Author: CNN

The Buffalo Bills’ quarterback says there’s no place for criticism of Cincinnati Bengals receiver Tee Higgins, who was on the other end of a collision with Damar Hamlin just before the safety collapsed.

Josh Allen was standing up to leave the microphone Thursday after addressing media in Orchard Park, New York, but sat back down quickly.

“I do want to say one more thing,” he told reporters.

The star quarterback referenced “some stuff I saw on Twitter” criticizing Higgins, with the critics implying he bears blame for Hamlin’s medical emergency.

Allen said he was glad to see Hamlin’s parents quickly reject that idea. They said through a spokesperson Wednesday that the incident was a “freak accident” and “nothing that Tee could control.”

“I hope that he got some relief today,” Allen said of Higgins. “People should not be attacking him whatsoever, and I’m glad that Damar’s family came out and said that.”

“That’s a football play, and I hope that he doesn’t hold that upon himself, because there is nothing else that he could have done in that situation,” the quarterback added.

The hard collision between the two players before Hamlin collapsed did not prompt a penalty from officials.

Higgins has reached out to share his support for the hospitalized safety’s family, the Hamlins’ spokesperson said.

Well-wishers support Higgins’ cause: The Bengals receiver has seen a wave of donations for a foundation he supports in the time since Hamlin’s injury.

Two verified GoFundMe campaigns supported by Higgins have raised nearly $20,000 to help fight ALS. Over 800 donations have poured in for the axeALS Foundation, and that number was still climbing Thursday.

Former NFL player Eric Stevens founded axeALS with his wife, Amanda, after he was diagnosed with the disease at just 29 years old.

“After the incident, people wanted to support Higgins and they saw his #MyCauseMyCleats campaign and they started donating on our website,” Amanda Stevens told CNN on Thursday.

“There are amazing humans out there, wanting to do good for the world,” Stevens said. 

Editor’s Note: Sign up for Unlocking the World, CNN Travel’s weekly newsletter. Get news about destinations opening, inspiration for future adventures, plus the latest in aviation, food and drink, where to stay and other travel developments.

CNN
 — 

Some potentially good news for travelers hoping to visit China in 2023.

After nearly three years of being largely cut off from the world, Chinese authorities announced the lifting of several major Covid-related entry restrictions that take effect on January 8.

Among these, China has dropped quarantine requirements for all international arrivals, its most significant move yet as it veers away from its stringent zero-Covid policy. But who can visit?

Here, we address some of the major questions that might be on travelers’ minds right now as they start planning their 2023 journeys.

China isn’t rolling out the red carpet for international leisure tourists looking to experience the country’s many attractions just yet.

Borders remain largely closed to foreigners, apart from business or family visits, though the government has signaled it is looking to ease restrictions in this area, too. No timeline has been announced.

According to the government notices, for now it plans to focus on facilitating visa applications for foreign nationals traveling to China for business, employment, study, family visits and reunions.

George Cao, CEO of Dragon Trail International, a China-focused marketing and research company, tells CNN Travel via email that several things need to happen before the country will reopen to leisure tourists following the lifting of quarantine.

“The next step is for China to once again start issuing visas for the purpose of tourism. Although this is part of the reopening plan that has been announced, we don’t yet have an official date,” he says.

“It’s also crucial for the international flight schedule to increase, which will make it easier to get to China and also bring down flight prices, which are still well above pre-pandemic levels. This has already started for certain destinations – for example, many flights between China and South Korea, and between China and Singapore have resumed already.”

But it’s not clear yet how quick the process will be for other destinations/routes, he adds.

As noted, quarantine is no longer required as of January 8. (Prior to that date inbound travelers have been subjected to five days of hotel quarantine and three days of self-isolation at home upon arrival.)

Travelers heading into China now are only required to take a nucleic acid test 48 hours before departure. Those with negative results no longer have to apply for a green health code from Chinese embassies and consulates abroad before entering.

They do however need to fill in the results in their customs health declaration forms. If they test positive, they will not be permitted to travel to China until their tests come back negative.

Though foreign leisure tourists can’t visit yet, the changes are particularly welcome for Chinese nationals studying or working outside the country. Those who could not afford the sky-high prices of plane tickets and lengthy hotel quarantines have not been able to go home for nearly three years.

Even when borders do open to international tourists, the question of how much demand there is in both the short- and long-term remains.

“This is a big unknown at the moment, and will be one of the most critical factors in the recovery of inbound travel into China in the months and years to come,” says Cao.

“The Chinese government has increasingly recognized the importance of inbound travel, and China was one of the world’s leading tourism destinations in 2019, with 65.7 million arrivals.”

