Republicans gut ethics body
In a surprise move late on Monday, congressional Republicans voted to significantly weaken the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE). The motion was reportedly backed by several congressmen who were under investigation by the OCE and was opposed by the Republican legislative leadership. The bill turns the independent OCE into the Office of Congressional Complaint Review, which will now be a subsidiary to the House Ethics Committee, which is run by the Republican majority. The move to remove the independence of the body – which was established in 2008 to investigate lobbying scandals in Congress – was met with outrage by Democrats as well as ethics advisers. George Bush and Barack Obama’s ethic counsels released a statement condemning the move.
Outcry after Republicans vote to dismantle independent ethics body
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North Korea nuclear attack ‘won’t happen’, says Trump
Donald Trump has said no North Korean nuclear bomb will reach the US mainland, a day after the regime in Pyongyang claimed it was close to test-launching an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). “North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the US,” Trump said on Twitter. “It won’t happen!” It was not clear whether the president-elect believed North Korea was incapable of developing a reliable ICBM, or that the US would prevent it doing so. Trump also added a criticism of China, which he said drained the US economy but refused to rein in its ally in Pyongyang. Kim announced his country was in the final stages of testing the ICBM, which in theory could travel 5,500 miles needed to reach the US, during a New Year’s address. North Korea has never successfully test-fired an ICBM.
Trump says US safe from North Korean nuclear strike – no thanks to China
A look back at Obama’s legacy
After becoming the first African American president eight years ago, Barack Obama rallied the nation with a message of hope. The Guardian’s specialist writers look back at Obama’s presidency issue-by-issue to evaluate his accomplishments and examine how long they will last under a Trump administration.
Obama’s legacy: the promises, shortcomings and fights to come
Ferguson wants to sing Strange Fruit at Trump inauguration
Singer Rebecca Ferguson has said she would perform at Trump’s inauguration if she could sing Billie Holiday’s Strange Fruit. The song, first recorded in 1939 and covered by Nina Simone in 1965, graphically describes lynchings of African Americans. Strange Fruit is “a song that speaks to all the disregarded and down trodden black people in the United States”, Ferguson said in a Twitter statement. The British singer rose to fame as a contestant on 2010’s X Factor, where she sang Sam Cooke’s civil rights anthem A Change is Gonna Come. Amber Jamieson compiled a list of 10 more songs Trump might want to consider for his 20 January inauguration.
Rebecca Ferguson says she will play Trump inauguration if she can sing Strange Fruit
Labor department administrator worries over Trump pick
David Weil, the chief enforcer of the nation’s wage and hour laws, is worried that the fast food executive Donald Trump has nominated to be labor secretary will undermine efforts to crack down on widespread wage violations. “I obviously am concerned about things I hear,” Weil told the Guardian about Andy Puzder. “If they do things that are attempts to just undermine the department’s mission, I think that is something they should be called on.” Puzder, chief executive officer of CKE Restaurants – the company that runs the Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr fast-food chains – has on occasion been ordered to pay back wages because of labor violations.
Don’t bankrupt labor department’s mission, wages chief tells Trump nominee
Liberalism ‘under threat’
If liberalism is to survive the kind of challenges that Trump’s voters threw at it, it will have to come back, with energy, imagination and still greater investment, to its origin points, argues Daniel T Rodgers.
Liberals risk becoming a permanent minority in America
USC win epic Rose Bowl
The highest-scoring Rose Bowl ever ended with a victory for the University of Southern California. The ninth-ranked team pipped the fifth-ranked Penn State after mounting a 14-point comeback. Junior Matt Boermeester kicked a 46-yard field goal for USC just as time expired to give them the game.
USC win Rose Bowl epic after last-gasp field goal breaks Penn State hearts
Finland trials basic income for unemployed
Finland has become the first country in Europe to pay its unemployed citizens a basic monthly income, amounting to €560 (£477/US$587), in a unique social experiment that is hoped to cut government red tape, reduce poverty and boost employment. Olli Kangas of the Finnish government agency KELA, which is responsible for the country’s social benefits, said the scheme’s idea was to abolish the “disincentive problem” among the unemployed. The trial aimed to discouraged people’s fears “of losing out something”, he said, adding that the selected persons would continue to receive the €560 even after obtaining a job.
Finland trials basic income for unemployed
In case you missed it…
Animal rights groups have hit out at Japan’s owl cafes, where the birds are petted and photographed by customers. The word owl means good luck or protection from hardship in Japanese. Bird-of-prey experts warn that owls make terrible pets and welfare groups consider cafe conditions questionable, if not abusive.
