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Conservative Radio Personality Rush Limbaugh Has Died at Age 70 Rush Limbaugh, the conservative commentator whose fiery rhetoric forged a new landscape for talk radio and inflamed the partisan divide that came to characterize political discourse in the U.S., has died, according to an announcement on his radio show Wednesday. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/conservative-radio-personality-rush-limbaugh-has-died-age-70-n1164306

With Republican Firewall, U.S. Senate Acquits Trump of Inciting Deadly Capitol Riot The U.S. Senate acquitted Donald Trump on Saturday of inciting the mob that stormed the Capitol last month, sparing him from conviction in his second impeachment trial in a year despite broad condemnation of his role in sparking the deadly siege. The Senate voted 57-43 in favor of convicting the former president, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed to do so, on a charge that he incited the insurrection that left five people dead, forced lawmakers to flee, and put his own vice president in danger while overseeing the certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s election win. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-impeachment/u-s-senate-acquits-trump-as-republicans-save-him-in-impeachment-again-idUSKBN2AD0AE

Biden Ending US Support for Saudi-Led Offensive in Yemen President Joe Biden announced Thursday the United States was ending support for a grinding five-year Saudi-led military offensive in Yemen that has deepened suffering in the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country, calling the move part of restoring a U.S. emphasis on diplomacy, democracy and human rights. https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-middle-east-yemen-saudi-arabia-b68f58493dbfc530b9fcfdb80a13098f

Russian Activist Navalny Sentenced to More Than 2 Years in Prison A Russian court sentenced Aleksei A. Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition leader, to more than two years in prison on Tuesday, a decision likely to send him for a lengthy term in a far-flung penal colony for the first time. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/02/world/europe/russia-navalny-putin.amp.html

Myanmar Military Seizes Power, Detains Elected Leader Aung San Suu Kyi Myanmar’s military seized power on Monday in a coup against the democratically elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who was detained along with other leaders of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party in early morning raids. The army said it had carried out the detentions in response to “election fraud”, handing power to military chief Min Aung Hlaing and imposing a state of emergency for one year, according to a statement on a military-owned television station. https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN2A00VC

Larry King, Broadcasting Giant for Half-Century, Dies at 87 Larry King, the suspenders-sporting everyman whose broadcast interviews with world leaders, movie stars and ordinary Joes helped define American conversation for a half-century, died Saturday. He was 87. https://apnews.com/article/larry-king-dead-391f55fabb843d14a2635a9bd55880d4

Biden Rejoins the Paris Agreement President Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Wednesday recommitted the United States to the Paris climate agreement, the international accord designed to avert catastrophic global warming, and ordered federal agencies to start reviewing and reinstating more than 100 environmental regulations that were weakened or rolled back by former President Donald J. Trump. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/20/climate/biden-paris-agreement-keystone.amp.html

Biden Inaugurated as the 46th President Amid a Cascade of Crises Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was sworn in on Wednesday as the 46th president of the United States, assuming leadership of a country ravaged by disease, dislocation and division with a call to “end this uncivil war” after four tumultuous years that tore at the fabric of American society. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/20/us/politics/biden-president.amp.html

Trump Impeached After Capitol Riot in Historic Second Charge President Donald Trump was impeached by the U.S. House for a historic second time Wednesday, charged with “incitement of insurrection” over the deadly mob siege of the Capitol in a swift and stunning collapse of his final days in office. With the Capitol secured by armed National Guard troops inside and out, the House voted 232-197 to impeach Trump. The proceedings moved at lightning speed, with lawmakers voting just one week after violent pro-Trump loyalists stormed the U.S. Capitol after the president’s calls for them to “fight like hell” against the election results. https://apnews.com/article/trump-impeachment-vote-capitol-siege-0a6f2a348a6e43f27d5e1dc486027860

Michigan Plans to Charge ex-Gov. Snyder in Flint Water Probe Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, his health director and other ex-officials have been told they’re being charged after a new investigation of the Flint water scandal, which devastated the majority Black city with lead-contaminated water and was blamed for a deadly outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in 2014-15, The Associated Press has learned. https://apnews.com/article/health-michigan-rick-snyder-flint-us-news-801ba227340f0ac2e10e37a06a82f08d

