Thursday AP Morning Wire

Biden win confirmed after violent pro-Trump mob storms US Capitol.

Jan 7, 2021 *View in Browser  AP MORNING WIRE Good morning. In today's AP Morning Wire:   Violent pro-Trump mob storms US Capitol in bid to overturn election. Congress confirms Biden won; Trump: 'There will be an orderly transition.'   Biden urges restoring decency after 'assault' on democracy. World leaders appalled by US rioting, urge peaceful transfer. Democrats win in Georgia, taking Senate majority control.   TAMER FAKAHANY DEPUTY DIRECTOR - GLOBAL NEWS COORDINATION, LONDON The Rundown AP PHOTO/ANDREW HARNIK Chaos, violence, 4 dead, as pro-Trump mob occupies US Capitol; Congress confirms Biden win; Trump says his term is ending, transition will be 'orderly'   Tumult and violence engulfed the U.S. Capitol in some of the most jarring scenes ever to unfold in a seat of American political power, sending shockwaves around the nation and world.   It began as a day of reckoning for President Donald Trump's futile attempt to cling to power, as Congress took up the certification of President-elect Joe Biden's victory.   It fractured into scenes of fear and agony that left a key ritual of American democracy shredded to pieces, Mary Clare Jalonick, Andrew Taylor, Lisa Mascaro and Calvin Woodward report.    A pro-Trump mob overran the Capitol, occupying one hallowed space of American democracy after another. A woman was shot and killed by police, and three others died in apparent medical emergencies.   The nation's elected representatives scrambled to crouch under desks and don gas masks, while police unsuccessfully tried to barricade the building. Washington's mayor instituted an evening curfew in an attempt to contain the violence.   The rioters were egged on by Trump, who has spent weeks falsely attacking the integrity of the election and had urged his supporters to descend on Washington to protest Congress' formal approval of Biden's victory. Some Republican lawmakers were in the midst of raising objections to the results on his behalf when the proceedings were abruptly halted by the mob.     Before dawn today, lawmakers completed their work, confirming Biden won the presidential election. Vice President Mike Pence announced the tally: 306-232.   Trump said 'there will be an orderly transition' after Congress concluded the electoral vote count certifying Biden's victory, Zeke Miller and Jill Colvin report.  He had refused to concede the election until the statement was posted to Twitter by an aide immediately after the vote.   Earlier, authorities eventually regained control, as night fell. Heavily armed officers brought in as reinforcements pushed the mob farther away in clouds of tear gas, flash-bangs and percussion grenades.    At least 52 people were arrested, including 26 on the Capitol grounds, and 14 police officers were injured.   VIDEO: Pro-Trump mob storms U.S. Capitol.   VIDEO: Lawmakers evacuated as violent protesters storm Capitol.   VIDEO: AP reporter who was inside the Capitol describes chaos during the siege.   AP PHOTOS: Scenes of violence at U.S. Capitol shock world.   Analysis: The riotous mob that laid siege to the Capitol was the product of the destructive forces that Trump has been stirring for years, culminating in the disruption of a democratic ritual that would formally end his unconstitutional bid to stay in power. The stunning scene that unfolded first outside the citadel of democracy, and then in its inner sanctum, was one that Americans are accustomed to watching in distant lands with authoritarian regimes. But the terrifying violence, which included gunshots fired in the Capitol and an armed occupation of the Senate floor, was born from the man who swore an oath to protect the very democratic traditions that a mob tried to undo in his name, Jonathan Lemire reports.   AP FACT CHECK: Trump's false claims, fuel on a day of chaos. Calvin Woodward reports.   Capitol Breach-Security: Lawmakers are vowing an investigation into how police handled the violent breach at the Capitol. The Democratic chairwoman of the House Administration Committee says the breach "raises grave security concerns" and that her committee will work with House and Senate leaders to review the police response and preparedness, Matthew Daly reports.    An Unimaginable Moment: To see it unspool — to watch the jumbled images ricochet, live, across the world's endless screens — was a struggle to believe your eyes. But there it was, in the capital city of the United States in early January 2021: a real-time breaking and entering the likes of which the republic has never seen. This was not "the peaceful transfer of power" so lionized by the American tradition. Not even remotely. "This," Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania said, "is an absolute disgrace." The U.S. seemed at risk of becoming the very kind of country it has so often insisted it was helping: a fragile democracy, Ted Anthony reports.   Republicans: The insurrection offers a new, and perhaps final, moment of reckoning for a Republican Party that has been steadfastly encouraging Trump's false claims that the November election was stolen. The party must decide whether now is the time to stop enabling Trump's dangerous behavior. This may have been the darkest day of Trump's turbulent presidency, but with 13 days left in the world's most powerful office, he has the time and willingness to continue his assault on democracy, Steve Peoples reports.    Extremists: Experts on far-right extremism say the storming of the U.S. Capitol is a jarring but natural product of years of violence and hateful rhetoric stoked by disinformation and conspiracy theories. Members of the Proud Boys and other far-right groups joined the crowds that formed in Washington to cheer on Trump as he called on them to protest Congress' counting of Electoral College votes confirming Biden's victory. Michael Kunzelman and Amanda Seitz report.   AP PHOTO/SUSAN WALSH President-elect Biden urges restoring decency after 'assault' on democracy; Trump muzzled by Twitter, Facebook amid Capitol violence   President-elect Joe Biden called for the restoration of "simple decency" after the pro-Trump mob incited by his predecessor stormed the U.S. Capitol and delayed Congress from certifying Biden's election victory.   In his remarks, Biden said the nation's democracy "is under unprecedented assault unlike anything we've seen in modern times." "This is not decent, it's chaos," he added.     Biden had planned to deliver remarks on the economy and the coronavirus pandemic in a speech in his native Delaware. But shortly before he was to begin speaking, demonstrators broke into the Capitol. Will Weissert and Darlene Superville report.   