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Florida broke its single-day record for new COVID-19 cases on Thursday as the omicron variant continues to drive a surge in infections. The state reported 31,758 cases to the Centers for Disease Control database on Thursday. The previous high was 27,669 in August when the delta variant swept the state.

Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R-WI) YouTube account was suspended for one week starting Friday for uploading content violating the platform’s policy against COVID-19 misinformation. The video that triggered the suspension was a roundtable discussion in which the lawmaker falsely claimed that coronavirus vaccines are unsafe. “The updated figures today are 17,619. That is 225 times the number of deaths in just a 10-month period versus an annual figure for the flu vaccine. These vaccine injuries are real.” Johnson was citing numbers from the self-reporting database the Vaccine Adverse Effects Reporting System (VAERS). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that...

Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R-Wis.) YouTube account was suspended for one week starting Friday for uploading content violating the platform’s policy against COVID-19 misinformation. The video that triggered the suspension was a roundtable discussion in which the lawmaker falsely claimed that coronavirus vaccines are unsafe. “The updated figures today are 17,619,” he said. “That is 225 times the number of deaths in just a 10-month period versus an annual figure for the flu vaccine. These vaccine injuries are real.” Johnson was citing numbers from the self-reporting database the Vaccine Adverse Effects Reporting System (VAERS). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...

A bill to reauthorize three expired surveillance programs is in jeopardy, with President Trump urging Republicans to oppose it and growing concerns from progressives on a key amendment. House Democratic leaders say they still intend to vote on the measure this week, but it’s suddenly unclear if it can muster the 218 votes needed to clear the chamber — despite an earlier version of the bill winning 278 votes in March. Despite the limbo status, Democratic leadership is signaling they will move forward, setting up a showdown on the House floor over the fate of the bill. An update from...

Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin announced Tuesday they will be stepping down from the leadership of the search giant's parent company, Alphabet. Google CEO Sundar Pichai, who previously had been a member of the Alphabet board of directors, will head both companies moving forward. "With Alphabet now well-established, and Google and the Other Bets operating effectively as independent companies, it’s the natural time to simplify our management structure," Page and Brin wrote in a blog post. "We’ve never been ones to hold on to management roles when we think there’s a better way to run the company," they...

A fake video of President Trump shooting, stabbing and brutally assaulting media personalities and political opponents was played at a conference for his supporters at his Miami resort last week, the New York Times reported Sunday. Donald Trump Jr., former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) were all scheduled to speak at the three-day conference hosted by American Priority at Trump National Doral Miami. Sanders and a person close to Trump Jr. told the Times that neither one saw the video. The Hill has reached out to DeSantis's office. The video, which includes...

Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) on Sunday criticized President Trump for quoting a pastor saying impeachment could trigger a "Civil War-like fracture" in the country. "I have visited nations ravaged by civil war," Kinzinger tweeted. "I have never imagined such a quote to be repeated by a President. This is beyond repugnant." I have visited nations ravaged by civil war. @realDonaldTrump I have never imagined such a quote to be repeated by a President. This is beyond repugnant. https://t.co/a5Bae7bP7g — Adam Kinzinger (@RepKinzinger) September 30, 2019 The rare rebuke from a Republican member of Congress came in response to Trump...

NBC's "Saturday Night Live" has decided not to hire Shane Gillis after offensive remarks from the comedian resurfaced. "After talking with Shane Gillis, we have decided that he will not be joining SNL," a spokesperson on behalf of SNL creator Lorne Michaels told BuzzFeed News on Monday "We want SNL to have a variety of voices and points of view within the show, and we hired Shane on the strength of his talent as comedian and his impressive audition for SNL." "We were not aware of his prior remarks that have surfaced over the past few days," the spokesperson added....

The man who killed seven people in Odessa, Texas, over the weekend had been fired from his trucking job hours before the mass shooting, according to multiple reports. The gunman, identified Sunday as Seth Aaron Ator, lead officials on a high speed chase during which he indiscriminately fired on motorists and police officers. Ator was killed after being chased by officers. The New York Times first reported that Ator had been fired from his trucking job in Odessa. ADVERTISEMENT He was pulled over Saturday by state troopers for failing to use a turn single before beginning firing, according to police....

The Mexican government on Sunday demanded protections for Mexicans and Mexican-Americans living in the U.S. following the deadly shooting in El Paso, Texas. “We consider this an act of terrorism against the community of Mexico,” Secretary of Foreign Affairs Marcelo Ebrard said during a press conference, signaling that Mexico’s prosecutor might make that designation official. Designating the incident as an act of terrorism would “permit Mexico access to all the information related to the case,” and “let us evaluate whether there are other individuals involved or potentially involved” that could put Mexicans at risk, Ebrard explained. He also indicated that...

