The Overnight News Digest is a nightly series chronicling the road to the eschaton and the end of the Republic.
359,863 PEOPLE HAVE DIED FROM CORONAVIRUS IN THE U.S.
The Washington Post
Trump incites crowd to acts of insurrection, violence
As … Trump told a sprawling crowd outside the White House that they should never accept defeat, hundreds of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in what amounted to an attempted coup that they hoped would overturn the election he lost. In the chaos, law enforcement officials said, one woman was shot and killed by police.
The violent scene — much of it incited by the president’s incendiary language — was like no other in modern American history, bringing to a sudden halt the congressional certification of Joe Biden’s electoral victory.
With poles bearing blue Trump flags, a mob that would eventually grow into the thousands bashed through Capitol doors and windows, forcing their way past police officers unprepared for the onslaught. Lawmakers were evacuated shortly before an armed standoff at the House chamber’s entrance. The woman who was shot was rushed to an ambulance, police said, and later died. Canisters of tear gas were fired across the Rotunda’s white marble floor, and on the steps outside the building, rioters flew Confederate flags.
When Chanelle Helm helped organize protests after the March 13 killing of Breonna Taylor, Louisville police responded with batons, stun grenades and tear gas. The 40-year-old Black Lives Matter activist still bears scars from rubber bullets fired at close range.
So Helm was startled and frustrated Wednesday to see a White, pro-Trump mob storm the U.S. Capitol — breaking down barricades, smashing windows and striking police officers — without obvious consequence.
“Our activists are still to this day met with hyper-police violence,” Helm said. “And today you see this full-on riot — literally a coup — with people toting guns, which the police knew was coming and they just let it happen. I don’t understand where the ‘law and order’ is. This is what white supremacy looks like.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Democrats sweep Georgia’s runoffs, flip control of U.S. Senate
Democrats swept Georgia’s two U.S. Senate runoffs on Wednesday to flip control of the chamber, pulling off stunning victories that will shape President-elect Joe Biden’s administration and transform the state’s political landscape.
Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock narrowly defeated U.S. Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler after a nine-week runoff that attracted record-setting spending, legions of volunteers and unprecedented political attention. The races were called by national outlets after final tallies from metro Atlanta were counted.
Each made history with the improbable victories. Warnock will become the first Black senator in state history, while Ossoff will be the first Jewish senator and, at 33, the youngest member of the chamber.
Bloomberg
The Trashing of American Democracy
“The enemies of democracy will rejoice at these inconceivable images,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas tweeted on Jan. 6.
Followers of … Trump had stormed the Capitol that afternoon to stop the certification of the Electoral College ballots that elected Joe Biden. As lawmakers went into hiding, the mob roamed the marble halls, occupied the Senate chamber, and trashed offices. Live video showed a party atmosphere, with some of the insurrectionists posing for pictures in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office and the seat where minutes before Vice President Mike Pence had presided over the ballot counting.
Trump incited the riot by telling his followers the election was stolen and urging them to march on the Capitol. When he finally told them to go home in a video message, he added, “We love you.” Trump showed every sign of believing his own warped narrative of mistreatment, which, scarily, means that the U.S. government is in the hands of a full-blown narcissist who can’t distinguish reality from fantasy.
Los Angeles Times
California hits 2.5 million coronavirus cases, adding 1 million in less than a month
Coronavirus infections in California reached 2.5 million Wednesday, another alarming milestone that underscores an unprecedented surge that has overwhelmed hospitals and is expected to worsen in the coming weeks.
According to The Times tracker, 1 of every 16 people in the state has tested positive for the virus at some point during the pandemic, with the number of new cases exploding by more than 1 million in less than a month.
The numbers show how rapidly the coronavirus is spreading, with areas such as Los Angeles County, the Inland Empire and the Central Valley particularly hard hit.
Officials have said stay-at-home measures imposed in late November have helped — but a rise in travel and social gatherings amid a slew of winter holidays have taken a heavy toll.
AP News
Biden urges restoring decency after ‘assault’ on democracy
President-elect Joe Biden called Wednesday for the restoration of “simple decency” as a mob incited by his predecessor stormed the U.S. Capitol and delayed Congress from certifying the results of November’s election.
Biden had planned to deliver a speech focused on how to revive the economy and provide financial relief for small-business owners reeling from the coronavirus pandemic, giving routine political remarks from a theater in his native Delaware. But shortly before he was to begin speaking, demonstrators broke into the Capitol building, reaching as far as the Senate floor.
“Our democracy is under unprecedented assault unlike anything we’ve seen in modern times,” Biden said adding that the violent and chaotic events were “an assault on the rule of law.”
Pandemic-era Mardi Gras: No big crowds, but plenty of cake
A subdued Carnival season began Wednesday after the coronavirus pandemic put an end to the crowd-heavy balls and street parades that draw thousands of people to the city every year.
The Mardi Gras season always starts on Jan. 6 and ends on Fat Tuesday, which this year falls on Feb. 16. The season is usually marked by extravagant balls and parades where costumed riders throw trinkets to the mobs of people packed along the parade routes.
The coronavirus has put an end to those large events. But that has not stopped notoriously creative New Orleanians from coming up with socially distant ways to celebrate.
BBC News
Climate change: Alaskan wilderness opens up for oil exploration
The Trump administration is pushing ahead with the first ever sale of oil leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).
The giant Alaskan wilderness is home to many important species, including polar bears, caribou and wolves. But after decades of dispute, the rights to drill for oil on about 5% of the refuge will go ahead.
Opponents have criticised the rushed nature of the sale, coming just days before … Trump's term ends.
Covering some 19 million acres (78,000 sq km) the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is often described as America's last great wilderness. It is a critically important location for many species, including polar bears.
Breonna Taylor: Two Louisville officers fired over roles in shooting
Two US police officers linked to a notorious raid in which young black medic Breonna Taylor was fatally shot have been fired, authorities have said.
Detectives Myles Cosgrove and Joshua Jaynes are the latest officers to be dismissed over the shooting in March last year.
The incident in Kentucky caused outrage, spurring protests against racism and police brutality. […]
Louisville police dismissed Mr Cosgrove for violating procedures for use of force and failing to use a body camera during the search, the Louisville Courier Journal reported on Wednesday.
Mr Jaynes, the newspaper said, was fired for violating the police force's policy for truthfulness and search warrant preparation.
Ars Technica
Pro-Trump reporter gloats over access to fleeing Hill staffer’s computer
Members of Congress fleeing a pro-Trump mob left their offices so quickly that at least one staffer left their computer on and logged into their official email, according to a screenshot posted by a conservative reporter. Elijah Schaffer, a reporter for the Glenn Beck publication The Blaze, wrote that he was "inside Nancy Pelosi’s office" with what he called "revolutionaries" who have "stormed the building."
"To put into perspective how quickly staff evacuated, emails are still on the screen along side a federal alert warning members of the current revolution," Schaffer wrote.
A text box on the lower-right corner of the staffer's screen read "Capitol: Internal Security Threat: Police Activity."
Schaffer has since deleted the tweet.