of the Electoral College for president and vice president in a manner consistent with our Constitution, laws, and history. So Help Me God," the vice president said.

1:05 PM / January 6, 2021
Joint session gets underway as lawmakers meet to count electoral votes

Lawmakers from the House and Senate are assembled in the House chamber to begin the process of counting the Electoral College votes. Vice President Mike Pence is presiding over the session in his capacity as president of the Senate.

The vice president will hand each state's certificate of votes to a "teller," who will read it aloud. At this point, members can object to the results. The objection will only be valid if it's in writing and signed by at least one House member and senator. If Pence determines the objection is valid, both chambers will separate to debate and vote on whether to accept the state's results.

The states will be presented alphabetically, meaning Arizona will likely be the first state to have its results contested. If the objection is sustained, it could take more than three hours to resolve the objection, based on the two hours allocated for debate and the time it takes for members to vote. A majority in each chamber must vote to reject the results for the electors to be thrown out, a near impossibility given Democrats' control of the House.

12:59 PM / January 6, 2021
Live stream of House chamber during joint session to count electoral votes

Watch CBS News' coverage of the joint session on CBSN in the player above, and find the live feed from the House floor below:

CBS News Live 3 Live

12:46 PM / January 6, 2021
Tillis and Young join GOP senators who won't challenge electoral votes

Senators Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Todd Young of Indiana are the latest Republicans to oppose efforts by their fellow GOP lawmakers to object to electoral votes from several battleground states.

Tillis warned in a statement that doing so would set a precedent to allow Democrats to reject presidential electors after the 2024 presidential election.

"The Framers of our Constitution made it clear that the power to certify elections is reserved to the states, not Congress. Refusing to certify state election results has no viable path to success, and most importantly, it lends legitimacy to the Left's stated policy objectives of completely federalizing elections and eliminating the Electoral College," he said. "Congress should not overstep its constitutional authority by overturning the results of states and the will of American voters, especially absent legitimate requests from states for Congress to intervene."

Tillis said that Congress cannot change the results of the presidential election "without inflicting irreparable damage to our Constitutional Republic."

"I will not oppose the certification of the Electoral College votes, and I will not embolden politicians in the future to appoint our presidents instead of having the American people duly elect them," he continued.

Young, meanwhile, said in a separate statement that he will "uphold my constitutional duty and certify the will of the states as presented."

"The people voted and the Electoral College voted," he said. "Congress must fulfill its role in turn."

Young said that the role Congress plays in the election process is "narrow by design," as the states are responsible for their elections and determining the presidential electors.

"Congress has no authority to do anything other than certify states' Electoral College votes as reported," he added. "For Congress to supplant the will of a state's certified electors for its own would be unconstitutional and set a dangerous precedent."

12:21 PM / January 6, 2021
Trump tells supporters he'll "never concede"

The president unleashed a flurry of falsehoods about Vice President Mike Pence's role in the counting of electoral votes, vowing to "never concede" while addressing supporters near the White House ahead of the joint session of Congress.

"We will never give up, we will never concede," Mr. Trump told the assembled crowd.

"Because if Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election," Mr. Trump said falsely, as Pence has no power to overturn the election.

The president claimed he just spoke with Pence, and told his vice president it doesn't take courage to do what he wants.

"I said, 'Mike, that doesn't take courage. What takes courage is to do nothing,'" the president told his supporters.

Read more here.

12:15 PM / January 6, 2021
Rick Scott says he'll likely vote to uphold objection to Pennsylvania's electoral votes

Florida Senator Rick Scott, a Republican, joins the group of 13 GOP senators who intend to challenge the electoral votes from battleground states, saying in a statement he "will likely" vote to uphold an objection to Pennsylvania's votes.

"The actions of the governor's administration and the courts in Pennsylvania pose a serious threat to the integrity of future elections," Scott said. "The Democrat governor of Pennsylvania, along with state courts, made a decision to allow votes to be counted that came in after election day, even if they did not have a postmark, in defiance of state law. This is absurd, and cannot be tolerated."

Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri plans to contest Pennsylvania's Electoral College votes, while Senator Ted Cruz is expected to object to Arizona's. The Texas senator led a coalition of 10 other Republican senators who pledged to challenge the electoral votes.

11:55 AM / January 6, 2021
Lankford says he'll object to Arizona results

Republican Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma, who signed a letter with 10 other Republican senators on Saturday saying they would object to some results unless an electoral commission is created, affirmed on Wednesday that he would object to the Arizona results.

"We'll start with Arizona. So we'll let that go from there," Lankford told reporters on Capitol Hill. He did not say whether he would object to the results from other states. He also said that the results of the two Senate runoff elections in Georgia may change how lawmakers approach the count today.

"I thought about that this morning as well, how people will view that. I don't know that I can give an answer to that," Lankford said.

11:16 AM / January 6, 2021
Fact checking objections GOP lawmakers may raise during electoral count

When the vice president of the United States presides over the counting of the Electoral College votes and announces the final tally and winner of the election, it's usually little more than a formality. But this year, Mr. Trump's refusal to accept his loss to Mr. Biden — and the willingness of many Republican lawmakers to indulge him — has teed up a tense day in the Capitol.

It's Vice President Mike Pence who's tasked with this duty on Wednesday for the pro forma joint session of Congress. Tellers will read each state's tally aloud, and at any point, members may object to that state's votes. It takes one senator and one House member to trigger consideration of an objection. The Senate and the House then debate the objection separately and vote on whether to accept the state's ballots.

Read some of the claims viewers may anticipate — and whether they stand up to scrutiny — here.

Kathryn Watson and Audrey McNamara

10:51 AM / January 6, 2021
Romney says Trump has "disgraced the office of the presidency"

Republican Senator Mitt Romney of Utah lambasted Mr. Trump for ongoing attempts to pressure Pence to reject the electoral votes from states he lost and support for Republicans' plans to object to the Electoral College votes from battleground states.

"The gambit that we're seeing today, very disappointing," Romney told reporters on Capitol Hill. "President Trump has disrespected the American voters, has dishonored the election system and has disgraced the office of the presidency."

"I'm confident that we'll proceed as the Constitution demands and tell our supporters the truth, whether or not they want to hear it," he continued.

Romney has chastised plans from his Republican colleagues to challenge the electoral votes from some states, saying in a statement Sunday that "the egregious ploy to reject electors may enhance the political ambition of some, but dangerously threatens our democratic republic."

9:49 AM / January 6, 2021
Dozens of House Republicans say they will challenge results in 4 states

Thirty-seven House Republicans announced plans to object to electoral results in four states on Wednesday: Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

"Our support of objections will not diminish the value of the vote of any individual citizen, but rather protect that value," the House members argued in a statement, responding to criticisms that Congress is seeking to unilaterally overturn the will of the people by objecting to certified Electoral College results.

However, it is unclear whether these Republicans would be joined by senators in challenging the results in all four states. At least one member of both the House and the Senate must object to a state's results in order for that objection to be considered and voted on by each chamber.

Updated 9:21 AM / January 6, 2021
Trump continues to pressure Pence ahead of joint session

Pence faces pressure from Trump ahead of Electoral College count 14:19

Mr. Trump continued his crusade to pressure Pence to invalidate electoral votes cast against him and overturn the outcome of the presidential election. The vice president, however, does not have the authority to do what the president is asking him.

"If Vice President @Mike_Pence comes through for us, we will win the Presidency. Many States want to decertify the mistake they made in certifying incorrect & even fraudulent numbers in a process  NOT approved by their State Legislatures (which it must be). Mike can send it back!" Mr. Trump tweeted.

All 50 states and the District of Columbia certified their election results, and none have moved to decertify their results, as the president claims. When the Electoral College met December 14, presidential electors, Mr. Biden's victory was formalized, as he received 306 electoral votes, exceeding the 270 needed to win the White House.

Still, Mr. Trump has been unrelenting in his effort to push Pence to reject the electoral votes.

"States want to correct their votes, which they now know were based on irregularities and fraud, plus corrupt process never received legislative approval.  All Mike Pence has to do is send them back to the States, AND WE WIN. Do it Mike, this is a time for extreme courage!" the president said in a second tweet.

A senior administration official told CBS News the vice president does not believe he has the power to decertify election results.

Updated 8:57 AM / January 6, 2021
How to watch today's joint session of Congress

What: Joint session of Congress counts the Electoral College votes

Date: Wednesday, January 6

Time: 1 p.m. ET

Location:  U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C.

Online stream: Live on CBSN in the player above and on your mobile or streaming device.

Updated 8:38 AM / January 6, 2021
Some GOP members plan to object to electoral count

Heading into the joint session, it's unclear how many states' results will be challenged, though at least 100 House Republicans and a dozen GOP senators are expected to object to the counting of electoral votes. To force debate and a vote on an objection to a state's electoral votes, it must be supported in writing by at least one member of the House and one member of the Senate.

Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri has raised issues with Pennsylvania's election results, specifically, though it's unclear whether he will object to the electoral votes cast in any other state. The coalition of 11 GOP senators led by Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, meanwhile, has not specified how many states' votes they will challenge, though Cruz is expected to object to Arizona's electoral votes.

Still, because debate on the objections can last up to two hours, lawmakers are in for a long day.

Republicans' efforts to challenge the electoral votes are not going to change the outcome of the election. Sustaining an objection and tossing out a state's votes requires a simple majority from each the House and Senate. With Democrats controlling the House, it's all but a sure thing the lower chamber will vote down any attempt to invalidate electoral votes cast for Mr. Biden.

Regardless, the president has rested his hopes for a second term on Congress, and the White House has blessed Republicans' plan to challenge the results.

Melissa Quinn

Updated 8:38 AM / January 6, 2021
More Republican senators speak out against plans to object to results

A slew of senators announced Tuesday they will not join the objections expected from their Republican colleagues to the electoral votes cast for Mr. Biden in several battleground states, bringing the number of Republicans expected to support the counting of those votes to at least 20. Among those who announced their decision not to bless the efforts from their fellow Republicans are Senators Tim Scott of South Carolina, Jerry Moran of Kansas and Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma.

"As I read the Constitution, there is no constitutionally viable means for the Congress to overturn an election wherein the states have certified and sent their electors," Scott said in a statement. "Some of my colleagues believe they have found a path, and while our opinions differ, I do not doubt their good intentions to take steps towards stamping out voter fraud. Importantly, I disagree with their method both in principle and in practice."

The South Carolina Republican noted the high hurdle Republicans would have to mount in order for their objections to be sustained and a state's electoral votes invalidated: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats, which maintain a slim majority in the lower chamber, would have to join the challenges to electoral votes cast for Mr. Biden and reelect President Trump.

"That is not going to happen, not today or any other day," he said.

Read more here.

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Trump Administration Officials Who Resigned Over Capitol Violence

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Trump Administration Officials Who Resigned Over Capitol Violence

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2. Put title of the article, Source of the article and date of the article.
3. Why is this an example of this principle?
4. What is your opinion of this?

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The Presidential Transition

Several officials announced that they were stepping down after a mob of the president's supporters disrupted the process of certifying the election results on Wednesday.

Mick Mulvaney resigned his post as special envoy to Northern Ireland on Wednesday night. Credit... Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

Several Trump administration officials have announced that they are resigning after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on Wednesday, temporarily disrupting Congress as it was certifying Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s Electoral College victory.

The officials included those in prominent positions in the White House, and staff members who have been working in the Trump administration since the beginning of the president's term in 2017. Some of the resignations came hours after President Trump openly encouraged his supporters to go to the Capitol to protest what he has falsely claimed was a stolen election. The moves are being made with less than two weeks remaining in Mr. Trump's term.

Here is a list of the administration officials who have resigned.

Image

Mr. Mulvaney, second from right, in the Oval Office last year, when he was President Trump's acting chief of staff. Credit... Leah Millis/Reuters

Mr. Mulvaney, Mr. Trump's former acting chief of staff, resigned as special envoy to Northern Ireland on Wednesday night, saying he "can't stay" after watching the president encourage the mob that overtook the Capitol complex.

In an interview with CNBC on Thursday morning, Mr. Mulvaney said he called Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday night and told him: "I can't do it. I can't stay."

Mr. Mulvaney praised administration officials who defended Vice President Mike Pence, who oversaw the tallying of the votes that certified Mr. Biden's victory despite pressure from Mr. Trump. Mr. Mulvaney said he anticipated that there would be more resignations. "Those who choose to stay, and I have talked with some of them, are choosing to stay because they're worried the president might put someone worse in," he said.

On Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Mulvaney, who was named acting chief of staff in 2018, wrote on Twitter: "The President's tweet is not enough. He can stop this now and needs to do exactly that. Tell these folks to go home."

Mr. Pottinger has been Mr. Trump's deputy national security adviser since 2019. He was formerly the administration's Asia director on the National Security Council, and was known for his on-the-ground experience in China, where he advised Mr. Trump during his meeting with President Xi Jinping in 2017. Mr. Pottinger has resigned, a person familiar with the events said on Thursday.

Mr. Goodspeed, the acting chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, resigned on Thursday, citing Mr. Trump's incitement of the mob that stormed the Capitol. "The events of yesterday made my position no longer tenable," he said in an interview, after informing the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, of his decision.

Ms. Grisham, the former White House press secretary who served as chief of staff to Melania Trump, the first lady, submitted her resignation on Wednesday after the violence at the Capitol. She had worked for the Trumps since the 2016 campaign and was one of their longest-serving aides.

Ms. Matthews, a deputy White House press secretary, submitted her resignation on Wednesday, saying in a statement that she was "deeply disturbed by what I saw today."

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Trump Administration Officials Who Resigned Over Capitol Violence

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The Presidential Transition Several officials announced that they were stepping down after a mob of the president's supporters disrupted the process of certifying the election results on Wednesday. Several Trump administration officials have announced that they are resigning after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on Wednesday, temporarily disrupting Congress as it was certifying Joseph R.