He adds his company expects that the government will allocate more resources to the promotion of inbound travel in the years to come, “to rebuild and expand this market, and develop new destinations and itineraries for international visitors.”

China abruptly abandoned its long-held zero-Covid policy in early December following nationwide protests over its heavy social and economic toll.

Authorities rolled back mass testing, lockdowns and allowed positive patients to quarantine at home.

Mobile phone health QR codes still exist but are no longer widely enforced for those entering public spaces or riding public transportation.

Technically there are no government mandates in place concerning face masks/social distancing. But those visiting indoor public spaces or riding on public transportation will likely be asked to put on a mask.

China accused of ‘underrepresenting’ scale of Covid outbreak, WHO says

There’s one major shadow hanging over China’s reopening plans – Covid-19. Cases have skyrocketed in recent weeks as restrictions loosened.

The outbreak has overwhelmed hospitals and crematoriums, triggered shortages of basic medicines, and sparked fears of an even darker month ahead as experts warn of a spread to less resourced rural areas during the upcoming Lunar New Year.

And now, the World Health Organization is accusing China of “under-representing” the severity of its Covid outbreak and has criticized its “narrow” definition of what constitutes a Covid death, as top global health officials urge Beijing to share more data about the explosive spread.

Read more here.

Throughout the pandemic, domestic travel has ebbed and flowed in line with changing Covid scenarios. Unable to travel freely, many Chinese chose to explore within their country’s borders during the pandemic.

Right now, the current volume of travel in China is low, says Dragon Trail’s Cao.

“But there are no longer restrictions on movement with digital health codes, as there were before this December,” he says. “We are already starting to see some hot spots emerging as China’s domestic market recovers once again.”

Among these is the island province of Hainan, Cao says, pointing to data from Chinese online travel agencies Ctrip and Qunar, which have both reported significant increases in bookings and searches for flights to Sanya, a popular resort city on the island.

“Qunar’s data shows increases in bookings from Beijing especially, as the first batch of people who contracted Covid after restrictions were removed have now recovered,” says Cao.

“Looking further ahead, Ctrip reported significant increases for searches for flights to Hainan for the New Year and Chinese New Year (21-27 January) public holidays.”

Most major attractions in China, such as museums, theme parks and national parks, are now open to visitors.

See how Hong Kong is trying to revitalize itself after Covid-19

Unlike mainland China, Hong Kong – a special administrative region – is now fully open to international travelers and has lifted most of its entry restrictions.

On December 28, the city scrapped its requirement for incoming travelers to do a mandatory PCR Covid-19 test on arrival.

Inbound travelers to Hong Kong still have to present negative results from PCR tests conducted within 48 hours or rapid antigen tests (RAT) within 24 hours before their flights to Hong Kong.

The government has also ditched its vaccine pass, which the public needed to use as proof of vaccination to enter most venues.

There’s no longer a cap on public gatherings, however the mask mandate remains compulsory in all public venues, including outdoors.

Travelers arriving in the city are also still asked to do rapid antigen tests (RAT) for five days upon arrival.

Earlier in December, Hong Kong stopped contact-tracing infected people. Back in September, the city ended mandatory hotel quarantine for overseas travelers.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government announced on Thursday that it will reopen its border with Hong Kong on January 8.

Up to 60,000 Hong Kong residents will be able to cross the border into the mainland daily, and vice versa, through land, air and sea ports, authorities said Thursday.

Most of previously bustling border crossings between Hong Kong and mainland China had been shut since early 2020, placing a heavy burden on families and businesses with ties on both sides.

Prior to this month’s loosening of restrictions, authorities in China had imposed a de facto international travel ban, forbidding citizens from going overseas for “nonessential” reasons.

But as of January 8, international travel for leisure is once again permitted.

According to a report from Chinese state media, the National Immigration Administration issued a notice in late December saying it will resume accepting and approving Chinese citizens’ applications for ordinary passports for the purposes of tourism starting from January 8.

By all appearances, China’s travel-starved citizens are excited to journey abroad freely again.

Many Weibo users (a social media platform in China) have been celebrating their newfound freedom to travel with the hashtag “Where to travel abroad next year” racking up close to 80 million views in late December.

Online searches for outbound flights and hotels overseas jumped to a three-year peak in the final days of 2022 on Trip.com, according to company data.

Searches for popular destinations increased tenfold within 30 minutes of the reopening announcement, with many people searching for outbound group tours during the Lunar New Year holiday season in January, data shows.

Macao, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, South Korea, the United States and the United Kingdom were among the website’s top 10 destinations with the fastest growth in search volume since the announcement.

