USA

NEW YORK (AP) — A printing company in Maryland saw the photo on Twitter Wednesday night: an employee roaming the halls of the U.S. Capitol with a company badge around his neck. He was fired the next day.

Others are facing similar repercussions at work for their participation in Wednesday’s riot at the U.S. Capitol. Some business owners are being trashed on social media and their establishments boycotted, while rank-and-file employees at other businesses have been fired.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s concern about President Donald Trump potentially ordering the launch of a nuclear weapon in his final days in office highlights a little-known fact: Launch authority rests with the president alone.

It also resurfaces a question with no certain answer: What would happen if a military commander determined, based on legal judgment, that a president’s nuclear launch order was illegal? The commander might refuse such an order, but then what?

WASHINGTON (AP) — With COVID-19 surging and vaccinations off to a slow start, President-elect Joe Biden will rapidly release most available vaccine doses to protect more people, his office said Friday, a reversal of Trump administration policies.

PHOENIX (AP) — A U.S. judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration’s most sweeping set of asylum restrictions less than two weeks before President-elect Joe Biden takes office.

The rules had been set to take effect Monday. The court order has limited immediate impact because the government has largely suspended asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border during the coronavirus pandemic, citing public health concerns.

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden said Friday that President Donald Trump isn’t “fit for the job,” but he repeatedly refused to endorse growing Democratic calls to impeach him a second time.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a letter to members of her chamber that lawmakers could move as early as next week to impeach Trump for inciting a violent mob that overran the U.S. Capitol if the president didn’t “immediately” resign.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Warnings flashing, Democrats in Congress laid plans Friday for swift impeachment of President Donald Trump, demanding decisive, immediate action to ensure an “unhinged” commander in chief can’t add to the damage they say he’s inflicted or even ignite nuclear war in his final days in office.

(AP) --- Twitter banned President Donald Trump’s account Friday, citing “the risk of further incitement of violence” following the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.

Los Angeles, Jan 8 (PTI) Hollywood star George Clooney has condemned the attack on the Capitol Hill in the US by thousands of supporters of Donald Trump saying that the president's name will now forever be associated with "insurrection".

According to The Hollywood Reporter, during an appearance on the The Business weekly podcast, "The Midnight Sky" star said it was "devastating" to watch the people's house being "desecrated".

Washington, Jan 8 (AP-PTI) President-elect Joe Biden has picked Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo to lead the Commerce Department, helping set trade policy and promote US opportunities for growth domestically and overseas.

Raimondo, a former venture capitalist, is in her second term as governor and previously served as state treasurer. Her name had been floated for Biden's health secretary, though she said last month she would be staying in Rhode Island and continuing to focus on the coronavirus pandemic.

Washington, Jan 8 (PTI) Two of the US Cabinet members -- Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Transport Secretary Elaine Chao -- have resigned over the storming of the Capitol by President Donald Trump's supporters.

DeVos, whose resignation comes into effect on Friday, said the insurrection on Capitol Hill was an "inflection point" for her, while Chao said she was deeply troubled by the violence. Chao's resignation will come into effect on Monday.