Looking ahead to next week's inauguration, US Vogue editor Anna Wintour has defended her magazine after it was criticised over a new cover of the Vice-President-elect.

The February issue shows an informal-looking Kamala Harris wearing Converse trainers and prompted disappointment on social media.

Ms Harris's team told AP they were blindsided by the portrait choice, external but Ms Wintour, a giant in the fashion world, has defended the decision and denies any formal agreement had been made with the VP team.

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Vogue editor defends cover

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America reporter

Away from the political debate about President Trump's future, a huge figure behind his rise has died.

Sheldon Adelson made his money in the casino industry. He made his mark on American history as one of the most influential funders of the modern US conservative movement.

Adelson operated behind the scenes, but any Republican politician with ambition for higher office knew his name - and knew his largess could be the key to success.

After sitting out the Republican primaries, Adelson in May 2016 called on the party’s biggest donors to support Donald Trump’s candidacy. It heralded the Republican establishment’s at-first grudging acceptance of Trump’s political rise.

Adelson would later direct $25m toward Trump’s successful presidential campaign, going on to fund his 2017 inauguration, legal defence and 2020 re-election bid.

As Adelson became a close ally of Trump’s, and he realised several of his top priorities - the relocation of the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear agreement.

Trump may have become the face of today’s Republican Party, but for nearly a decade Adelson was the party’s financial backbone.

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Casino mogul and political donor Sheldon Adelson dead at 87

The House of Representatives' rules committee is now debating a resolution that calls on Vice-President Mike Pence to convene the Cabinet and remove Trump from office before his term expires next week.

Image source, PA Media

Amazon and Facebook have warned staff about threats to their safety amid fears of a backlash against "big tech".

Amazon Web Services (AWS) employees were told to "be vigilant" after the firm removed Parler from its web-hosting service.

The app is popular with some supporters of President Donald Trump.

Facebook staff were also instructed not to wear company-branded clothing in public following its ban of the US president's account.

The companies cited the deadly siege on US Congress and civil unrest as reasons for concern.

“In light of recent events, and to err on the side of caution, global security is encouraging everyone to avoid wearing or carrying Facebook-branded items at this time," an internal Facebook memo obtained by The Information, external said.

Read the full story here.

Image source, Getty Images

A third US lawmaker has tested positive for Covid-19 after being involved in the emergency lockdown at the US Capitol last week.

Congressman Brad Schneider, from Illinois, confirmed in a Tuesday statement he had tested positive - just one day after telling US network MSNBC he was "very concerned" about possible exposure after being stuck in a room with a number of Republican officials who refused to wear masks.

"Today, I am now in strict isolation, worried I have risked my wife's health and angry at the selfishness and arrogance of the anti-maskers who put their own contempt and disregard for decency ahead of the health and safety of their colleagues and our staff," his statement said, before calling on punishments for lawmakers ignoring safety protocols.

"Those that flout public health guidance should be sanctioned and immediately removed from the House floor by the Sergeant at Arms for their reckless endangerment of their colleagues."

Two Democratic colleagues also present have already tested positive.

BBC Monitoring

Reports of continuing tensions in the US in the wake of last week’s events fill the airwaves in Russia.

Much of the Russian narrative mirrors Trump’s own talking points, including harsh criticism of the Democrats and the media.

Pro-Kremlin TV stations generally describe the US political system as unfair and riddled with double standards.

"America's political machine is getting ever more bogged down in America's own views of democracy," said an announcer on State TV’s Channel One. "The problem is that when it comes to the US, these views are quite different from when they are applied to other countries."

Democrats have been criticised more harshly than Republicans, who were jointly gathered inside the Capitol in an effort to overturn Democrat Joe Biden's November victory.

"The Democrats want to get rid of Trump as a political rival once and for all," said State TV's Channel One on Tuesday.

"The situation in the US is looking increasingly like the start of a civil war," said pro-Kremlin Ren TV.

US media networks have also been blamed, with the St Petersburg-based Channel Five saying American networks have "inflamed" the situation by giving more air time to Trump's critics than his defenders.

Image source, Getty Images

After speaking to reporters about impeachment as he left the White House, Trump took some questions from reporters at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, as he prepared to fly to Texas to visit the border wall.

"You have to always avoid violence," he says. "And we have tremendous support. We have support probably like nobody’s ever seen before. Always have to avoid violence."

Asked about his personal role in what happened at Congress, he deflects blame saying that his words were "totally appropriate".

"If you read my speech - and many people have done it and I’ve seen it both in the papers and in the media on television - it's been analysed and people thought that what I said was totally appropriate."

He adds that "other people", including "politicians at a high level", have said that the protests and riots that took place last year after the death of George Floyd in police custody, were more concerning than the riot in Washington.

"That was a real problem, what they said. But they’ve analysed my speech and my words and my final paragraph, my final sentence, and everybody to the tee thought it was totally appropriate."

At the end of Trump's speech last week, less than two hours before his supporters began attacking police, Trump told the crowd: "We fight like hell.

