5 things to know for January 6: Senate leanings, Congress, Covid-19, Jacob Blake, Qatar

The House and Senate will meet today to formally count the votes of the Electoral College for the 2020 presidential election. But what is usually a routine part of American democracy could become ugly due to continued denial. of President Trump and his staunchest supporters in accepting the results. This is what will happen: some Republicans in both houses have pledged to oppose some results, which are counted state by state, meaning that there may be debate when some states show up. All objections will be voted on and are expected to fail. Thus, in the end, the Republican Party’s objections will likely serve as a marker of loyalty to the president, rather than actually affecting the results. They could also cast a shadow over future democratic processes and hold the seed of doubt among Trump supporters who believe his false claims that stole his election. We could also see concern, as Trump has encouraged supporters to come to the Capitol as votes are counted.

The United States hit a new high daily number of coronaviruses yesterday, with 3,775 deaths reported nationwide. The new tragedy comes as U.S. governors take new steps to administer vaccines more quickly, including mobilizing members of the National Guard and training more volunteers to vaccinate people. Germany, Ireland, the Czech Republic and other countries are also seeing increasing cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has issued a rare reprimand after a team of its scientists was prevented from entering China to study the origins of the new coronavirus.

The officer who shot and seriously injured Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August will not face charges, county district attorney Michael Graveley announced yesterday. Rusten Sheskey, a white officer, shot Blake, a 29-year-old black man, seven times from behind while responding to a domestic incident. He said he used deadly force because he believed Blake was trying to kidnap a child in the back seat of a vehicle. Blake’s family says they are disappointed with the decision, but felt it would come when they heard Wisconsin was carrying the National Guard to respond to possible unrest after the announcement. Now, Blake’s family and supporters promise to take his case to Washington DC.

Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies have agreed to restore diplomatic relations with Qatar’s small gas-rich nation. The deal puts an end to a three-year boycott of the nation that has divided the Gulf states ever since. In 2017, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt accused Qatar of supporting terrorism and argued with the country’s friendly relations with Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood. Under the boycott, Qatar’s only land border – with Saudi Arabia – was closed and the boycotting nations closed their airspace in Qatar. Although the country’s leaders were optimistic in signing the agreement in the Saudi city of Al-Ula, it is unclear what provisions it entails and which ones have been complied with.

It is worth waiting for good things, in this case until March.

Under the new guidelines, they will not be counted as service animals, but you may continue to follow them.

Otherwise, your internet browser will get angry with you.

An impressive new development in the chicken sandwich theater.

Oh, be the woman who lists her job as “Queen”.

This is the proportion of new car sales in Norway last year that were electric. The country uses huge tax incentives to make sure all new cars and vans sold there by the end of 2025 are zero-emission vehicles. Last year’s electric vehicle sales record surpassed routes.

Martin Kenyon, a 91-year-old Briton who became a sensation on the Internet for his rather practical statement on CNN after receiving the first dose of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine last month. He now has the second dose and feels great.

We had never asked ourselves this question, but since the Smithsonian Channel has done it, we need to know. (Click here to see it.)