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Chief Justice Praises Courts Responses to the Pandemic.

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Chief Justice Praises Courts Responses to the Pandemic.

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NY Times
December 31, 2020

It is a example of their principle because it talks about the opinions of the Judicial branch and the head of the Supreme Court.

My opinion on this article is that I am very interested. I like how the head justice talked about his happiness over the decision making, and It was interesting to hear what else the Supreme court had done this year.

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In a year that included an impeachment trial, the death of a colleague and the arrival of a new one, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.'s year-end report focused on the health crisis.

"For the past 10 months," Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote, "it has been all hands on deck for the courts, as our branch of government confronted the Covid-19 pandemic." Credit... Al Drago for The New York Times

WASHINGTON - The nation's courts have reacted nimbly to the coronavirus pandemic, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote in his year-end report on the state of the federal judiciary.

"For the past 10 months," he wrote, "it has been all hands on deck for the courts, as our branch of government confronted the Covid-19 pandemic."

"The last nationwide crisis came with the virulent outbreak of the Spanish flu in 1918, which led to cancellation of Supreme Court sessions," he wrote. "But for more than a century, the courts have not had to respond to such a widespread public health emergency."

It was an eventful year for Chief Justice Roberts, one that included presiding over the impeachment trial of President Trump, the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and t he arrival of Justice Amy Coney Barrett. The reconfigured court is a work in progress, but the addition of Justice Barrett will almost certainly diminish the chief justice's power, as his vote is now no longer crucial when the justices are divided along ideological lines.

In reaction to the pandemic, the Supreme Court postponed arguments that had been scheduled for March and April, and in May it embarked on a bold experiment, hearing arguments by telephone and letting the public listen in, both firsts. The court has now heard some 40 arguments in the new format. Notwithstanding the occasional glitch, including what certainly sounded like a flushing toilet, the proceedings were orderly and dignified if at times stilted and inert.

The justices ask questions one at a time, in order of seniority, a stark contrast to the free-for-all that had greeted lawyers arguing in the courtroom. "We look like 'Family Feud,'" Justice Clarence Thomas once told a bar group, explaining why he very seldom asked questions from the bench. On the phone, though, Justice Thomas is an active participant.

Chief Justice Roberts wrote that the new format allowed the court to function. "Although we look forward to returning to normal sittings in our courtroom," the chief justice wrote, "we have been able to stay current in our work."

By some measures, though, the court's workload is dropping. An appendix to the chief justice's report said the court issued only 53 signed opinions in argued cases in the term that ended in July. That is the smallest number since the 1860s. The current term seems poised to yield a similarly small number of opinions.

During the Spanish flu epidemic, in the term that started in 1918, the court decided 163 cases, or more than three times as many as the current court.

Chief Justice Roberts wrote that the adjustments made by the Supreme Court and appeals courts were relatively minor. "The greatest challenge was faced by the 'first to fight' in the judicial family - the trial courts and their staffs," he wrote.

"By April, judges around the country were guiding critical court functions from their home offices - or their kitchen tables," he wrote. "Hearings of all sorts went virtual. Judges quickly (or at least eventually) learned to use a wide range of available audio and video conferencing tools."

Jury trials posed special challenges, he wrote, calling them "the bedrock of fairness in our system of justice." Jury boxes have been reconfigured, plexiglass and air filters added and contact tracing plans deployed.

"Judges from around the country report that, where jury trials have resumed, responses to jury summonses have met or exceeded their high hopes for the public's willingness to participate in the legal system during these very challenging times," the chief justice wrote.

Courts have been creative in other ways, too, he wrote.

"District judges are privileged to perform naturalization ceremonies and welcome new citizens," he wrote. "But the coronavirus has made it difficult to conduct traditional courthouse ceremonies safely. So judges in Michigan and Florida held drive-through naturalizations. Others, in Iowa and Minnesota, moved the ceremonies outdoors. They were borrowing a practice from a century ago, when San Francisco courts held proceedings outdoors during the Spanish flu pandemic."

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Chief Justice Praises the Courts' Responses to the Pandemic

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In a year that included an impeachment trial, the death of a colleague and the arrival of a new one, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.'s year-end report focused on the health crisis. WASHINGTON - The nation's courts have reacted nimbly to the coronavirus pandemic, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.

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Warnock beats Loeffler in Georgia Senate Race, The New York Times, Jan 5, 2021
Because popular sovereignty is about the people voting and the people used their power to vote the first black democrat to senate the state.
I don't know what he specifically can do for Georgia but the now blue state did need some representation of African-Americans in politics.

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The victory is a landmark breakthrough for African-Americans in politics. Mr. Warnock becomes the first Black Democrat to be elected to the Senate from the South.

The Rev. Raphael Warnock at a campaign event in Columbus, Ga., last month. Credit... Audra Melton for The New York Times

ATLANTA - Democrats moved a major step closer to gaining control of the U.S. Senate on Wednesday morning as Georgia voters elected the Rev. Raphael Warnock, the pastor at the storied Ebenezer Baptist Church, in a hard-fought runoff contest that became roiled by President Trump's false claims of voter fraud in the state.

Mr. Warnock's victory over the Republican incumbent, Kelly Loeffler, represented a landmark breakthrough for African-Americans in politics as well as for Georgia: He became the first Black Democrat elected to the Senate from the South.

For Democrats to take the Senate, which is crucial to enacting President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s first-term agenda, they also need to win Georgia's other Senate runoff held on Tuesday. The votes were still being counted in that race between the Republican candidate, David Perdue, and his Democratic rival, Jon Ossoff.

But turnout in rural, overwhelmingly white counties where Republicans needed a strong showing was lagging without Mr. Trump on the ballot, and many of Georgia's heavily Black localities saw turnout levels that neared those of the presidential race in November.

"May my story be an inspiration to some young person who is trying to grasp and grab hold to the American dream," Mr. Warnock, who grew up in poverty, said in an online video just before 1 a.m. Wednesday. Invoking his mother, he said: "Because this is America, the 82-year-old hands that used to pick somebody else's cotton went to the polls and picked her youngest son to be a United States Senator."

With about 97 percent of the vote counted in the early hours of Wednesday, Mr. Warnock held a lead of roughly 47,000 votes over Ms. Loeffler, after surging ahead late Tuesday night when heavily Democratic DeKalb County reported a trove of ballots.

While Mr. Warnock's win was a major gain for his party - he is the first Democrat to be elected to the Senate from Georgia since 2000 - both political parties remained on edge over the unresolved Ossoff-Perdue race and its implications for the next two years in American politics. Whichever party wins that race will control the Senate, with Republicans counting on Mr. Perdue to prevail and give them the ability to constrain Mr. Biden's policy ambitions.

After Mr. Biden's triumph in November, Mr. Warnock's victory provides yet another comeuppance for the Trumpist politics that have come to define the Republican Party over the past four years. Ms. Loeffler had rebranded herself as a hard-line Trump loyalist to fend off a challenge from the right in the first round of voting. In recent weeks, she has continued to embrace the president, even using an election-eve rally with Mr. Trump in Northwest Georgia to proudly declare that she will oppose certifying his loss to Mr. Biden when Congress meets on Wednesday.

Mr. Warnock and Mr. Ossoff ran as a virtual package deal, as did the two Republicans, often appearing at events together and crafting similar messages about the stark consequences for the nation if the other side won.

Republicans used much of the runoff to focus on Mr. Warnock's sermons, a line of attack that appeared to mobilize African-American voters, especially in more conservative rural Georgia where the church is a pillar of many communities.

Mr. Trump's refusal to acknowledge his defeat also robbed Ms. Loeffler of what might have been her best argument in what is still a slightly right-leaning state - that she would be a check on the liberal excesses in a government fully controlled by Democrats.

Even before polls closed on Tuesday, senior Republican campaign officials were pinning the blame on the president, noting that their polling testified to the power of the "check-and-balance" argument that the party was unable to make because of Mr. Trump's denial of the election results.

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Senator Kelly Loeffler was appointed in 2019 to fill the remainder of Johnny Isakson's term after he retired. Credit... Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

The election was a tumultuous coda to Mr. Trump's presidency, with control of the Senate and the first two years of Mr. Biden's term in the balance. The runoffs were also an important bellwether for a Deep South state where once-dominant Republicans have begun to see their advantage slip because of an increasingly diverse electorate and the changing preferences of suburban voters.

Election-day turnout was pivotal for Republicans, who were playing catch-up to Democrats. During an early-voting period that ended last week, more than three million Georgians cast their ballots, and turnout was heavy among African-Americans and in liberal bastions around Atlanta.

For voters, the choice between the two pairs of candidates was stark: Mr. Perdue, 71, and Ms. Loeffler, 50, are both white millionaires who leaned into more conservative policy positions like gun rights and opposition to abortion. They also made the case to voters that their business success gave them real-world experience in handling economic matters.

Mr. Warnock, 51, and Mr. Ossoff, 33, were a more diverse team. Mr. Warnock is a prominent pastor at the church in Atlanta where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once preached. Mr. Ossoff, who is Jewish, is the head of a video production company and worked as a congressional aide.

Both men promised a more robust response to the coronavirus pandemic and an expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, and they embraced the national Democratic Party.

They also railed against Mr. Trump, who ensured that he was regularly on Georgia voters' minds with his incessant - and groundless - insistence that he was robbed of victory in the state by a "rigged" general election in November.

Soon after his narrow defeat, Mr. Trump spurred a Republican civil war in Georgia, lashing out at two fellow Republicans, Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, when they refused to take steps to alter the presidential results. Mr. Perdue and Ms. Loeffler, both ardent defenders of Mr. Trump, chose sides early, accusing Mr. Raffensperger of incompetence and calling on him to resign a few days after the election.

Domonique Walker brought her children with her to a polling place at Henry Baptist Church in McDonough, Ga., on Tuesday. Credit... Audra Melton for The New York Times

Right up to the eve of the runoff vote, Republicans worried about the potential fallout from Mr. Trump's efforts to overturn his defeat, particularly the revelation that he had called Mr. Raffensperger on Saturday and pressured him to "find" the votes that would help the president declare victory. Mr. Trump's spurious claims of fraud stoked fears among some in his own party that his supporters would take him literally and sit out the election on the grounds that their votes would not amount to much in a compromised system.

Even on Tuesday afternoon, when his party was fervently pushing election-day turnout, Mr. Trump was calling into question the integrity of Georgia's election system. He asserted via Twitter that voting machines "are not working in certain Republican strongholds." Mr. Raffensperger said the issues were minor and resolved by 10 a.m.

Well before Tuesday, the president left the two Republican senators with a tricky task: arguing that Republican control of the Senate was crucial to constraining Mr. Biden, without conceding that Mr. Biden had actually won the presidency, which would punch a hole in Mr. Trump's false narrative.

To the end, though, both candidates hitched themselves to Mr. Trump, calculating that the party's rank and file would sit out the runoff if they distanced themselves in the slightest.

David Perdue appeared via video at a rally that President Trump held for the Republican candidates in Dalton, Ga., on Monday. Credit... Erin Schaff/The New York Times

If the Republican hopefuls contorted themselves to accommodate Mr. Trump's die-hard supporters - and risked alienating Biden-backing suburbanites in the process - the two Democrats did little to defy their own party.

In a state where Republicans hold every statewide office, Mr. Warnock and Mr. Ossoff ran as national Democrats rather than emphasizing any differences they had with party orthodoxy, in the fashion of an earlier generation of Georgia Democrats. While resisting some of the ambitions of the far left, like defunding the police, the two candidates expressed support for abortion rights and gun control.

Republicans seized on these issues, as well as the biographies of Mr. Ossoff and particularly Mr. Warnock, as they argued that the two men were too liberal for Georgia.

Mr. Ossoff was mostly known for having run and lost in an expensive, hotly contested special House election at the outset of the Trump era in 2017. Among Mr. Warnock's main challenges, by contrast, was the length of his record as a public figure and an activist preacher.

After Mr. Warnock largely escaped criticism in the November election, when Ms. Loeffler was focused on fending off a challenge from her right, he came in for particularly harsh criticism.

Republicans spotlighted Mr. Warnock's most controversial sermons and portrayed him as a critic of the military and law enforcement. Mr. Warnock sought to defuse the criticism and soften his image by airing tongue-in-cheek commercials featuring him with a puppy.

Jon Ossoff was mostly known for having run and lost in an expensive, hotly contested special House election at the outset of the Trump era in 2017. Credit... Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

Mr. Ossoff also took some hard shots at Mr. Perdue, calling him a "crook" over controversial stock trades the senator made, while accusing him of trying to profit off the coronavirus pandemic, something Mr. Perdue denies.

Neither party lacked for resources to make its arguments. These were the most expensive Senate contests in U.S. history. Including the campaigning before the runoff, more than $469 million was spent in the Perdue-Ossoff contest, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, and more than $362 million was dedicated to the Loeffler-Warnock race.

That the races were competitive at all was a testament to the changing nature of Georgia.

Though dominated by Republicans for much of the past two decades, the state is shifting because of an influx of newcomers, immigrants and American-born voters, chasing warm weather and Sun Belt opportunity. Democratic hopes were buoyed not only by Mr. Biden's victory, but by the 2018 campaign of Stacey Abrams, who ran a competitive but unsuccessful race for governor.

And the two Senate aces were pushed into runoffs by some of the defining forces shaping national politics.

Mr. Ossoff made his political debut in 2017 as a fresh-faced and virtually unknown candidate vying for an open House seat in suburban Atlanta. The special election served as one of the first major referendums on Mr. Trump; Mr. Ossoff, despite his obscurity, was inundated with money from energized liberals across the country.

Mr. Ossoff lost the 2017 race, but he carried his experience and name recognition into the 2020 battle, where he forced Mr. Perdue into a runoff.