The lifting of restrictions has proven to be quite controversial.

Much has been said about the importance of Chinese tourists in the global tourism economy’s recovery efforts.

Before the pandemic, China was the world’s largest market for outbound travel, having went from 4.5 million travelers in 2000 to 150 million in 2018. The country is also the world’s largest spender, accounting for $277 billion or 16% of the world’s total $1.7 trillion international tourism spending, according to the UN’s World Tourism Organization.

China alone contributed 51% of the travel and tourism GDP in the Asia-Pacific region in 2018, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council. And Chinese travelers typically accounted for 30% of all arrivals in Thailand.

But now that they’re ready to travel again, much of the world is exhibiting anxiousness surrounding their return due to the Covid-19 situation in the country.

Multiple destinations including the US, Australia, the UK and Japan, are adding additional Covid-19 testing requirements to passengers flying in from China, either directly or via a third country.

International Air Transport Association director general Willie Walsh on Wednesday called the reinstatement of these restrictions “extremely disappointing,” in a statement published on the airline trade body’s website.

“Several countries are introducing Covid-19 testing and other measures for travelers from China, even though the virus is already circulating widely within their borders. It is extremely disappointing to see this knee-jerk reinstatement of measures that have proven ineffective over the last three years,” Walsh said. “Governments must base their decisions on ‘science facts’ rather than ‘science politics’,” he added.

Read more about the mixed reactions here.

CNN
 — 

DNA allegedly found on a knife sheath recovered at the murder scene.

A roommate described a masked figure with “bushy eyebrows.”

Phone records showed the suspect was near the victims’ residence numerous times in the months before the killings.

Nearly two months after the killings of four University of Idaho students captivated the country and sowed fear in the small community of Moscow, Idaho, an affidavit released Thursday offered a look at the investigative work that went into identifying Bryan Kohberger as the suspect.

The 28-year-old PhD student in criminal justice was extradited to Idaho Wednesday from his home state of Pennsylvania. Facing four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary, Kohberger did not enter a plea during his initial court appearance Thursday.

The suspect was arrested in Pennsylvania December 30, nearly seven weeks after Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20, were found fatally stabbed in an off-campus home.

Here are key takeaways from the court documents – which include the probable cause affidavit used to support Kohberger’s arrest and obtain a warrant – and some questions that remain.

Trash recovered from the Pennsylvania home of Kohberger’s family late last month and sent to the Idaho State Lab for DNA testing revealed that the “DNA profile obtained from the trash” matched a tan leather knife sheath found “laying on the bed” of one of the victims, according to the probable cause affidavit.

The DNA in the trash “identified a male as not being excluded as the biological father” of the suspect whose DNA was found on the sheath.

“At least 99.9998% of the male population would be expected to be excluded from the possibility of being the suspect’s biological father,” the affidavit said.

According to the affidavit released Thursday, the suspect in the case falls into what criminal profilers call an “organized offender,” who likely planned and prepared for the attack, said CNN Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst John Miller.

But the suspect made a “rookie mistake,” Miller said: leaving the knife sheath at the crime scene. Other experts agree.

“Leaving behind the sheath of a knife was clearly a mistake … and could have happened for several reasons,” said retired FBI profiler Mary Ellen O’Toole. The suspect may have had to use the knife right away and pulled the sheath off quickly, or the victims’ responses may have not been what the suspect anticipated, O’Toole said. The offender was also likely in a state of arousal during the commission of the crime, O’Toole added,” and their attention to detail would have waned, at least somewhat causing him to make mistakes.”

One of two roommates who were not harmed told investigators she saw a masked man dressed in black in the house the morning of the attack, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Identified in the document as D.M., the roommate said she “heard crying” in the house that morning and a male voice saying, ‘It’s OK, I’m going to help you.’”

D.M. told investigators she saw a “figure clad in black clothing and a mask that covered the person’s mouth and nose walking towards her,” according to the affidavit.

“D.M. described the figure as 5’ 10” or taller, male, not very muscular, but athletically built with bushy eyebrows,” the affidavit said. “The male walked past D.M. as she stood in ‘frozen shock.’”

“The male walked towards the back sliding glass door. D.M. locked herself in her room after seeing the male,” according to the document, which said the roommate did not recognize the male.

Authorities reviewed local surveillance footage and were drawn to a white sedan, later identified as a Hyundai Elantra, according to the affidavit.

The vehicle was seen in the area around the home where the killings took place.

By November 25, local law enforcement had been notified to be on the lookout for the vehicle, the affidavit said.

Days later, officers at nearby Washington State University, where the suspect was a PhD student in criminal justice, identified a white Elantra and found it was registered to Kohberger.

