Trump News Live: Latest Twitter Updates As Supporters Threaten Election Official

Iran’s announcement that it plans to install new uranium enrichment equipment has drawn the ire of European JCPOA members, in Tehran’s latest push to promote its nuclear ambitions after Donald Trump withdrew from the deal.

France, Germany and the United Kingdom said Monday they were alarmed by the announcement and also by legislation that could expand Iran’s atomic program.

“If Iran is serious about preserving a space for diplomacy, it should not implement these steps,” the three powers, which along with China and Russia are party to the 2015 nuclear containment agreement, said in a joint statement.

A confidential report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) obtained by Reuters said Iran plans to install three more waterfalls or groups of advanced IR-2m centrifuges at its enrichment plant in Natanz, which was built underground apparently to withstand any bombardment. aerial.

The JCPOA says that Tehran can only use first-generation IR-1 centrifuges, which refine uranium much more slowly, at Natanz and that those are the only machines with which Iran can build up enriched stocks.

“Iran’s recent announcement to the IAEA that it intends to install three additional cascades of advanced centrifuges at the Natanz fuel enrichment plant is contrary to the JCPOA and deeply concerning,” added France, Britain and Germany.

Since Trump withdrew the United States from the deal, in favor of drastic sanctions, Iran’s nuclear program has accelerated and the country is now much closer to being able to build an atomic weapon.

Joe Biden has said he hopes to resurrect the JCPOA when he takes office.

Additional information from Reuters

You can read more about Iran’s estimated “break-up time” below:

White House coronavirus response coordinator Deborah Birx warned Sunday that an expected winter spike in Covid-19 cases is likely the most difficult event in the country’s history. writes Namita singh.

“This is not just the worst public health event. This is the worst event this country will face, not just from a public health standpoint, ”Dr. Birx said during an interview on NBC’s“ Meet the Press ”.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has appointed a new executive director for its WHO Foundation in a bid to attract more private donations and protect against loss of funds if countries withdraw, as the United States did.

The WHO Foundation was created earlier this year. It is a grant-making body that channels money to WHO projects and partner organizations.

Anil Soni will take over the reins in January after eight years with the multinational pharmaceutical company Viatris.

In an interview with The Associated Press before the WHO Foundation announcement, Soni said her priority is to seek corporate and individual donations. He said the foundation will finally take over the Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund, which has raised $ 238 million (£ 180 million) so far.

“Part of what I am doing and contributing to the foundation is guiding the private sector, which can and should do more to ensure equitable and rapid access to new technologies around the world,” said the American.

The Trump administration’s director of national intelligence on Sunday refused to acknowledge a Biden administration, the latest denial as the president and his allies launch increasingly desperate offers to halt or overturn the transfer of power. writes Josh marcus.

“Well, these electoral problems, we will see who is in which seats and if there is a Biden administration,” DNI director John Ratcliffe said after Fox News anchor Maria Bartiromo asked what the official thought about the Biden’s cabinet elections and his approach to China.

The Trump administration plans to impose new sanctions on China in response to the country’s crackdown on freedoms in Hong Kong, according to a report.

Reuters cited three unidentified sources in reporting that at least 12 Communist Party of China officials could be sanctioned for their alleged role in disqualifying pro-democracy politicians during the Hong Kong elections.

The measures may involve asset freezes and other financial penalties, Reuters reported.

Beijing said the plan constituted “interference in China’s internal affairs through the Hong Kong problem.”

In response to Donald Trump’s demands for a special legislative session to overturn the results in Georgia, the state’s top election official has said the move would amount to “overriding the will of the people.”

Brad Raffensperger told ABC that, as a conservative Republican, he was personally disappointed in the outcome in his state, but that was not a reason to dispute its veracity.

“At the end of the day, what they’re really trying to say is that if they did [overturn the result] – then they would be nullifying the will of the people. If you look at how the elections turned out here in Georgia, President Trump got 10 percent fewer votes in Cherokee County, which is a rich red county in this election cycle. In Whitfield County in northwest Georgia, less than 4.5 percent, ”Raffensperger told George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s” This Week. “

Joe Biden has already become more popular than Donald Trump throughout his presidency, with the Democrat achieving a 55 percent approval rating in the latest CNN Gallup poll.

The figures show a jump of six percentage points for Biden compared to the polls before the election. writes Shweta sharma.

Amid his continued attempts to discredit and reverse the election, Trump’s approval rating has now dropped to 42%, according to the poll, compared to 45% before Nov. 3.

“Flood the area with shit,” that is the anti-media disinformation strategy attributed to Steve Bannon, former adviser to Donald Trump.

And last night the president stuck to that mantra on Twitter.

Despite previously condemning Fox News for not being slavish enough in supporting his election lies, Trump seemed infatuated enough with one host to promote multiple clips full of conspiracy theories.

The president also retweeted a supporter who cited Sidney Powell, even though his legal team overruled the lawyer after she claimed Hugo Chávez was somehow implicated in widespread electoral fraud.

Sen. Kelly Loeffler has refused to denounce Donald Trump’s claims that the 2020 Georgia elections were “rigged,” instead highlighting his recent previous statements calling for investigations into the election results.

“It’s very clear that there were problems in this election,” Ms. Loeffler said Sunday in a debate with her Democratic opponent Raphael Warnock, even though her state has counted the votes three times and returned the same result: that the president elect Joe Biden beat Donald Trump there by several thousand votes.

Armed supporters of Donald Trump have gathered outside the home of Michigan’s top election official to demand that he “stop the robbery,” he said.

Jocelyn Benson, the secretary of state, said the group’s threatening behavior took place while her young son was trying to watch a Christmas movie.

In a statement, Ms. Benson said: “I have always been a strong advocate for the right and importance of peaceful protest enshrined in the United States Constitution, yet a line is crossed when meetings are held for the purpose principal of intimidating the public officials who are carrying out the oath of office that they solemnly took as elected officials ”.

He also accused Trump of a “heinous, dangerous and unprecedented campaign to erode public confidence in the results of one of the safest, most accessible and transparent elections in the history of our state.”

Video posted on Facebook by one of the protesters showed the small group chanting through megaphones and carrying banners promoting electoral conspiracy theories. The footage shows the group standing on the sidewalk outside the home as some police officers watch.

The protest was condemned as “mob behavior” by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Wayne County Attorney Kym Worthy in a joint statement.

They added: “They shouted unfounded conspiracy theories about the elections, and in videos uploaded to social media, at least one person could be heard yelling ‘they are murderers’ within earshot of their son’s room.

“Terrorizing children and families in their own homes is not activism.”

Joe Biden beat Trump in Michigan by more than 150,000 votes, getting 50.6 percent of the vote compared to the incumbent’s 47.8 percent.