In the other race, Ms. Loeffler was appointed to the Senate by Mr. Kemp in December 2019 to fill the seat of Senator Johnny Isakson, who retired because of health concerns.

But his choice displeased Mr. Trump, who had wanted Mr. Kemp to tap Doug Collins, then a hard-right congressman from Georgia who had served as one of Mr. Trump's most loyal defenders during his impeachment.

Mr. Collins jumped into the race anyway, forcing Ms. Loeffler far to the right; at one point she aired an ad in which she said she was more conservative than Attila the Hun.

The strategy helped Ms. Loeffler win a place in the runoff, but seemed to invalidate Mr. Kemp's original rationale for appointing her as she rebranded herself as a hard-line Trump loyalist.

Rick Rojas, Astead W. Herndon and Sean Keenan contributed reporting.

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Warnock Beats Loeffler in Georgia Senate Race

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The victory is a landmark breakthrough for African-Americans in politics. Mr. Warnock becomes the first Black Democrat to be elected to the Senate from the South. ATLANTA - Democrats moved a major step closer to gaining control of the U.S. Senate on Wednesday morning as Georgia voters elected the Rev.

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2. Legalized Marijuana in New York: This Could Be the Year, nytimes, January 6, 2021.
3. This is an example of federalism because the state may make a new state law.
4. I think this law would be ok because if you don't want to smoke then don't do it.

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With the state facing a budget crisis, a Democratic supermajority in Albany may pave the way for new taxes and the legalization of recreational pot.

State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the Democratic majority leader, was sworn in as New York's legislative session began in Albany on Wednesday. Credit... Cindy Schultz for The New York Times

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo renewed his vow on Wednesday to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in New York, proposing a new office to regulate the market and licensing opportunities for communities most affected by the disparate enforcement of drug laws.

"I think this should have been passed years ago," Mr. Cuomo said during a video briefing. "This is a year where we do need the funding and a lot of New Yorkers are struggling. This year will give us the momentum to get it over the goal line."

The pledge marks Mr. Cuomo's third attempt at legalizing marijuana; similar efforts have unraveled each year since Democrats took control of the Legislature in 2019, mostly as a result of disagreements over how to distribute the lucrative tax dollars from marijuana sales and the licenses to sell the drug.

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"This year will give us the momentum to get it over the goal line," Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said about the legalization of recreational marijuana. Credit... Andrew Kelly/Reuters

But the push to legalize marijuana is likely to have far greater momentum in 2021, given the profound fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

Indeed, New York State leaders kicked off the new legislative session on Wednesday with a singular, once-in-a-generation challenge: how to rescue a state in a pandemic-driven crisis.

Tax revenues have dried up, leading to an estimated shortfall of nearly $63 billion over the next four years. The fiscal straits have given new wind to measures that could raise revenue, like increasing taxes on the rich, allowing mobile sports betting and legalizing marijuana.

This year will also see Democrats enjoy a supermajority in both chambers, after the party expanded its majority in the State Senate in November, giving legislators the option of aggressively pursuing left-wing measures without fear of a veto from Mr. Cuomo, a centrist Democrat.

Here is a look at some key themes for the legislative session, which runs through mid-June.

Democratic lawmakers in New York have prophesied the legalization of weed for the past two years. Each year, their high hopes have crashed against the messy realities of lawmaking in the state capital, Albany.

But legalization may gain momentum since more states have legalized weed, placing New York under added pressure to tap into the potentially billions of dollars in economic activity derived from cannabis sales.

In November, voters in neighboring New Jersey approved the legal use of recreational marijuana, heightening the prospects that it would become one of the largest marijuana markets in the country.

"People know it's a matter of 'when' and not 'if' as it relates to marijuana legalization," Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the Democratic majority leader, said in an interview.

State budget officials have said that Mr. Cuomo's plan to legalize pot may eventually generate $300 million a year in tax revenue. Credit... Cindy Schultz for The New York Times

Robert Mujica, the governor's budget director, said Mr. Cuomo's legalization proposal could generate about $300 million a year in tax revenue, though much of that money would not materialize until rules and regulations were fully implemented years down the road.

Part of the logjam had centered around what to do with the revenue from pot sales. Many progressive lawmakers support steering tax proceeds to low-income and minority communities disproportionately affected by the war on drugs. But during negotiations last year, Mr. Cuomo wanted the executive branch to have more control over the revenue.

"That is still the sticking point that we have not discussed or resolved," said Liz Krueger, a Democrat from Upper Manhattan who sponsored a legalization bill in the Senate. "I think governors always want that."

One thing that everyone can agree upon is that the state needs money. The triple whammy of lost jobs, lost taxes and big bills related to the coronavirus response have left budget holes that can be solved only one of four ways: raise, cut, borrow or beg.

Of those, the progressive branch of the Legislature has a clear preference: new taxes on the wealthy, an idea that has previously been met with strident opposition from Mr. Cuomo, who posits that such taxes would drive high-earners out of the state.

But the desperate times have seemingly softened his position, with the governor suggesting in December that new taxes could be in offing.

Ms. Stewart-Cousins said legislators would be "looking at taxing millionaires and billionaires." Credit... Hans Pennink/Associated Press

"We are trying to avoid any additional pain for so many New Yorkers that have obviously already borne the brunt of a lot of the pandemic," Ms. Stewart-Cousins said. "That will take us looking at taxing millionaires and billionaires and it's a matter of shared sacrifice and being part of the solution."

On Tuesday, a collection of groups seeking new taxes gathered outside the governor's office in Manhattan, pushing six different tax bills that target high-earners and corporations. Several tax increases on the wealthy have previously passed the Assembly - nominally the more liberal of Albany's two chambers - but may have new momentum in the Senate, too, where Ms. Stewart-Cousins has expressed general support for tax plans.

And with Democrats on the brink of reclaiming control of Congress, begging may not be quite as necessary; Mr. Cuomo was optimistic about the possibility of a cash infusion from Washington to help close the state budget gap.

For gamblers, New York has often been in the shadow of New Jersey, where Atlantic City dominated the East Coast casino market for decades, and where, more recently, mobile wagering interfaces have allowed gamblers to place sports bets anywhere inside the state.

New York legalized sports betting in 2019, but only on the premises of state-licensed casinos. That deal prompted frustration from supporters of such betting, including State Senator Joseph Addabbo, the chairman of the Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee, who sees the expansion of gaming as a big revenue winner.

"We're that disabled car in the right lane watching the other cars fly past us," Mr. Addabbo said on Wednesday. "New Jersey is taking our money."

But that could change with new support from Mr. Cuomo, who announced on Wednesday that he planned to push for mobile betting in his State of the State address next week.

New York became a national laughingstock when election officials last year took longer than almost any other state to count a deluge of absentee ballots prompted by the pandemic, delaying results in some key races for weeks.

This year, lawmakers could spearhead efforts to reform the Board of Elections and may take up legislation to speed up the counting process. Proposals have also been floated to improve voter registration. And come November, voters may get to vote on a constitutional amendment to expand absentee voting to all voters permanently, as opposed to just during a public health emergency.

Another hot-button issue surrounds the aftermath of the mass protests last summer following George Floyd's killing in Minneapolis. They propelled the Legislature to approve a bevy of changes to police practices, including a ban on the use of chokeholds and the repeal of a decades-old law that kept police disciplinary records secret. (Even so, police departments are still finding ways to shield those records.)

But activists and liberal lawmakers are pushing for an even more far-reaching criminal justice agenda for 2021 that includes some past proposals, like restricting the length of time people in prison can be placed in solitary confinement and making certain people older than 54 eligible for parole regardless of their crime or sentence.

Most lawmakers participated remotely. Credit... Cindy Schultz for The New York Times

The day, usually a pompous affair when the halls of the State Capitol are packed with lobbyists and activists, was far more subdued this year.

With the Capitol closed to the public, the stately building was eerily quiet and empty, with vacant offices and a skeleton crew of staff and security personnel. Most lawmakers participated remotely, sworn in from their living rooms or district offices.

Carl E. Heastie, the speaker of the Assembly, and Ms. Stewart-Cousins were re-elected to their posts in mostly empty chambers on Wednesday. Mr. Cuomo, a third-term Democrat, on Monday will lay out his 2021 agenda in the State of the State address, which he said would be held virtually.

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Legalized Marijuana in New York: This Could Be the Year

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With the state facing a budget crisis, a Democratic supermajority in Albany may pave the way for new taxes and the legalization of recreational pot. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo renewed his vow on Wednesday to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in New York, proposing a new office to regulate the market and licensing opportunities for communities most affected by the disparate enforcement of drug laws.

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Covid: US House votes to boost stimulus package payments                   12-29-20

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Covid: US House votes to boost stimulus package payments                   12-29-20

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This is an example of my subject because it's talking about the house voting for something
- I think this would be for a good cause considering that were in the middle of a pandemic and a lot of people lost their jobs so they would not be able to support for their families. The stimulus checks are

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On boosting the stimulus cheques, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Republicans had a choice - "vote for this legislation, or vote to deny the American people the bigger paycheques that they need".

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Covid: US House votes to boost stimulus package payments

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On boosting the stimulus cheques, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Republicans had a choice - "vote for this legislation, or vote to deny the American people the bigger paycheques that they need".

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Trump Administration Officials Who Resigned Over Capitol Violence-Fady

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Trump Administration Officials Who Resigned Over Capitol Violence-Fady

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Trump Administration Officials Who Resigned Over Capitol Violence- new york times. january 7

3. people are fighting for what they want
4. it is wrong because it is violent

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The Presidential Transition

Several officials announced that they were stepping down after a mob of the president's supporters disrupted the process of certifying the election results on Wednesday.

Mick Mulvaney resigned his post as special envoy to Northern Ireland on Wednesday night. Credit... Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

Several Trump administration officials have announced that they are resigning after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on Wednesday, temporarily disrupting Congress as it was certifying Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s Electoral College victory.

The officials included those in prominent positions in the White House, and staff members who have been working in the Trump administration since the beginning of the president's term in 2017. Some of the resignations came hours after President Trump openly encouraged his supporters to go to the Capitol to protest what he has falsely claimed was a stolen election. The moves are being made with less than two weeks remaining in Mr. Trump's term.

Here is a list of the administration officials who have resigned.

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Mr. Mulvaney, second from right, in the Oval Office last year, when he was President Trump's acting chief of staff. Credit... Leah Millis/Reuters

Mr. Mulvaney, Mr. Trump's former acting chief of staff, resigned as special envoy to Northern Ireland on Wednesday night, saying he "can't stay" after watching the president encourage the mob that overtook the Capitol complex.

In an interview with CNBC on Thursday morning, Mr. Mulvaney said he called Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday night and told him: "I can't do it. I can't stay."

Mr. Mulvaney praised administration officials who defended Vice President Mike Pence, who oversaw the tallying of the votes that certified Mr. Biden's victory despite pressure from Mr. Trump. Mr. Mulvaney said he anticipated that there would be more resignations. "Those who choose to stay, and I have talked with some of them, are choosing to stay because they're worried the president might put someone worse in," he said.

On Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Mulvaney, who was named acting chief of staff in 2018, wrote on Twitter: "The President's tweet is not enough. He can stop this now and needs to do exactly that. Tell these folks to go home."

Mr. Pottinger has been Mr. Trump's deputy national security adviser since 2019. He was formerly the administration's Asia director on the National Security Council, and was known for his on-the-ground experience in China, where he advised Mr. Trump during his meeting with President Xi Jinping in 2017. Mr. Pottinger has resigned, a person familiar with the events said on Thursday.

Mr. Goodspeed, the acting chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, resigned on Thursday, citing Mr. Trump's incitement of the mob that stormed the Capitol. "The events of yesterday made my position no longer tenable," he said in an interview, after informing the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, of his decision.

Ms. Grisham, the former White House press secretary who served as chief of staff to Melania Trump, the first lady, submitted her resignation on Wednesday after the violence at the Capitol. She had worked for the Trumps since the 2016 campaign and was one of their longest-serving aides.

Ms. Matthews, a deputy White House press secretary, submitted her resignation on Wednesday, saying in a statement that she was "deeply disturbed by what I saw today."

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Trump Administration Officials Who Resigned Over Capitol Violence

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The Presidential Transition Several officials announced that they were stepping down after a mob of the president's supporters disrupted the process of certifying the election results on Wednesday. Several Trump administration officials have announced that they are resigning after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on Wednesday, temporarily disrupting Congress as it was certifying Joseph R.

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Rep. Omar Says She Is Drafting New Articles Of Impeachment Against Trump

NPR
Jan 6, 2021
3. It talks about impeachment, it explains a person's view on the whole thing that happened at the capital, and why she wants to impeach Trump.
4. This one is a tough situation to really choose sides, so I'm not going too, I think yes, maybe Trump should have done more to stop them from this riot, but he is not the reasoning for these riots, he was for the protests but that was the people who decided to do that.

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Rep. Ilhan Omar said she is drafting articles of impeachment against President Trump. She blamed him for his supporters' attempt at an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.

"Donald J. Trump should be impeached by the House of Representatives & removed from office by the United States Senate," wrote Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota. "We can't allow him to remain in office, it's a matter of preserving our Republic and we need to fulfill our oath."

I am drawing up Articles of Impeachment.

Donald J. Trump should be impeached by the House of Representatives & removed from office by the United States Senate.

We can't allow him to remain in office, it's a matter of preserving our Republic and we need to fulfill our oath.
- Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) January 6, 2021

In remarks to his gathered supporters on Wednesday at the Ellipse behind the White House, Trump falsely claimed that "this election was stolen from you, from me, from the country," and also incorrectly declared that he won "in a landslide."

Trump's supporters had gathered in Washington to protest Congress' certification of the Electoral College vote, which was won by former Vice President Joe Biden by a large margin.