"And if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore," he said, in a phrase that Democrats say amounts to an attempted insurrection.

Read more here:

Trump calls second impeachment 'ridiculous'

Image source, Reuters

Two nurses from the Canadian province of Ontario are under investigation after allegedly travelling to the US to take part in an anti-lockdown rally that preceded last week's deadly riot in Washington DC.

The College of Nurses of Ontario confirmed in a tweet on Monday that the two women, named as Kristen Nagle and Sarah Choujounian, faced an investigation over their participation in the event, which was organised by a group calling itself the Global Frontline Nurses.

Both of the women were named as speakers ahead of the protest, although there is no evidence they were involved in the violence that followed.

However, their presence at the event poses questions about how they were able to attend, given the fact that Ontario has been under lockdown since 26 December and most border travel between the US and Canada has been halted since March last year. While non-essential flights between the two countries have continued, passengers are required to quarantine for 14 days upon their return to Canada.

Alex Azar, the US Secretary of Health and Human Services, has refused to speak on efforts to remove the president from office this morning.

"The rhetoric last week was unacceptable. I'm not going to get into or discuss the 25th Amendment here," he said when repeatedly pressed on ABC's Good Morning America show on Tuesday.

“I’m committed - I’ve wrestled with this - I’m committed to see this through in my role as health secretary during a pandemic, to ensure that vaccines and therapeutics get out to the American people and to ensure a smooth handoff to President-elect Biden’s team."

Asked if he had discussed invoking the 25th amendment to remove Mr Trump, Mr Azar said it would "not be appropriate to discuss" his conversations with colleagues, the president or the vice-president, Mike Pence.

Image source, Getty Images

As he left the White House to travel to the US-Mexico border, Trump spoke to reporters about the latest drama in Washington.

“We want no violence," he told reporters, adding: "Never violence, absolutely no violence."

He went on to condemn the Democrats' latest effort to impeach him over claims that he attempted to incite a violent insurrection against the US government last week.

Impeachment, Trump says, is a “continuation of the greatest witch hunt in the history of politics”.

“I think it’s causing tremendous danger to this country and it's causing tremendous anger,” he adds.

Image source, Reuters

Some Trump supporters online are holding out hopes for Trump's "second term", despite the inevitability that Biden will be sworn in as president on Wednesday.

Rumours are circulating online that Trump could "replace" Vice-president Mike Pence.

This comes after a falling out between the president and VP over Pence's refusal to try to block Trump's loss. Trump supporters have vocally been calling for Pence to go.

However, the US president does not have the power to fire his vice-president, since the two were elected on the same ticket.

Image source, EPA

So, we know Democrats are trying to force President Trump from office before his term ends through a process known as impeachment. An impeachment article, introduced on Monday, accuses Mr Trump of "incitement of insurrection".

Let’s take a look at why Democrats are making that charge.

On Wednesday last week, Trump held a rally near the White House as lawmakers prepared to confirm the presidential election victory of Joe Biden in Congress.

At the rally, the president made a speech in which he repeatedly cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election, alleging, without evidence, that it was "stolen" from him.

Calling the election result an "egregious assault on our democracy", he urged his supporters to march on the Capitol building.

"We're going to walk down to the Capitol and we're going to cheer on our brave senators and Congressmen and women," Mr Trump told the crowd, exhorting his supporters "to fight like".

Soon after, rioters stormed the Capitol, rampaging through its ornate halls, looting offices and posing for photos in the House and Senate.

Democrats and some Republicans have argued that Trump's speech amounted to incitement. The impeachment article cites this quote in particular: "If you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a county anymore."

Holly Honderich
BBC News, Washington DC

A US Capitol police officer is being called a hero for singlehandedly steering a mob away from the Senate chambers during the deadly riots.

Footage of the officer, identified as Eugene Goodman, shows him just steps ahead of rioters as they chase him up a flight of stairs.

Goodman is then seen glancing towards the Senate entrance before luring the men in the opposite direction.

In the video shot by Huffington Post reporter Igor Bobic, Goodman, who is black, is antagonised by the group of Trump supporters - who are all white men.

Image source, Igor Bobic

The show of bravery from Goodman, reportedly an Army veteran who spent time in Iraq, comes amid criticism of Capitol Police for apparent security failures during the storming of the Capitol.

Five people, including a police officer, died as a result of the riots. Another officer who was on duty during the siege died by suicide this weekend, his family said.

You can read more here.

Image source, Getty Images

Seen in a costume of horns, a fur headdress and tan trousers, Jacob Chansley was one of the more conspicuous participants in last week’s storming of the Capitol.

A prominent supporter of the QAnon conspiracy theory, Chansley was arrested and charged with violent entry and disorderly conduct in connection with the riots on Saturday.

On Monday, he appeared in court for the first time in Arizona, where he is from.

Local TV station ABC15 Arizona , externalreports that during the hearing, a lawyer for Chansley said he was on an extremely restrictive diet, perhaps for religious reasons, and had not eaten since he was taken into custody.

