. World News – USA – Today in History for the 4th. January

Highlights of This Day in History: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel suffers a stroke and falls into a coma; the inventor of Braille is born; Jesse Ventura was sworn in as governor of Minnesota, poet T.. S.. . Eliot dies. (Jan. . 4)

SOPHIA MANOS: On 4. January 2006 Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a severe stroke and fell into a coma. It comes just months after Sharon ended Israel’s 38-year occupation of Gaza and formed his own tough Likud party. Sharon’s official powers are transferred to his deputy Ehud Olmert, who later succeeds him as prime minister.

In 1809, Louis Braille, the inventor of a reading system for the blind that still bears his name, was born in a town near Paris.

JESSE VENTURA: The only thing you get from Governor Jesse Ventura you may not always want to hear, but you will be honest.

SOPHIA MANOS: – Former pro wrestler Jesse « The Body » Ventura pledges to be a direct speaker after being sworn in as governor of Minnesota.

SOPHIA MANOS: –poet T. . S.. . Elliott, whose work inspired and provided most of the words for the musical « Cats » years later, dies in London at the age of 76.

Sen. . Lindsey Graham (R-S. C.. . ) was one of the most famous names alongside Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla. ) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark. ) who were not on the list of GOP senators who wanted to object to the certification of the electoral college next week. On Sunday, Graham responded to his colleagues’ decision and didn’t seem convinced that this was the right move. While not as haunting in his criticism as Sens. Pat Toomey (R-Pa. ), Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Ben Sasse (R-Neb. ), Graham said it appears that calling for an investigation into unsubstantiated allegations of widespread electoral fraud is « more of a political evasive action than an effective remedy » for the situation, especially at such a late stage. The senator said he looked forward to hearing the arguments of his colleagues, including Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Tex. ) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo. ) and added that he would « listen carefully » but « they have a high bar to clarify. « In order for Graham to be convinced that it is worth questioning President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, Republican lawmakers must prove their electoral fraud charges and show that state and federal courts should have responded to electoral fraud claims and that These measures were taken could have changed the outcome of the presidential elections in certain states. > You must also demonstrate that the failure to take corrective action to combat electoral fraud changed the voting results of those states and ultimately the election results. >> – Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) 3. January 2021More stories from the week. com Trump’s official schedule says he will « make lots of calls and hold lots of meetings » on Monday. Fears are mounting over Indonesia’s Jurassic Park Trump, which is reportedly awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to GOP ally Devin Nunes, Jim Jordan

Armed men opened fire on a group of Shiite Hazara miners after abducting them and killing 11 early Sunday in southwest Balochistan province, a Pakistani official said. The Islamic State Group later assumed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on its website. The Sunni militant group has repeatedly cracked down on Pakistani minority Shiites in recent years.

The variant of coronavirus circulating in South Africa could be resistant to the vaccine, a leading expert has suggested, but stressed that developing a new sting could only take six weeks if necessary. Sir John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford University, said his « gut feeling » was that the vaccines already in operation would be effective against the new British strain, first identified in Kent. But he added, « I don’t know about the South African strain – I think that’s a big question mark. « South Africa was suspended last week after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the new variant 501. V2 appeared to be more « contagious » than the virus that circulated in the first wave. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Jan.. December that two cases of the South African tribe were identified in Great Britain. The cases and their contacts have been quarantined and the government has placed strict restrictions on travel out of South Africa. At 4. On January 1st, he said he was « incredibly concerned » about the South African variant of the coronavirus. « This is a very, very important problem, » he said.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – An Israeli official on Sunday denied as « nonsense » an allegation by the Iranian Foreign Minister that Israel tried to get the United States to wage war on Iran. It was Israel that had to be alert to possible Iranian strikes on Sunday on the occasion of the one year anniversary of the assassination of Tehran’s Supreme General Qassem Soleimani in a U.. S.. . Drone strike in Iraq, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said on Kan public radio.

Hundreds of Tibetans in exile brave the rain and cold Sunday in India’s northern city of Dharmsala, home of the government-in-exile, and voted for their new political leader as the current official’s five-year term nears its end. Many young Tibetans are going to the parliamentary elections this year.

The goal is to vaccinate around 300 million people this year in one of the world’s largest vaccination campaigns.

At least 43 employees tested positive for the virus after an employee wore an inflatable costume for Christmas to cheer up patients.

Italy reported 347 coronavirus-related deaths on Sunday up from 364 the previous day, the Ministry of Health said, while the daily number of new infections rose from 11. 831 on 14. 245 rose. Italy has 75. 332 COVID-19 deaths recorded since its outbreak became known in February. 21, the highest toll in Europe and the fifth highest in the world. The country also reported 2. 155 million cases so far, the Ministry of Health said.