Trump-Social Media Suspension: In an unprecedented step, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram on Wednesday temporarily blocked Donald Trump after he repeatedly posted false accusations about the integrity of the election. Twitter, which locked Trump's account for 12 hours, also threatened him with a permanent ban if he breaks the rules again. Facebook and Instagram blocked Trump from being able to post for 24 hours.   The two platforms, as well as YouTube, had already removed a short video Trump posted in which he urged supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol to "go home" — saying he loved them and they were ''very special'' — while at the same repeating false attacks about the presidential election. Barbara Ortutay and David Klepper report. AP PHOTO/AHN YOUNG-JOON  World leaders shocked, disgusted by US rioting, urge peaceful transfer; foes also revel   Insurrection at the gates of power.   The chaotic scenes from the storming of the building at the center of American democracy by violent Trump supporters are normally associated with countries where popular uprisings topple a hated dictator. The Arab Spring in 2011, Sudan in 2019, or the revolutions that swept eastern Europe in 1989 as dictatorships and the Berlin Wall fell.    World leaders have condemned the storming of the U.S. Capitol.   Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain and others called for a peaceful transition of power. Some singled out Trump for harsh criticism. They said political leaders need to urge their followers to refrain from violence and respect the rule of law.   New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the right to vote and the right to have that vote counted should not be undone by a mob.   The shock was stronger because the United States has long been seen as a model of global leadership, reports Foster Klug from Tokyo.    But there has also been schadenfreude among U.S. foes and those who have been at the sharp end of American military muscle and punitive sanctions in the name of democracy.  THE AUGUSTA CHRONICLE VIA AP/MICHAEL HOLAHAN  Georgia Election Democrats win Senate majority control as Warnock, Ossoff win in Georgia   Democrats have won both Georgia Senate seats — and with them, the U.S. Senate majority.   It's a stunning defeat for Donald Trump in his final days in office and it dramatically improves the fate of Joe Biden's progressive agenda, report Steve Peoples, Russ Bynum and Bill Barrow.   This week's elections are expected to mark the formal finale to the turbulent 2020 election season, although the Democrats' resounding success was overshadowed by chaos and violence in Washington,    Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, Democratic challengers who represented the diversity of their party's evolving coalition, defeated Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler.   The twin victories end nearly two decades in which Democrats have been shut out of statewide victories in Georgia. Biden became the first Democratic presidential candidate to carry the state since 1992.   How it Happened: Trump came to the north Georgia mountains Monday night ostensibly to boost turnout in the surrounding conservative strongholds and stave off strong Democratic challengers who threatened the GOP's Senate majority in two runoff elections. It didn't work. Across the state, even where Trump rallied, Democrats did a better job in the runoffs of nearly matching their November turnout than Republicans did. The victories come after years of organizing work by the Democratic Party and its allies, Bill Barrow, Hannah Fingerhut and Josh Boak report.   'Only in America': Warnock's rise from poverty to US senator.   Ossoff seals Democrats' sweep; will be youngest US senator.  Other Top Stories US governors scramble to speed vaccine effort after slow start New York's governor is threatening to fine hospitals that don't use their allotment of COVID-19 vaccine fast enough. His counterpart in South Carolina says hospitals and health care workers have until Jan. 15 to get a shot or move to the back of the line. California's governor wants to use dentists to dispense shots. With frustration rising over the slow rollout of the vaccine, U.S. state leaders and other politicians are turning up the pressure, improvising and seeking to bend the rules to get shots in arms more quickly. Japan declares emergency for Tokyo area as cases spike Japan has declared a state of emergency for Tokyo and three nearby areas as coronavirus cases continued to surge, hitting a daily record of 2,447 in the capital. The declaration kicks in Friday until Feb. 7, and centers around asking restaurants and bars to close at 8 p.m. and people to stay home and not mingle in crowds. The declaration carries no penalties. But it works as a strong request while Japan juggles to keep the economy going. Shopping malls and schools will remain open. Movie theaters, museums and other events will be asked to reduce attendance. A year on, questions haunt Iran's downing of Ukrainian plane More questions than answers remain about the disaster that killed 176 people on board a Ukrainian jetliner, a year after Iran's military mistakenly downed the plane with surface-to-air missiles. Officials in Canada, which was home to many of the passengers on the doomed plane, and other affected countries have raised concerns about the lack of transparency and accountability in Iran's investigation of its own military. Grieving families allege harassment by Iranian authorities, even from thousands of miles away. The deadly crash ignited an outburst of unrest across Iran and deepened public mistrust in the government. US human rights lawyer arrested in Hong Kong crackdown granted bail An American human rights lawyer who was detained in Hong Kong with scores of democracy activists and supporters as part of a sweeping crackdown has been granted bail. John Clancey was one of 53 people arrested under the national security law over their participation in an unofficial primary election last year that authorities say was part of a plan to paralyze the government and subvert state power. The mass arrests were the largest move against Hong Kong's democracy movement since Beijing imposed the law last June to quell dissent in the semi-autonomous territory following months of anti-government protests.  We'll leave you with this...   Lawmakers evacuate the floor as protesters try to break into the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)     GET THE APP   Download the AP News app to get breaking news alerts from AP on your phone, tablet or watch.            About us    2020 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.    200 Liberty St. New York, NY 10128 Want to change how you receive these emails? 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