In response, the judge ordered the Marshal for the District of Arizona to provide Chansley with “food in line with a shaman's strict organic diet”.

"He gets very sick if he doesn't eat organic food - literally will get physically sick,“ Martha Chansley’s mum Martha explained to the TV station outside court.

Chansley calls himself the "QAnon Shaman" for his belief in QAnon, a baseless conspiracy theory that holds President Trump is battling Satan-worshipping paedophiles.

Image source, Reuters

In the days since the deadly Capitol assault, there has been virtual silence from President Trump. His Twitter account - his preferred mode of communication - was permanently suspended last Friday, and he has not made any public media appearances to address the violence.

He has, however, made some comments in a private conversation with Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

In that conversation, as reported by various US media outlets including BBC partner CBS News, external, Trump admitted he was at least partially to blame for what transpired at the Capitol last Wednesday.

But, according to an account of the call recounted to Axios, external, Trump also blamed a movement of left-wing activists, known as Antifa, for storming the Capitol - an allegation for which there is no evidence.

Citing two sources, Axios reported that McCarthy would have none of it, telling the president: “It's not Antifa, it's MAGA [Trump’s supporters]. I know. I was there.”

McCarthy is opposed to the Democratic effort to impeach Trump, but he is facing pressure within the Republican party to hold the president to account for his role in the Capitol riots.

Image source, Reuters

The political fallout from last week's violence is continuing with a big day ahead in Washington DC.

• House Democrats will bring a resolution to the floor today asking Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment - which would declare President Donald Trump unfit for office and remove him from power. If passed this evening, the resolution gives Mr Pence 24 hours to respond and if not, Democrats have vowed to press on and vote tomorrow to impeach the president - for a second time - accusing him of inciting the violence last week.
• Meanwhile, we are expected to see Mr Trump in public for the first time in days as he leaves the White House for a trip to the southern border in Texas.

• With just eight days ago until Joe Biden is sworn in as president, security is being stepped up in the capital in the wake of last week's riots. An emergency declaration has been approved and some 10,000 National Guard troops will be in Washington DC by Saturday
• The FBI has also warned about the possibility of armed protests being held at state capitals across the country as officials work through thousands of leads to help identify and charge those involved in last week's violence.

Image source, Getty Images

Top NFL coach Bill Belichick says he won't accept President Trump's offer of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, citing the US Capitol riot.

Belichick, of the New England Patriots, said he was flattered when he was first offered the medal - the top award given to civilians in the US.

But he said he changed his mind after a mob of Trump supporters stormed Congress last week. Five people died.

The celebrated coach had previously spoken of his friendship with Mr Trump.

"Recently, I was offered the opportunity to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which I was flattered by out of respect for what the honour represents and admiration for prior recipients," Belichick said in a statement.

"Subsequently, the tragic events of last week occurred and the decision has been made not to move forward with the award."

Belichick, who has won a record six Super Bowl titles, is considered one of the most successful coaches in NFL history.

The open carry of guns in the Michigan Capitol has been banned following last week's violence in Washington DC.

In a unanimous vote on Monday, a state panel agreed that only police officers will be allowed to openly carry firearms inside the building from now on. However, people with licences to carry concealed weapons will still be allowed to do so.

Michigan was one of a small number of states to allow people to openly carry firearms inside the building but a ban was under discussion since last April, when armed protesters who opposed local coronavirus restrictions entered the Capitol.

In October, meanwhile, six people were charged over an alleged plot to kidnap the state's governor.

Image source, Getty Images

Las Vegas casino magnate and Republican mega-donor Sheldon Adelson has died at age 87, according to his company.

Adelson was one of Trump's earliest supporters, throwing his financial backing behind him during his 2016 campaign.

In the 2020 election cycle, Adelson and his wife Miriam together donated some $430m (£315m) to Republican candidates around the country, according to Fox News.

After Trump's loss in November, the Las Vegas Review-Journal - a newspaper owned by Adelson - called on Trump to concede.

The editorial, disputing Trump's claims of election fraud, led to speculation that Adelson may have had a falling out with Trump.

Image source, Reuters

Anxiety over security is high in Washington, with authorities fearing more violence in the final days of the Trump presidency.

On Monday, Capitol Police gave a briefing to Democratic lawmakers about three potentially violent demonstrations planned in the city, according to reports by Axios, external and HuffPost, external.

The most concerning involved a plot to block Democrats from entering the Capitol - with force if necessary - which would allow Republicans to seize control of the government, the reports say. Crowds would also surround the White House and the Supreme Court.

A second rally was described as the "largest armed protest ever to take place on American soil”.

A third is a protest in honour of Ashli Babbitt, the Trump supporter who was killed by police inside the Capitol during last week's riot.

The warnings illustrate the heightened security concerns surrounding lawmakers in the days leading up to the inauguration of Joe Biden as president on 20 January.

We have more about the security fears, incluing the FBI warning over armed protests.