Twitter Permanently Suspends Trump’s Account, Cites ‘Incitement of Violence’ Risk Twitter Inc said on Friday that it has permanently suspended U.S. President Donald Trump’s account due to the risk of further incitement of violence following the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. The suspension of Trump’s account, which had more than 88 million followers, silences his primary megaphone days before the end of his term and follows years of debate about how social media companies should moderate the accounts of powerful global leaders. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-trump-twitter/twitter-permanently-suspends-trumps-account-idUSKBN29D355

Pro-Trump Mob Storms US Capitol in Bid to Overturn Election A violent mob loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday and forced lawmakers into hiding, in a stunning attempt to overturn America’s presidential election, undercut the nation’s democracy and keep Democrat Joe Biden from replacing Trump in the White House. The nation’s elected representatives scrambled to crouch under desks and don gas marks, while police futilely tried to barricade the building, one of the most jarring scenes ever to unfold in a seat of American political power. A woman was shot and killed inside the Capitol, and Washington’s mayor instituted an evening curfew in an attempt to contain the violence. https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-elections-electoral-college-78104aea082995bbd7412a6e6cd13818

UK Prime Minister Orders New National Coronavirus Lockdown British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced a new national lockdown for England until at least mid-February to combat a fast-spreading new version of the coronavirus. Johnson said the country is at “a critical moment,” with cases rising rapidly in every part of the country. https://apnews.com/article/uk-1st-oxford-astrazeneca-vaccine-virus-013f538e8ec3a153a4d2e39601961472

UK Judge Refuses US Extradition of WikiLeaks Founder Assange A British judge on Monday rejected the United States’ request to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to face espionage charges over the publication of secret U.S. documents a decade ago, saying he was likely to kill himself if held under harsh U.S. prison conditions. https://apnews.com/article/julian-assange-london-espionage-freedom-of-speech-europe-5b148b0b6b9f72a20eedad4218e8227a

Breakthrough: UK and EU Reach Post-Brexit Trade Agreement Just a week before the deadline, Britain and the European Union struck a free-trade deal Thursday that should avert economic chaos on New Year’s and bring a measure of certainty for businesses after years of Brexit turmoil. Once ratified by both sides, the agreement will ensure Britain and the 27-nation bloc can continue to trade in goods without tariffs or quotas after the U.K. breaks fully free of the EU on Jan. 1. https://apnews.com/article/brexit-europe-global-trade-coronavirus-pandemic-ursula-von-der-leyen-e4fd21be6500c709caee8b376c3c3d00

Several EU Nations Halt UK Flights, Fearing Virus Variant Several European Union nations on Sunday banned flights from the U.K. and Germany was considering limiting such flights to make sure that a new strain of coronavirus sweeping across southern England does not establish a strong foothold on the continent. https://apnews.com/article/europe-england-united-kingdom-coronavirus-pandemic-germany-06a35eb02ce885ae7b80b2e1851ab893

US Government, States Bring Antitrust Action Against Facebook Federal regulators asked Wednesday for Facebook to be ordered to divest its Instagram and WhatsApp messaging services as the U.S. government and 48 states and districts accused the company of abusing its market power in social networking to crush smaller competitors. https://apnews.com/article/us-news-312de23e330a318ff8d339ef38dfbc08

‘Turning Point’: UK Giving 1st Doses of COVID-19 Vaccine British health authorities rolled out the first doses of a widely tested and independently reviewed COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday, starting a global immunization program that is expected to gain momentum as more serums win approval. https://apnews.com/article/public-health-england-immunizations-coronavirus-pandemic-london-719288c35d8ef8815b56b1c9c5fff24c

U.S. Crosses 10 Million COVID-19 Cases as Third Wave of Infections Surges The United States became the first nation worldwide since the pandemic began to surpass 10 million coronavirus infections, according to a Reuters tally on Sunday, as the third wave of the COVID-19 virus surges across the nation. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-records/u-s-crosses-10-million-covid-19-cases-as-third-wave-of-infections-surges-idINKBN27P00U

Pfizer Says COVID-19 Vaccine Is Looking 90% Effective Pfizer said Monday that an early peek at the data on its coronavirus vaccine suggests the shots may be a surprisingly robust 90% effective at preventing COVID-19, putting the company on track to apply later this month for emergency-use approval from the Food and Drug Administration. https://apnews.com/article/pfizer-vaccine-effective-early-data-4f4ae2e3bad122d17742be22a2240ae8