Even as his supporters occupied the U.S. Capitol building, Trump released a video message on Wednesday afternoon in which he told them to "go home now," while continuing to falsely claim the election had been "stolen."

The House of Representatives, where the Democrats hold a majority, already voted to impeach Trump in December 2019. The articles of impeachment then included abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, related to Trump's push for Ukraine to conduct investigations that could help him in the 2020 election. Less than two months later, the Republican-controlled Senate voted to acquit him.

There were already calls from some, including Omar, to impeach Trump over his phone call on Saturday to Georgia's secretary of state, in which the president urged state officials to "find" votes that could overturn his loss there during November's election.

Without the support of House leadership, Omar's efforts are likely to go nowhere, and Trump has just two weeks left in office before his term ends and Biden is inaugurated as president.

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Rep. Omar Says She Is Drafting New Articles Of Impeachment Against Trump

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Rep. Ilhan Omar said she is drafting articles of impeachment against President Trump. She blamed him for his supporters' attempt at an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. "Donald J. Trump should be impeached by the House of Representatives & removed from office by the United States Senate," wrote Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota.

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1. Include the link or upload
2. Put title of the article, Source of the article and date of the article.
Congress overrides Trump's veto for the first time on major military bill
Jan. 1, 2021,

By Sahil Kapur and Dareh Gregorian

3. Why is this an example of this principle?  because they are overriding the pres. veto
4. What is your opinion of this? i stand in the middle, because the things he is supporting is okay but the reason he is supporting it is not as good.

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Congress overrides Trump’s veto for first time on major military bill

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After voting Friday afternoon, the Senate adjourned, effectively killing any hope of passing an increase to distribute $2,000 stimulus checks.

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Pelosi, Schumer Join Chorus Of Calls For Invocation Of 25th Amendment Against Trump, NPR news, January 7th, 2021.
3. Because, Polosi, who is on the Senate, has called for another impeachment of Trump, using the 25th ammendment.
4. I mean, I think it's weird that people are trying to impeach him again. if it didn't work the first time, why would they try again? I'm sure impeachments cost money, and why would we be wasting money if she's leaving office in less than a month?

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Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has called for President Trump to be removed from office, saying he "should not hold office one day longer."

"The quickest and most effective way - it can be done today - to remove this president from office would be for the vice president to immediately invoke the 25 th amendment," Schumer said in a statement Thursday morning.

"If the vice president and the Cabinet refuse to stand up, Congress should reconvene to impeach the president."

Invoking the 25th Amendment would require the vice president and a majority of the cabinet to vote to remove Trump from office. It is intended for times when the president is unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office.

Schumer's comments come a day after Trump appeared at a rally at which he told supporters that the Nov. 3 presidential election "was stolen from you, from me, from the country." He urged the crowd to march to Capitol Hill, where lawmakers were gathered to certify President-elect Joe Biden's election Electoral College win.

The pro-Trump extremists laid siege to the Capitol, bringing violence and destruction.

Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who has been among the most outspoken Republican critics of President Trump, also called for Trump to be removed from office via the 25th Amendment.

"The president is unfit. The president is unwell," he said in a video statement.

Some members of Congress have also suggesting impeaching Trump for inciting violence.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., announced she is drafting articles of impeachment against Trump.

"Donald J. Trump should be impeached by the House of Representatives & removed from office by the United States Senate," wrote Omar. "We can't allow him to remain in office, it's a matter of preserving our Republic and we need to fulfill our oath."

Trump already has been impeached by the House over the Ukraine affair, but Republicans used their majority in the Senate to preserve him in office.

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Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer Calls For Trump's Removal From Office

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Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has called for President Trump to be removed from office, saying he "should not hold office one day longer." "The quickest and most effective way - it can be done today - to remove this president from office would be for the vice president to immediately invoke the 25 th amendment," Schumer said in a statement Thursday morning.

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2. Appeals court vacates order delaying Lisa Montgomery's execution, cbsnews, January 2, 2021.
3. This is an example of the judicial branch because they changed the date of her execution.
4. I think this is bad because they should've given her a life sentence instead of taking her life.

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Washington - A federal appeals court has cleared the way for the only woman on federal death row to be executed before President-elect Joe Biden takes office.

The ruling, handed down Friday by a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, concluded that a lower court judge erred when he vacated Lisa Montgomery's execution date in an order last week.

U.S. District Court Judge Randolph Moss had ruled the Justice Department unlawfully rescheduled Montgomery's execution and he vacated an order from the director of the Bureau of Prisons scheduling her death for January 12.

Montgomery had been scheduled to be put to death at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana, in December, but Moss delayed the execution after her attorneys contracted coronavirus visiting their client and asked him to extend the time to file a clemency petition.

Moss concluded that the under his order the Bureau of Prisons could not even reschedule Montgomery's execution until at least January 1. But the appeals panel disagreed.

Meaghan VerGow, an attorney for Montgomery, said her legal team would ask for the full appeals court to review the case and said Montgomery should not be executed on January 12.

Montgomery was convicted of killing 23-year-old Bobbie Jo Stinnett in the northwest Missouri town of Skidmore in December 2004. She used a rope to strangle Stinnett, who was eight months pregnant, and then cut the baby girl from the womb with a kitchen knife, authorities said. Montgomery took the child with her and attempted to pass the girl off as her own, prosecutors said.

Montgomery's lawyers have argued that their client suffers from serious mental illnesses. Biden opposes the death penalty and his spokesman, TJ Ducklo, has said he would work to end its use. But Biden has not said whether he will halt federal executions after he takes office January 20.

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Appeals court vacates order delaying Lisa Montgomery's execution

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Washington - A federal appeals court has cleared the way for the only woman on federal death row to be executed before President-elect Joe Biden takes office. The ruling, handed down Friday by a three-judge panel on the U.S.

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1.https://ballotpedia.org/United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections_in_Hawaii,_2020 2. United States House of Representatives elections in Hawaii, 2020, ballotpedia and Nov. 3 they were voting for there representatives 4.i belive that voting for representatives is important

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1.https://ballotpedia.org/United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections_in_Hawaii,_2020 2. United States House of Representatives elections in Hawaii, 2020, ballotpedia and Nov. 3 they were voting for there representatives 4.i belive that voting for representatives is important

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1. Include the link in the LINK SPOT!!
2. Put title of the article, Source of the article and date of the article.
3. Why is this an example of the Legislative branch using its powers?
4. What is your opinion of this?

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. Include the link in the LINK SPOT!!
2. Put title of the article, Source of the article and date of the article.
3. Why is this an example of the Legislative branch using its powers? they are helping call the vote for 2020 election
4. What is your opinion of this? if there is anyone to decide the votes, it should be the trusted supreme court.

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Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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. https://ballotpedia.org/Federalism,_Property_Rights_and_Public_Policy_Committee,_Arizona_House_of_Representatives 2. Federalism, Property Rights and Public Policy Committee, Arizona House of Representatives, ballotpedia , February 2020.3. it shows the system of government 4. it is important that we have a good and strong government

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. https://ballotpedia.org/Federalism,_Property_Rights_and_Public_Policy_Committee,_Arizona_House_of_Representatives 2. Federalism, Property Rights and Public Policy Committee, Arizona House of Representatives, ballotpedia , February 2020.3. it shows the system of government 4. it is important that we have a good and strong government

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Trump lashes out at Supreme Court after Texas election lawsuit rejected

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Trump lashes out at Supreme Court after Texas election lawsuit rejected

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December 12, 2020

3. This is an example of the Judicial branch because they are using their powers to deny a lawsuit.

4. I agree with the supreme court doing this because Trump has been making a bunch of lawsuits because of his loss. I

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President Trump is lashing out at the Supreme Court after it rejected his latest effort to overturn the results of last month's presidential election.

In a tweet overnight, Mr. Trump said, "The Supreme Court really let us down. No Wisdom, No Courage!" after the court's 7-2 ruling rejected a push from Texas to block electors in four battleground states from voting in the Electoral College.

The decision effectively ends the president's five-week effort to legally challenge President-elect Joe Biden's victory.

In rejecting the lawsuit, the court wrote that "Texas has not demonstrated a judicially cognizable interest in the manner in which another State conducts its elections."

The four states - Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Wisconsin - all went to Mr. Biden.

The lawsuit filed Monday by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton asked the court to invalidate the four key states' votes, but judges across the country have repeatedly tossed out those claims due to a lack of evidence.

Over 100 House Republicans filed a brief in support of Paxton's suit claiming the election was riddled with allegations of fraud and irregularities.

Mr. Trump had been counting on a Supreme Court victory. Three of the seven justices who rejected the case were Justices Kavanaugh, Gorsuch and Barrett - all his own appointees.

Earlier in the week, the president struck an optimistic tone at a White House Hanukkah party.

In a video posted to Twitter, he said: "I understand a lot of congressmen and women have joined in, a lot of people are joining in because they can't allow this to happen."

"You can't have a country where somebody loses an election and becomes president," Mr. Trump continued.

Paxton released a statement calling the court's decision "unfortunate," asserting he "will continue to tirelessly defend the integrity and security of our elections and hold accountable those who shirk established election law for their own convenience."

The president's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani joined "Hannity" on Fox News Friday evening, and said the Supreme Court's decision was wrong.

"The Supreme Court has made a terrible, terrible mistake in not getting this resolved in a fair, in a decent and in an equitable way," Giuliani said. "Because it's gonna leave, it's gonna leave a real black mark with regard to this election throughout our entire history."

Legal experts say President Trump has reached the end of the road, legally speaking. The Electoral College meets Monday to vote.

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Trump lashes out at Supreme Court after Texas election lawsuit rejected

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President Trump is lashing out at the Supreme Court after it rejected his latest effort to overturn the results of last month's presidential election. In a tweet overnight, Mr. Trump said, "The Supreme Court really let us down. No Wisdom, No Courage!"

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2.

Fla. Representative-Elect Says Trump Has 'Every Right' To Challenge Election Results, NPR news, November 11th, 2020

3. I think it's an example of popular sovereignty because the people get to vote on the president, and then those votes can be contested.
4. I think that there was at least some fraud, there's video evidence of that,and I think he had the right to contest votes that may have been fake.

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Carlos Giménez, the Republican representative-elect for Florida's 26th district, said he supports President Trump's legal fight to contest the results of the White House race, days after it has been called for Democrat Joe Biden with a healthy lead in both the popular and electoral vote.

Speaking to NPR's All Things Considered, Giménez, who currently serves as the mayor of Miami-Dade County, Fla., said he thought the president had "every right" to contest the race's results and seek resolution through the courts. Asked if he thought Trump should concede, he answered no.

"If they think that there's some kind of irregularities in different states, pursue it through the courts, the same way that Al Gore pursued in Florida," Giménez said. There has been no evidence of widespread irregularities , and so far the Trump campaign's court challenges have mostly failed.

"There's a process, and that process needs to be played out. And at the end, that process will work. And in the end, a winner will be determined, and that will be the next president of the United States."

Giménez won his congressional seat in a race against freshman Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, flipping the previously Democratic district.

During the Wednesday interview, Giménez also spoke to Republicans' successful Latino outreach in Florida this election cycle, contributing the GOP's success to the party's messaging against allowing communism and socialism.

A lot of South Florida's Latino and Hispanic voters, he believes, "are people that came escaping from socialism, communism."

"That particular message resonated with them. They know what things look like, and they don't want any part of it."

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Fla. Representative-Elect Says Trump Has 'Every Right' To Challenge Election Results

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Carlos Giménez, the Republican representative-elect for Florida's 26th district, said he supports President Trump's legal fight to contest the results of the White House race, days after it has been called for Democrat Joe Biden with a healthy lead in both the popular and electoral vote.

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'What Happened Yesterday Is Textbook Terrorism,' D.C. Mayor Says

NPR

Jan 7, 2021
3. It has things to do with national stating, it is affecting laws of federalism.
4. I think that she is completely correct, those people were given the right to peacefully protest and they took what they had for granted and now they will pay, what she is saying is facts.

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‘What Happened Yesterday Is Textbook Terrorism,’ D.C. Mayor Says

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Reading from U.S. regulations, Mayor Muriel Bowser describes terrorism as “the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government.”

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Ohio governor signs controversial gun bill expanding "stand your ground" right

-JANUARY 5, 2021 / 7:16 AM / AP

This is an example because they show that they can sign the bill which adds onto the ability to become more politically involved.
My opinion

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An individual's duty to retreat before using force has been eliminated in Ohio under a gun rights bill signed by Ohio's Republican governor on Monday. Gov. Mike DeWine signed the bill despite his vocal concerns that GOP lawmakers were ignoring his own legislation proposed following the 2019 mass shooting in Dayton.

The measure expands the so-called "stand your ground" right from an individual's house and car to any place, "if that person is in a place in which the person lawfully has a right to be."

As recently as last month DeWine hinted he might veto the bill, saying lawmakers should focus on what he sent them instead. But on Monday, he signed the bill in "the spirit of cooperation" with the General Assembly.

"I look forward to working with members of the legislature in the future to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and to protect the rights of citizens who follow the law," DeWine said.

He said he was disappointed lawmakers didn't add the measures he sought for more than a year that would toughen background checks and boost penalties for felons committing new crimes with guns.

The governor has pushed these proposals since the Aug. 4, 2019, Dayton massacre that killed nine and wounded more than two dozen.

Nan Whaley, the Democratic mayor of Dayton and a sometime ally of the governor, said she couldn't "express my level of disappointment" and accused him of giving into extremists in his own party. Shortly after the Dayton shooting, she and DeWine pledged to work together on a bipartisan effort to change gun laws.

"Our state needs principled leaders who will stand up for what is right - not what is politically easy," Whaley tweeted.

Sen. Kenny Yuko of Cleveland, the top Senate Democrat, called Monday "a sad day."

"This is not what people meant when they asked us to 'do something' last year after the deadly mass shooting in Dayton," Yuko said in a tweet.