Kohberger’s driver’s license information was consistent with the description the unharmed roommate gave investigators, according to the affidavit.

The document specifically noted Kohberger’s height and weight – 6 feet and 185 pounds – and that he has bushy eyebrows.

Kohberger received a new license plate for his Elantra five days after the killings, the affidavit said, citing records from the Washington State Department of Licensing.

At the time of Kohberger’s arrest last week, a white Elantra was found at his parents’ house in Pennsylvania, according to Monroe County Chief Public Defender Jason LaBar, who said Kohberger had gone home for the holidays.

Phone records show Kohberger’s phone was near the victims’ residence at least 12 times since June, according to the court documents.

“All of these occasions, except for one, occurred in the late evening and early morning hours of their respective days.”

Additionally, records show Kohberger’s phone was near the murder scene – 1122 King Road – between 9:12 a.m. and 9:21 a.m. – hours after the killings, according to the court documents.

A review of phone records showed Kohberger’s phone left his home at approximately 9 a.m. and traveled to Moscow, the affidavit said, and that the same phone traveled “back to the area of the Kohberger Residence … arriving to the area at approximately 9:32 a.m.”

Kohberger applied for an internship with the Pullman Police Department in Washington in the fall of 2022, court documents show.

“Pursuant to records provided by a member of the interview panel for Pullman Police Department, we learned that Kohberger’s past education included undergraduate degrees in psychology and cloud-based forensics,” according to an affidavit.

“These records also showed Kohberger wrote an essay when he applied for an internship with the Pullman Police Department in the fall of 2022. Kohberger wrote in his essay he had interest in assisting rural law enforcement agencies with how to better collect and analyze technological data in public safety operations.”

Nearly two months after the killings, however, a number of questions remain.

It’s not clear why the unharmed roommate did not immediately call 911, or why the roommates were spared.

The motive for the crime also remains a mystery, and police have said they are still looking for the murder weapon.

The documents released Thursday shed no light on whether Kohberger had any other reason to be in the area at the time of the killings.

Why wasn’t Kohberger arrested until more than six weeks after the victims were found dead?

And authorities have not said publicly whether Kohberger knew any of the victims.

CNN
 — 

The World Health Organization has accused China of “under-representing” the severity of its Covid outbreak and criticized its “narrow” definition of what constitutes a Covid death, as top global health officials urge Beijing to share more data about the explosive spread.

“We continue to ask China for more rapid, regular, reliable data on hospitalizations and deaths, as well as more comprehensive, real-time viral sequencing,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a media briefing in Geneva Wednesday.

“WHO is concerned about the risk to life in China and has reiterated the importance of vaccination, including booster doses, to protect against hospitalization, severe disease, and death,” he said.

Speaking in more detail, WHO executive director for health emergencies Mike Ryan said the numbers released by China “under-represent the true impact of the disease” in terms of hospital and ICU admissions, as well as deaths.

He acknowledged that many countries have seen lags in reporting hospital data, but pointed to China’s “narrow” definition of a Covid death as part of the issue.

The country only lists those Covid patients who succumbed with respiratory failure as having died of Covid. In the two weeks prior to January 5, China reported fewer than 20 deaths from local Covid cases, according to figures released on the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website – even as the outbreak has overwhelmed hospitals and crematoriums amid apparent Covid surges in multiple cities. 

On Thursday, China’s Foreign Ministry said the country has always shared epidemic information “in a timely, open and transparent manner” and insisted its Covid situation was “under control.”

“It is hoped that the WHO secretariat will take a science-based, objective and just position and play a positive role in addressing the pandemic globally,” spokesperson Mao Ning said at a daily news briefing.

Chinese experts would attend a regular WHO member state briefing on Thursday to “respond to technical issues that are of concern to other parties,” Mao said, adding that China would continue to closely monitor possible mutations of the virus and release relevant information.

WHO officials, who have grappled with Beijing’s tight control of data access throughout the pandemic, have become increasingly vocal in their calls for reliable information as a major outbreak rips across China’s urban centers in the wake of an abrupt relaxation of disease controls last month.

The surge in cases in a country of 1.4 billion has also raised global concerns about the potential emergence of new variants – and of China’s levels of monitoring and sharing data. A number of countries have implemented Covid testing requirements for travelers from China, citing a dearth of data on strains circulating there.

On Wednesday, the European Union “strongly encouraged” its member states to introduce a requirement for a negative Covid test for passengers traveling from China to the EU, according to a statement released by the Swedish presidency of the bloc.

WHO’s Tedros said Wednesday it was “understandable” that some countries were taking these steps, “with circulation in China so high and comprehensive data not forthcoming.”

