Supreme Court rejects another Georgia election challenge
The U.S. Supreme Court Monday rejected another attempt to overturn the presidential election results in Georgia.
In a lawsuit filed in November, attorney L. Lin Wood cited what he said were numerous problems with the conduct of the election in Georgia. Among other things, he said signature matching on absentee ballots was not done properly.
In November, a U.S. District Court judge rejected Wood's request for an emergency order preventing the certification of Joe Biden as the winner of the election in Georgia. The judge found no evidence of irregularities that affected more than a nominal number of votes.
That ruling was upheld by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in December. Wood appealed to the Supreme Court. But on Monday the U.S. Supreme Court denied the appeal without comment.
Wood has a second lawsuit pending before the Supreme Court — one that sought to stop the Jan. 5 runoff election for U.S. Senate, citing similar grounds. In that lawsuit, a U.S. District Court judge found his claims of potential voter fraud to be "too speculative."
Wood's lawsuits are part of a tsunami of election litigation that has continued long after Biden and two new U.S. senators from Georgia took office more than a month ago.
— The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Recently vaccinated women should wait to get mammograms, doctors advise
NORFOLK, Va. — New medical guidance recommends that women should avoid scheduling mammograms around the time they receive COVID-19 vaccinations because the shots cause lymph nodes to swell, falsely mimicking a warning sign of breast cancer.
The guidance, from the Society of Breast Imaging, suggests that women get mammograms before their first COVID-19 vaccine shot or four to six weeks after their second dose.
Doctors noticed that a number of women being called back for further screening because of swollen lymph nodes had recently received a COVID-19 vaccine.
The women would feel the swollen lymph nodes after their COVID-19 vaccines, go to their doctor, and undergo additional testing to rule out breast cancer, said Dr. Keith Newbrough, a breast cancer radiologist with the Sentara Cancer Network and Hampton Roads Radiology Associates.
If women wait at least a month after their second vaccine shot, their lymph nodes will have time to return to normal.
However, if it will be months down the road until they can get a mammogram, it’s best to go ahead and get it done anyway, Newbrough said.
Swollen lymph nodes are typically discovered in two ways. They can be large or tender enough that someone would feel a mass under their arms, or doctors can spot them in mammograms.
— The Virginian-Pilot
Missing 13-year-old found in motel with Orlando man she met online, deputies say
ORLANDO, Fla. — A 13-year-old girl was found in an Edgewater motel room Thursday evening with a man she met online, Volusia deputies said.
The girl’s grandmother told deputies that she hadn’t come home from school Thursday, and a friend said she had planned to go to a motel with someone she met online, whose name began with T.
Deputy Royce James visited three local motels and asked workers at each if a young girl and man had checked in. He found them at the third.
Body camera footage shows 22-year-old Tyler Thompson, shirtless, answering the door of the Edgewater motel room. All the lights in the room were off, and the girl ran forward to hug the officer.
“How old are you?” James asked Thompson repeatedly. After the fourth time, he responded: 22.
Thompson was arrested and booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail and charged with interference with child custody and traveling to meet after using a computer to lure a child. He was released after posting $15,000 bail, according to deputies.
The Edgewater police are working with the state attorney’s office on potentially adding additional charges to the case.
— Orlando Sentinel
EU to sanction Russia within a week over Navalny jailing
BRUSSELS — The European Union is to pursue fresh sanctions against Russian officials responsible for the jailing of dissident Alexei Navalny, the bloc's foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell announced Monday.
There is a shared assessment among the 27 member states "that Russia is drifting towards (being) an authoritarian state," Borrell told reporters after foreign ministers' talks in Brussels.
The EU's top diplomat said he would draw up concrete proposals for restricive measures on individuals involved in the "arrest and sentencing and persecution" of the prominent Kremlin critic, and hoped these would be implemented within a week.
"At the same time, we must find a modus vivendi to avoid permanent confrontation with our neighbor," the senior EU official added.
The go-ahead from ministers in Brussels paves the way for measures like asset freezes or travel bans.
Russia previously threatened to retaliate or even cut ties if fresh EU sanctions are applied.
After surviving a nerve agent poison attack and receiving treatment in Germany, Navalny returned to Russia in mid-January and was immediately arrested.
He has since been sentenced to a prison term on charges of violating parole for a 2014 fraud conviction, which itself was found to be arbitrary by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
— dpa, Berlin