Rep. Emilia Sykes of Akron, the top House Democrat, went further, calling DeWine "a coward."

"Only cowards would pass and sign a bill that has been proven to disproportionately harm Black people," added Sykes, who is Black.

The Buckeye Firearms Association praised the move, saying DeWine kept multiple promises, both publicly and privately with the association, to sign the bill.

"We're very pleased the Governor kept his promise to sign the repeal of Ohio's duty to retreat law that forces victims of violent crime to retreat before they're legally able to defend themselves," said Dan Rieck, the group's executive director.

Rep. Kyle Koehler, a Springfield Republican who championed the change, also noted that DeWine's action kept a promise to enact the legislation. He called the measure a simple fix of existing law "that will protect law-abiding gun owners."

Ohio becomes the 36th state with a similar measure, said two Republican supporters, state Sen. Tim Schaffer of Lancaster and state Sen. Terry Johnson of McDermott in southern Ohio.

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Ohio governor signs controversial gun bill expanding "stand your ground" right

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An individual's duty to retreat before using force has been eliminated in Ohio under a gun rights bill signed by Ohio's Republican governor on Monday. Gov. Mike DeWine signed the bill despite his vocal concerns that GOP lawmakers were ignoring his own legislation proposed following the 2019 mass shooting in Dayton.

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1. https://www.wsj.com/articles/federal-judge-blocks-trump-administrations-proposed-asylum-restrictions-11610235823. Federal Judge Blocks Trump Administration’s Proposed Asylum Restrictions, wall street journal, Jan. 9, 2021 6:43 pm ET.3.this is an example because the judicial branch is saying no to a law, bill, what ever. 4. the judicial branch is doing what it is supposed to do, which is vetoing laws that are unconstitutional 

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1. https://www.wsj.com/articles/federal-judge-blocks-trump-administrations-proposed-asylum-restrictions-11610235823. Federal Judge Blocks Trump Administration’s Proposed Asylum Restrictions, wall street journal, Jan. 9, 2021 6:43 pm ET.3.this is an example because the judicial branch is saying no to a law, bill, what ever. 4. the judicial branch is doing what it is supposed to do, which is vetoing laws that are unconstitutional 

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Schumer, Pelosi Call for Trump’s Removal After Capitol Riot..... Jan. 7, 2021 6:56 pm ET

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Schumer, Pelosi Call for Trump’s Removal After Capitol Riot..... Jan. 7, 2021 6:56 pm ET

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Nancy Pelosi is trying to get trump out of office after he violated the 25th amendment.
- I think that he should be put out of office after what happened on wednesday, the capitol got broken into and vandalized by his supporters after he told them to do so.

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WASHINGTON-Democratic congressional leaders called for President Trump to be removed from office while two cabinet officials resigned, a day after the Capitol was stormed by rioters encouraged by the president to try to block Congress from certifying President-elect Joe Biden 's election win.

"What happened at the U.S. Capitol yesterday was an insurrection against the United States, incited by the president," said Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, the chamber's Democratic leader. He and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) led calls in the party for Mr. Trump's immediate removal, even with less than two weeks left in his term, with Mr. Schumer calling for use of the 25th amendment, and failing that, impeachment.

Mr. Trump acknowledged his loss in a video Thursday night while saying he was outraged by the "lawlessness and mayhem" at the Capitol. "Tempers must be cooled," Mr. Trump said, a day after he had encouraged his supporters to march on Congress because of his false allegations that fraud had denied him re-election.

On Thursday, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said they were resigning their posts with just under two weeks left in the administration, with Ms. DeVos saying in a letter, "There is no mistaking the impact your rhetoric had on the situation." Mick Mulvaney, a former White House chief of staff who is now U.S. special envoy for Northern Ireland, quit as well.

The developments highlighted the alarm Wednesday's riot set off and the belief among many lawmakers from both parties that Mr. Trump, a Republican, provoked it and didn't condemn the actions strongly enough once the protests turned violent. On Wednesday night, with Congress reconvened after the riot, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) called the attack a "failed insurrection."

Vice President Mike Pence ultimately confirmed Mr. Biden, a Democrat, as the election winner early Thursday morning.

The head of the Capitol Police and the sergeants at arms for the House and Senate resigned after lawmakers demanded accountability from officials responsible for the security of the complex. Congressional leaders from both parties and both chambers said they had started an investigation into why police were quickly overwhelmed, letting rioters roam through the building and forcing Congress to delay its count of states' results.

The Capitol Police said some officers were hospitalized as a result of the melee, and one officer, Brian D. Sicknick, died Thursday night from injuries suffered "while physically engaging with protesters." Four Trump supporters also died during the riots, including a woman who was shot in the Capitol building.

Hundreds of rioters, pushing past security barriers and Capitol Police officers, breached the Capitol on Wednesday afternoon as both the House and Senate were meeting inside, forcing the evacuation of some lawmakers, while others barricaded themselves against the crowds.

The Justice Department said 15 criminal complaints would be filed Thursday in connection with the riot, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation was seeking the public's help in identifying more suspects.

Former Attorney General William Barr, who resigned just before Christmas, said that Mr. Trump's conduct on Wednesday was a "betrayal of his office and supporters."

A number of White House officials had resigned Wednesday. Among them were Matthew Pottinger, the deputy national security adviser, and Stephanie Grisham, chief of staff and press secretary to first lady Melania Trump.

After Mr. Pence, presiding over a joint session of Congress that was interrupted for hours due to the rioters, confirmed Mr. Biden as the winner early Thursday morning, Mr. Trump released a statement at 3:49 a.m. saying he "totally" disagreed with the outcome but "nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th."

"While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it's only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!" he said in the statement, which was released through an aide as the president's Twitter account was locked at the time due to postings Wednesday the social media network said could spread violence.

Twitter said the president would be allowed to resume tweeting on Thursday, but Facebook and Instagram said Mr. Trump would be blocked indefinitely, saying the risks are "simply too great."

Mr. Biden characterized the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday as domestic terrorists. "Don't dare call them protesters," Mr. Biden said in remarks from Wilmington, Del. "They were a riotous mob. Insurrectionists. Domestic terrorists. It's that basic. It's that simple."

Mr. Schumer, poised to become the Senate majority leader when Democrats take control of the chamber from Republicans later this month, said that Mr. Pence and the cabinet should work to remove Mr. Trump by invoking the 25th amendment.

Some administration officials have had preliminary discussions about the 25th amendment, according to a senior administration official and others familiar with the matter. However, any move to remove Mr. Trump is unlikely to happen so close to the inauguration, and neither Mr. Pence nor any cabinet members have expressed support for such a move. Impeachment of Mr. Trump, for what would be the second time, is also unlikely as Congress is out of session.

"I think we have to hold our breath," until Mr. Biden's inauguration on Jan. 20, said Sen. Mitt Romney (R., Utah), saying it was too late to begin proceedings to remove the president.

A number of other Democrats also called for the move, and one Republican, Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, joined them on Thursday.

"Here's the truth: the president caused this. The president is unfit and the president is unwell. And the president must relinquish control of the executive branch voluntarily or involuntarily."

The 25th amendment says that if the vice president and a majority of the officers of the sitting cabinet secretaries decide that the president is unable to do the duties of his office, the vice president can immediately take on the duties of the acting president. To officially remove the president, Congress would then vote, and two-thirds of each chamber would be required to officially remove the president. If that threshold isn't reached, the president resumes office.

Congressional leaders expressed alarm at how quickly the Capitol was infiltrated. By the end of Thursday, the three top security officials in the Capitol had resigned. Mr. McConnell called the breach a "massive failure" for the Capitol's security and accepted the resignation of Senate Sergeant at Arms Michael Stenger. Mrs. Pelosi said that House Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving would also be resigning after Wednesday's events.

Mrs. Pelosi also called for the resignation of Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund. He submitted his resignation late Thursday.

The union representing Capitol Police officers had also called for a leadership change, criticizing the lack of preparation.

"Our officers are experienced and they are dedicated, but they lacked the immediate backup and equipment needed to control the surging crowd," said union leader Gus Papathanasiou.

A Capitol Police officer shot the woman who later died of her injuries.

Other cabinet officials expressed concerns about the violence. Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf called the actions of the rioters "unacceptable" and urged Mr. Trump to condemn the violence. He said he would remain in his position until the end of the administration.

National-security adviser Robert O'Brien was considering resigning but hadn't made up his mind to do so, according to people familiar with the situation. Republican allies in Congress also criticized the president's actions and his rhetoric claiming a rigged election.

"Millions of Americans were misled on this vote," said South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace, a freshman Republican who campaigned with the president. Mr. Trump, she said, "went too far" on his rhetoric and it led to violence.

"The president needs to understand that his actions were the problem not the solution, that the rally yesterday was unseemly, it got out of hand," said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.).

-Kristina Peterson and Andrew Duehren contributed to this article.

Write to Natalie Andrews at Natalie.Andrews@wsj.com, Alex Leary at alex.leary@wsj.com and Josh Mitchell at joshua.mitchell@wsj.com

Copyright ©2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

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After Capitol Riot, Resignations and Calls for Trump's Removal

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WASHINGTON-Democratic congressional leaders called for President Trump to be removed from office while two cabinet officials resigned, a day after the Capitol was stormed by rioters encouraged by the president to try to block Congress from certifying President-elect Joe Biden 's election win. "What happened at the U.S.

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Composting of human bodies now legal in Washington state                May 21, 2019, 9:20 PM

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Composting of human bodies now legal in Washington state                May 21, 2019, 9:20 PM

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- This is an example of federalism because it is showing how one individual state can make something legal or make a law.
-I think this is kind of weird but it would be good for the earth. Composting helps enrich the soil, good soil could lead to more plants thus leading to better air.

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SEATTLE (AP) - Ashes to ashes, guts to dirt.

Gov. Jay Inslee signed legislation Tuesday making Washington the first state to approve composting as an alternative to burying or cremating human remains.

It allows licensed facilities to offer "natural organic reduction," which turns a body, mixed with substances such as wood chips and straw, into about two wheelbarrows' worth of soil in a span of several weeks.

Loved ones are allowed to keep the soil to spread, just as they might spread the ashes of someone who has been cremated - or even use it to plant vegetables or a tree.

"It gives meaning and use to what happens to our bodies after death," said Nora Menkin, executive director of the Seattle-based People's Memorial Association, which helps people plan for funerals.

Supporters say the method is an environmentally friendly alternative to cremation, which releases carbon dioxide and particulates into the air, and conventional burial, in which people are drained of their blood, pumped full of formaldehyde and other chemicals that can pollute groundwater, and placed in a nearly indestructible coffin, taking up land.

"That's a serious weight on the earth and the environment as your final farewell," said Sen. Jamie Pedersen, the Seattle Democrat who sponsored the measure.

He said the legislation was inspired by his neighbor: Katrina Spade, who was an architecture graduate student at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, when she began researching the funeral industry. She came up with the idea for human composting, modeling it on a practice farmers have long used to dispose of livestock.

She tweaked the process and found that wood chips, alfalfa and straw created a mixture of nitrogen and carbon that accelerates natural decomposition when a body is placed in a temperature- and moisture-controlled vessel and rotated.

A pilot project at Washington State University tested the idea last year on six bodies, all donors who Spade said wanted to be part of the study.

In 2017, Spade founded Recompose, a company working to bring the concept to the public. It's working on raising nearly $7 million to establish a facility in Seattle and begin to expand elsewhere, she said.

State law previously dictated that remains be disposed of by burial or cremation. The law, which takes effect in May 2020, added composting as well as alkaline hydrolysis, a process already legal in 19 other states. The latter uses heat, pressure, water and chemicals like lye to reduce remains.

Cemeteries across the country are allowed to offer natural or "green" burials, by which people are buried in biodegradable shrouds or caskets without being embalmed. Composting could be a good option in cities where cemetery land is scarce, Pedersen said. Spade described it as "the urban equivalent to natural burial."

The state senator said he has received angry emails from people who object to the idea, calling it undignified or disgusting.

"The image they have is that you're going to toss Uncle Henry out in the backyard and cover him with food scraps," Pedersen said.

To the contrary, he said, the process will be respectful.

Recompose's website envisions an atrium-like space where bodies are composted in compartments stacked in a honeycomb design. Families will be able to visit, providing an emotional connection typically missing at crematoriums, the company says.

"It's an interesting concept," said Edward Bixby, president of the Placerville, California-based Green Burial Council. "I'm curious to see how well it's received."

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Composting of human bodies now legal in Washington state

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SEATTLE (AP) - Ashes to ashes, guts to dirt. Gov. Jay Inslee signed legislation Tuesday making Washington the first state to approve composting as an alternative to burying or cremating human remains. It allows licensed facilities to offer "natural organic reduction," which turns a body, mixed with substances such as wood chips and straw, into about two wheelbarrows' worth of soil in a span of several weeks.

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Senate overrides Trump's veto of defense bill

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Senate overrides Trump's veto of defense bill

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January 2, 2021

3. This is an example of checks and balances because the senate is overriding the presedent on his veto.

4. I agree with this because it is a great example that the president doesn't have total control.

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The Senate on Friday overrode President Trump's veto of the National Defense Authorization Act, the $740 billion defense policy bill. This veto, in the waning days of Mr. Trump's presidency, marked the first time Congress has voted to override him.

The final vote tally was 81 to 13, with a two-thirds vote required to overturn the veto. The bill had previously passed in the Senate 84-13 earlier this month, and the House has already voted to override Mr. Trump's veto.

Mr. Trump tweeted after the vote that Senate Republicans had "missed a big opportunity to get rid of Section 230," one of the portions of the bill he had objected to. Mr. Trump wanted to repeal the social media liability shield, but several members of Congress, including some Republicans, argued that the repeal of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act was not relevant to national security.