China’s Foreign Ministry earlier this week decried the measures as unscientific and vowed to take “corresponding countermeasures for different situations in accordance with the principle of reciprocity.”

Some health experts around the world have also criticized targeted travel screening as ineffective and voiced concern such measures could fuel racism and xenophobia.

In an online statement updated Thursday, GISAID – an international initiative for sharing genomic data of viruses causing influenza and Covid-19 – said China had continued “to ramp up” its surveillance efforts and preliminary analyses indicated reported data closely resembles that of known variants already spreading globally.

Chinese health officials also presented recent genomic data to a WHO advisory body during a closed-door meeting Tuesday. In a statement Wednesday, the WHO advisory body said the variants detected in China are known and have been circulating in other countries, with no new variant yet reported by the Chinese CDC.

But the advisory group and top WHO officials stressed the need for more forthcoming genomic data. The latest situation adds to longstanding challenges for the UN body, which faced criticism at the start of the pandemic that it did not push China hard enough for data amid concerns Beijing was obscuring critical information.

“There’s a lot more data that needs to be shared from China and additionally from around the world so that we can track this pandemic as we enter this fourth year,” Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s technical lead on Covid, said Wednesday.

“We need more information on sequencing around the country, (and for) those sequences to be shared with publicly available databases like GISAID so that deeper analyses can be done,” she said.

New York
CNN
 — 

The Wall Street Journal is demanding answers from the Phoenix Police Department after an officer detained and handcuffed one of its reporters outside a Chase Bank — an incident that press freedom advocates say raises First Amendment concerns and mirrors a larger, growing hostility from local law enforcement toward journalists across the country.

The incident between The Journal reporter Dion Rabouin and the Phoenix officer occurred in late November, but just became public his week after ABC affiliate KNXV reported on the matter. In a statement, The Journal said that it is “deeply concerned” with how its reporter was treated and has asked the Phoenix Police Department to conduct an investigation.

“No journalist should ever be detained simply for exercising their First Amendment rights,” The Journal said.

A version of this article first appeared in the “Reliable Sources” newsletter. Sign up here for the daily digest chronicling the evolving media landscape

In response, the Phoenix Police Department — which is being probed by the Department of Justice to determine whether its officers retaliate against people “for conduct protected by the First Amendment” — stressed to me that the incident occurred on private property, but that the department had nonetheless shared concerns raised by the paper with the Professional Standards Bureau andthat an investigation is underway.

At the crux of this particular matter is a rather innocent act of journalism. While visiting family in Arizona for the Thanksgiving holiday, Rabouin attempted to interview passersby on a sidewalk outside a Chase branch for an ongoing story about savings accounts, he told the Phoenix affiliate.

Representatives from the bank approached him and asked what he was doing and Rabouin said he identified himself as a journalist. Rabouin said he was never asked to leave, but an officer soon arrived on the scene.

Rabouin said he volunteered to simply stop reporting from the scene, but video captured by a bystander shows the responding officer handcuff him, put him in the back of a police vehicle, and even threaten to shove him in if he did not comply. The video shows Rabouin repeatedly identified himself as a reporter for The Journal, but the officer did not appear to care. The bystander who began recording the incident was also threatened with arrest.

Ultimately, after about 15 minutes, when other officers showed up, Rabouin was allowed to walk free. A representative for Chase told me Thursday that the bank did apologize to Rabouin over the incident. But the local police department has thus far refrained from doing so.

In a letter dated December 7 from Journal Editor-In-Chief Matt Murray to Phoenix Police Department Interim Chief Michael Sullivan, the editor described the officer’s conduct as “offensive to civil liberties,” and demanded to know what steps the department will take to “ensure that neither Mr. Rabouin nor any other journalist is again subjected to such conduct.” The Journal told me Thursday that Murray has not received a response from Sullivan.

For press freedom advocates, the incident is representative of countless others that take place around the US each year. According to the US Press Freedom Tracker, at least 218 journalists have been arrested in the country since 2020.

Bruce Brown, the executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, told me in a statement that “the alarming number of incidents we’ve seen over the last several years where police have detained, arrested, or assaulted journalists who were doing their jobs threatens to chill this kind of essential newsgathering.”

Brown added, “It’s time for the law enforcement community to hold itself accountable for its actions. The Phoenix Police Department can start now.”

The Committee to Protect Journalists has also sounded the alarm over the incident. Katherine Jacobsen, the organization’s US and Canada program director, told me the detention of Rabouin “highlights a very real threat faced by reporters – especially local reporters – across the country.” Jacobsen went on to say that it is “disheartening to see acts of hostility toward journalists working in the United States.”