In an extraordinary reprimand from President Donald Trump on Sunday, all ten living former defense ministers warned against any attempt to involve the military in prosecuting electoral fraud, arguing that doing so would lead the country into « dangerous, illegal and unconstitutional territory » would. The 10 men, both Democrats and Republicans, signed an opinion piece published in the Washington Post that implicitly questioned Trump’s willingness to discharge his constitutional duty to peacefully relinquish power to Jan. 20th. After Nov. . 3 Elections and subsequent recounts in some states as well as unsuccessful legal challenges, the result is clear, they wrote, without specifying Trump in the article.

AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine received the green light in India. The government said drug regulation experts on Saturday recommended the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, as well as one supported by a state institute. The government of the world’s second most populous country said the final decision rests with the head of the Central Drugs Standards Control Organization, but that process is expected to be a formality. The AstraZeneca vaccine, which was first approved by the UK on Wednesday, is cheaper and easier to use than some competing vaccines. But it has been plagued by uncertainty about its most effective dosage. It is made locally by the Serum Institute of India. The other vaccine is known as COVAXIN. It was developed locally by Bharat Biotech and the government-led Indian Council of Medical Research. Little is known about the results of its clinical studies. Indian Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said two more vaccines are awaiting approval, one from India and the other from Russia. “India may be the only country that has four vaccines ready at the same time. Yesterday COVISHIELD was approved by Serum for emergency use. The Indian regulatory agency has also received an emergency application for the vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech. This was the first to receive official approval in the West.

Salvador Franco died just weeks after family members and activists reported he suffered from health problems. A court ordered him to be moved to a medical facility in November, but the authorities did not obey, according to Olnar Ortiz, lawyer for the criminal forum. Critics of President Nicolas Maduro’s government call him a dictator who systematically imprisoned opponents and denied them the right to due process.

A small Georgia plane crashed into a house in southeast Michigan, killing the pilot and two family members. The victims were David S. . Compo, the former president of the Home Builders Association in southeast Michigan, his wife Michele and their son Dawson, said the association in a press release. The Federal Aviation Administration said a single-engine Piper PA-24 Comanche was out at around 3pm. Crashed at 47 o’clock in a residential area. m. Saturday, approximately half a mile from Oakland Southwest Airport, according to preliminary data.

President Trump is expected to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif. ) on Monday, followed a week later by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Axios and The Washington Post reported on Sunday evening. Trump « uses part of his final days at the White House to reward friends and allies with pardons and other accolades, » the Post notes, and Nunes and Jordan are two of Trump’s closest allies in Congress. Jordan was a vocal and passionate defender of Trump during his impeachment negotiations, and Nunes was one of the president’s greatest allies in his efforts to undermine the Justice Department’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Trump quoted Nunes’ « bravery » in Imbroglio, Russia, when he proposed Fox & Friends 2018 to award Nunes the « very important » medal of freedom after first calling it the Medal of Honor, the Post reports. The Medal of Honor is a military award while the Medal of Freedom is the nation’s highest civilian honor, though Trump has bestowed that honor on some controversial recipients. More stories from the week. Com Trump’s official schedule says he will « make lots of calls and hold lots of meetings » on Monday. Fears rise over Indonesia’s Jurassic Park Paul Ryan, Dick Cheney, 9 ex-defense ministers slam « anti-conservative » GOP efforts to overthrow Biden’s victory

The US just vaccinated 4. 2 million of its population have exceeded their target of 20 million by 2020.

The Swiss supervisory authorities have allowed contract manufacturer Lonza Group to start manufacturing Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine at a facility in Switzerland, reported the Sunday newspaper. « Important preparatory work is currently underway to start up the production lines, » quoted a spokesman for the Lonza plant in Visp. The United States approved Moderna’s vaccine on December. 19, Canada did so on Dec.. . 23 and the EU watchdog is expected to approve it this week.

During her senior year at Albertville High School in 2015, teachers gave Unique Morgan Dunston a citizenship award and other seniors voted her a class clown. The change is due to what Dunston is doing now, not what it was years ago. Dunston is a black woman who transformed herself by leaving a virtually all-white Alabama hometown where new ideas about race and justice go against the traditions of the old south. Since August Dunston has protested regularly against a Confederate memorial on the courtyard lawn.

Associated Press, Donald Trump, January, Brad Raffensperger, Georgian Foreign Secretary, Georgia, The Lufkin Daily News