Mr. Trump also vetoed the NDAA because of a provision on renaming bases honoring Confederate officials.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has tied a vote on repealing Section 230 to a bill which would increase direct payments to Americans from $600 to $2,000. McConnell has repeatedly expressed his opposition to increasing direct payments, which is supported by Mr. Trump and some Republicans, and so tied it to a repeal of Section 230 knowing that adding a controversial rider would prevent its passage.

Mr. Trump has vetoed nine bills during his presidency, but none have been overridden. If successful, this will be the first time one of his vetoes will be overturned. The NDAA is a critical defense bill that has passed every year for decades, so overriding the veto will not necessarily be a controversial vote for Republicans.

Congressional Republicans are mostly still in lockstep with the president, with some refusing to acknowledge President-elect Joe Biden's victory. Several House Republicans and at least one senator, GOP Senator Josh Hawley, are expected to challenge the results of the election when Congress convenes to tally Electoral College votes on January 6.

A few Republicans have criticized their colleagues for being willing to undermine the electoral process and challenge a duly elected president.

"Let's be clear what is happening here: We have a bunch of ambitious politicians who think there's a quick way to tap into the president's populist base without doing any real, long-term damage," Republican Senator Ben Sasse wrote in a post on Facebook on Thursday. "But they're wrong - and this issue is bigger than anyone's personal ambitions. Adults don't point a loaded gun at the heart of legitimate self-government."

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Senate overrides Trump's veto of defense bill

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The Senate on Friday overrode President Trump's veto of the National Defense Authorization Act, the $740 billion defense policy bill. This veto, in the waning days of Mr. Trump's presidency, marked the first time Congress has voted to override him. The final vote tally was 81 to 13, with a two-thirds vote required to overturn the veto.

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Trump blocking California from imposing stricter fuel standards

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Trump blocking California from imposing stricter fuel standards

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September 18, 2020

3. This is an example of federalism because the federal government is interfering with a state's policy

4. I disagree with this because California is trying to impose a spacific policy that would benifit California's environmental issues due to its large population.

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Washington - President Trump announced Wednesday that his administration is revoking California's authority to set auto mileage standards stricter than those issued by federal regulators. Mr. Trump made the announcement while in California, a state he rarely visits.

In a tweet, the president claimed his move would result in less expensive and safer cars, insisting that new cars would be cleaner, even as they burn more gasoline than they would have under the Obama-era fuel efficiency standards.

"Many more cars will be produced under the new and uniform standard, meaning significantly more JOBS, JOBS, JOBS! Automakers should seize this opportunity because without this alternative to California, you will be out of business," Mr. Trump tweeted.

The Environmental Protection Agency is set to make a major announcement on Thursday, although it didn't specify the topic. California's Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom blasted the president in a news conference on Wednesday.

"I don't know what the hell has happened to the Republican Party. By the way, where is the Republican Party right now? Where are they pushing back, why aren't they pushing back," Newsom said. "They believe in federalism, they believe in state rights, at least they assert that. They're nowhere to be found on this."

U.S. automakers contend that without a substantial increase in fuel efficiency, their vehicles will be less competitive globally, which could potentially result in job losses.

"Automakers support year-over-year increases in fuel economy standards that align with marketplace realities, and we support one national program as the best path to preserve good auto jobs, keep new vehicles affordable for more Americans and avoid a marketplace with different standards," said Dave Schwietert, the interim CEO and president of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which represents Ford, General Motors and other leading U.S. auto manufactures.

Mr. Trump's move comes after the Justice Department opened an antitrust investigation into a deal between California and four automakers for tougher pollution and related mileage requirements than those sought by Mr. Trump. The president also has sought to relax Obama-era federal mileage standards nationwide, weakening a key effort by his Democratic predecessor to slow climate change.

Top California officials and environmental groups pledged legal action to stop the rollback.

EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler told the National Automobile Dealers Association on Tuesday the agency's goal is to establish one nationwide set of fuel-economy standards.

"We embrace federalism and the role of the states, but federalism does not mean that one state can dictate standards for the nation," Wheeler said, adding that higher fuel economy standards would hurt consumers by increasing the average sticker price of new cars and requiring automakers to produce more electric vehicles.

Mr. Trump is in California this week for a fundraising trip that includes GOP fundraising events near San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego.

California's authority to set its own, tougher emissions standards goes back to a waiver issued by Congress during passage of the Clean Air Act in 1970. The state has long pushed automakers to adopt more fuel-efficient passenger vehicles that emit less pollution. A dozen states and the District of Columbia also follow California's fuel economy standards.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said the Trump administration's action will hurt both U.S. automakers and American families. He said California would fight the administration in federal court.

"You have no basis and no authority to pull this waiver," Becerra, a Democrat, said in a statement, referring to Trump. "We're ready to fight for a future that you seem unable to comprehend."

Newsom also said the White House "has abdicated its responsibility to the rest of the world on cutting emissions and fighting global warming."

"California won't ever wait for permission from Washington to protect the health and safety of children and families," said Newsom.

The deal struck in July between California and four of the world's largest automakers - Ford, Honda, BMW and Volkswagen - bypassed the Trump administration's plan to freeze emissions and fuel economy standards adopted under Obama at 2021 levels.

The four automakers agreed with California to reduce emissions by 3.7% per year starting with the 2022 model year, through 2026. That compares with 4.7% yearly reductions through 2025 under the Obama standards. Emissions standards are closely linked with fuel economy requirements because vehicles pollute less if they burn fewer gallons of fuel.

The U.S. transportation sector is the nation's biggest single source of planet-warming greenhouse gasses.

Wheeler said Tuesday: "California will be able to keep in place and enforce programs to address smog and other forms of air pollution caused by motor vehicles." But fuel economy has been one of the key regulatory tools the state has used to reduce harmful emissions.

Environmentalists condemned the Trump administration's move, which comes as gasoline prices have crept higher following a weekend drone attack that hobbled Saudi Arabian oil output.

"Everyone wins when we adopt strong clean car standards as our public policy," said Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense Fund. "Strong clean car standards give us healthier air to breathe, help protect us from the urgent threat of climate change and save Americans hundreds of dollars a year in gas expenses."

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Trump blocking California from imposing stricter fuel standards

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Washington - President Trump announced Wednesday that his administration is revoking California's authority to set auto mileage standards stricter than those issued by federal regulators. Mr. Trump made the announcement while in California, a state he rarely visits.

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voters who turned out Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossof in Georgia-CBS News
Jan 7,2021
3. Why is this an example of this principle?
this is an example because it shows how Georgia has been a republican state since 1992 and this election more people came out and voted and flipped it to a democratic state, this shows that voting has the power to change things and that every vote counts.
4. What is your opinion of this?
I think this is amazing, that people have the power to change things and people using their voice and how everyone was encouraged to come out and vote this election.

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Georgia's two Democratic Senate candidates were propelled to victory by strong support from voters of color, large turnout in Democratic areas and substantial early voting. The victories will handed Democrats control of the Senate for the first time since 2014.

Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock's projected historic wins come on the heels of President-elect Joe Biden's victory in Georgia in November. Democrats have recently been making gains in the state that was reliably Republicans for many years. The trio of victories demonstrates that Georgia is turf where Democrats can not only compete, but can win.

Mr. Biden was the first Democrat to win a presidential race in Georgia since 1992, and now, Ossoff and Warnock will be Georgia's first Democrats elected to the Senate since 2005. Their wins come after Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams lost to Republican Governor Brian Kemp by just 1.4 points in 2018.

About 4.5 million Georgians cast ballots during the runoff elections - more than double the previous record for runoff turnout in the state. Runoffs normally see a significant drop-off in turnout from the previous general election, but these high-profile Senate races that determined who would control the chamber had close to 90% of November's turnout, according to a CBS News analysis.

The Democratic victories were partly fueled by strong turnout in the Atlanta metro area and predominantly Black counties. For example, turnout has surpassed 96% of presidential turnout in Clayton County, south of Atlanta, as well as in Randolph and Calhoun in rural southwest Georgia. Exit polling showed that over nine in 10 Black voters supported the two Democrats - a slightly greater margin than Mr. Biden won among this group.

In metro Atlanta - a critical area for the Democrats - Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, and Fulton counties all hit at least 90% of their November turnout.

Republicans suffered from relatively lower participation in mostly White, rural counties in north and southeast Georgia that are home to many voters in the Republican base. Several of these counties saw turnout levels that were 80-85% of presidential levels. While these numbers are impressive for a runoff, they did not match the even larger rates in more Democratic counties.

Leading up to Election Day, turnout in some Republican congressional districts lagged more solidly Democratic areas. In an effort to galvanize Republicans, President Trump visited conservative northwest Georgia for a rally on the eve of the election. He spent much of the rally focused on baseless claims of fraud in the general election, while making a few references to Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue.

One of the big questions about the races was the impact of Election Day turnout. More than 1.3 million people voted on January 5, which substantially exceeded the total number of presidential votes cast on November 3. Republicans needed a big boost from their voters on Election Day, but many Democrats also showed up to vote on Tuesday. That may have partly been due to less early voting time because of holidays.

Grassroots organizers touted massive get out the vote efforts and engaging communities of color as keys for Democratic victory. "Georgia is a battleground state thanks to the relentless work done toward investing in and turning out voters of color," Nsé Ufot, CEO of the New Georgia Project said in a statement.

Representative Nikema Williams, chairwoman of the Georgia Democratic Party, said in a statement the "victory has been a long time coming, and is thanks to the tireless efforts of organizers, volunteers, campaign staff, and the grassroots movement who have believed in the power of Georgia voters for far longer than one or two election cycles."

The early voting period was critical for the Democrats. More than 3 million people cast ballots ahead of Election Day either in-person or with an absentee mail ballot, making up about seven in 10 eventual runoff voters. Democrats outpaced Republicans in the early voting period, and Black voter turnout in particular was up about three points from the early period in November.

More than 120,000 people who didn't vote in the general election voted in the runoffs during the early voting period, helping Democrats pile up votes ahead of Election Day. While it was a small chunk of the electorate, accounting for 4% of the early vote, every vote is critical in tight races. Six in 10 of these new early voters were under 40, and four in 10 were Black - groups that were favorable to Ossoff and Warnock.

There were also likely many new voters who voted on Election Day, though there won't be a full picture of them until vote history data is made available. Denice Harrison is one such voter who did not vote in the general but cast a ballot in the runoffs on Tuesday in Atlanta.

"I said, 'You know what? My voice matters, I've got to go out here and vote,'" said Harrison, who voted for the Democrats. "This was my second chance to make it right."

While both of the Democrats are projected to win, Warnock is on pace to win his race by a slightly wider margin. Warnock ran ahead of Ossoff in many of Georgia's 159 counties. His strongest performance was in Fulton County, home to Atlanta, and some of the surrounding suburban counties. An analysis by Charles Stewart of MIT showed Warnock over-performed Ossoff by relatively more in Democratic precincts and in precincts with more White voters, suggesting that straight-ticket Democratic voting was less common among White voters than among Black voters.

Mr. Biden's narrow 11,779 vote victory in November meant Democrats were going to need to reasonably keep pace with his margins in order to compete. In November, Ossoff underperformed Biden, which raised questions about how the Democrats would fare in the runoffs. Warnock, for his part, out-performed Biden's margins in the vast majority of Georgia's counties.

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2020–21 united states senate special election in georgia

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The voters who turned out for Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in Georgia

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Georgia's two Democratic Senate candidates were propelled to victory by strong support from voters of color, large turnout in Democratic areas and substantial early voting. The victories will handed Democrats control of the Senate for the first time since 2014.

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2.

Wisconsin’s Top Court Rejects Trump Lawsuit as His Election Push Fades

source: NY times
December 11, 2020

3. this is an example of the judicial branch because Wisconsin's supreme court had rejected Trumps attempt to invalidate 200,000 votes in a lawsuit. The Wisconsin supreme court is a part of the judicial branch because they judged whether or not the lawsuit was valid or reasonable.

4. I think trump should suck it up and stop being a baby. He keeps attempting to put out lawsuits because he can't accept the fact that he lost. Sore loser much-

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The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a Trump campaign lawsuit that aimed to invalidate more than 200,000 votes cast in two of the state's Democratic bastions, narrowing yet another legal avenue by which the departing president has tried to overturn the results of the election.

The conservative-leaning court's 4-to-3 vote to decline to take the case stopped one part of a multipronged attempt by President Trump and his supporters to upend Wisconsin's entire system of absentee voting, which the Trump campaign had sought to cast as violating state law.

The court's three liberal justices and one conservative justice who joined them said that the Wisconsin Supreme Court was not the proper venue for the Trump campaign's lawsuit and suggested that it refile the suit in a lower state court.

"We do well as a judicial body to abide by time-tested judicial norms, even - and maybe especially - in high-profile cases," wrote Justice Brian Hagedorn, the conservative who sided with the liberals. "Following the law governing challenges to election results is no threat to the rule of law."

Late Thursday, the Trump campaign's Wisconsin lawyer, James Troupis, filed new, separate lawsuits in Dane County and Milwaukee County that aimed to invalidate votes in the two Democratic areas at issue in the case that the Supreme Court declined to hear.

But Mr. Troupis and the Trump campaign are running short on time for any legal action to change the reality of President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s 20,000-vote victory in Wisconsin. The deadline to exhaust legal challenges to state certifications is Tuesday, and the Electoral College is set to meet on Dec. 14 to formally vote to make Mr. Biden the next president.

While Mr. Trump has falsely claimed that the presidential election was "rigged" in many states, his campaign and its Republican allies have not argued that the election in Wisconsin was marred by fraud. Instead they have argued that the systems and rules Wisconsin has used for its last 11 statewide elections have been illegal.

For the last two weeks, Mr. Troupis has argued that the acceptance of in-person absentee ballots by municipal clerks before Election Day violated state law - even though local elections officials were carrying out the process at the direction of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, a bipartisan body that oversees the state's elections.