Through a spokesperson, Rabouin declined to comment to me on Thursday. But he did post one tweet about the matter.

“Thanks to everyone who has reached out to offer support,” Rabouin wrote. “We’re hoping to hear back from the chief or someone at the department soon.”

CNN
 — 

The House has adjourned for the third day without electing a new speaker after Kevin McCarthy continued to suffer a string of defeats in multiple rounds of voting on Thursday. As the fight for the gavel drags on, it has now become the longest speaker contest in 164 years.

Each failed vote only increases pressure on McCarthy to end the impasse, but it is unclear whether he will be able to pull it off as the situation grows increasingly dire for his future political prospects.

Even after proposing major concessions to his hardline conservative opponents late Wednesday, the California Republican has still not yet been able to lock in the 218 votes he needs to win the gavel. The longer the fight drags out, the more dire it becomes for McCarthy’s future, as it risks further defections and a loss of confidence in the GOP leader.

McCarthy said after the House’s adjournment Thursday that progress had been made in negotiations but he would not put a “timeline” on when he could get to 218 votes. “So if this takes a little longer and it doesn’t meet your deadline, that’s OK,” he told reporters.

McCarthy also addressed criticisms that differences among the caucus weren’t resolved before the contest for speaker began this week, saying they “tried to sort it out” before January 3.

Talks have continued among Republicans as the GOP majority hopes to find a path forward. Negotiators between the McCarthy allies and opponents are pushing for a deal Thursday night in attempt to show progress, according to a source in talks. They believe they have made significant progress, but they are still haggling over some of the details. Complicating matters is the fact that at least four Republican members are leaving town Friday because of various family issues.

An agreement is close with Rep. Chip Roy of Texas and McCarthy’s team, led by Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota, according to multiple sources. If they can get an agreement, they would be able to get the votes to adjourn the chamber for the night. But that still wouldn’t get McCarthy to 218 votes – the threshold he needs to hit – since there are other members who have concerns that haven’t been addressed.

Patience is wearing thin among lawmakers and moderates have also grown increasingly frustrated over the concessions, which many believe may make it harder for the new GOP majority to effectively govern, though they will likely still swallow them.

McCarthy was defiant on Thursday in the face of the stiff headwinds, saying that he will continue to face opposition until he reaches a deal with his detractors.

“It’s all going to be this way until an agreement comes,” he told CNN. “It’s easier if we’re able to all get an agreement together.”

Asked by CNN the point he would make a realization that the outcome won’t change, McCarthy said: “After I win.”

In a series of new concessions first reported by CNN Wednesday night, McCarthy agreed to propose a rules change that would allow just one member to call for a vote to oust a sitting speaker, according to two sources familiar with the matter. McCarthy had initially proposed a five-member threshold, down from current conference rules that require half of the GOP to call for such a vote.

He told reporters after the House adjourned Thursday that he’s not concerned about giving just one member the power to call for a vote to oust the speaker, saying he was “very fine with that.”

“I’m not afraid. … I won’t be a weaker speaker,” he said.

McCarthy also agreed to allow for more members of the Freedom Caucus to serve on the powerful House Rules Committee, which dictates how and whether bills come to the floor, and to vote on a handful of bills that are priorities for the holdouts, including proposing term limits on members and a border security plan.

Republican sources say that even if McCarthy’s offers are accepted, it would still not get him the 218 votes he needs to be speaker. While these concessions could attract some new support, other opponents have raised different concerns that have yet to be fully addressed.

McCarthy has already made a number of concessions to his opponents, though so far his efforts have not been enough. But sources said the talks Wednesday between McCarthy allies and holdouts have been the most productive and serious ones to date. And in one sign of a breakthrough, a McCarthy-aligned super PAC agreed to not play in open Republican primaries in safe seats – one of the big demands that conservatives had asked for but that McCarthy had resisted until this point.

One moderate Republican told CNN Thursday morning that they aren’t happy about the concessions, though they are willing to have “discussions” about them.

The fear is that lowering the threshold for a vote to oust the speaker to one member will make governing on items like the debt limit and funding almost impossible.

“I don’t like the rules but am willing to hear discussions. I think they’re a mistake for the conference. These handful of folks want a weak speaker with a four-vote majority. The public will not like what they see of the GOP, I fear,” the member said.

The fight over the speakership, which began Tuesday on the first day of the 118th Congress, has thrown the new House GOP majority into chaos and undercut the party’s agenda.

McCarthy has so far come up short in multiple rounds of voting. The final GOP tally for the sixth vote, which took place on Wednesday, was 201 for McCarthy, 20 for Florida Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida and one “present” vote.