Iran executed an ex-contract employee on charges of spying for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, Reuters reported Saturday. Jalal Hajizavar left his post at the aerospace organization of the Iranian defense ministry nine years ago. He was convicted by a military court after an investigation which discovered documents and spying equipment at his home, according to Reuters, which cited an IRIB news agency report. Hajizavar was reportedly executed at the Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj, west of Tehran.

President Trump on Sunday ripped Democrats ahead of testimony from John Dean, a former White House counsel for President Nixon who proved pivotal during the Watergate scandal. "The Dems were devastated - after all this time and money spent ($40,000,000), the Mueller Report was a disaster for them," Trump tweeted Sunday evening. "But they want a Redo, or Do Over. They are even bringing in @CNN sleazebag attorney John Dean. Sorry, no Do Overs - Go back to work!" **SNIP** Democrats in the House Judiciary Committee will grill Dean on Monday in an attempt to to shine a spotlight on...

FULL TITLE: Alleged UAE spy under investigation for possible links to Jamal Khashoggi killing found dead in Turkish jail =========================================================== An alleged spy for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) being investigated for possible links to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi was found dead in his Turkish jail cell, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. Turkish prosecutors on Monday said wardens had found the suspect, Zaki Y.M. Hassan, hanged inside his solitary cell in Istanbul’s Silivri prison, according to the newspaper, which added that prosecutors are calling for an investigation into the death. Turkish authorities were reportedly investigating Hassan and...

Former Republican Rep. Joe Walsh (Ill.) said Monday that President Trump "needs" someone to challenge him in the 2020 Republican primary. “I think this president needs a challenge," Walsh said when asked by CNN's Brooke Baldwin if he would support a challenger to Trump. Walsh, a conservative radio host and frequent critic of Trump, made the comment while discussing his former colleagues' reaction to special counsel Robert Mueller's report on his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The report was released to the public last week, and Walsh criticized congressional Republicans for staying quiet about what Walsh called...

George Conway on Sunday mocked White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders by asking her to "fix" a tweet declaring complete exoneration for President Trump. "You misspelled 'While this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.' Pls fix. Thx," the lawyer and husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway tweeted.

House Democrats reportedly will not strip Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) of her committee assignments after she apologized for tweets suggesting that American lawmakers were motivated to defend Israel by money. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told Roll Call that "of course" Democrats would not strip Omar of committee assignments like Republicans did to Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa.) after he questioned how terms like "white supremacy" became offensive. “I don’t think she’s anti-Semitic,” Hoyer reportedly said. “She did apologize. The key will be that when we make a mistake like that, conscious or unconscious, that we don’t repeat it. That...

Freshman Rep. Max Rose (D-N.Y.) said Sunday that his colleague Rep. Ilhan Omar's tweet suggesting that a pro-Israel lobbying group was buying off lawmakers was "deeply hurtful to Jews," including himself. "When someone uses hateful and offensive tropes against people of any faith, I will not be silent," Rose wrote on Twitter. "Congresswoman Omar's statements are deeply hurtful to Jews, including myself. Implying that Americans support Israel because of money alone is offensive enough. But go a step further, and retweet someone declaring their pain at her sentiment is truly unacceptable." "At a time when anti-Semitic attacks are on the...

President Trump on Friday threatened to "close the Southern Border entirely" if Democrats do not agree to provide money to "finish" building a wall on the Mexican border. Trump made the threat in a tweet on the seventh day of a partial government shutdown that entered its seventh day on Friday with no end in sight. The shutdown began on Saturday after Democrats rejected demands from Trump that $5 billion be included for the wall in a measure to keep the government open. "We will be forced to close the Southern Border entirely if the Obstructionist Democrats do not give...

CBS paid more than $5 million in a settlement agreement reached in the 1990s with a woman who claimed former '60 minutes' executive producer Doug Hewitt sexually assaulted her, the New York Times reported Thursday. Lawyers hired by CBS to investigate the workplace culture of '60 Minutes' are set to present a report to the board next week, according to the Times, which obtained a draft. The report, precipitated by the high profile removals of '60 Minutes' producer Jeff Fager and CBS chief executive Les Moonves after sexual misconduct allegations, found the program's separation from the larger company to be...

A group of House Democrats penned a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday asking him to condemn far-right Brazilian presidential frontrunner Jair Bolsonaro. The lawmakers, led by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), cited concerns for "rising threats to democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Brazil" in making their request. “Given the regional repercussions of this sort of development, this is not a threat that our country can take lightly,” they wrote. Bolsonaro and Fernando Haddad of the left-wing Workers’ Party are the two candidates in Sunday's run-off vote to become the new president, and Bolsonaro...