"I've yet to see a credible claim of fraudulent activity during this election," Dean Knudson, a Republican member of the elections commission, said during the body's meeting on Tuesday. "The Trump campaign has not made any claims of fraud in this election. These are disputes in matters of law."

The Trump lawsuit also argued that municipal clerks should not have been allowed to complete address forms for witnesses to absentee ballots, which the elections commission had given them permission to do. State law requires absentee voters to have witnesses sign their ballot envelopes. The lawsuit also asked the court to invalidate ballots that were collected by the Madison municipal clerk at October gatherings in city parks, though those events were also blessed by the elections commission.

The Trump campaign challenged ballots only in Milwaukee County and Dane County, which includes Madison, the state capital and home of the flagship University of Wisconsin campus. The two counties are the largest and most Democratic in the state.

The campaign late Wednesday filed a similar lawsuit in federal court in Milwaukee seeking to undo the result of the state's election entirely and have Wisconsin's 10 Electoral College votes be determined by its Republican-controlled State Legislature.Two other suits - one in the federal courts and another pending before the Wisconsin Supreme Court - are also seeking to challenge the state's election.

Few senior Republican officials in Wisconsin believed the Trump campaign's arguments would lead to the result of the election being overturned and the state's 10 electoral votes going to Mr. Trump instead of Mr. Biden.

"The problem for the courts is - even if they accept the argument of the president's lawyers - what is the remedy?" former Gov. Scott Walker, a Trump loyalist, wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.

Wisconsin law, as Mr. Walker noted, stipulates that if municipalities determine after the election that an absentee voter should not have cast a ballot, the elections clerk is to pick a ballot at random and discard it, since there is no way at that point to connect a ballot to the voter who cast it.

The Trump campaign's lawsuit, if it had been successful, would not necessarily have invalidated ballots cast through the manner it claims was illegal. It simply would have reduced the number of votes from the state's two most Democratic counties without addressing ballots cast in an identical manner in the state's other 70 counties.

Alan Feuer contributed reporting.

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Wisconsin's Top Court Rejects Trump Lawsuit as His Election Push Fades

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The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a Trump campaign lawsuit that aimed to invalidate more than 200,000 votes cast in two of the state's Democratic bastions, narrowing yet another legal avenue by which the departing president has tried to overturn the results of the election.

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2.

Supreme Court to Hear Case on Trump’s Medicaid Work Requirements

source: NY times
December 4, 2020

3. This is an example of federalism because Trump wants to impose work requirements to people who get Medicaid and if trump ends up adding work requirements, it would apply to all states, making it a federal situation.

4. I don't think this is a very good idea especially now during the pandemic where many people lost their jobs. I just don't think it would be very fair to people who already have medicaid.

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WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to decide whether the Trump administration may impose work requirements on Medicaid recipients, an issue that could become moot if the Biden administration eliminates the requirements.

In February, a unanimous three-judge panel of a federal appeals court in Washington struck down the requirements, which would have denied health care coverage under Medicaid to poor people in Arkansas and New Hampshire unless they were working, volunteering or training for a job.

The appeals court said the approval of the requirement by the health and human services secretary, Alex M. Azar II, was unlawful - "arbitrary and capricious," in legal jargon - because he had failed to consider how it would advance Medicaid's goal of providing health care to poor people.

Congress had sought "to provide health care coverage to populations that otherwise could not afford it," Judge David B. Sentelle wrote for the court. "Importantly, the secretary disregarded this statutory purpose in his analysis."

The case, Azar v. Gresham, No. 20-37, will be scheduled to be heard early next year.

In urging the Supreme Court to hear the case, Jeffrey B. Wall, the acting solicitor general, said the government should be permitted to test new approaches to the Medicaid program, particularly in light of its expansion under the Affordable Care Act.

The appeals court's ruling, he wrote, "threatens to impede innovations that may make states' Medicaid programs more effective and sustainable" and "casts a shadow on multiple other states' approved or pending demonstration projects."

Mr. Wall wrote that requirements similar to the ones blocked by the appeals court had been approved or were pending in 17 other states.

Lawyers for the challengers told the justices that the administration's timing was particularly poor.

"During a pandemic in which 50 million Americans have filed for unemployment and nearly 12 million have lost employer-sponsored health insurance," they wrote, "the secretary of health and human services asks this court to revive demonstration projects that would allow states to kick people off Medicaid for failing to seek and obtain jobs that are not there."

The rules require "able-bodied" adults to report to their state every month that they have worked, searched or trained for a job, taken classes or volunteered in order to keep Medicaid coverage. Administration officials have said that working is correlated to good health and that it helps people avoid poverty and government dependence.

The appeals court questioned that reasoning, saying it was not supported by the law's goals.

"The text of the statute includes one primary purpose, which is providing health care coverage without any restriction geared to healthy outcomes, financial independence or transition to commercial coverage," Judge Sentelle wrote.

In Arkansas, more than 18,000 people lost coverage before the work requirement was blocked. Some people with jobs lost coverage because they did not know about the rule or failed to report their work hours to the state.

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Supreme Court to Hear Case on Trump's Medicaid Work Requirements

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WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to decide whether the Trump administration may impose work requirements on Medicaid recipients, an issue that could become moot if the Biden administration eliminates the requirements.

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2.

Republicans Splinter Over Whether to Make a Full Break From Trump

source: NY times
January 7, 2021

3. This is an example of republicanism because some republicans support what happened at the capitol, while other republicans are contemplating whether or not to continue supporting trump because he apparently supported the mob.

4. I think that the people should get over trump's loss and stop being violent.

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The Presidential Transition

Republicans face a disturbing prospect: that Wednesday's Trump-inspired violence could linger for decades as a stain on the party.

The chaos and violence caused by supporters of President Trump on Wednesday have convinced some Republicans they need to break with him for good. Credit... Jason Andrew for The New York Times

WASHINGTON - President Trump not only inspired a mob to storm the Capitol on Wednesday - he also brought the Republican Party close to a breaking point.

Having lost the presidency, the House and now the Senate on Mr. Trump's watch, Republicans are so deeply divided that many are insisting that they must fully break from the president to rebound.

Those divisions were in especially sharp relief this week when scores of House Republicans sided with Mr. Trump in voting to block certification of the election - in a tally taken after the mob rampaged through the Capitol - while dozens of other House members and all but eight Republican senators refused to go along.

Republicans who spent years putting off a reckoning with Mr. Trump over his dangerous behavior are now confronting a disturbing prospect: that Wednesday's episode of violence, incited by Mr. Trump's remarks, could linger for decades as a stain on the party - much as the Watergate break-in and the Great Depression shadowed earlier generations of Republicans.

"His conduct over the last eight weeks has been injurious to the country and incredibly harmful to the party," said Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey who was the first major Republican to endorse Mr. Trump.

Mr. Christie said Republicans must "separate message from messenger," because "I don't think the messenger can recover from yesterday."

A small number of Republican officials who have been critical of Mr. Trump in the past, including Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and two governors, Phil Scott of Vermont and Larry Hogan of Maryland, called for Mr. Trump's removal from office.

Top Republicans ran headlong into an immediate problem, though: Millions of Republican voters are seeking no such separation from Mr. Trump, nor are the House minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, many of his House colleagues and state lawmakers around the country.

For the moment at least, they are far more loyal to their lame-duck president than the traditional party leaders who preceded him.

Still, spurred by the threat many of them felt to their physical safety, and reduced to a political minority following twin losses in Georgia's Senate runoffs, a swelling group of Republican lawmakers and strategists said publicly what many in their ranks have long voiced privately: It is time to move on.

"What happened in Georgia, what happened today are all indicative that we have to chart a course," said Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the second-ranking Republican, who Mr. Trump has demanded be unseated in a primary next year. "I think our identity for the past several years was built around an individual, we got to get back to where it's built on a set of principles and ideas and policies."

Mr. Thune added that "those conversations" must "happen pretty soon."

A handful of other Republican officials, including some who are also up for re-election next year, were even more critical.

Asked if Republicans should cut ties with Mr. Trump, Representative Fred Upton of Michigan, a 34-year lawmaker, said, "After today I do."

Standing after midnight in a Capitol Rotunda still littered with the dirt and detritus left behind by the mob that breached the building, Mr. Upton said: "This is his legacy, not the tax cuts, not the judges. Today."

Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who Mr. Trump has also demanded be unseated, offered a measure of deadpan when she said Republicans should part ways with their divisive leader. "I think today is a pretty good reason why," Ms. Murkowski said walking into a Senate chamber surrounded by machine gun-bearing law enforcement officers.

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Mr. Trump has targeted Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and others for primary challenges by more conservative Republicans. Credit... Anna Moneymaker for The New York Times

The Republican crackup has been years in the making, but the party will hardly make a clean break - if it makes one at all.

The gulf between Republican leaders and their grass-roots activists has never been wider since the start of the Trump era. And, as when the divisions first emerged after Mr. Trump denigrated Mexicans, Muslims and women, the party is not feuding over any sort of grand policy agenda. It's simply a personal loyalty test.

While veteran lawmakers were flatly urging a separation, more than 100 House Republicans, unpersuaded by the chaos in the Capitol, continued with their effort to block Congress from certifying President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s victory. Some adopted conspiracy theories from right-wing news outlets and social media that it was left-wing saboteurs carrying out a false flag operation who ravaged the halls of Congress.

By Thursday morning, Mr. Trump was greeted with applause when he dialed into a breakfast at the winter meeting of the Republican National Committee, most of whose members have become a reflection of the party's pro-Trump activist wing. On Friday, the committee was set to re-elect Mr. Trump's handpicked committee chair with no opposition.

When it comes to Mr. Trump, few better grasp the difficulty of balancing principle and political survival than Representative Chip Roy of Texas. A former chief of staff to Senator Ted Cruz, Mr. Roy broke with his former boss and was a leader in a group of House conservatives who resisted the president's push to reject certification of Mr. Biden's victory.

"We are divided about even 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,''' Mr. Roy said in an impassioned speech on the House floor Wednesday night. He said those words once united the nation but now they "tear us apart because we disagree about what they even mean.''

Now Mr. Roy is facing opprobrium from many Trumpists and wrestling with how the party can harness Trump-inspired grass-roots energy without remaining a cult of personality.

"If the Republican Party is centered solely on President Trump himself, we will fail," he said. "But if we forget what it was about his message that appealed to people who are really frustrated, then we will also fail."

Representative Chip Roy of Texas was a leader in a group of House conservatives who resisted Mr. Trump's push to reject the Electoral College certification. Credit... Pool photo by Bill Clark

Republicans may recover next year the way minority parties usually do in a new president's first midterm election - with an oppositional message against Democrats. But their longer-term challenges could prove harder to resolve. The party drifted from any unifying policy vision in the Trump years and memorably did not even create a party platform last year.

Former Gov. Jon M. Huntsman Jr. of Utah, a Republican who served as Mr. Trump's envoy to Russia, said the G.O.P. lacked a coherent set of priorities needed to make it a "relevant governing party."

"The party has to admit its failures and it has to bring party leadership from all demographics together in pursuit of a common agenda," Mr. Huntsman said, adding, "We've got to basically start from a blank slate."

Some Republicans, particularly those who were always critical of Mr. Trump, are adamant that his exile will reveal him to be more of a spent force than a power broker. The president's political legacy, they say, is one of defeat and division.

"These antics have dampened enthusiasm for him and will diminish his influence even more," said former Senator Jeff Flake, long an opponent of Mr. Trump.

For a number of Republicans who have long been skeptical of Mr. Trump, the events of the last two months have been clarifying. From his initial refusal to concede defeat and his relentless attacks on Republican state officials, which undermined the party's hopes for winning the Georgia Senate seats, to savaging lawmakers and his own vice president just hours before the Capitol riot, Mr. Trump has proved himself a political arsonist.

"Trump is a political David Koresh," said Billy Piper, a former chief of staff to the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, referring to the cult leader who died with his followers during an F.B.I. siege in Waco, Texas. "He sees the end coming and wants to burn it all down and take as many with him as possible."

The violence in Washington appeared to embolden an array of Republican lawmakers, including some who took office only days ago, to condemn Mr. Trump's political recklessness and urge the party toward a different course. The party's humiliating double losses in Georgia, the day after Mr. Trump appeared at a rally there, also served to punctuate the growing peril for Republicans in the fastest-growing, more culturally diverse parts of the country, which are on track to amass more political power in the coming decade.

The party faces a threat to its financial base, too. Several of the most powerful business federations in Washington denounced the chaos this week in stinging language, including an extraordinary statement from the normally nonpolitical National Association of Manufacturers that suggested Mr. Pence invoke the 25th Amendment to remove the president from office.

Representative Tom Reed of New York, who has emerged as a leader of more moderate Republicans in the House, said Thursday that the party needed to begin "not worrying about base politics as much, and standing up to that base." He argued that Republicans should pursue compromise legislation with Mr. Biden on issues like climate change, and forecast that a sizable number of Republicans would take that path.

"If that means standing up to the base in order to achieve something, they'll do it," Mr. Reed predicted.

Mr. Reed warned his party that the Democrats would depict the G.O.P. as a dangerous party in 2022 if they did not rebut that charge.

"They're going to, obviously, paint us with the backdrop of yesterday," he said, alluding to the mob violence.

Representative Young Kim, a Republican elected two months ago to a purple seat in Southern California, said she had been "disgusted" by the Wednesday assault on the Capitol and blamed Mr. Trump for dishonestly telling his supporters that they had a chance to overturn the election.

"The leaders at the top - in this case, our president - should have taken some responsibility and put down the flame before it ignited to the level that it did," Ms. Kim said, adding of the mob: "People came because they listened to our leader, the president, telling us: Come to Washington, you have a vote, you have a voice, you can change the outcome. Well, that was simply not true."