In the seventh ballot, McCarthy still had 20 total GOP lawmakers voting against him, except this time GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz voted for former President Donald Trump, while the other 19 voted for Donalds. GOP Rep. Victoria Spartz voted present again. The final tally was 201 for McCarthy, 19 for Donalds, one for Trump and one present vote.

The final tally for the eighth ballot was 201 for McCarthy, 17 for Donalds, two for GOP Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, one for Trump and one present vote.

The final tally for the ninth ballot was 200 for McCarthy, 17 for Donalds, 3 for Hern, and 1 present vote. Buck, who has supported McCarthy, did not vote that round.

In the tenth vote, McCarthy still had 20 total GOP lawmakers voting against him. The final tally was 200 for McCarthy, 13 for Donalds, seven for Hern and one present vote.

On the eleventh ballot, there were 200 for McCarthy, 12 for Donalds, seven for Hern, one for Trump and one present vote.

The House will remain paralyzed until this standoff is resolved. This is the first time an election for speaker has gone to multiple ballots since 1923.

To be elected speaker, a candidate needs to win a majority of members who vote for a specific person on the House floor. That amounts to 218 votes if no member skips the vote or votes “present.”

House Republicans won 222 seats in the new Congress, so for McCarthy to reach 218, he can only afford to lose four GOP votes.

This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.

CNN
 — 

Democrat Josh Shapiro, the incoming Pennsylvania governor, announced Thursday that he has selected Republican Al Schmidt, a leading opponent of former President Donald Trump’s efforts to disrupt the counting of votes in 2020, to become secretary of the commonwealth, the state’s top elections official.

Schmidt was the lone Republican on Philadelphia’s elections board when Trump and his allies falsely declared a premature victory in Pennsylvania and then sought to prevent officials from completing their count of mail-in ballots.

Trump targeted Schmidt in a November 11, 2020, tweet, alleging that he “refuses to look at a mountain of corruption & dishonesty.” There has never been any evidence of either. But Trump’s post triggered an onslaught of threats against Schmidt and his family, which he discussed in his public testimony before the House select committee that investigated the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.

Schmidt is among 12 individuals whom President Joe Biden will honor Friday with the Presidential Medal of Freedom to mark the second anniversary of the January 6 attack, CNN has reported.

“Al Schmidt has a proven track record of defending our democracy, protecting voting rights, and standing up to extremism – even in the face of grave threats – and I am proud to nominate him to be Pennsylvania’s next Secretary of the Commonwealth,” Shapiro said in a statement announcing his first cabinet appointment. (The secretary of the commonwealth post is filled by the governor and is not an elected position.)

Schmidt, in his own statement, said he was “humbled” and “honored to have the chance to continue working to protect the integrity of our elections and strengthen our democracy.”

“Our elections are the foundation of our democracy, and I look forward to working with anyone – regardless of party – to ensure they remain free and fair here in Pennsylvania, and that we do more to ensure every eligible voter can make their voice heard,” he said.

The decision to reach across party lines for the nomination is a continuation of Shapiro’s campaign outreach to moderate Republicans and those in the GOP who rejected the Trump team’s machinations to stop the counting of votes in Pennsylvania as his apparent lead dissipated on and after Election Day in 2020 with the tallying of mail-in ballots.

Biden ended up winning the state – and its 20 critical electoral votes – by more than 80,000 in the popular count. His margin of victory in Philadelphia was nearly a half-million votes.

During his testimony last June on Capitol Hill, Schmidt provided examples of the angry messages and death threats he received following Trump’s tweet.

“After the president tweeted at me, by name, calling me out the way that he did, the threats became much more specific,” Schmidt said. “Much more graphic. And included not just me, by name, but included members of my family, by name, their ages, our address, pictures of our home. Just every bit of detail that you could imagine. That was what changed with that tweet.”

Shapiro, the Pennsylvania attorney general, won an overwhelming victory November in the governor’s race, trouncing Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano, a far-right election-denier supported by Trump. Mastriano – who attended and helped organize buses to bring Trump supporters to Washington on January 6, 2021 – frequently posted on social media sites about conspiracy theories and paid Gab, a far-right social media platform rife with antisemitism, $5,000 for “consulting” services.

Schmidt resigned from his post in Philadelphia in 2021 to become president of the Committee of Seventy, a nonpartisan good governance nonprofit.

“I thought of myself as like the jazz musician — someone who practices and practices and practices in order to be able to invent and to make his art look effortless and graceful,” she told the literary magazine at the time.

