5 Things to Know for January 6: Senate Closing, Congress, Covid-19, Jacob Blake, Qatar

The House and Senate are meeting today to formally count the Electoral College’s votes from the 2020 presidential election. But what is usually a routine part of American democracy can get ugly because of President Trump and his most ardent supporters’ continued refusal to accept the results. This is what will happen there: some Republicans in both chambers have promised to object to some results, which are counted state-by-state, meaning there may be debate when certain states show up. All objections will be voted on – and it is expected to fail. Ultimately, GOP objections are likely to be a sign of loyalty to the president, rather than affecting the results. They could also cast a shadow over future democratic processes and maintain doubt among Trump supporters, who believe his false allegations that the election was stolen from him. We can also see unrest, as Trump has encouraged supporters to come to the Capitol as the votes are counted.

The US reached a new high coronavirus mortality rate yesterday, with 3,775 new deaths across the country. The new tragedy comes as U.S. governors take new steps to speed up the administration of vaccines, including mobilizing members of the National Guard and training more volunteers to vaccinate people. Germany, Ireland, the Czech Republic and other countries are also seeing an increase in cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has issued a rare reprimand after a team of its scientists was prevented from entering China to investigate the origin of the new coronavirus.

The police officer who shot dead Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August and seriously injured him is not facing charges, district attorney Michael Graveley announced yesterday. Rusten Sheskey, a white officer, shot Blake, a 29-year-old black man, seven times from behind while responding to a domestic incident. He said he used lethal force because he thought Blake was trying to kidnap a child in the back seat of a vehicle. The Blake family says they are disappointed with the decision, but they feel it comes when they hear that Wisconsin is bringing in the national guard to respond to possible unrest following the announcement. Now the family and supporters of Blake promise to take their case to Washington DC.

Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies have agreed to restore diplomatic relations with the small host nation of Qatar. The agreement ends a three-year boycott of the country that has divided the Gulf states since then. In 2017, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt accused Qatar of supporting terrorism and addressing the country’s friendly relations with Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood. Under the boycott, Qatar’s only land border – with Saudi Arabia – was closed and boycotting countries closed their airspace to Qatar. Although the leaders of the countries appeared optimistic with the signing of the agreement in the Saudi city of Al-Ula, it is unclear what provisions it entails and what has been complied with.

Good things are worth waiting for – in this case until March.

According to new guidelines, they will not be considered service animals, but you can still keep them.

Do it, otherwise your internet browser will get mad at you.

A beautiful new development in the chicken sandwich theater.

Oh, to be the woman who calls her post ‘Queen’.

This is the share of sales of new cars in Norway last year that was electric. The country is using huge tax incentives to help ensure that every new passenger car and pickup truck sold there by the end of 2025 is a vehicle that is not released. Last year’s record sales of electric vehicles brought it more than up to speed.

Martin Kenyon, a 91-year-old Briton who became an internet sensation for his fairly practical statement to CNN after receiving the first dose of Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine last month. He has now received the second dose and is feeling well.

We’ve never considered that question before, but since the Smithsonian Channel asked it, we need to know. (Click here to see.)