Ms. Kim, who is one of a cohort of Republican female and minority candidates who helped the party cut deeply into the Democratic majority in the last election, acknowledged that she would most likely face "some blowback from the base" for voting to certify Mr. Biden's election. But she said that should not be a primary consideration as Republicans emerge from the Trump era.

"We need to be able to stand up and use our own independent judgment," she said.

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Republicans Splinter Over Whether to Make a Full Break From Trump

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The Presidential Transition Republicans face a disturbing prospect: that Wednesday's Trump-inspired violence could linger for decades as a stain on the party. WASHINGTON - President Trump not only inspired a mob to storm the Capitol on Wednesday - he also brought the Republican Party close to a breaking point.

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2. House Democrats to Introduce Article of Impeachment Against Trump

source: WSJ
January 8,2021

3. This is an example of checks and balances because the legeslative branch introduced an article of impeachment against trump, but in order for him to be impeached, the article against him has to be approved by all three branches. The constitution requires a 2/3 vote for it to go through.

4. I think he should be impeached because he caused and supported so much chaos and violence.

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WASHINGTON-House Democrats plan to introduce an article of impeachment against President Trump on Monday, according to two Democratic aides, as lawmakers intensified calls to remove the president soon before the end of his term after he encouraged a mob that later stormed the Capitol in an effort to disrupt the certification of his election loss to President-elect Joe Biden.

More than 150 House Democrats, well over half of the caucus, have signed on to the article of impeachment written by Reps. David Cicilline of Rhode Island, Ted Lieu of California and Jamie Raskin of Maryland that focuses on the breach of the Capitol complex and accuses the president of inciting an insurrection. If passed, it would make Mr. Trump the first president in the nation's history to be impeached twice.

"This conduct is so grave and this president presents such a clear and present danger to our democracy, I don't think you can simply say let's just wait it out" until Mr. Trump leaves office, said Mr. Cicilline in an interview. Mr. Biden's inauguration is Jan. 20.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) said Friday the House would move to impeachment if Mr. Trump doesn't leave office imminently, though she hasn't specifically backed the article that lawmakers plan to introduce. Democratic leadership hasn't scheduled a vote on the matter, and the House is scheduled to be on recess until after the Biden inauguration, meaning it would have to end the recess and reconvene.

Democratic lawmakers are pushing to vote on such a measure next week and send the article of impeachment to the Senate in what would be an unprecedented move in the final days of Mr. Trump's presidency, as the fallout over the attack on the Capitol continues to reverberate throughout Washington.

The White House pushed back against the effort, with spokesman Judd Deere saying in a statement: "As President Trump said yesterday, this is a time for healing and unity as one nation. A politically motivated impeachment against a president, who has done a great job, with 12 days remaining in his term will only serve to further divide our great country."

While many Republicans have heavily criticized Mr. Trump's actions, it wasn't clear how much support there would be in the GOP-controlled Senate for his removal. Sen. Ben Sasse (R., Neb.) did say he would consider impeachment, while Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski became the first Republican senator to call for Mr. Trump to resign.

The push in the House underscored the perilous moment for Mr. Trump, as cabinet officials resigned and both Democrats and Republicans criticized the president for his role in encouraging the violence after months of refusing to acknowledge his loss to Mr. Biden.

On Thursday, Mr. Trump acknowledged that a new administration would begin on Jan. 20, called for calm and promised an orderly transition, but he said on Friday that he wouldn't attend Mr. Biden's inauguration.

Mr. Trump was denied a key communication platform on Friday, as Twitter Inc. said it was permanently suspending his account, citing the risk of further incitement of violence after the attack on the Capitol.

The White House released a statement from Mr. Trump responding to the move.

"Twitter employees have coordinated with the Democrats and the Radical Left in removing my account from their platform, to silence me-and YOU, the 75,000,000 great patriots who voted for me," he said. He added that he was negotiating with other sites and looking into "the possibilities of building out our own platform in the near future."

Mr. Trump's statement was also posted on the @POTUS government Twitter account. Twitter removed those new tweets from the @POTUS account soon after they were posted, saying the move was consistent with its policy against using other accounts to try to evade a suspension. "For government accounts, such as @POTUS and @WhiteHouse, we will not suspend those accounts permanently but will take action to limit their use," a Twitter representative said.

Mr. Biden, when asked about the House Democratic impeachment efforts, deferred to Democratic lawmakers, calling it "a decision for the Congress to make. I'm focused on my job." The president-elect was harshly critical of the rioters, calling them domestic terrorists, and of Mr. Trump, saying he was "not fit to serve."

Mr. Biden said the quickest way to get Mr. Trump out of office will be when he is sworn in on Jan. 20. He said "what action happens before or after that is a judgment for the Congress to make."

He also said that Mr. Trump's decision not to attend the inauguration was "one of the few things he and I have ever agreed on." But he said the vice president would be welcome.

Mrs. Pelosi has pushed Vice President Mike Pence to remove Mr. Trump with the cabinet, using the 25th Amendment, and told Democrats that is the route she would prefer, but if Mr. Pence doesn't move, she would back impeachment.

"The House will preserve every option-including the 25th Amendment, a motion to impeach or a privileged resolution for impeachment," Mrs. Pelosi said on Friday. A privileged resolution would fast-track the process to a vote. She also said the House would consider legislation by Mr. Raskin that establishes a nonpartisan body that could, with the vice president, declare the president unfit for office utilizing the 25th Amendment.

Neither Mr. Pence nor any cabinet members have expressed support for using the 25th Amendment to remove Mr. Trump.

Mrs. Pelosi also said on Friday she spoke with the Joint Chiefs chairman, Army Gen. Mark Milley, "to discuss available precautions for preventing an unstable president from initiating military hostilities or accessing the launch codes and ordering a nuclear strike."

"I was assured that there are safeguards in place," Mrs. Pelosi said on a private phone call among House Democrats, calling the president unhinged, according to a person on the call.

The Pentagon acknowledged the call Friday but provided no details.

"Speaker Pelosi initiated a call with the chairman," said Col. Dave Butler, a spokesman for Gen. Milley. "He answered her questions regarding the process of nuclear command authority."

The House sending an article of impeachment to the Senate triggers an automatic trial, but it is complicated because the Senate is in recess until the day before the inauguration.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) sent a memo to Republican senators on Friday outlining how an impeachment trial could work, saying it would be impossible to do it before Mr. Biden becomes president. The first day the Senate could formally receive the article would be Jan. 19, according to the memo viewed by The Wall Street Journal. To do it earlier, consent would be needed of all 100 Senators to act on any articles of impeachment before then, which isn't likely to happen because many Republicans oppose impeachment.

Once the Senate receives the article, there is some formal business required to start the trial, and then the official proceedings would "begin after President Trump's term has expired-either one hour after its expiration on January 20, or twenty-five hours after its expiration on January 21," according to Mr. McConnell's memo.

On a private call with House Democrats on Friday, Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D., Calif.), who managed Mr. Trump's previous impeachment trial, outlined the impeachment process and said that it is important to be on the same page as Mr. Biden, according to people familiar with the call.

The House passed two articles of impeachment against Mr. Trump in December 2019 related to his efforts to have Ukraine investigate Mr. Biden, and the president was acquitted by the GOP-led Senate last February.

On the House Democrats' call Friday, not everyone favored moving to impeachment. Rep. Kurt Schrader (D., Ore.) compared a rushed impeachment to a "lynching" and said it wouldn't give the president due process, according to another person on the call.

In the Senate, some of the most centrist Democrats said it was time for Mr. Trump to leave, or be removed from office. "I would support anything that could remove him between now and Jan. 20," Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) said in an interview.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) said he opposed removing Mr. Trump.

"It will do more harm than good," he said on Twitter. "I'm hopeful President-elect Biden sees the damage that would be done from such action."

Mr. Graham repeated those comments on Fox News Friday. He said he had been with Mr. Trump for much of the day.

"He wants to move on to a peaceful transfer of power. He wants this to end."

Hundreds of Trump supporters, pushing past security barriers and Capitol Police officers, breached the Capitol on Wednesday afternoon as both the House and Senate were meeting inside to ratify Mr. Biden's November victory. The attack forced the evacuation of some lawmakers, while others barricaded themselves against the crowds. It followed a rally where Mr. Trump urged supporters to head to the Capitol and "fight."

Mr. Pence ultimately confirmed Mr. Biden as the election winner in an overnight joint session of Congress early Thursday morning.

-Kristina Peterson contributed to this article.

The Storming of the Capitol

Corrections & Amplifications
House Democrats plan to introduce one article of impeachment against President Trump on Monday, according to two Democratic aides. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said they were introducing multiple articles.

Write to Catherine Lucey at catherine.lucey@wsj.com and Natalie Andrews at Natalie.Andrews@wsj.com

Copyright ©2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

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House Democrats to Introduce Article of Impeachment Against Trump

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House Democrats plan to introduce an article of impeachment against President Trump on Monday, as lawmakers intensified calls to remove him from office after he encouraged a mob that stormed the Capitol in an effort to disrupt the certification of his election loss.

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Trump's Nominee To Succeed Ginsburg Would Cap A GOP Judicial Wave

NPR
September 18, 2020
3. It's an example of legislative because it has stuff to do with the powers it holds.
4. This definitely meant a good thing for the conservatives because obviously Trump would want what they want.

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President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., already had remade the federal judiciary before the hinge of fate swung again on Friday night.

The Republican-controlled Senate has confirmed no fewer than 200 federal judges, many of them young, and each to a lifelong term, as NPR's Carrie Johnson has reported.

Two of those jurists included Supreme Court justices - Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh - and the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg now means that Trump can nominate a third. McConnell said on Friday night he intends to convene a vote on that nominee in the Senate, potentially before Election Day or Inauguration Day in January.

Conservative legal activists couldn't be happier about McConnell's project, which not only stocks lower-level federal courts with judges they believe will interpret the law in a way they support, but also creates a vast pool from which Trump now could select for a Supreme Court nominee.

"Filling all of these circuit seats is an unmitigated success, no downside to that," Carrie Severino, who leads the Judicial Crisis Network, told NPR's Johnson.

Here's a breakdown from last summer about the judges Trump has nominated and McConnell has led to confirmation in the Senate.

The corps of judges now in place means conservatives hope for a body of rulings that match their perspectives on key issues, including on reproductive rights, environmental issues, voting cases and more. Plus the comparatively young age of the population of judges - some in their 30s and 40s - mean they'll be on the bench for decades.

Democrats accuse McConnell of a cynical scheme: he blocked judicial nominees under President Obama to create a surplus of vacancies, which he then was able to fill with the arrival of a Republican president.

Other critics also noted to NPR's Johnson how mostly male and mostly white were the judges of the Trump-McConnell era.

Vanita Gupta, who runs the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said this of the cadre: "It is an astonishing lack of representation."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Trump's Nominee To Succeed Ginsburg Would Cap A GOP Judicial Wave

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., already had remade the federal judiciary before the hinge of fate swung again on Friday night. The Republican-controlled Senate has confirmed no fewer than 200 federal judges, many of them young, and each to a lifelong term, as NPR's Carrie Johnson has reported.

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2. Biden, Pence Make Preparations To Get COVID-19 Vaccine,

NPR

December 15, 2020
3. This is the executive branch because he is doing what he can to enforce the vaccines.
4. I am in hopes that he is correct so that way we won't have to deal with this as much as we have had too.

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High-ranking officials, including President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President Pence, are making preparations to get the coronavirus vaccine, hoping to instill trust and confidence in the vaccine ahead of its widespread distribution as the death toll climbs to new heights.

Biden, who is set be inaugurated to the White House on Jan. 20, said on Tuesday it was recommended he get the vaccine "sooner than later" by infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, who will become the Democrat's chief medical adviser.

"I want to just make sure we do it by the numbers. When I do it, you'll have notice, and we'll do it publicly," Biden said.

Pence, the outgoing Republican vice president, and his team are discussing options for how and when he will receive a COVID-19 vaccine, an aide to Pence tells NPR's Tamara Keith.

President Trump, who has hailed the speed of vaccine development as among his greatest presidential achievements, has not yet publicly said when he plans to be vaccinated.

A 2016 policy on continuity of government protocols provides for executive branch leaders to receive the vaccine quickly, and public health officials have said that public demonstrations of elected leaders getting the vaccine can help Americans hesitant about its safety overcome their fears.

But on Sunday, Trump tweeted: "People working in the White House should receive the vaccine somewhat later in the program, unless specifically necessary. I have asked that this adjustment be made. I am not scheduled to take the vaccine, but look forward to doing so at the appropriate time."

When asked on Tuesday about possible timing of when the president might get the vaccine, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany would not commit to when he would do so nor whether he would do it publicly.

She said Trump already has antibodies to the virus because of his treatment for COVID-19 in the fall, and he wanted to make sure that front-line health care workers and people who are vulnerable to the virus get the vaccine first.

McEnany said some senior administration officials would get the vaccine publicly, with announcements on that plan coming in the next few days. She said Trump would take the vaccine when health experts and his White House doctor tell him it's appropriate.

A recent poll by NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist found that 61% of Americans plan to get vaccinated, up from 49% in September.

The Trump administration made a point of fast-tracking vaccine development, and the Food and Drug Administration last week authorized emergency use of the vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech after endorsement by an advisory panel and clinical trials showing 95% effectiveness. The first vaccinations in the U.S. began on Monday.

On Tuesday, the FDA reported that a separate vaccine from drugmaker Moderna was 94% effective overall.

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Biden, Pence Make Preparations To Get COVID-19 Vaccine

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
High-ranking officials, including President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President Pence, are making preparations to get the coronavirus vaccine, hoping to instill trust and confidence in the vaccine ahead of its widespread distribution as the death toll climbs to new heights. Biden, who is set be inaugurated to the White House on Jan.