Behind such masterpieces as “Jazz,” “Beloved” and “The Bluest Eye” was a painstaking craft that Morrison honed over her decades-long career — one that is explored in an upcoming exhibition at Princeton University in New Jersey, where Morrison taught for 17 years.

A handwritten manuscript page for Morrison’s novel “The Bluest Eye,” along with other papers from the author’s archive. Credit: Princeton University Library

“The focus here really is on excavating the process behind these polished texts — what it looks like to imagine, to write in all of these different moments,” said curator Autumn Womack, who is also an assistant professor of English and African American Studies.

The exhibition, which is divided into six sections, provides glimpses into Morrison’s thought process and writing practice at various points in her career. Day planners from her time as an editor at Random House show how she made time to write her own novels in between her professional obligations, while yellow legal pads that she filled with notes and drafts shed light on her thinking as she was writing later novels such as “A Mercy.”

Womack, a scholar of 19th and 20th century American literature, has worked extensively with Morrison’s archives since she came to Princeton in 2017, making use of the materials in a course she taught on the author and reading practices. As she and her students parsed through the collection, Womack said she found that Morrison’s writing practice was “infused with a kind of patience.”

Autumn Womack, an assistant professor of English and African American Studies at Princeton, is the lead curator of the exhibition. Credit: Brandon Johnson

“As writers we often want to get to the finished product and know that we have cracked the code,” she said. “But you see (Morrison) trying and over and over and over and over again, asking questions, looking at different objects, trying different research methods, trying different narrative voices.”

“You see her continuing to ask the questions until she alights upon the story,” Womack added.

When Womack began curating “Sites of Memory,” she said it became clear to her that the exhibition should reflect the collaborative, multidisciplinary elements that were so evident in Morrison’s work. That’s why the archival exhibit is just one of a series of community events and initiatives that Princeton is holding around the author.

The exhibition features an array of materials from Morrison’s archives, including this small notebook. Credit: Brandon Johnson

“Cycle of Creativity: Alison Saar and the Toni Morrison Papers,” an exhibition presented by the university’s art museum that also opens in late February, will pair materials from Morrison’s archive with the works of sculptor Alison Saar to explore how both artists illuminate aspects of the Black American experience.

The exhibition “Toni Morrison: Sites of Memory” will be on view at Princeton University Library’s Milberg Gallery in Princeton, New Jersey, from February 22 until June 4.

Top image: Toni Morrison attends the Carl Sandburg Literary Awards dinner in Chicago on October 20, 2010. (Photo by Daniel Boczarski/FilmMagic)

CNN
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Idaho officials have publicly released court documents – including a probably cause affidavit – in prosecutors’ case against Bryan Kohberger, who faces four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary in the killings of four University of Idaho undergraduate students.

Read the affidavit below:

CNN
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The US Capitol Police is ramping up its security posture and monitoring online chatter about planned protests set to occur on Friday’s two-year anniversary of the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.

Multiple sources tell CNN that USCP will have civil disturbance units on standby for several protests on the Capitol grounds that have permits and at the Supreme Court building.

Additionally, USCP is coordinating with law enforcement agencies in surrounding jurisdictions, including police departments from Maryland’s Montgomery County and Fairfax County in Virginia. Washington, DC, police will have civil disturbance units available on Friday as well.

USCP’s intelligence unit is monitoring protests on Capitol grounds planned by groups across the political spectrum, according to an internal document circulated December 27 and reviewed by CNN, including some who contend that rioters have been unjustly prosecuted and others who warn that American democracy was in peril the day of the riot.

The internal Capitol Police document suggested events at the Supreme Court and the Capitol grounds could draw hundreds of protesters throughout the day.

The Capitol Police unit also is monitoring for protesters to gather in front of the Supreme Court related to a longshot petition alleging the 2020 election was fraudulent. The case has been dismissed by lower courts for various reasons, including a lack of jurisdiction.

The US solicitor general declined to respond to the case, signaling a belief that it will not be seriously considered by the justices. The fact that the justices are considering the case on January 6 is only due to the timing of the DOJ’s decision last year to waive its response on November 23, automatically putting it on the list for this Friday.

The stepped-up posture comes out of an abundance of caution, sources tell CNN, and reflects what has become standard protocol for USCP in the wake of the deadly riot two years ago.

Over the past two years, USCP has overhauled its approach and drafted a common framework for First Amendment activity that could potentially turn volatile. Strategies the department now uses regularly include better coordination with partner agencies throughout the DC area, as well as standard tactical and medical operational planning.

USCP spokesman Tim Barber told CNN in a statement that the operational planning for Friday is based on intelligence.

“We now have tabletop exercises for command staff, we host inter-agency planning meetings, we have a defined incident command structure,” Barber said.